Chapter 1
Charlotte Duncan wanted everything to be perfect for her wedding. Really, what woman doesn’t? But she really, really wanted it perfect. Seriously perfect.
She had so many dreams about what her wedding would be like. What she’d wear. The decorations. The music. The cake.
But right now she had a big problem with the whole perfect wedding thing…
She had no place to get married, and the wedding was just weeks away.
She and Ben had decided to get married at Charming Inn, but a new girl working at the inn had double-booked another wedding on their date. And she’d taken a large deposit for the other wedding.
Lillian, as owner of Charming Inn, had offered the inn to Charlotte free of charge. But of course, she didn’t want Lillian to give up income. There was also the not-so-tiny detail that the invitations had already gone out… listing Charming Inn as the venue.
Charlotte walked down Oak Street, ignoring the cheerful Christmas decorations on the storefronts and the lines of Christmas lights and wreaths strung across the street. Why had she chosen Christmastime to get married? Everyone was wanting venues to throw holiday parties. How in the world would she find a place to hold the wedding at this late date?
She slipped into The Lucky Duck—wishing some of the luck would rub off on her—and waved to Willie, the owner, as she slid into a booth to wait for her best friends, Sara and Robin.
Best friends who had both recently gotten married and pulled off their weddings without a hitch. Obviously they had more luck going for them than she did.
Cheerful holiday music spilled around her. Good try. It did nothing to improve her mood. She sat and stared off into space until Robin slid into the seat across from her, followed closely by Sara.
“Don’t worry, Charlotte. We’re going to figure this all out.” Robin reached across and squeezed her hand.
“Right. Within two weeks we need to find another place for the wedding, and who knows what else will go wrong between now and then.” She was normally a look-on-the-bright-side person, but not since hearing the news that she’d lost her venue.
“You could take Aunt Lillian up on her offer to still hold your wedding instead of the duplicate. You did schedule first.” Sara pulled a notebook out of her purse.
“No, I’m not going to take a paying event away from Lillian and I’m not going to disappoint that bride either. It’s not her fault.”
Robin sighed. “It’s my fault for letting the new girl handle some event scheduling. That won’t happen again. And she feels terrible if that’s any consolation.”
“I’m sure it was an honest mistake.” Charlotte frowned. But a messy one nonetheless.
“Why she thought that there would be an open slot on a weekend so close to Christmas is beyond me.” Robin scowled, leaning back against the worn wooden back of the booth. “This is such a mess.”
“No, it’s not, because we’re going to fix it.” Sara grabbed a pen.
Willie came over to their table. “You three look serious.”
“There’s been a mess up with scheduling at Charming Inn for Charlotte’s wedding. We need to find a new place,” Sara explained.
“I don’t know how we’ll find a place so last minute.” She turned to Willie. “I’ll have one of your magical basil motonics. I hear they cure everything.”
Willie grinned. “They do. So I’m told.”
“I’ll have one, too,” Sara chimed in.
“Me, too. Don’t want them to drink alone,” Robin added. “And how about an order of hushpuppies and… oh, a slice of chocolate cake with three forks. We need our comfort food.”
Willie laughed. “Coming right up.”
“Okay, so any idea on where we could move the wedding?” Sara’s forehead creased as she tapped her pen on the table. “We should be able to come up with somewhere.”
“I don’t want it to just be somewhere. I want it to be… special. Like having it at Charming Inn would be special.” She wadded up the napkin in front of her, debating lobbing it across the room in frustration.
“The community center?” Robin suggested.
“I already checked with Noah.” Sara shook her head. “It’s booked for a Christmas party.”
“We need to come up with some kind of creative idea or I’m going to hear no end of I-told-you-sos from my mother and sister. They told me I wasn’t leaving enough time to plan the wedding.”
“But you did… everything was perfect.” Sara pursed her lips.
“Until it wasn’t.” She hated to hear the poor-me tone in her voice… but to be honest… poor me fit the situation right now.
“Okay, we’ll have to keep brainstorming places.” Robin smiled encouragingly. “And you shouldn’t ever listen to your sister, anyway.”
Willie brought over their drinks and food. Charlotte sipped her drink and downed too many hushpuppies as idea after idea for a venue got shot down. Robin made phone calls for each new place they came up with, but no one had availability.
Maybe she would have to postpone the wedding. Ben wouldn’t be happy but her family would. They hadn’t been pleased she was having it the weekend she’d chosen anyway. They had fancy Christmas parties they would miss back in Austin, and her mother had the fancy Snow Gala the weekend after her wedding and constantly complained it was going to be so difficult to get away the weekend before the big gala.
“Listen, I’ll make some calls when I get back to the inn. I’m sure we can find a place that will be great,” Robin said as she took the last bite of the chocolate cake.
Sara’s phone beeped and she glanced at it. “Oh, I have to go. I’m supposed to meet Noah for dinner.” She laughed. “Not that I’ll be hungry after all this, but comfort food was needed.”
Robin grabbed the bill. “I’ve got this.” She rose and hugged Charlotte. “Don’t worry. I swear we’ll come up with the best plan ever.”
Her friends left and she sat and sipped on her drink. She should probably go find Ben and tell him they might have to postpone.
Her phone beeped and she saw it was a call from the bridal boutique. Ah, at least that detail was perfect. The dress she’d found was so wonderful. It looked like it had been designed for her with her style in mind. They were probably calling to schedule her last fitting.
She’d originally thought she might have Ruby, Ben’s mother, make her wedding dress, but then she’d found the perfect dress at the Bridal Boutique in Sarasota. Plus, she knew Ruby was busy with her own things getting ready for her son’s wedding.
“Charlotte, this is Marguerite from the Bridal Boutique.”
“Hey, Marguerite. Calling to set up my last fitting?” If she could find a venue so she could have the wedding…
“Ah… about that.”
Her heart tumbled in her chest at the somber tone in the normally bubbly owner’s voice.
“What?”
“There’s been a… mishap. My seamstress took your gown home to work on some of the lace adjustments. And…”
Charlotte closed her eyes, willing the woman to talk faster. Or maybe to stop talking.
“And, unfortunately, her apartment burned.”
“Oh, no.” Charlotte’s eyes flew open. “Is she okay?”
“Yes, she got out along with her pup. But the dress is damaged beyond repair. I tried to put in a rush order to replace it, but there’s just not enough time.”
Charlotte slumped back against the seat. Her perfect dress was gone now, too?
“I’m so very sorry,” Marguerite said. “Would you want to come in and look for another one? I’ll do everything possible to help you find a dress. I just feel awful.”
“I… ah… I don’t know.” She stared at the empty glass, debating ordering another one.
“Why don’t you think on it? Call me first thing in the morning. I’m sure we can find something you’ll love.” Marguerite said the words with forced positivity and encouragement.
Charlotte wasn’t buying it. What were the chances of finding another dress she loved that much and it being in her size or close enough to be tailored to fit her? She felt like she looked at a bazillion dresses before she found this one. The one that was now ashes.
“Sure, I’ll call tomorrow.” Though she was pretty sure that was a lie.
The wedding was conspiring against her.
Maybe her mother and her sister would get their wish, and the wedding would be moved to a new date, one more convenient for them. Never mind it meant postponing getting married to Ben.
Only… she didn’t want to wait to marry Ben.
But she was a practical woman. A person couldn’t get married without a venue or a dress, could they?
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