But she shook her head. “I know the bare minimum and that works for us. I like being surprised. I’d say that most publishers wouldn’t agree to that sort of arrangement, but Mia has never let us down. Her books are hugely successful, and like I said, it works.”
They talked a bit more about Mia’s released books and the movie before moving on to the song list for the reception. Before anyone knew it, it was close to eleven.
And Austin was the first to yawn, much to his own embarrassment.
“It is getting late,” Jill said as she stood. “And I know you both have busy days ahead of you so we won’t keep you.” She kissed Mia on the cheek. “If there’s anything you need help with, please don’t hesitate to ask. We’re simply playing tourists while we’re here, so…”
“I appreciate the offer and I promise to call if I need you.” Mia hugged her and then Dex. She shook Simon’s hand and smiled at him. “I can’t wait to hear you sing on Sunday.”
With a smile, Simon thanked them both for including him in their dinner plans and for the chance to perform at their wedding before wishing them a goodnight. They all slowly made their way to the door, with Austin in the lead, and when he opened the door, he stopped and blinked.
“What the…?”
“Was it supposed to…?”
Shit.
It was snowing.
5
Twenty-four hours later, the snow was still coming down, and Mia could only stand and stare out the glass doors facing the beach. It was a complete whiteout. The snow would slow for a time, but ultimately it just kept coming down. There was over a foot of snow on the ground at the last count, and it wasn’t supposed to stop until mid-day Saturday.
Austin stepped in close behind her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. With a sigh, she leaned back against him and was thankful for his warmth.
“You said this doesn’t happen,” she quietly reminded him.
“It never has.”
Tears stung her eyes because they had been putting off having this discussion, but it seemed like they couldn’t avoid it any longer.
“We’re not getting married Sunday.” Her voice broke as she let the tears freely fall. “All our plans…all our friends and family…our honeymoon…”
His arms banded around her as he held her tight. Then, with his cheek pressed against hers, he simply let her cry.
“It’s not fair,” she sobbed, her body shaking as she cried. “We worked…so…hard…and…”
“I know,” he said gruffly. “It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry.” He bowed his head–his forehead resting on her shoulder–as he apologized over and over.
Mia wanted to turn and comfort him, but she wasn’t there yet. She wanted to howl and scream and cry because it didn’t seem possible that this was happening. If they were up in Boston and it snowed like this, it wouldn’t have changed much of anything. They were prepared for this kind of weather and they had the equipment to clear the roads.
Apparently, that was not the case for Magnolia Sound.
Earlier, she forced herself to sit through the evening news where it was nothing but doom and gloom and all about how it could take up to a week for the coastal roads to get cleared. She fully expected her phone to start ringing first thing in the morning with all the cancelations. The girls from Meet Me at the Altar called her several times today and did their best to sound optimistic, but no one was willing to commit to a full-blown cancelation until twenty-four hours out.
And right now, time seemed to be standing still.
Other people phoned throughout the day. Jill and Dex thought it was slightly comical how ill-prepared the area was to handle snow, but they were embracing the unexpected turn of events and enjoying their time at the B&B.
Meanwhile, her parents’ flight was canceled and there were several calls from them that ranged from utter disbelief to condescending rounds of “I told you so.”
Exhausting.
Austin’s family, however, had been the highlight of the day. First, his mother called to check on them and did her best to sound encouraging, then Garrett and Emma called them on Skype and did their best to lighten the mood. Sydney offered her husband’s services to shovel a path from their house all the way to Mia and Austin’s so she could hug her. While it was really a token gesture, Mia had seriously considered how they could dig their way out of this.
Literally and figuratively.
After the news, she turned her phone off and came to stare out at the beach. And now she finally hit her limit.
Off in the distance, the waves kept crashing and the snow kept falling, but honestly, Mia had no idea how long she’d been standing here. She knew she could keep crying–and probably would–but it wasn’t going to change anything. There wasn’t anything they could do, and as much as it gutted her, she was practical and knew they would have to start dealing with a lot of things in the morning. Sleep didn’t even seem like a possibility, but she knew they had to at least try.
Slowly, she turned in Austin’s arms and reached up to caress his cheek. When his eyes met hers, she felt gutted. This impossibly strong and determined man–her rock–had tears in his eyes and she knew he was just as devastated as she was.
It was oddly comforting.
Wrapping her arms around him, she did her best to hold him and let him have his moment of defeat. She felt his tears on her skin and she had no words, so she stroked one hand up and down his back while the other gently scratched through his hair. Mia knew how much he normally loved when she did that and hoped it was helping even a little bit right now.
When he lifted his head several minutes later, he looked just as devastated as he had before. Then, wordlessly, he took her by the hand and led her over to the couch and gently pulled her down with him. “I don’t even know what to say,” he quietly admitted.
With her head on his shoulder, she sighed. “There’s nothing really to say. Mother Nature is doing her thing and there’s nothing we can do about it. If it stopped snowing right now and somehow the town managed to get several plows going, I still don’t think things would work.”
“I hate feeling this helpless. I keep trying to think of what we can do–who we can call–but there isn’t anyone. I’ve never been in this kind of situation before and I don’t like it. I hate that I let you down.”
Twisting, she looked up at him. “Austin, how on earth did you let me down?” She scanned his face. “You’re a very impressive and powerful man, but let’s be honest, you don’t control the weather.”
The smile he gave her was small, but at least he was smiling.
Swallowing hard, Mia continued to look at him. “It’s out of our hands, and all we can do is wake up tomorrow and try to pick up the pieces and figure out how we move forward from here.” Pausing, she chuckled. “Thank God I’m so ridiculously obsessive about insurance, huh? Hopefully we won’t lose all the money we paid out.”
The scowl on his face told her he wasn’t amused.
“Oh, come on,” she whined, pushing away from him. “I have to try to find the silver lining; otherwise, I’m just going to curl up in a ball and cry all night.”