You Knew Me When (28 page)

K
atherine looped her arm through her father's and inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the sweet scent of spring and focusing her attention down the aisle, where the priest was standing at attention—arms folded in front of him—underneath an elaborate canopy sheathed in pale pink roses with sprays of blue hyacinths and white lily of the valley cascading around him. Initially, Hazel had wanted to do everything herself, given that the wedding was in her own backyard, but Katherine had insisted on importing Julie Case, Manhattan's most coveted wedding planner—someone who could attend to every last detail while unencumbered by the personal investment.

The result was spectacular, even better than Katherine had imagined it would be. Julie and her bridal brigade had transformed the modest half acre into a virtual Garden of Eden, with enough flowers, it seemed, to blanket a football field, and enough flickering candles to light up the neighborhood once the sun had turned in for the night.

“You ready, Kitty Kat?” Katherine's father looked at her, a wide smile animating his face.

“I should ask you the same thing.” She beamed back at him, leaning over to kiss his clean-shaven cheek. She could tell he was nervous.

It was hard to believe it had already been six months since Katherine had purchased Luella's house. She hadn't been able to move in immediately, as there were renovations to be made. After all, Katherine liked things the way she liked them, and even if she had shed some of her edge since returning to Vermont, being particular was one aspect of her personality that was unlikely to wane. More than that, she wanted to make Luella's house her own, presuming it would be more than a little creepy to leave it just as it was. She hadn't planned to live there full-time at first. While things with Grant were obviously heading in the right direction, there'd been no telling what would happen in the long run. And there was also the issue of her job at Blend.

She'd gone back to New York for the few weeks until Christmas, ready to set her master plan in motion, and everything had played out just as she'd orchestrated. Katherine's first order of business had been to do a little research into Tina, Laney's boss. Something about her was shady, and Katherine was determined to find out the specifics. As it turned out, Katherine was spot-on. Tina and her husband were irreversibly behind on paying their bills and, therefore, driving Oasis on the fast track to bankruptcy. Laney later admitted that there had been signs of financial disarray, but she'd always disregarded them, assuming that Tina had plenty of money to sort it all out, and that said issues were merely a consequence of Tina's laziness, rather than her dwindling bank account.

It wasn't Katherine's intention to destroy Tina's life, although humiliating her had been gratifying; she'd let Laney deliver the news of her eviction. What Katherine really wanted was to co-own Oasis along with her best friend. After that was taken care of, Katherine had invited Jane Sachs to lunch, something they'd done only a handful of times over the years. She'd broken the news that she was leaving Blend, albeit not entirely, if that was acceptable to Jane. She'd proposed that she could work as a consultant, based mainly in her Manchester “office,” otherwise known as Luella's house, and that Oasis—which she planned to quadruple in size, catering to all of the wealthy tourists who swooped in for ski and golf seasons—would carry and sell Blend products. Jane had said she was sad to see Katherine leave, but that she'd expected the day would eventually come—in fact, she was surprised it hadn't come sooner. She'd said that Katherine had played an instrumental role in growing and running the company, concluding with one final declaration: “Luella would be very proud of you.”

Katherine had decided to sell her apartment in New York and buy a smaller two-bedroom in an equally posh Upper East Side building, between Park and Madison Avenues. While she wouldn't be commuting regularly, there would be days, perhaps even a week here and there, when she'd need it. Three months after her relocation to Vermont, Grant had moved in with her, and they'd taken the money from the sale of his house to update the swimming pool, fill in some landscaping, and redo the patio, which included an extravagant outdoor living area and kitchen. Apparently, one thing Grant had taken away from his relationship with Michelle—barring some hideous furniture—was a penchant for cooking, which worked out quite conveniently, given that Katherine couldn't scramble an egg.

“Ready as I'll ever be!” Katherine's dad squeezed her hand, and they commenced their short walk down the aisle, all 120 eyes of their sixty guests monitoring each and every choreographed step.

“I'd say so. How long has it been?”

“Just about seventeen years.”

“That's scary. Now I feel really old.”

•   •   •

The
ceremony had been breathtakingly poignant. Hazel had written her own vows, of course, and they'd read like a Maya Angelou poem. Her father had fumbled a bit through his, which had read more along the lines of “Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue,” but they'd been charming nonetheless. Their unconditional devotion had been profound, and while Hazel had gazed into her groom's eyes, Katherine and Grant had exchanged affectionate glances. The reception had outdone Hazel's expectations—at least that's what she'd told Katherine repeatedly, thanking her again and again, more profusely each time, for not only facilitating and paying for everything, but for giving her father the nudge he'd needed to finally propose. When all was said and done, everyone in attendance was drunk on the finest champagne and the infectious love in the air.

“Have I told you how gorgeous you look tonight?” Grant snuck up behind Katherine, wrapping his arms around her waist and nestling his nose into the side of her neck.

“It never hurts to say it again.” She turned around, kissing him firmly on the lips.

“And you're a knockout in that gown.” His hands wandered down her back to her rear end, where he groped unabashedly.

“It was Luella's.” Katherine reflexively blinked away the tears welling in her eyes—it had been an emotional evening all around. “You don't think it's too much?” Laney had convinced her to wear the sprawling white gown after admiring it on her during their impromptu dress-up session. She'd insisted that it didn't look bridal at all and—on the heels of consulting with Hazel, who'd said that not only would she definitely
not
be wearing white, but that if Katherine didn't wear the dress she'd be disappointed—Katherine had relented. They all knew it would mean having a small piece of Luella with them on the big day, even though no one had said as much.

“Not at all.” Grant brushed a wisp of hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. “And the earrings look perfect with it.” Katherine had made a special trip to the vault while in New York to unearth the emerald studs Luella had gifted her on her seventeenth birthday, and Grant was right: they did look spectacular with the dress.

“What about this?” Katherine tugged on the delicate silver chain around her neck to reveal the familiar cursive “K” dangling beneath the top of her dress.

“Oh, my God!” Grant laughed. “I can't believe you still have it.” He shook his head, staring at the pendant in his open palm. “I remember being completely terrified that you were going to hate it. Even the saleswoman at Mancini's knew I was a wreck.”

“I love it.” Katherine looked down at Grant's hand, and he tilted her chin up toward him again.

“And I love you. More than anything.”

“Anything? Hmm. I like the sound of that.”

“That's right. Even more than my new outdoor kitchen.”

“Wow, I'm really flattered now.”

“Yup. Thought you'd appreciate that. I mean, I think we can agree that the pizza oven could give any woman a run for her money.”

“Without a doubt.” Katherine giggled. “Though may I point out that I've yet to sample one of your fabulous gourmet pizzas.”

“I'm honing my skills.” Grant pulled Katherine closer, until their faces were nearly touching.

“Is that so?”

“Oh yeah. I got mad skills in more places than one, baby.” He placed three soft kisses just under her left earlobe. “Now I just need to make an honest woman out of you.” He motioned toward the altar with his head. “Kind of puts you in the mood, huh?”

“Oh, I don't know.” Katherine smiled flirtatiously. “What if I'm not the marrying type?”

“You'd better be. I haven't waited this long for nothing.” He kissed her on the lips decisively, pulling back briefly to further his point. “That necklace was an investment. Make no mistake about it.”

“Can you two
please
get a room?” Laney interjected, approaching with two glasses of champagne. “Here, take these. Something else to do with your mouths.”

“Excuse me. I was just talking to your best friend and business partner here about finally making you two sisters for real. You know, when the time is right.”

“Don't be ridiculous.” Laney rolled her eyes in the dramatic fashion that only she could. “Kitty and I are already sisters. We always have been.”

Photo by kentmillerstudios.com