Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
God, I was turning into such a cynic.
"Tell me about your events," Brad said, drawing my attention back to him. He wasn't unattractive—tall, nice smile, probably made good money based on the suit he wore and his watch. In short, there was no reason I should feel such a natural aversion to giving him a shot. In fact, I probably would’ve been thrilled to be set up with someone like him before…
Before James. Sometimes, when I closed my eyes, I still saw that image of him standing in the middle of the ruined Harrison-McNamara wedding. That image haunted me. He haunted me…
"Not much to tell," I said. "Small ceremonies. Simple receptions. No surprises."
"Sounds boring," Lily muttered into her wine glass.
"Boring is underrated." I gave her a pointed look. "Boring means no one ends up crying in the bathroom or finding out their fiancé has been sleeping with the entire wedding party."
Brad's eyes widened slightly.
"What my sister means," Lily jumped in, "is that she's incredibly talented but currently wasting that talent on backyard barbecues and courthouse ceremonies."
"They're not all backyard—"
"When was the last time you did something that scared you?" Lily challenged. "Something that actually mattered?"
"I came here tonight, even though I knew you were probably going to try to set me up with some guy. Again.”
Brad choked on his wine.
"Sorry," I told him. "That came out wrong. I just... I like knowing what to expect these days."
“All good,” Brad said. “Somebody told me you agreed to a blind date. I didn’t realize you were caught off guard.” He gave Marcus a pointed look.
“Anyway,” Lily said carefully, cutting in with that way of hers. Lily was the baby of the family, and she’d been the cutest baby on Earth. Then she was the most adorable toddler anyone had ever seen. And now she was so eye-wateringly pretty that old men couldn’t help themselves from shuffling over to her and paying her creepy compliments wherever she went. In other words, she was used to batting her long eyelashes, smiling, and being forgiven for all her sins. “There’s something I wanted to ask you, Emma.”
I froze with my fork halfway to my mouth. "What?"
"Marcus and I want you to plan our wedding. At the Timber Vale Lodge in Breckenridge, Colorado."
"Lily..."
"It's perfect," she continued, enthusiasm building. "The resort is gorgeous, the views are incredible, and you know winter weddings are totally your thing. And I only know about the place because I snooped in one of your old ‘dream venue scouting report’ folders."
"One, I didn’t give you permission to go through my things. And two, Winter weddings were my thing," I said. "And you know I don't do destination weddings anymore."
"But this is different. It's me. Your favorite sister."
"You're my only sister."
"Exactly! Which means you have to do it."
I set down my fork, trying to ignore the way my heart rate had picked up. "Can we talk about this later?"
"No, because you'll just come up with more excuses." Lily leaned forward. "Em, it's been three years. You can't let one bad experience—"
"Bad experience?" I laughed. "Lily, my career almost ended. Do you know how long it took to rebuild my reputation? How many tiny, perfect, absolutely-nothing-can-go-wrong weddings I had to do before people would trust me again?"
"And now they do trust you," she said softly. "Which means it's time to trust yourself."
Marcus cleared his throat. "If it helps, my family are all on board with you planning it for us."
I blinked. "You already talked to Marcus’ family about this?"
"The Wellingtons have certain... expectations," he said with a slightly apologetic smile. “Lily wanted to make sure they were okay with it before we asked you.”
Two years ago, Lily met Marcus and had no idea who he was related to for weeks. Eventually, she learned his family is old money. They had ties to the Rockafellers, apparently, and were heavily involved in the Standard Oil empire. According to my internet searches, they were multi-millionaires with gorgeous properties in their name across the country. Being hired by them to plan a wedding…
It made the Harrison-McNamara wedding look like a courthouse wedding by comparison.
"Did you know about this?" I asked Brad, who had been suspiciously quiet.
He held up his hands. "I just came for the steak. And you,” he added with an awkward smile.
Lily looked at me, eyes pleading. "No pressure. Just consider it."
Right. No pressure. Just my sister's wedding. At one of the most exclusive resorts in Colorado. For one of the wealthiest families in the country.
What could possibly go wrong?
"I'll think about it," I said, knowing I'd already lost this battle.
"Perfect!" Lily clapped her hands. "Oh, and one more tiny detail..."
"What?"
"The wedding's in six months."
I choked a little, coughing into my napkin. "Six months? For a winter destination wedding at the Timber Vale Lodge? That's impossible. I don’t even know if they’d still have an opening."