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But for now, he needed to focus. He cleared his throat. “So, um, we need to clear the entrance road and the driveway.”
Logan shook his head. “No way to clear the road—not a quarter of a mile piled with three feet. We’d need a snowplow. But yeah, the driveway, the patios and porches, and at least parking spots.”
“I’m right there with you,” Marcus told Logan. “Bummer about the snow on your wedding day. Have you talked to Jenna yet?”
“Just briefly. She sounded a little upset but was putting on a brave face for me. Her mother is with her, and they’re figuring out a new battle plan.”
“Wedding still on?”
“No question about that! I’ve already been waiting too long to marry Jenna. It’s today. Or else, this man will be carrying her off into the wilds and finding us a cabin.”
“Hey, that might be better in the long run,” Marcus joked.
“But I promised Jenna she would have her dream wedding . . . so there’s that.” He gave a shrug and a wan smile.
Marcus nodded. “Yeah, I got you on that point. A woman must have her dream nuptials. Don’t jinx it by denying her that on Day One of your marriage.”
“See you in five,” Logan said, then shut the bedroom door behind him with a firm bang.
Marcus jumped up, chuckling to himself. Thankfully, he’d come prepared, knowing this event was in the mountains. Within minutes, he wore long johns, a flannel button-down, jeans, a scarf, and a heavy coat. And thick gloves.
After he was dressed and outside, he and Logan retrieved shovels from the outdoor garden shed and began moving snow. Reginald had unlocked one of the garages and rode out on a snow blower.
Marcus whooped. “Now that’s what I’m talking about,” he called out to Reginald, stiff in a thick coat and knitted cap, and collar up since it was still lightly snowing.
Giving a salute as he passed, the older man drove the snow blower to the front driveway while Marcus and Logan fist-pumped into the air. That machine would save them a ton of work hours—and they didn’t have hours. But the property was huge, and this would take a few hours.
He and Logan stayed in the large courtyard area behind the house, removing every speck of snow from the stones, the outdoor furniture, the Roman statues, and the flower gardens, which were lookingvery stressed—brown and sagging. Poor roses and lilies. It had been a mild autumn, but overnight, it turned to deep January cold and snow.
“At least a storm up here doesn’t affect LAX.”
“That’s true,” Logan agreed. “We do have a few more people flying in. Caitey’s parents, for instance. I think they landed this morning.”
Knowing that Caitey’s father was an ambassador made her backstory to Marcus even more intriguing. Had she ever lived in Portugal with them?
He couldn’t help thinking about the woman while he mindlessly shoveled and threw piles of snow away from the courtyard and main walkways that would be used from the parking area to the house.
What was she doing right now . . . had she and Jenna gone into full panic mode over the unexpected three feet of snow?
CHAPTER 14
CAITEY
Caitey rolled over in bed and then sat up with a start. The room was cold. Noticeably colder than yesterday. She grabbed the extra blanket from the end of her bed, wrapped it around her shoulders, and checked the thermometer on the wall next to the bathroom.
It was only sixty-one degrees in the bedroom. No wonder she was freezing!
She pressed a few buttons to turn up the heat and stood under one of the overhead vents, but she couldn’t stand there indefinitely while the room slowly warmed. A hot shower would do the trick much faster.
Rummaging through the closet where she’d hung up her clothes, she grabbed a pair of jeans, socks, and sneakers. This morning was furniture moving day in the drawing room for the ceremony and food prep.
Guests would begin arriving in just a few hours! The blue dress she’d worn yesterday wouldn’t do for all the physical labor.
Before she arrived, Jenna had hung up the bridesmaid dress Caitey would wear in the guest room’s wardrobe. She ran a hand down the satin bodice, admiring the deep burgundy color and lovely bodice lace.
It was floor-length and absolutely beautiful—princess-like, in fact. It reminded her of all those “dress-up” days she and Jenna had enjoyed as little girls, complete with crowns and cheap jewelry—and lots of giggling and delight. Of course, there was no crown today! But a set of burgundy and fake diamond jewelry—earrings and a necklace—fit perfectly with the dress.
It was so weird to remember their childhood. More than two decades had passed since those idyllic and distant days, but there were many fond memories. And now Jenna was getting married! It didn’t seem possible.
