Snow is Falling, Cocoa is Calling! (The Coffee Loft Series: Fall Collection)

20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

CAITEY

C aitey froze in place, the bedroom blacker than midnight. Jenna, Aunt Vicki, and Mrs. Hearst gasped in unison as if from the shock of sudden inky darkness.

In the next moment, she could see the faint outline of the window glass and a slow fringe of the winter moon creeping like molasses from the horizon. A few stars dotted the deep black sky.

She felt, rather than saw, Jenna crumple to the floor, her wedding gown spooling around her. “Unbelievable! The power went out! Why does this day keep getting worse?”

Outside the bedroom door, sudden footsteps pounded on the stairs—not from up the circular staircases but coming down from a higher floor overhead .

Maggie appeared with a glowing lantern in one hand. “Is everyone okay? Jenna, sweetheart! So sorry, love. On the happiest, most anticipated day of your life, too.”

“Where did you come from so fast?” Mrs. Hearst asked, glancing backward into the pitch-black hallway.

“I was up in the honeymoon suite, ma’am, putting the final touches to the room before the ceremony begins. What a pity about the power! But I already have a plan!”

“Candles!” Caitey burst out. “And lanterns! Oh, Jenna, you will have the most romantic wedding of the decade!”

“Oh, I agree!” Aunt Vicki said. “That is romantic.”

“But do we have enough candles and lanterns, Maggie?” Mrs. Hearst asked.

“Yes, ma’am! I always stock extra in the fall since we get a power outage or two during winter. I texted Gus, asking him to bring several boxes upstairs for the bedrooms, along with lighters and matches. And then we’ll go downstairs and place candles all over the drawing room, hallway, and dining room!”

Caitey hurried over to Jenna and embraced her, brushing away the day’s disappointment. She had to step in and be the wedding planner! “It’s going to be so unique and lovely! A wedding you’ll never forget! Think of the stories you can tell your children!”

Her cousin stuck a hand on her hip. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, dear Caitey! I’m still trying to get through today! Gosh, I’ve had to rewire my brain’s expectations over and over again. But candles will be quite lovely, too,” she admitted. “Hey, Mom, can we sneak a peek at the honeymoon suite?”

“Of course, Maggie did a gorgeous job!” Aunt Vicki exclaimed. “But then we need to get downstairs for the wedding before your groom and the fathers start wondering where we are.”

“True! And I’m too excited to wait any longer.”

Caitey followed her cousin up to the third floor of the mansion. There were only a couple of suites and a closed-up storage area that Jenna said led to an attic.

Jenna swung the doors wide open and halted at the entrance.

Caitey gaped, dropping her jaw. This room was the most dramatic in the entire house.

Candles of every size and color sat on antique tables and dressers. The carpet was soft and plush, and the roof pitched into a peak with chandeliers hanging from the center over a luxurious king-sized poster bed.

“Of course, turning on the chandeliers will have to wait until the power comes back, but they are so pretty!”

The draperies that fell from the scrolled wooden slats were a pretty shade of maroon and edged in silver. A pile of plump pillows sat on top of an exquisitely embroidered bedspread.

“Come look at this bathroom,” Jenna said next, tugging at Caitey’s hand. “The shower is huge, and there’s a bathtub deep enough to sit in with bubbles.”

“I noticed the fireplace in the bedroom, too. That will be useful tonight since the house is without power; we no longer have any heaters running without power. I can feel a chill starting to run down my arms.”

“I feel it, too,” Jenna admitted. “Goosebumps. Maybe I need to ask Reginald to light the fireplace now instead of waiting until later?”

“I’ll get him on it. Now go freshen your makeup and spritz your hair while I go downstairs and start the entrance music.” Caitey slapped a hand to her mouth. “No! I can’t begin the music for your bridal entrance with no power to run the stereo and speaker system!”

Jenna’s face began to crumple again. “Good grief! Will the bad news never end . . .?”

Caitey rushed forward. “Please don’t cry. Not today. It’s been a super stressful, horrible, no-good day, and I wanted everything to be so perfect for you—”

“That’s not your fault,” Jenna interjected, wiping her eyes. “I’m just weepy about all of it. Everything I dreamed of for today has been turned upside down—or worse!”

Instead of giving in to the panic she’d been experiencing all day, Caitey squared her shoulders, hugged Jenna tight for a moment, then gazed into her face. “The most important part of this wedding is that you are marrying the good man you love. You get to spend the rest of your life with wonderful, kind, handsome Logan Hearst. We’ll look back on all this craziness and laugh—and we’ll think it was the coolest wedding ever! ”

Jenna’s lips quirked up a little. “Cool as in blizzard conditions, that’s for sure!”

Caitey laughed. “I will figure something out! Come down in fifteen minutes,” she ordered. “This wedding is on schedule—well, kind of,” she laughed. “And in case I forgot, Marcus is your substitute photographer!”

“Wow, Caitey, you think of everything! But you still need to get dressed, too!”

“Good grief, I forgot to get into my bridesmaid dress! Up until the snowstorm, I was the backup bridesmaid. Marina is supposed to be here standing next to you.”

“Since I love my cousin, you are the perfect replacement. Get moving, girl!”

Racing back to her bedroom, Caitey heard the murmur of voices as the dads, the groom, the minister, and the mansion staff gathered in the drawing room.

Stopping in her tracks, a new worry exploded in her mind. “How in the world is Gus going to cook the filet mignon?”

Once in her room, she hurried through a second shower after the day’s decorating and worry, the scent of gorgeous Marcus lingering on her skin. This entire weekend had been a series of unexpected and furious events.

