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Most of the guests have already left, either headed home or taken the party elsewhere. Saturday nights in downtown Indy are full of life and there are plenty of places to take an after-party. So I take in the grand space and sigh peacefully.
What a lovely place to hold a reception.
Expensive as sin, but if you can afford it, it’s absolutely stunning.
It’s not where I would host my own wedding, though. I’m not sure where my future wedding will be. I just know I want it somewhere special and fresh. Somewhere I haven’t already planned several other brides’ big days at.
Thinking about my own wedding happens often. It would be crazy if I said I didn’t, since weddings are my thing. But whenever I give too much thought to my future wedding, I kindly remind myself that I have to be engaged first. That I would actually have to be in a relationship to be engaged.
I let out a small puff of air and shake myself out of my head.
Now is not the time to dwell on my relationship status. If I had a magic eight-ball, it would no doubt say “outlook is not good,” but I digress.
I will have my own dream wedding someday, just not today, and I can’t let myself get too down on the fact that I am a single, ready to mingle, kick-ass wedding planner.
Immediately, I feel crummy about that last thought because I’m not completely single. Well, I am.
Shit.
Let me explain. I don't technically have a boyfriend. I've been casually dating a very nice man named Alan for the past few months. I met him through the best dating app on the market, Match Me. Match Me is a wonderful app dreamed up by my best friend and business partner, Layla, who created it a few years ago.
Swiping left to dismiss and right to connect, it provides singles looking for love as well as a quick hookup with the opportunity to find quality matches.
What’s special about Match Me is that Layla is a real-life matchmaker. It’s a gift that has run in her family and she wanted to make her passion for matching into more of a business. She knew that matchmaking isn’t an easy business to gain clientele for, so she worked with a developer friend from college and created a dating app. She was able to utilize the app to bring in more quality clients who want to go through the matchmaking process the old-fashioned way, with mingles and dates set up by a professional.
Layla has begged me for years to let her match me, but I know I can find my true love on my own. She feels responsible for my last serious relationship ending. And when I say serious, we were engaged and I called it off before it was too late.
My failed relationship was Layla’s one and only failed match.
She’s my best friend. I chose to go into business with her, creating Happily Ever After, Inc. for a reason. If I didn’t believe in what she does, I wouldn’t have attached myself to her for the long haul. I’ve assured her that it wasn’t her, it’s me. There’s something about me that may just be a little bit hard to love.
I’m probably just too much for most. My sunny disposition and love for all things love may be off-putting.
I’m not saying there isn’t a great love out there for me. I sure as hell hope there is, but I’m bound and determined to find it myself this time.
Chapter 2
BEST BROTHER A GIRL COULD HAVE
THEO
The house isdark as I walk through my garage door into the kitchen. Finding the nearest light switch, my massive kitchen lights up, showing the pristine countertops and not an item out of place.
The cleaning company I hire to come in and clean once a week was here yesterday, so I haven't had a chance to mess it up yet. It's not like I have the time, though.
The clock on the oven shows it’s past eight. A bark from the living room reminds me that I’m a shit for working late.
“Sorry, Waffle,” I mutter, dropping my briefcase on the giant island in the center of my kitchen before heading down the hall to let my poor dog out of his crate.
While I feel like shit for being late, again, Waffle couldn’t be any happier to see me. But this is why I hire a local company to come by every day to walk him. Bending down to flip the lock, he bounds out of his crate and steals a lick to my nose and jumps around with all the doggie excitement his body can handle.
“Sorry, boy, got stuck on a conference call.” I follow him as he runs and jumps through the living room to the back door that opens up into the big porch. I barely have the door slid open when he wiggles out and rushes to the yard.
It’s mid-May and the night air is a comfortable sixty degrees. I flip on the porch light even though it won’t be dark for another forty minutes or so.
I walk to the edge of my deck, looking out into the large, fenced-in yard. Waffle did his business and is now patrolling the area on his normal path around the fence.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, trying to let the quiet and stillness of my home relax me.
