Chapter 9
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“Absolutely.”
“You know it’s not too late to change your mind.”
“Why would I want to?”
“Anything could go wrong out there. Are you sure you thought of everything?”
Mac looked at his two brothers, who were doing their best to try and get him riled up. “The only thing that matters is watching Gina walk up that aisle toward me. I don’t care if it’s raining. I don’t care if nobody else shows up. None of that matters. All I want is Gina.”
Lucas rolled his eyes. “You didn’t need to go through all of this nonsense to get Gina. Hell, what she sees in you, I’ll never know. She would have married you at the drive-through at Taco Bell if you asked her.”
“Please. I have a little more class than that.”
His brother Jason snorted. “Class? That’s what you’re going with? Although I have to admit, this place is exceptionally classy. Good choice.”
“You can thank Ryder for that. He made the final decision.”
“Yes,” Lucas said, “and remind me to thank him. I’m glad you didn’t expect me to run around playing wedding planner for you.”
“As if I would,” Mac said with mock disgust. “But seriously, I don’t know how we could have pulled this off without him. I don’t know how to even begin to thank him.”
“I saw him earlier and met Casey; I think you’ve thanked him enough,” Jason said with a laugh as he straightened his tie. “I guarantee you we’ll be back here in no time for their wedding.”
“I’m sure Dad would just love that,” Lucas said, coming to stand next to Jason to make sure his own tie was in place.
“What? What would I love?” William Montgomery asked as he entered the groom’s room.
“The fact that Ryder and Casey are going to get married,” Mac said, tying his shoe.
“Ah, yes. Ryder and Casey. Another happy match, might I add. I am just too good at this!”
Lucas rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you quit while you’re ahead? You got lucky, old man,” he teased. “Leave the rest of the family alone.”
“Now, how can I do that? Have you seen all of your cousins? There’s about a dozen of them out there, and none of them are married. What is it with your generation that you have to be pushed into getting married? Back in my day, we got married young because that’s what we wanted.”
“Back in your day, there weren’t so many distractions,” Jason said as he walked over to his father and played at adjusting his tie. “You know, you talk about wanting us all to be married, but you and your brothers have managed to keep all of us busy with the company. It’s not always easy to find the balance between work and a personal life, especially when we were younger. Personally, I don’t think I could have settled down quite so easily if I had met Maggie ten years ago.”
“Probably not,” William agreed. “But now that you are settled down, you see how wonderful marriage can be.” He stepped back and looked at his three sons. Each one of them had him beaming with pride. “You all look so handsome. Your mother is going to burst into tears at the sight of you.”
“Not again,” Mac said under his breath, and Lucas elbowed him in the ribs. They both laughed and then Mac faced his father. “You sure you’re okay with your role today?”
William instantly sobered. “Nothing would have pleased Art more than to know that I was the one walking his daughter down the aisle. In a perfect world, he’d be here today to do it himself, but I’m honored to do that in his place.”
“Gina was nervous about asking you.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision for her, but I’m glad I can do this for her. And for Art.”
A knock at the door had them all turning. Casey walked in and smiled at them all. “You Montgomerys certainly know how to make an impression,” she said with a laugh.
“Oh no,” William said, craning his neck to see out the door. “Is everyone behaving?”
“Behaving? Yes. But the male members of the family are causing a near riot among the female staff.”
“Aren’t there only male members of the family?” Jason teased.
“Oh, knock it off,” William scolded. “Sure, they’re outnumbered, but you know darn well that Summer and Megan are out there too.”
“I don’t think of them as women,” Lucas said with a smirk. “Last I saw them, they were just kids—tomboys, actually.”
Casey walked up to him and poked him in the chest. “Well, let me tell you, the two women I just met are certainly not tomboys, and I think they would be offended to know you still think of them like that.”
“Old habits die hard,” Lucas said in his own defense.
“Well, I just wanted to come in here and get you, William,” Casey said as she turned to him and smiled. “Gina is ready for you.” Then she turned to the brothers. “And it’s time for the three of you to take your places outside.” It was almost comical how these confident men suddenly looked a little nervous. “Oh, come on. This is the third wedding in three years from what I understand. This should be a cakewalk for you.”
With that, Casey opened the door, instructed her assistant to take William to Gina’s room, and then led Mac and his brothers out onto the pier. As she was making her way back inside, an arm snaked out and pulled her off her path.
“Ryder,” she hissed with a laugh. “I’m working.”
He kissed her soundly until she melted in his arms. “I know, I know, and you’re very good at it. I just wanted to take a minute and make you relax. You were looking a little too intense. That can’t be good for you.”
Ryder’s hands were on her hips and she swatted him away. “You’re the one who needs to relax. I’ve done this more times than I can count. Today is all about the bride, and it is my job to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. I need to stay focused.”
“Fine,” he said with a pout. “Go and focus.”
She smiled and leaned in for one last kiss. “I’ll be honest with you, this is not an easy bunch to stay focused with.”
