every framed family photo on the wall was merely insight to better understanding her clients.
Relief flooded through her when she spotted Lydia and Zach in the front room. Thankfully, there was no sign of Cole.
“Sorry we’re late,” Lydia said.
Vivienne waved her off. “No, I was early.”
The three of them stood there for a few awkward moments until Vivienne finally asked, “Should we sit down somewhere?”
“Sorry,” Zach said, somewhat sheepishly. “I may be living here, but I’m not used to playing host. Why don’t we head over to the kitchen table?”
Vivienne followed the couple into the large, sunny kitchen and came up short when she saw Cole standing in front of the refrigerator with a big plate covered in foil. “Don’t mind me,” he told them. “I worked through lunch and wanted to grab a quick snack.”
“Does Aunt Rita have any of that lemon icebox pie left over from last night?” Zach asked his brother.
“She did,” Cole replied, before hiding the plate behind his back. “Finders keepers.”
Zach responded with a noise that sounded suspiciously like an oink, then lunged at his brother’s elbow, trying to pull his arm forward.
“I’m the pig?” Cole used his shoulder to deliver a powerful block. “Don’t you have a fancy tuxedo you’re gonna need to fit into?”
“Do I have to wear a tux?” Zach turned toward her and Lydia, causing Vivienne to let out the breath she’d been holding when she thought the two brothers were going to come to blows over a piece of dessert.
Lydia looked at her for the answer. Vivienne cleared her throat. “Not if you don’t want to. You can dress as formally or as casually as you like. But since we’re talking about outfits, have you guys thought about a color scheme?”
Vivienne opened the binder on the table and pulled out several pictures she’d printed after the first meeting with the couple. They spoke about suits and lace and blush pink and everything Vivienne easily discussed on any given day. However, her mind was completely elsewhere, and she found herself constantly losing her train of thought.
Cole opened cupboard doors and shuffled things around inside the fridge as though he were scavenging for more food. Yet he didn’t eat another bite. His mouth was too busy sputtering anytime Vivienne answered a question or made a suggestion. It was obvious he was not only listening to every word they were saying, but that he also had a completely differing set of opinions.
After Cole had snorted for at least the seventh time, Zach finally said, “Please ignore my brother. He thinks he’s an expert on everything, including event planning, apparently.”
“Pfshh. I’m an expert on not wanting to go to lame events.”
“Lame?” Zach repeated. “Back in high school, his idea of a party was to invite all of his junior lifeguarding buddies from the community pool over to our house for a refresher course in CPR.”
Cole’s eyes narrowed as his lips eased into another one of those slow smirks. “Maybe we just wanted an excuse to practice mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on some pretty teenage girls.”
“Yeah, right.” Zach chuckled before cupping his hand around his mouth to stage-whisper, “Shawn and I were spying on them and the only exchanging of saliva came when Rondalee Franks double-dipped her carrots in the ranch dressing. And even that was limited, since Cole launched himself at the dip bowl like it was a live grenade.”
“What can I say?” Cole shrugged. “I saved everyone from a potential outbreak of mononucleosis.”
“That’s right.” Zach pointed a finger at his brother. “Wasn’t she the girl who was absent from school for a couple of months?”
“Yes. And you’re welcome.” Cole made an exaggerated bow and Zach threw the crumpled-up piece of foil from the pie plate at him.
“If you really wanted to be useful, you could whip up a plate of brownies or at least set out some cheese and crackers for our guests.”
“For Lydia and Vivienne, I might be willing to rustle up something,” Cole said as he pulled a bag of potato chips out of the pantry. “But you should probably lay off the carbs if you plan to hire a professional photographer. I hear the camera adds ten pounds.”
Both Dalton men were six feet tall, with similar lean, muscular builds. While Vivienne was more appreciative of the way Cole filled out his jeans, neither one was at risk of needing to watch his calories. But that didn’t stop them from arguing over who was entitled to which snack.
Someone needed to pass Vivienne something to eat soon, because she couldn’t keep up this charade for long. Stress made her hungry, and while this was one of the easiest couples to work with, Cole’s constant presence wasn’t exactly relaxing, despite her comfortable seat at the long pine table. If the awkward moment in the bathroom hadn’t happened, she might be able to enjoy this family’s teasing camaraderie. But that wasn’t what she was getting paid to do.
“All this talk about food brings up another thing we need to be thinking about before we go look at venues,” Vivienne said in an effort to smoothly transition the conversation back to the purpose of their meeting. “Do you guys have a preference for a buffet, or would you rather serve a formal plated meal?”
“Hmm. I guess we have to feed our guests, don’t we?” Lydia put her elbow on the table and propped her chin on her hand.
“Not necessarily.” Vivienne gave a discreet cough, attempting to block out Estelle’s voice in her head drilling her to always upsell. “Some couples prefer to save money by having only light refreshments and cake.”
Luckily, this particular bride and groom had already laid out their budget at the initial meeting, and she doubted that Zach and Lydia would be the type to skimp on their guests’ comfort. Still, she felt the need to always give people their options.
“Seems to me like you guys should just drive over to the courthouse, say the I do’s and be done with the whole thing.” Cole gestured at the binder. “That paper you guys sign is going to be the same whether you throw away all your money on this nonsense or not.”
Nonsense? Did the man realize that he was indirectly implying that Vivienne and her job were completely useless, as well? Her spine straightened at the insult but soon lost some of its steel resolve when she couldn’t really argue the point. More often than not, she felt that weddings and even marriages were just a big waste of effort and time. But she wasn’t about to admit as much in front of her clients. She was supposed to be drumming up more business, not losing it.
Thankfully, Lydia jumped in. “Cole, this wedding isn’t just about me and Zach. It’s about our families and our friends and our journey to finding each other. It may be nonsense to you, but to me, it’s an opportunity to celebrate everything and everyone who is important in our relationship.”
Zach opened his mouth—probably to defend his bride, who was clearly capable of speaking up for herself—but his cell phone went off at the exact same time Cole pulled his own vibrating phone from his pocket.
“It’s a group text from Dad,” Cole said first.
“I
