“Well, I wanted a ranch wedding, with a reception in the barn. Someday, when we have daughters, we’ll help plan their big day, but let’s act excited about this one for Mama Lizzy’s sake.”

  “I’ll try,” Sophia said with a long sigh.

  Clara stood up and walked across the lobby to the table. “These all look too good to eat. You didn’t have to decorate them so beautifully.”

  Sophia followed her, feeling her waistline growing just from looking at the little cakes and cupcakes. “Did you bring pictures of some of your work so we can pick out what we want?”

  Jill picked up a thick book from her cart and laid it on the table. “The new trend is to have a small, traditional, three-tiered cake, and then have two-to-four cupcake stands with a different flavor on each one. That’s just one idea. I have crystal cupcake stands as well as white, milk glass ones. Most brides match the stands with whatever punch bowl they choose to use. On the grooms’ table, there would be a two-tiered chocolate cake, and the cupcakes would be some variation of chocolate—chocolate almond, German chocolate, red velvet, etc. That’s just an idea. You are welcome to look through the book and decide what you like best while you sample the cakes. Here’s a sheet for each of you to check off your favorite five.” She laid three pieces of paper on the table, poured herself a cup of coffee, and sat down.

  Clara cut a sliver of the white cake first, put it on a paper plate, and then added a tiny piece of several cupcakes. She had always loved cake of any kind—even those little chocolate and orange cupcakes that were sold in packs of two in convenience stores. When she had marked her favorites from that round she pushed the plate aside and started on the chocolate ones.

  “This is going to be a tough decision,” she said. “I love all things chocolate.”

  “You love all things sweet,” Sophia grumbled.

  “You got that right,” Clara agreed with a smile. “What do you think of the cupcake idea, Mama Lizzy?”

  “I think it’s fabulous,” Lizzy answered. “That way, Sophia gets her different flavors and you get your small, three-tiered wedding cake. Have you picked out something from the book?”

  “I wanted a crystal bride and groom on the top of my cake and Clara wanted flowers, so how do we compromise on that, Mama Lizzy?” Sophia flipped through a few pages in the book.

  “That one,” Lizzy pointed. “But I want dogwood blossoms made of sugar, like you did the roses on the anniversary cake for Dillard’s, and then that crystal thing I saw two pages back set down in the middle of them.”

  Sophia flipped back a couple of pages. “Like this?”

  “Yep,” Lizzy answered. “What do you think, Clara?”

  Clara looked down at a picture of a crystal piece that was etched with “Happy Ever After” on top of a cake. “I love it. Are you okay with that idea, Sophia?”

  “I can live with it,” she said as she ate the last bite of orange cake and made her choices on the sheet. “What about on the grooms’ cake? How can we make it represent two very different men?”

  “How about putting chocolate-covered strawberries decorated like tuxedos around the bottom and the edge of the top?” Jill suggested.

  Lizzy beamed. “I love it. And now, to finish tasting and choosing what we want on the cupcake stands. In my mind, I see crystal stands for the brides’ table and the white milk glass ones for the grooms’. And the chocolate cheesecake cupcakes should be on the grooms’ side.”

  “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Clara whispered to Sophia.

  “It will do, and it is prettier than I thought it would be. I like the sugar dogwood flowers. I was afraid we’d just have a branch with blossoms on it stuck down in the top of the cake,” Sophia answered.

  “Give me a little more credit than that,” Lizzy fussed. “What do you think of the cakes?”

  “They are delicious, so the guests will love them,” Sophia answered.

  Lizzy turned her head to look at Clara. “And you?”

  “I love all of it,” Clara answered.

  Jill pulled out a notebook and a pen. “Okay, now let’s talk about how many guests, so I will know how much cake to make.”

  “Each sister got to invite one hundred, and I sent out fifty,” Lizzy answered. “We have RSVPs from two hundred. That will fill the courtyard, and we will have extra tables set up in the lobby for the dinner after the wedding.”

  Jill wrote that down, and which cupcake stands were to go on each table. “Do you want the cupcakes in gold or silver foil?”

