Nantucket Weddings - Pamela M. Kelley Page 0,35

and wife. Rhett, you may kiss your bride!”

They all clapped and cheered as Rhett kissed Lisa, and then the two of them faced their guests. “And now it’s time to celebrate!” Rhett kissed Lisa again and everyone gathered around them, hugging and offering congratulations.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us!” Kate said when she reached her mother.

Lisa smiled. “You have enough to worry about with planning your own wedding. We thought this would be easy and fun! And it was. None of you suspected a thing!” She looked very pleased with herself.

“Well, it would have been nice to get you a wedding gift. All I brought is a shirt for Rhett.”

Lisa laughed. “I’m sure he’ll love it. He could use a new shirt. Now let’s go inside and eat. It’s a lobster lover’s brunch.”

Kate’s mother loved lobster. “That sounds good. What are we having?”

“The lobster quiche, of course, lobster chowder, and my new favorite appetizer, bite-sized pieces of lobster tail served with hot butter to dip them in.”

“Yum!”

“How are you feeling about your wedding? Are you still stressed out?” Lisa asked.

“How did you know I was stressing about the wedding planning?” Kate thought she’d done a good job of not letting people know.

“I’m your mother. That’s how I knew. Let Mia worry about everything. That’s what she’s there for, and she’s very good at what she does.”

“Thank you! And congratulations, Lisa!” Mia walked up in time to hear Lisa’s comments.

“I’m really not that stressed,” Kate told her.

Mia smiled. “It’s okay. We’re almost through the worst of it, and then you’ll be able to relax. Once you pick out your dress, it’s all downhill from there. And just let me know what’s good for you this week and we’ll zip into Boston for the day.”

“I did like a few of those links that you sent me. I’m sorry I haven’t gotten back to you. I’ve just been deep in my book.”

“I figured as much. I wasn’t going to bug you for a few more days,” Mia said.

“Okay, well I could do this Tuesday if that works for you?”

“It does.”

Lisa put a hand on each of their backs and led them into the house. “Now that we’ve got that sorted, let’s go eat.”

Kate went over to her mother’s best friends to say hello. Both Sue and Paige had suspiciously shiny eyes. “I’m just so happy for your mother,” Sue said.

“They’re just so good together,” Paige added.

“They really are,” Kate agreed. She wondered if Paige might get engaged soon, too. She’d been dating Peter, the owner of Bradford’s Liquors, for a while now and they seemed very happy, too.

Kate and Jack got plates of food and sat outside with Kristen and Tyler.

“I can’t believe Mom pulled this off without anyone knowing what she was up to,” Kristen said.

“I know. She really didn’t want anything to do with a big wedding. This was exactly what she said she wanted, small and just close friends and family.”

“You could still do something small like this, too, if you’d rather,” Kristen said.

“It’s tempting, but I think what we’re planning will be fine. It won’t be too big. All of mom’s friends and Jack’s father’s friends and our families can all be there. And Mia really is a godsend. She’s doing most of the work.”

“Where is Mia?” Kristen asked.

Kate spotted her holding a plate of food and looking around for a place to sit. She waved her over to join them.

“I have to say, I’m impressed. Your mother did a great job setting this up. None of you had any idea?” Mia asked.

Kate laughed. “Not a clue.”

Lisa made the rounds, visiting with everyone, and told them about their honeymoon plans. They were leaving the next day, going to New York City for a few days, and were going to stop by Rhett’s other restaurants as Lisa had never seen them.

“We’ll be home on Friday in time for the craziness of Memorial Day weekend.”

“Oh, good, then you’re both coming to my cookout?” Kate said.

“Of course, honey. I wouldn’t miss it.”

Beth brought her plate over and joined them. Kate hadn’t talked to her soon-to-be sister-in-law since the appetizer party. “How’s the wedding planning coming for you?” Kate asked her. Beth and Chase worked together. Beth ran the office for Chase’s construction business. She didn’t have a lot of free time. Kate didn’t know how she did it.

“It’s going pretty well. All the major things have been decided and booked. Well, except the dress. I still need a dress. I’ve looked