The Professional Bridesmaid
Jennifer Conner
Table of Contents
Title Page
Excerpt from The Professional Bridesmaid
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Look for Jennifer Conner’s Other Titles
About the Author
Also By Jennifer Conner
About the Author
Excerpt from The Professional Bridesmaid
“Skye Wilson.” She shook his hand. His fingers wrapped around her wrist and were warm against her cool skin. She felt a surprising little electrical zing when they touched. She pulled her hand back, cleared her throat, and said, “Do you own the company or just drive for them?”
“I own Limo Scene and all the cars. I hope to expand soon. I started contracting with Amina, the owner of the Lodge, when she called me about a month ago and hired my cars and service for their weddings. We work well together so they keep calling me back. I think there are some flaky companies and drivers out there. When you try and put a good foot forward, your work ethic speaks for you.”
A shrill voice launched through the small walkie-talkie in Skye’s hand, “Where is everyone? I said just a few minutes! You expect me to be in the dressing room alone forever?”
“Walkie-talkies to beckon you?” Chasen said, with a grin. “Okaaaayyy...”
“Brenda’s idea. This way she can keep track of us at all times. I guess this is my cue and I’d best hop to. Maybe, I’ll see you around again?”
“The pleasure’ was all mine, Ms. Wilson.” He extended his hand again. When his fingers wrapped around hers, they were warm and strong.
When she looked back, he was still watching her. She put a little swing in her hips...if he could even see her hips under all the pink fluff. She looked like the whipped crème and Jello salad. Fuffanella, Grandma called it. There was a part of Skye that wanted to stay and talk to the cute limo driver for a few more minutes, but she’d made a promise to help Brenda on her wedding day. She stood by her word and as the words of the day said, for better or worse.
Copyright
The Professional Bridesmaid
A Books to Go Now Publication
Copyright © Jennifer Conner
Books to Go Now
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First eBook Edition –May 2018
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.
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Note from Author
I was a professional wedding photographer and also ran a catering company for over 20 years. Many of the crazy stories in this book are things that happened to me during this time. Yes... it is all true experiences.
Prologue
Skye Wilson looked at her new puppy, Ollie, and shook her head. He was a dog for goodness sake. How could he possibly know she was leaving him behind for a few hours and look so sad and pathetic. He was only eight weeks old but had already pulled at her heart strings.
“I promised Brenda that I would help coordinate her wedding. We talked about this last night.” I am trying to reason with a dog.
Ollie grumbled and rolled over on his back.
She patted his soft and furry tummy. “Mrs. Benson is watching you for the night. You’ll like her. And then I promise, tomorrow, I’ll take you out around the block, so you can spend some quality time with your favorite tree.”
Skye carefully kneeled on the floor as to not muss her fluffy pink dress. “I would just as soon stay here with you. But, you know, I have to go.”
Ollie jumped into her arms and licked her cheek. With Ollie under one arm and her bag over her shoulder she started out the door. Almost forgetting the folder of wedding data on the coffee table, Skye circled back around and grabbed the folder. If she wanted to become a wedding coordinator she was going to have to start somewhere and that would be today. To do that she would need to get a few clients under her belt if anyone was going to hire her.
She liked weddings and didn’t want to work in an insurance office for the rest of her life.
When Skye arrived at the apartment next to hers she knocked on the door. When it opened, Skye said, “Good morning, Mrs. Benson, are you sure you’re still up for watching Ollie?”
“Of course.” The older woman’s face lit when she saw the puppy. She reached over the threshold, scooped the dog out of Skye’s arms, and snuggled her nose into Ollie’s feathery fur. “I’ve looked forward to having his company all week.”
Skye took Ollie’s leash, a puppy potty pad, and the bag of dog kibbles out of her bag. “This is all I think you should need. I’m not sure what time I will be home tonight. It depends on the wedding and how long they’ll need me.”
Mrs. Benson waved a hand. “Why don’t you just leave Ollie overnight and pick him up in the morning. You’re like a new mom. Don’t worry about your baby. I’ve raised five children of my own, so a puppy is easy-peazy.”
“I better get going, and thanks again.” Skye said checking her watch. She shut the door behind her as she left. She made a mental note to bring Mrs. Benson a slice of cake from the wedding. She knew the woman did like her treats.
Sky smoothed the front of the frothy ruffles of her dress and pulled in a deep breath. Maybe she would stop for a coffee on the way to the venue. She should be looked forward to the day but instead she felt uneasy. Brenda was a handful at work, and as bride she might be a little difficult.
I’ll make it a double-shot. I’m going to need all the energy I can get.
Chapter One
BRENDA AND CARL’S WEDDING
“Get out, all of you, get out!” Brenda shrieked, as she waved French manicured nails in their direction. Her usually beautiful face was a twisted contortion of anger.
