I walked over to the bedroom door and peered in to see Bree holding up a white lace dress. She spun around and glared at me. “What are you doing?”
“Seeing what you found to wear.”
Her eyes went wide. “You can’t see the dress!”
My mouth dropped open, and I was positive I had something to say—I just couldn’t figure out what.
“Yes, I know that, Candace. Shut up.”
I didn’t hear what Candace said. Clearing my throat, I replied, “Um, how are you going to keep me from seeing it? We have to drive together.”
“No, we don’t. I’ll meet you there.”
“But we have to get the marriage license.”
She let out a frustrated sigh. “Okay, you leave, go get dressed. I’ll meet you at the front desk in…thirty minutes.”
I glanced down at my watch. It was six forty-five. “We’ve got plenty of time. Nothing will open until eight.”
Bree laughed. “Please, you forget this is Boggy Creek. I texted Kyle last night, who texted his dad, who texted Gina, who said she’d start the marriage license first thing. She’ll be there by seven. All she needs is your info.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “And when did you text all of this? If memory serves me, we were pretty tied up having sex most of the night.”
She shot me a dirty look. “Luke!” She hit something on her phone and put it back up to her ear. “Shut up, Candace! I’ll be over there in a bit. No, I don’t need help with my makeup. Take care of the guests, and if my mother calls…don’t tell her I’m not there. Tell her I’m…busy.”
Hitting a button on her phone again, she dropped it onto the bed and then looked at me. “Why are you still here, Luke? Go get changed!”
“Right,” I said, turning on my heels and heading to the coffee. “Thank God we’re not having a real wedding.”
“I heard that!”
Thirty minutes later, I was standing in front of the check-in desk, listening to the hustle and bustle of breakfast going on in the dining room. Candace and Arabella sounded like they were having a great time as they chatted with the guests.
The front door to the bed and breakfast opened and Bree poked her head in.
“Hey,” I said softly, making my way over to her. Once I got close enough, she pulled me through the door.
“We need to hurry!”
It was then I noticed she was in a long trench coat. “Why are you wearing a coat?”
She grabbed my hand and pulled me down the steps of the front porch and around the path to the parking lot. “So you don’t see my dress. We need to hurry, Luke!”
“Why?” I asked with a laugh.
She stopped, nearly causing me to run into her. “My mother found out.”
“What?”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “My mother found out about the marriage license because apparently Gina stopped at The Coffee Pot first thing this morning to get her coffee, and she told Tess about the marriage license. And Maddie Brooks was in there.”
Confused, I asked, “Who’s Maddie Brooks?”
“She owns the quilt shop.”
“Um, okay,” I said, even more confused. “And did she tell your mom?”
Bree laughed. “God, no. But she was talking to Cindy Hamilton, who owns Schmick’s, and she told Millie Parks.”
“Millie Parks?” I asked.
“Yes, she owns the candy store on Main. Anyway, she immediately called my mother to congratulate her, and you can imagine my mother’s shock. She called me and I answered, thinking she was going to ask about the morning and breakfast and all of that.”
I nodded. “And did she?”
“Hell no, she didn’t.” Bree grabbed my hand again and pulled me toward her car. “She asked me about the rumor she’d heard about me getting married.”
Bree unlocked her BMW and then handed me the keys. “I can’t drive. I think Kyle is on duty, and if I get pulled over for speeding, he’ll for sure give me a ticket, especially after I punched him.”
I stood there, my mouth hanging open as I stared at Bree, who was now opening the door to the passenger side of her car. Before she got in, she looked at me with a confused expression. “Why are you standing there?”
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Ha!” she said, shooting me a look. “This is what happens when you tell your mother you’re dating someone!”
I tried not to laugh as I got in the car and started it. “Wow, news travels pretty fast in town.”
She nodded. “Just wait until someone realizes who you are. But don’t worry, they won’t call People or anything. The most that’ll happen is they’ll ask you to pull the switch for the Christmas tree lighting in the square.”
I jerked my head to the right and stared at her. “What?”
She waved off my question. “Let’s go! If my father drives fast enough, they’ll get here sooner rather than later. You’re going to go down Althorpe Street, and then take a left. The municipal building where we can get our license is a couple blocks down. Justice of the peace will be there as well—he called and said he’d meet us there. It’ll be a one and done.”