Rusty Nailed (The Cocktail Series Book 2)

“It’s melon.”

“It’s marigold.”

“Marigold! It’s pumpkin way before it’s marigold, but that doesn’t matter—because it’s melon.”

“If you think that’s melon then you need your eyes examined, because it’s obviously—”

“Mimi, what do you think? This is totally melon, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Mimi, look at this and tell me how in the world this is melon.”

“Goldfish,” Mimi said.

“What?” I asked, looking at Jillian.

We were standing in the ladies’ bridal salon at Neiman Marcus. Wait, strike that. I was standing in the ladies’ bridal salon, in my bra and underwear, while Jillian and Mimi sat on giant tufted chairs sipping champagne.

“Goldfish. Your dress is the color of those cheddar Goldfish crackers. And it’s kind of perfect for your skin tone, actually,” Mimi said, pouring another glass and drinking it down. “Now both of you shut up. Honestly, listening to two designers argue about the color of your bridesmaid dress is boring.”

Jillian and I looked at each other in the mirror and we each raised our eyebrows.

“Okay, fine. It’s goldfish. Now can you please try it on?” she said, handing it to me. I agreed, stepping into the dress. As I twisted to zip it up, I distinctly heard her mutter “melon” under her breath.

I let it go.

I turned into the mirror and looked at my reflection, and had to admit, I looked good in goldfish.

Full skirt, scooped neck, thin straps, bare arms. With a tan, it would work just fine. Better than fine. I twirled in the mirror, then stopped midtwirl when I saw Mimi going for the champagne again.

“Jillian, stop her, she’s cut off,” I said. Mimi was barely bigger than a champagne bottle herself, and more than two glasses knocked her on her tiny ass.

“You’re no fun, Caroline,” she huffed as Jillian snagged the last glass for herself.

Jillian looked triumphant as she approached me in the mirror, standing behind me. “It looks great,” she murmured, smoothing the skirt.

“Thanks again for asking me to be a bridesmaid,” I replied, meeting her eyes.

We both smiled, and then smiled bigger when we heard Mimi making retching noises. “Ugh, you two are so sweet, I’m gonna puke.”

“Okay, moment’s over. Outta that dress and let’s go get Mimi something to eat,” Jillian said.

Mimi cheered. We finished up, headed out, and grabbed a table at a favorite bistro in North Beach.

Once we were settled and got started on some appetizers for Mimi to soak up the champagne, we talked about the honeymoon.

“Wait, wait, when did France get put on the table? I thought you were going to Italy,” I said, buttering a piece of bread.

“Well, Benjamin and I talked about it and we realized it’s been ages since we had a real vacation, not just a weekend away. So we wanted to extend the trip a bit.”

“Wow, that’s going to be some honeymoon! Italy and France—sounds amazing,” I replied.

“And Switzerland. We added Switzerland too,” Jillian added, a guilty look on her face.

Mimi sighed romantically, clutching her roll close to her chest. “That sounds heavenly—a European honeymoon! I can’t wait to start planning my honeymoon. Ryan said we can go wherever I want, provided I wear lots of string bikinis for him to enjoy. And remove.” She giggled, then hiccupped. Champagne was still lingering.

“Wait, wait, wait—you’re going to Switzerland too?” I asked incredulously. “Anywhere else you’re planning that I should know about?”

“Well, I was planning on talking about this at the office, but—”

“Whoa, what’s going on?” I asked.

“Actually, we’re taking an open-ended trip,” she said matter-of-factly. “We just want to wander freely, and this seems like a good time to do it.”

I sat back in my chair, my head spinning. “How long are you planning on being gone?”

“Long enough to know that you’re gonna need an intern.”

“Wait a minute, just wait a minute. An intern? Seriously Jillian, how long are you going to be gone?” I asked, thinking of all the projects that were coming up on the calendar, to say nothing of the Claremont Hotel, if I was lucky enough to land it.

“Let’s talk about it at the office, okay? The food is here,” she said, nodding at our waiter with our dinner.

As he set plates down in front of us, I met her eyes across the table. “We’ll talk about it at the office,” she said again. “It’ll be fine, I promise.”

It was a quiet dinner. Except for Mimi’s hiccupping.

•  •  •

Text from Simon to Caroline:

Hey, babe, you free for lunch today?

I wish. I’m slammed.

I can come down there; I’ll even bring my hammer.

As much as I do love your hammer, I’m literally buried under a pile of colored pencils at the moment.

Hmm, how about dinner?

Negative, Ghost Rider, I’m heading out to Sausalito tonight as soon as I leave work.

For the hotel? And did you just Top Gun me?

Yup, tonight is the first chance I’ve had to get out there to actually see the place. And yes, I totally Top Gunned you. You want to meet me out there? We could grab a quick dinner afterward.

We could grab a quick something . . .

Babe.

Sorry. OK, text me the address and I’ll meet you out there. 7?