  “Silver for the brides’ table,” Lizzy answered. “Gold for the grooms’. See, I told you girls that we didn’t need six months to a year to plan a wedding. We’ll get it done, and the courtyard will be beautiful with all the dogwoods in bloom.”

  “But Mama Lizzy—” Sophia started.

  Lizzy held up a palm. “The shorter the planning period, the better. That gives you less time to bicker. You got to pick out your dresses. I decided to have the wedding in the courtyard while the dogwoods are in bloom. That cuts down on the amount we spend on flowers. We can house everyone comfortably right here in the inn. That way guests can come as early as they want and stay as long as they can. I’ve closed the hotel until after the wedding and hired Luther, my chef, to come back that day to cook for us. That way we’ll be ready for the rehearsal dinner and breakfast the next morning. Y’all got to compromise on the cakes. Seems fair enough to me.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Clara agreed.

  “I really do like his shrimp alfredo,” Sophia said with a smile.

  “Okay, ladies,” Jill said, “Have you made your decisions about flavors?”

  The only flavor for the wedding cake that they all had on their list was the plain old vanilla with a touch of almond, which was Clara’s all-time favorite. She might look really plain beside her gorgeous sister at the ceremony, but she would get the cake she wanted, so that was a win in an otherwise difficult situation.

  Chapter Two

  Trevor laced his fingers in Clara’s as they watched the parade kick off the first day of the Dogwood Trails Festival. “My mama and daddy brought me and all five of my brothers to town for this festival every year. I’ve probably been coming to it since the spring after I was born.”

  “Mama Lizzy has pictures of me and Sophia in one of those double strollers,” Clara said. “But by that time, you must’ve been about four years old. Did I ever tell you that I had a crush on you back in high school? Maybe I should say when you were a senior and I was a freshman.”

  Trevor squeezed her hand. “Honey, I’ve always worn glasses and had thin hair, and you were so beautiful that I would never have thought about asking you out in those days.”

  “Why not?” Clara asked.

  “Fear of rejection,” he answered with a chuckle. “I’m the luckiest man in the whole great state of Texas to have you on my arm today. And I intend to show you just how much I love you for the rest of your life.”

  “I love you too,” Clara said and planted a kiss on his cheek.

  “So, how did the wedding cake stuff go yesterday?” Trevor asked.

  “Better than I thought it would.” Clara went on to tell him what they had decided. “I was afraid that I might have to take you up on that offer to fly to Vegas for the weekend, but Sophia finally came around. She really wanted a big fling-ding wedding that would last a week, something in a fancy venue with golden chandeliers.”

  “And you wanted a simple ranch wedding. I’m amazed that y’all can agree on anything.” Trevor nodded toward a taco vendor. “Let’s go get a snack over there when the parade ends.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Clara said, “and then we’ll have snow cones for dessert.”

  “Hey, we located the cutest little handmade jewelry vendor,” Sophia said as she and Lizzy joined them. “I bought a pair of earrings for each of my bridesmaids to wear to the wedding. They’re different shapes, but all in shades of green like their dresses. Have you bought your gifts yet?”

  “I have only one attendant,” Clara answered. “I asked Trevor’s grandmother to be my maid of honor because you’re already taken as a bride. She’s going to wear a green floral dress and emerald earrings that her husband gave her on their first anniversary. I thought I might give her a framed picture of me and Trevor as a thank-you gift.”

  “She would love that,” Trevor said. “I’ve always hated pictures of myself, and being the baby of six boys, there aren’t a lot of me. But honey, if you’re in the photo, I’ll feel like a king.”

  Sophia rolled her eyes. “How we can be twins is a total mystery.”

  “Amen to that,” Trevor agreed.

  “They are named after my sisters,” Lizzy explained. “Sophia is the image of my oldest sister, Clara, and Clara looks just like my younger sister, Sophia. I should have switched their names at birth, but they were both bald-headed at that time. And I couldn’t tell what color their eyes were. Both of my sisters were gone before the girls were born, but I wanted to honor them by giving them namesakes.”

  “Did your sisters get along?” Clara asked.

