The entire staff—literally all six people in the office—yell back, “YES.”
Levi rolls his eyes. “Want to come back with me? I have a few more interviews.”
I nod, probably too vigorously, but my enthusiasm only seems to spur him on.
“I think you’re going to like this couple I have next,” he gushes shutting the blue door behind him. “Augustin and Ivanka. They moved here a year ago from the Czech Republic and are applying for the funds to get married. They need help organizing and planning as well, which is something I’ve never done with TCP, but I figured, why not?”
Levi ushers me into the Dreams Come True Room and continues, talking quickly. “I’m having them here a second time to finalize details. Their dilemma is that their family is flying in from Europe and that’s all they could afford. They’re currently living with a very low budget and need help to pay for and organizing everything. I’m also trying to see if I can gather enough funds to send them on a honeymoon, but that all depends on the fundraiser.”
I stare at him. (It’s hard not to stare at him.) “They are going to be so happy.”
“I hope so.” He sits on the loveseat, looking over the paperwork in his hands, absently patting the cushion next to him. “The only problem is, we have a clashing of dates. Their family bought tickets for a date I approved, but then the fundraiser got moved to the same weekend. It was out of my control. So now I have to figure out how to do both. In one day.” He laughs—a very pained laugh.
I grab the papers and scan over them. “You can get away with it, right?”
Levi bites his bottom lip, then says, “I don’t know. I think it might be too much in one weekend. I may have a lot of sponsors, but I’m doing most of this on my own.” He gives me a nervous laugh. “It’s times like these that my small number of volunteers seems painfully small. Maybe they’ll have perfected cloning by then. Think they can crack the code in a few weeks?”
I want to laugh at this, but he looks so…lost. I’ve only known Levi for a few weeks, but I don’t want to see him looking lost ever again.
“Look, we can figure it out,” I begin, but I’m cut off by the door opening. Nikita leads in a man and a woman I vaguely remember passing in the lobby. They’re young, only a few years older than me. The way they grasp each other’s hands and stand shoulder to shoulder and gaze at us with hopeful, happy eyes…it makes my chest squeeze. Levi looks genuinely happy to see them, but I can also see the distress in the curve of his mouth. He’s worried he can’t follow through, that he might disappoint them.
This kills me. I don’t want him to even mention the complications, and I especially don’t want him to tell them he can’t help them in all the ways they need. They deserve their happily ever after as much as anyone.
Levi hugs them both before inviting them to sit down. He stands there in front of them as if uncertain what to say, shuffling from foot to foot with his hands stuffed in his pockets. When he opens his mouth to speak, I panic. He’s going to tell them he can’t do it, that he has to change plans, that something’s wrong. Ivanka, with her long brown hair and round eyes, is grinning like she can’t stop, and Augustin has his arm around her shoulders like he won’t let her go.
They can’t know something’s wrong.
I grab Levi’s arm, hooking him close. “Will you excuse us for two seconds?” I ask them—then drag Levi into the bathroom and lock the door.
“What are you doing?” he demands, completely confused, shoulders slumped as he stares at me. I wonder if he’s starting to regret his decision to invite me back for interviews. I probably look crazy.
“You absolutely cannot let them know that something is wrong,” I say in a whisper.
Shock registers on his face. “What else am I supposed to tell them?”
“That everything will work out just fine.”
“What if it doesn’t?”
I put up my hand to shush him. “I’ll make it.”
“What?” He stops short, squinting at me, and I realize I’m still holding his arm.
I don’t let go. “I’m going to help. I’ll do whatever I can to make sure they get their wedding on the same weekend their family visits. I’ll organize it all, Levi. I know you’re stressed from running this place, and you have a lot going on with the fundraiser, so you need someone to come in and help with more than just office stuff. I want to do it. I’ll get the other girls to help, and we’ll put everything together. I’ll even arrange the flowers myself if I need to. But you cannot go out there and tell them anything except that you’re so excited for their wedding and you can’t wait to meet their families.”
I’m breathing hard, my fingers digging into his skin, my heart about to jump out of my throat. I’ve never been this close to him, and it makes me feel…alive. Like I’m all blood and veins and pulse, and I’m not going to stop, not ever. His surprised expression, his breathlessness, are like a bolt of electricity to my heart. I’m lost, so hopelessly lost, and then, and then—he takes my face in his hands and grins.
He takes my face in his hands. Suddenly, every doubt I’ve ever had about this, about him, disappears. I need this. I need it badly.
“Yeah,” he says, while I’m totally helpless to do anything but look at his face, which is much, much closer to mine than it’s ever been. “Yeah, okay. If you’re up for it.”
I make myself speak. “I’m totally up for it. I wouldn’t have offered otherwise.”
“Okay.” He drops his hands. “Don’t let me stand in the way, boss.”
Laughing quietly, I point to the door. “Now get out there and congratulate them. I’ve got a wedding to plan.”
Chapter 16
Seeing Ivanka’s face as we discuss her wedding, watching Augustin’s eyes grow warm with thanks, is probably the greatest thing I’ve seen since I discovered Henry Cavill. (Levi tells them my name is Bonita, but I think I can live with that. I think.) At the end of the meeting, the bride hugs me tightly, her thin arms wrapping me close, and Augustin kisses my cheek like a true gentleman.
“Thank you, Bonita,” Ivanka tells me, hands clasped around mine.
Just behind me, so close that only I can hear him, Levi chuckles. I’m tempted (oh, so tempted) to turn around and hit him square in the chest. But instead I smile at Ivanka and say, “You know, everyone calls me Bee.”
“Bee is lovely.” Ivanka pulls me close again. “Will we exchange telephone numbers for contact?”
“Yes!” I exclaim, grabbing for my purse. I pull out my phone, quickly reading over a short text from Gretchen (I miss you! it says) and hand it to her. “Will you put your information here?” Then I give Levi a snide look that clearly says, You suck.
He chuckles silently, shaking his head, as if to tell me, I’m not going to stop.