The Wedding Invite (Lakeview) (Lakeview Contemporary Romance Book 6) by Melissa Hill

of the world, he noted wondering if he should pass around a few cards and try and grab some more work for his accountancy firm.
    “I’m here to collect the wedding invites – Hunt is the name,” he announced to the sales assistant, who looked no older than ten, but was wearing the most hideous make- up he had ever seen. She wore purple sparkly eye-shadow, deep red lipstick, and it seemed to Dan as though every piece of exposed skin had been covered with a thick coat of some new, and obviously trendy, fluorescent orange foundation. The girl’s jaws stopped chewing for a second, as she regarded Dan with an interested look. Dan was used to the attention. Over six foot tall, and often told he resembled a young Mel Gibson, he knew women found him attractive, despite the fact that he was heading for thirty-five and beginning to develop a bit of a beer-gut, which Chloe had been on at him to do something about before the wedding.
    Having had a good look, the girl eventually bent down behind the counter, exposing a non-existent cleavage, ostensibly for Dan’s benefit. “When’s the weddin?”
    “Sorry?”
    “The weddin,” the girl repeated wearily, “when is it?”
    “Oh – September 15 th, ” Dan answered, panicking as he realised he wasn’t quite sure. “No, no, it’s September 25 th – yes, definitely September 25 th. . ” He puffed out his chest in an attempt to appear more assertive.
    “Well, there’s no Hunt here for September,” she said, fiddling with a strand of her hair.
    “Well, try Fallon then – my fiancé may have given her maiden name.”
    “Righ’.” The girl disappeared beneath the counter again and seconds later produced an ivory cardboard box.
    “Thanks, my fiancee advised that she’s already paid?” Dan put the box under his arm.
    The girl nodded mutely, looking disappointed as her good-looking customer quickly disappeared out the door.
    A relieved Dan unlocked his Saab, and tossed the heavy cardboard box onto the passenger seat. It was well after six and the traffic out of town was bound to be mental. Maybe he should detour down to Clancy’s hotel for a pint until the traffic cleared. One wouldn’t do him any harm, and he’d drink it slowly.
    Better than having to sit in a two-mile-long tailback just to get out of Lakeview, and having nothing to entertain him but a bunch of fancy wedding invites.

7
    N icola was enjoying her Saturday off. She and Laura had spent most of the morning wandering around the local shops in Lakeview and even though the day was cloudy, it was very mild.
    Now they were heading towards Ella’s cafe for lunch.
    Inside, Laura looked enviously at Nicola’s plate and grimaced towards her own salad. “I can’t wait until I can get back to eating lasagne again,” she said ruefully.
    “Keep imagining how gorgeous you’ll look in your wedding dress,” Nicola teased, tucking shamelessly into her food. “So tell me, how are your business plans going? Any news from the Enterprise Board?”
    Laura’s eyes lit up instantly at this, and Nicola smiled.
    “Not yet,” she said ruefully, “and I think it’ll be a long wait. Still, everything else is coming along very well. I’m going to use one of the downstairs bedrooms as a mini-office until Neil organises a proper workshop for me in the garage.”
    “So you’re going to work from home until then?”
    Laura nodded. “I’ve sent some press releases to the newspapers and magazines that might be interested so you’d never know . . .”
    “And what about the website, did you get someone to organise that for you?”
    Laura hoped to sell a selection of her designs online.
    “Neil’s cousin. He’s only fifteen but he’s an absolute whiz-kid on the web. You should see the logos and animations he’s come up with. I’m sure he has a big future ahead of him in graphic design or something like that.”
    “A website will be a big help starting out, particularly if people can order from you directly. When