After dressing, Maggie knocked on the suite door to tell her to meet Mrs. Hearst, who was waiting to do her face and hair in Jenna’s room.

The elegant bridesmaid gown was a sweeping satin burgundy shade with lace accents. She twirled in front of the full-length mirror, loving how it looked on her.

Two minutes later, Mrs. Hearst got to work on her hair. Soon, she had a chignon hairstyle, sparkly earrings, and a necklace set with delicate ringlets hanging from her face.

Caitey twirled in front of the mirrors while the older women clapped their hands. “Thanks for making me look like a princess next to Queen Jenna!”

“You look lovely, Caitey,” Aunt Vicki said softly, squeezing her hand. The entire main floor was suffused with the glow of hundreds of candles when they descended the staircase. Maggie was a miracle worker!

“It’s absolutely beautiful, but I’m worried about the music and the dinner meal—how will it finish getting cooked and baked?”

Mrs. Hearst brushed a nonchalant hand through the air. “I’m very blessed with great staff. Gus got the generators going—he had already stocked the propane tanks for the winter season, thank goodness. The oven is doing the last baking, and the gas grills are grilling,” she added with a little laugh. “Our wedding dinner will be delicious.”

“That means we also have—” Caitey began to say.

“Yep,” a male voice said, striding out of the shadows.

Marcus was incredibly sexy and masculine, towering under the foyer chandelier with his broad shoulders in a deep gray suit as best man. “Let’s go start the music, Miss Caitey. ”

Her heart skipped a beat. She didn’t think any man could look so dang good. Those shoulders, that chin, that mouth, those deep, melty hot cocoa eyes with a side of rich Godiva chocolate!

“Um—um—yes, let’s start the music,” she stammered as he came forward and took her hand in his firm, warm fingers to guide her into the drawing room toward the built-in stereo system. In moments, Pachelbel’s “Canon” was playing softly in surround sound, filling each downstairs room and floating up the elegant staircases.

Marcus turned toward Caitey and gazed at her, lifting her hand to kiss the back like a 19th-century gentleman. “You are a vision, Caitey,” he said in a deep voice. “Perfection.”

“You’re looking mighty fine yourself, Mr. Stirling,” she said, her chin lifting. “I didn’t know you cleaned up so well.”

A grin spread over his face, and his eyes crinkled at her teasing. “Hey, I’ll take whatever you give me.”

Caitey tapped a finger against her lips. “I do have one final question for you, Mr. Stirling.”

“What’s that, lovely Caitey?”

“If you’re standing with Logan as best man, how can you possibly take pictures, too?”

“I’m one step ahead of you. I showed Reginald how to work my camera, and he’ll be snapping all evening. At least through the ceremony.”

“You think of everything,” she said, batting her eyelashes.

“I aim to please,” he said, his lips curving into a smile.

“The bride is at the top of the stairs!” Aunt Vicki announced excitedly. “Come in and take your seats, everyone. No—choose your seats but remain standing for the wedding procession.”

“Oh! I must get up there to come back down as the bridesmaid!” Caitey slipped her hand from Marcus’s grasp, picked up the skirts of her gown, and ran up the staircase. Jenna stood waiting at the top, gnawing at her lips while Caitey’s jaw dropped. “You look so gorgeous, Jenna,” she hissed. “Truly, your dress is magnificent. Definitely made just for you!”

“A far cry from my stained apron at the Coffee Loft, right?” Jenna quipped.

“Stop chewing on your mouth; your lipstick is coming off and will stain your teeth!” Caitey giggled.

“Is it too late to back out?” Jenna suddenly said in a low, panicked voice. “Terror just hit me right in the gut!”

Caitey held both her hands in her own. “Cold feet are normal. This is the moment it hits you. The magnitude of what’s about to happen. You’re becoming Mrs. Logan Hearst for the rest of your life, from this night forward—”

Jenna’s eyes grew wider with panic.

“Okay, I’m shutting up now.” Caitey squeezed her hand. “Girl, you want to marry that man, Mr. Logan Hearst. You will have the best honeymoon, live happily ever after, and have beautiful, perfect children. This is a wedding to remember, and we’ll all be telling stories for years to come. Don’t let a few jitters get to you. ”

“What would I have done without you, Caitey?”

“You would have eloped. But now we all get to see your ceremony, and we get to eat Gus’s fantastic food and that cake—wowza, we’ll each have three pieces . . .”

Jenna finally grinned and gave a relieved little laugh. “I’m so glad you’re my wedding planner. You always make me laugh. I confess I wanted perfection, but life doesn’t work like that. But Logan is perfection. And I love him with my whole soul.”

“Whew! Glad we got that out of the way!” Caitey said, teasing her. “Then I think we’re gonna have us a wedding ceremony right now, girl! Follow me! If you fall on these stairs, I’ll be here to catch you.”

At that moment, the music downstairs swelled, and Caitey began to descend, followed by Jenna a few steps behind.

The music was soothing and beautiful while Caitey took one slow step at a time.

When she arrived at the doors to the drawing room, she gasped in sheer delight. The beautiful flowers scenting the air, and the magnificent glowing candles had created a fairy tale.

Caitey tried to remain demure as she approached the aisle between the two rows of chairs, where everyone stood with huge smiles on their faces, watching the small procession.

The music swelled a little louder as Jenna stood in her gorgeous white gown in the doorway. She looked like a queen with her thick blonde hair piled beautifully on her head while diamond teardrop earrings dangled against her neck. Her bridal bouquet, filled with blood-red orchids and lilies, was stunning.

Bless that exasperating and delicious Marcus Stirling!