“Does Mom know you’re wearing makeup?”
“Yes.” Abby drew the word out. “Of course, I asked her first. Do I look older?”
I shook my head. We were entering new territory if Abby was going to start wearing makeup and worrying about looking like awoman instead of a girl. I pulled her into my side. “You’ll always be Little Bug to me.”
“Stop it, Jasper. You’re messing up my braids.” She pushed on my chest, but her grin let me know that she didn’t mind the affection.
“Y’all ready to go?”
Abby ran to the door. “Hold on, I need to tell Mom we’re leaving.”
As she dashed into the house, my gaze slid to Delilah. My pulse ticked up as she stood and smoothed her palm over her dress.
“You look amazing.”
She smiled, her eyes holding just a trace of something I couldn’t identify. “Thank you. You look pretty good yourself.”
“Thanks.” I’d had to borrow a suit from my brother Trent since I’d burned my only pair of suit pants with the iron earlier. The jacket was a smidge tight in the shoulders, but I figured that would be a good thing. It would prevent me from being able to ask Delilah to dance to a slow song.
“About last night . . . ,” Delilah began.
But then Abby burst through the door again, barreling past us on the way to the truck. “Mom said to have fun and to have me home before eleven.”
“She might be a little excited about the wedding.” Delilah picked up her purse.
“A little?” I chuckled. “She’s been waiting for this all month. Do we need to swing by and pick up your mom?”
“I thought we were going to ride together but she decided she wanted to stop in and talk to Lacey before everything starts. Something about getting more exposure on Ido’s social media.” Delilah shook her head. “Who knows what she’s got up her sleeve this time.”
“Okay then.” I gestured toward the steps. “Let’s go.”
I hadn’t attended a wedding at the Phillips House venue since Lacey tied the knot with Bodie a couple of years back. That wedding hadn’t gone as planned and I hadn’t had a reason to go to any of the others they’d held since. I’d heard about what went on out there between the historic house they’d turned into an event center and the giant warehouse on the property that had been repurposed as a blank slate, ready for whatever dream wedding a potential bride could come up with.
For the butterfly wedding, they’d rented giant white tents. The wedding was going to be held outside, in the beautifully landscaped grounds, then the butterflies would be released before the guests moved into the tents for the reception. I wanted to pay extra-special attention in case I got any ideas for the wedding barn, although I couldn’t imagine holding events on a grand scale like this.
Lacey didn’t want to miss a single opportunity to showcase Ido in a romantic light, so she met us at the front door when I arrived with Delilah on my arm.
“I’m so glad you could make it.” Lacey pressed an air-kiss to both of Delilah’s cheeks. “Come on in. Let me show you around before the festivities start.”
“Are you sure we’re not crashing the wedding?” Delilah asked.
“Don’t be silly. The bride said she’d be honored to have you here.”
Delilah let out a breath. “I just wanted to check. Oh, and have you seen my mother?”
Lacey shook her head. “She was here earlier but I haven’t seen her for a little while. Do we need to wait for her before I give you a tour?”
“No, she’ll catch up if she’s interested.”
I hadn’t been inside the Phillips House since Lacey had gathered several of the local business owners to discuss herplans of turning our little town into a wedding destination. The whole house had been redone, restored to what I imagined was its original glory.
“This is amazing.” Delilah voiced the same reaction I felt. “How long did it take to renovate this space?”
“A few months. We were on a bit of a time crunch.” Lacey walked through the lower level, pointing out pieces that were original to the house. By the time she led us through the two upper levels, the wedding party had arrived and taken over the second-floor bedrooms to make final preparations.
“How many weddings have you had here so far?” Delilah asked.
“Too many to count.” Lacey stopped by the front door. “I can look it up and get you that information if you need it.”
