The Promise of Amazing (19 page)

“Close one more time. I just have to smudge the line—”

She took my hands in hers.

“Mom, I don’t know why I’m crying. It’s fine, really.”

“Believe me, I thought long and hard about this, but the
Camelot isn’t the place it once was—people want exotic locations.”

“And cupcakes,” I said, pulling my hands away and swiping a tear.

“Did you really want to run it someday?” she asked, leaning against the vanity counter, arms folded.

Having the question asked point-blank made me realize that my answer was a resounding
no
. The Camelot had only been a “just in case,” because it felt so comfortable. Safe. The news still made me feel ungrounded. The Camelot had defined so much of our lives. My life. Everything kept changing so fast; I wondered if I’d ever catch up.

“No,” I answered, reaching over to finally smudge the liner. Satisfied, I stepped away. “It was just an idea, that’s all. I change my mind a hundred times a day.”

“I would never want any of you to be forced into taking over the business. I fell into it myself. The Camelot was my grandfather’s baby, but he would have known when to get out.”

“Does the staff know?”

She spoke as she put on a coat of mascara. “No, I haven’t said anything. I’ve got mixed feelings about closing. We’ve tried so hard, and I hate the idea of knocking the place down, but in the end we’re just not making our nut. And it’s an excellent offer. This influx of cash will help with so many things, but it’s still not an easy decision. Some of the staff are like
family. It’s why I’ve been so tense. Well, part of the reason. I’m not even sure I should have told you,” she said, putting the lash wand back into the mascara tube. “I think I just wanted to hear how it sounded.”

“Mom, don’t shut me out of something this important. You can talk to me,” I said. “About Brooke’s situation too. I can handle it.”

She squeezed my shoulder. “Wren, I’m not shutting you out. Not purposely anyway. You don’t need to worry about any of this. You’ve got enough on your plate with school. I’m not sure I’m handling it that well, myself. It’s a lot to wrap my mind around. I didn’t think I’d be a grandmother this soon.”

“You’ll be a young grandma,” I said, nudging her. “A hot, young grandma.”

“I’m glad you see it that way,” she said, putting her makeup bag into the vanity drawer. “Hey, better get a move on. We’re leaving in fifteen.”

“Do I have time for a shower?” I asked, panicked.

“A really quick one,” she said, eyeballing her clock. “Go, go.”

The Camelot was as frenzied as usual. Eben pushed through the doors of the Lancelot ballroom, looking more like a groom than a maître d’. I felt that tug of sadness again. It was hard to believe this place would be leveled for condos. Did he have a clue? I would miss seeing him on the weekends.

He beamed when he saw my mother.

“Ruthie, I won’t let you down,” he said, “but it would help if your daughter was on time.”

“It’s my fault completely,” I volunteered, taking off my coat.

“Here, I’ll take this,” Mom said, grabbing my purse.

Eben led me by my elbow into the banquet room.

“Wren, I do
not
want to screw this up. This is huge for me. I know we usually pal around, make jokes, but I can’t be that person tonight. So in case I snap at you or something, just know I’m in management mode, nothing personal.”

“Eb, you’ll be awesome. My mom totally believes in you. So do I,” I said. “No worries. I won’t give you anything to snap at me for. By the way, am I allowed to say you’re quite, um, dashing in your tux?”

“Thank you, luv. Calvin Klein. Damn well better make me look dashing,” he said. “And Miss Wren, as my last official duty as your pal this evening—you and your favorite dark-haired new hire are working the head table. So scoot over to Guinevere’s Cottage. They’re setting up now.”

I gave Eben a quick kiss on the cheek and hurried off across the parking lot to the cottage. My stomach became a jangle of nerves again at the thought of seeing Grayson.
Just be casual, Wren
. Even though the first thing I wanted to blurt out was,
Why haven’t you texted me all week?
I had to come off like I didn’t care.

Grayson was taking champagne glasses out of a storage
crate and lining them up on the bar. The cottage was a renovated home from the 1800s, and the ceilings were low. This particular feature gave the cottage its cozy feel, but anyone who was over six feet had trouble navigating the space. The top of Gray’s head was only about three inches away from grazing the ceiling, which made him look gargantuan. He smiled when he saw me, but it wasn’t the smile of reuniting with someone you hadn’t seen in a week. More like an
Oh, you’re here
kind of smile.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked, attempting to be casual, even though my heart was about to jump out of my mouth.

