Read Online Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride by Sandra D. Bricker - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sandra D. Bricker
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Norma teased.
"We've already mastered presentation," Fee told them. "We want to see if you think we've mastered your taste buds."
Norma grinned. "Fair enough."
"On the platters by Sherilyn and Madeline, you'll find our savories," Emma told them as Fee passed out small plates and sterling silver forks. "We'd like to choose something from these as an addition to the current menu. There are three new possibilities with tea sandwiches; goat cheese and watercress, smoked salmon and cranberry jelly on pumpernickel, and chicken curry. If you could try one of each, we'd like you to help us decide which one to add."
Sherilyn had never been a big fan of goat cheese, but she tried one of them anyway. The heavy base of curry on the chicken might overpower the other flavors on the menu. But the smoked salmon—
"Oh!" Madeline exclaimed. "The salmon. Absolutely the salmon!"
Nods all around confirmed the choice.
"The curry is a little powerful," Susannah chimed in.
"But the salmon!" Georgiann declared, and Pearl gave an emphatic nod.
"Yep," said Sherilyn. "The salmon. Without a doubt. The cranberries are a great surprise."
"Excellent! Now the next platter has tidbits that are also savory, but a little different from your typical tea sandwich. We have a new take on our Scotch eggs, and a little sausage, spinach and gorgonzola popover, as well as this one; apricot, ham and cream cheese on a rye crisp."
Sherilyn reached for the Scotch egg immediately. She'd tasted Emma's current recipe just that week, and she was anxious to weigh the differences. Rosemary popped out at her right away, and she liked it, but not as well as the original recipe.
"Try this," Madeline urged, and she dropped a miniature popover on Sherilyn's plate. "It's luscious." Sherilyn bit off half of the appetizer. The moment the warm gorgonzola hit her tongue, she raised the second half into the air and waved it at Emma.
"That's one vote for the spinach and gorgonzola," Fee pointed out and, with that, every hand in the room raised in confirmation.
"All-righty then," Fee joked. "I think we have our savories."
"Ooh, let's try the sweets," Norma suggested, and laughter wafted through the kitchen like a song.
Sherilyn had spent much of her life devoid of family connection, even to some extent when her dad was still alive. Meeting Emma in college had changed all that. She always seemed to make friends so easily, and being around her brought people into Sherilyn's life by default. Gavin and Avery and Emma's Aunt Sophie, for instance, were the greatest gift of all, next to Emma herself. They'd embraced her into the Travis family without pause, and she'd come to think of them, Gavin in particular, as if she'd known them her entire life.
When she returned to Chicago and left Emma and her world behind, she'd often felt as if the city was a large cavernous bucket in which she rattled around like a lone metal pellet. Eventually, she made a friend or two, and she met Andy completely by chance when he was a groomsman at one of her weddings. Her world had begun to round out again.
But now—
She scanned the faces in the room.
Madeline with the shape of her brother's face . . . Georgiann with his stoic smile . . . Norma with those kind eyes of his; their family connection was undeniable.
Pearl leaned over toward Susannah, and the two of them shared a laugh. Emma and Fee stood at the other end of the table, ringmasters of their small domain, and Emma's unmistakable joy warmed Sherilyn to the core.
Once again, she had Emma to thank for finding herself immersed in that feeling of family. She'd lured Sherilyn to The Tanglewood with the dangling carrot of a tailor-made job; but looking around her now, she realized it was almost certain to become far more.
Hidden inside the wooded acreage of the Henry Jones Park existed a smaller world about which Sherilyn knew nothing at all. Brook Run was just one of thousands of similar entities across America where dog owners came with
"We've already mastered presentation," Fee told them. "We want to see if you think we've mastered your taste buds."
Norma grinned. "Fair enough."
"On the platters by Sherilyn and Madeline, you'll find our savories," Emma told them as Fee passed out small plates and sterling silver forks. "We'd like to choose something from these as an addition to the current menu. There are three new possibilities with tea sandwiches; goat cheese and watercress, smoked salmon and cranberry jelly on pumpernickel, and chicken curry. If you could try one of each, we'd like you to help us decide which one to add."
Sherilyn had never been a big fan of goat cheese, but she tried one of them anyway. The heavy base of curry on the chicken might overpower the other flavors on the menu. But the smoked salmon—
"Oh!" Madeline exclaimed. "The salmon. Absolutely the salmon!"
Nods all around confirmed the choice.
"The curry is a little powerful," Susannah chimed in.
"But the salmon!" Georgiann declared, and Pearl gave an emphatic nod.
"Yep," said Sherilyn. "The salmon. Without a doubt. The cranberries are a great surprise."
"Excellent! Now the next platter has tidbits that are also savory, but a little different from your typical tea sandwich. We have a new take on our Scotch eggs, and a little sausage, spinach and gorgonzola popover, as well as this one; apricot, ham and cream cheese on a rye crisp."
Sherilyn reached for the Scotch egg immediately. She'd tasted Emma's current recipe just that week, and she was anxious to weigh the differences. Rosemary popped out at her right away, and she liked it, but not as well as the original recipe.
"Try this," Madeline urged, and she dropped a miniature popover on Sherilyn's plate. "It's luscious." Sherilyn bit off half of the appetizer. The moment the warm gorgonzola hit her tongue, she raised the second half into the air and waved it at Emma.
"That's one vote for the spinach and gorgonzola," Fee pointed out and, with that, every hand in the room raised in confirmation.
"All-righty then," Fee joked. "I think we have our savories."
"Ooh, let's try the sweets," Norma suggested, and laughter wafted through the kitchen like a song.
Sherilyn had spent much of her life devoid of family connection, even to some extent when her dad was still alive. Meeting Emma in college had changed all that. She always seemed to make friends so easily, and being around her brought people into Sherilyn's life by default. Gavin and Avery and Emma's Aunt Sophie, for instance, were the greatest gift of all, next to Emma herself. They'd embraced her into the Travis family without pause, and she'd come to think of them, Gavin in particular, as if she'd known them her entire life.
When she returned to Chicago and left Emma and her world behind, she'd often felt as if the city was a large cavernous bucket in which she rattled around like a lone metal pellet. Eventually, she made a friend or two, and she met Andy completely by chance when he was a groomsman at one of her weddings. Her world had begun to round out again.
But now—
She scanned the faces in the room.
Madeline with the shape of her brother's face . . . Georgiann with his stoic smile . . . Norma with those kind eyes of his; their family connection was undeniable.
Pearl leaned over toward Susannah, and the two of them shared a laugh. Emma and Fee stood at the other end of the table, ringmasters of their small domain, and Emma's unmistakable joy warmed Sherilyn to the core.
Once again, she had Emma to thank for finding herself immersed in that feeling of family. She'd lured Sherilyn to The Tanglewood with the dangling carrot of a tailor-made job; but looking around her now, she realized it was almost certain to become far more.
Hidden inside the wooded acreage of the Henry Jones Park existed a smaller world about which Sherilyn knew nothing at all. Brook Run was just one of thousands of similar entities across America where dog owners came with
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