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“Las Vegas?” Rylee’s expression was pure chagrin.
“Yes, Peaches. Las Vegas.” He addressed Xavier when he continued. “We were close in college. They don’t know me as well now. They used to be part of my crew and we did dumb shit to gain online views and followers. They broke off to do their own thing, but used to pop in for cameos every once in a while. Until today, they didn’t know my plans to go legit, or that I’m giving up crashing altogether.”
“Are we your last wedding?” Ari arched an eyebrow.
“At first I was going to taper off, maybe crash one or two more, but actually...yeah. This is it for me.” He blew out a breath as he digested the words he’d finally spoken out loud. He’d thought a lot about making this wedding his last, but he hadn’t had the courage to admit it.
“Leaving behind the thing you’re known for isn’t the easiest transition to make.” Ari, actress turned producer, knew of what she spoke. “The public tends to view you through one narrow lens. They rarely accept evolution.”
“I know.” When he moved from the good-natured prank-style videos to wedding crashing, he’d experienced an initial dip in viewership.
“If you want to grow, it’s the risk you have to take,” Ari said.
“I’m proud of you, baby.” Ex slipped a hand around his wife-to-be’s back.
“We bring out the best in each other.” Ari leaned in for a kiss. Trick sneaked a peek at Rylee, who was studying her water glass as if it would tell her the future.
Future.He shook his head. That was why they were in this mess. His resistance to it and Rylee’s need to plan for it. She probably wished she was clairvoyant so that there would never be any surprises. He didn’t want to know how everything turned out in the end. There’d been too many pleasant surprises waiting around corners for him. Knowing the road ahead was different than anticipating the road ahead. Knowing took all the fun out of it.
“I wasn’t late because I wasday-drinkingwith my friends. I had an errand to run,” Trick explained, needlessly at this point since Ari and Ex were gazing into each other’s eyes. “I’ll be attending the wedding and reception alone and invited. Unless it would make Rylee more comfortable if I skipped the event.”
“Of course not.” She inclined her chin proudly. She affected an expression that was as plastic as the straws poking out of their water glasses. “I’d never take that decision away from Ari and Ex. It’s their big day.”
He figured. What was Rylee doing if not making sure everyone else’s life ran perfectly while ignoring her own preferences?
“We want you there,” Ari told Trick. “And if you see any of those small, special moments that need to be captured on film, I want you to shoot them.”
“I’d be honored,” he answered, meaning it.
“Now thatthat’ssettled.” Xavier said. “Let’s get on with the interview.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I have a few last-minute preparations to handle.” Rylee stood and pushed out of the high-backed chair. “I’ll see you both tomorrow bright and early!”
“Thanks, Rye!” Ari gave a cheery wave, and Rylee scuttled for the exit.
Trick pretended to adjust his camera settings as he watched her. She sent one last look over her shoulder at him, and then she was gone.
Two hours later, Rylee locked the door to her private office at the TCC. She’d finalized everything there was to finalize, with one glaring exception. The gold flatware situation had not been resolved. She had gone through several stages of grief over the debacle: anger, denial, bargaining. She hadn’t rounded the corner to acceptance yet. There was always tomorrow.
She was going to be out of bed at five in the morning to do research and call any potential suppliers in the area the minute they opened. She didn’t have time to do that, but she wasn’t about to have mismatched cutlery. Not on her watch.
As she walked to the reception area for a final once-over, she thought about Ari and Ex’s interview. She hoped it had gone well. Trick was a pro, both tactful and entertaining. He also had an answer for everything. He’d had no trouble coming up with a plausible explanation as to why his rowdy friends had crashed the TCC with ulterior motives.
She’d believed him at first when he’d said they’d flown to Vegas, but over the last few hours she’d begun to have her doubts. Louis’s, and even Ebony’s, comments about Trick had parked themselves in the rear of Rylee’s skull. She thought she’d seen a different side of Trick, but had she? What did she know about him really? For all she knew, he’d been playing the long game—his most extravagant prank yet—and was planning to crash the wedding with his bros after all.
You don’t believe that.
She didn’t. Not really. But she had come to another decision about the two of them.
“Hey.”
Startled, she let out a shriek and spun to face the double doors she’d just walked through. Her hand on her chest, she admonished her visitor. “You scared me half to death!”
“Sorry.” Trick, a box in his hands, eased the door shut behind him. He looked tired. He looked wonderful. Like the person she wanted to curl up with and fall asleep next to tonight.
“How’d it go?” She fussed with a place setting instead of looking at him, lining up the ends of the fork and the knife so that they were even.
“Great. Ari and Ex are naturals on camera. Their public will love it.”
