“Hey, where’d you go?” The man waved his hand in front of her eyes.
“I’m here.” She shrugged and focused on his face. This was a typical occurrence. Even when she wasn’t working, she was working. Every restaurant had the potential for some wedding dinner. Every outing became a possible site visit for photos or the ceremony. Weddings were her life. “I have things that need to get done.”
“Then I’ll make this quick.” He winked and her heart jumped in her chest, centering her firmly in this moment. “Save me a dance.”
“What?” That was the last thing she’d thought he’d ask.
“At the reception. Save me a dance and I’ll tell you my name.” That wicked twinkle was in his eyes again.
“I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re a lovely dancer, but I don’t dance at clients’ weddings.” Pushing back the door, she held it open for him to exit.
He laughed and moved closer. His hand came to rest on the door next to her head, taking the weight off her back. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind. Make an exception.”
Her breath caught on his scent, like incense burning in a dimly lit bedroom. It made her knees weaken. The sooner she got away from him, the better. “How about I try to fit you in my schedule?”
Her gaze followed his other hand as he leaned it against the door on the other side of her head, trapping her. “Schedules aren’t fun.”
“I wouldn’t come to your work and ask you to dance with me.” She held her chin steady even as her hands pressed against the door. The way he was leaning in . . . Would he actually try to kiss her?
“I wish you would.” His tone deepened and his crooked smile hit her core.
Escape was the only option. She shifted out from under his arms and into the hallway. “We’ll see, but only if you tell me your name and purpose here.”
“I didn’t know wedding planner equaled wedding police.” He stepped closer to her. The door closed behind him, taking the light from the wine cellar away and leaving them in the dim lighting of the hallway. “But who am I to deny a pretty woman? Seal it with a kiss?”
She laughed. “How about a handshake and a name?”
He held out his hand and she took it. “Well, Julie Winter, my name is Seth Downing. I’m probably on one of your lists as Uncle Seth and I’m here to make sure at least one thing goes wrong with this wedding.”
Chapter Two
Seth left the particularly cute wedding planner with her particularly cute mouth dropped open and climbed the steps to the kitchen. Julie Winter was one tightly strung lady. With her dark hair pulled back into a knot, her light blue eyes seemed huge in her fragile face. And though her outfit was all business, he’d felt her soft curves when he’d stopped her from crashing to the ground. As he topped the steps, he did his best not turn back for one last look, confident that he could feel her glare burn his back.
“Oh no, you don’t.” Her voice echoed up from the cellar. He didn’t stop the grin that lifted his lips.
Surely, she’d heard the stories of the wedding disasters he’d left in his wake. His brothers and sister were all twenty years older than him. He’d been his parents’ surprise baby. Growing up with nieces and nephews that were around his age made them feel more like cousins. At every one of their weddings so far, he’d managed to give them the one thing a gift from the store couldn’t: the realization that a perfect wedding does not make for a perfect marriage.
As a lawyer, he’d seen too many couples come to him for a divorce because they expected everything to be perfection from the very beginning. No one could be perfect all the time. If they could handle a disastrous wedding, they could handle anything as a married couple.
The stairs led into the massive kitchen, which was industrial rather than historic like the rest of the house. Knowing she’d catch up eventually, he leaned against one of the freezer doors to wait for her.
She topped the stairs and her eyes scanned the room before settling on him. Her mouth was set in a tight line. He could sense the tension coming from her. “What are you up to?”
“Is that any way to talk to an invited guest?” Seth didn’t bother to hold back his grin.
“You shouldn’t even be here yet. Family isn’t due to arrive until pictures in three hours.”
He shoved away from the freezer and scoped out the kitchen. He kind of liked the way her cheeks flushed when she was aggravated. And apparently he aggravated her just by being here. The food hadn’t arrived yet. For a reception that was happening in a few hours, the kitchen was deserted except for the two of them.
“Excuse me, but where do you think you are going?” She stepped in his way.
He stopped. “We already have plans for a dance later, but if you want to occupy some of your downtime . . .”
She didn’t even bat an eye and in an even, deadpan voice, she said, “I suppose you are going to rock my world.”
Now this was the type of reaction he liked. “Only if you ask nicely.”
She rolled her eyes. “So far, asking you anything has gotten me nowhere.”
“I could definitely take you somewhere if you want.”
“Please—”
“I like it when you beg.”
She pinned him with a glare. “Why are you early?”
He straightened his bow tie and winked. “I’m an usher.”
“No, you’re not.” She shook her head in disbelief.
He took a step toward her and she retreated a step, but kept that chin high. He’d planned to arrive with his parents. Now he was glad his cousin was sick. He would have missed meeting the lovely wedding planner. “My cousin got sick and I’m the only one who wears the same size tux.”
“Lucky us,” she muttered, and then straightened. “You won’t ruin this wedding.”
“Who said anything about ruining it?” He grinned when she opened her mouth to tell him off. “I said I’m going to make sure something goes wrong. Huge difference.”