Ryder’s brows furrowed in confusion. “What does that mean?”
“I mean look around this place! It is wall-to-wall testosterone. I’ve never seen so many good-looking people at one event. Your grandparents must have been gorgeous!”
“Hey, hey, hey,” he said, not liking the fact that Casey was even noticing his cousins. “There is no reason for you to be focusing on anyone other than the bride. And me.”
Casey smiled. “Believe me, you are more than enough.”
That seemed to satisfy him. “Good. Now go and take care of Gina. I’m sure Mac is anxious to get this show on the road.”
“Such a romantic,” she teased and walked away.
Ryder watched the sassy sway of her hips as Casey walked away in the mile-high stilettos that he loved so much and said a silent prayer of thanks that she was his.
* * *
An hour later, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. After the beautiful ceremony in which the bride and groom spoke the vows they had written, doves were released, along with dozens of white balloons in memory of Arthur Micelli, who had lost his battle with cancer less than a year ago and was not there to see his only daughter married.
Casey had to wipe her own eyes several times, thankful that her job required her to be on the go, so she couldn’t stand still and think too long about the emotional ceremony. Soon she was directing people to the cocktail hour and then hurrying off to help the bridal party get their pictures taken.
It was a hectic pace, and she adored it. For some reason, weddings had always drawn her in. She loved the romance, the planning, the promise…and being a part of people’s big day was something she never tired of. Standing off to the side, Casey watched as Mac and Gina Montgomery posed for their
first official portrait as man and wife. The way Mac looked at his bride said more than any words could. Casey was familiar with that look because it was the same one Ryder gave her.
Ryder.
Sigh.
If anyone had told her that he would come back into her life and they would pick up where they left off, she would have laughed at them. But now? Now Casey was beyond grateful for the second chance. She had learned never to take anything for granted, and the next few weeks promised to challenge them.
The entire Montgomery family was going to be in town for the next four days. They had all kinds of events and get-togethers planned, and lucky for Casey, she was good at remembering names and faces. There were a lot to remember with this bunch! Once everyone was gone, she and Ryder would have only two days to themselves before he left for San Diego. He had asked Casey repeatedly to go with him, but this was her season. She had several weddings on her calendar, and even though Julie had offered to take on the extra work, Casey was committed to her clients and didn’t want to disappoint them.
Ryder was disappointed, but Casey knew this was all part of how their lives were going to be, and if they couldn’t handle it early on in their relationship, then they were never going to be able to deal with it. The timing was bad. Things had come up that she hadn’t had time to talk to Ryder about. It couldn’t be helped; she wanted everything to be perfect, and right now it was all too chaotic to be perfect.
She hated chaos.
“We’re going to head down to the beach for a few shots,” the photographer said to her and she snapped out of her reverie.
“That’s fine,” Casey said with a smile. “I’ll have my assistant go with you just in case anyone needs anything, and I’m going to check on the guests and make sure that the cocktail hour is going well.” Confident that the bridal party was in good hands, Casey walked over to where the guests were all eating and drinking and laughing and smiling. It didn’t take long to spot Ryder in the crowd. Doing her best to focus on her job, she circled the room and checked with Tyler to make sure everything was on schedule. Once she was assured that all was well, she made a beeline for Ryder.
He greeted her with a kiss and a plate full of assorted hors d’oeuvres. “I’m working, Ryder,” she said even as she accepted the plate.
“You have to eat. I know you didn’t eat more than a cup of yogurt for breakfast, and I haven’t seen you stop since we got here. Trust me, eat a little something now, and you’ll feel rejuvenated.”
She quirked a brow at him. “What makes you think I need to be rejuvenated?”
One arm snaked around her waist to pull her close, and then his mouth brushed up against her ear. “Because I know that you exhausted me this morning, and I had the luxury of staying in bed far longer than you.”
Casey blushed. “I exhausted you? I kind of like that.”
He kissed her, then took a tiny quiche and held it to her lips. “Are you doing okay? It was a little warm out there. You look a little flushed.”
She swatted his hands away for the second time today. “Stop fussing. I feel fine.”
Ryder wasn’t so sure. He knew Casey’s job was demanding, especially on the day of the event, but lately she seemed a little paler, more tired. Maybe he needed to talk to Julie about hiring more people to help them out so that neither of them would have to work so hard.
“Whatever it is that you’re thinking, stop it,” she said between bites. The food was delicious and she hadn’t realized just how hungry she was until she started eating.
“What are you talking about?” he asked innocently.
“I can hear the wheels in your head turning. So whatever it is going on in there, stop it. I’m fine. You’ve never been to one of my events before. This is nothing out of the ordinary, so please stop worrying.”
“I’m just thinking that if you had another assistant…”
“Ryder,” she warned.
“Okay, okay, I get it. You know what you’re doing, and I’m interfering. Sorry.”