Before he could answer, Lisa, a Camelot seasonal employee, came bounding out of the kitchen with a pitcher of ice. She stowed it behind the bar, her dark, angular haircut swaying with her every movement.

“Hey, Wren, how’s it going?” she asked. “We have to tell Tall-Drink-of-Water here to be careful.” She elbowed Grayson in a way that made my stomach tighten.

“Well, Leese, guess you have to remind me to duck when I’m going through a doorway,” he said, pushing his hair aside to show a red mark. I covered my mouth to keep from laughing in spite of the jab of jealousy I felt when Gray called her
Leese
. How long had they been out here?

“Come on, Wren, help me cut up the garnish,” she said, grabbing my hand. I ducked as we walked into the small kitchen.

“Wow, the help has gotten decidedly foxier since I’ve been away at school,” she whispered, handing me a lime. I reached for the paring knife and cutting board, doing my best to disregard her apparent attraction to Grayson.

“Mmm, hmm,”
I mumbled, cutting the lime lengthwise so I could make fresh wedges.

“Dave’s going to be tending bar for cocktail hour in here. Damn, I haven’t seen him since September. Think maybe he’ll let me sneak a little sip of something? I’ve got a raging hangover from last night. I’m so relieved my exams are over. I’m surprised Joshie isn’t here. His exams must be over too, no?”

I shrugged, finishing up the lime. “Not sure.”

“Hey, um . . .” She stopped midsentence and motioned with her head out toward the parlor, mouthing,
What’s his name?

“Grayson,” I whispered.

“Um, Grayson, can you bring us that white compartment thingie that holds the fruit on top of the bar?” she asked, collecting the lemon wedges she’d sliced up.

“Sure,” he called back.

One plus about working with Lisa was that she held up the conversation all on her own. Perfect sometimes but not quite what I envisioned when I heard I’d be working with Grayson. He walked to the doorjamb and made an exaggerated motion to avoid it by ducking. Lisa batted her eyelashes and grabbed
the condiment holder from his hands.

“Thanks, babe,” she said. “Here, can you open these?”

Grayson took the jar of maraschino cherries from Lisa and twisted off the top.

“Honey, I’m home!” Dave-the-bartender called from the front door.

Lisa wiped her hands quickly on a bar towel and ran out of the kitchen, squealing.

“Crazy Davy!” she said, before disappearing down the hallway to greet him.

Grayson leaned toward me and whispered, “Does she ever shut up?”

I giggled, taking the jar from him. “Not really.”

He leaned on the counter next to me as I placed the cut-up fruit garnish into the various compartments. I handed him a jar of olives, my thoughts racing.

“Could you?” I asked, avoiding his eyes and trying to think of an appropriate way to ask him why he hadn’t answered my texts.

“My pleasure,” he said, inflecting a formal tone to his voice, then gritting his teeth when the jar top didn’t budge as easily as the last one. He took the bar towel, wiped the lid, then tried again, finally opening it with a pop.

He handed me the jar. “Do people normally order the kind of drinks that need to be garnished?”

“Well, you’ve got to be prepared,” I answered, feeling so
damn foolish that we were discussing fruit. “And besides, it makes it pretty. I didn’t hear from you all week.”

My last sentence just hung there as the olives thunked into their compartment.

“Yeah, sorry. It’s been a crazy week, and my phone’s been acting all wonky. I didn’t get your texts until this morning. It does that sometimes. Weird. But since I figured I’d see you, I didn’t answer them.”

I stared at him until he looked away.
That
was his excuse?

“I’ll take these out there,” he said, grabbing the tray.

“Wonky,” I said to myself as I wiped up the counter. When I turned around, Chef Hank came into the kitchen, arms full of containers of hors d’oeuvres that needed to be heated. He placed them on the counter.

“No worries, Wrennie. No tiny hot dogs today,” he said, clicking on the oven.

A no-cocktail-weenies party usually meant a great night, but not this time. The bride was one of those divas who wanted everything yesterday, and no matter how quickly it was delivered, it wasn’t quickly enough. Bridal-party glasses were to be full at all times, all bridal-party dinners delivered first. I half expected them to ask us to cut their food and accompany them to the bathroom. We worked like dogs through most of dinner, so much so that Grayson said in passing, “Christ, I feel like I’m getting bitch slapped every time I go out there.” It felt nice to have some common ground with him.

