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“I’ve heard so much about him, I’m really looking forward to meeting him,” he said.
“So you can formally offer your approval?” she teased.
“Hey, anyone that makes Aunt Marsha that happy already has my approval. And the same goes for Corey,” he added warmly.
She tucked her hair behind her ear, blushing a little. “Well, I can’t wait to hear about how meeting Willis goes, and I can’t wait for you to meet Corey and the kids.”
They stood up and gave each other a hug.
“I’ll see you soon, sis,” he said, playfully punching her shoulder.
“You’d better!” She grinned at him and waved as he left the classroom.
When he was back in the hallway, he put his hands into his pockets and began to whistle freely.
I really like Blueberry Bay already,he thought cheerfully.It’s going to be a great couple of months.
CHAPTER TWO
Caitlin frowned down at the magazine clippings that were spread out around her on the living room rug. Beautiful images of centerpieces and table settings and flower arrangements surrounded her, but instead of smiling at them, she was biting her lip.
When she and Michael had decided to change their wedding from a simple courthouse ceremony to a big, elaborate celebration on the beach, she’d been nothing but excited at first, even though she’d known how much work it was going to be. Now she was starting to feel stressed and overwhelmed by the whole process—their wedding was fast approaching, and the decisions seemed to be never-ending. She was already a busy woman, since she owned a dinner cruise and had a daughter to raise. Planning a whole wedding in a short amount of time had added a great deal to her workload, even though her fiancé, Michael, was also doing the planning with her.
Pearl, her eight-year-old daughter, scampered up behind her and gave her a hug.
“What are you doing?” she asked curiously, looking down at the pictures with her curly head close to her mother’s. “Planning the wedding?”
“I am,” Caitlin said with a sigh. She mustered a smile. “You want to help me?”
“I would love to!” Pearl sat down on the carpet next to Caitlin without hesitation. “All of these look so pretty.”
Caitlin beamed at her, feeling glad that Pearl’s enthusiasm had been added to the task at hand. “What about this one?” she asked, handing Pearl a picture of twinkling lights bordering a dinner table.
“Ooh, I love that!” Pearl cooed. “And it will look even better at your wedding, because your wedding will be on the beach. And the dinner will happen at night, so all the lights will be reflecting on the water too, and then there will be sparkles everywhere.”
Caitlin smiled, feeling a new rush of enthusiasm. “You’re right,” she said. “That’s a really lovely point, Pearl.”
“I know,” Pearl said cheerfully, and picked up another one of the drawings. “Oh, this one is so pretty! If you put candles on every table like that, your wedding will look like fairyland.”
Caitlin couldn’t help but get a warm feeling in her chest. She felt grateful that she got to have that moment with her daughter, and that Pearl was going to be part of a big celebration of her and Michael’s love.
“I agree.” She glanced down at her daughter. “What do you think we should pick for candles? Tall ones like these, or little tea lights?”
Pearl pressed her lips together in concentration for a moment, and then reached for another picture. “Do this,” she said. “The tall candles but with three different heights. That will help with the sparkle effect.”
“Good idea.” Caitlin grinned and picked up the picture, adding it to her pile of ideas she wanted to use. “Do you think we should use white candles or colored candles?”
“Hmm.” Pearl looked down at the rest of the photographs, inspecting them carefully. Caitlin found the little girl’s frown of concentration endearing. “I like white better.”
“Me too. And white candles will be cheaper too.”
“That’s good. Weddings are expensive.”
Caitlin hid a smile, amused by the way Pearl seemed to be parroting what she’d heard the adults say. She watched her daughter with affection for a moment, feeling a rush of gratitude for Pearl’s optimistic spirit. After Caitlin’s divorce from Pearl’s father, the two of them had moved to Blueberry Bay, and the little girl’s attitude had always been stellar. Despite all of the upheaval in their lives, Pearl had remained resilient.
I’m so glad we’re having this big celebration,Caitlin thought, still watching her daughter.Not only does Michael deserve it, but Pearl does too.
She saw how excited Pearl was about the upcoming wedding, and she reflected that celebrating her and Michael’s marriage with a big ceremony and reception would help Pearl with the new life transition they were about to make. Pearl already adored Michael and saw him as a father figure in her life, but Caitlin felt that a wedding celebration was the right way to honor the fact that their little family was becoming official. It would make it all seem more real and exciting to Pearl, more of a big deal than going to the courthouse.
