Chapter Fourteen

Wedding days were normally times of exhilaration for Lilly. The big day arrived, and all the work she’d put in with her couples came to fruition. She never stressed because she always had a plan for each and every emergency that could present itself. Over the years, she had seen everything from exes showing up to try and object to the wedding to out-of-control drunk in-laws losing their clothing on the dance floor.

Each instance had been met with Lilly’s firm yet polite guidance of the situations. Whatever it called for—coffee and a quiet room, the adorable distraction of a flower girl/ring bearer dance, or, in one case, a call to Denver PD—Lilly could handle it. She had nerves of damn steel.

So why was her stomach currently filled with a million anxious butterflies?

She glanced across the vast great room. The chairs had all been set, the aisle runner laid, and sweet smells of the fresh-cut flowers filled the room. Standing at the center, directly in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, stood a dark oak arch covered in beautiful white gardenias and pale purple peonies. Normally, the arch would be used outside on the large deck for a wedding, but since it was still snowing, they had it indoors.

Yesterday, the limo service had picked up all the incoming out-of-town guests and supplies and driven up the snowy I-70 pass from Denver to Genesee. Marie and Kenneth had been extremely relieved, thanking her and Mo a million times before the night was over. Not necessary. It was her job to make sure nothing ruined her clients’ perfect day. Not even Mother Nature.

The bridal party was currently getting ready, the caterer prepping the meal, the band warming up. Everything looked to be in order.

So what was with this terrified twitch in her stomach?

“Wow, Lilly. The place looks amazing.”

She turned to face the very source of her disquiet. Lincoln strode into the great room, head swiveling this way and that as he took in all the changes she and Mo had spent hours setting up. Though it didn’t take much to make this place awe-inspiring. The large house—mansion, really—had been built by a famous architect whose wife always wanted a luxury cabin in the woods. He came out to Colorado and built her this castle masquerading as a cabin, but after one Rocky Mountain winter, the wife had refused to step foot in the state again.

Her loss. Genesee’s gain.

The architect donated the building to the city, a beautiful rental property to drive income into the small city’s coffer and a nice tax write-off for him. And lucky for her, the city liked to rent it out for big events like weddings. They’d used this location half a dozen times before, but she never got tired of staying there. The view from these windows was majestic—a large wooded forest off to one side, the sparkling lights of Denver off to the other—and the massive pine ceiling beams made the entire place smell like the woods after a fresh rain.

If someone ever built her a place like this, she’d never leave.

“Thank you,” she said to the man who couldn’t build her a cabin castle but probably could build her a new computer she wouldn’t want to toss into the wall every other day.

“Marie and Kenneth are gonna flip.” His eyes settled on her, a grin brightening his handsome face.

“It’s my job to make sure everything is beautiful for their big day, but I’m sure they’ll be too busy staring at each other to notice. As they should be.”

He nodded. “As they should be.”

His gaze roamed over her, eyes lighting with a different kind of appreciation than the one he gave the room.

“You look beautiful.”

Heat rose on her cheeks. She glanced down to her standard uniform when running a wedding, her trusty LBD and low-heeled black pumps. The black dress was modest but fancy enough for any level of formal event. The scalloped neckline hit right below her collarbone, edging out to her shoulders, where the three-quarter sleeves of the dress allowed for style and comfort. The skirt flared out at her waist, hitting just below her knees to allow ease of movement in case she had to hurry to put out a fire. She supposed it was a beautiful dress, but she’d never felt beautiful in it. She wore it for purpose, not pleasure.

Yet the way Lincoln stared at her, devouring her with his eyes, made her wonder if the dress would be considered work appropriate had she not been in her current profession.

“Thank you, I—” She paused with a frown. “Where’s your tux?”

For the first time since he entered the room, Lilly noticed Lincoln’s attire. The man had on a ratty pair of jeans and a dark green long-sleeved shirt, which set off the flecks of gold in his hazel gaze. Perfect eye-popping sweater or not, it wasn’t proper wedding attire.

“In my room.”

She huffed at his nonchalance. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready? The wedding is in”—she glanced at the watch attached to her clipboard—“two hours.”

He smiled, a soft chuckle escaping those delicious lips. “I’m a guy. We don’t need two hours to put clothes on.”

Stupid fashion industry. Lilly could admit she had a thing for stylish clothes and designer shoes, but it pissed her off the way guys could put on an outfit without a thought and women had to match style, pattern, color. They had to wear layers because God forbid they make any type of top or dress that wasn’t constructed of such sheer fabric your bra and panties showed with even the barest of backlighting.

“Okay, but don’t you have to do other things?”

He arched a brow. “Like what?”

“Wash up, manly bonding time?” She gestured vaguely at his face. “Shave?”

A large palm came up to scrape against the scruffiness on his jaw. The sound hit her ears, causing every inch of her body to come alive with need. Oh hell, this was going to be the longest wedding ever.

“You don’t like my beard?”

