“Those were all terrible,” I said. “Truly, even a wedding cake would be in tiers over those.” No one laughed. They didn’t even groan. “Oh, come on,” I cried. “Wedding cake? Tiers? That was funny.”

No one chuckled. Not even a snicker. Although Harry did smile.

“All right, Ginger, let’s go pack,” Harry said. He took me by the hand and led me out the door.

I didn’t turn around but called over my shoulder, “I see you all trying not to laugh.” Much to my satisfaction, as the door closed after us, I did hear someone snort. I knew they thought my puns were funny. Ha!

While we were packing, I paused by the window, taking one last long look at the beautiful castle and the rolling green hills.

“Harry, remember how we agreed that we didn’t care about the ceremony so long as we were married at the end of it?”

“Yes,” he said. He was rolling his clothes into his carry-on bag.

“Then I have an idea,” I said.

He stopped packing and looked at me. “I’m listening.”

“Let’s elope.” I clasped my hands in front of my chest. Of the two of us, Harry was the less impulsive, more traditional one. If he didn’t want to do this, that was fine, but it just felt right and I was hoping he felt the same way, because, truly, after the madness of this weekend, I just wanted a small wedding with our nearest and dearest and the sooner the better.

His smile was slow and sure. “When do we leave?”

Acknowledgments

Thank you to everyone who loves the Hat Shop Mysteries and much gratitude to my publisher, who invites me to write them as time allows.

Special thanks to Christina Hogrebe, Kate Seaver and Amanda Maurer for keeping me on task and supporting all the ideas that demand to be written.

Much gratitude to the amazing art department, and cover artist Robert Gantt Steele and book designer Laura K. Corless. You capture the spirit of the books perfectly.

Shout-out to the team at Berkley who supports me in a million ways I don’t even know about, particularly Jessica Mangicaro and Dache’ Rogers. I appreciate your enthusiasm so much!

Excerpt from SUMMER READING

Keep reading for an excerpt from Jenn McKinlay’s new rom-com

Summer Reading

The ferry from Woods Hole to Martha’s Vineyard was standing room only. Shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, the passengers were packed as tight as two coats of paint. I had a rowdy group of college kids at my back, which was fine as I’d carved out a spot at the rail near the bow of the ship and was taking in big gulps of salty sea air while counting down the seconds of the forty-five-minute ride.