Skye Wilson knew it was Brenda’s wedding day, but seriously, the woman needed to take a chill pill. She’d volunteered to help Brenda coordinate the wedding for free, which she suspected was the only reason she’d been asked to be a bridesmaid. Now, she wondered if this was in the best decision she’d made. She could be sitting at home, eating a pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Ollie would be snuggled next to her as they watched an old foreign movie instead of being yelled at by a woman she barely knew.
Why had she volunteered to help her three co-workers with their wedding plans? Skye enjoyed being involved with weddings and she was a detail-oriented woman. But, after work last week when she suggested the four of them go out for drinks, they all made excuses why they couldn’t go. When she decided to go to the corner pub by herself, the three girls were there. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to go, it was that they di
dn’t want her to be a part of their group. They made that obvious. They wanted her free help, but not her company.
Skye felt like she was starting over. A new office job at an insurance firm. New friends... which had been harder to find then she thought. This was her new life. She should have never moved from her old life in Portland, but she did it to be closer to her dad.
She tried at being the voice of reason since the bride seemed to have lost her mind. She looked around, but the other bridesmaids had shrunk together up against the wall. “Brenda, I know that you forgot your undergarments back at the house, but to keep us on schedule, I think that we had best finish the last-minute touches on your hair and makeup and then take the photos.”
The bride put her hands over her face which had already taken two hours to apply. Skye winced. God forbid if Brenda smeared anything, she would make the poor makeup lady start all over again with the airbrushing.
“I can’t,” Brenda said dramatically and slid down in the gold and white chair. She looked like a cross between a big marshmallow cream puff and a mummy with her veil wrapped around her body. “I can’t go out there and take photos like this.”
“It’s your panties, Brenda.”
“It’s not the ones for the wedding.”
“You are wearing a long white dress, so no one can see what is or isn’t underneath.” Skye drew in a deep breath and tried to calm her rising blood pressure. “By the time we are through with the bridesmaid and parent photos, Teri will be back from your house and you can put them on. No one will know they were missing except the five of us.”
“I’ll know.” Brenda waved her hands in a shooing motion. “Just get out! All of you get out! I need a few minutes alone. I can’t deal with all of this stress.” She dropped her head into her folded arms.
Skye knew Brenda off and on for the last six months at work, and identified that right now, compromise wasn’t a word that existed in Brenda’s vocabulary. Skye was the only bridesmaid still in the room. The others fled when she wasn’t looking after Brenda’s first tirade.
“I’m going to step out for a few minutes so you can have time to compose yourself. You have the walkie-talkie, call me when you are ready to head out for your photos.” Skye hoped her voice sounded calm even though her nerves weren’t.
Skye wiped perspiration off her forehead from the stifling heat of the room. Brenda hung large bedspreads over the windows for fear the groom might see her before the wedding. The dressing room was stifling hot making it not a good combination along with wedding nerves. The groom seeing the bride beforehand never ruined a wedding, but the bride passing out from heat prostration would.
Skye backed out, closed the door to the bride’s dressing room, and then banged her head on the doorjamb. I’m a terrible person even thinking this, but I have no idea why these two are getting married. She was a realistic woman and didn’t believe in fairy tales, but love should be something special. Weddings were a couple’s special day, but wasn’t love supposed to be involved? Skye might be missing something, but she didn’t feel any chemistry between Brenda and Carl. But then, what did she know? She’d never been in love. She’d had boyfriends over the years, but never anyone serious. Maybe this was the way it was. And now she proved the old saying, once a bridesmaid always a bridesmaid.
Finding true love. Was it just a myth like mermaids, unicorns, and Sasquatch?
She wandered down the halls of the Chapel in the Sky wedding venue. The flocked wallpaper and gilded frame paintings gave the place the old world charm of a bygone era. The view from up on the cliff where it stood was breathtaking. Skye had to admit, it didn’t really need anything added, and it was already a beautiful place.
She walked into the main part of the house. The caterers, florist, and many others were bustling around making sure that the wedding was set to perfection. She still didn’t spot the other bridesmaids, so Skye pushed through the French doors and headed outside. Maybe they’d gone come out here? The cool breeze brushing her face felt like a breath of heaven.
A long black stretch limousine was parked alongside the lodge. Its onyx paint and brushed chrome were polished to perfection. Skye rested against the trunk of the car and cracked her neck to the side. The heat radiating from the car felt good against her backside.
“I thought I’d be the only one out here,” a deep voice said. “It’s nice to have company.”
She turned to find the limousine driver standing off to the side under the shade of a tree. Walking toward her, he was dressed smartly in a full black suit, white shirt, black tie and white gloves. The sun glinted off his dark aviator-style sunglasses.
“I somehow lost the other bridesmaids. They left the dressing room before me and now I have no idea where they went.”
