Always the Designer, Never the Bride

by Sandra D. Bricker

  "A little something to keep me warm on those cold winter nights when I have to live under the Brooklyn Bridge?"

  She poked Audrey's ribs with her elbow. "Stop."

  Lisette stood in the middle of the room in her bra and slacks, her arms outstretched as Kat wrapped the tape measure around her waist.

  "And I think my poor dad is about ready to go a little crazy with all of the last-minute details. Oh, but you should have seen him with the tailor last night, telling him all about the flowers and the cake. He's turning into a regular Colin Cowie."

  "Oh, I love him," Kat remarked as she jotted the measurement down on the notepad.

  Audrey twisted her hair into a knot, grabbed a pen from the desk, and fastened it in the bun like a chopstick.

  "This hotel is really stunning," Lisette commented as Kat continued measuring. "I love the brick courtyard, and the ornate carved wood desk in the lobby. I'll bet the weddings held here are amazing."

  "Where is your wedding venue, by the way?" Audrey asked. "I was surprised to hear that your dad and Jackson are friends but that you weren't booked here."

  "Oh, I'd love to have a small enough wedding to hold it here."

  "The main ballroom holds three or four hundred people, I think," Kat commented.

  "My guest list is nearly five hundred."

  Kat and Audrey looked at each other for a long, pregnant moment before each of them turned back to Lisette.

  "Five hundred?" Kat exclaimed.

  "Yeah. Gauche, right?"

  "Well, no. I'm just . . . Five hundred? It must have been a logistical nightmare to find a venue for a wedding that size!"

  "You have no idea. But the Omni is gorgeous. Plus they have accommodations for all of our out-of-town guests."

  Audrey's heart began to race. No wonder Lisette had been more concerned with having the right dress than with the money it would take to commission it.

  "I'm sorry. But . . . well . . . speaking of gauche, I hope this doesn't sound that way. But . . ."

  When she paused momentarily, searching for the right words, Lisette chuckled. "Go ahead. Ask away."

  "Jackson said your father is an electrician."

  "He did?" Lisette tossed her blonde hair and grinned. "Well, I guess that's true in a slightly abstract way. Have you ever heard of Gibson Light & Magic?"

  Audrey's racing heart began to tap like a bass drum. "That's your dad?"

  "The special effects company?" Kat asked, and she tossed the pencil down on the notepad and whooped. "They're huge!"

  "Yeah. That's my dad."

  "They do effects for movies and concert tours," Kat told Audrey, as if she didn't already know. "They built that whole fireworks extravaganza for Sherry Pazone's last tour."

  My dress . . . five hundred . . . out-of-town guests . . .

  And Audrey had thought Kim Renfroe was her only avenue to a high profile wedding gown!

  Audrey fell back on the bed, and she launched back up again with a shout when the pen holding her hair in place poked into her skull.

  "Are you okay?" Lisette inquired.

  "Fine. I just . . . Fine."

  Kat broke free in response to a knock at the hotel room door, giving Audrey a few moments to control her breathing and claw her way back down to earth. When she glanced up again, a little munchkin in pink boots stood in front of her.

  "Aren't you the lady who makes dresses for Barbie?"

  "I am," Audrey said with a wide smile. "And you're Roslyn, wearing your very pretty pink boots."

  "Mommy! Aunt Lisette's wedding dress-maker makes dresses for Barbie! Are you gonna make my dress for the wedding too?"

  "Well, I'm not going to make it. But I'm going to fit it to you."

  Roslyn leaned in closer and softly asked, "Could you make it sparkly? It's kinda plain."

  "Sparkly is what I do best," Audrey whispered, and she raised her hand and high-fived the little girl.

  "Are you serious? I thought we were just cutting the cake and taking some pictures! I never expected all of this."

  Carly's astonishment lit up her face as they walked into the small ballroom. She reached behind her and squeezed Audrey's hand. "Can you believe this?"