After every dinner had been served, and every glass filled yet again, I found my way to the break room. Lisa was regaling the rest of the staff with stories from the cocktail hour. I wanted to find some place quieter. The darkened vestibule adjacent to the swinging doors of the ballroom was just the ticket. The band was on break, and dinner music played. Frank Sinatra. I closed my eyes and drifted off with “Summer Wind.” Moments later I felt someone in front of me and opened my eyes. Grayson.

He twirled a pink daisy between his fingers. Without saying a word, he tucked the flower into my hair, behind my ear. I felt the warmth of his hand next to my cheek as he untangled his fingers from the tendrils that had escaped my French braid. He stepped back to admire his work.

“That fell out of Bridezilla’s bouquet. It made me think of you.”

I blushed. “Crazy night, huh? I had to take a moment to myself.”

“Yeah, loud in the break room,” he said. “I was just going to grab a soda before we have to become slaves again. Want one?”

“That sounds great, thanks.”

“Be right back,” he said.

I leaned against the wall, giddy from the upturn of my evening.

Moments after Grayson left, Eben came through the
swinging doors, throwing up his hands, his face contorting into a silent scream.

“Rough night?” I asked, wincing.

“Rough night? This wedding is the bridal equivalent of a Tarantino film. I almost wish I smoked,” he said, running a hand over his face. “At least it’s half over.”

“That’s very glass-half-full of you,” I answered. He inspected my hair.

“That’s not from Bridezilla’s bouquet, is it?” he asked.

“Oh, it fell out. Grayson gave it to me,” I said, touching the flower.

Eben snapped his fingers in front of his face to reboot. “Okay, I’ve got about five until I have to be ringmaster again . . . so, spill.”

“Spill what?”

“I don’t see any other girls with daisies in their hair, so . . . What’s going on with you and Grayson?”

“Um, nothing.”

Eben rolled his eyes. “Nothing? Get a clue already, Wren. He likes you.”

“Well, he’s acting . . . weird.”

“And you aren’t?”

“No, I’m not,” I answered, glancing over my shoulder to see if Grayson was coming back yet.

Eben put his hand on my shoulder. “What do you want?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean when you think about Tall, Dark, and Mysterious, what do you want?”

What did I want? I wanted to see him more than once or twice a week at work. I wanted to hear the way his voice lowered when he spoke my name. I wanted to run my tongue across his bottom lip to see if it made him shiver. I clapped my hand across my eyes.

“Exactly. What are you waiting for?”

“But when? How?”

“I can’t maître d’ your tryst, Wren, but I’ll tell you what,” he said, reaching into his pocket to pull out his key ring. He fingered through the keys until he came to a shiny silver one and loosened it. He gestured for me to take it.

“What’s this?”

“The key to the love shack,” he answered.

“And what am I supposed to do with it?”

He stepped back, his brows bunched up in confusion. “You mean Josh or Brooke never put you wise to Saint Gwen, the Patron Saint of Clandestine Work Hookups?”

“Um, no, Eben.”

“Well, let’s just say, Guinevere’s Cottage is a lovely place to be alone.”

“Are you kidding me? Have you ever?”

“That’s for you to speculate and me to never tell. Wren, I’m not saying go ravish him; it’s just a place with no distractions, quiet, dark,” he said, lowering his voice at the word
dark
.

“Yeah, right,” I said, feeling slightly queasy. “How would I even get him over there?”

“Use your imagination. Tell him you lost something from before or that I need you to get something or just tell him,
Hey, I’ve got the key to this place where we can be alone
. I bet he’d be there faster than you can say . . . Grayson, hey. Good job tonight.”

I turned to see Grayson holding two glasses of soda. He handed me one, then took the straw out of his and chugged. His neck stretched, his Adam’s apple moving slightly as he drank. For some reason it made me think of his lacrosse picture. I bit my lip.

“Some night,” he said, putting the empty glass down on the table next to us.

“Well, get ready for part two. Cake, garter, bouquet, chicken dance, and
out of here
. . . .” Eben said, clapping him on the back as he walked by. “Going to rally the troops.” I watched him walk into the break room, could feel Grayson’s eyes on me. I shoved the key into my pants pocket.
Now or never, Wren
.