lost if word of the crazy got out.
She got ready for work then drove to Weddings Out of the Box. At least there she could distract herself with various tasks. The weddings this weekend were low-key affairs that wouldn’t require much more than the usual attention, so she would get ahead on the upcoming weddings. There was always plenty to do.
She spent her morning doing her best to get lost in her job. It was impossible to do, but she made the effort and went entire minutes without worrying. She didn’t hear from Jasper, but then why would she? No doubt the man was changing his cell number and considering getting a security system at his house.
A little before eleven, just when she was thinking she should stop drinking so much coffee and eat something, she heard footsteps in the hallway followed by a shockingly familiar voice calling, “Renee? Are you here? Do I have the right place?”
Her mouth went dry, her heart physically stopped beating and her life flashed before her eyes. No. No! But there was no denying the identity of the visitor when her door was pushed open and her mother stepped into her office.
“There you are,” Verity Grothen said with a smile. “Hello, sweetie, and surprise!”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“MOM!” RENEE CAME to her feet and circled the desk. “What are you doing here?”
They hugged. Verity was exactly Renee’s height with slightly darker red hair and blue eyes. She’d always been an attractive woman but after Renee’s father had left, she’d never allowed another man in her life.
“I thought I was coming to San Diego in a few weeks.”
“You were, but I needed to talk to you so I thought I’d pop by and surprise you.”
Renee did her best not to panic. Her mother was in town. Her mother was in town! No and no! This was bad and it was going to get worse and there was literally nothing she could do to make things better. Even more upsetting, mentally screaming about it wouldn’t accomplish anything because now she had to deal with the reality of it.
For months, there had been nothing, but in the space of a few hours, she’d told Jasper about her mother and now Verity was here—as if conjured.
“Is this your office?” her mother asked, looking around. “It’s very nice.”
The space was maybe ten by ten, with a desk, a file cabinet and two chairs. Hardly anything luxurious, but then Renee always had her client meetings in one of the two conference rooms and she and Pallas spoke wherever they happened to be and this was a mess!
“Thanks,” she said, trying to focus. “Sorry, Mom. You threw me with your unexpected arrival. Let’s go to the break room. It’s more comfortable. On the way, I’ll give you a tour.”
“That would be so nice.” Verity linked arms with her. “I want to see everything.”
Renee let go of the fear and worry and told herself to simply enjoy being with her mom. Whatever else had happened, she knew her mother loved her and would always be there for her. The other stuff wasn’t anyone’s fault.
“As I’ve told you, we have theme weddings here. This weekend is a Star Trek wedding, complete with costumes.” They walked downstairs.
Renee took her by the bride’s room and then down the hallway into where the ceremony would take place. Instead of an arch, or an altar or anything signifying a church of some kind, there was a replica of the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.
“Oh, my. Is that where they’re getting married?”
“It is. Both families worked on it, then had it delivered here. It’s mobile so when the ceremony is over, we’ll wheel it out to the reception area. We bring in another captain’s chair and a small table and that will be where the bride and groom eat. They have some really fun things planned.”
“It’s quite elaborate.”
“It is. Not every wedding is this complicated. Some are easier. We’ll be having a Halloween wedding soon. That requires more props but less custom furniture.”
Verity smiled. “It’s lovely and you’re doing such good work here.”
“You can’t know that.”
“Of course I can. I know you.”
Renee showed her how they could hang different panels to simulate different places. “We have gorgeous wood panels, but we don’t use them much. They’re too valuable. Plus printed paper is easier to deal with and a whole lot cheaper to customize.”
They walked through the open courtyard where most of the receptions took place, then went back inside and headed