Meant to Be Yours

by Susan Mallery

  He parked at the far end of the parking lot, as instructed, and made his way toward the Airstream trailer set up by the gate on the property.

  He could see into the open, outdoor area of Weddings Out of the Box. Dozens of round tables had been set up on the grass. The chairs were a stained light brown, the linens a bright apple green and white. Flowers and some kind of small apple made up low centerpieces at some tables while others had tall clear vases filled with Granny Smith apples. Place cards were attached to apples, continuing the theme.

  He’d been reading up on weddings and receptions and had even bought a few bride magazines. He’d ordered those online so he wouldn’t have to explain himself to a grocery clerk he would have to face again when he bought groceries.

  He knew about place settings and charger plates and the issues with votives (they burn out quickly) versus tapers (tall candles were an inherent danger, what with people brushing up against them). Stacey Treadway and her fiancé, Felix, had chosen votives but instead of using a traditional holder, they’d place them in hollowed-out apples.

  He spotted the table where the cake would be set up and wondered what kind the bride and groom had chosen. Something apple-y, he would guess.

  He still wasn’t sure who his serial killer would be. Not the bride and groom—that he knew for sure. It seemed too complicated. From what he’d read, both would be extremely busy on their wedding day. Plus, they couldn’t be a bride and groom over and over, which made being a serial killer more complicated. The same could be said for the family members, which left the catering staff, the officiant and anyone else who worked around weddings, such as the cake baker or florist. He was also still considering a random stranger who crashed the party.

  But this was not the time for him to be thinking about that, he reminded himself. He was here to work. He made his way to the Airstream, where he would report for duty. Silver Lovato, a platinum blonde with great business skill and some serious attitude glanced at him before pointing to a stack of aprons on a small table by the rear wheels of the trailer.

  “You’re early. That’s encouraging. Put on an apron and then wash your hands. You can help me set up. We’ll start with martini glasses.”

  As instructed, he’d worn a white long-sleeved shirt and khakis. He rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands, then began pulling out trays of martini glasses from storage lockers in the trailer.

  The Airstream had been converted into a traveling bar—in keeping with Silver’s business name: AlcoHaul. The previous year she’d taken on her now-husband, Drew, as a business partner and they’d expanded from a single trailer to a total of three, allowing them to grow the business. From what his friend Drew had shared, these days Silver was more into overall management than handling specific events, but every now and then she worked a wedding.

  Silver showed him where to stack the glasses.

  “We have two hundred guests,” she said. “The drink list is simple. Appletinis and beer. There will be champagne for the toast, but the catering staff is handling that, so not our problem. There is nonalcoholic apple cider for those who want it. Water, iced tea and soft drinks are also handled by the catering staff. If anyone asks for that, point them to the far side of the room. That table there will have pitchers of water and iced tea along with tubs filled with canned soda.”

  He nodded, wondering if he should be taking notes.

  “There is a dishwasher in this trailer,” she continued, her blue eyes staring intently into his. “You will load it the way I tell you. You will check with me before starting it. The wash cycle is fifteen minutes. We will need to run the dishwasher continuously for the second hour of the reception. I brought four hundred glasses. That will not be enough.”

  He stared at her. “We’ll go through more than four hundred glasses?”

  Her expression turned pitying. “You really don’t know what you’re doing, do you? According to Renee, there aren’t children at this wedding. That means two hundred adults. I always assume two drinks in the first hour and one drink per hour after that. Assuming the usual five to six hours, that’s at least eight hundred glasses, not taking into account people leaving their glasses somewhere, or changing their mind about what they want.”

  “Eight hundred?”

  “Uh-huh. Back in the day, we washed them by hand.” She flashed him a grin. “Be glad you’re not going to have to do that.”

  She motioned to the large portable bar she’d set up in front of the trailer. “I’m cheating. I’ll be premixing batches of the appletinis and storing them in pitchers in the refrigerator. When we get the high sign that the ceremony is nearly over, we’ll pour them into shakers, add a little ice and start filling glasses. The first twenty minutes will be the worst. However many drinks we have ready, it’s not enough.”

  She pointed to the kegs sitting in ice. “I have more helpers coming. They’ll handle that. No guests touch the keg. If you see it happening, come get me.” Her eyes narrowed. “Do not take on a drunk guest yourself. You don’t know what you’re doing and you’ll only escalate the situation. Do I make myself clear?”

  Jasper thought about pointing out not only didn’t he work for Silver, he, in fact, wasn’t getting paid. He was helping out to learn about weddings. But as her gaze held his, he thought maybe that was not the smartest thing in the world to be saying right now.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good.” She started toward the building. “Let’s get our update.”

  He had no idea what she was talking about, but obediently followed her toward the main building. When they were in the paved courtyard, Renee stepped out, tablet in hand.

  He’d seen her dressed for the office, but not working a wedding. He was used to tailored dresses and suits, but there was something about the short-sleeved dark green dress she had on. Maybe because he knew she had dressed to be invisible and had failed miserably.

