Reserved (25 page)

Guests began arriving and leaving their coats with the two women working a makeshift coatroom that looked like a small cabin made of branches. The buzz of voices began to fill the tent and the band, a jazz quartet with a huge bass, started playing in the corner. Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

She looked over toward the catering tent just as their servers, dressed in linen slacks and vests, began filing out with trays. The Yard was certainly representing itself well so far and even though Logan rarely thought about advertising, Makenna recognized that they couldn’t buy exposure like this.

As if her mind had conjured him up, Makenna glanced toward the entrance just as Logan and Kara made their way into the tent. Her brother wore dark slacks and a tweed blazer with a matching vest and an open collar; he looked so relaxed that it almost took her breath away. There was no question that the source of his smile, the one that emanated from him lately, was laughing and holding his arm. Kara Malendar’s dark golden hair fell across her shoulders in loose natural curls, and she wore a rust-colored dress that looked like silk and matched one of the darker shades in Logan’s jacket.

“Looking good, sis. I see we haven’t burned the tent down yet, so that’s a positive.”

“So far, so good,” Makenna said as she leaned in to kiss them both on the cheek. “You two look incredible.”

“Thank you,” Kara said. “It was a really wonderful wedding. I think it's the best I’ve ever been to. That may have something to do with the groom being my brother, but still.” She smiled. “Did you notice they kissed throughout and held hands?” Kara sighed and Logan shook his head good-naturedly.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He leaned in and kissed her.

“Well, you two enjoy. We’ve got this,” she said in a way she hoped would allow her brother to continue enjoying himself even once his food began circulating.

He nodded then led Kara over to the bartender as the one with a shamrock tattoo on his wrist was twisting the top off of sparkling water for a glowingly pregnant Samantha Everoad. Makenna stepped outside and turned toward the catering tent. She could hear Travis’s voice calling out directions as she approached. The table of appetizers was being cleared according to a text she received from one of the waitstaff. They were on schedule. She peeked in and even though she’d seen them swamped at the restaurant before, she had never seen so much food.

Huge platters of roasted ham, surrounded by colorful vegetables, beautiful fish, and lettuce were served on cream-colored serving dishes that were made for this kind of event. Travis was spooning dressing into a serving boat, his eyes intently scanning the plates of food as they were carried out. He looked so intense, almost serious, and Makenna caught a glimpse of the importance of his work. Since she’d known him, Travis was synonymous with casual, relaxed, fun, but the guy she saw in front of her was something else altogether. He had something to lose, something to prove, and Makenna discovered one more layer to love.

Peter Everoad gave a toast that made just about everyone cry, and then Kate’s friend Reagan gave another toast that spoke to a side of Kate not many people knew. She was hilarious and clearly loved her dear friend. After Makenna helped one of the servers find more olive oil for the tables and relieved one of the bartenders for a much-needed bathroom break, she grabbed a glass of champagne and walked outside for a breather.

About an hour later, linens were wrinkled, ties were undone, and everyone was well fed. Travis took a deep breath of satisfaction. Other than Todd dropping an entire bowl of smashed potatoes on the grass, everything went off without a hitch. Kate and Grady cut their cake, and rather than feeding it to each other, they used the opportunity to serve each of their guests a piece. Travis thought that was a great touch and decided if he hadn’t already liked Kate and Grady, their wedding would have convinced him.

The Yard staff had survived serving their first wedding, and almost everything would now be handed over to the cleanup crew. Once things were cleared, Travis would send out the coffee and set up the cereal bar, complete with just about every sugary cereal he’d ever heard of, a special request from Grady for his new wife.

Looking out over all of the people now dancing and celebrating, Travis was reminded again why he loved to cook. Food brought people together; it allowed them to connect and share around a table. Nothing, in his view of family and friendship, was more important. He wiped his hands and went to look for Makenna.

“Do you like weddings?” he asked, coming up behind her as she stood just outside the tent. He slid his arms around her waist and noticed her pulse quicken as he kissed her shoulder.

“I like this.” Her voice was thick with emotion as they watched Kate and Grady dancing to a slow lilting song. “I haven’t been to many weddings. I don’t have one of my own to use as a reference, and I’m not sure if all weddings are like this, but whatever you want to call this, I love it.”

“I’d rather have a tiny wedding and a happy marriage.”

“Can’t you have both?” She put her hands over his, and he noticed she was cold.

“I’m sure some people do, but I’ve been to my fair share of big flashy weddings and most of them are bullshit—for show. This is definitely not like most weddings. See the way he’s looking at her? They could be in the middle of a grocery store and they’d probably still have that. This is not a normal wedding,” he said, realizing he sounded jaded. Some things never really went away, did they?

“You’re a real romantic, huh?” She looked over her shoulder at him.

“I can be, but the big show always seems like too much work. At least in my opinion.”

“The big show?” She laughed. “And since when are you afraid of hard work?”

“I’m not afraid. Wow, how did we get on this again?”

“You asked me if I liked weddings. I said I liked this and you went all wedding Grinch right before my very eyes.” She laughed and handed her empty champagne glass to one of the servers cleaning up in preparation for coffee and tea. Travis needed to get back to work, but she kissed him and he decided he had a few more minutes.

“I didn’t mean to be a Grinch. I’m just not a fan of phony,” he said, watching Grady dance with his mother.

“I can understand that, but there’s also nothing wrong with working at something, making it special.”

“I guess.”

“You don’t agree?”

