and wedding and Pallas stepping in for Sunday’s brunch.
They must have switched things up, he thought grimly. Pallas was here tonight, when it was a smaller group. Tomorrow he would be easier to stay away from—and even if he wasn’t, Renee would never disappoint Hanna.
Until that very second, he hadn’t realized how much he’d been looking forward to seeing her. He loved her. There was no getting around that, he thought as he walked toward the building. He loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and she wasn’t interested. He couldn’t figure out if she simply didn’t share his feelings or if she was too scared to take a chance on him, but knew it didn’t matter. In the end, they weren’t together anymore and he was going to have to figure out how to deal with that and move on.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
RENEE SPENT A LONG, lonely Friday night home by herself. Fred and Lucille were some company but neither was much for conversation and after they got tired of playing with her, they went to sleep, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Word of what had happened with Jasper had spread and Pallas had insisted on handling the rehearsal dinner so Renee didn’t have to worry about running into Jasper at such an intimate setting. Although Renee appreciated the gesture, she couldn’t help wondering if being busy would have been easier to deal with. Not that she would have enjoyed having to avoid Jasper at every turn. In fact there was no way she could have avoided him, and yet she really regretted not being at the rehearsal dinner, which meant what? She’d finally slipped into madness?
She spent a restless night and woke up before five on Saturday morning. After taking care of the cats, she left for work and got to Weddings Out of the Box well before seven. She reviewed Pallas’s notes on the rehearsal dinner, then walked the venue and made sure everything was as it should be for the Scottish wedding.
The cake was safely assembled and in the refrigerated case. It would be wheeled out midmorning so it had time to come to room temperature. The bottom and top two layers were about three inches each with the middle layer twice as high. Blue, teal and magenta flowers cascaded down one side. Sprigs of heather would decorate the table. It was as beautiful as the pictures and Renee knew that Hanna and Graham would be thrilled.
She went into the groom’s room and made sure all the tuxes were hanging in place. Graham’s tux had been custom-made for him. The jacket lining had been printed with photographs of the happy couple from the time they met until their engagement photo. It was a wonderful surprise element that would be special to the couple. She remembered how they’d talked about having it done and how Jasper had encouraged them. He’d been right—the lining was perfect.
In the bride’s room, Hanna’s dress hung on the specially designed rack, leaving plenty of room for the train. Her shoes were there, along with makeup, and everything she would need for her special day.
The flowers arrived at eight. Renee confirmed the order, then helped the florist put the various bouquets in the bride’s room and the boutonnieres in the groom’s room. Three college-aged guys hung the floral garland in the main room where the ceremony would be, while two more students filled the shallow bowls with the clematis blossoms.
At noon Renee forced herself to eat a protein bar. She wasn’t hungry, but knew she would need her energy for later. She drank a couple of glasses of water and told herself that eventually she would stop feeling as if she were slowly bleeding to death. That once she got through the brunch tomorrow, she would retreat to her apartment and spend the next two days seeing what she could do about moving on with her life, but until then, she had to focus on Hanna and Graham.
A little after three, the activity began in earnest. Hanna and her friends arrived. An hour later, Graham and his family showed up, including his twin sister who looked enough like him to almost make things confusing. Hanna’s parents arrived separately, each with a spouse. The caterer was in place, getting the food ready, while Silver had two trailers parked by the reception area and was preparing for the post-ceremony deluge.
Renee made a continuous circuit of the event space. She smiled when