  “Lord, no! None of us could go half a day without an argument,” Lizzy answered. “Thank goodness for that, because it fitted me for what I was about to go through raising you two. Come on, Sophia. Let’s go see about that vendor over there with the purses. I could use a new little clutch bag for the wedding.”

  “Mama Lizzy!” Clara said as she shook her finger at her grandmother. “You’ve been on so many committees and were even president of the Chamber of Commerce. I bet you have a dozen bags in your closet that would work for a wedding.”

  “Probably twenty or more,” Lizzy told her. “But not a one of them matches the dress I have picked out for that day. You and this good-looking fiancé of yours enjoy the day. Have her home by midnight, Trevor.”

  Trevor tipped his cowboy hat toward her. “Yes, ma’am. See y’all tomorrow morning in church. Reckon it would be all right if I stole her away for a family dinner at the ranch? We’d be glad if you and Sophia could join us.”

  “Thank you, but I’ll have to turn you down, son,” Lizzy said. “I’ve promised my friend Marlene that I would go to lunch with her after church, but I’m sure Sophia will be glad to have a good meal rather than eating sandwiches or leftovers.”

  * * *

  “Yes, I would,” Sophia muttered, and then wondered why she’d said such a thing. She didn’t want to go to church, pretend to listen to a boring sermon, or go out to the ranch to smell fresh cow patties. Give her the scent of hot concrete and greasy burger joints any day of the week over cows and hay. “Why don’t y’all pick me up at the hotel after church?”

  “I’ll wake you up in plenty of time to go to the services with us,” Lizzy told her. “I’ll drive us, and then you can go out to the ranch with Trevor and Clara.”

  And that’s the reason I moved away from this area and vowed to never come back, Sophia thought as she and her grandmother headed toward the vendor with the purses. Mama Lizzy wants to micromanage every minute of my time.

  “Why don’t you call Hunter and see if he wants to come up here and go out to the ranch with you tomorrow?” Lizzy asked.

  “Good grief, Mama Lizzy,” Sophia gasped. “It’s a three-hour drive up here, and then another three for him to get home.”

  “Doesn’t he love you enough to make that effort?” Lizzy asked but didn’t wait for an answer before she went on. “Or maybe he could get that little company plane to bring him up here like y’all did at Christmas. You can pick him up at the airport and take him back after supper. That way, you four could spend a little time together. He doesn’t even know Trevor.”

  Sophia didn’t roll her eyes, but it took a lot of willpower and effort not to do so. “They can get to know each other later.” She couldn’t imagine “The Cowboy,” as she called him when she talked to Hunter about Trevor, and a man who wore three-piece suits and ties to work having any more in common than she and her sister did.

  “He is coming a couple of days before the wedding, isn’t he?” Lizzy persisted.

  “He’ll be here on Wednesday before that Friday,” Sophia answered, and picked up a cute little navy-blue purse. “What do you think of this one?”

  “I know you’re changing the subject,” Lizzy said, “and that purse looks downright dowdy. Let’s go sit at a table with an umbrella over it and enjoy a piña colada.”

  “It’s a little early to start drinking,” Sophia said.

  “Honey, you ain’t in Houston,” Lizzy said with a giggle. “And after putting up with you two all morning, I think I’m entitled to a drink.”

  Sophia pulled out her phone and found the icon that showed her how many of her points a drink would cost. She’d already done some damage to the count with a breakfast the size of the one she’d eaten.

  “Maybe you could have something this next couple of weeks without looking up the calories and fat grams,” Lizzy said.

  “Why are you always fussing at me?” Sophia put the phone back in her pocket. “I just want to be beautiful for my wedding day.”

  “Does Hunter think you are beautiful?” Lizzy asked.

  “Of course he does,” Sophia answered.

  “Would he love you if you gained twenty pounds or were hugely pregnant?” Lizzy persisted.

  Sophia frowned. She couldn’t lie, but how could she tell her grandmother that she and Hunter hadn’t even talked about children?

  “Uh-huh,” Lizzy said.

  “What does that mean?” Sophia asked.

