AllFreeNovel
Share Us
13
Jane tossed and turned all night, thinking about the busy day ahead, and fretting over the million details that swirled around her head—she just hoped she hadn’t forgotten anything. But mostly, she lay awake thinking about Austin and knowing she needed to say something to him about high school. She didn’t know him well enough to know if he was the kind of guy to tease her about high school, or if he was the kind of guy who’d ignore it altogether. She was hoping it would be the latter. For now, she just hoped that he would show up on time and actually pay attention.
Jane had texted Austin to meet her on the grounds where most of the spring and summer weddings took place. Since it was early April, there was still a chill in the air, making her shiver as she stepped outside. They had two weddings to oversee today, one outdoors and one indoors, so Austin would have a chance to familiarize himself with the differences. Since Kat and Mike’s wedding was going to be outside, she wanted to make sure he was comfortable from the planning side of things. Apart from ensuring the guests were welcomed, it was making sure every detail of the wedding was taken care of throughout the day, and that included the food, the service, the security, and anything that popped up at the last minute.
“Morning,” a familiar voice sounded behind her. Without even turning around, she knew it was Austin. “Geez…who wants to get married outside in April?” he asked. “It’s freezing out here.”
“Well, it’s still early, and the weather should warm up a little. The good thing is that the tent is heated, so at least everyone will stay warm,” Jane said as Austin walked over to her. She knew this was probably the perfect time to mention something about high school, just to get it over with, but with their busy day ahead the last thing she wanted to do was make it awkward for both of them before the day even started.
She looked at Austin and noticed he was wearing a gray three-piece suit with a white dress shirt and navy tie. The suit hugged him perfectly, showcasing his physically fit body. With his hair slicked back, he had the look of a man about to board a yacht, not work a 15-hour day.
“I figured I’d dress the part today,” he remarked, noticing Jane eyeing his outfit. “No jeans,” he nodded with a grin.
“I’m glad you’re following the dress code today,” she lobbed back as she handed him a folder filled with all of the information for the events that day, trying to keep things professional. “Here’s everything we’re going to be checking on today. We have two weddings, a birthday party, and a baby shower. I have my team set in place for each one, but I normally walk around all day making sure everything is going smoothly. Two team members are assigned to each event as point people, so I’m expecting everything to run seamlessly.”
“OK…” Austin added, flipping through the folder. “I have to give it to you, I know we do a ton of events here, but you’ve got to be one of the most organized people I’ve ever met. Did you do this stuff just for me?” Gesturing to the folder that was color-coded by event for the day, with post-it tabs stuck throughout each folder. “Or do you do this for everyone?”
Jane chuckled, not knowing if he meant it as a joke or not. “It’s for everyone. I need to make sure I’m on top of everything, and that everyone else is, too. It just makes it easier.”
“Hey,” Austin replied, “whatever works. You’re obviously the master at it here.”
“I try. I figured since you’re here early, we can walk around to make sure the tent installation is perfect, and that the team is setting up. This reception starts around 5 pm, so we have some extra time. I like things set up early, so there’s no rushing around later.”
Jane began walking toward the tent, which was only about 50 yards away from the patio. She felt butterflies in her stomach being so close to him, especially seeing how good he looked, and being reminded, again, of their past.
“Can you make it in those heels?” Austin asked, watching Jane slowly maneuver through the grass in her black heels. She wore a long khaki overcoat, so he couldn’t see what she had on underneath, but it was obvious it had to be a dress or a skirt since her bare legs were showing.
“If I go slowly,” she chuckled, concentrating on each step, trying not to ruin her heels, “I should be OK. We’ll put out a runway for the guests just before they arrive. I don’t want to get it all dirty beforehand.”
“So you’re willing to ruin perfectly good heels in the meantime?” he joked, grabbing her arm without missing a beat. “Here, this is ridiculous. Hold onto my arm. You’re going to break an ankle.”
She felt an electric shock go through her body when he touched her. The last thing Jane wanted to do was hold onto Austin, but she didn’t have a choice. His arm was wrapped around hers, allowing her to have steady footing. Her body continued to tingle from his touch, and her senses danced with his smell. He had a sexy, manly scent to him. This wasn’t a good start; she tried her best to get to the tent as quickly as she could.
As they entered the tent, it was obvious that the set-up hadn’t officially begun yet, but the heat had already been turned on inside the tent, and there were stacks of tables and chairs in the corner.
“Oh,” Austin nodded, looking around, “it’s a lot warmer in here.”
“It sure is. Nice and toasty,” Jane said looking around. “Tent looks good, right?” She smiled, walking over to the stacks of chairs and tables, and the buckets of flowers. “It really is beautiful when it’s all set up. We have a waitlist for couples who want to get married outside, but so many of our dates are booked. This particular couple wanted a June or July date, but we were booked solid. They opted for today, or else they were going to have to wait another year, which they didn’t want. I promised them that it would be warm in here and that we would make it spectacular for them,” Jane continued to smile as she looked around.
Austin watched her. She had a glow in her eyes as she walked around. She genuinely seemed happy and excited for this couple. “You really like this stuff, huh?”
Jane stopped and looked at him, taken aback by the question. “What stuff?”
“Party planning. Event planning. You know, creating these events for people,” he said, waving his hands in the air.
Jane chuckled, “You make me sound like a fairy Godmother.”
“I guess in some ways you are, but you know what I mean,” Austin replied, looking at her more seriously. “You really seem to love planning these events. I mean, I can tell by your notes that you’ve got it down to a science, but I can also tell by the expression on your face that you seem to love it, too.”
“I guess I do,” Jane smiled. “It’s really special seeing events come to life, especially weddings. There’s just something about a wedding. I’ve come to know some of our brides and grooms really well because when I took over my new position, as you can imagine, many of the couples were nervous and wanted to make sure that nothing fell through the cracks. I honestly think I spent more time getting to know the couples that were already booked than the new ones I’ve booked myself. This couple, in particular, is sweet. The bride always knew she wanted to get married here, so I knew I wanted to do what I could to make it perfect for her.”
“I know it’s part of your job, but you going above and beyond is what makes The Oxford so successful,” Austin nodded, finding himself enjoying this moment with Jane. “Everyone deserves that kind of day, especially at their wedding. I mean, it’s how my dad really started to make a name for himself. Everyone loved coming to weddings here and, by word of mouth, our reputation started to spread. Weddings are part of our secret sauce.”
“Yes, they are,” Jane smiled, as her phone began to buzz with an incoming text. She looked down to read it. “That’s the kitchen. Let’s head back inside to make sure the other event spaces are set for the day.”
“I’m following your lead today,” Austin said as he followed Jane to the door of the tent. Just as he was about to grab her arm again to help her, she grabbed her phone to read another incoming text, completely bypassing his nice gesture.
“Well,” Jane said as she plowed forward through the grass back to the main building, with exasperation in her voice. “Looks like it’s going to be a busy day. We’ve already got our first fire to put out!” And as much as she didn’t want to deal with emergencies today, she was thankful for this one because it meant the high school issue was on the back burner.
