Page 18 of The Plus One Professional

“Actually, since I’ve got you. I’d love to hire you for my wedding. You’re a wedding coordinator, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. When is the date?”

“That’s the thing.” She smiled sweetly. “It’s in one month. But I already have the venue. My friend owns a vineyard in Napa, and he’s letting us have it for the entire weekend.”

Nice friend.

“It’s on the twenty-eighth.”

“The twenty-eighth.” I couldn’t believe the date when I heard it. It was strange how things worked out. “We had a cancellation just this morning, so that date is available.”

“Great! What do you need from me to lock it in?”

I grabbed the paperwork and walked her through our services and packages. She set up an appointment to come back and meet with Birdie the following week to find a dress. She mentioned that she modeled and had done a lot of bridal work, so she knew sample sizes fit her, and that she wouldn’t need a lot of alterations.

When she left, I couldn’t get over how strange it was that we’d just had a cancellation, and then she’d walked in. If she’d stopped by yesterday, we wouldn’t have been able to help her. Things like that were why I believed in fate. In destiny. They fed into my overly optimistic self.

But even my typically glass-half-full outlook was starting to drain when it came to Simon after I checked my phone again and saw there were no missed calls or messages from him. If he were serious, he wouldn’t have gone radio silent. It was time I faced facts; it was never going to happen. I needed to get off the emotional roller coaster. I didn’t want to ride anymore.

8

COLE

Those green eyes.I’d dreamt about them so much that now all I had to do was close my eyes, even when I was awake, and I could see them—which was exactly what I was doing now as I stood in my kitchen at half past six in the morning. The bubbling sound of the coffee maker sputtered out, indicating it was done, and I forced my heavy-lidded eyes open.

I’d overslept the past three days because I’d been having an even harder time sleeping than usual. All I could think about was Bailey. Her hair, her eyes, her voice, the sweet floral scent of her perfume, lotion, or shampoo—I wasn’t sure which. But above all else, it was her eyes that haunted me. It had been two weeks since I’d seen those eyes up close and personal, and I was beginning to think Sara might have been right. Maybe I did smile more when I saw Bailey. Because in the absence of seeing her, I felt a melancholy cloud looming over me.

“Morning.” My sister’s sleepy voice sounded behind me.

I turned around and saw that her eyes were puffy, her cheeks were hollow, and her complexion was pale. Her shoulders were slumped, and her movements were lumbered. She was in pain. A lot of pain.

“How was your night?” I knew the answer even before I asked. It was clear that she hadn’t gotten any sleep.

The smile that lifted on her face didn’t reach her eyes. “Okay.”

“I booked an acupuncture appointment for you this Saturday at ten. I’ve got the kids.” I hadn’t booked it yet, but I would. I wanted to give her something to look forward to. I wanted her to know relief was coming.

“No. Don’t.” She shook her head. “Don’t waste your money.”

“It’s already done,” I lied. “And it’s not a waste.”

Anything I could do to make my sister more comfortable was worth it. Besides paying out of pocket for the medication that wasn’t covered by insurance, I got her treatments that I knew helped. Hydrotherapy. Acupuncture. Red light treatments. Even if they just gave her a little relief. Her pain and discomfort were visible, and it killed me that I couldn’t do more.

“Are the rugrats up?”

She shook her head as she yawned. “Carly’s in the shower. The boys are still sleeping.”

“I can make them breakfast before I go.” I was running late, but if I needed to take a few minutes to make my sister’s morning easier, then that’s exactly what I would do.

“No.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I got it. But thanks. Have a good day.”

“You too, sis.” I kissed her on the top of her head. “Love you.”

“Love you.”

I grabbed my lunch and thermos, then headed out the door. On the short walk to the garage in the back of the building, I checked traffic to the site I was working on. It was about ten miles away in Oakland, but with traffic, it could easily take from forty-five minutes to an hour. Since I needed to be there at seven, that would not be ideal. The commute was worse for people heading into the city, but over the past few years, it didn’t matter which direction you were going in or what time it was; there was traffic. Thankfully, everything looked clear, so it looked like I’d be on time despite sleeping through my alarm.

The sun was rising over the Oakland hills as I drove across the Bay Bridge, and my mind drifted to the place it always did. Bailey. I’d replayed every second we’d spent in that bathroom together, about a million times. Maybe not a million, but hundreds of times. Half of those times, I kicked myself for not kissing her. The other half, I told myself that I did the right thing.

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