The Wedding Veil

Best friends Avery, Emma and Tracy met at grad school in Art History, each now quickly climbing the corporate ladder in their respective field: Avery a curator at an art museum in Boston, Emma a university professor in Chicago, and Tracy an appraiser at an auction house in New York City. On their annual girls' weekend getaway to go antiquing, this time in San Francisco, they come across a late-nineteenth century Italian bridal veil. Enchanted not only by its beauty but the legend told to them that the owner will come into true love, they decide to purchase it as a group despite none of the three is even close to getting married for one reason or another. Avery, the romantic and thus first of the three to have the veil in her possession, is in line for a promotion from associate to full curator at the museum. Avery not only is up against her cutthroat competitive colleague Jason for that promotion, but has to prove herself in her latest assignment to plan the museum's annual gala which she is to do with enthusiastic new Board member, Peter Hastings, the head of the Hastings Foundation founded by his late father, which is branching out into artistic endeavors from its regular scientific focus. Avery is surprised to see that Peter is the handsome man she met in San Francisco, the two who she initially believed had a connection - the veil at work - he, however, suddenly turning cold toward her by the time they parted company in San Francisco, that about face change for a reason she does not know. As they work together, his emotions toward her at times cold and at times other times hot, they decide to center the gala on the unveiling of a long lost nineteenth century Italian painting Avery discovered in the museum's basement, its refurbishment which if not completed by gala time would negatively affect the reputation of the museum. Beyond discovering the reason for his changing emotions toward her, what happens between them is affected by the outcome of the gala and Avery's potential promotion by association, Peter's own search for his place in life outside of the legacy set by his father, and of course the power of the veil.—Huggo