The Chesapeake Diaries Series (154 page)

We’re all somehow related to one another here
, Brooke mused,
if not by blood, then by marriage, and if not by marriage, then by friendship
. She was glad she’d followed her heart and come home when she did.

And while I’m on the subject of my heart …

Jesse leaned forward to kiss her.

“You look … spectacular,” he told her.

“You’re supposed to say that to the bride,” Brooke whispered.

“I did that, but you look spectacular, too.” He leaned closer to her ear and whispered, “I can’t wait to get you alone.”

“Ditto. Now move along so we can keep the line moving. I’m starving.”

“How can you be starving?” Vanessa frowned. “You ate all that shrimp an hour ago.” Vanessa covered her mouth with her hand. “I shouldn’t have said the S-word. The very thought of seafood makes me want to—”

“I get it. Hang strong for about fifteen more minutes. Want Jesse to get you some club soda?”

Vanessa shook her head and smiled at Hal Garrity, the closest thing she had to a father, as he came through the line with her mother, Maggie, on his arm.

Brooke’s mother was next, and so on down the line, until Brooke was convinced that she’d been right earlier: all of St. Dennis had been invited.

The reception went by mostly in a blur. Brooke danced with Jesse and Curtis, with Clay and with Grady and Grant and Wade and who knew who else, until she was dizzy. Between the band’s sets, she grabbed Jesse by the arm.

“Air,” she told him. “I need air.”

“It’s pretty cool out,” he told her. “You should bring whatever wrap you brought with you.”

“It’s upstairs,” she told him. “I’d pass out before I got it. Let’s just go out on the terrace for a minute.”

She took him by the hand and led him through the lobby to the inn’s bar and beyond to the terrace.

“Wow, look at all those stars,” was the first thing she said when they’d walked outside. The second was, “You were right. It really is pretty chilly.”

He took off his suit coat and draped it over her shoulders.

“Now you’ll be cold,” she protested.

He wrapped his arms around her and drew her in. “Nah,” he said. “I’ve got a hot date tonight.”

“It was a beautiful day, wasn’t it?”

“Amazing that they were able to pull that off,” he said. “Switching everything around that fast, having the reception incorporate the colors and the flowers from both weddings.”

“That was Lucy’s doing. That’s why Dallas and Steffie wanted her to do their weddings.”

“Ah, Lucy. The redhead who made your brother drool.”

“I wish I’d seen that.” Brooke laughed. “I’ve never seen Clay look foolish over anyone.”

“The right girl can do that to a guy.” He rested his chin lightly on the top of her head. “The right girl can make a guy not care how foolish he looks. Take me, for instance.”

“There’s nothing foolish about you, Jess.”

“If things had gone differently, there could have been.”

“What do you mean?”

“If my grandfather had found me lacking and fired me from the firm, I’d have looked very foolish.” He rocked her slowly, side to side. “But I’d have stayed here and faced it, if it meant having a chance with you.”

She leaned back and looked up into his eyes.

“You are the woman of my dreams,” he told her. “The woman I’ve been looking for all my life. I’d stay and face down anything to be with you.”

“Jess …” She was so touched she hardly knew what to say.

“All my life, I was afraid I’d wake up one day and find out I’d turned into my father,” he said. “I’ve always felt him looking over my shoulder, as if he were waiting for me to be like him.”

“From what you’ve told me about him, and from knowing you, I don’t see that happening.” She shivered inside his coat but didn’t want to go inside. There were things they needed to say to each other, and she
knew this was the right time and the right place. “You’re not him. Your grandfather knows it and your brother and sisters know it and I know it. You’re a man that a woman can trust with her heart. A man a woman can trust with her future.”

“You trust me with yours?”

“I do. I never thought I’d say that again, but I do. I never wanted to take a chance again, but I will.”

“You’ll never be sorry,” Jesse promised. “I swear, you’ll never be sorry …”

In her heart, Brooke already knew that. She smiled and drew him closer, and made promises of her own.

Diary ∼

Well, it’s done—The Wedding Day has come and gone. I can’t even begin to tell how proud I am of our Lucy! What a day she planned! Two distinct weddings blended into one perfect reception. Sigh. Everyone in town was there and no one left without making a point of telling me what a bang-up job she’d done. Lucy says that the sign of a good wedding planner is when none of the guests even think about who put it together, but I told her that was impossible around here because everyone has known her since she was just a wee one, and everyone was so happy that she was such a huge success. I know that both brides were delighted with everything—the food was exquisite from soup to nuts, literally, the dessert course being the most popular, but the new chef Daniel hired is the best we’ve ever had. Truly first class
.

But I digress … I’d invited Trula for the wedding weekend because I know that someone near and dear to her has a very special wedding coming up and she wants it to be here. So she came armed with her camera and took a million pictures at the reception. I told her to just stroll around and snap away, and if anyone asked, she was one of the photographer’s assistants, although, well, as she rightly pointed out, most wedding photographers have assistants who are in their twenties, not their seventies, but she pulled it off all right
.
Other than having someone accuse her of selling her photos to one of those sleazy publications you see in the supermarkets. Ha! I said. Trula Comfort—Paparazzi!

