tonight? Hunter, too, of course. I’ll be serving the finest takeout in town.”
She laughed. “That would be nice. Thank you.”
“You’re the one doing me a favor.”
“Acting as a buffer?”
“Something like that. Although I do enjoy the company.” He paused, then smiled. “The T-shirt was cute.”
She flushed. “Pretend you never saw that.”
“Too late, but how about if I don’t comment on it again?”
“That would be good.”
He put his coffee mug in the sink, then left. Wynn stayed where she was, wishing she wasn’t wondering what he’d thought about seeing her in the T-shirt. What did cute mean? And why did he have to say cute? Sexy would have been more interesting. Appealing was good, too. But cute? Men were just so annoying.
* * *
WYNN’S MORNING FLEW by as quickly as always. Work was busy with new orders coming in and completed orders going out. A little after eleven, her friends Renee and Natalie walked in.
Natalie, a pretty brunette with curly hair and bright red glasses, was several months pregnant. Her visible happiness and sweet disposition were a stark contrast to Joylyn’s sullen nature. Wynn wondered how much of Joylyn’s attitude was about her circumstances and how much of it was because of her personality. Not a question she would get answered today, she told herself.
While Natalie wore a flowy maternity dress, Renee, a petite redhead, had on a dark suit and three-inch heels.
“Work or play?” Wynn asked, hugging her friends.
“Work,” Renee said. “We need some help with a couple of weddings.”
“Then let’s go to my office.”
Renee was a partner in Weddings Out of the Box—a destination wedding venue in town. She’d worked in the business nearly two years and had bought in last year. Renee was organized, creative and fiercely loyal. She was also married to Jasper Dembenski, a successful thriller writer and Wynn’s former lover.
Wynn had ended things a few years back for reasons that seemed really silly now. Not that she wanted him back. She and Jasper had both been more interested in the convenience of their relationship rather than any romantic connection. He was much happier with Renee than he’d ever been with her.
As for what Wynn wanted—well, that was less sure. Someone she could love with her whole heart. Assuming she let herself go there, she thought sadly. Because most days it seemed that she wouldn’t.
“What’s up?” she asked when her friends were seated.
“There’s a wedding,” Renee said. “In fact there are several.”
“People love to get married at the holidays,” Wynn said, then turned to Natalie. “If you’re involved, then I’m guessing there is some kind of art project.”
Natalie was a gifted artist who worked with different materials, including paper.
“There is,” Natalie said. “We’re going to need to special order some paper, and it has to be a rush.”
Renee opened her briefcase. “I have the specs here.” She flipped through several folders. “We have a Hanukkah wedding coming up. That’s keeping me awake at nights worrying that we’re getting it all right. I was totally freaked because I don’t know much about Jewish traditions, but then the bride mentioned that her aunt was a rabbi, so we’ve been emailing nearly every day. She’s been amazingly helpful.”
She set one folder on the desk, then pulled a menorah out of her briefcase. It was gold with blue enamel accents.
“We want to match the place cards to this color blue.”
“Are the menorahs going to be part of the centerpieces?” Wynn asked.
Renee nodded. “We’re debating lighting versus not lighting. The bride is still deciding.”
“It makes a difference,” Wynn said as she pulled out her paper samples to match the color. “If they’re lit, you can’t have anything close to them. If they’re not lit, you could cluster flowers around. Either would be pretty.”
“That’s what I said,” Natalie told her with a smile.
Wynn held out a couple of color samples. They all stared at the small pieces of paper.
“That one,” Renee said firmly, pointing. “The usual card-stock weight. Can you print them?”
“If you get me a list and a font.” Wynn grinned. “I’ll even fold them for you. Okay, not me exactly, but the machine that does it.”
Natalie laughed. “I love office equipment. I have no use for it, but I love it.”
“Me, too.” Renee made a note. “Thanks for the folding. I gave the bride a ballpark price for the work. Assuming there’s nothing extra pricey about the paper and the printing, then we’re good to go.”
“The only cost difference would be if they use an expensive font I don’t already