Beth Webb Hart > Quotes

“Thing is, every place has its limitations and its benefits. And some children don’t or can’t follow the path of their siblings or the generations that came before them. Some traditions die, and that’s okay. In the end, the only thing that counts is our relationship with God.”
― Beth Webb Hart, Grace at Low Tide

“Jasper would have been completely hidden if it weren't for Highway 17, the crumbling two-lane road that traced the coastline, splitting cypress swamps and tidal creeks edging right up to the 350,000-acre ACE Basin, where three rivers converged to form the largest, wildest estuarine preserve on the East Coast. Jasper bordered the northeast side of the basin where dolphins, gators, minks, otters, and every manner of waterfowl and shore bird prospered from the daily six-foot inflow and outflow of saltwater, freshwater, and brackish water that rose and fell on cue like the sun itself.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Wedding Machine

“Tonight Ray will tape the the drenched oasis inside of the silver bowl that sits on the top of the candelabra and fill it with the pale green hydrangeas, pink English garden roses, lilies of the valley, and extravagant lavender sweet peas that R.L., the local florist/antique dealer, delivered a few hours ago. The flowers are all soaking in their respective sugar water jugs in her kitchen- out of the direct sunlight, of course- as is the oasis which she'll mold into every bowl and vase in the house with a similar arrangement. She's even going to make an arrangement in a flat sweetgrass basket to hang on the front door and a round little pomander of pale green hydrangea with a sheer white ribbon for Little Hilda to hold as she greets the guests in the foyer.
Ray is tempted to snip the last blossoms of gardenias growing secretly behind Cousin Willy's shed. In her estimation they are the quintessential wedding flower, with their intoxicating fragrance and their delicate cream petals surrounded by those dark, waxy leaves. She bought the seedlings when R.L. and the gals weren't looking at the Southern Gardener's Convention in Atlanta four years ago, and no one has any idea she's been growing them. Sometimes she worries that the fragrance will give her away, but they bloom the same time as the confederate jasmine, which grows along the lattice work of the shed, and she can always blame the thick smell on them. It would take a truly trained nose to pick the gardenias out, and Ray possesses the trained nose of the bunch.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Wedding Machine

“The food is presented on the finest compilation of their silver trays and bowls. It's as delicate as the floral arrangements and includes Kitty B.'s petits fours and lemon squares as well as Sis's shrimp salad and cucumber sandwiches and Ray's cheese straws, praline pecans, and fruit kebobs dipped in white and dark chocolate.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Wedding Machine

“She might have been afraid except the thick summer air smelled so sweet and earthy that she couldn't breathe it in fast enough. It was like a warm and balmy laughing gas, and she let go into the intoxicating fragrance of salt air and withering corn husks and tomatoes so ripe she imagined them dropping off the vines around her.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Wedding Machine

“A barbeque in Jasper County does not mean hamburgers and chicken breasts on a fancy gas grill. Yankees call anything you cook outside "barbeque." The word 'barbeque' in Ray's neck of the woods is a 'noun,' not a verb, and it means a whole hog tied to a spit with chicken wire and rope and roasted in an outdoor oven, usually in someone's backyard or some parking lot. And the fixin's that must accompany it are baked beans, collard greens, white rolls, cole slaw, and rice topped with a sweet gravy made from the drippings and other unmentionables that the packs call hash. Jasper folks sort of take the "don't ask, don't tell" approach with the hash. 'We don't want to know what's in it,' Ray thinks, 'but it sure tastes good.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Wedding Machine

“Sis rolls her eyes and leads the elderly lady over to the S-shaped tables crammed with silver trays of ham biscuits, pickled shrimp, stuffed mushrooms, venison pate, fruit and cheese in ornately carved-out watermelons, smoked salmon with all the trimmings, sausage balls, and pimento cheese garnished with little cocktail pickles.
Sis's mama gets a nibble of shrimp and a ham biscuit and points to another corner of the tent where Richadene's brother, Melvin, is carving a beef tenderloin and serving it on rolls with horseradish and mayonnaise. Next to Melvin, R.L.'s chef friend from Savannah is serving up shrimp and grits in large martini glasses.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Wedding Machine

“It's Kitty B.'s specialty: a lemon sour cream pound cake with a little hint of Grand Marnier liqueur. Each tier is iced with an ivory-colored buttercream and decorated with pearl drops and an elegant piped pearl border. A cascade of real white orchids starts at the top tier and curls its way down the side to the bottom, encircling the base with delicate white petals and dark pink centers.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Wedding Machine