Perfect.

Dammit Simon, now all I can think about is a quick something.

Aaand we’re back. See you at 7.

•  •  •

I walked around the property, checking sight lines and viewpoints, noticing where the late afternoon light hit the buildings. I saw windows where they weren’t, walls where they could be moved to exploit the natural landscape, and pocket gardens that could be renovated to bring a sense of green to a modern shell.

I was getting excited to bid on this job.

A Range Rover’s honk broke me from my reverie. I turned from the front walkway to see Simon pulling up in front. Not quite done with what I was doing, I lifted a finger to indicate that I needed another minute. He parked and walked to where I was.

“So this is the place, huh?” he asked, wrapping his arms around me as I gazed up at the structure.

“Yep, what do you think?”

“I think my girl’s gonna kick some ass on this project,” he replied, resting his chin on the top of my head.

“It’s a beautiful location, isn’t it?”

“What, Sausalito? Yeah, I suppose.”

“Are you kidding? Look at that view!” I pointed back over the bay at the city. San Francisco twinkled in the twilight, the cars going back and forth over the bridge. Coit Tower. Transamerica building. Lovely.

Then I did a 180 and looked back at Sausalito. It wasn’t just a great place to gaze at San Francisco. The houses were glowing against the mountain, streetlights just coming on, sailboats dotting the marina, people walking along the waterfront on their way to dinner or shopping or going home.

“The restaurant isn’t far from here. Let’s walk,” I said, tugging him toward the main drag.

He twined his fingers through mine and as we walked, we talked. About my design ideas, about the upcoming wedding, about his next trip. He was leaving again in two days, this time for South Africa. He was going out on a shark boat, getting shots of the great whites feeding. I couldn’t really think about it without shuddering.

Shudder.

“So Jillian told me today they added France and Switzerland to their honeymoon. Looks like they’re going to be gone awhile,” I said as we headed toward the pier with the restaurant.

“Oh, yeah? Good for them. I know Benjamin has always wanted to travel more.”

“Jillian too, but she was building a business. Hard to leave a business like that—unless you have Super Caroline back home, running the show.” I laughed, making a show of my muscles, which he squeezed appreciatively. “But I admit, I’m surprised they don’t seem to have more of a plan.”

“Sounds like they just want to wander around.”

“Sure, sure. Except wandering without a plan is not like Jillian.”

Simon shrugged. “It’s their honeymoon, babe. And it’s not like they can’t afford it.”

“Yes, I’m well aware of Benjamin’s giant assets,” I replied, getting a swat on the bum for that one. Simon indulged my crush on Benjamin, but he still reminded me whose assets I needed to be concerned with. “I’m just . . . a bit nervous, I guess. This is a lot to take on.”

“Did you talk to Jillian about it?”

“Not since this hotel proposal came up. She’s so busy with the wedding right now and everything else she’s got going on, I’ve barely seen her.”

“I’m sure she knows what she’s doing. She wouldn’t leave if she didn’t know you could handle it, right?”

“That’s what she said,” I told him, thinking of how much I was really biting off here. “And she did say she’d bring in an intern for me, so that’ll help.”

“Nice! Moving on up,” he exclaimed, humming the tune from The Jeffersons.

“Yeah, the president of the design firm is bopping around Europe for who knows how long, but I’ve got a twenty-year-old intern to help me make copies, so it’ll be fine,” I snapped, reaching for the door to the restaurant. A strong hand reached over mine, stalling the door.

“Hey, it’ll work out. Don’t worry so much,” he said, gently nudging my chin up with his fingers to meet his eyes. My frustration that had flared so suddenly melted away when those sapphire eyes starting spinning their voodoo.

“You’re probably right.” I sighed, letting him open the door for me and guide me inside, one hand on the small of my back.

“Of course I’m right,” he teased.

Once we were seated, I pulled out my calendar.

“Okay, you get back two days before the wedding, right? I want to make sure you have time to settle in before the festivities start.”

“Yep, I’ll be back in time and ready for all best-man duties.”

“Cutting it pretty close, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know what I was thinking when I said I’d do this shoot, but it’ll be fine. I can sleep during the vows, right? They don’t need me for that,” he joked.

I turned his palm up on the table, tracing the lines with my fingertips. I glanced up at him, noticing his gaze had turned dark under his lashes. “You can’t sleep during the ceremony, babe. Besides, there’ll be a bridesmaid across from you thinking the dirtiest thoughts imaginable.”

“Dirty, huh?”

“Oh my, yes; I’m not sure I’ll be able to control myself. You? In a tux? Deadly,” I purred, raising his hand to press a quick kiss to his fingers.

As the waiter came over to get our drink order I winked, dropped his hand, and mouthed “later.”

While Simon looked over the wine list, I looked out the large picture window at San Francisco. The sun had finally set, and the light from the city bounced back across the water. I smiled, considering myself one of the very lucky to call my favorite city home.