“All right, then. I see I’m outvoted,” Aunt Vivian said.

“There was no vote. We’re all on the same page with this event,” David said.

“That settles that. What’s next on the agenda?” Grandfather asked.

Paula smiled. “That’s it. We’re done here.”

“I take it your aunt is a Whitley?” David asked as he and Paula walked back to their offices. Her grandfather and Aunt Vivian had gone in the opposite direction.

Paula nodded. “Yes, that’s my Aunt Vivian. She is a character. She just returned from spending six months touring Europe with my uncle. He’s still there. He needed a break from her.”

David chuckled. “So, is she working here full-time now? And in what capacity?”

“No one knows exactly what she does, other than drive us all crazy. She has an office and when she feels like it, she comes around. Usually, she gets bored after a few weeks and then we don’t see her again for months.”

“Okay. So, she has no formal role, then?”

“No. She likes to ‘help out’ in all areas as her mood suits her. So, we never quite know what to expect. I just hope she doesn’t meddle too much with the Taste of the Town event. She didn’t seem all that enthused about it.”

“There’s not much she can do about it. It’s happening,” David said.

“Yes, I suppose that’s true.” But David didn’t know her Aunt Vivian.

Chapter 17

They were halfway through Davina’s tasting on Thursday night, before Paula finally relaxed a little. Davina had brought her mother, her best friend, who was also her maid of honor, and the groom. Hallie and Paula were seated at a separate table and were having a smaller tasting of the same items. They didn’t normally do that at a tasting. It was actually Nick’s idea, and given how difficult Davina had been so far, Paula thought it was a good one.

The first course was appetizers and Paula couldn’t imagine they’d find any fault there. Nick personally made all of the appetizers and Paula loved all of them. There were tiny tuna tacos—buttery sushi grade tuna in a mango vinaigrette with an avocado cream sauce and fresh cilantro, scallop cakes, Lobster Newberg in phyllo cups, Oysters Rockefeller, short rib ravioli, dates stuffed with gorgonzola and wrapped in crispy bacon, and The Whitley’s famous colossal shrimp cocktail.

Paula and Hallie went to Davina’s table for feedback and they were all smiles after the appetizers. Davina especially.

“I want to have all of them at my wedding. Can I do that? Those Lobster Newberg cups were amazing,” she gushed. Paula had never seen her so happy.

“Of course, you can,” Paula assured her. She didn’t add that it would likely double the cost for appetizers, but if that’s what she wanted to do, it was all good.