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I snorted a laugh. “I see your point. My phone’s away. The table has my full attention. Let’s get going.”
Over the past few weeks, my calendar had begun to fill. As exciting as it was to see my business blossoming, panic had set in, and I wondered how in the world I thought I could do all the labor on my own.
Miles had suggested hiring Bea. She was familiar with my products from my time at High Bar, and no one worked more diligently. This was our first job together, and since Elise had asked for a six-foot table, I was more than happy Bea was assisting me.
We worked well together, arranging the varieties of cheeses and meat, nuts, slices of fresh fruit and vegetables, olives and pickles, to look like they had a pattern and weren’t just haphazardly dumped on the table. We added fresh flowers for color and height. Overall, it took us a little more than an hour to complete—slightly less than I’d budgeted.
Now, I had to scramble to make myself presentable as Miles’ date for the dinner. Bea forced me into the bathroom to change while she cleaned up on her own. She did this with a frown, but we both knew she was being nice, which gave me a warm feeling in my chest.
I changed into a black sheath dress, leather harness cinching my waist, with straps over my shoulders, and black platform heels. I added a red headband with a silk flower with feather leaves on the side. To match, I swiped on red gloss. I’d done the rest of my makeup earlier, and I was pleased to see it had held up through making the table.
Checking myself out from all angles in the mirror, I nodded. I would do Miles proud as his date.
When I returned to the private room where the rehearsal dinner would soon be taking place, Bea was in a conversation with a stately blonde woman. She caught my eyes, beckoning me over to them.
“There she is. Daisy is the one you want to talk to about all this,” Bea informed her in her best customer service voice.
The woman turned, and her familiarity struck me so hard, my steps faltered for a moment. I was certain I hadn’t met her before, but at the same time, I knew that face.
“I’m out of here,” Bea called. “See you later, D.”
She swiped past the blonde woman before either of us could say a word.
I quickly put on my professional hat and strode toward her with my hand out. “Nice to meet you. I’m Daisy. Are you here for the rehearsal dinner?”
She slipped her hand in mine, giving it a firm shake her fine-china features belied.
“Lily Smythe-Kelly.”
I grinned. “The two of us would make half a garden.”
Her laugh was deep and resonant. Practiced too, like she was told jokes often and knew exactly how to modulate her response to them.
“That is true. We must seek out a Rose and Violet to complete our quartet.” The corners of her eyes crinkled. I’d guess she was in her fifties, but it was hard to tell, since she’d probably had some very-skilled work done. “I see how you’re looking at me, Daisy. You recognize me because you know my daughter, Saoirse. I had the pleasure of giving her my whole face.”
My eyes widened, taking her in. The resemblance truly was uncanny. “Wow, you absolutely did. Lucky Saoirse.”
“She has her father’s kindness, which is even more valuable in my opinion.” There was something wistful and sad about the way she said this, but she moved on quickly enough for me not to be able to spend too much time on it. “I’m terribly embarrassed to be here so early. I was killing time in the bar, but some old fool kept hitting on me so I thought I could hide out in here until everyone arrived.”
“Of course.” I checked the time on my phone. “It should be any minute now.”
Lily gestured toward the grazing table. “I was speaking to your employee about your business. I’ve never seen anything so marvelous. It’s too bad you don’t live in California. I’m at several events a week, and they would be much more interesting with a setup like this.” She waggled her perfect brows. “I’m a cheese and crackers girl. Give me a choice between filet mignon or a lovely Camembert on a cracker, and I’ll snatch the Camembert before you’re finished asking.”
I clutched my hands in front of me, wondering what advice Miles would give in this situation. I could almost hear him saying, “All contacts are good contacts.” I didn’t want to turn Lily’s interest away just because of a little geography problem.
“I’m always up for traveling if the job’s big enough. I can also ship smaller charcuterie boards.”
Her eyes lit. “Can you? That would be delightful.” She pressed her fingers to her mouth. “Actually, are you free next month? I’m throwing a retirement party for one of my colleagues in the Senate. It’ll be casual, around two hundred people. The catering is taken care of, but one of these tables would be the cherry on top.”
I nodded. If I wasn’t free, I would make myself free. “I’ll give you my card, and you can send me the details, but I don’t see why I can’t make that work.”
As soon as I handed over the card, Miles burst through the door, his head swiveling left and right. “Where is she? Where’s my girl?”
When he found me, I waved, and a grin split his face. He stalked to me, sweeping me off my feet. His face went to my neck like it was pulled by a magnetic force, nuzzling me roughly.
Squealing, I batted his shoulder. Before Miles, I had never squealed. Before Miles, I would have kicked a man in the shin if he’d dared pick me up without my explicit permission. What had this man done to me?
“Dammit, Miles. I’m supposed to be professional.”
