“It’ll be fun, Arabella.” Kyle leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. She stiffened, but only for a moment. I was positive Kyle noticed, but he acted as if he hadn’t. “I’m going to head on out. I’ll text you when I get the chandeliers, Abby, and we can work out a time to finish decorating.”
I reached down and gave Cat a quick hug, then followed Kyle toward the door of the greenhouse. He reached for his jacket and slipped it on before he got to the door.
“Thank you, Kyle. For everything. You’ll never know how much this means to me.” Reaching up on my toes, I kissed him on the cheek. “Whoever lands you will be one very lucky woman.”
He gave me a soft smile. “We’ll talk soon, Abby.”
I opened the door and Cat took off running out into the snow, barking as if she’d just been let free after days.
“Stay warm!” I called out, then stepped back into the greenhouse and shut the door. Spinning around, I gave the space one more look. “One week, Arabella. One week and I’ll be Mrs. Bishop Harris again.”
Arabella smiled. “Let’s head up to the house and plan the menu. It may be a wedding, but we’re also promising people food as well.”
“What do you mean, you don’t want to have a girls’ night?” Greer asked as she followed me through the barn store where I was cleaning up after a record-breaking day.
“Just that, Greer. I don’t want to have a girls’ night. Today was the last day of the season, we were so busy, and I’m exhausted.”
“But…but we have to!”
I paused in the middle of putting all the crafting supplies in a tub to store until next season. Slowly, I stood and faced her. I narrowed my eyes, and something akin to guilt washed over her face. “Why do we have to?”
“Um, well…look at how fun the last one was. It brought you and Bishop together!”
“Are you expecting someone to call the police?”
She smiled. “Bree’s in town, so you never know!”
“Maybe after Christmas, Greer. I’ve got a lot on my plate planning the Christmas Eve luncheon, and the store is still staying open for the next few months, so I need to do an inventory of everything.”
Even though we had sold out of Christmas trees for this season, we still kept the tree farm open on the weekends for folks to stop by and shop the store, as well as enjoy the outdoor space. The firepit was still one of the most popular attractions.
“Yes! And that’s why you need a night off. It’ll be fun, Abby. Besides, we never got to throw you a proper bridal shower before.”
The ribbon I’d been about to place in the container fell to the floor when I spun around. “What did you say?”
“Nothing!” Greer said, staring up at the ceiling.
“No. You said you never got to throw me a proper bridal shower.”
Greer’s eyes met mine, and she swallowed hard. “That’s true. And we all know you and Bishop will get married again—you’ve both said so.”
I folded my arms over my chest and glared at Greer. “Was it Candace or Arabella?”
She scrunched up her nose. “I kind of overheard Candace talking on the phone with Arabella. She didn’t know I was there, and I heard her mention a wedding cake, you, Christmas Eve…and I sort of put it all together myself. So really, you’re the one who just told me by confirming my suspicion.”
“Oh my God, are you learning all of this from your suspense-writing boyfriend?”
Her cheeks flushed. “Maybe.”
I grabbed her hand, pulled her into the craft room, and shut the door. “You cannot tell anyone.”
“Oh, come on, Abby! Please let me just invite the girls over. You know they won’t say anything to Bishop. Annie James got in some new fancy lingerie yesterday, and I’m dying to buy you some!”
I shot her a look that said I knew she was feeding me a line of bullshit. “You want to buy yourself some and use me as an excuse. What if Annie asks who they’re for?”
“Please!” Greer said with a fake laugh. “Like everyone in town doesn’t already know you and Bishop are back together. It wouldn’t be a big surprise if I said I was buying you a Christmas present.”
Her words made me think about it a little more. I sighed. “That’s true. I know you girls won’t tell anyone else that it’s not really a luncheon. But we are serving food! There will be lots of food. Arabella, Candace, and Misty have all been busy preparing for the dinner. MaryLou is going to come and help the day before Christmas Eve, since Brighton is in town and can help her mom at the bed and breakfast.”
“Do you need me to do anything?”
“Well, since you know about it now, can you help me with the table lanterns Christmas Eve morning? I want to put fresh flowers in them, along with candles—the flameless kind. I’m also going to be making an arch for the altar, and I need help with the flowers.”