  Sherilyn had indeed outdone herself. A thousand twinkling lights created a canopy over the room, and rows of staggeredheight electric candles flickered along three of the four walls. Three rectangular tables arranged in the shape of a large U and draped with deep blue linens displayed elegant china and crystal settings. Red and white roses flanked the exquisite cake on a side table next to a small dance floor, and a polished white Baby Grand piano sat angled into the corner of the room.

  "What do you think?" Sherilyn asked them as she sauntered in the door.

  Carly didn't bother to use her words; she just propelled herself at Sherilyn and tugged her into an enthusiastic hug.

  Sherilyn giggled and rocked Carly from side to side. "I wanted you to have something special after all you two have been through."

  "It's above and beyond," Devon told her over Carly's shoulder. "This is awesome."

  "Your guests should start arriving in about ten minutes," she told them. "We'll set up a buffet on the far wall, nothing too fancy, just some tapas."

  "You and Andy will be here, right?"

  "We wouldn't miss it," she said with a grin. "This is Andy's night at Miguel's soup kitchen. He should finish up any minute and head over from there. We received responses from twelve of the fifteen people on your short list. So get yourself a beverage, and have fun."

  Audrey caught Sherilyn by the arm and softly asked, "What's with the piano?"

  "A little surprise," she told her, eyes glistening. "Stay tuned!"

  Over the next few minutes, guests began to filter into the room. Audrey recognized most of them as wedding guests and hotel staff. For some reason, it didn't seem even remotely strange to find Emma and Jackson, Sherilyn and Andy, and Fee and Sean among the invited guests. The Tanglewood seemed to have a special magic about it; everyone who passed through ended up as some sort of extended family. Russell had fallen out of a tree and into their lives, for crying out loud, and now he had taken on the unique role of the crazy roaming brother.

  J. R. had forged a place of his own as well, and Audrey watched him as he chatted with Emma and Fee, the three of them laughing and amiable. He looked so handsome in black jeans and a dark plum shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbow, and a same-tone dark plum tie knotted loosely around an open collar. She loved the shaggy layers of warm brown hair that skimmed that collar, the steel-blue eyes with a fringe of golden-brown lashes, even the colorful artwork just barely peeking out from the rolled cuff of his sleeve. She pretty much liked everything about J. R. Hunt, in fact.

  And the thought terrified her.

  Thankfully, Jackson crossed between them before she could read anything else into her growing feelings, and Audrey snagged him by the arm.

  "Hi, Audrey."

  "Hi?" she asked him. "Hi? That's all you have to say for yourself?"

  The corner of his mouth tilted into a grin, and Jackson shook his head. "Why? What did I do?"

  "Your friend Curtis is just an electrician?"

  "Yyyyyeah. He's an electrical guru. Why? Oh, how did it work out with you and his daughter?"

  "Amazing," she replied before slipping her arms around his neck, embracing him, and planting a sincere kiss on his cheek. "Jackson, I think it says a lot about you that this is how you see your friend, rather than the fact that he's the head of a multimillion dollar company."

  He laughed. "Curtis is one of the most relatable guys I've ever met. He's not pretentious in the least, Audrey."

  "No. I mean, I believe you. But you connecting me with his daughter, well, it's a huge step up for my business. And I can't thank you enough."

  "Oh, well, you're welcome. I'm glad it worked out." He leaned forward and lifted Audrey's hand and squeezed it. "I really hoped it would."

  Emotion misted her eyes, and she smiled at him. "I have
no idea what it will mean for me in the bigger picture. But it came at just the right time, and I'm grateful."

  Sherilyn tapped the microphone in the stand near the piano, and Jackson squeezed Audrey's hand again before he headed toward the empty seat next to Emma.

  "Hi, everyone. Thank you so much for coming," Sherilyn said. "Devon and Carly, you've been through an awful lot. But I think I speak for everyone in this room when I tell you that you're an inspiration. And so we all thought you deserved a beautiful night where you can take a deep breath, relax into one another's arms, and celebrate your marriage."

  Audrey glanced at them just in time to see Carly and Devon exchange a kiss.

  "And to add to the celebration, we've asked someone very special to perform one of your favorite songs. I hope you'll all join me in welcoming this year's Grammy nominee, and a dear friend of us here at The Tanglewood Inn: Ben Colson."

