My sister harrumphed. “Are you kidding? I think he got a boner at the idea of doing a round of golf this afternoon at the country club with the guys before dinner. Thanks for making that happen, Bree.”
Bree waved her hand, brushing it off. “Hunter mentioned he liked golf, so I simply offered to book a tee time for them. Trust me, it wasn’t a big deal.”
I narrowed my eyes at her and asked, “Bree, how did you make that happen? I know you’re a member and all, but how did you get all those guys access to the golf course and a room for them to get ready before dinner?”
She smiled, and there was a bit of mischief twinkling in her eyes. “One of the partners at my law firm is a member of the country club as well. A very…important member. I called in a favor.”
Lacy and I both eyed her. “What kind of favor?” I asked.
Bree gave us a half shrug. “I have to attend the firm’s Christmas party with his son. I think his name is Luke. Or Duke. Dick, maybe? God, I hope it’s not Dick.”
I covered my mouth to keep from busting out laughing.
“Do we know what this Dick looks like?” Lacy asked, also trying not to giggle but failing. The three of us fell into a fit of laughter. Soon, Lilly was laughing as well, and I walked over and picked up Ben, forgetting all about poor Dick.
After checking his diaper, I turned to Bree. “I just need to grab his bag for my folks, and I’ll be ready to go.”
Lilly walked up to the mirror and twirled in her party dress. “Do I look pwetty?”
“Yes!” we all exclaimed.
“You are the prettiest of us all!” Bree said as she grabbed her clutch and then took Lilly’s hand.
As we headed out to Lacy’s SUV, I asked, “You never did say what this Luke or Duke looks like.”
“I haven’t a single clue. My plan is to drink a lot and hope for the best.”
Lacy buckled in her daughter. “Watch, he’ll be some handsome semi-millionaire.”
Bree sighed as she slipped into the front seat. I opened the back door and got Ben into his car seat before sitting next to him.
Once I shut the door, Bree spoke. “From my experience, when a man has to set his son up on a date for the company Christmas party, it’s because he’s either ugly as sin or recently divorced.”
Lacy laughed. “Well, I’m holding out for rich and handsome.”
It took us forty minutes to drive to the Lakewood Country Club, and another ten to walk through the damn place to get to the restaurant. Ben was scrambling to get down while Lilly asked a million questions as we walked through the main corridor of the club. When we walked into the dining room, my breath caught in my throat.
Beautiful oak floors spanned the restaurant, leading to a massive wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked Wood Lake. The sun was just setting and the sky was the most beautiful shade of pink and orange. I stood for a moment and simply stared.
“Everything in this restaurant is original to when it was built. Look at the exposed beams. And the chandeliers,” Bree said as the three of us tilted our heads to look up.
“It’s beautiful,” Lacy and I said in unison.
“The only thing they’ve replaced over the years are the tables and chairs,” Bree added. “Come on, we’re in a private room.”
“Of course we are,” Lacy said as she winked at me.
“Now I see why so many people get married here,” I mused, looking around as much as I could while we followed Bree.
Lacy sighed. “Can you imagine having the ceremony out by that lake at this time of day? Did you see the colors of the sky?”
“It was stunning,” I said, moving Ben from one arm to the next. The little bugger was starting to get heavier and heavier the more he grew.
As we walked into the private dining room, I took another look up to see the same exposed beams and lighting that were in the main dining area. Except this room had three walls of windows. Lacy and I both came to a stop as we took in the view ahead of us.
“Do you think it would be wrong for me to book this place for a wedding reception when I’m not even dating anyone?” I whispered to Lacy, who immediately started to giggle as Lilly let go of her mom’s hand and yelled for her daddy. Bree glanced back at us when she realized we’d stopped following her.
“We can have a pretend wedding,” Lacy said under her breath.
Bree tilted her head and shot us a frustrated look, clearly annoyed that we were lagging behind. I suddenly felt so light and happy, and I thanked the stars above that I’d decided to come. We neared a large rectangular table with a number of people already sitting around it. My mother approached and immediately took Ben from my arms, smothering him with kisses as she went back to her chair.