Love on Beach Avenue (The Sunshine Sisters #1) - Jennifer Probst Page 0,12
tears, the other glaring with anger. She recognized the curvy brunette immediately, but the other woman was a stranger. She shifted her focus to her bride. “Delilah, what’s wrong?”
The petite woman pointed a trembling finger to her right. “She says the Majesty Hotel booking never went through. She said I can’t get married June eleventh because she already reserved that date and time for her reception.”
Avery shook her head. “No, I’m sorry, that’s not possible. I’ve already received the confirmation, and the deposit went through. I’m sorry, Ms. . . .”
“Papadalle. And you’re wrong.” She stabbed her finger right back at Delilah. “I called first to reserve that date, and the sales rep put it in the book. But yesterday, the guy I spoke to wasn’t there, and I was told there was no record of my wedding.”
Sympathy shot through Avery. “That’s terrible. Are you sure you didn’t give him the wrong date?”
The woman curled back her lips and spit venom. “I’m not stupid! I’m doing this on my own on a tight budget, and I can prove I booked it. I have my credit-card receipt.” She reached in her purse and pulled out a crumpled piece of white paper, shaking it in the air. “I know what’s going on here. You fancy wedding planners pushed him to forget my date because you paid more. But I’m not going away, so the joke’s on you. I’ll sue you all. I’ll stand outside your wedding and protest. I’ll get on the news.”
Delilah gasped. “You wouldn’t!”
“Hell yes, I would!”
“Ladies, please, let’s calm down and try to figure this out.” Avery faced Ms. Papadalle and tried to radiate authority and reassurance. “Did you go to the Majesty with your receipt to discuss the problem?”
“Of course I did! A guy named Steve told me the planners at Sunshine Bridal were the only ones who could fix the mix-up.”
Avery tapped her foot and tried to ignore her pounding head. Dammit. She knew Steve was a part-time student working for extra cash. God help them all if he’d taken the booking without informing the owner. Seemed like he couldn’t handle confrontation and wanted to keep his job, so he’d sent an upset bride straight to her doorstep. Sure, blame the wedding planner. Wasn’t that standard? The kid had no thought to the disasters that could occur. “Wait. Delilah, how did you even hear about this?”
“She called me and said to meet her here at one p.m.,” Delilah said.
She swiveled her gaze back to Ms. Papadalle, still confused. “But how did you get Delilah’s number? The booking is under my business name, not Delilah’s.”
“I told Steve I wanted her information and refused to leave until he gave it to me!” the woman yelled.
Oh yeah, Steve was definitely getting fired over this breach of protocol. Her head pounded harder.
Delilah trembled. “I’m sorry, Avery. I was afraid not to show. She scared me.”
Delilah was soft-spoken and shy. The poor thing was clearly terrified, and the whole scene was unfolding in front of Avery’s respectable business. She had to get them off the street before the town gossips realized a bride war was brewing.
Avery cleared her throat. “Okay, let’s go inside. We’ll get a cool drink, I’ll make some phone calls, and we’ll straighten it all out.”
Ms. Papadalle ignored her calm entreaty. Bracing her feet, she threw her shoulders back and announced her ultimatum. “There’s only one way to solve this. Change your date.”
Delilah’s voice broke. “But I can’t. It would ruin everything.”
“Then I’m bringing you all down. This is America. I deserve an equal shot even if I don’t hire a fancy-schmancy wedding planner.”
Delilah’s lower lip shook, and her eyes filled with tears. “But my family already bought airline tickets. They’re nonrefundable.”
“Too bad. I have proof I booked it first.” She shook the receipt wildly in the air like a baby bird trying to fly. “I’m taking the date. Deal with it.” Ms. Papadalle towered over Delilah, face masked in righteous fury.
Before Avery could take a step forward to defuse the tension, comfort her bride, and take control of the situation, Delilah launched herself at the woman. Ms. Papadalle stumbled under the surprise attack and fell back on her ass, landing in a tangled mess of limbs on the sidewalk. Delilah stared in shock, blinking as if she’d come out of a fugue state. She opened her mouth, maybe to apologize, but it was too late.
“I’ll kill you!” Ms. Papadalle sprang up from the ground and came at Delilah