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indulge in one minute of well-deserved satisfaction.
Damn, I'm good.
"Oh, Isabella, you're here, thank goodness." I turned to see one of my assistants,
Angela, weaving through tables on her way toward me, looking a little frazzled.
"Hey, Angela. Everything looks great in here," I said, patting her reassuringly on the
shoulder as she fell in step beside me. Angela tended to be a little over-dramatic and
:&
quick to panic. She was the greenest member on my team and I really hoped she
learned to calm down a little with more experience. She had a lot of potential if she
didn't freak out over every tiny mishap.
"Oh my gosh, it's been a zoo here," she gushed, wringing her hands as she scurried to
keep up with me. "The caterers keep wanting to change things and the bartenders
said they only had six bottles of red wine with them, can you believe that? I mean,
how can they expect to do a wine pour with only six bottles of red? And the escort
card table's way smaller than what they originally told us so we had to switch it with
the table for the gifts, only now there's not going to be enough room for& "
"Angela," I interrupted her gently, knowing she'd only continue to ramble if I didn't. I
stopped and turned toward her, putting my hands on her shoulders.
"Yeah?"
"Did you get everything taken care of?"
"Yeah, I mean, Kate ran down the street to pick up more wine and-"
"And everything looks spectacular. Stop worrying so much. That's my job," I told her
with a friendly wink and a light squeeze before dropping my hands.
"Right. Sorry," she mumbled, a sheepish blush stealing over her cheeks.
"Could you grab Carmen and get the altar arrangements from my car? Put one on the
counter by the guest book and the other in the sitting room down the hall."
"Sure! Yeah, I can do that," she said eagerly, instantly perked up again with the new
task on her plate.
"Oh, and can you please move my car when you're done?" I asked, digging out my
keys and tossing them to her, giggling softly at the intense concentration on Angela's
face as she walked away, like she'd just been assigned to a mighty quest.
It was her first season working weddings and she hadn't quite lost that wide-eyed
awe that every new planner had. Weddings were glamorous, magical, wondrous, and
most people came into it thinking they were going to stroll around in heels and pretty
dresses while everyone fawned over what a great job they did.
Damn J Lo and that stupid, inaccurate chick flick.
In reality, much of the job was tedious, exhausting, and head-ache inducing. And if I
tried to walk around in three inch heels on a wedding day, I'd end up needing major
foot surgery within a year.
:&
Someday Angela would groan over having to set up escort cards and tie chair sashes
yet again, she'd fight back tears when an angry bride cursed her out, and she'd resist
the urge to scream when someone screwed up her carefully laid plans. But until then,
her excitement was kind of sweet.
I made my sweep of the room, checking out the details and making adjustments when
something caught my eye. I checked in with the venue staff, the DJ, the photo booth
guys, the kitchen staff, making sure everyone was on the same page. Things seemed
well in hand.
With fifteen minutes before the doors were set to open, I tossed a stick lighter to each
of my assistants, taking my own to one edge of the ballroom, and set to work lighting
the plethora of votive candles filling the room.
Halfway through, there was a quiet knock at the main door before it opened a crack
and Edward's head peeked through. Just like that, my heart started racing again.
Damn that head. Damn my heart. Damn this weird, confusing crush.
"Mind if I sneak in for a minute?" he asked, slipping inside and shutting the door
behind him, closing out the humming chatter of guests milling around in the lobby.
"Lauren wants some detail shots before people come in and ruin everything."
"Fine by me," I shrugged, turning my attention back to lighting candles, concentrating
far more than necessary on the little wicks in an attempt to distract myself. It didn't
work. Every part of me seemed hyperaware of his presence, of the steps he took and
how every one of them brought him closer to my side.
When he was right next to me, I couldn't stop myself from glancing up at him. This
time he wasn't looking at me but around the room, his hands deep in his pockets as
he turned in place, checking out the sight before his eyes.
"Wow," he murmured. His eyes traveled over the room, soaking up his surroundings
with those artistic eyes. I was always amazed at the little things he caught, how he
captured moments and details that most people never even noticed. "Yet another
stunner, Swan. This place looks great."
"Not too pink?" I asked, scrunching my nose a bit as I fluffed a peony blossom in the
closest centerpiece.
"Somehow I don't think that's possible for Lauren," he said with a teasing
conspirator's smile. "But no, it's just right."
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