  Audrey's heart skipped a beat as Ben appeared from the sidelines and sat down at the piano.

  "Congratulations to the happy couple," he said into the microphone as he adjusted it. "A little bird told me that the two of you have a very special song."

  And with that, Russell stood up and took a bow. "It was me. I'm the bird."

  "Why don't you come up here and sing it with me, Walker."

  That was all it took, and Russell leaped over his chair and rushed the piano as Ben began to play. Carly clutched her heart at the first few notes of "Home," Michael Buble's song about a young couple separated by miles.

  Devon stood up and offered his hand to his bride. As Russell and Ben Colson harmonized, the couple took to the dance floor while their closest friends looked on. Well, most of them looked on, anyway.

  Audrey glanced over at J. R. to find that his eyes were fixed intently on her.

  Top Five Most Popular

  First Dance Songs

  1. "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole

  2. "At Last" by Etta James

  3. "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra

  4. "It Had to Be You" by Harry Connick, Jr.

  5. "Endless Love" by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross

  12

  You're gawking again," Audrey said with a smile as J. R. strode toward her.

  "I know. I'm sorry."

  "Liar."

  "What did you just call me?" he asked, and he wrapped his hand around Audrey's forearm. "Just for that, you'll have to dance with me."

  "I have to?"

  He shrugged. "That's the cost of calling me a liar, lady. Pay up or face the consequences."

  Audrey chuckled and, as Ben Colson started a new song, she tossed back her head and sighed. "If I have to, I have to."

  J. R. gladly wrapped her up in his arms and joined several other couples on the dance floor. Funny how she fit there so well, he realized, and he lowered his chin over the top of her head and inhaled the faint fragrance of her perfume.

  "So Carly says—"

  "Shhh," he hushed her. "Just enjoy the moment, would you, Audrey? Can you do that?"

  He felt her smile against his chest. "I think so."

  "Good," he said, his eyes closed, mid-sway. "No talking."

  After a few moments of dancing, Audrey piped up. "You have a lot of rules, do you know that?"

  "Shh."

  "I'm just saying—"

  "Sh."

  And finally she went silent, leaving J. R. free to enjoy the sensory overload of this woman in his arms, her fragrance in his nostrils, her silky hair against his skin. As the music softly faded, J. R.'s disappointment crested, but he reluctantly released her.

  Audrey looked up at him, her lips pressed firmly together.

  He smiled. "You can talk now."

  "Oh, good, because I can't wait to tell you about my day!"

  "A good day or a bad day?"

  "Very, very good."

  "Do tell."

  Over the next hour, the two of them floated in and out of quick chats with other people, watched the cutting of the cake and shared a piece of it, all amid an ongoing conversation-for-two about Jackson's friend the "electrician," Audrey's accommodations at Weston LaMont's elaborate offices, a 500- guest wedding, and the uncanny coincidence of happening across a familiar little girl with pink suede boots.

  "She was so excited to have the woman who once made formalwear for Barbie altering and adding bling to her little dress," Audrey told him, and the way she smiled at him made J. R.'s pulse race. "She's so right-out-there and outspoken. She kind of reminds me of myself at that age."

  "Somebody better warn her mother what's to come," J. R. teased.

  "Hey!" she said and swatted playfully at his arm.

  Carly stepped between them and smiled. "I think Dev has hit the wall. He's exhausted, so we're going to take off."

  Audrey reached out and gave her friend a hug. "I'll call you in the morning."

  "Okay," she said, pecking Audrey's cheek. "J. R., will you stop by before you head out?"

  "Out?" Audrey exclaimed.

  "He didn't tell you? He leaves first thing in the morning."

  "I guess I forgot."

  "I'll swing by on my way out of town," he said, and he embraced Carly. "You take care of my brother, huh?"

  "It's my favorite thing to do."

  "I know it is."

  As Carly reached him at the table, Devon looked up and waved at J. R. "See you in the morning?"

  J. R. nodded and watched the newlyweds say their thankyous and good-byes and head for the door.

  "You really have to go tomorrow?"