“Maybe making things go wrong is what you do for a living, but my job is to make this day go off without a hitch.”
“People come to me all the time when things go wrong.”
“I suppose you’re a bartender and help people drink away their woes.” If she could look down on him, he figured she would.
“As a matter of fact, I deal with marriages, just like you.” He took another step toward her, just to watch her back up again. He hadn’t had this much fun in a long time.
“I doubt that.”
He raised his eyebrow and braced himself for the pitchforks and torches to come out. A woman like her had to be all happy about marriages. She only dealt with the pretty beginnings and he dealt with the messy endings. “I’m a divorce lawyer.”
Her mouth formed a perfect “o” before she snapped it shut. “So, what? Is this your way of drumming up business?”
He rubbed the back of his neck and met her eyes. “Trust me. Business is fine.”
Marriage seemed like a leap of faith to him. Sometimes you made it and other times you fell flat on your face.
Her phone vibrated. She glanced down at it and then over his shoulder. He could almost see the wheels turning in that pretty head of hers. Finally, she shrugged. “Okay. You win.”
That wiped the smile off his face. No one gave up that easy, and here he’d been looking forward to a challenge. “Okay?”
“It’s not like I can follow you around all day.” She gave a sigh. “I suppose you gotta do what you gotta do . . .”
That made a little sense, but he still wasn’t buying what she was selling. He’d faced some pretty determined people in court and usually when they gave in on something, they expected something in return. It’s a trap.
“Look.” She leaned in. “I’ve got somewhere I have to be right now. Could you do me a huge favor?”
She all but batted her eyes
at him. If she kept looking at him that way and asked him to kill a man, he probably would. Her eyes were the color of the mountain sky. He caught just a hint of floral scent from her hair and almost leaned in to breathe it deeply.
“Seth?”
When did her voice get all husky? Who cared if it was a trap? If she kept talking to him like that he might have to drag her back down to the wine cellar to get locked in for a while. He nodded. “What do you need?”
Her smile was bewitching. Her fingers played with the little heart pendant lying on her exposed neckline. “The most important part of today’s ceremony is the butterfly release. The bride was adamant that she needed fifty butterflies released during the ceremony. The problem is someone has to go wake them up to make sure they don’t just fall out of the box dead when it’s opened. I was supposed to go do that now, but . . .”
“Butterflies?” Okay, that didn’t sound the least bit plausible, but how was he supposed to know. He’d never heard of butterflies at a wedding before.
She shrugged and his attention went down her neckline. “Who knows why brides want the things they want. All I know is that I’m here to supply the perfect day. And perfect for Tessa is butterflies.”
She reached up and laid her hand across his cheek. His skin tingled where she touched him.
“Can I count on you to wake up the butterflies?” It was like she was asking him to go to war for her.
Those dark lashes batted over those light eyes and he was a goner. He’d always been a sucker for a pretty woman.
“Where are they?”
Her pink lips curved into a smile. “Up in the attic. We had to find somewhere really dark, so they’d sleep until the ceremony. Just go up the front stairs and there’s a door at the end of the hallway. Those stairs will lead to the attic. Make sure to keep the lights dim though. We want to wake them, not let them escape.”
“And if I do this for you?” His gaze dropped to her parted lips.
She fixed the collar of his shirt. Her fingers grazed his neck and sent jolts of desire through his body. She lifted her gaze to his. “I’d be really grateful.”
***
4½ hours until ceremony
Julie couldn’t help smiling to herself as she checked on the reception hall preparations.
Butterflies. She chuckled to herself. He had been so eager to please her, but it was likely a ruse. The man was a ticking time bomb waiting for the right opportunity to explode. It was her job to keep him from finding that opportunity. While she wouldn’t go to such lengths normally, Seth was a fairly unique situation. She’d been concerned about a balding, middle-aged Uncle Seth running around grabbing asses. Instead, she had the devil himself charming the pants off every woman he met.
The staff of the lodge buzzed around her like busy bees, setting up the reception space in the lovely Conservatory Ballroom. With the ceremony on the expansive lawn, moving from cocktails in the garden to the reception in this breathtaking room would be superb.
Julie glanced at her watch. It was almost time for her to meet the ushers and go over their duties. She probably should have reminded Seth about the meeting, but if he stayed up in the attic searching for those butterflies, she definitely wouldn’t be disappointed by a no-show.
Outside a trellis had been set up near the small gazebo for the vows. The wedding musician would be in the gazebo. Bright summer flowers covered everything. The white chairs were decorated with huge light-blue bows.
Two men in black tuxedos waited for her. But no Seth.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” Julie said as she approached. “Graham told me both of you have been ushers before?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the older one said. He glanced behind her and smiled. “Hey, Uncle Seth.”
Julie felt like she was on top of a mountain without oxygen as she turned to face her adversary. Seth had his jacket thrown over his shoulder, hooked on a finger. His sleeves were still rolled up and his bow tie was undone. He appeared as if he’d partied all night and not like he’d just arrived at a wedding. If only his face and hair looked like he were up all night, instead of his looking perfectly alert and handsome.
