Destination Wedding ~ A Novel (16 page)

Claire wanted to say yes, she loved him deeply, but she knew it was a lie. She cared about Steven, and she enjoyed his company. But did she love him? She shrugged. "No, not in the way you think of love," she admitted. "But he'd always treat me well and we'd have a wonderful companionship together."

"Is that what you want? Just companionship? For the rest of your life?" Glen asked. "What about passion? What about fun? Don't you want to wake up every morning, excited about what the day held with the person you love? Why would you want to settle?"

"You don't understand," Claire said sadly. "I had all that with Jim, and he took it away. Is it so bad to want someone more stable? More reliable? Maybe lasting love isn't about pounding hearts and passion. Maybe it's about security and companionship."

Glen shook his head. "I can't tell you want to do, but I will tell you to think before you just settle for okay. Because when you have the right person beside you, everything is more than okay. It's amazing."

Claire sat at the table sipping a fresh coffee long after Glen had left. She thought about their conversation. The problem was, she'd already lived with amazing, and she was hurt by it. Maybe settling for just okay wasn't everyone else's idea of perfect, but it sounded pretty good to her.

Claire spent the morning away from the lodge, walking through gift shops and exploring the town. She didn't want to run into Jim yet. She wasn't ready to talk to him. But by early afternoon, she knew she had to return. She and Mandy were meeting with Sandra and Aneese one more time to lock down the details of the wedding tomorrow. And tonight was the groom's dinner, even though there wasn't going to be an actual rehearsal.

Claire decided to walk the beach back to the resort so she could clear her mind. She slipped off her sandals and walked on the packed sand next to the tide. The day was warm and the sky was clear. The water felt cool on her feet. Everything about this place was perfect. The only thing that wasn't perfect about it was her relationship with Jim.

When Claire climbed the steps that led to the bar and pool area of the resort, she wasn't very happy to see Jim sitting on the top step.

"What are you doing here?" Claire asked, all the anger from the morning returning.

"I was waiting for you. I figured you'd come back along the beach and I wanted to catch up with you and talk," Jim said.

Claire walked right past him. "I don't have the time to talk to you now," she told him. "I'm meeting with Mandy in Sandra's office in a few minutes to discuss the wedding plans."

Jim reached out and gently placed his hand on Claire's arm. She stopped and turned to look at him. "Then will you please give me a chance to talk to you after that? We can't have this anger between us, Claire. Please."

Claire stared hard at Jim's hand on her arm until he reluctantly removed it. She looked up at him. "I can't do this now. Maybe not even today, and especially not tomorrow. Just let me be, okay? I need to sort this out by myself first." She turned and walked away.

When Claire arrived at Sandra's office, Mandy was waiting for her outside. Sandra was on the phone, so Mandy was giving her some privacy until she was finished.

"Where have you been all morning?" Mandy asked Claire. "I was afraid you'd forgotten about our meeting."

Claire took a deep breath and tried to put on a calm exterior. "I had breakfast at the coffeehouse. Glen joined me for a while. Then, I just walked around town and along the beach."

Mandy narrowed her eyes at her mom, studying her. "Is something wrong? Dad seemed really upset this morning and he and Glen were talking seriously for a long time, too."

Claire managed a smile. "Everything is fine, honey. All I want you to do is enjoy today and be rested and relaxed for tomorrow. You're getting married, Mandy. Today and tomorrow is all about you and Craig."

Mandy stopped asking questions, but Claire could tell she didn't believe her.

Sandra waved them into the office and they confirmed the Officiant, flowers, cake, photographer, and the decorations for their outdoor dinner tomorrow night on the patio. The Officiant was a local man on the island who performed all the wedding ceremonies. Sandra assured them he'd be on time. Mandy gave Sandra a CD that she and Craig wanted played as background music during the wedding dinner. Aneese confirmed their dinner menu, the champagne, and when to bring the cake out after dinner. The resort had everything under control, and Mandy and Claire left feeling confident that the wedding and dinner would go smoothly.

