Snowflake Bay by Donna Kauffman Page A

know that. Logan wouldn’t have latched on to him the way he did, and they certainly wouldn’t have become like brothers, if he’d been an actual jerk.” She laughed. “I can’t even believe I’m having to defend him. I mean, regardless of what you might have thought about him then, he left his thriving business to come home and take care of his sick dad, helped both his parents relocate, and has taken on the family business while still juggling his own. What about that says jerk? Nothing.”
    â€œYes, counselor, he’s a virtual saint,” Fiona said, wishing she’d never taken the bait. Then she caught the considering look Alex was sending her way and little alarm bells went off. It was bad enough to be behaving like a thirty-two-year-old lovesick dork with her still oblivious sister, but the last thing Fi needed was for Alex to piece together the real reason behind her reaction and blurt that out. “Let’s get back to wedding talk, shall we?”
    Hannah held her in a considering light for another moment; then wedding lust won out. “Okay. So we all agree on the lovability of Calder, if not Ben. Why should we wait to make it official?”
    â€œChristmas is right around the corner,” Fiona said. “That’s, like, no time at all to put together a wedding. I know you weren’t able to be involved in most of what happened behind the scenes when I did Alex’s wedding, but she can back me up. Even a small shindig is no small amount of planning.” She held up her hand when Hannah went to interrupt. She’d learned early on. Never let the lawyer talk if it could be helped. “And, it’s Christmas, Han. Do you really want your happy wedding anniversary to compete with the lunacy that is the holiday season? Don’t you want your own special time? Perhaps one that’s not also paired with ass-freezing temperatures and days that end before five in the afternoon? Remember how lovely Logan and Alex’s wedding was? What a gorgeous memory to have.” She saw Alex’s blissful smile in her peripheral vision and kept on going. “Not to mention it might give your wedding planner, oh, a minute or two to get unpacked, set up shop, and plan the event you and Calder so deserve to have.”
    Now it was Hannah’s turn to reach out and cover Fiona’s hand with her own. “Is that what this is about? Fi, you know Calder and I don’t want anything elaborate. We want a simple—”
    â€œA Christmas wedding, by its very nature, is anything but simple.”
    â€œOkay, true. But it doesn’t have to be over the top, either. I mean, the holiday sort of lends itself to the pageantry, right? We are hoping for simple elegance. And by that I just mean—”
    â€œNo tacky bridesmaid dress rehearsal parties?” Fiona said, eyes wide in feigned disappointment. “I’m sure Calder’s family would just love—”
    Hannah grabbed Fiona’s arm. “That’s just it. They’re—”
    â€œUptight. I know. I was kidding, Han. I would never do anything to embarrass you with your new in-laws.” She shot a grin at Alex. “It was totally different with Logan. We had no choice but to make it hard on him. I mean, come on, when would we ever get that chance again? And Alex was game.”
    â€œThey are some of our most favorite wedding photos,” Alex agreed.
    â€œThey are uptight, yes,” Hannah allowed. “Some of them anyway. But that’s not what I was going to say. I was going to tell you this earlier, but we got sidetracked.” She paused, and for once, Fiona couldn’t read her expression. When Hannah wanted to, she aced the lawyer face.
    â€œWhat is it? Oh, no! Has Calder’s dad taken a turn for the worse again?” Calder’s father had had a mild stroke caused by a not-very-mild brain tumor, and though his recovery had been going better