In any event, Trula is definitely going to push her Robert to have his wedding here next year, but only if Lucy will come back to do it. Now, I ask you: what event planner would turn down Robert Magellan? Yes, of course, the wedding of Dallas MacGregor was a huge coup, and will certainly give Lucy’s business a huge celebrity bump. But Robert Magellan is one of the wealthiest men in the hemisphere, and had been bordering on becoming a recluse for a while. He never gives parties and is almost never seen out and about socially, never frequents those fancy places that other wealthy folks favor. He could have his wedding anywhere in the world—literally—but if he chooses the Inn at Sinclair’s Point … well, do I have to spell out what that would do for our reputation?

Not to mention that it would bring Lucy back for another few weeks. I keep hoping she’ll find whatever it is she’s looking for right here at home, but I’m beginning to wonder if even she knows what she wants
.

It’s just awful when you know what’s right for your kids but you can’t make them see it. I’ve always believed that Lucy’s destiny was in St. Dennis, but I can’t convince
her of that. Why, even dear Alice is in agreement. No, of course, I didn’t pull out the herbs and the spell book, though I’d be sore tempted if I knew for sure it would work. Anyway, Alice tells me—through the Ouija board—that Lucy’s future is here. “Well,” I said, “Alice, this is going to be a test of how much you really know.” Alice, of course, went silent after that, but I know she’ll be back. She does so love to chat …

Here I am prattling along about the wedding as if there were nothing else going on in St. Dennis! Old Curtis Enright got a big surprise on his eighty-fifth birthday when grandson Jesse threw a big party to celebrate at Lola’s. I heard that almost everyone who was invited attended, which was nice, since Curtis is such a gentleman. The biggest surprise of the evening, though, was the appearance of the children from his son Craig’s first marriage. No one in St. Dennis had seen them—two girls and a boy—in, oh, dear, since before Rose died. I heard it said that Jesse had never met any of his half siblings before, so it was especially nice of him to have invited them. It looked like there was a happy reunion, which I was glad to see. Jesse’s sister Sophie came for the party—lovely, lovely girl. All the young men in the room seemed to think so, too
.

Of course, there’s the Holiday House Tour next
weekend—my favorite event of the year. I just love to see this little town of ours dressed up, the old houses decorated from rooftop to front door. Call me nosy if you must, but I just love going inside to see how everyone decorates for the season. I love decorating the inn, though every year it seems to be just a little more difficult for me to do all the downstairs rooms by myself. Lucy said this year I should have asked for help from the local historical society. Perhaps next year … Anyway, it’s fun to think that this time next week we’ll be leading the weekenders and the day-trippers from room to room and talking about the history of the inn. The Holiday House Tour has become such a huge fund-raiser for the town, not to mention a boon to the merchants
.

There was one sad note at the wedding, and it took me back so many years. During the toasts, both Steffie and Grant made mention of their sister, Natalie, who died when she was four. She and Lucy had been the closest of friends from the first day of nursery school when they discovered they shared the same birthday. They’d been inseparable, those two. Why, sometimes when I look out the back windows of the inn, I can almost see them playing on the swings or in the sandbox. Natalie was such a darling girl, and when she fell ill … well, it hit everyone in the community hard. Lucy was despondent when Natalie died, and for a few years, she
refused to celebrate her birthday without her friend. It was a poignant moment on a beautiful and memorable day. Lucy later said that if for no other reason, she was glad to have been at the weddings to remember Natalie
.

And one interesting note: while Lucy tried her darnedest to fade into the background, it seemed she hadn’t faded quite far enough that her old friend Clay Madison wasn’t able to find her and talk her into a dance or two. I know she’d just about kill me if she knew I said so, but they do make a lovely couple ∼

∼ Grace ∼

For Sweet Baby James Delvescovo—
keep on fighting, little buddy

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Once again, my thanks to the fabulous team at Ballantine Books who work so hard to make my books the best they can be: Kate Collins, Linda Marrow, Scott Shannon, Libby McGuire, Kim Hovey, Gina Wachtel, Junessa Viloria, Scott Biel (those glorious covers!), Kristin Fassler, and Katie O’Callaghan. Thanks to Andrea Sheriden, The Decimater, for doing what she does, and doing it so well.

Thanks as always to my agent, Loretta Barrett, and the crew at Barrett Books.

Many thanks to the booksellers who have been hand-selling the books in the Chesapeake Diaries series. Bless every one of you.

Thanks to my FB buddies who start and end the day with me.

Recently it occurred to me that
Hometown Girl
is my thirtieth book. Thirty books! The number stuns and amazes me and gives me chills. So I must say thank you from the bottom of my heart to those readers who have been with me since
Moments in Time
was published in 1995. This has been one wild and crazy ride!

To my friends who have made this journey with me—especially Helen Egner and Chery Griffin … thanks and love.

And of course, much love and thanks to my beautiful family—Bill, Becca, Katie, and Mike.

Home for the Summer
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A Ballantine Books eBook Edition

Copyright © 2012 by Marti Robb

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.