Mandy left and went down to her cottage and Claire stood on the patio a minute, watching as two of the lodge workers strung up twinkle lights around the patio for their wedding dinner tomorrow night. It was going to be a lovely wedding and dinner. All she had to do was put up with Jim for tonight and two more days, and then they'd go their separate ways. She'd go home to Steven, and Jim could go on about his life. With that thought in mind, Claire walked upstairs to clean up and dress for dinner.

Chapter Thirteen

Claire managed to shower and dress before Jim came up to the room to change. As he came in, she stepped out without saying a word and met up with Glen, Lisa, and some of the other people from the wedding party who were having drinks by the pool. Tonight, everyone was dressed nicer than they had been all week. The women wore dresses and heels and the men had on dress slacks and shirts with ties. When Janice and Carl came to join the group, she wore a white skirt with a matching jacket and Carl had a light colored suit on.

Jim was the last person to show up, freshly showered and wearing a pair of stone colored dress pants, a blue shirt and tie, and a tan sports coat. The blue shirt brought out the depth of his blue eyes and his wavy hair fell into place perfectly. He looked handsome and relaxed, and Claire hated the fact that she noticed those details about him.

When the group walked the short distance from the pool to the Harbour View Restaurant, Claire reluctantly slid her arm through Jim's proffered arm. Everyone walked in couples, and it would have looked rude if she'd ignored him.

"You look beautiful tonight," Jim whispered in her ear.

Claire didn't reply. She'd worn a sleeveless, burgundy dress that had a V-neckline, a form-fitting bodice, and a full skirt that billowed out from the waist to just above her knees. Her heels added even more length to her long, shapely legs, and the dress showed off her narrow waist. She hadn't bought the dress to extract compliments from anyone. She'd bought it because it fit her perfectly and it was comfortable.

Aneese had set up two large, round tables that held six each in the private dining room that overlooked the harbor. The tables had been set to match the colors Mandy had chosen for her wedding with cream table cloths and coral napkins. Candles and tropical flowers in short vases decorated the center of each table. It was an elegant setting, and everyone exclaimed how lovely the flowers were as they sat down.

Mandy, Craig, Janice, Carl, Jim, and Claire all sat at one table while the rest of the group sat at the other. They all ordered their meals from the menu. Wine, courtesy of the Fishers, was brought to the table and soon everyone drank and chatted happily. Even Claire had a glass of white wine, although she intended not to drink too much since she was such a lightweight.

"One more day until the wedding," Jim said, smiling over at Mandy and Craig. "Are either of you getting nervous yet?"

Mandy shook her head. "If this had been a big church wedding at home, I'd be scared to death by now, but not here. Having a small, intimate wedding is exactly what I wanted, so no, I'm not nervous."

"What about you, Craig?" Jim asked. "This is your last official night of freedom. How are your nerves holding up?"

Claire narrowed her eyes at Jim, but tried to keep her tone light. "Not everyone thinks of marriage as a life sentence," she said.

Jim turned to Claire, that devilish grin on his face that made him look so charming. "I was just teasing," he said lightheartedly. "It's just that women dream of getting married and men dream of…" he stopped and hesitated a moment.

"Better not finish that sentence, Jim," Glen spoke up from the other table. "Half the people in this room are women." Everyone laughed.

Claire, though, wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily. "Men dream of what?" she asked, staring hard at Jim. "You started it, so finish that sentence."

There was a long silence in the room as Jim shifted in his seat. Craig spoke up and broke the silence.

"I'm not sure what Jim was going to say," he said, smiling. "But I'm looking forward to a lifetime with Mandy." He turned and kissed his bride-to-be, and everyone clapped.

"Good answer, Craig," Glen said.

Claire sat back, crossed her arms, and glared at Jim.

More wine flowed, and the food arrived. Claire enjoyed her shrimp dinner despite the fact that Jim was only inches away from her. She couldn't believe what he'd said to Craig. Not all marriages ended in divorce. Just all of his marriages.

"Your food looks delicious," Jim said to Claire, apparently trying to make up for his foot-in-mouth error earlier. "Would you like to try some of my steak? It's excellent."

Claire just gave him a sideways glance and didn’t respond.

The Fishers had ordered cheesecake with chocolate sauce for desert for everyone in the group. It was heavenly. When everyone was finally full from the delicious meal, Carl stood up with his glass of wine to give a toast.

