The Professional Bridesmaid

by Jennifer Conner

  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 of her dress. 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.

  THANK GOODNESS, THE rest of the wedding went off without a hitch. Small lights hung from the ceiling of the reception and what looked like miles of white tulle draped everywhere. Large white bouquets of flowers were set on each guest table with candles. The candles raised the temperature of the room and made it a little uncomfortable, but Skye thought it looked exactly like Brenda had envisioned. Rich, elegant, and like it cost a lot of money...which it had. Brenda mentioned that she hoped her friends were impressed. If a person was into that, Skye guessed they would be.

  The best thing was, Skye could keep everything pretty much on the bride’s timeline even after the whole ‘underwear debacle.’

  After the first hour of the reception, the rest of the wedding party drifted away from the head table. The cake was cut and the bouquet and garter were thrown. She didn’t want to go up for the bouquet toss, but was called out by one of the other bridesmaids. When the flowers flew her direction, she had to catch them.

  Phoebe, one of the bridesmaids, came up to her. “You caught the bouquet. Any prospects on the horizon or do you have a boyfriend? Are you’re getting married soon and you just haven’t said anything at the office?”

  “No. I would have said something.”

  “Well...I guess anyone can catch the bouquet.” Phoebe said in a clipped tone.

  Skye felt the cold front come off the other woman and realized that Phoebe wanted to be the one to catch the bouquet. Phoebe’s weddings was the last of the three women from the office. Why did she need to catch the flowers? She already had a fiancée.

  “Would you like them?” Skye held out the small bouquet in an offer to the other woman.

  “No.” Phoebe’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think it works that way.” She turned and walked off toward the dance floor.

  WHEN THE DJ BEGAN THE music, Skye found herself alone at the table. She looked around the room, and didn’t recognize anyone. She walked to the cake table, snagged two plates and forks and headed outside. She found Chasen in the same place he’d been earlier, leaning on his car, and this time reading a book.

  “Fancy meeting you here, again,” she said. “I thought you might like a piece of wedding cake.”

  He looked up, stuck the book in his back pocket, and took the plate. “You sure it’s okay if I have one?”

  “The cake is huge. I think they only cut a part of it. They won’t miss one slice. In fact, I probably could have brought you a whole tier to eat.”

  “One slice is fine. Unless the bride or groom say anything beforehand, I always feel weird eating or drinking anything at the wedding. It’s not professional.”

  “You can’t be expected to sit out here for hours and hours without anything to eat or drink.”

  “Before I leave the office, I always bring bottled water and make a couple of sandwiches I keep in a small cooler in the trunk. They hold me over.” He waved the fork at her. “If I get in trouble eating this cake, youʼll vouch for me?”

  “I’ll tell them that you’re my date for the night.” Skye took a bite. “That is, as long as your wife or girlfriend won’t come after me.” She hoped there wasn’t any of the blue frosting on her teeth.

  “You’re safe. No wife or girlfriend.” He took a bite. “Wow, this cake is really good. What is it?”

  “I think Brenda said that it’s chocolate bourbon cake with mocha buttercream frosting. The caterers said they were trying out a few new cake designers, but I’ll have to report back how good it tastes.”

  “Amina does everything well, doesn’t she? That’s why I agreed to work with the Lodge. I like to work with professional organizations who take their work seriously. Is the wedding going smoothly?”

  “For the most part. I accidently caught the wedding bouquet. I didn’t mean to but it was going to hit me in the face. I think I ticked off one of the other bridesmaids who wanted it.”

  “That means you’re the next to be married. Right?”

  “I’m destined to be a professional bridesmaid.” Skye rolled her eyes. “And, that would mean I had a man in my life.

  “Stranger things have happened.” He grinned at her.

  The thought wasn’t a bad one at all. Maybe by the end of this night Chasen might ask her out on a date.

  Skye listened to the beat of the music inside the venue, happy she had a quiet place with a cute guy to relax for a few minutes. She rubbed her temple with the tip of her index finger. The pounding inside echoed in her head.

  “Headache?”

  “A little one. It’s been a rather hectic day.” She sighed and finished the last bite of her cake.

  Chasen left for a second before returning with a bottle of aspirin. “Here. I always try to carry an emergency kit of things my customers might need.” He held out the aspirin container and a bottle of water. “Band-Aids, a wine cork, and a few other things we’re not going to mention in case my clients request them.”

  “People wouldn’t ask you for that?”

  “Yes, I’ve been pretty much asked for everything. Somethings I supply, somethings, no way.”

  “Thanks. I’ll just take the aspirin.” She took them and downed two pills with the water. “I hope things work for Brenda and Carl. I hope that she’s marrying for love and not just for the show of the wedding.”

  “Why would you say that?” he asked.

  “I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I didn’t hear her mention Carl the whole day. When I left the wedding party a few minutes ago, he was dancing with the girls we work with. There just isn’t that special something between the two of them. I know, that sounds bad. I found myself wondering why they were getting married at all.” Skye looked up, a little embarrassed by her confession.

