Love on Beach Avenue(7)
This was different from the war room, since they brought all prospective clients here for meetings. Avery had learned that showcasing a ruthless business purpose paired with appealing to all five senses was a winning combination in the wedding business.
She flipped open her planner and laptop, then glanced around the room. Her sisters were all seated and ready for the meeting, along with Gabe, her full-time assistant and right-hand man. “Good morning, ladies and gentleman! Let’s make this a great day! Bella, do you want to start?”
Her sister’s calm energy blanketed the room. Avery didn’t know if it was being a mother or the tragic past of losing her husband, but she was continually impressed by Bella’s ability to keep focused in any crazy situation. It was like she owned a yogi’s heart, though she’d never taken up the practice, preferring to run on the boardwalk every morning before Zoe awoke.
“I have the Cameron wedding this upcoming weekend, and everything is on schedule. We discovered there are two nut allergies, so we changed out the cake. The family descends on the Chalfonte Hotel on Thursday, so I’ll need all hands on deck. The MOG offered to treat the wedding party to a spa treatment on Friday, and the FOB requested jet skiing.”
Avery winced. “Well, the mother of the groom will earn points, but you couldn’t talk the father of the bride into a safe golf outing instead?”
“Nope,” Bella said. “He was insistent, but I spoke with Ralph at the marina, and they’ll send a guide to make sure no one goes daredevil in the water.”
Taylor snorted into her coffee cup. “Let’s just hope they fare better than the Sullivans. I still think that ranks as one of our worst weddings.”
Avery lifted a brow. “Really? What about the Cruz ceremony during Hurricane Sandy?” The bride’s veil had been ripped off by the wind, the reception flooded, and a bridesmaid got hit in the face with part of the trellis. Thank God for their liability clause or they’d be bankrupt.
Gabe put down his latte, no doubt doctored with a double shot of espresso, and cut in. “Sorry, boss, but Taylor is right. The Sullivan FOG ended up stealing a Jet Ski and crashing it, remember? Broke his leg and couldn’t walk his daughter down the aisle. I never took him for a wild one, but he got on that thing when nobody was looking, jumped the roped-off area, and headed for the wild blue ocean beyond. Ralph thought he’d drowned by the time he caught up to him.”
“True,” Avery said. She popped the rest of the croissant in her mouth and tamped down the urge to have one more. She loved morning breakfast meetings with pastries.
“And the bride was a crier,” Taylor added.
“I hate the criers,” Bella said. “Everything takes so much longer when you have to calm them down.”
Gabe shrugged. “I don’t mind the weepy ones. Most of them are easy to handle, especially compared to the divas.”
“I don’t think there’s a woman you can’t handle,” Avery teased. Gabe embraced all things bridal and owned it. He was charming with the ladies, best friends with the guys, and adept at sewing up loose ends that could end up biting them in the ass. The entire town of Cape May was madly in love with him, as evidenced by his being named Bachelor of the Cape for two years in a row in Exit Zero magazine.
Avery scratched a note into her calendar. “Okay, we’ll keep a tight watch on the FOB. Let us know if you need any backup. T?”
Taylor casually glanced at her purple glitter Passion Planner and tapped her matching purple nail. “I just have the afternoon tea service on Sunday for a bridal party, but next weekend is Elsa’s bachelorette party in Wildwood.”
Avery stared. “Wildwood?”
Taylor gave a snort of laughter. “Yep. The bride wants an old-fashioned boardwalk experience with fast food, cotton candy, and rides. It’ll be easy, but you know Jersey girls can get a bit wild. Anyone care to jump in and help?”
Avery and Bella both shook their heads. “I think you got this one,” Avery said, hoping her sister didn’t insist. Taylor was the best with bachelorette parties, entertainment, social media, and intimidating the hell out of wayward grooms and bitchy maids of honor. Still, they had instituted a rule of always having a backup in case of emergencies. “Gabe, would you mind being on call in case T needs an extra chaperone?”
“Yep, not a problem.”
“Excellent,” Avery said. “I’ve got the Peretti wedding at the Pelican Club. They’re forecasting rain, and I’ve already fielded a bunch of calls regarding their plan for outside photographs. I spoke with Pierce about a plan B, and he set up an alternate studio on-site with those professional beach backgrounds he made that work really well.”
“Let’s hope it’s just a drizzle. I love when the mist settles and gives that dreamy glow,” Bella said.
Avery noticed Gabe was looking at Bella with an odd expression as she spoke, but she didn’t call him out on it, wanting to get the last part of their meeting over and done with. “Agreed. Our final agenda item is the summer schedules. Let’s get a rundown,” she said.
As each of them rattled off a full list of weddings and bridal events for every weekend through Labor Day, her heartbeat sped up. They were not going to be happy with her announcement. Was there a way to spin it in a positive light? Dammit, she should have plied everyone with mimosas beforehand. She was losing her touch.