  Lizzy got in the line of people waiting to buy a frozen piña colada. “It means that Clara and Trevor want four kids and have already picked out names for them, and from the expression on your face, you and Hunter haven’t even discussed the idea of a family. That scares me. You have your mother’s genes, whether I like it or not.”

  “I want a family,” Sophia said, “but not for a couple or three years, and I am not my sister. You should know that by now.”

  “Oh, honey, I may not be real smart, but I’ve managed a hotel since I was twenty years old, and I know you two girls very well,” Lizzy said. “You are jealous of Clara because she’s small and cute. She envies you because you are tall and beautiful.”

  Sophia put her phone away. “I’m not so sure that my laid-back sister could ever be jealous of me, but on another note, I’ve changed my mind. I do want a drink.”

  “Good girl,” Lizzy said. “We’ll sit over there and watch the people for a spell. It’s been a year since I took time off from work just to enjoy the afternoon. I’m glad you are here to share it with me.”

  Chapter Three

  Sophia would have far rather stayed home and spent time on the phone with Hunter on Sunday morning, but then again, she didn’t want an outdoor wedding either.

  “What you want and what you get are two different things,” she murmured, quoting one of her grandmother’s favorite sayings.

  The old girl had been tough on Sophia, but not any more so than she’d been on Clara. They had to share a room in the little apartment behind the lobby desk until they were sixteen. Sophia thought about their birthday that year as she applied her makeup. Mama Lizzy had told them that they could have their own room in the hotel for their special birthday present, but it had to be on the second floor. Her reasoning was that the ground floor had to be saved for folks who couldn’t climb stairs.

  “Yeah, right,” Sophia said with a giggle. Her grandmother hadn’t fooled her one bit. If her room had been on the ground floor, sneaking out the doors and through the wrought-iron gate at the back of the courtyard would have been easier than on the second floor.

  But she had been so excited to have a full bed instead of a twin size, and to put her personal things on a whole dresser without having to split it down the middle and share it with Clara. But that night she had lain awake until almost dawn, feeling as if someone had died and things would never be the same again.

  A knock on her door brought her out of the past and into the here and now. “Clara?” she called out.

  “Nope, it’s me,” Lizzy answered, and then peeked into the bedroom. “Do you feel like a teenager again in your very own room with a balcony?”

  “Little bit,” Sophia answered. “Why did you put us on the second floor when you gave us our own rooms?”

  “So you wouldn’t sneak out at night,” Lizzy answered. “Besides, I thought you’d enjoy having a balcony. Breakfast is on the bar. I’ve already eaten, and we’ve had a change of plans. My friend is picking me up here, so you can ride with Clara.”

  She was gone before Sophia could say that she’d rather drive her own vehicle. She tucked her cell phone into the pocket of her silk pajama bottoms and headed downstairs. When she reached the lobby her phone rang. She fished it out and smiled when she saw that Hunter was calling.

  “Good mornin’, darlin’,” she said. “I miss you so, so much, and I’ve only been away from you for a few days.”

  “I miss you too,” he said, but there was something in his voice that didn’t sound right.

  “Is everything okay in the big city?” she asked.

  “Not really, but I don’t want to discuss it on the phone. I’ll be there tomorrow about noon and we’ll talk face-to-face,” he answered. “Lots has happened since you’ve been gone.”

  “Is this about us?” Her heart felt as if it had turned to stone. Hunter was the love of her life, and if he broke up with her now, she would never get over it.

  “We are fine, darlin’. I love you, but I’ve got to go now,” he said. “Lots to do today so I can come to Dogwood and spend some time with you.”

  “Okay, then, I’ll see you about noon tomorrow,” she told him.

  The call ended.

  The worrying began.

  Five years ago she and Hunter had gone to work at the same time for the Big Red Oil Corporation in Houston. They flirted for a few months, and then he asked her out, and it was all history from then on. They worked together on jobs that involved all kinds of PR work, setting up events, managing travel arrangements, and even supervising the promotional crew for the huge business. For the past two years they had lived together, and right after the new year they had put a down payment on a condo that would be ready when they came home from their honeymoon. Everything had gone exactly according to their plans, except, of course, for the actual wedding. Surely nothing could be wrong, could it?