Always the Designer, Never the Bride (34 page)

"Ooh, I love orzo," Carly said, peering over the counter at the bowl.

J. R. picked up a fork from the open drawer, but Audrey pulled the huge bowl away before he could grab a bite.

"C'mon. Just a taste. I'm starving. I didn't have lunch. I was off doing espionage with you."

She tilted her full lips into a crooked grin. "Just a taste."

The dish lived up to the anticipation. "This is amazing."

"Thank you," Sherilyn said, snatching the fork from his hand. "And you can have all you like when dinner is served. Now go get yourself something to drink and tell my husband the guests of honor have arrived."

"Do I have to?"

Sherilyn scowled at him.

"I won't get a word in, and I've already heard everything about the new grill."

"Several times over," Sean called out from the other room.

Her frown turned into a broad grin, and Sherilyn laughed out loud. "It's a new toy. He'll get over it."

Jackson and Sean groaned their good-natured skepticism from the sofa in the living room.

"I can just hear him out there in the snow this Christmas," Sean mocked as Jackson cackled with laughter. "Aztec Premium. Four billion BTUs, and
Look!
A rotisserie!"

"Oh, hush. Go get Russell and help Andy bring in the food, you slackers."

"Go on," Fee told them. "The sooner you do, the sooner we can serve dinner and keep Andy's mouth full so he can't talk about the grill."

That drove Sean and Jackson immediately to their feet.

"Here, Henry!" Sean called through the open door. "Here, Russell! Come here, boys!"

"You're awful," Emma said with a chuckle.

J. R. used his fingers to pluck a chunk of fish from the bowl of orzo, and he plopped it into his mouth before Audrey could stop him.

"What is that? Halibut?"

"Yes," she told him. "But if you don't get out of here, it's going to turn into
snapper!"

He laughed as he scurried through the back door.

"How we doing, Chef?" he asked Andy. "The natives are restless and hungry."

"Hold your horses, it's on its way."

And ten minutes later, dinner buffet for twelve hit the counter.

"Before we overload our plates and dive into this feast," Sherilyn announced, "I thought it might be nice if we joined hands and said a little prayer of thanks."

J. R. took Fee's hand on one side and Audrey's on the other. When everyone settled into a jagged circle, he and the others bowed their heads.

"Lord Jesus," Sherilyn said, "Andy and I want to thank You for this exceptional group of people that You've put into our lives and brought into our home. We ask for Your blessing on each and every person in this prayer circle, but especially on Devon."

J. R.'s heart squeezed slightly.

"Send Your angels of protection with him as he travels where You send him. Keep him safe from all harm, and redeem the time so that it seems like nothing flat before he's back here with us."

J. R. opened his eyes long enough to glance at Devon as Carly curled into him and nestled beneath his chin.

"And Lord, we ask for ministering angels for Carly, to bring her peace and comfort, to remind her every day and every night that her future, and Devon's future, is safe with You."

"Protect them and keep them, Lord God," Andy added, "until You bring us all back together again, celebrating Devon's return."

"And we ask," Carly chimed in, "that You would bring peace to the Middle East, Lord. Bring all of our sons and fathers and husbands and brothers home safely. And let them stay here."

Agreements sounded all around, and Russell added a prayer rhyme of his own.

"Not to be rude. But please bless the food."

"That's quite a number."

"Yes. It is."

"It's . . . big."

"Huge."

Audrey tossed the page to the bed beside her and collapsed backwards into the pile of pillows.

"I can't charge her that much, Kat."

"You have no choice," Kat said as she picked up the paper and sat down next to her. "Lisette is the one who told you to make whatever arrangements you needed to make in order to stay here in Atlanta, to rush her gown, to . . ."

"I know, I know. But there's no way she's expecting it to have cost this much, Kat. And I can't afford to charge her any less."

A light rap on the door drew Audrey straight upright.

"That's her."

Kat opened the door and greeted Lisette. She looked lovely in an emerald green silk blouse and black pleated trousers, her long blonde hair twisted back into a loose braid that fell over one shoulder.

"All ready for your final fitting?" Kat asked, and Lisette beamed at the gown on the dress form in the corner.

"What I'm ready for is my wedding day."

"Well, it's almost here," Audrey reassured her.

"Can't get here soon enough. I just want to be married to Griffin and on that plane to Costa Rica."

"Oh, that sounds perfect!" Kat exclaimed. "Have you ever been?"

"Twice. But Griff never has. I can't wait to get him down there where we can lounge on our private beach and sip little drinks with umbrellas in them for two weeks."

"I can't even imagine," Audrey said with a chuckle. "Let's get you into your dress, shall we?"

"Can we have just a minute?"

Audrey paused. "Of course."

"Will you sit down with me for a minute?"

Audrey crossed to the bed and sat down on the corner. Her heart started to pound harder while she imagined all sorts of scenarios.

"I'll give you some privacy," Kat said, heading toward the door.

"No, Kat. Please. I'd like to talk to both of you."

Kat's eyes grew wide, locking into Audrey's for a couple of seconds before she sat down on the chair.

"I can't stop thinking about what we talked about the other morning."

Audrey shook her head. "I . . . don't know . . ."

"Sorry. When I showed you the article in the
Journal
about Weston LaMont, and I got the impression that you thought he might offer you a job designing for him."

