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  He handed the microphone back to the DJ and hopped off the stage. On his way over to me, as the music started, he took his key to the valet key cabinet and handed it to Miss Crossley. Before he could take another step, I rushed toward him, and he caught me in his arms.

  I think maybe a couple of people were clapping. Maybe everybody was clapping. But I didn’t hear them or the music, I was so happy.

  We danced for a minute, and then I said, “Why isn’t anyone else dancing? It’s not our wedding. I feel like we’re onstage. Everyone’s watching us.”

  “See? I told you privacy wasn’t all bad—”

  “But it’s okay,” I said.

  “Okay. Yeah, it is,” Hayden said, smoothing my hair. “But still. You want to get out of here?” he whispered in my ear.

  “Do I ever,” I said. “But I’ve got this tray of melting sorbet—”

  “Got it,” Hayden said. He grabbed the tray off the table where I’d left it and we quickly handed out dishes. Then we headed for the exit, and as we were walking out, C. Q. Wallace was lingering near the open doorway. “C. Q. helped me with the speech,” Hayden explained.

  “You mangled it, but oh well,” C. Q. commented with a smile. “Now where’s that wedding cake?” He moved past us into the dining room.

  Hayden and I laughed and ran out onto the porch together, holding hands. I knew exactly where we were heading.

  “You know, you could sell that piece of paper on eBay,” I told him as I hopped off the boardwalk. I slipped off my shoes and left them in the sand. “Except that I’m not going to let you, because I’m going to save it.”

  “So how have you been?” Hayden asked as we walked toward the water.

  “Fine. Bored. You?” I asked. “How was the visit at home?”

  “We got some stuff sorted out. And I told them all about you.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “I did. They’ll be here next week to visit,” Hayden said. “You can try to talk Grace out of her gothness.”

  “What? No way. I want her to like me,” I said.

  We stopped at the water’s edge. We were both still wearing our catering uniforms. “So,” Hayden said.

  “So.”

  “Same as usual?” he asked.

  “With a twist,” I said. I reached up and put my arms around his neck, pulling him closer for a kiss.

  Then, when he was really getting into it, I broke away and sprinted into the water.

  “Hey! No fair!” He rushed in after me, diving under a big wave that was about to break. Hayden came up for air and dove again, this time tugging at my ankle. I held my breath and went underwater, too, and just as I did, my pager started to buzz. Underwater. Completely submerged. I pulled it out of my pocket to show Hayden, and he smiled, little air bubbles coming out of his mouth.

  Miss Crossley wouldn’t believe me even if I told her the truth about where I’d been when she paged me. So I wouldn’t bother to tell her. Besides, it had to stop beeping soon. Right?

  About the Author

  CATHERINE CLARK is the author of TRUTH OR DAIRY, FROZEN RODEO, THE ALISON RULES, MAINE SQUEEZE, and ICING ON THE LAKE. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can visit her online at www.catherineclark.com.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

  Also by CATHERINE CLARK

  Icing on the Lake

  The Alison Rules

  Maine Squeeze

  Frozen Rodeo

  Wurst Case Scenario

  Truth or Dairy

  Credits

  Cover art © 2007 by Sasha Illingworth

  Cover design by Andrea Vandergrift

  Copyright

  SO INN LOVE. Copyright © 2007 by Catherine Clark. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  Adobe Digital Edition May 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-195743-7

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  About the Publisher

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  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  About the Author

  Other Books by Catherine Clark

  Credits

  Copyright

  About the Publisher