She checked the box marked accepts with pleasure.

She slid the card into the matching envelope, pressed the gold seal down firmly over the flap, and dropped it into the outgoing mail tray.

Caroline locked the desk drawer, picked up her leather clutch purse, and closed it with a clear, heavy snap, the green receipt safe inside.

Grant stood near the rose garden archway, holding a crystal champagne flute while two waiters in dark waistcoats moved among forty wedding guests.

Sunlight filtered through the white trellis, reflecting off the gray granite of the Bellevue Hotel’s facade.