"I would like to toast Mandy and Craig and their upcoming nuptials," he said. "Mandy, Janice and I are so happy to have you join our family, and we wish you and Craig a long and happy marriage."

Glasses were raised and clinked.

Jim cleared his throat and stood. "I'd also like to add to Carl's toast," he said, looking around the room. "I want to thank all of you for coming to celebrate Mandy and Craig's wedding with us. It's been an amazing week, and tomorrow will be a beautiful celebration." He turned to Mandy. "I love you, Mandy, and I know that Craig is an extraordinary person. He'd have to be for you to choose to share your life with him. I'm sure Claire joins me in saying we wish you two a lifetime of love and happiness."

Everyone clinked glasses again and cheered. Mandy hugged her father and thanked him for the heartfelt toast. Tears filled Claire's eyes. It had been a lovely toast from the heart, and she was grateful he'd included her.

"That was beautiful," Claire whispered to him. "Thank you."

Jim smiled. "I meant every word of it."

Aneese came in and suggested they move the party to the outdoor patio. She and a waitress helped the group outside with their drinks. The patio was lit up with the twinkle lights the crew had strung up earlier. Palm trees were decorated with lights, and lights were strung above the patio like a canopy of glitter. The couples created a circle of chairs around the small tables and it felt cozy and intimate.

The conversation and drinking continued, and Claire accepted another glass of white wine. She talked with Janice and Carl for a while, thanking them for hosting such a charming groom's dinner. The night was warm and breezy and the sound of the ocean waves carried to them on the wind from the other side of the lodge. The lighthouse shone bright across the harbor. They couldn't have asked for a more beautiful night to celebrate.

The younger guys were getting a tipsy and suggested stealing the groom to go to the bar downtown for an impromptu bachelor party. Mandy glared at them and shook her head. "There is no way he's showing up tomorrow for our wedding with a hangover," she warned them. Everyone laughed and the men decided it was best to stick around and have one more drink here, instead.

As it grew late, couples began to say their goodnights. Glen and Lisa left to go back to their cottage, and Mark and Kaylie went up to their room. The Fishers also said goodnight and headed upstairs. The ones who stayed behind were still laughing and joking, telling stories from the past, and having a good time.

Claire sat beside Jim in the circle, listening to the younger couples as they shared stories. Mandy and Craig were curled up together on a loveseat, laughing with their friends. Claire set her empty glass down on the table in front of her, and started to stand to say goodnight. Jim touched her arm to stop her.

"Let me pour you one more glass," he said, lifting the bottle of wine.

Claire shook her head. "No. I've had enough."

"Come on, Claire. Just a little more," he urged. He tipped the bottle over her glass to pour.

"I said no," Claire insisted a little louder. When Jim started pouring wine into her glass anyway, she grew angry. "Don't you ever listen to anyone? I said no." She reached over to push the bottle away from the glass, but she hit it too hard. The wine bottle and the glass went flying and landed with a crash on the patio pavement. Wine sprayed and glass shattered everywhere. Everyone in the group stopped talking and stared.

Claire's mouth dropped open and Jim looked up at her in surprise.

Mandy was the first one to find her voice. "What is wrong with you two?" she asked angrily. "You're acting like children. One minute you're fighting, the next you're friends, and then you're fighting again. Why can't you just get along? It's only been a few days. Is that too much to ask? For my parents to at least act like they like each other?" Mandy stood and Craig did also.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," Claire said, stepping around the table to stand beside Mandy. "I didn't mean for that to happen. It was an accident."

"I don't care about the wine," Mandy exclaimed. "I just want you two to stop fighting." Mandy looked from her mom to her dad. "Tomorrow is my wedding day. Can you two please just get through it without fighting?"

Seeing Mandy so upset, Claire was on the brink of tears.

"Of course we can, dear," Jim said softly to Mandy. "Tomorrow will be perfect. I promise, there will be no fighting."

Mandy walked away with Craig, and the others in the group all said a quiet goodnight and left also. One of the busboys from inside the bar came out to sweep up the glass on the ground, and Jim apologized for the mess and gave him a hefty tip. Claire just stood there, paralyzed, embarrassed by what had happened.