AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A member of the waitstaff offered her the lone glass of champagne on his tray.
“Thank you.” She accepted the flute. As the waiter zipped away she realized it wasn’tjustchampagne. The orange hue exactly matched that of her favorite cocktail.
“Peach Bellini,” came a rich, low voice next to her left ear.
She turned around, her heart in her throat.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” she said, breathless.
“What’s wrong? Did you think I wasn’t coming?” Trick, dressed in the same navy-blue suit as he’d worn at the wedding, was a literal a breath of fresh air.
“I wasn’t sure.”
“Well, shame on you. I was invited, after all.” He pulled his cellphone from his jacket pocket. “I was wondering if you would take a look at something for me.” He swiped the screen. “I’ve been working hard on it, but it’s not quite finished.”
“Oh, of course.” She swallowed down her yearning and focused on the task. Today wasn’t about them. Trick knew that as well as she did. “What, um, what is it?”
“It’s a video of those unexpected moments I’m always going on and on about.” He rolled his eyes in an adorably self-deprecating manner. “I compiled some for the week, but I wanted your opinion. Unless you’re off the clock.”
“Have you seen these shoes?” She pointed her toe. She was wearing the gold strappy pair she’d sworn never to wear again. She hadn’t been able to resist since they’d paired so well with her dress.
He turned the screen horizontally and played the video. Rylee expected stolen moments featuring the wedding guests to pop up on the screen, but there was only one person featured on the video.
Her.
Trick had filmed her without her knowing. While she had been talking on the phone, or walking around the site. When she’d sneaked a shrimp off a platter at the rehearsal cocktail party when she’d thought no one was looking. He’d filmed her kissing friends hello, and later when she’d hugged them goodbye. And there were several clips of her slipping off her shoe to rub her sore pinky toe.
“What is this?” she whispered.
“Video evidence of every little thing you did that made me fall in love with you.” She looked up at him but his eyes were on the screen. “I have hours of footage.”
“Trick...”
“I know. I’m as shocked as you are.” He pocketed the phone and offered his hand. “Dance with me?”
She placed her hand in his. He set aside her Bellini, promising that she could finish it later. Then he walked with her to the dance floor and began swaying to the music.
“I thought you went home.” She was dazed, her voice hollow.
“Without saying goodbye? What kind of jerk do you take me for?”
“I was terrible to you. I never thanked you for finding the gold flatware. How did you do that, by the way?”
“I can’t tell you all my secrets, Peaches. Some mystery is healthy for a budding relationship. And you haven’t been terrible. You’ve been you. And as I’ve established, I love you. See? Told you it would work out.”
She had to laugh. “Nothing’s worked out. There is no pl—”
He pressed his index finger to her lips. “Don’t say thePword. Besides, I have one.”
When he moved his hand away, she said, “You have a plan?”
“I do. I’m going to film events and clip together video montages like the one I just played for you. How does MacArthur’s Moments sound?”
“Cheesy,” she said with a confused smile What was he talking about? She was still wrapping her head around theI love you, and now he was...starting a business?
“Yeah. That is pretty bad. I’ll poll my fan base and see what they think. They’re very smart. Most of them believe that I’ll end up marrying the wedding planner I met in Royal, Texas.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure she’ll have me, but we do have one very important thing in common.”