  When he turned back toward Audrey, her face was curled into a disappointed pout. "What, you're going to miss me or something, Audrey?"

  "No," she objected. "I'm just curious."

  "Oh, well, yes. I'm shoving off to Austin. Remember?"

  "It just got here so quickly. Will you come back after?"

  "No, I'm planning to spend some time in Santa Fe before the exhibition in Vegas next month."

  "Oh." She glanced away from him and stared with interest at nothing in particular. "So I guess I won't see you again. You know. Ever again?"

  "Well, that's doubtful," he said with a chuckle. "My brother is married to your sister, for all intents and purposes."

  "True."

  It touched J. R. that she exhibited so much apparent emotion about his plans to leave. The truth was he hadn't thought she would care much, one way or the other.

  "Could you . . . Would you come with me for a minute?" she asked him.

  He leaned down toward her and very seriously asked, "Are you going to abduct me? Tie me to a chair with duct tape so I can't escape?"

  "You'll have to come with me and see."

  J. R. followed her, amused to no end. But the minute he rounded the corner into the hall, Audrey tossed her arms around his neck and hugged him so hard that he fell against the wall.

  "Whoa," he exclaimed. "What's this for?"

  Leaning back and looking him straight in the eyes, Audrey declared, "It was nice to meet you, J. R. You've been . . . really nice to me, and I enjoyed the bike rides and . . . well . . ." With a rumbly sigh, she sped through, "I'll miss you," and thrust a fast kiss to his lips. Before he even processed what had happened, she pulled away from him. "Take care," she said. "Be safe."

  And Audrey Regan was gone.

  She'd considered the notion a dozen times since getting out of bed that morning, and Audrey still couldn't justify a trip over to Carly's on the off chance of seeing J. R. one more time. She questioned herself. What was she hoping to accomplish anyway? A longer kiss good-bye? An epiphany on his part that he could indeed stay in one place long enough to pursue a relationship? Or a revelation of her own that she even wanted such a thing?

  "Hopeless," she muttered as she ran her fingers over a bolt of batiste.

  "Pardon?" Kat asked from the other side of the fabric table.

  Audrey didn't even manage to say, "Nothing." She just waved her hand and uttered something indecipherable.

 
; She glanced at her watch. Ten-thirty. He would have packed his bike, said his good-byes, and been on his way by then.

  "Russell said J. R. left this morning," Kat remarked, unknowingly infringing on Audrey's private wonderings. "Did you have a chance to say good-bye?"

  "Yeah," she replied casually. Well. Mock-casually. "What do you think of this?"

  Kat's reaction didn't surprise Audrey when she crinkled up her nose and shook her head at the embroidered brocade wrapped around Audrey's hand. She didn't really like it either.

  "I'm still partial to the beaded silk."

  "Yeah," Audrey said. "In a perfect world, I would do the beading myself, but . . ."

  "There's no time."

  "Right. And this is really beautiful, right? I'll have it cut. Why don't you go and get a yard of that ruffled flower organza for the strap, and see if you can find something blingy for the embellishments on the shoulder we talked about. Oh, and we'll need pattern paper. A lot of it."

  "I'll get everything we need. But only if you tell me what's going on with you this morning."

  Audrey glanced up and did a double take at Kat's expectant expression. "What do you mean?"

  "Come on. You look like someone shot your dog, Audrey."

  "And yet I don't have a dog."

  "What's going on in that head of yours, boss?"

  "Go count beads, Katarina. Excuse me? Can I get some help with this fabric?"

  "Certainly," the clerk said, and Audrey followed her without a look back at Kat.

  "I need fifteen yards of the beaded silk, and six of the Habotai."

  And thirty more minutes with this ridiculous guy I can't seem to shake.

  "Audrey, look what I found. For the ruffled strap, they have this with tiny rhinestones hidden in the floral. What do you think?"

  "She said she wanted bling," Audrey commented with a weary smile. "Let's see it against the beaded silk."

  Kat set it next to the bolt of silk, and they both sighed.

  "Perfect."

  "Gorgeous."

  "Spectacular," the clerk chimed in.