Waterfront Weddings Read Online Free Page B

school at night. He worked odd jobs during the day.” Summer shrugged. “We got married as soon as I finished my master’s.”
    “I’ll bet your wedding was beautiful.” Summer’s parents would’ve undoubtedly spared no expense for their oldest daughter’s wedding.
    Summer laughed. “If you think city hall is beautiful, then yes.”
    “You
didn’t have a traditional Charleston wedding?” Ashley couldn’t hide her shock. Her own wedding back home in Alabama had been full of all the bells and whistles. She’d felt like a princess as she’d floated down the aisle on her daddy’s arm. Except that she’d turned out to be a princess without a happily ever after. So maybe a city hall wedding wasn’t such a bad idea.
    “Nope. Too much trouble. Luke’s family was kind of scattered, and mine wasn’t very supportive. Except for Gram. She’d been a fan of Luke’s from the beginning. But I didn’t even tell her.”
    Ashley sat, stunned. “Were they mad?”
    “Let’s just say we had some tense holidays after that. But everyone came around.” She tapped her fingers on the desk. “Enough about that though. I’m meeting with Sarah Gentry at noon to go over the details for her flowers. We need to let the florist know soon.”
    Back to business. Summer had been that way since they’d met. It was almost as if she were two people. As soon as she let down her guard and let Ashley in on anything personal, she’d raise the walls back up and flip into business mode. “Okay.” Ashley nodded. “And don’t forget that I’m getting some quotes for a new web design. I have the components ready, but now I need to find a designer who can put it all together.” She grinned. “I can’t wait until the site is ready to launch.” Ashley took a great deal of pride in the web project. She’d handled it almost single-handedly.
    “Awesome. Thanks for your work on that.” Summer looked up from her computer screen. “And I don’t remember if I mentioned that Luke has a friend who is a web designer. You don’t have to use him, but at least add him to the list of people to get a quote from.” She leaned back in her chair. “I can’t wait to see how the new site impacts business. I think it will make things so much easier, particularly for people from out of state.” At least half of their business came from couples who came to Charleston for a destination wedding.
    Ashley nodded. Once the site was live, clients would be able to log on and choose from a variety of options to build their own dream wedding. The whole thing would be interactive, so they’d be able to read reviews of venues, watch videos of potential bands, and even see a variety of cakes to choose from. It would be so helpful for brides who wanted a destination wedding in Charleston but were unable to visit ahead of time. “I’m really excited about it.” Now would be the perfect time to talk about a promotion. But as usual, the words caught in Ashley’s throat.
    Would she ever find the courage to speak up for herself?
    History and a failed marriage said no.
    But Ashley would keep trying to build her confidence. Until then, she’d just keep quiet.

    Summer added a few tasks to the to-do list in her planner. Some people preferred to keep track of things on their iPhones or BlackBerries. But she liked the feel of a paper planner. She liked to write down lists and check things off. Planning her days, weeks, and months gave her such satisfaction. Luke accused her of being a control freak. Even when they traveled, she always had a map printed out with the route highlighted. And if he ever tried to go off that highlighted path, as he often did, it filled her with tension.
    The unknown scared Summer. Change was not her friend. And time passed so quickly, sometimes she found herself paralyzed with fear that she wouldn’t get to accomplish all she planned. Because when it came right down to it, life was short.
    She flipped to the monthly calendar where