Alexa signaled to Ricky to bring the luggage up to the front of the house. She waited to greet her guests until Ricky said goodbye. It was a habit she formed over the years, thanks to her professional experience. Let the settling happen first, she told her trip leaders. Don’t try to communicate with clients who are worried about their luggage. Wait until they are focused on you and your message, she would advise.

“Welcome to Montecito,” Alexa announced to the visitors and then gave them each a hug. Abigail was in an all-navy ensemble including a raincoat and a pashmina, as if she were going to the Pacific Northwest in November, not a California beach town in the summer. Sarah looked like she had to get to practice immediately upon arrival, in sweats, slides, and shades. They were an odd mother-daughter pairing. She couldn’t see any of Abigail in Sarah and vice versa. While Alexa despised the “mini-me” comparisons she and Penny were subject to, she was grateful that her DNA won out over the sperm donor’s, as crass as that sounded. But Abigail and Sarah seemed to share no physical attributes or personality traits at all. Abigail was petite, fair-skinned, and operated at high levels of self-awareness that veered into social anxiety. Sarah was solid and athletic, with tanned skin, streaky brown hair, and a loud voice. Maybe as she got to know the mother and daughter better, she’d find the overlap between the two of them.

Alexa put on her tour guide voice and fake smile because the next seventy-two hours were all on her. “We’re going to have a busy weekend, aren’t we? It’s a shame about Penny’s work, but we’ll carry on in her absence,” Alexa announced like a loyal mother. She was not going to question her daughter’s decision in front of the Blakemans, even though she questioned it plenty in private. “Let’s get you settled and then we’ll make plans. I hope Ricky drove safely and didn’t talk too much. Sometimes I tell him I have a migraine coming on so he’ll be quiet. Win, the house manager, will bring your luggage to the guest wing. Please, come in, I’ll introduce you to your host, Ming.”

“This house is amazing,” Sarah said.

“How lovely to have so much help,” Abigail observed.

Chapter 17
Paltrowed

The Mother of the Groom