  “This isn’t dissing on a client, it’s only an observation, but Brenda was screaming the moment I picked her up in the limousine. She was on her cell phone yelling at who I assumed was the groom. It was over some silly thing. The groom forgot to pack the cake knife. I mean, who cares? Use a machete if you have to.” He took his chauffeur hat off and laid it on the trunk of the car. “I’ve driven brides to hundreds of weddings and a lot of the time I think it’s just nerves. A side of people comes out on their wedding day that they normally might not show.”

  “You’re right. Brenda has such a tight timeline, everything needs to go off without a hitch.”

  “Every wedding has hitches. I just wondered, if you don’t mind me asking, what happened earlier when she threw everyone out of the dressing room?”

  Skye paused for a second, wondering if she should tell him. Finally, she said, “She forgot her bridal underwear back at the house. That’s why she wouldn’t come out for her photos.”

  “She what?” He laughed. “Is there bridal panties?”

  “Yes. You know, white, lacy ones, and she seemingly couldn’t take her photos without them.” She laughed too. It sounded as silly when she said it as it really had been. Skye hadn’t laughed all day. It felt good.

  Chasen pointed his fork
at her. “She did realize that she was wearing a big white dress and no one could see her... well, anything. Her dress isn’t see-through.”

  “I know,” Skye said, exasperated. “I tried to tell her that, but she’d hit a wall of resistance and wasn’t able to work through it. And until those panties showed up, nothing was happening.”

  “I’ve heard and seen a lot of things happen at weddings, but that’s a new one.” His laugh was easy. She turned and watched Chasen as he placed his plate and fork on the ledge of the railing. He was cute. No, Chasen was melt-the-frosting-off-the-cake handsome. His dark hair was almost black, and his deep blue eyes shone in the overhead lights of the Lodge. He scratched the light stubble of beard which ran along his strong jawline. The kind of beard that just tickled your fingertips when you kissed a man.

  Skye swallowed. She had to stop staring.

  She was definitely having much more fun out here flirting with the limo driver than she’d had back at the party. The beat of the music could be heard through the walls and she tapped a foot.

  Reluctantly, she looked at her cell phone and saw she only had five more minutes. “I’d best get back inside. I need to help Brenda with her dress before her first dance. I’ll be back in a bit with her overnight bag for when you take them to the hotel.”

  WHEN SHE RETURNED, Chasen was still reading his book. He saw her and grinned. He seemed genuinely happy to see her again. Wow...if she could just have someone like him when she came home from work. All she had now was her dog and her two roommates. He popped the trunk, and took the bag from her grasp.

  “I forgot to ask you what you were reading?” she questioned.

  “It’s a spy thriller I picked up for a quarter at the used bookstore by my house. I like paperbacks when I’m working. Easier to stick in my back pocket.” Chasen popped the trunk and took the bag from her grasp. “I love my job,” he said. “But, it’s always the long hours between the beginning and the end that get a little slow. I tried playing solitaire but I got bored. Books are better. Thanks for hanging out here with the hired help to make the evening fly by.”

  “As I said, I didn’t really know anyone in there, so it was nice to talk and it was nice to meet you in person and not just through your business phone.”

  “For the next wedding, here’s my number.” He took out his wallet and pulled free a business card. “Or, if you ever need to hire a limousine, give me a call.”

  “Thanks for the offer. I doubt I‘ll ever need a big, fancy car like this.”

  “Maybe instead of business, I could take you for coffee?”

  “I’ll have to see how my schedule plays out, but I do have two more weddings for coworkers coming up. I think they’ve hired Limo Scene so I will see you then.”

  “I have a few other drivers and cars, but hopefully.” He paused. “I’m the boss, I’ll schedule it so I’m the driver.”

  “Maybe I’ll see you around again then.”

  “I’m counting on it. It’s been an unexpected and a much more enjoyable evening than I’d planned on.”

  She tried to think of something to keep their conversation going, but that wasn’t her long suit. “Well, better get going.”

  He took her hand. “Thanks for thinking of me and bringing me cake. And thanks for being my ‘date’ for tonight. Call me if you change your mind about coffee.” He grinned, and Skye felt that funny little tug in her stomach again.

  “Goodnight, Chasen.”

  “Goodnight, Skye. Until we meet again.” He kissed the back of her hand.

  Wow, do guys still do that? She was happy they did.

  Chapter Two

  HELEN AND DONALD’S Wedding

  For the past three weeks, Chasen had kicked himself after the last wedding for not getting Skyeʼs phone number. He hoped she would have taken him up on his offer for coffee, but there had been no call.

  He couldn’t get that cute girl out of his mind. Since that night, he’d been out on one date, which was a fix-up by a friend. His friend told him that he and the girl would be ‘perfect’ together. His friend was wrong. It wasn’t a good match at all. The woman had no sense of humor and that was a deal breaker. If he’d gotten Skye’s number, maybe instead of that other date, he could have gone out with someone who made him laugh and that he’d felt some real chemistry with.