  The muted color of the dress made her eyes an even deeper green. She’d pulled her long red hair back into a sleek ponytail that he would guess was easy and wedding-appropriate yet gave her a sexy-librarian air. Even her low-heeled shoes were oddly appealing and he had no idea why.

  But while he was having all kinds of inappropriate thoughts, she barely acknowledged him, instead focusing on Silver.

  “Catering is good to go. The cake is delayed. They’re claiming traffic, but I have my doubts. The baker is in Orange County. Once they clear Palm Desert, there’s nothing between them and Happily Inc but a few jackrabbits. I think they got a late start.”

  Silver winced. “How late?”

  “We’re hoping they arrive during the ceremony.” Renee pointed to the waiting table with small plates, a large carving knife and no cake. “The design is supposed to be simple so they say setup will be less than thirty minutes, but that still means they’re setting up during the reception.”

  Renee drew in a breath. “The alternative is to have them work in a private room, then carry the completed cake out during the reception.”

  “That could go very badly,” Jasper said, picturing a towering wedding cake falling to the ground.

  “Tell me about it,” she said. “I explained to Stacey that a Friday delivery was preferable but she was afraid something would happen to it in the night. As if we haven’t kept hundreds of wedding cakes safe before.”

  “If the cake people need help carrying anything, I’m available,” he told her.

  She flashed him a quick smile. “Thanks.” She looked back at Silver. “Please tell me you’re in good shape.”

  “I’m in great shape. I’m about to start mixing up the appletinis. The kegs are set up and ready to go. My staff will arrive in the next fifteen minutes and I have extra help from Jasper. Go back to your wedding.”

  “Thanks. I can always count on you.” She looked at the empty cake table. “Stacey is going to have to decide what she wants to
do about the tardy cake.”

  With that, she turned and went into the building. Jasper watched her go.

  “Does that happen a lot?” he asked. “Things being late?”

  “There is always a disaster somewhere,” Silver said cheerfully. “The key is good planning so whatever it is, it’s mitigated. A few years back we were all robbed at gunpoint.” She chuckled. “Turned out it was only a flare gun, but still. Scary in the moment. Oh, and another time there were zebras that got loose.”

  They reached her trailer.

  “Want to learn how to make great appletinis?” she asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Good answer. Some people go straight for the apple-flavored vodka, but I think that’s cheating. Mine use regular vodka, lemon juice, apple liqueur, apple juice and simple syrup. More work for me but a better product for the client. And as you know, it’s all about the bride and groom.”

  * * *

  NEARLY THREE HOURS later Jasper stood holding a surprisingly heavy tray, waiting for guests to walk out of the ceremony. Across the reception area, the cake people were frantically setting up a three-tiered cake frosted in pale green and decorated with flowers and small crab apples. He only knew they were crab apples because Silver had told him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had a clue.

  The doors to the main building opened and people flowed out—most of them heading for him. He held his tray steady and murmured, “Appletini?” as they grabbed glasses.

  “Got anything else?” a tall older man asked, glaring at the green drink.

  “Beer over by the bar.”

  “Thank God.” The man looked at the woman next to him. “Can you believe it?”

  “It was a little upsetting,” she said, taking an appletini and finishing nearly half of it in a single swallow.

  Seconds later, Jasper’s tray was empty. He set it down but before he could pick up the second one he had ready, the guests swarmed around and emptied it, as well.

  Sixty drinks in less than a minute, he thought, a little stunned by the realization that Silver hadn’t been kidding about the post-ceremony rush.

  Fortunately she and her team already had two more trays ready. Jasper stepped in to help at the second keg and quickly filled glasses, all the while listening to murmurs of outrage. Obviously something had happened, but he had no idea what.

  When the initial drink rush was over, Silver set him to work mixing more drinks. Renee hurried over to check on them.

  “We’re good,” Silver told her. “No problems here. What happened during the ceremony? Everyone’s talking about something.”

  Renee winced. “The officiant was a friend of the family, from the groom’s side. He called the bride by the ex-girlfriend’s name twice during the vows. The best man forgot the rings back at his hotel and he’s not staying in town, so there wasn’t time for him to rush back and get them.”

  Jasper might not know anything about weddings, but even he could guess that using the wrong name was not a good sign. Before he could say anything, the bride and groom appeared and everyone applauded.

  For the next hour, he circulated with appletinis while the guests mingled and snacked on appetizers. The best man appeared with the rings and there was an impromptu second ceremony where the bride and groom slipped them on, then kissed.

  He returned to the trailer only to have Silver whisper, “Are you listening to the music?”

  “I haven’t been.” He’d been too busy trying to take in all the activity while still doing his job.

  “The DJ is only playing breakup songs. Someone told me his girlfriend dumped him last night. This wedding is turning into a disaster. Poor Renee.”

  He searched the crowd and saw Renee heading purposefully toward the DJ. She looked plenty determined and if Jasper were a betting man he would put his money on the fiery redhead. As far as she was concerned, this was her couple’s special day and no one, not even a heartbroken DJ, was going to get in the way of that.

