Marriage and Mischief (Sapphire Beach Cozy Mystery Series, Book 12), Paperback

Bride-to-be Connie Petretta arranged a variety of appetizers on her dining room table and stepped back to admire the spread. In anticipation of her guests’ arrival to her home, she had prepared an abundance of all of her favorite snacks – green olives stuffed with pimentos, an assortment of cheeses, a crock pot full of meatballs, stuffed mushrooms, and homemade nachos, among other treats. Some of the recipes were inspired by her favorite people. The stuffed mushrooms were courtesy of her beloved late Aunt Concetta and had been a holiday favorite in the family. The meatball recipe was her mother’s, and several of the others were often requested at family gatherings.

Connie rearranged the centerpiece and serving dishes one more time while her mother, Jo, and sister, Giana, chuckled. 

“I’ve never seen you so persnickety about a table,” Jo said.

“It’s not the table that I care about. It’s the people who are coming this afternoon.”

It was exactly two weeks before Connie’s marriage to Detective Zachary Hughes, and their earliest guests had arrived in town the previous day. Some were still filing in that morning. Connie’s parents and sister were there, along with her favorite cousin and bridesmaid, Annabel McBride. Gianna and Anna were staying with Connie while her parents would sleep in Grace’s guest bedroom next door. 

Zach’s parents, Ben and Pauline, were also in town settling in at Zach’s canal-front bungalow. They would be arriving for her get-together at any moment. 

Some of their wedding guests, including Connie’s brother-in-law, Gary, along with her twin niece and nephew, Hannah and Noah, would arrive the following Saturday.  Zach’s brother, Matt, his wife, Jennifer, and their twelve-year-old and ten-year-old boys, Aiden and Liam would arrive then, too. Connie’s best friend, Bethany, and her husband, Jamie, also wouldn’t arrive until the following week. Connie and Zach were thrilled to officially welcome the earliest arrivals to town, introduce them to their Florida friends, and enjoy some quality time with them before the inevitable pre-wedding craziness.

The buzzer sounded on the intercom system, indicating that more guests had arrived. Without bothering to ask for a name, Connie pressed the button to let them in. 

While they waited for the newcomers to ascend the elevator to Connie’s seventh floor condo, Grace, Stephanie, and Gallagher popped in from next door. 

Connie greeted them with a warm hug and pulled them inside to meet Annabel. “I’m so excited for the two of you to meet my cousin, Anna McBride.”

“It’s wonderful to finally meet you in person,” Stephanie said, squeezing Anna’s forearm.

As Connie’s maid-of-honor, Gianna had hosted a teleconferencing event, bringing the bridesmaids together since they lived in three different states. Anna lived in Massachusetts, Elyse and Stephanie in Florida, and Beth had moved to Colorado with her husband. So, although all of Connie’s bridesmaids hadn’t met in person, they had met virtually.

Anna smiled warmly. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you, as well, Stephanie. I am so excited for this wedding that I just had to come early to enjoy the Florida sunshine and help with the preparations in any way I can! Plus, it’s been ages since Connie, Gi, and I have spent any time together.”

Connie squeezed her cousin’s hand. “I was so excited to learn that you were coming early. We have so much to catch up on.”

“McBride,” Grace said, while Connie opened a couple of bottles of wine. “Is that your married name, Anna?”

Anna laughed. “No, I’m a McBride by birth. My mother and Connie’s father are brother and sister. My mother used to be a Petretta until she married my dad.”

There was a brief knock on the door before it swung open. Zach’s parents, Pauline and Ben, entered in front of Zach and rushed over to Jo and Greg, pulling them both into a huge embrace and nearly knocking over their future in-laws.

“We are thrilled to meet you in person after so many phone conversations!” Pauline exclaimed. 

Jo warmly returned Pauline’s embrace. “So are we, Pauline.” Then she hugged Ben. “It’s hard to believe we are almost family.”

Ben put his arm around Connie. “As far as I’m concerned, we already are.”

The Millers were not far behind the Hughes’s. Detective Joshua Miller, his wife and one of Connie’s best friends, Elyse, and their two daughters, now thirteen–year-old Emma and four-year-old Victoria, had been next to arrive. Victoria made a beeline for Ginger, Connie’s Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and lavished her with affection.

Next, Gertrude, Connie’s neighbor and Elyse’s great-aunt, came upstairs from her condo on the fifth floor, followed by Ruby, whose souvenir shop was located next to Connie’s jewelry shop. 

“I think everyone has arrived,” Jo said. “Connie, why don’t you and Zach say a word of welcome?”

“We’re still waiting on Fr. Paul,” Connie said. “He assured Zach and me that he was coming when we talked to him a couple of days ago.” Connie pointed to Concetta’s favorite crystal candy dish, which she had filled with butterscotch hard candies for Fr. Paul. “I even promised I’d have plenty of his favorite candy on hand.” Fr. Paul Fulton was a friend of the family and would be officiating the wedding.

“If Fr. Paul said he’d be here, then he’ll be along any moment. I’ve never known him to flake out on a commitment,” Grace said.

