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“Perfect for either of the dresses on order.”
Her mother turned to her. “Is this too hard on you, darling?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Being here? I should have come on my own.”
“Mom, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Being here at the resort. Does it bring back memories of Jake? You two hung out here all the time. He used to be the assistant manager. I’ve been thoughtless. I’m so sorry.”
Reggie shook her head. “Mom, no. Don’t give it another thought. I’m fine. Jake and I are long over, and the hotel is perfect for you and Dad. I’m glad you chose it.”
Her mother studied her. “Are you sure it’s all right?”
“Totally and completely.”
“All right. I’m choosing to believe you.”
“Thank you.”
Leigh sighed. “This town needs another hotel. This one is always full. Dena’s B and B does great business. I think we could handle more tourists.”
Reggie grinned. “You should bring that up with the city council.”
“I just might.”
Paisley returned with several cloth napkins and a huge three-ring binder.
“Let’s sit over here,” she said, leading them to a long folding table with several chairs. “We’ll pick out linens, then talk about the menu.”
She showed them the options for tablecloths and napkins.
“With the poinsettias and the centerpieces, we’ll be heavy on red already,” Paisley said. “So I would suggest we steer clear of those. We can go with classic white, or various shades of green.” She pointed to a black napkin. “Black is elegant, but I’m not sure it’s the tone you want to set so close to Christmas.”
“Not black,” Leigh said. “I like the white, but I’m afraid it will be too plain.”
“Do you have table runners?” Reggie asked.
Paisley brightened. “We do. In all these colors.”
Reggie folded the green napkin into thirds, then placed it over a white napkin. “What about this? You go with white and add a table runner. With silver chargers under the place settings, it will give a little color but not overwhelm the table.”
“I love it,” Leigh said. “Oh, Paisley, show Reggie the centerpieces.”
Paisley pulled a picture from her folder. Reggie studied the arrangement with three thick red candles surrounded by greenery and decorated with small red ornaments.
“We offer a house centerpiece over the holidays,” Paisley explained. “We buy these in bulk and then have them available for all the events scheduled.”
“Your father and I only have to pay a small percentage of the cost,” Leigh added. “I think they’re lovely.”
“They are.” Reggie smiled at her friend. “That’s a great idea.”
“Thank you.” Paisley grinned. “I thought of it myself and everything.”
They finalized the linens and discussed how the table would be set, then moved on to menus.
Paisley opened the large binder. “Dinners for our weddings are a pre-set menu, but you can choose from multiple options of three courses. The cost includes plated service and the tip, so what you see is your out-the-door price. We can also provide appetizers, either as stations set up around the room or served on trays.”