  * * *

  RENEE DIDN’T BOTHER drying her hair after her shower. She combed it out and then quickly braided it to get it out of the way. She pulled on yoga pants and a T-shirt before walking barefoot to the kitchen. After getting out plates and napkins, she poured herself a big glass of water and then slumped into a chair.

  Her feet hurt, her back hurt, her head hurt, but the apple wedding and reception were behind her. She didn’t have to think about anything for the next forty-eight hours and she planned to take full advantage of that. And lucky for her, after the wedding, Jasper had offered to stop by with dinner—which made him fifteen kinds of hero in her book.

  She heard a knock on the door.

  “It’s open,” she called, then watched Jasper walk in with a big pizza box and a six-pack of beer. Whatever misgivings she might have still harbored disappeared when she saw him. Right now, she would forgive nearly anything if someone fed her and got her a little liquored up.

  He opened a beer and passed it to her, then slid a slice of pizza onto her plate.

  “Eat,” he told her. “You’ve got to be starving.”

  “I am. This is great. Usually I have to forage around for leftovers. I keep telling myself to plan ahead and have a simple meal waiting, but so far that hasn’t happened.”

  She took a bite of the hot pizza and tried not to moan at the deliciousness of it. They ate in silence for the first slice, then took a second to catch their breath before diving in again.

  “What did you think?” she asked.

  “It was overwhelming. There are so many moving parts. I know you have that program and all, but I still don’t know how you do this every single weekend. The cake disaster, the DJ, the guy who choked on a piece of apple. There was something happening all the time.”

  “We don’t usually have guests choking,” she said, reaching for more pizza. “Thank goodness we had people there who knew what to do. I can perform the Heimlich maneuver, but that guy was huge. I wasn’t sure I could get enough leverage. But he was fine and the party went on.”

  “What about the parents fighting? They got loud.”

  “Parents fight all the time. It’s a way to release tension after months of dealing with their baby getting married. At least the DJ’s song selections got more upbeat.” She grinned as she spoke.

  He studied her. “What did you do to make that happen?”

  She raised a shoulder. “I might have mentioned his predicament to one of the bridesmaids who thought he was really cute. They started talking and I’m pretty sure they stole away for a quickie.”

  Jasper’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding.”

  “I’m guessing, but I’d put money on it. They were both holding hands and smiling a lot after his break.”

  “I had no idea.”

  “Now you do.” She reached for her beer. “No more wedding mysteries for you. Now you’ve seen one up close and personal. Well, not the ceremony, but the rest of it.”

  As she spoke she realized she probably should have told him he could watch the ceremony from the back. The next one, she told herself.

  “It was a learning experience for sure,” he said. “Silver hustles with the drinks. She said there would be a rush, but I had no idea what she meant until it happened. I enjoyed being thrown in the deep end. I really do learn by doing.” His gaze locked with hers. “I want to apologize again, for going behind your back. I am sorry.”

  “Stop apologizing. I believe you. Of course if it happens again, I’m going to hire someone to beat you up.”

  “I’m sure you have the name of someone in your contact list.”

  She smiled. “I just might.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised. So was this a typical wedding?”

  “There is no such thing. They’re all different. Not just the themes but the people involved. The families generally set the emotional tone
and that makes a difference. I’ve had bitchy brides like you wouldn’t believe but if everyone else is normal, then it’s not so bad. Weddings are highly stressful so we often see the best and worst of people. Every now and then either the bride or groom surprises me on their wedding day, but usually not. I generally know who’s going to be easy to work with and who is going to make me earn my paycheck.”

  They’d finished the pizza and beers. Jasper opened a second bottle, then stood and pulled her to her feet.

  “I learned a lot today,” he said, drawing her close.

  Renee slipped into his embrace and let a sense of anticipation wash over her. Yes, she was tired, but Jasper was exactly what she needed to end her night.

  The thought of him touching her, arousing her, bringing her to climax had her on her toes and pressing her mouth against his. He kissed her slowly, deeply, as if they had all the time in the world. His hands moved up and down her back even as his tongue claimed her. She was just about to suggest they take this party into the bedroom when he stepped back.

  He handed her the open beer and pointed to the sofa. “You need to relax and then get some sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  He was leaving? He was leaving?

  “What are you doing?”

  He gave her a slow, sexy smile. “You said you wanted foreplay. That was foreplay.”

  Before she could say anything, he kissed her again, then left. Renee stared at the closed door, then shook her head. And people said women were complicated.

  CHAPTER NINE

  MONDAY NIGHT RENEE sat across from Jasper at The Boardroom. While they’d texted a few times yesterday and this morning, she hadn’t seen him since the “foreplay” kiss at her place, Saturday night.

  She still wasn’t sure what she made of what had happened. While she respected his willingness to go along with her requests, she had kind of been interested in a little more. Maybe later tonight, she thought happily as Nick and Pallas joined them.