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Stood at the back of the church, I frowned as I turned to Sabrina. “What?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
“I’m just saying, you don’t often come across a vicar so young and cute,” she whispered with a shrug. “Maybe you should go talk to him after the ceremony is over.”
“About what?”
“Feel him out. See if he’s single.” She paused. “If you don’t feel any inclination to become a vicar’s wife, you could sniff out what his stance on flings happens to be.”
Adjusting the position of my headset, I sighed. “You think I should suggest a round ofpremarital sexto a vicar? Seriously?”
“Why not? They don’t all frown on stuff like that.”
“Maybe not, but I’ll pass.”I cut my gaze back to the couple at the altar.
It had taken a year of hard work—not to mention numerous meetings, hundreds of emails, and an ungodly amount of phone calls—to get tothis moment, but finally we were here. And I was loving it. Seeing all our work and creativity come to life, seeing the joy on our clients’ faces as their dream wedding became reality, was like a shot of bourbon every time.
The bride was smiling so wide it surely had to hurt. The groom was looking a little teary—as was her father.
The church décor was perfect—Sabrina and I had made sure of it. We’d come here early and set up the flowers, ivory aisle runner, and the tulle pew end bows. Meanwhile, other members of our team had taken care of setting up the tables at the party venue.
Amped up on caffeine, adrenaline, and sheer determination to ensure all went as planned, I’d been on my feet since dumb o’ clock, going back and forth, doing this or that, and double-checking things. Okay, triple-checking them—I liked to be thorough.
Even now, my focus was split in a dozen directions—the food, the lighting, the band, the table set-up, etc., etc. Luckily, I’d always been a person who thrived under pressure.
So many things, big or small, could make an event go tits-up. Unreliable vendors, natural disasters, family arguments, or even a typo on someone’s timeline since it wasessentialthat everyone’s was in sync. But so far, all was going swimmingly well.
There had been no delays, no mix-ups, no mistakes. Our team, as always, was functioning like a well-oiled machine. And I was doing an excellent job of pretending that Grayden and Felicity weren’t sitting in one of the pews.
When they’d first entered the church, I’d unwittingly met Felicity’s gaze. Her arm linked through his, she’d shot me a little smirk. Grayden had studiously avoided looking at me, and I knew he’d done it so as not to set her off.
Their young daughters—who I’d met many times while dating him—had subtly offered me weak smiles, as opposed to Felicity’s teenage son from a previous relationship. Nineteen-year-old Blaise had sneered at me like I was shit on his shoe. Nothing new there.
I’d smiled at the little girls but blanked the others, having no interest in interacting with them in even the smallest way. They were idiots if they thought some smirks and sneers from them would bother me.
Several of the guests were obviously aware of my history with Grayden—their gazes often bounced from me to the spot where I knew he sat with his family. I ignored it. Ignored as they whispered to others, most likely enlightening them to the aforementioned history.
Instead, I focused on the bridal party, set on ensuring that every phase went smoothly. I’d worked very closely with Kaelie and Theo throughout the entire process of planning their big day, and I’d grown fond of them. They had been a delight to work with from start to finish.
Some clients had very clear ideas of what they wanted, but those ideas weren’t always realistic. I would try to educate and guide them in different directions. The majority of the time, they listened—just as Kaelie and Theo had. Other times, they stubbornly refused to budge … and I’d find myself wondering why they’d honestly believe I could have elephants brought to a hotel venue for people to sit on for photographs.
“Just so you’re aware and it doesn’t catch you off-guard,” Sabrina quietly began, leaning into me, “that little witch keeps tossing smug-ass grins at you.”
I felt my smile flicker. “I wouldn’t expect anything else, given Felicity’s general character. As we’ve covered, she’s a tool.”
Was it difficult to be in the same space as Grayden again while he had another woman tucked up against him? Yes. More than I’d care to admit. Because it was one thing toknowhe was once more with Felicity. It was another toseethem together.
Not that I stood here wishing he’d chosen me instead of her. It was simply that my annoyance at how I’d invested so much time and emotion in a man who’d so easily walked away … it lingered like a bad smell.
Initially, I hadn’t been able to imagine the two of them being all cozy like this. There’d just been so much animosity between them when I was with Grayden. That was how it had seemed, anyway. Maybe I’d been wrong, though. Maybe they’d reached for anger back then to avoid facing the hurt they felt at being apart. Or something.
If so, it basically meant that what we’d had was a lie. It meant he hadn’t truly hated her as he’d claimed, and nor had he really loved me as he’d professed. It meant I’d believed a bunch of bullshit.Thatpissed me off.
Refusing to dwell on it—because what was the point?—I returned my attention to the ceremony. Watching the bride knuckle away a tear, I smiled. The happy picture before me gave me that usual pinch of envy, but it wasn’t as potent this time. Because I could have this, couldn’t I? If I just said yes to Dax, I could very soon be in Kaelie’s shoes.
Sort of.
I’d likely not feel the dreamy contentment plastered all over her face, because I wouldn’t be besotted with my husband the way she was with Theo. But my hormones were besotted with Dax, so there was that.
I still hadn’t told Sabrina about his proposal, or anyone else for that matter. Only Alicia and Brooks knew. We hadn’t talked about it much since; they both understood me, understood I needed to make the decision on my own. The fact that the clock was ticking away meant I’d better hurry the fuck up with that.
