Mistaken Gifts by Elena Aitken Read Free Book Online Page A

getting to the heart of the matter.  
    "I’ll handle Roxanne," he said. "Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need to get the boys to the Cub Club. I understand they’re going to be doing some snowshoeing or something."  
    "Sounds fun," Eva lied. "It was nice to see you, Mr. Williams. We’ll talk more later about the details of the ceremony."
    "Absolutely," he said. "Have fun, girls." And with that he was gone, leaving Eva and Andi alone.  
    She waited until he was out of sight, but then Andi let out a deep sigh and said, "Thank you. Honestly, I don’t know if I could have handled it so calmly if you hadn’t showed up."
    "Sorry I was late," Eva said. She took a sip of her coffee. "But he seems okay now. What got him so worked up?"
    "It’s not him. It’s Roxanne," Andi said. She dropped her head into her hands and squeezed her temples. "I swear, if I knew it was going to be so difficult just handling my family all in one place, we would have eloped. This is too much."  
    The waitress delivered a basket of muffins to the center of the table before leaving them alone. Eva waited and watched her best friend for a moment. Something was wrong. Something more than the stress of the wedding. Andi was a professional and she knew better than anyone how to handle a difficult family when it came to planning an event. Andi never shut down. "Are you okay?" Eva asked her.  
    Andi nodded, but didn’t look up. "Of course I am."
    "You’re sure? I can’t remember the last time I saw you so worked up. I mean, it’s just a seating arrangement. We’ve handled a whole lot worse."  
    Andi’s head shot up and she stared at Eva. "We’ve never handled my wedding before," she said. "It’s different. It’s totally different. And now I know what the bride feels like when she loses her mind and starts crying over stupid things like music choices and centerpieces."
    "Speaking of centerpieces…"
    "We weren’t," Andi snapped. Her face crumpled and tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. "I’m sorry, Eva. You don’t deserve that. You’ve been absolutely wonderful. I’m just really on edge right now and I need Colin to wrap up his business meetings and get here already. I’m just feeling really overwhelmed."  
    Eva reached out and squeezed Andi’s hand. "It’s okay. Just let me handle things, okay? Maybe we can book you into the spa for a massage while I sort out some details."  
    Andi nodded. "That sounds good."  
    It did sound good. Eva made a mental note to book her own massage for the day after the wedding. The way the week was shaping up, she wouldn’t have a spare moment to breathe until everything was over. "Good," she said. "I’ll get Carmen to book it for you." She reached for a muffin and split it in two.
    "And what are you going to do?" Andi asked. "There’s still such a big list. I’m sorry, Eva. It’s not fair for me to leave everything to you."  
    Eva waved her protests away. "It’s totally fair. If the roles were reversed, you’d do the exact same thing. As for me, I have a plan for the day. I was actually going to tell you that I figured out the perfect addition to the centerpieces this morning. Holly berries. I just need to find someone around here to help me gather enough of them and then I can finish those up. I did a sample one, but I left it in the banquet room, sorry."
    "I trust you." Andi swiped at her face with a napkin and took a deep breath. "Holly sounds beautiful," she said. "That’s perfect. Why didn’t we think of that earlier?"
    "I know. That’s exactly what I thought." Eva finished her coffee. "But I’ll need a whole lot more if I’m going to make it work, and I have no idea where to find them."  
    "You need Bo," Andi said. "Remember, I told you about him? He’s Morgan’s new boyfriend."
    "I remember." How could she forget? Morgan had left their business Party Hearty, and come to the Lodge, where she, too, had found love. There seemed to be a running theme.  
    "Anyway," Andi