He stopped in front of her with that cocky grin. “Reporting for duty.”
Dust streaked down the side of one of his pant legs. She coughed to cover up the smirk that was forming and made a mental note to have Stacey give him a lint roller. When he smiled at her, her heart skipped a beat. She didn’t need her assistant falling for this charmer. Better to send a man with the lint roller.
“How are the butterflies?” She managed to keep a straight face and matter-of-fact tone.
He stepped closer and his eyes narrowed slightly. “Funny thing that. There are no butterflies.”
“No butterflies?” She scrunched up her nose, pretending to think. “You know, now that I think about it. That was the Carter-Anderson wedding.” She gave him a sympathetic look, while mentally adding a notch to her side of the scoreboard. Wedding planner one, divorce lawyer zero. “I hope you didn’t look long.”
“Actually, the attic was full of fascinating artifacts.” He rocked back on his heels. “Did you know that someone went through a stuffed bird phase?”
Her heart sank. She’d thought the attic would be empty.
“It’s rather unfortunate that the poor things are stuck up in the attic collecting dust. And since you said the bride insisted on butterflies, I figured these birds have wings . . .”
“Aren’t you so very clever?” She kept her voice light. “But we really don’t need the birds since Tessa didn’t want butterflies to begin with.” Julie glanced at the two young men waiting for her instructions.
“I wanted to show that I had initiative.”
Julie wanted to smack her head at the cocky tone of his voice. Why did she send him into the attic? What if he . . . ? He couldn’t have.
“So I spruced up the place with a few birds here and a few there . . .”
Oh my God, he did. She felt as if an eagle had landed on her chest. She composed her face into what she hoped wasn’t a panicked smile and swallowed hard before saying, “How nice of you.”
“I do what I can.”
“Oh, I’m sure you do.” Her mind raced, while on the outside she played it cool. She’d have to check everywhere for those freaking birds. “I should send someone around to clean them, so if you’ll just tell me—”
“No problem.” He stepped closer and met her eyes. “I cleaned them before I put them up.”
“What if they aren’t in the right spot? As the wedding planner—”
“You have more to worry about than a few strategically placed stuffed birds. They really add something . . . creative to the space.”
Of course, he would think that. “Perhaps, but what if they clash with the colors?”
“When have birds clashed with anything? They are natural creatures, who are graceful and beautiful. Especially that one . . . I think it was called a turkey vulture. Gorgeous creature. Bald, long neck—”
“You put a stuffed turkey vulture somewhere in my wedding.” She could feel the rage rising like a furnace through her body.
“I didn’t know you were getting married. Mazel tov!”
“You know what I mean. Where did you put the bird?” Wanting to wring his neck to get him to confess, she clenched her fists at her sides and stepped forward.
“Somewhere you’ll never find it.”
She’d make him eat that cocky grin of his. “Do you really think the bride will appreciate a turkey vulture at her wedding?”
He smiled and shrugged with his devil-may-care attitude. “As long as it isn’t eating roadkill—”
“Are you kidding me?”
The smile slipped off his face. Finally! “At least I didn’t send you to wake up butterflies.”
“Because I wouldn’t have gone.” Sh
e threw her hands up in the air. “Who ever heard of having to wake up butterflies?”
“How would I know? I don’t mess around with butterflies. Who thought butterflies were fun to throw at weddings?”
“You don’t throw them. You release them for the pictures. It can be quite lovely.”
“But there are no butterflies!”
Suddenly Julie noticed how close they were standing. They were practically in each other’s faces. She searched his eyes. She’d seen that shade of blue in a brochure: the color of a tropical ocean lapping gently against the white sand. The sudden thought made her breath stop. Whoa. He was just like every other guy in a tux. Just because he smelled really, really good and was at least a nine on the hotness scale—she couldn’t bring herself to give him a ten, because that would make him perfect, which he most certainly wasn’t—didn’t mean that he was any more fascinating or attractive than the others.
Warmth flooded her. She needed space but she didn’t want to be the one to back down. She searched her mind for something, anything, to say. They were both breathing quickly as if they’d run a race. His gaze flicked down to her lips and she felt them part in response. Enough of that.
“Thank you. I’m sure the turkey vulture will make a lovely addition to the wedding decorations.” She turned her back on him and faced the two other ushers. “Let me show you where everything is located. Follow me.”
She showed them quickly through the stages of arrival, from dropping off gifts to walking guests to the lawn, pointing out the restrooms and the coat check. As they passed through rooms, she surreptitiously glanced around for birds. She finished in the entranceway.
“Thank you, gentlemen. You should do fine. I’ll see you later.” She referred to her schedule. Not one bird had shown up on their tour, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there.
Someone cleared his throat. She knew who it was, she just wished he wasn’t still standing there, but it was better than having to track him down.
Sighing, she lifted her gaze. “May I help you, Mr. Downing?”
This Wedding is Doomed! Page 2