  He’d only been working with Chapel in the Sky for the past few months and the last thing he wanted was for Amina to think he was hitting on someone from a wedding party, and or using his limo service as a way to pick up women. It was important to always come across as professional. He’d put his heart and soul into his business and borrowed money up to his eyeballs to buy the three limos.

  If he was worried about the ‘no fraternizing with customers’ clause in Limo Scene’s contract, why did Skye’s face float across his mind when he shut his eyes at night to go to sleep? He’d written the damn contract. Maybe he should take that line out. His chauffeurs were driving for three weddings taking place tomorrow around town. He’d checked the names of the Lodge’s weddings for the weekend and shifted the schedule around, so he would be the driver for the two there on Saturday. He wasn’t sure which one Skye might be involved with, but he wasn’t taking any chances. For all he knew, the wedding might be at another venue. He hadn’t thought of that and frowned.

  He looked at the names of the couples. One couple was coming in from a different state and Skye said that she worked with the brides in the city. This would leave Helen and Donald or Linsey and Michael. He’d always been bad at 50/50 decisions...and why the heck did it seem to matter so much if he saw Skye again? It did though. There was one wedding at eleven o’clock and one at seven. He’d eliminate the odds and drive for both.

  “Hey, Ted. I’m giving you the shorter weddings tomorrow that will be back to back,” he said. “Mary and Robertʼs. It will still be a long day, so bring a book or put a new game on your phone. The pickup is at 1:00 p.m. and the last hotel drop off for the second is at 1:00 a.m.”

  “I assume the girl you told me about will be at the other wedding?” Ted wiped his polishing cloth over the door’s black, shiny paint and shot him a knowing grin.

  “You remember that?” Chasen felt the tips of his ears heat. He had to stop blabbing his love life to his workers, they loved to throw it back in his face. “I don’t know where she’s going to be,” he mumbled.

  “Why don’t you describe her, and I’ll keep an eye out.” Ted waggled his eyebrows. “I’ll call if I see her.”

  “You’re a hound dog. No way.” Chasen laughed. “Okay, she’s about four-foot three, one eyeʼs green and the other one’s glass and she’s missing a front tooth.”

  “Ha ha, I don’t believe you. Are you afraid I’ll move in on your girl?”

  “She’s not my girl.”

  “Just giving you a bad time. I like my job, and I wouldn’t want to make the boss jealous. Besides, you told us no fraternizing with the wedding party. It wouldn’t look right. If you got her number and asked her out on a date for another time, does that count as off-duty time too? Just clarifying.”

  “No, I don’t think so.” Chasen needed to think about that question. It never came up before. But, free time was free time. He didn’t want to be one of those micro-managing bosses, unless it was regarding one of his cars. “Throw me the cloth, you missed a spot.”

  Ted tossed him the fiber cloth and Chasen rubbed the smear on the black surface. He liked all of his cars, but this was his favorite. The first one that he’d been able to buy. He rubbed off the smudge and tipped his head to see if heʼd missed anything else.

  “Looks like everything is ready to go. Another night. More crazy weddings,” Ted said.

  “Something like that.” Chasen laughed and closed the driver’s side door.

  CHASEN REMOVED HIS chauffeur cap and looked at his reflection in the side window to check that his hair and tie were in place. For once in his life, his guess had paid off. She hadn’t been at the first wedding, but a f
ew minutes before the late afternoon sun streaked across the lawn, Skye appeared to pose for pictures with the bridesmaids. Then he’d watched the sway of her lovely hips all the way back across the grass and into the Lodge.

  It had been ten years since his senior prom, so why did he feel like an anxious kid waiting to see the girl he wanted to ask out? Skye probably didn’t even see him today, or worse yet, didn’t want to. She hadn’t called so maybe she wasn’t interested. He pulled the printed agenda for the wedding off the front seat and scanned it for the hundredth time. He didn’t need to check, but it was an excuse to keep his mind off the woman occupying his thoughts.

  He drew out his paperback and started to read again, as he tried to look nonchalant.

  “Hey, fancy meeting you here...again.”

  He would know that voice anywhere. He let out a sigh of relief that she’d sought him out. Chasen turned and smiled. “Skye. Wow, I didn’t expect to see you here.” Good thing he wasn’t Pinocchio, or his nose would have grown a foot.

  “I was happy to see that it was you driving the limo tonight.”

  “I said I would. If the wedding is here at the Lodge, thereʼs a pretty good chance Iʼll be the driver.”

  “That’s good, or else I’d have to meet a whole new limo driver as I stand out here alone...again.” She made a goofy face as she kidded with him. Skye unwound the loose satin tie from the small yellow purse on her wrist.

  It was a simple act and Chasen had no idea why he found it sexy.

  “How have you been?” Geesh, why don’t you just ask her how the weather is? He wasn’t very good at small talk.