A Wedding on Primrose Street (Life In Icicle Falls Book 7) (27 page)

“This is going to be fun,” Laney continued, all excitement now. “Happy anniversary.”

Anne smiled. “Thanks, sweetie.” Okay, so things weren’t going according to plan—well,
her
plan, anyway—but her daughter’s happiness was what counted.

“I know Dad’s excited about this and I am, too. Oh, and by the way, you don’t have to get married on a raft. We canceled that part.”

Thank heaven.

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too.” And because she did, she couldn’t stay mad, especially since she was the one who’d created this problem. But it was all working out. Her daughter was getting the wedding she wanted.

And it looked as though, after twenty-five years, so was Anne. Everything had changed so fast, she had wedding whiplash. She handed Cam’s phone back to him. “I don’t know what to say.”

He smiled at her. “Say ‘I do.’”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

A Wedding on Primrose Street

I
t was the best kind of day for a wedding—warm weather, blue sky and the sun shining on the bride...who wore a champagne-colored dress with a nipped-in waist and pleated skirt and flowers in her hair. She carried the bouquet that had been ordered for her daughter, and she and her husband were remarried under the rose arbor.

“Do you take this woman for another twenty-five years?” Pastor Ostrom asked the groom.

“I sure do,” Cam said.

“And how about you, Anne? Do you pledge yourself to Cam?”

“I do,” she said, her heart full.

“Then I pronounce you still husband and wife. I hope your next twenty-five years together are as wonderful as the first twenty-five,” said the minister, beaming at them. “You may kiss your bride,” he said to Cam.

Cam was happy to oblige. He dipped Anne backward and gave her a photo-op-style kiss, while the professional photographer recorded the moment for posterity...just like every friend and family member present who had a cell phone.

It had been a little embarrassing announcing to all the guests that there’d been a change in plans and they were here to celebrate a different bride and groom, but no one complained. More than one relative was thrilled about Laney’s new plan to go to Vegas and begged to be included. “Wish we’d done that,” said one of Drake’s cousins. “Our wedding was boring.” She rolled her eyes. “I let my mom plan most of it. Dumb.”

Laney and Anne both said nothing.

Now, with the ceremony over, everyone went to the bar to get down to the serious business of partying.

The crab cakes, Brie and smoked salmon bruschetta, and pulled-pork sliders were a hit, as was the dinner, which consisted of three-cheese stuffed chicken, accompanied by tossed salad, a lobster-pasta salad and crusty rolls. And everyone raved over how clever and cute the donut cake was. The DJ had car problems halfway up the mountain and was still waiting for a tow truck, but the Flesh Eaters were in town and had brought their instruments along and were happy to fill in until he got there. So Cam and Anne did their opening dance to “Give It to Me, Baby, Hard, Hard, Hard,” an original song by the lead singer.

“Congratulations on twenty-five years of marriage,” Roberta’s daughter, Daphne, said to Anne as she proffered a tray of champagne glasses. “These days that’s quite an accomplishment.”

“It can be done when you’ve got a good man,” Anne said, taking a glass and smiling up at Cam.

“You give me hope,” Daphne said with a smile.

“By the way, where’s your mom? I haven’t seen her,” Anne said.

Daphne grinned. “She’s in Seattle, visiting a new friend. She said to give you her best wishes.”

“Champagne!” boomed Aunt Maude from behind Daphne, making her jump and the champagne glasses rattle. “I love champagne.” She took a glass and Daphne slipped away to serve other guests. “Didn’t I tell you something would happen?” Maude demanded.

Maude was
not
getting invited to Vegas. “Yes, you did,” Anne said. “And isn’t it terrific how it all turned out?” Maude scowled.

Julia came up just then. “I think it’s time to cut the cake,” she said, rescuing Anne and Cam from Aunt Maude. “Well, darling,” she said as they made their way to the cake table, “how are you enjoying your wedding?”

Anne smiled up at Cam. “It’s wonderful.”

