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Lydia pursed her lips. That did not sound promising.
She slid the wand of her tinted gloss into its container and tossed it into her makeup bag before heading into the bedroom to see what was wrong and if there was anything she could do to help.
The scowl darkening Zann’s expression as she paced back and forth in front of the bed wasn’t at all reassuring, though she was heartened by the way Zann tried to smile when she saw her. She pointed at the bed to see if it was okay to sit and listen, and, when Zann nodded, settled onto the edge of the mattress.
“I don’t know anyone up here,” Zann said. “Let alone anyone who’d meet her standards.” She pursed her lips. “Please don’t tell her I said that. But—” Zann’s shoulders lifted and fell with a breath. “I have an idea. Put me on speaker.” Lydia smiled at the way Zann rolled her eyes at whatever Aspen replied as she sassed, “Because we both know she’s the boss, and I don’t want to play fucking telephone when there’s an easier way.”
Lydia inclined her head and, when Zann caught her eye, mouthed, What’s going on?
Zann sighed. “Look, Lydia’s right here—do you guys care if I put you on speaker, too?” They must have said it was fine, because Zann pulled her phone from her ear and tapped the screen with her thumb as she settled onto the bed beside Lydia. “All right, so now we’re all on.”
“What’s happening?” Lydia asked.
“Our photographer for tomorrow just called. She was in a car accident and isn’t going to be able to do the wedding,” Aspen explained.
Lydia blinked. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah. No. I mean, she’s in the hospital with a fractured ankle, so things could be better for her, but they could also be way worse, so… But now we’re trying to figure out what to do.”
Lydia grimaced. Yeah, Eve had been a bit of a Bridezilla when it came to choosing a photographer in the first place, and to find a replacement on short notice? “Do Stella or Steve have someone they work with who can step in to cover?”
“If we want bland, lifeless pictures, then sure,” Eve muttered, sounding like she was either about to cry or start breaking things.
“Look, it’ll be fine,” Zann insisted. “I’ll do it.”
“Yeah right. You’re in Aspen’s bridal party,” Eve said. “You can’t do it.”
Lydia pursed her lips and frowned. Eve had a point. She knew from what she’d seen of Zann’s work at the vineyard the other day that she’d do a fabulous job photographing the wedding, but she couldn’t do that if she were in it.
“I can set up a tripod and use a remote,” Zann said.
“Yes, because a static location is absolutely the best way to capture everything,” Eve snapped.
Which, okay, fair. Lydia didn’t know shit about photography, and even she knew the tripod idea was a bad one. She held her breath as Zann looked poised to argue, and let it go slowly when Zann rubbed a hand over her face.
“No. You’re right,” Zann sighed. “I—” She broke off, and there was no mistaking the spark that flashed in her eyes as she said, “I’ll get a friend to help with the ceremony and any formal group shots that I’m in, and I can cover the rest.”
“That could work,” Aspen said, and Lydia could easily picture the hopeful, encouraging look she was giving Eve.
“Who are you thinking?” Eve asked.
“I mean…” Zann shrugged. “It kind of depends on who’s around, but I have a handful of people I can hit up.”
Eve didn’t sound convinced as she asked, “And if they can’t help?”
“I’ll take care of it,” Zann promised.
“Zann…” Eve sighed.
“Eve, I promise I’ll take care of it.”
Zann sounded so earnest that Lydia couldn’t resist reaching out to take her hand. Her throat tightened at the pained look Zann gave her, and she squeezed Zann’s hand as she said, “Eve, I’ll help her get it sorted.” When Zann flashed her a grateful smile, she returned it as she lifted her hand to kiss the back of it. She wasn’t sure what she would actually be able to do to help, but she trusted Zann’s judgment.
“In a day?” Eve asked.
Lydia winced. Because, yeah, those were definitely tears in Eve’s voice.
“I’ll have it figured out before the rehearsal this afternoon,” Zann swore.