“Lucas was tired of the whole thing. Right now he wanted to blurt out that his parents didn’t have a problem, that he’d married her because he loved her. But that would only scare her away.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“But moments later, when the bed sank behind her with Lucas’s weight, she couldn’t stop her heart from speeding or her breath from catching. The covers shifted, and she felt the mattress dip down, felt his body almost touching hers. Then she felt something else. A kiss pressed to the crown of her head.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“She thought of the daisies and chided herself for thinking ill of him. He was trying. It wasn’t his fault they were so different.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“Lucas had cleaned up well, even shaved his perpetual five o’clock shadow. His long hair was combed back from his face. The hairstyle, combined with the formal suit, gave him the look of a nineteenth-century nobleman. His eyes met hers, pulling her in—a solid lifeline in what felt like a turbulent storm.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“Her limbs felt as stiff as a ship’s mast. Tears glazed her eyes, and she told herself it was the biting wind. Then he moved, walking toward her, stopping just a touch away. “You came back,” he said. His eyes were just the way she remembered, warm and soft. Welcoming. “I had to see you,” she said.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“Well, I wasn’t surprised Lucas was in love with you,” Jamie said. “The way he spent all that time renovating your apartment and refurbishing your floors. I knew he was falling for you.” Kate tried to catch Lucas’s eyes, but he seemed intent on his food. “And all the time he spent on the gazebo,” Jamie continued. “We should have known there was more to it. He worked on it forever.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“The way he looked at her . . . It was the way every bride yearned to be looked at. Like she was precious. Like she was his chosen one. His voice was low, as if rumbling up from the deepest part of the ocean. It was more than credible. It was convincing.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“He wanted to beg her to stay. He swallowed his pride and opened his mouth to do just that. Maybe he could find the words that would change her mind. But what good would it do to beg? She had to want to stay. She had to want him. He could love her all he wanted, but it had to be her choice.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“She sports her standard winter concert dress: a sleeveless black velvet top and a red raw silk skirt. She reminds Ray of a china doll or Snow White with her dark hair, ivory skin, and bright red lipstick. How in the world has a man not swooped her up by now? That's one of life's greatest mysteries.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Wedding Machine

“Lucas lost the tug-of-war with his smile. “You’re jealous,” he said.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“I love you, Kate Wright. There aren’t enough miles on the earth to separate you from it. I want you to be mine.” He squeezed her hand. “Fully mine.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“He’d been a perfect gentleman all evening. She was beginning to wonder why he’d gotten on her nerves before. “Thanks for not shoving the cake in my face,” she said. His lips tilted. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“But despite the chaos, Kitty B. is the best durn baker the town has ever known. She bakes all of the cakes and sweets for the town's social events, and she headed up the church cookbook publication, 'Lowcountry Manna', a few years back. That book made so much money for the parish that the vestry was able to put a new tin roof on the sanctuary and the rectory. Kitty B. has won numerous pie and cake contests across the southeast, and her lemon squares and hummingbird cakes were featured in 'Southern Living's' special baking issue two years ago.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Wedding Machine

“Next time you want to cuddle, just say so.” The voice from beside Kate startled her. Then the meaning of his words penetrated her mind. He still lay perfectly still, his breathing deep and even. That jerk! He’d been awake the whole time and let her suffer. She yanked the pillow from under her head and swung it at him. But the only response she got was his insufferable laughter.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“Her family hasn't had a full-blown Thanksgiving dinner since LeMar fell ill a few years ago, so she's making all of the old favorites: rice and gravy, oyster pie, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and pickled artichokes. And of course, her mama's homemade biscuits that just melt in your mouth.
She's even dusted off the old cornucopia basket she used to put out when the girls were little, and she's created a table centerpiece that Ray would be proud of with dried corn, pumpkin gourds, plums, apples, and tangerines.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Wedding Machine

“Kate had never considered herself the kind of woman who yearned for a knight in shining armor, but just now the notion was appealing. And the look in his eyes was irresistible. He was so close. She felt the warmth of him through his T-shirt. Kate turned her face into his hand and pressed a kiss against his calloused palm. He was a man’s man, a hard worker. Loyal to the death. So many good things. She wanted all of them.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“I love you.” She ignored the burning in her eyes and plunged forward, a sailboat into the wind. “I don’t know when it started or how it happened. I only know that you captured my heart, and I don’t want it back. I want to stay here forever. I want to wake up to your stubbly, scratchy face and lie next to you in bed, even if you snore loudly enough to peel the paint off the walls. I want to— Lucas broke off her words with his kiss.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“Good grief, most of the time she didn’t even like him. Not that he was a bad person. He was just so . . . irritating sometimes. Vexing. The way he was late and careless and so laid-back she wished she had a remote control so she could push the fast-forward button.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“He wished he could put his arms around her and tell her it was going to be okay. He wished it was him she loved so much.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“Mercy, did she know how much he cared for her? How much he wanted her to be completely his? Did she know he’d do anything to protect her? Did she know he loved her? The words hovered on the tip of his tongue, wavering, eager to escape, yet afraid of the consequences. What would she do if she knew? What would she say if she knew he’d loved her from the beginning?”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“He wanted to put her at ease, let her know she was safe with him. He wanted to protect her. He would never hurt her. You are so precious to me, Kate. My bride. He savored the word on his tongue.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine

“She didn’t want anything between them; she’d made that clear. Maybe he wasn’t the kind of man she wanted. Maybe she was waiting to be with Bryan. For the first time he wondered if he’d ever be able to change her mind.”
― Beth Webb Hart, The Convenient Groom / Wedding Machine