“They didn’t come out this way. Would you like me to call in and see if the front desk can locate them? The grounds are large, they could be anywhere. I’d be happy to help.”
“No. That’s okay.” Skye liked having a few minutes to herself. “I’ll find them soon enough. The photos are...delayed, so they won’t need me for a few minutes. It’s a beautiful day even though a little warm for my taste. I came out for some fresh air.”
“There’s lots of it out here. I’ll share.” He shot her a dazzling smile and her stomach did a little flip. “I saw the photographer take the groomsmen’s photos, so I assume you girls are up next?”
“We’re in a holding pattern. There’s been a bit of a problem.”
“Problem?” he asked. “I hope it isn’t anything too serious.”
“Things will be resolved in a few minutes.” Skye felt her cheeks heat realizing she’d almost told a stranger about the brides missing panties. “I’ve been helping coordinate the bride’s day and now the schedule’s off. Brenda said she needed a few minutes alone, but those few minutes have stretched into thirty.” Skye lifted her cell phone and looked at the time. “I hope she calls us in soon or we will be behind on the time it takes to complete the photos. It’s a big wedding party and I assume it might take up to an hour or more for the photos.”
“Are all the photos before?”
“Oh, no. The bride thinks it’s bad luck for her and the groom to see each other before the wedding.”
He shrugged. “I think that’s an old wives’ tale. It takes a lot of stress off the day if they take photos before, but I know you can’t tell a bride who’s convinced otherwise.”
“Exactly. That is what I tried to tell her, but years of tradition are not in my favor.”
“I think if you are getting married for the right reasons, a photo or two with your true love shouldn’t curse the day. If anything, it should help it.” He grinned. The limousine driver took off his black chauffeur’s cap and ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. “Iʼll wager a guess by the pink taffeta, besides coordinating, you’re also a bridesmaid?”
“What tipped you off?” Skye grinned, and did a little spin on her toes. “Maybe I’m just like one of the Trekkie people and I wear this kind of dress every day.”
He looked her up and down and then smiled. “Nope. I’ve only known you a few minutes but this just doesn’t look like your daily style.” He leaned next to her on the trunk of the limo and crossed one long leg over the other. “Related or a friend of the bride and groom?”
“I guess I’m a friend, though I don’t know the bride very well. I work with Brenda, the bride. All she’s talked about for the last six-months is her wedding here at Chapel in the Sky. But, as the wedding grew closer and the budget her dad gave her was hit long ago, she dropped the wedding coordinator from the lodge and asked me if I would help.”
“Have you done wedding planning before?” he asked.
“No, not really. But I’ve been to a million weddings and I’m a pretty organized person. I’m sure that’s why she asked me.”
“Pretty organized?” The tone of his voice was kidding. “I’m thinking if Brenda Karlton wants you involved that you’re more than a little organi
zed. You would have to have every I dotted and T crossed for her standards. She called the company six times last week to double-check the limo’s pickup time.”
“You’re right, I’m very organized. I work in accounting with a firm in downtown Seattle. Brenda only called Limo Scene four times. She had me call the other two, so I guess you and I have spoken to each other before. You were very professional on the phone.”
“Thanks.”
“Brenda told me she picked me as a bridesmaid because I’m the right height and have the right color hair to complement the bride.” She twirled a finger through a blonde curl.
“She picked the bridesmaids by height and hair color?” He chuckled. “Not by best friends or sisters, or something like that?”
“I don’t think so. Brenda’s a brunette and we’re all blondes. We’re all around five-foot-seven and she’s five-ten. She has a certain plan for her wedding down to the look of the women in the photos beside her. It’s my job today to make sure everything falls into place. She’s thought this through, believe me.”
“So, what are you doing out here and not hanging out with the bridesmaids? You said you ‘lost them’?”
“I don’t really know the other girls very well either. We work together, but...you know.” She almost blurted out, they never really include me in anything they do. “When Brenda said that she needed some ‘alone time’ and told all of the mothers and the bridesmaids to get out of the dressing room, I thought I’d best leave for a few minutes.”
“Well, her loss and my gain.” He stuck out his hand. “The name’s Chasen Dantrell.”
“Skye Wilson.” She shook his hand. His fingers wrapped around her wrist and were warm against her cool skin. She felt a surprising little electrical zing when they touched. She pulled her hand back, cleared her throat, and said, “Do you own the company or just drive for them?”
“I own Limo Scene and all the cars. I hope to expand soon. I started contracting with Amina, the owner of the Lodge, when she called me about a month ago and hired my cars and service for their weddings. We work well together so they keep calling me back. I think there are some flaky companies and drivers out there. When you try and put a good foot forward, your work ethic speaks for you.”
The Professional Bridesmaid Page 1