“I appreciate your concern, but during the busy season, this is how it is. This season is a little more demanding than usual because we’ve had so much going on. With your family in town and all the arrangements for you to go back home for a week…I guess I’m just a little more mentally stressed.”
“I still wish you’d come with me. I think you could use the time away.”
She smiled at him, reaching up to cup his face in one hand. “It would definitely be nice, but now isn’t the right time. I can’t leave my clients like that. I know Julie would take them and most of them would be fine, but they signed on with me, and I’ve worked with them all for so long that I would hate to miss out on the big day.”
“I understand. I hate it, but again, I understand. Besides, since I’m not selling the house, we can go back whenever we want and have someplace to stay.”
“That would be nice. What about one of your cousins subletting the place? Have you all decided which one is taking over?”
Ryder shook his head. “I think it was a monumental task to get us all here for the wedding. We’re getting together Tuesday afternoon and sitting down to discuss it all; my dad, his brothers, and all my cousins who are working for Montgomerys. It should be wild.”
“I can only imagine.” Popping a crab puff in her mouth, Casey sighed with pleasure and handed her plate back to Ryder. “This has been a lovely break, but it’s time to go and search out the bridal party. I’ll see you at the reception.”
“You’re going to play guest at that point, right?”
She nodded. “By that time, all of the hard work is done, and my assistant and Tyler can handle anything that comes up. And if they can’t, I’ll be right there.”
Ryder kissed her cheek. “Good. I want you by my side in there, and I want to dance with you.”
Casey blushed and thought about the last wedding at which they had danced. “Hopefully we’ll be sitting with people who aren’t going to be yelling at us the way the ex-aunts did.”
A hearty laugh escaped before Ryder could help it. “They may not be elderly women, but my brothers and sister will surely find something to fight about.”
Over the course of the day, Casey had the opportunity to get reacquainted with Ryder’s siblings, and she was looking forward to spending quality time with them over dinner and during the next four days. She had spent some time with them years ago, when she and Ryder had dated, but as kids, they were more interested in being alone together than with their families.
“I’m sure they’re not that bad.”
Ryder smiled and winked. “Wait and see.” Before he could say any more, Casey was off and running to finish her final duties for the day. Looking around, Ryder was impressed. He was pleased that the venue was everything that Mac and Gina had wanted and that he had the opportunity to help with that decision.
“You did a good job,” his brother James said as he walked up beside Ryder. “I hear you helped pick the place.”
Ryder shrugged. “I was just the tiebreaker.”
“I have to admit, it’s kind of crazy how it all worked out.”
“How so?”
“Well, what are the odds of Mac using Casey as the wedding planner? You have to admit, Ry, that’s one hell of a coincidence.”
“I can’t deny that, but I had gone and looked up Casey before I even knew about the wedding. That was simply fate lending a hand to make sure I didn’t let her get away again.” Ryder searched the room just in case he could catch another glimpse of her, but Casey was nowhere to be seen. Actually, the main reason he had chosen to take a sabbatical in Wrightsville Beach was because he was hoping to look for Casey.
“Still, it’s kind of cool how it all worked out. You’re lucky.” There was a sadness in James’s voice that he found hard to hide at the moment.
“What’s going on, James?” R
yder asked as he pulled his brother to a quiet corner of the room. “You’ve been in a funk for way too long. Is it work?”
James shook his head. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
“Bull. Something is definitely going on with you, and I have to tell you, we’ve all noticed it, and it’s been going on for far too long.”
His brother looked up at him first with anger and then with resignation. “I envy you,” he said quietly.
“Me? Why?”
“You went out on a limb, and now you have Casey back.”
“Who do you want back?” Ryder wracked his brain for the women he knew of who James had dated. Having lived on opposite coasts for a dozen years wasn’t helping.
“It doesn’t matter,” James said, taking a long drink from his champagne glass. “It was a long time ago, and she’s better off without me.”
Ryder reached out and forced his brother to look at him. “That’s a load of crap and you know it. I walked away from Casey and basically blew her off because I selfishly wanted to prove a point to our family, and you know what? I may have achieved that success and earned my place in the company, but it’s a hollow victory when you reach it alone. Maybe it’s not too late for you. Who is she? Do you know anything about her life now?”
James shrugged. “She’s got a business here on the Outer Banks. I thought about looking her up while I’m here, but I don’t even know where to begin. Her family wasn’t overly fond of me back when we dated. They thought I was some sort of degenerate.”
Ryder laughed out loud. “You? Why would they think that?”
“It was all during my rebellious period.”
“Ah.” Ryder nodded. “Leave it to you to meet someone while being a high-school dropout and mowing lawns for a living. Thank God you outgrew that phase.”
“The thing is, it’s because of the way her family treated me that I went so crazy trying to overachieve in everything else. I wanted to prove them wrong.”
“James, you don’t need to prove anything to anybody. You were a kid; you were going through a phase. Don’t let these people make you feel bad about yourself.”
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