Malin sniffed, walked a few paces away from the door and sniffed again. “I don’t think so.”
Pippa shook her head. “No, I definitely smell something burning. I can’t tell if it is coming from inside or out.” She strode to the entrance to the room and pushed the door open. The smell was stronger in the hallway, but there wasn’t any telltale smoke in the air. Shrugging, she let the heavy door swing shut, a puff of air lifting the short hair around her face.
“We have a lot to review before you leave to pick up Mason and Mia. Can we get started?” Malin asked.
“Hmm? Oh, yeah. Sure.”
Malin gestured to the far wall. “I figured we’d use the east corner for the ceremony. The setting sun will be at your backs, so your guests won’t be blinded.”
“Good thinking.”
“We’ll put the musicians along the far wall, over there. Is Pointe Of No Return still playing?”
Pointe was a band that Pippa occasionally jammed with, when the lead singer wasn’t available. For this special day, Pip would be in the audience. She nodded, making her way to the table holding Malin’s box. “Rob said they’d prepared a couple of special ballads for us.”
Unbuttoning her heavy wool coat, she slid it off her shoulders and tossed it over a nearby chair. She regretted removing it within moments. The air in the ballroom was frigid. Gooseflesh rose on her arms. She hadn’t considered that the heat might be off on the field trip to check out reception space. It didn’t help that Clay had shown up at the house at lunch. He’d capitalized on the twins being in school to play one of his favorite games: how fast he could trick her out of her clothes. Then he took his time. Once she surfaced from ecstasy and looked at the clock, she couldn’t find her sweater and only had enough time to shimmy back into her jeans and silk blouse.
She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, trying to warm up. Pulling a chair out, she sank onto it.
Malin rapped her knuckles on the table. “Pay attention now. We have a lot to cover. Let’s start with table decorations.” She gestured to the flowers she’d brought. “What do you think of using red roses?”
Pippa leaned forward and eyed the vase. “I don’t know. I thought white flowers with red berries and greenery. Will that work?”
“It’s your wedding, sweetie. Whatever you want will work. We’ll make it so. Carnations or roses?”
“I saw a picture with roses I liked. I think they’d be nicer as boutonnieres for Clay and his groomsman.” A little thrill squiggled through Pip’s heart when she recalled how her future husband had asked her son to stand next to him as best man.
“Okay. Roses it is,” Malin said. “We’re planning to cut the evergreen and fir branches at the Sleepy T the day before the wedding. Seeley offered to help. She’s getting around better now, isn’t she?”
Pippa smiled. Clay’s mom had been working so hard to recover from a stroke. “She vowed to be ready to be escorted to her seat in the church without relying on her cane. She’s been making the twins dance with her, too. She really wants to dance the mother-son dance.”
“She’s a tough old bird, isn’t...” Malin frowned. “You know, I think you’re right. It smells like something is burning.”
Casting a glance around the room, Pippa noticed tendrils of smoke curling out of a vent near the ceiling. Cold shivers that had more to do with fear than cold, raced over her body. She peered out the French doors, spying a dark column of smoke rising from the roof of the east wing of the hotel. “Mal, I think the hotel is on fire.” She leaped out of chair and charged across the room, banging open the door to the hall. Thick churning smoke, which hadn’t been there five minutes earlier filled the corridor.
She slammed the door shut to keep the smoke from filtering into the room. Sucking in a deep, calming breath to hold panic at bay was a bad idea. She coughed as smoke entered her lungs. Malin was frozen next to the table, her eyes bugging out, a trembling hand pressed to her mouth.
Pippa raced toward her friend. Urgency made her grasp her friend’s arm forcefully, giving her a little shake. “Mal, the hall is filled with smoke. Come on, we have to get out of here.”