“I like simple.”

“Simple meaning minimum effort?”

“What are we talking about here?”
Shit!
Maybe it was time to go back to work.

“I’m just trying to understand.”

Travis laughed. “Understand what? Life doesn’t have to be complicated, Kenna.”

“Really? I don’t find anything about life to be simple.”

“Why do I feel like I came over here to kiss you under the stars and you’re feeling me out, and not in a good way?”

Makenna sighed and pulled him back in close to her. “I’m not meaning to. Maybe the champagne is bringing out my questions. I find myself wanting to understand a lot of things lately.”

“Like?”

“Like . . . if I make things too complicated or if you don’t make them complicated enough? I wonder why this thing between us seems so easy when there’s no possible way it can be. I’m trying to figure out a whole slew of new feelings I haven’t had in a while. Some of them I’m not sure I’ve ever felt. You appear to fit perfectly into my world right now, but things are rarely simple for long. It’s been my experience that I always need to prepare for complicated.”

“Okay. I think I can understand all of that, but let’s not make ourselves crazy. How about you stand here looking beautiful and I get back to the tent so we can finish up this wedding?”

She smiled and kissed him, and Travis walked back to work as simple actually vanished right before his eyes.

Chapter Twenty-Five

T
he wedding had been a huge success, with write-ups in just about every major national newspaper. Kenna had been so busy making sure they didn’t screw things up that she sort of forgot the celebrity of the couple they were celebrating. She’d hoped for word-of-mouth exposure and expected local media attention, but what followed the wedding far surpassed her expectations. Phones were ringing and her e-mail was packed with well wishes, requests for interviews from bridal magazines, and inquiries about future catering. The week had been a whirlwind, and the Rye family Wednesday meeting was consumed with celebration and Logan obsessing about keeping things small and limiting what they did so it would stay within their vision. They’d spent Thursday and Friday working out menu changes and finalizing the garden expansion.

By early Friday evening, Makenna was packed and ready to head to the farm to pick up Paige. Gracie finally had her babies, so they would probably be spending the weekend up there while Paige played big sister to Gracie’s three new additions. It looked like they would be having Paige’s birthday up there after all. Kenna threw her bag over her shoulder and left Paige’s lunch box on the kitchen counter on purpose.

Looking up, she noticed Travis masked by a cloud of steam in his dance alongside Logan, clearly doing what he was meant to do. The feeling washed over her like one of those warm waterfalls on some exotic island. She had been in love before, but the first time it slammed into her so unexpectedly, she barely had time to catch her breath. And while this time was just as scary, it was different. She watched him laughing at Larry, who was telling some animated story to Logan, and knew she loved him. Maybe she’d always loved him on some level, but now it was front and center. Kenna let out a slow steady breath and while her mind had yet to figure out the details of a life with him, her heart seemed content in the knowledge.

She pushed through the doors and into the bar, surprised to see it now flooded with women in tiny dresses, tiaras, and boas.

“My God, what the man can do with his tongue.” Barbie, actually Bride-to-Be Barbie as her sash read, was fanning herself with the hand not holding her drink. Kenna often wondered how Sage stayed sane; no wonder she did crosswords for fun.

“I know that tongue,” another Barbie said, and they all laughed.

“Oh, oh, girls, show of hands, how many of us have had some piece of Travis’s anatomy in us?”

Sage looked up from serving Barbie number six or number seven some stupid umbrella drink and met Kenna’s gaze. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. Kenna took a seat partly because she couldn’t look away from the gaggle of feathers currently making it almost an embarrassment to be a woman, but also because she was curious again. More than half the Barbies raised their hands. Kenna had to stop herself from leaning back and forth to count.

“You heading out?” Sage asked, finally making her way over.

Kenna stared at Bride-to-Be Barbie who was now using her hands to describe a certain part of Travis’s anatomy.

“Kenna?”

“Oh, sorry. Yes, I’m heading to the farm. Who are they?”

“Bachelorette party. Pamela, the soon-to-be, and her merry band of drunk divas. They were already a few drinks into the party when they got here, lucky me. We should probably warn Travis before they call for him to come out and entertain them. I always thought it was only men objectifying women, but these lovelies are giving the Hooters crowd a run for their money.”

“Yeah, is it true?”

“Is what true?”

“He was with her, the bride-to-be one? They dated?”

“I’m . . . pretty sure they were together for about a minute, but I wouldn’t call it dating.”

“And the rest of them, you think they’re making it up?”

“Probably not.” Sage started to laugh but stopped when Makenna didn’t seem amused.

“Hey, it’s not a big deal. We all have a past, right?”

“Right. Yeah, sure. I need to get going, so be safe and try to have a good night.”

“You too. Are you all right?”

“I am. Oh, I almost forgot, could you bring ice and soda for Paige’s birthday on Sunday?”

“You got it.”

Makenna went back through the kitchen to avoid hearing the end of what Travis did to Barbie number four on the hood of her car one night. Yikes, the guy was a legend.
What does that make me? Another customer at the drive-thru?
Makenna’s head was spinning with questions, most urgently—
What the hell am I doing? I have no business with a man like Travis, and how on God’s earth is he ever going to fit into my very real world?
She looked back toward the kitchen one more time and saw Travis talking with two older ladies who were clearly smitten. Mr. Smooth, she thought, just as he looked up and then appeared to be excusing himself to walk toward the back kitchen. Makenna grabbed Paige’s lunch box and left out the back door.