Read My First - Jason & Katie for Free Online Page B

when it came down to it, she guessed that it was true what they always said – opposites attract.
    Bobby raised a hand in greeting and smiled a smile that reached all the way to his expressive green eyes. “It’s good to see you, Katie” he said warmly, and when he spoke, Katie got a shock! His rich baritone voice was one of the deepest she had ever heard.
    She felt her mouth fall open as her hand flew to her chest. She laughed involuntarily and exclaimed, “Holy smokes, kid! You have certainly grown up!”
    She reached up to give him a hug and heard Jason clear his throat in irritation as Bobby's arms encircled her.
    “Okay, okay, enough with the hugging. Everybody knows everybody, everybody looks good or older or fill in the blank. Don’t we have some meeting or something to get to?”
    Jeez, grouchy much?
    Jason sounded more annoyed than Katie had ever heard him, and when she glanced over to where Aunt Wendy and Sophiebell were standing to see if they had taken note of his reaction, she saw them exchanging conspiratorial little grins.
    Hmmmm...
    Wonder what that's about?
    But Katie didn't have an opportunity to pursue it further, because as soon as Sophie took note of the puzzled look she was throwing them and the fact that she was about to open her mouth to say something, she jumped in to fill the silence.
    “Right, right,” Sophie agreed crisply, suddenly sounding very mature and adult. “Okay, Aunt Wendy did you bring the notebook?”
    Katie could barely stand how cute it was to hear Sophie sounding so businesslike and efficient!
    “I sure did,” Aunt Wendy confirmed proudly, “What kind of dog-gone wedding planner would I be if I didn’t have the wedding planning notebook?”
    “You're a wedding planner?” Katie burst out. She tried to keep the shock out of her tone. She had been raised to show respect for her elders. But, regardless of how successful she may be at not expressing the shock, there was nothing she could do to keep from feeling it.
    It wasn’t just that organization was NOT, shall we say, one of Aunt Wendy’s strong suits. She had also never been married and was not what you would call a ‘romantic.’ In fact, she was such a pragmatist that she had often been known to refer to romanticism as “hogwash” - not what Katie would think of as the seeds from which a wedding planner would one day sprout!
    “Well, yes, Buttercup. Don’t you read my blog?” Aunt Wendy asked, sounding a little hurt.
    Ouch. Busted.
    She could try to explain that the life of an associate on the partner track didn't leave a whole lot of time for perusing web journals, but somehow she didn't think that would ease her aunt's hurt feelings. So instead, she shared a lesser truth – which was still no less valid just because it wasn't the main reason – that she thought would be something which would be more meaningful to Aunt Wendy.
    “Well, I try Aunt Wendy,” said Katie with all the sincerity she could muster, “It's just really hard because I miss you and Mom so much! When I read it, I just…I get really emotional.”
    Sharing this small vulnerability had the desired effect of distracting Wendy from her own hurt feelings entirely and focusing her energy elsewhere.
    “Oh my poor little Buttercup-girl, all alone in California! It must be so lonely for you, out there with no family around.
    “Well, don’t you worry your pretty little head, darlin'. I am gonna get you all caught up on what’s new with me and every other living soul in Harper's Crossing while you’re here!” Aunt Wendy said as she slammed the trunk of Katie’s rental car. Katie had no doubt that her aunt would keep that promise.
    Aunt Wendy continued her speech, “But as for right now, let's put a pin in that. Romeo is right. We need to get inside and nail down the nitty gritty of this here shindig!”
    Katie smiled at her aunt's vernacular. When Katie was little, she had asked her aunt why she talked like that even though she'd only