It wasn’t much of one. More like nicely trimmed scruff. She lived in Denver, hipster central. She’d seen men who could braid their beards, men who hung Christmas bulbs in their beards—once a guy even had a tiny lizard sitting in his nest of a beard. That was a weird one. Even for Denver.

“It doesn’t matter what I like. It’s about what Kenneth and Marie want for their day.”

His lips split in a wide, knowing grin. “So you do like my beard?”

His eyebrows bobbed, but she chose to ignore him, focusing intently on her clipboard even though she’d double-checked everything on her list.

Lincoln threw his head back and laughed, the sound booming out of him, echoing in the large, high-ceiling room.

“Not to worry, Ms. Walsh. Marie and Kenneth gave me the all clear for the beard. They don’t care what I look like as long as I’m here, and I’m currently right here because Ken is having his pre-wedding freak-out shower. Which means he’s taking a long, very cold shower to calm his nerves while singing every Strokes song at the top of his lungs. Badly.” He stuck a finger in his ear and wiggled. “I had to escape for fear my eardrums would burst and I wouldn’t hear my cue to walk down the aisle.”

She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand as she realized she was laughing about her client stressing when it was her job to make sure he didn’t.

“Oh no.” She removed her hand, unable to wipe the smile from her face. “Is he okay? Does he need anything?”

Lincoln shrugged. “Just to marry the love of his life. I can’t tell who’s more excited for today, Kenneth or Marie. I think if it weren’t for their families insisting on celebrating this joyous occasion, they would have run off to the courthouse the minute Marie said yes. Kenneth said he can’t wait to start their forever.”

“The best kind of love feels that way.” At his curious stare, she shrugged. “Or so I’ve heard.”

He watched her for a long moment, gaze contemplative. She shifted under his scrutiny, wishing she knew what was going on in his mind. What had put that odd look on his face?

“You ever been in love, Lilly?”

Crap! The problem with having a job revolving around love and happily ever afters was everyone eventually asked her if she had experienced love. While she’d had a few boyfriends she cared for and one disaster of a relationship where she discovered she was the other woman—hello, shame and humiliation—she’d never truly been in love. Because she didn’t really believe in love—at least, not for her. Something she could never tell anyone associated with her business.

Lincoln stood there, hazel eyes staring deep into hers, as if he could see her soul. Pick out every lie, every misdeed. But not to judge; no, Lincoln wasn’t like that. He liked to solve problems. She guessed as a computer guy that was kind of his job. But she wasn’t his problem to figure out.

“No.” She kept it simple, turning the question around to get the pressure off her. “How about you? Ever been in love?”

His eyes shuttered, face going blank as he shut down all emotion. He turned to stare out the window with a clenched jaw. He was silent so long she thought he might not answer, but then he said, “I thought I was. Once. But it turned out to be nothing even close to that.”

His expression might not give anything away, but she could hear the hurt in his voice. The anger. Whatever happened to Lincoln obviously caused him pain, and she ached for him.

“I’m sorry.”

She reached out to touch his arm, but suddenly he came alive, turning to her with a falsely bright smile plastered on his face. She’d gotten to know the man fairly well over the past few weeks, and he was genuine through and through. But not now. Not this smile. It wasn’t a happy one, but one that was meant to cover up his real feelings, to close a subject. A subject he started, she might point out.

“I better get back to the anxious groom. Any more cold water and he might be too shriveled up to perform his husbandly duties tonight.” He bobbed his brow.

Knowing better than to push a subject neither of them seemed all that eager to discuss, she rolled her eyes. “Classy, Lincoln. Very classy.”

“Hey, I’m a classy guy.” He leaned in with a grin, his lips brushing against her ear as he whispered, “If I wasn’t, I’d tell you how absolutely fuckable you look in that dress.”

She felt the barest brush of his lips against the sensitive spot on her neck just below her ear. A shiver of anticipation ran up her spine. After tonight, he’d no longer be off-limits. Could she really do this? Start a sexual relationship with a man she knew wasn’t a good match for her? Let her body take control and keep her heart out of it?

His tongue came out to gently stroke along her pulse point as his teeth closed down with a sharp, tiny love bite. Her knees weakened, all the blood rushing between her legs at the sensual move.

Yes. Yes, she most certainly could.

…

Lincoln wiped his face with the back of his hand, brushing away a few stray tears as he watched his two best friends kiss for the first time as man and wife. He wasn’t ashamed at the release of emotions. Real men cried, and that toxic masculinity bullshit could shove it. The two people he loved most in the world just got something they feared they would never have a few short years ago.

A future together.

He cried when Marie got sick and they all feared they might lose her, and he would damn well cry now. Happy tears, of course. Damn, he was so over the moon for them. As they walked back down the aisle, arm in arm, man and wife, he couldn’t stop the huge grin from taking over his face. Kenneth’s cousin had to nudge him to remind him they were still in wedding mode and Rachel was waiting for him to escort her down the aisle.

“Wasn’t it a beautiful ceremony?” She sniffed, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue as she linked arms with him.

