Page 9 of The Plus One Professional

Trevor leaned in even closer to us. “I heard them talking in the parking lot. They were going over the ‘story’ of how they met and how long they’d been together, fine-tuning details. I think he’s a pro.”

That was not what I was expecting Trevor to tell us. I figured he was going to say that, like Trevor, my not-work crush was attracted to men, not women. But then, Trevor had said he was interested in me, so that wouldn’t have made sense.

My brain was playing catch-up as I asked, “What, like a prostitute?”

“No. A professional plus one.”

They have those?

“They have those?” Olivia voiced the question I’d been thinking.

Trevor’s head tilted to the side. “Honey, they have everything.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Billie walk into the room, and she didn’t look happy. I excused myself and headed over toward her. As fun as that little gossip session had been, I was on the clock.

As I stepped beside my sister, she whispered under her breath as she scanned the room. “Today was a nightmare. But first dance, done. Speeches, done. Cake cutting, done. I think we’re safe. No more big emergencies.”

“Do not jinx this, please?”

Billie was practical to a fault. She might not believe in superstitions, but I did. And saying everything was going well was playing with fire. Fire I didn’t want to extinguish.

No sooner had she made the declaration than there was a commotion in the corner of the room. Billie didn’t acknowledge the obvious part she’d played in bringing on the upset. She just walked toward the disturbance as if she hadn’t been the one who tempted fate.

When we reached the hubbub, I saw that the bride, Holly, was on the ground in the center of a group of people who had gathered around her. One hand was covering her ear, and the other was fanning out beneath the cake-cutting table. “I lost my earring. They are my grandmother’s Tiffany diamond earrings.”

Along with the wedding guests, Billie and I began to search the area when I remembered that Holly had been putting them on in the upstairs bathroom when the photographer came in to grab some candids of her getting ready. He’d knocked right after she’d slid one earring on, and she didn’t remember her putting the other one on.

I touched Holly’s arm. “I’ll go check the upstairs bathroom.”

The bride nodded, and I stood.

“Don’t close the door,” Billie reminded me.

I nodded, and as I walked away, I heard Trevor ask why I couldn’t shut the door. My sister explained that the staff had informed us not to shut that door because it automatically locked from the inside. They had someone coming out tomorrow to fix it.

As I walked up the back steps to the second floor, I noticed the dark wood railings with ornate carvings and thought that this building was probably about the same age as Grandma Betty’s house. I wondered if we were doing the right thing by just letting it sit there. She would not have wanted that.

She and my granddad were known for taking in ‘strays.’ Whenever anyone needed a roof over their head and warm food in their stomach, they had both. Over the years, countless ‘boarders’ who were never charged any rent had stayed in their spare rooms.

Grandma Betty would hate the thought of all five bedrooms sitting empty. But we didn’t have a choice. It just wasn’t safe for tenants.

I made myself a promise that once this wedding season was over, I’d figure out what we were going to do. If it meant selling my condo—that took ten years to save enough to cover the down payment—and moving into the house to fund renovations, then I would. Even if that meant I had to eat takeout every night because I didn’t have a functional kitchen.

And maybe I wouldn’t be doing it alone. I’d always envisioned me and Simon settling down there and raising a family. I checked my phone again. He still hadn’t called back. But he would. I had a feeling that when he did, my entire life was going to change.

In these last two messages, there was something different in his voice. In all the years that I’d known him, he’d never preemptively called me to let me know he’d be back in town. He’d only ever called when he was in town and wanted to see me.

He was thinking of me. This was not just convenience or habit; it was premeditated. That had to mean something. It just had to.

4

COLE

“So,where did you and Jenna meet?” A hand slapped me on the back between my shoulder blades, and I blinked in surprise. It took me a second to realize where I was and what I was doing. I was standing at the bar waiting for drinks I’d just ordered for me and Jenna.

I’d gotten distracted when I saw the wedding planner across the room and forgotten where I was and what I was doing. I’d assumed she wasn’t working this wedding because the reception was nearly over and I hadn’t seen her. But I’d been at the bar, and the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I turned around, and we’d locked eyes. It had only been for a second, but that’s all it took for the rest of the world to completely disappear. All I’d seen was her.

I turned around, and a balding man who looked to be in his fifties with a beer belly was staring up at me expectantly. I’d been introduced to him earlier and ran through the mental Rolodex I kept of relatives. Balding. Beer belly. Bert. This was Jenna’s Uncle Bert.

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