That Man of Mine (Whispering Bay Romance 3)

“Hardly. They’re going to Zeke’s tonight so I’m sure they’ll be well fed.”

“Ah,” Allie said, comprehension sharpening her features. “The Whispering Bay casserole brigade.”

“You got it.”

“What about you? What are you eating tonight?”

“To tell you the truth, I haven’t had much of an appetite lately. I’ve been so crazy busy. Between the festival and…”

“My wedding?” Allie said.

“You know I love every second of it,” Mimi said affectionately. Which was one hundred percent true. Helping plan Allie’s wedding was the one bright spot in Mimi’s life right now. “Besides, all the hard stuff is done. All we need to do is give The Harbor House the final number of guests and we’re finished.”

Allie suddenly had trouble meeting her gaze. “Um, you know that little intimate wedding I had planned? A few people around town got their knickers in a wad when they found out they weren’t invited and I sort of, kind of, had to invite them.”

“No problem. So we add a couple dozen more to the guest list. The room at The Harbor House fits something like a hundred and fifty people and you certainly haven’t doubled your guest list.” Allie didn’t say anything. “Right?”

“Doubled it? Um, no, I haven’t doubled it.” Allie began talking fast the way she did whenever she got nervous. “First it was a few of the Gray Flamingos who are good friends with Roger, and of course we know so many people now because of the Gazette. A couple of our advertisers were unhappy that they weren’t included, and my old roommate Jen and her boyfriend Sean, who I didn’t think were going to come up from Tampa, are now making the trip. And there’s my old editor at Florida! magazine, Emma and her husband Richard, and—”

“Allie. Exactly how many people are we talking about here?”

“Just a couple hundred more,” she squeaked.

“A…couple hundred?” Mimi collapsed into one of the kitchen chairs.

“I know! It’s completely ridiculous. Tom says I have no backbone, but what was I supposed to do? Everyone seemed so happy when they found out I was getting married and then so sad when they realized they weren’t invited!”

Mimi tried to unscramble her thoughts. “Okay. So exactly how many people?”

Allie pulled a crumbled list from her handbag. “If we’re talking exact numbers, then it’s about three hundred and sixty-two people,” she said, cringing.

“Three hundred and sixty-two! Even Kate and Will didn’t have that many people at their wedding!”

“Oh, they had a whole lot more. I stayed up watching that on TV and the church was packed. Plus, there were all those people in the street. Although, they probably weren’t invited to the reception, were they?” Allie went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottled water and handed it to her. “Here, you look a little pale.”

Three hundred and sixty-two people! How on earth were they going to fit that many guests in The Harbor House?

“I know what you’re thinking, and no worries. I’ve already fixed everything. Tom’s daddy’s church will hold everyone and the reception hall is more than big enough. I talked to The Harbor House and they’re willing to cater the reception in the hall so we’re not losing out on the deposit or anything.”

“But…we did a menu for seventy-five people!”

“And all I had to do was multiply it by six. Believe me, the manager was thrilled.”

“I bet he was,” she muttered. The reception was already costing a small fortune. Multiply that by six and… Mimi took a big swig of the water.

Allie’s cheeks went pink. “Please don’t worry. Tom and I are paying for everything that went over budget so it’s not going to cost you and Zeke any more than what you’ve already planned on.”

“Oh, hon, I’m not worried about the money—well, I mean, yes, that’s a lot of people and all but...the reception hall at the church…are there tables and silverware and all the things we’ll need?”

“The Harbor House manager says they’ll take care of all that,” Allie said.

Mimi didn’t want to worry Allie, but a reception of that magnitude catered by a ritzy restaurant like The Harbor House was going to run well into the mid five figure range. Zeke was going to blow a gasket. But on the other hand, it wasn’t his wedding. And if Tom and Allie wanted to have a big blowout, then it should be their choice. Especially if they were willing to pay for it.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Allie said. “All that money wasted when we could use it for a down payment on a house, but I cut down on some of the fancier food and we’re only doing punch and iced-tea and champagne for the toast, so really, it isn’t going to be that bad. And…if all those people want to be with us on our big day, then, I really don’t want to say no to them.”

The worried look on Allie’s face made Mimi flush. “Of course you shouldn’t. It’s your day. You should have everything the way you want.”

“So, we’re cool?” Allie said.