Brenna shook her head. “Of course you are.”
“Hey, I put in a full day’s work today. A man works up an appetite.”
“I pity the woman who marries you and has to feed you.”
“Yeah, but I can do my part. I can catch fish for dinner.”
“Oh. Joy.”
He laughed and she led him to her assigned spot at the main table where the wedding party would sit along with their guests. There were all kinds of fancy plates and a lot of silverware. Finn didn’t really do fancy, but Maureen had taught him at an early age what all those freakin’ forks were for, because sometimes he would be required to attend weddings and functions that required more than a fork and a knife. So he paid attention and learned what he’d needed to learn so he wouldn’t embarrass the family.
He picked up Brenna’s hand and pressed a kiss to it.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“Allison is watching. Also, if you frown every time I touch you, she’s going to get suspicious. So relax a little.”
“You’re right. Sorry.” She smiled at him and leaned her shoulder into his, then grasped his chin and pulled him to her, brushing her lips across his.
He knew it was just for show, but he wasn’t about to object to Brenna kissing him. In fact, she lingered just a little longer, then pulled back, her gaze meeting his. She licked her lips, then picked up her glass of wine and took a sip.
“Is that better?” she asked.
“For me? Hell yeah.”
Her lips curved. “I meant for Allison.”
He noticed Allison had turned her back on them and was talking to someone else now.
“She seems sufficiently bored with you now.”
“Excellent.”
The caterers started serving the meal, which to Finn was the most important part of the night. The food was good, too. And even better, there was a lot of it. Salad and meats and even a dessert. Of course he had to sit through toasts, which was boring since he didn’t know these people, but whatever. His stomach was full so he was happy.
After dinner people hung out for a little bit. Finn stayed by Brenna’s side while she visited with Esther and Brock.
“I’m strangely not nervous about tomorrow at all,” Esther said. “Not yet anyway. Maybe the jitters will hit me when I wake up in the morning.”
Brenna took her hand. “Or maybe you’re so confident about marrying this guy that there’s nothing to be nervous about.”
Esther looked to Brock, who smiled at her. “That could be it. Plus, I have the best venue and one of my dearest friends is helping me handle everything. I’m more excited than nervous.”
“Me, too,” Brock said.
Finn knew that was the right answer. And Brock didn’t look nervous at all, either. He seemed relaxed. He did have a full glass of wine in his hand. That probably helped.
“You know we’ll have everything under control tomorrow,” Brenna said. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“You’ll be at the hotel tomorrow for hair and makeup and everything?” Esther asked.
Brenna nodded. “I’ll be there for sure. And Honor is coordinating with all the bridesmaids. Trust me, she’ll make sure everyone shows up.”
Esther inhaled and let it out. “Then I really don’t have anything to stress about. Isn’t that great, Brock?”
“It is, babe. The only sad thing is we have to be apart tonight.”
She patted his shoulder. “Tradition. After tomorrow we’ll never be apart again.”
“Lookin’ forward to that part.”
The party started to break up about ten, and everyone left. They had a crew to clean up the barn and break everything down.
“People will be here tomorrow to set up for the reception, so it begins all over again.”
Finn shook his head as he walked Brenna over to the house. He went inside and grabbed Murphy and stood on the porch with his dog and Brenna. “I don’t know how you do this weekend after weekend.”
She shrugged. “Part of the job.”
“But wouldn’t it be nice to have a weekend off every now and then?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. I take days off during the week.”
“What if you want to get away?”
She stood on the step of the front porch and looked at him. “Like where?”
“I don’t know. Don’t you want to go somewhere? Have an adventure?”
“I guess I hadn’t thought much about it.”
“Well, think about it. Maybe I might want to take you somewhere. After we have our date.”
She frowned again. “What date?”
“The date you promised me we’d have. You know you haven’t forgotten. Good night, Brenna.”
He walked away before she could start arguing her way out of having that date.
Because she’d said yes. And he was going to hold her to it.
CHAPTER
• • • • • •
ten
WEDDING DAYS, FROM Brenna’s perspective, were always mass chaos, no matter how well prepared everyone was. Having to actually be in a wedding was a nightmare.
She’d gotten up early so she could have her coffee in peace and quiet in the library, read a few chapters of her book and just be. She knew what today was going to bring, so she needed to center herself before the bedlam began.
She had breakfast with the family, then went upstairs to take a shower. Her hair would need to be dry before she went over to the hotel, so she dried her hair but didn’t put any product in it or style it since Esther had arranged to have a stylist come in and do the bridal party’s hair. Which meant this out-of-control nest on top of her head was a wild mess. She had natural curl to her hair and had spent years learning how to tame it with a blow dryer and flat iron. She wished she could have just done her own hair, but whatever. The bride got what the bride wanted. And right now the bride wanted Brenna to have bird’s-nest hair.
She threw on capris and a button-down shirt and slipped into her canvas tennis shoes, then went outside and across the vineyard to check and make sure the wine order for tonight had already been pulled. Even though she already knew exactly which wines had been ordered and how many cases, she’d double-checked her spreadsheet this morning. It never hurt to be certain no mistakes would be made, especially for this wedding.