“Yes, it is,” Julia agreed. “But then, how could it have been anything else with my lovely daughter planning it?”

“Thanks, Mom,” Anne murmured.

Cam shook his head and frowned. “I wish I’d known twenty-five years ago how badly you wanted a fancy wedding.”

She laid a hand on his arm. “I meant what I said back then. The most important thing to me was marrying you. And under the same circumstances, I’d do it all over again.”

Not that she wasn’t enjoying her fancy twenty-five-years-after-the-fact wedding. She was. But the simple fact remained. A marriage was about the two people who were making a commitment to each other. How they did it wasn’t half as important as
why
they did it. Everything else was just frosting on the wedding cake.

Later that night Cam carried Anne over the threshold into the bridal suite at the Icicle Creek Lodge. “I’m a lucky man,” he said, setting her down and putting his arms around her.

“And I’m a lucky woman,” she said, reaching up and putting her arms around his neck.

“Thank you for marrying me again.”

“I’d marry you again and again and again,” Anne said and kissed him.

“Same here.” He led her farther into the room, where a bottle of champagne sat next to the king-size bed. The nightstand held a small box of Sweet Dreams chocolates. An envelope sat on one of the pillows.

“You thought of everything.”

He picked up the bottle and popped the cork. “I did. I’d actually reserved this room for next weekend, when I planned to bring you up here.”

“That was what you’d planned?”

He nodded.

“We can still use it next weekend,” she said coyly.

“I don’t think we’ll need it.”

Of course, it would be silly to come back again so soon, she told herself, especially in light of the big blowout party they’d just had.

“Open the card.”

She did, and out fell a magazine clipping. She picked it up. It was from some sort of real-estate brochure and featured a rustic mountain cabin perched alongside a river. “What’s this?”

“Since we bagged the cruise, I thought we might like to make a down payment on a cabin up here instead. Now that we’re empty nesters we can afford it. We may even get it paid off by the time we retire,” he added with a grin. “I’ve got a couple of places in mind and a real-estate agent lined up to show us around. Actually, she was lined up for next weekend, but we moved it to tomorrow.”

“A cabin?” Could she have heard correctly?

“Please tell me I got it right this time.”

“More than right,” she said, then threw her arms around him and kissed him.

The champagne was forgotten. Who needed bubbly when you had a handsome man kissing you?

Later that night as they snuggled together on the big bed, she relived the whole evening. It had been everything she’d ever dreamed of, a perfect wedding—just as Laney’s Las Vegas adventure would be perfect for her. Most important of all, the day had been a celebration of love. And in the end, love was all that mattered.

* * * * *

Recipes from Anne,
Roberta and Their Friends

A
nne’s second wedding was enjoyed by one and all. Guests raved over the various wedding cakes, which were made by Cass Wilkes. You’re on your own for the donut cake, but Cass is sharing her recipes for the bride’s cake and the groom’s cake in case you’d like to make one of them for a special occasion. And Anne even convinced Bailey Sterling to share her recipe for Brie and Smoked Salmon Bruschetta. Hope you enjoy them!

Orange Blossom Cake

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups sifted flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup butter
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp orange extract
1 11-oz can of mandarin orange slices,
drained and cut into small pieces

Directions:

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into mixing bowl, then add sugar, butter, eggs, milk, oil and orange extract. Beat just until well mixed. Stir in orange pieces by hand. Pour into two 8-inch greased cake pans or a 9x11-inch greased pan and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. You can also make cupcakes (bake for twenty minutes). Recipe should make about twenty cupcakes.

Frost with buttercream frosting.

Buttercream Frosting

(Note: Cass makes this more by guess and by gosh, so you may have to tweak the ingredients just a little.)

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups powdered sugar
(sometimes Cass adds a little more)
¼ cup butter
2 tbsp milk (The amount really depends on whether you end up adding a little more powdered sugar.
Conversely, if your frosting is a little too sloppy, throw in some more powdered sugar.)
½ tsp vanilla

Directions:

Put butter in a mixing bowl and sift in powdered sugar. Add milk and vanilla and cream together until smooth.

