Bed of Roses (Bride Quartet #2)(66)

AN HOUR LATER, DRESSED IN A TRIM SUIT AND LOW HEELS, Emma took the lead in escorting the future bride, her eagle-eyed mother, and the mother's fascinated sister around the gardens.

"You can see what we'll have blooming next spring, and I realize the gardens aren't as flush as you need or want."

"They just can't wait until May or June," Kathryn Seaman muttered.

"Mom, let's not go there again."

"It is, however, prime time for tulips-which I know you favor," Emma said to Jessica. "We'll plant more this fall, white tulips, and peach tulips-you'll have a flood of them, and blue hyacinths. We'll also fill in with white containers of peach roses, delphinium, snapdragons, stock, the hydrangeas. All in your colors, popped out by the white. I plan to back this area here with a screen covered with roses."

She turned her smile on Kathryn. "I promise you, it'll be like a fantasy garden, and as full and lush and romantic as anything you could wish for your daughter's wedding."

"Well, I've seen your work so I'm going to take your word." Kathryn nodded to Mac. "The engagement photos were everything you said they'd be."

"It helps to have two gorgeous people wildly in love."

"We had so much fun, too." Jessica beamed at Mac. "Plus, I felt like a storybook princess."

"You looked like one," her mother said. "All right, let's talk about the terraces."

"If you remember from the sketches at the proposal," Emma began, and led the way.

"I've seen your work as well." Adele, the bride's aunt, scanned the terraces. "I've been to three weddings here, and all were beautifully done."

"Thank you." Parker added a polite smile to the acknowledgment.

"Actually, what you've done here, built here, has inspired me to look into plans for doing something similar. We live part of the year in Jamaica. A destination wedding spot. And a perfect place for a good, upscale, all-inclusive wedding company."

"You're serious about that?" Kathryn asked her.

"I've been looking into it, and getting more serious. My husband's going to retire," Adele told Parker. "And we plan to spend even more time in our winter home there. It would be an excellent investment, I think, and something fun."

She gave Emma a twinkling smile and a wink. "Now, if I could lure you away with the promise of unlimited tropical flowers and balmy island breezes, I'd have my first real building block."



       
         
       
        

"Tempting," Emma said in the same light tone, "but Centerpiece of Vows keeps me busy. If you move forward with your plans, I'm sure any of us will be happy to answer any questions you might have. Now, for this area . . ."





AFTER THE MEETING ALL FOUR WOMEN COLLAPSED IN THE parlor.

"God." Laurel stretched out her legs. "That woman sure knows how to put you through your paces. I feel like we had the event instead of just talking it through. Again."

"Unless there are any objections, I'd like to black out the Friday and Sunday around the event. The size and scope of this wedding will more than make up for that lost revenue, plus the publicity and the word of mouth will bring in more." Parker toed off her shoes. "That would give us the full week to focus exclusively on this."

"Thank God." Emma heaved a long, relieved sigh. "The amount of flowers and landscaping, the type of bouquets and arrangements, centerpieces, swags, garlands, ornamental trees? I'd have to hire more designers to get it done. But with that full week on the single event, I think I can stick with the usual team. I can add someone else if need be for the actual dressing, but I'd really prefer to do as much of this as I can personally, and with the people I know."

"I'm right there with Emma," Laurel said. "The cakes, the dessert bar, the personalized chocolates, they're all on the elaborate and labor-intensive side. If I had the full week on nothing else, I'd actually get a couple hours' sleep."

"Make it three for three." Mac raised a hand. "They want full photo documentation of the rehearsal, and the rehearsal dinner, so if we had another event on Friday, I'd have to assign a photographer to that as I'd have to cover the Seamans. As it is I'm putting two more on the event itself, plus two videogra phers. Keeping Sunday black means we don't have to kill ourselves and our subs breaking down, and redressing."

"Which doesn't even begin to address what they expect of you," Emma said to Parker.

"So we're agreed. And," Parker added, "I'll let the MOB know we're clearing our decks for wedding week so we can give her daughter's wedding all our time, attention, and skill. She'll like that."