Page 47 of The Plus One Professional

On the screen, there were two cats; one was white and orange, and the other was a light brown. The brown cat was rolling on the floor, playing with a ball, and the white and orange cat was perched on a chair, looking down at the other one with a gaze of total superiority.

“It looks like the white one is sitting on a throne, watching and judging a court jester.”

“Oh my gosh, you have no idea; that’s exactly what she’s doing.” Bailey’s head fell back as she laughed. The sound washed over me. Just being around Bailey was like coming in from a blizzard and being wrapped in a warm blanket that just came out of the dryer. She was soothing, calming, and safe.

And I wanted to spend every second I could with her for the next three days. If she was staying with her sisters, that was going to seriously cut into my Bailey time.

“Is your ex staying here, at the vineyard?”

Her nose scrunched slightly, almost like a little bunny. Over the eighteen months, I’d observed her at different weddings I’d attended, I’d noticed that she did that when she was confused about something. She probably had no clue why the sudden change in subject.

“Yeah, he is.”

“If that’s the case, don’t you think you should stay here? In this room? With me?”

Her lips parted, and her eyes widened slightly. “Here?”

“Yeah, I just think if you want him to believe we're dating, which I’m assuming you do, then it would make sense that we were staying together.”

“Um…”

I could see her starting to panic.

“Obviously, I would sleep on the couch.”

She glanced over at the small couch that was against the far wall.

“If anyone is sleeping on the couch, I’m sleeping on the couch. You're way too tall, and…” She put her hands up by her shoulders. “…and broad. You could never get a good night’s sleep on a couch.”

She was right. I couldn’t. I knew that from years of experience.

When her eyes met mine again, I could see that there was a little bit of uncertainty in them, but also a little bit of excitement. She wasn’t totally ruling out sharing a room with me.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” she questioned.

“I mean, it’ll be a sacrifice, but one I’m willing to make,” I teased her.

She chuckled, took a deep breath and looked down at the ground as if she was fortifying herself for the weekend ahead. When her head moved, a strand of hair fell onto her forehead.

Without even thinking about it, I reached out and tucked the hair behind her ear. “I know this weekend might be hard, but I’m here if you needanything.”

Her eyes lifted to mine, and her nostrils flared slightly as her phone buzzed. She looked down at it. “Oh, it’s Miranda, the coordinator, who is taking over for me. I need to go meet her.”

She grabbed her bag and checked her reflection in the mirror, smoothing down a few flyaway hairs.

“You haven’t eaten lunch yet.” We’d driven straight through. It hadn’t even occurred to me to stop.

“Oh, it’s fine. I’m fine.” She walked to the door and opened it before looking back over her shoulder. “Thanks. Again. For coming.”

“I’m happy to be here.”

Her tight grin told me she thought I was just saying that. I wasn’t. There was no place I’d rather be in this world than here with Bailey. And that scared the shit out of me.

19

BAILEY

As I stoodin the courtyard, I quadruple-checked the list on my tablet and saw that I had checked everything off. Even having the proof that not a detail had been overlooked in my hands, I still walked the grounds one more time. The guests would be arriving in thirty minutes for the welcome cocktail hour, and I did not want a single candle, photo, flower, glass, or napkin to be out of place.

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