Chocolate Zucchini Groom’s Cake

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups flour
4 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp cinnamon
1 cup oil
1 ⅓ cups sugar
3 eggs
½ cup sour cream
2 cups grated zucchini
1 large handful chocolate chips

Directions:

Mix zucchini, oil, eggs and sugar, then add sour cream. Sift in dry ingredients and mix. Add chocolate chips and stir until mixed in. Bake in a greased 9x13-inch pan at 325°F for 45 minutes.

Brie and Smoked Salmon Bruschetta

(Courtesy of Theresia Brannan, owner of East West Catering)

Ingredients:

1 French baguette
3 cloves of garlic
½ cup virgin olive oil
Sea salt
½ cup chopped fresh basil
5 Roma tomatoes, deseeded and cut into small pieces
Small wedge of Brie (about 6 oz)
1 pack presliced smoked salmon

Directions:

Crush garlic, remove skin and cut off woody tip. Chop until fine. Place half the garlic in a medium bowl. Place the rest on a plate and soak with ¼ cup olive oil. Add a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Chop basil and tomatoes (drain off excess liquid from tomatoes) and put into the bowl with the garlic. Mix well and refrigerate.

Cut baguette diagonally into slices about half an inch thick. Brush bread with the olive oil in garlic on the plate. (Any of the oil mixture left over after this step can be added to the tomato mixture.) Slice Brie into ¼-inch strips. Put baguette slices onto a cookie sheet, place Brie strips onto the baguette and put it under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes or till the Brie melts and the baguette slices start to brown. Remove from oven. Spoon bruschetta (tomato mixture) onto the baguette slices. Place a slice of smoked salmon on the baguette. Serve immediately.

Wedding Tips from a Pro

A
wedding is such a special occasion, for both the bride and groom and their families and friends. Here are a few tips from an expert. (Thank you, Megan Keller of A Kurant Event
in Seattle!)

Beware of Pinterest. While it’s a fantastic tool to begin cultivating your style aesthetic, it can easily overwhelm you. Once you’ve got the nuts and bolts nailed down about the general design of the wedding, stop there. There’s too much pressure these days to create a “Pinterest-worthy wedding” and that’s just not what it’s about. People will remember how much fun they had dancing or how smiley you looked all night more than the little odds and ends you used to decorate.

Don’t feel obligated to talk to every single guest for five minutes. You won’t have time!

Don’t worry about the details. If you’re not having fun, the party will feel like a dud. Conversely, if you’re having a great time, your guests will, too. Your energy is contagious.

Most important: enjoy the day. Do what makes you feel happy together. This is the best party you’ll ever throw. Enjoy it!

Wedding Adventures in Icicle Falls

Y
ou may be wondering what kind of wedding adventures were had by some of the other Icicle Falls residents you’ve come to know. Here’s your chance to listen in as a couple of them remember the unique events that made their special days, well...special.

Roberta Gilbert and Curtis White

October was a busy month for every business in Icicle Falls, due to the many Oktoberfest celebrations the town held, but everyone who was anyone made time to come to Primrose Haus to celebrate the nuptials of Roberta Gilbert and Curtis White.

The grand old Victorian was as packed with people as it was with fall flowers in shades of vibrant reds, yellows and oranges. The bride wore an elegant cream-colored tea dress her daughter, Daphne, had helped her pick out, but what really made her beautiful was her smile. Many a teary eye was dabbed as she said “I do” to the handsome man she’d met in June.

“They make a lovely couple,” Muriel whispered to Pat York as they sat side by side with Pat’s husband, Ed.

“Yes, they do,” Pat whispered back.

Muriel smiled fondly as the groom slipped a gold band on their friend’s finger. “I’m so glad she’s found someone after all these years.”

Pat nodded. “About time, I’d say.”

