Free Barefoot Bay: Hold On To Forever (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Maria Geraci

billing,” Marcy said. He could hear the curiosity in her voice.
    “I’ve already taken care of that. Did you file the papers on the Winston case?”
    “Done.”
    “Great. Oh, and, Marcy, one more thing. We need to schedule an ad presentation for the partners. Something for late next week.”
    “I thought we just had one of those a few months ago. Are we looking to change agencies?”
    “Not completely, but I’m thinking of taking on another firm to do some additional work.”
    “Whatever you say, boss. How’s the wedding festivities? Are you having a good time?”
    A good time ? No one else at the firm would have thought to ask him that. But Marcy had been with him since day one. She was in her early fifties and the motherly type. Always asking him if he’d taken his vitamins and slept enough.
    “Actually, yeah, I am,” he said, surprised to admit it.
    “I’m glad to hear that.”
    He wondered what she really thought about that letter, and what she would think if she knew that he planned to leave the firm one day. It wasn’t for at least seven more years, but still…
    “Marcy, there’s no need to get to the office so early. Nine o’clock will do just fine.”
    There was an enough of a pause on her end that he almost thought to ask if she was still there. “All right,” she finally said. “Anything else you need?”
    “No, that’s it.”
    “It was nice of you to write that letter,” she said.
    Nice? No one at Martinez and Martinez had ever called him nice. Polite. Efficient. Business-like. Yes. He was no stranger to closing seven figure deals. Big cases that he and his team sometimes worked up to a couple of years on, but this one simple transaction for Beth Henderson made him feel better about himself than he’d felt in a long time.
    * * *
    The Barefoot Bay Brides offices were located in the resort’s lobby. Felicity had wanted this appointment to be just her and Nicki, but Ellen and Abuela had tagged along and it was impossible to say no to them. Especially to Abuela, who seemed hell bent on sticking her two cents worth wherever she went. They were meeting with two of the planners, Ari McBain and Willow Hershey to go over the final details for Saturday’s event.
    “Everything looks beautiful,” Felicity said, glancing at a sketch that Ari had provided her. Ari was in charge of the staging, flowers, and the overall look of the wedding site, while Willow was going to talk to them about the food and beverages. Although Nicki and Mitch had already made their selections, both Ari and Willow seemed happy to go over the details again for Felicity’s sake.
    The ceremony would take place outside on the sand under a canopy of fresh flowers with music provided by a three-piece orchestra. Afterward, the fifty invited guests would dine in a private banquet room where Chef Ian and his crew from Junonia would hand-prepare an exquisite dinner of filet mignons and lobster tails. The liquor was top of the line and there was even a live band coming in from Miami that specialized in both modern and Latin music. Everything was perfect. And out of this world expensive.
    “I especially love the flower selection,” Ellen said. “You can never have too many flowers at a wedding.”
    “I agree,” said Ari. “There’s nothing like the scent of fresh flowers mingling with the gulf breeze.”
    “Too bad we couldn’t get Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine to play for the reception,” Abuela said. “I just love that song of theirs…how does it go? C’mon shake your body, baby, do that conga…” Abuela stood and began shimming. “Or maybe we could get that Pitbull? I think he is cute. Even though he has no hair.” Everyone laughed, even Felicity, who was still reeling by the final cost of everything. Thank God Abuela was joking. At least, she hoped she was joking. What on earth would Pitbull charge to do a private wedding reception?
    Willow winked at her fellow wedding planner. “I think this is