“Dex can help with that.” This from Blake, who was definitely trying too hard to look innocent. “He knows every good spot in Willowbrook.”
Oh no.
“That’s not necessary…” I started.
“I can figure it out…” Dex said at the same time.
We both stopped. Looked at each other. Looked away.
Trace raised an eyebrow. “Dex, you’ve lived here your whole life. You know the back roads, the hidden spots. It would really help Leigh out. Plus it might be nice to get some mixed locations.”
“And you’ve got the truck for the rougher terrain,” Booker added.
This was starting to feel like a coordinated attack and I looked around the room at the overly innocent expressions on everyone else’s face. Even Booker. Surely, he wasn’t in on this too?
Delaney leaned forward, her eyes warm but her smile just a touch too knowing. “It would really help me out. With all the other wedding preparations and the business getting really busy, I just don’t have time to play tour guide.”
We were trapped. Completely, utterly trapped. And when she put it like that, it wasn’t exactly an unreasonable request. I knew brief details of what had happened to Trace and Delaney and how Regina had meddled in their lives in the worst possible way, this photo shoot was important to them and therefore it was important to me too. They deserved this and I was going to make it happen. Having Dex drive me around town for a day might be a bit uncomfortable at first, but maybe this was exactly what we needed. Exposure therapy. Forced Proximity.
What could possibly go wrong?
“Okay,” I said, the smile coming to my face a little easier now. “That would be... helpful. Thank you.”
“No problem.” Dex’s voice was tight.
Under the table, my hands clenched around my pencil.
Blake looked entirely too pleased with herself.
The meeting continued. More tasks, more details, more decisions. And somehow, impossibly, almost every task seemed to require both Dex and me.
“The cake tasting is Thursday at two,” Delaney said, consulting her planner. “But Trace has a meeting with the cider distributor that afternoon, and I’ve got a potential chef for the restaurant to interview and I really can’t afford to lose this one.”
Trace blinked. “A meeting?”
Delaney gave him a look that clearly saidyes, you do, and don’t argue. “Yes, honey. The one you scheduled. Remember?”
“Right.” Trace caught on quickly. “That meeting. Can’t move it.”
“Dex, could you go in his place?” Delaney turned those warm eyes on him. “I trust your judgment. And Leigh will need to photograph the cake display anyway for the detail shots.”
Dex’s jaw tightened. “I don’t know anything about cake.”
“Neither do I,” Booker said, remarkably unhelpful. “You’re the better choice.”
“I’m sure we can figure it out,” I heard myself say, even though every instinct was screaming at me to find an excuse, any excuse.
“Perfect!” Delaney made a note. “Thursday at two. The bakery on Main Street. We already have the style and the flavours picked out. This is just a final meeting to make sure that it will actually look right when it all comes together. If you have any concerns you can facetime me to double check but I really need to try and persuade this chef to come and work here.”
By the time the meeting wrapped up an hour later, I had a list of tasks that would require me to either be alone with Dex or at least spending consistent time with him.
Eight weeks of wedding planning had just turned into eight weeks of forced proximity.
I was going to kill Blake. Maybe not Delaney, it was her wedding after all and her and Trace were clearly in one of those blissfully happy couple bubbles. But I was definitely going to kill Blake.
Or thank her. I wasn’t sure which yet.
As everyone started to disperse, gathering their things and saying goodbyes, I found myself standing by the table trying to organize my notes. Trying not to notice that Dex was doing the same thing three feet away.