Pastor Jim from the Icicle Falls Community Church said, “And now, by the powers vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. Curtis, you may kiss your bride.”

And kiss her he did, to much applause and cheering.

“Wasn’t that a lovely ceremony?” raved Olivia Wallace, who owned the Icicle Creek Lodge, as she and her new husband, James Claussen, joined Muriel and Pat and Ed at their dinner table.

They were followed by Dot, her daughter, Tilda, and Tilda’s friend from the police force, Jamal Lincoln.

“I’ve got to say, that kiss made my toes curl,” said Dot.

“Mine, too,” Muriel confessed.

“Maybe that’s a sign you’re supposed to get married again,” Pat told her.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Muriel said. She looked over to the head table, where the new couple sat with his son and daughter-in-law and Daphne. “Two is probably enough for any woman.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Dot said with a grin. “If Leonardo DiCaprio came along, I’d consider it.”

Tilda rolled her eyes and shook her head, and Olivia said, “Really, Dot. You’re old enough to be his mother.”

“On the outside, maybe,” Dot retorted, “but on the inside, I’m still thirty and a babe.”

“Who knows, Dot? Maybe one of these days you’ll be getting married,” Muriel said. She smiled at Olivia and James. “Yours was certainly one to remember.”

“Who would’ve guessed when I came to Icicle Falls for Christmas that I was going to find a treasure at the Icicle Creek Lodge,” James said and kissed her hand.

“Gag me,” muttered Dot.

“I do love weddings,” Muriel said with a sigh.

“And your wedding to Waldo was beautiful,” Olivia told her. “The girls as your bridesmaids, the horse-drawn carriage after the ceremony, that lovely reception at the winery—it all went off beautifully.”

“Boring,” Dot scoffed. “Much more fun to have the kind of wedding Pat had.”

“What happened at your wedding?” asked Tilda.

“Well, it was an adventure...”

Pat Wilder and Ed York

“Katie, I really don’t think you want to be hosting a wedding when you’re so close to having a baby,” Pat Wilder said to her daughter.

Pat and Ed had come over to Seattle for Christmas to gather together their children and announce that they were getting married. No one was surprised, as Ed had been pursuing Pat for two years and during the past few months they’d been almost inseparable. Now Pat and her youngest daughter were sitting in Katie’s kitchen in her new house, enjoying morning lattes. “Of course I do. The baby’s not due for two weeks.”

“Yes, but with first babies you never can tell.”

“Oh, Mom, I’ll be fine. Anyway, we got this all decided yesterday. We need to have it here, because my house is larger than Amanda’s or Kevin’s. And besides, one of the reasons we got it was so we could have lots of family parties.”

“Yes, but not when you’re expecting,” Pat objected.

“What, like you never did anything when you were expecting? Come on, Mom. I remember you working at the bookstore clear up until the day Kevin was born.”

“We should move the date up. How about a wedding in March?”

Katie waved away her concerns. “I’ll be fine. Anyway, I love the idea of a May wedding.”

Still... “I think we should stick to the plan and get married in Icicle Falls, at Roberta’s Primrose Haus. The pass should be okay by the middle of March.”

“Come on, Mom. We’re just gonna invite family, right? So, let’s have it here. You guys don’t need to spend all that money.”

“It’s not as though we can’t afford it.” If the real reason her daughter was offering to host was to save her money, well, that was just silly.

“Don’t spoil our fun.” Katie pushed the plate of scones closer to Pat.

Anything to do with entertaining was fun for Katie. In addition to holding down a job as a loan officer and planning her dream home, she honed her culinary skills by hosting a monthly supper club.

Unable to resist, Pat helped herself to a second scone. “I don’t like the idea of you girls going to all this trouble.”

“For you? You’ve gotta be kidding. Anyway, like we told you last night, it won’t be that much trouble. We’ve got Manda doing the cake and helping me with dinner, and Shelly doing the flowers. I mean, what’s the point of having a sister-in-law who’s a florist if you can’t get wedding flowers out of the deal, right?”