“Yeah. And now comes the best part. Cake.”

She laughed as they made their way down the aisle, smiling at all the people who clapped at Kenneth and Marie’s exit. It had been a beautiful ceremony. Short, too, which made it even better. And now they’d get to the fun stuff: food, drinks, dancing, and then…truth be told, as happy as Lincoln was for his friends, now that the official ceremony was over, his happiness had turned into excitement. For after—for tonight.

The second those two left for their honeymoon, he’d be free. No longer attached to any client of Lilly’s, no longer bound by her rule. After tonight they wouldn’t be wedding planner and best man anymore. They’d simply be Lilly and Lincoln. Two people who shared an amazing night—and text exchange—once and, if luck was with him, would share again. Many times over.

“Hey, everyone.” Lilly’s partner Mo popped up at the end of the aisle and ushered the wedding party over. “Lilly is taking Kenneth and Marie outside to do some winter shots with the photographer. We’re going to let everyone pile out of here and head into the library for drinks and hors d’oeuvres. While the waitstaff is setting up the tables, the photographer will come back for the group shots, so if you have to use the facilities, do it now.”

The parents headed toward the restroom, along with the ringbearer and the other groomsman, leaving only Lincoln, the bridesmaids—who were off to the side checking one another’s hair and dresses—and Mo.

“You looked good up there, Lincoln.”

“Oh, um, thank you.”

She chuckled. “You’re welcome, but I wasn’t the one who said it.”

She glanced out the window. He followed her gaze to see Lilly draping a pale lavender cloak over Marie’s shoulder as the snow fell down around the couple. They looked like they were in a snow globe. Beautiful. But not as beautiful as the woman who wore a simple black coat, clipboard in hand as she positioned the couple then hurried out of the shot for the photographer to capture the stunning moment.

“It was unconsciously whispered in my ear as you walked down the aisle.”

He turned his attention back to Mo, who tapped the small, black headset she wore.

“In fact, I believe the exact words were ‘sonofabitch, he looks damn edible in a tux.’” The woman winked.

Fantastic. He was already having enough trouble waiting for tonight. How the hell was he supposed to get through the entire reception knowing the woman he craved wanted to eat him up?

“Better start reciting times tables if you don’t want these pictures to be NSFW.”

He glanced at Mo in question. When the woman’s eyes darted to his crotch, he quickly adjusted himself as discreetly as possible. Yeah, even thinking of Lilly got him ready to go, but since he was pretty sure Marie would kick his ass if he was sporting wood in her wedding pictures, he did as Mo suggested and started some complex math equations in his head. It worked, and soon the happy couple was back inside, noses lightly red from the cold but happy smiles still firmly affixed.

They quickly ran through the preset list of photos as the catering company set up the great room for the reception. It amazed him how quickly everyone worked. Within fifteen minutes, the guests came back in and everyone sat for dinner. Lilly grabbed the mic and welcomed Mr. and Mrs. Buller for the first time. Everyone cheered, clinking their glasses until the happy couple kissed.

The reception went off without a hitch. Lilly seamlessly moved each portion of the night into the next with a practiced ease he found impressive and sexy as hell. Rachel gave a touching speech that made everyone tear up. He went for the jokes in his speech but couldn’t let it end without putting some real emotion into an event they all feared might never come. By the time he sat back down, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room, his included.

After a delicious dinner and some equally delectable cake came the dancing portion of the evening. He had to admit, he was having fun, but every time his gaze fell on Lilly, every time she spoke, his mind raced ahead to later tonight.

Would she come to his room? Was he supposed to go to hers? She’d told him to stay, but she hadn’t mentioned where to meet. They hadn’t really discussed anything beyond her desire to be with him again. He sure as hell wanted to be with her.

Finally, all the food had been consumed, all the traditions carried out, and they were tossing birdseed as Marie and Kenneth carefully hurried down the front walk to their waiting limo. A small pang of sadness hit him directly in the chest as he watched his two closest friends go into the night to catch their honeymoon flight, off to start their new life together.

You sap, you live below them. Not much is going to change.

Yeah, nothing would really change, but in a way, everything would. He’d been married before. He knew the drill.

People started to head to their cars and the other stretch limos Lilly had arranged to pick up the guests they’d dropped off earlier. Before long, Lincoln turned and headed inside. The rest of the bridal party was either already gone or packing up to leave. The caterers and staff were cleaning up, putting away all the magic of the evening.

No.

There was one bit left. The most magical part of the entire night. She stood before the large windows, backlit by a bright, full moon. Doling out orders left and right. In charge and sexy as hell. Dark brown hair coiled into a low bun, dress fitting her body like a glove, those damn sexy glasses slipping down her nose, begging him to slide them off her face as he kissed her senseless.

Lilly turned, spying him. She bit her lip, eyes heating even from all the way across the room. He glanced at the clock and held up a finger while mouthing, “My room? One hour?”

She nodded, a small smile curling her red lips.

One more hour. Just one more hour until heaven. Until Lilly.