“Where are you parked?”
“Oh, there wasn’t any parking when I got here, so I’m a block over. You don’t have to walk me.”
“I’ll walk you.”
“You’re rather stubborn, aren’t you?” I ask, as we walk toward my SUV.
“That’s what mama always said,” he replies with a laugh. “But she also taught me to make sure a woman reached her destination safely.”
And, queue the butterflies.
“Chivalry isn’t dead after all,” I mutter.
“It shouldn’t be.”
I unlock the doors and he opens the driver’s side for me, leans in to lay the wine on the passenger seat, and takes in the back of my packed vehicle.
“What do you have in there, cara? It’s packed.”
“Decorations, samples. Stuff. I never know when I might need something.”
He turns back to me with a smile, but when his eyes catch mine, his face sobers. He reaches toward me and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear, then gently cups my jaw in his palm and lightly traces circles on my cheek. My nipples pucker, my breathing increases, and he licks his lips as his eyes drop to my mouth.
He’s going to kiss me. I lean in, just an inch, craving his lips on mine, yet knowing this is such a bad idea.
The worst idea ever.
I don’t want him to kiss me.
I so want him to fucking kiss me.
But rather than tip his face down to mine, he backs away, takes a deep breath, and gently pulls his fingers away from my face, leaving me yearning for him.
“I’ll see you Wednesday, cara.”
I bite my lip in disappointment, but offer him a quick grin.
“Wednesday.”
And with that, he turns and walks back the way we came, his hands in his pockets, those jeans moving deliciously over his ass and his black T-shirt showing off every muscle in his back and shoulders and every part of me is screaming for him.
Such a bad idea.
Chapter Four
“Good morning,” I say with a smile as I answer my phone via the bluetooth on my car.
“Hi Alecia, it’s Meg.”
“How are you today?” I ask and change lanes. The traffic on Interstate 5 is surprisingly light this morning heading south. I’m just passing by Fort Lewis, and with each passing mile, I keep getting more nervous.
This is a welcome distraction.
“I’m stressed out. Why didn’t anyone tell me that getting married was such a pain in the ass? I should have just followed Leo’s lead and gotten married in Vegas.”
“Getting married in Vegas suited Leo and Sam, but I don’t think that’s your style.” Meg’s mega rock star brother, Leo, married his long-time girlfriend Samantha Williams just last month in Las Vegas when the whole crew, all of the Montgomery and Williams siblings and their significant others, were there for a combined bachelor/bachelorette party for Will and Meg.
I was supposed to join them, and was looking forward to it, but I ended up picking up a last minute wedding and had to bow out.
Then Leo and Sam go and get married on me, and I missed it! Damn them.
“Well it would have been much less stress, let me tell you.”
“Okay, talk to me. The stress is my job. What’s up?”
Meg takes a deep breath. “Twenty-eight new RSVP’s since I saw you last week.”
“Okay.”
“Okay? What is wrong with people? All of the RSVP’s were supposed to be returned six weeks ago! That’s twenty-eight more people that we need to find seating for, Blake has to cook food for. Party favors! Oh, my God, twenty-eight more party favors!”
“Take a deep breath, Meg.” My voice is crisp now and all business. “This is what you’ve hired me for, remember? I have this covered.”
“It’s twenty-eight more people to pay for, Alecia. I know Will says that he doesn’t care about the money, but this wedding has turned into this enormously expensive affair with celebrities and so many people, and it’s costing him a fortune!”
I nod, knowing she can’t see me. It’s costing a fortune.
“Meg, Will wants to give you this wedding. He loves you big. Anyone can see it.”
“He does everything big,” she whispers, and I can hear the tears in her voice. All brides are nervous and worry about their day, and few handle the stress of an affair of this size this well.
“It’s a lot of people. Celebrities and wealthy people, yes, but Meg, they’re your friends. You know every single person you’ve invited.”
“I know. I made sure of that. We’re not turning this into a media circus. Only guests we know and care about will be there.”
“Exactly.”
I hear her take another deep breath.
“I’m being ridiculous.”
“You’re being a bride,” I reply with a chuckle. “It’s okay. There will be several more moments like this between now and next Saturday, but seriously, don’t sweat it. Everything is under control. We have wiggle room for extra people. This doesn’t concern me at all.”
That’s not entirely true, but she’ll never know it.
“Okay. I feel better.”
“Good. I’m actually about to turn into Dom’s winery right now. I’m going to go over the plans for the set up and start to get things underway.”
“Oh, my God! It’s happening! The butterflies are back.”
“Why do you have butterflies, sweetheart?” Will asks her. He must be hugging her because his voice is very close to the phone.
“Alecia is going to the winery today to start on things.”
“Hi, Alecia,” he says into the phone.”
“Tell him hello. Go attack him or something to take your mind off things. I have this handled. I promise.”
“Yes, go attack him,” Will agrees. “Bye, Alecia.”
“Bye guys.” I chuckle and end the call as I park in the circular drive in front of the large villa before me. Meg gets to go have sex with Will Montgomery.
Lucky bitch.
I turn the engine off and stare at the villa for a moment, take a deep breath, and pray that Dom’s assistant will be showing me around. He’s a distraction I don’t need today.