“You’re the best,” Pat said, suddenly teary-eyed. “All of you.” What had she done to deserve such great kids? They were always there for her, first when she lost her husband, and now, when she was about to take a new one.

“We’re glad to see you so happy,” Katie said.

Ed had great kids, too, and they’d all be together celebrating as she married a wonderful man. And soon there’d be another grandchild in the family. Did it get any better than that?

She and Ed arrived at Katie and Craig’s house early in May, a good two weeks before Katie’s delivery date. Even that seemed to be cutting it close, but Katie had insisted both she and the doctor had calculated accurately. No baby until the end of May.

Pat’s daughter-in-law had transformed Katie’s living room with a profusion of flowers, mixing orchids, stephanotis, roses and baby’s breath with delicate ferns and lilac ribbons.

Pat’s daughter Amanda showed up with the granddaughters, Adele and Katherine, all dressed up in lilac dresses and ready to stand as junior bridesmaids along with Ed’s granddaughter, Clarissa. Both Pat’s daughters would be dressed in a dark, rich purple and would act as matrons of honor while her son, Kevin, had claimed the honor of walking her down the stairs and giving her away.

Amanda set the cake out on Katie’s dining room table. It was a lofty, three-tiered fondant masterpiece, shaped like a pile of wedding presents, with the “wrappings” done in varying shades of purple. “How’s that for gorgeous?” she said.

“The best cake you’ve done yet,” Pat said, hugging her. Amanda indulged her creative streak by decorating cakes. Pat sometimes wondered where her daughters got their culinary creativity. It sure hadn’t been from her.

Now Ed was by her side, slipping an arm around her waist. “Look at that cake. Wow. That must have been a lot of work.”

“Nothing’s too much work for you, Ed,” Amanda said and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush.

“Nothing’s too much for my bride,” he said and gave Pat a squeeze.

Apparently, since he was taking her to Fiji for their honeymoon. Fiji. In her wildest dreams Pat had never imagined herself going to such an exotic place. Her first honeymoon had been on the Oregon coast and that had seemed pretty darned grand. Other than trips over the mountains to Seattle and a jaunt to Disneyland when the kids were little, she’d remained rooted in Icicle Falls. And she’d been perfectly happy to stay that way, running her bookstore and hanging out with her friends. And, of course, seeing the kids whenever possible.

But Ed was determined they were going to enjoy life a little. “I love Icicle Falls, too,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t slip away once in a while. Our businesses can survive without us for a couple of weeks now and then.”

She’d hated the idea of taking off with Katie’s delivery close at hand. She didn’t want to miss seeing her grandbaby born, and she wanted to be on hand to help Katie.

Katie had overridden those concerns. “Craig’s got two weeks’ maternity leave. You can come help later, after he goes back to work.”

“Just don’t have the baby early,” Pat had retorted. “I don’t want to miss seeing our little Cristabelle enter the world.”

“I promise. I’ll keep my legs crossed until you guys get back,” Katie had said with a laugh.

Pat wasn’t so sure about that. The baby had already dropped, which meant delivery could be anytime. And today, in spite of smiles, Katie looked tired.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” Pat asked, watching her daughter press a hand to her back and grimace.

Katie immediately smiled. “I’m perfectly okay.”

No, she was exhausted. “I knew we shouldn’t have let her host this,” Pat whispered to Ed as they moved into the living room.

“I’d like to have seen you stop her.”

The doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of the first guests, Ed’s daughter, bearing a foil-covered food platter, and her family. “We’re so happy for you two,” she said to Pat and hugged her. “And wow, look at this great house,” she raved to Katie. “I heard you guys designed it yourselves.”

“Well, we had an architect working with us,” Katie said modestly as her husband took everyone’s coats. “Come on. I’ll show you the kitchen.”

The doorbell rang again, bringing in another in-law with her two sons in tow. And once again, there was much hugging and happiness and oohs and aahs over Katie’s new house.

