She felt her excitement grow. What had happened to her reluctant fiancé? What had caused such a sudden change of heart? Maybe Jayne’s warning was completely unfounded after all. Daniel wanted a wedding just as much as she did. She’d been an idiot to doubt him.
But no sooner had Emily considered it than her thoughts flipped on their head. She wondered whether their horrible calls with their moms might have had something to do with Daniel’s sudden interest. Had he been spurred on by Patricia’s skepticism, wanting to prove himself as honorable and his intentions as honest? Or worse, was he just suggesting it to cheer Emily up, as a way of briefly calming her?
After agreeing to make an appointment for next Saturday, they climbed into bed. Daniel fell asleep quickly. But with concerns niggling in her mind, Emily struggled for a long time to find sleep that night.
Serena walked into the B&B for her shift early Saturday morning, her arms laden with magazines.
“The tree looks great,” she said, eyeing the enormous Christmas tree.
“What are those?” Emily asked from her place behind the foyer desk.
Serena walked over to the desk and dumped the magazines in front of Emily. They were wedding catalogues.
“Oh,” Emily said, a little surprised. She’d been engaged for a whole week and hadn’t yet looked at a single magazine.
“I thought you might need some inspiration,” Serena said.
Emily thumbed through one of them, barely taking in the pictures. “Actually, Chantelle made this whole list of things for us to do. First on her list is the venue.”
Serena laughed. “Yeah, she showed me. I love how involved she is. Have you got anywhere in mind?”
Emily smiled. “Actually, we have an appointment in an hour.”
“You do?” Serena said, her eyes widening with excitement.
For the first time since the proposal, Emily felt a flutter of giddy excitement in her stomach at the thought of arranging the wedding, of walking down the aisle.
“It’s in Aubrey,” Emily continued. “It was Daniel’s suggestion, that town hall that Gus and his friends couldn’t stop gushing about.”
Just then, she heard the sound of Daniel descending the staircase and looked behind her. He’d put on his best plaid shirt and even combed his hair back. Emily smiled to herself, pleased to know he would at least make a bit of effort. Serena wiggled her eyebrows, smirking her approval.