“We invited Fr. Anthony, as well, but he is covering the 4:00 Mass so that Fr. Paul can be here,” Zach said. Then he chuckled. “Fr. Anthony is a brand-new priest who was just ordained in May, and Fr. Paul is trying to get him to loosen up. He thinks he takes everything too seriously. The two of them are hilarious together.”

“I can’t wait to see that!” Greg said.

They waited another half hour for Fr. Paul, then everyone agreed that he must have gotten side-tracked.

Jo, Gianna, and Pauline refreshed everyone’s drinks and ensured they had all made themselves a plate of food, then some of the guests migrated to the living room. The layout of Connie’s condo was open concept, so people could easily mill about between the living room, dining room, and the balcony, which had a stunning view of the Gulf of Mexico.

“I suppose now is as good a time as any,” Zach said, stepping towards Connie so they were standing side-by-side.

Zach tapped the side of his wine glass with his fork, and he put his arm around his fiancé.

“Connie and I wanted to officially welcome you to Sapphire Beach for our wedding. We are so grateful to each and every one of you for all the support you have given us over the years, which has led us to this day.”

Connie continued where Zach left off. “We are so grateful that you all came out so early to share these two weeks before our wedding with us. We love each and every one of you, and we are honored to have you as part of the most important time in our lives.”

The enthusiastic group applauded loudly. Ben held up his wine glass. “To Connie and Zach. May they be as happy as their parents are.”

“Cheers to that!” Greg said and kissed the top of Jo’s head.

Connie scanned the group and tried to sear the image of every person who was present into her mind. The next two weeks would likely fly by, and she wanted to savor each moment of joy and warmth: every smiling face and joyful sound of friends, family, and soon-to-be family becoming acquainted.

When Connie’s gaze reached her cousin, Anna, a lump formed in her throat. As happy as Connie knew that Anna was for her and Zach, that ever-present sadness still lingered in her eyes. Even after four years. Connie was particularly glad that Anna was staying with her. That would allow plenty of time for Connie to check in on her still-grieving cousin. Her cousin’s presence was a bittersweet reminder of those dear ones who had passed on to the next life. Although Connie believed with all her heart that these family members were present in a different way, their physical absence had still left a gaping hole.

Elyse, Stephanie, and Grace made their way to Connie. Grace smiled and gestured toward the dining room table. “I can’t believe that it has almost been three years since many of us here tonight were seated at that table, and you were telling us about your plans to remain in Sapphire Beach and open Just Jewelry.”

“It seems like it was just yesterday,” Stephanie said. 

Elyse smiled playfully. “I wonder who gave you that brilliant idea?”

Connie smiled broadly. “Okay, I’ll admit it. You were right.” Connie glanced at Zach, who was talking with Gianna and Anna. “Moving to Sapphire Beach was the right decision, even though it was a bit terrifying at the time.”

Stephanie joined Gallagher, who had been chatting with Josh, Ben, and Pauline.

Graced watched Stephanie walk towards Gallagher. Once Stephanie was out of earshot, Grace turned to face Connie and Elyse. “Just between us, I’m hoping that all of this wedding talk will put the idea of marriage into their heads,” she said, gesturing with her head toward Stephanie and Gallagher.

“I had the same thought myself,” Elyse said.

“Elyse, promise me you won’t drive Stephanie crazy speculating on a proposal, like you did to me,” Connie said.

“I’ll behave,” Elyse said. “But for the record, I agree with Grace. Another wedding would be amazing.”

Connie’s and Zach’s guests had spread out between the dining room, the living room, and the balcony. Some had arrived late the previous night and some in the early morning, so by 6:00 their out-of-town guests were looking weary. 

“I hate to see everybody leave before Fr. Paul gets here,” Grace remarked. “I wonder if we should call the rectory?”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Jo said. “He’s a busy man. An emergency probably came up, and he hasn’t had a chance to call. There’s no point in bothering him.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” Grace said. “He’s the pastor of a large church, and it is a Saturday evening. He probably thought he could break away but then realized at the last minute that he couldn’t.”

“We’ll see him at Mass in the morning, anyway,” Connie said. “And there will be plenty of opportunities to visit with him before the wedding.”

Zach and his parents were the first to leave, since Pauline and Ben had arrived early that morning and were quickly fading.

“I think we’re going to sleep in tomorrow and attend a later Mass,” Pauline said. “But we’ll see you at brunch.” 

Everyone left, one group at a time, until only Connie’s parents, sister, and cousin, along with Stephanie, Grace, and Elyse, remained. Josh had left with the girls, since Stephanie agreed to bring Elyse home. “Bridesmaid duty,” Elyse had said, to make a case with Josh that she should stay. Gallagher had also left, since he needed to get back to his restaurant. Saturday evenings were hectic at Gallagher’s Tropical Shack.

“Why don’t you guys let the young folks clean up and enjoy the rest of your evening?” Gianna suggested to her parents and Grace.

“We do have a lot to catch up on,” Grace said. 

Without protest, Grace, Jo, and Greg went back to Grace’s condo, and Connie, Gianna, Anna, Stephanie and Elyse made quick work of cleaning up. 

Once the dishes were done, the women wanted to prolong the evening, so they took Ginger for a walk on the beach.