Half an hour later, the house was full and the minister had arrived, and it was time for the ceremony to begin. No one in either family had been gifted with musical talent, so the bridal march, the theme from the movie
Somewhere in Time
, was played on a CD player. Kevin, six feet of young and handsome, escorted Pat down the stairs to the stone fireplace, with its mantel brimming with flowers, where the minister and the rest of the bridal party waited for her. Ed was gazing at her as if she was some young calendar girl. Ah, love was truly blind. And there were her lovely daughters, one of them smiling, the other... Katie didn’t seem very comfortable.

“Are you all right?” Pat whispered as she took her place next to Katie.

“I’m fine.”

She didn’t look fine.

Pastor Jim, who’d come over the mountains to do the honors, smiled at the happy couple. “Ed and Pat, we’re all gathered here to celebrate your love, and I thank you both for allowing me to be part of this special day. It is indeed a special thing when God brings love into our lives.”

Oh, yes, it was. Who knew she’d find love again? And with a fellow Icicle, someone who appreciated life in Icicle Falls as much as she did.

“And I must say,” Pastor Jim continued.

“Oh, no,” Katie interrupted.

Pat glanced over at her daughter, who was frowning at her hardwood floor.

“I think my water just broke,” Katie said miserably.

“Oh, my God,” said her husband. “Babe, don’t panic! Where’s the suitcase? Where’s the car keys?” Without waiting for an answer, he dashed up the stairs toward their bedroom.

“Okay, Jim, we both ‘do,’” Ed said. He turned to Pat. “Let’s get this girl to the hospital.”

“You can’t stop the ceremony,” Katie protested miserably.

“Sure we can,” Ed told her. “We already signed the license. That makes it legal, right, Jim?”

“Sure,” said Pastor Jim. “We know you ‘do.’”

“Well, then, there you have it.”

Katie’s husband was running back down the stairs now, taking them two at a time. “Let’s go, let’s go!” And then he, the man who swore he’d never be like some TV fool, panicking and out of control on the big day, grabbed his wife’s arm and propelled her out the door, forgetting her overnight case.

Ed grabbed the forgotten case, and he and Pat fell in behind them.

“But the food,” she called over her shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” said her sister, who’d returned from the powder room with a towel. “Everything’s in the fridge. Come on, girls. Get your coats.” To the guests she said, “Make yourselves at home. We’ll be back. Eventually.”

Ed’s daughter waved her away. “Don’t worry about us.”

“Bring Pastor Jim,” Katie insisted. “You can finish the ceremony at the hospital.”

* * *

“And did you?” asked Tilda.

“Actually, we did. It was quite a memorable day,” Pat said, smiling at Ed. “And we got back from our honeymoon in time for me to help Katie with the baby.”

“That’s a great story,” Tilda said. “Not as good as my mom’s, though,” she added, giving Dot a mischievous look. “My dad fainted at our wedding. I guess it was hot in the church.”

“Your cousin should never have told you about that,” Dot grumbled.

“I still think it’s pretty funny,” Tilda said.

“Yeah, funny,” Dot said, clearly not amused.

Later that evening, as the champagne flowed and the couples started dancing, only Muriel and Dot remained at their dinner table.

“Tilda and Jamal are a nice couple.”

“Oh, they’re not dating. Just friends, although I’m sure he’d like to be more. But it’s awkward, being partners and all. At least, that’s what Tilda says.” Dot shook her head. “I swear, at the rate she’s going, I’ll never have any grandchildren.” Dot looked enviously at Muriel’s daughters and their husbands—and children. Samantha’s toddler was adorable, with chestnut hair and big brown eyes. Cecily’s stepdaughter was equally darling. Both girls were dolled up as though they were ready for a magazine shoot. And Cecily, who was now pregnant, had that glow that belonged to expectant mothers.

“I’m sure she’ll find someone soon,” Muriel said comfortingly.

“I doubt it. Tilda’s a tough cookie. She’s not every man’s cup of tea.”