"Well," Audrey began, and she popped with one slightly bitter chuckle. "That's not an issue after all."

"No?"

"No. It seems Mr. LaMont thinks I still have years of crawling through the desert before I'm deemed worthy. I mean, I might be his
muse,
but inspiration is one thing. I'm certainly not good enough to—" Regret sliced her words in two. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry."

"So he got the idea from you," she surmised. "And now he's going to run with it."

"That about covers it."

Lisette flicked the hem of her blouse with one pink fingernail. When she looked up, Audrey saw something strange in Lisette's eyes, and she grinned at the sight of it.

"I know. It's ironic."

"No," Lisette said. "I've been thinking a lot about it, and now . . . talking to you . . . I'm pretty sure I'm on the right track. But I'm a little nervous to say this to you."

"You want to change the gown, right? Just tell me, Lisette. Whatever it is, I'll do my best to—"

"No," she interrupted, this time on a string of giggles. "No, that's not it at all."

Kat shrugged when Audrey looked at her.

"So what is it?"

"My dress is perfect, Audrey. Absolutely perfect. I wouldn't change one thread."

"Oh, good."

"So perfect, in fact, that it got me to thinking about what a talent you are."

"Well. Thank you."

"And Kat. That awesome brooch you designed. It's just amazing."

Kat's smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Instead, curiosity roiled.

"The thing is . . . I had been thinking about talking to you about maybe investing in you."

"Investing in me?" Audrey cocked her head slightly, and she felt her entire forehead furrow.

"Well," Lisette sighed. "I was thinking that a really highend bridal design line seemed like a great idea. But I took it to my dad, and we talked it over, and we both came away with the feeling that this economy just doesn't support that kind of move."

"Welcome to my world," Audrey said, and she chuckled. "The economy doesn't seem to have much interest in supporting me at all."

"I wouldn't be so quick to say that," Lisette corrected. "Maybe you won't even be interested in this, but what do you think about going in another direction with your talents? Expanding on them."

Audrey took a long moment to listen to the rushing sound in her ears before replying. "What do you have in mind exactly?"

"I've been full-figured my whole life," she explained. "And every time an important event has come up, I've struggled to find something really nice to wear."

Audrey nodded.

"But Audrey, you have such a great sense of style. And what you did with my gown, taking something that might be found for a small woman and adjusting it to fit the curves of a larger body, it was kind of miraculous."

She glanced at Lisette's dress in the corner. Mac wore that gown like the blueblood of dress forms!

"And you know, it was really this place that got my dad and me to thinking with a broader view."

"This place? The Tanglewood?"

"Yes. It's a one-stop shop for destination weddings. They have it all covered. So why couldn't we do that, except with garments?"

Audrey's wheels began to turn slowly, but she knew she hadn't quite caught up with Lisette just yet.

"We offer an experience for brides, size fourteen to thirty. You design bridal gowns and dresses for bridesmaids and mothers of the bride, no matter what size they are. We could even supply coordinating dresses for the flower girls. Are you following me here?"

Audrey nodded. "I think so."

"I think plus-sized brides would fly in from all over the country to an Atlanta showroom specializing in a couture experience with a retail pricetag. And with the showroom, we also offer different shops where they can choose veils and shoes, jewelry accessories—which is where you come in, Kat. And we contract high-end make-up artists and stylists to give tutorials on the glamorous wedding day look, even contract them out to travel to the locations if they choose that. We give them a one-stop opportunity unlike anything else out there in the bridal market. What do you think?"

"Are you joking?" Kat said, leaping to her feet. "This is brilliant!"

"You think so too? Because I'm really—"

"Wait, wait a minute!" Audrey exclaimed. "Let's just slow down and think about this."

"Look," Lisette said, "I realize this is a brand new idea for you, and you need time to think it over. Dad and I have been sitting with it for a week now. He owns an enormous warehouse over in Alpharetta, near North Point Mall. It's just sitting there empty, and I think it would be an amazing location. Why don't you talk it over, really think about it, both of you? When Griff and I return from our honeymoon, we'll talk again. I was thinking that in the first year, we may all struggle a little. But we can build this thing, Audrey. The three of us together."

Audrey opened her mouth, but nothing came out. And if something had, she couldn't even imagine what it might have been.

"I've been looking for something that excited me like this for a really long time. Will you consider it?"

"Of course," she said, nodding. "Yes. We'll think about it, and I'd like to run it by a business consultant of some kind."

"Good. Do that."

"And we'll talk after Costa Rica."

Lisette jumped to her feet, pulling Audrey along with her, and she embraced the two of them at the same time.

"I just have a feeling about this," she told them. "I think it's meant to be."

Kat piped up. "So do I!"

"You know what I'm hungry for?"

"What?"

"Seafood orzo. Sherilyn showed me how to make it the other night, and I think I might be able to do it on my own. Would you eat some if I made it?"

"I guess."

Audrey leaned backward on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "I think I'll make a shopping list and make some for dinner . . . Anyway, I was saying before that I made enough on Lisette's job to pay my bills for next month, so I don't have to rush back to New York. And J. R. has agreed to stick around town long enough to be my date at Lisette's wedding this weekend. But I can't help wondering whether you're entirely sure you want to let me and Kat both move into the house with you, Caroline. If the new business venture takes off, it might be a while before we have time to find our own places and get—"