Page 102 of Awakening

“Aw, yes. I’d love to,” she says, hugging me.

I clink my glass to hers with a sweet smile. “Now you have to help.”

“Oh, damn it.” She takes a big drink. “Well, what can I do?”

“The event coordinator is going to be stopping by any minute so I can see if this request of his is even possible,” I say. “Your brother seems to think I can snap my fingers and say the Alpha wants this to happen, and it shall be done.”

“Well, that may be the case for a lot of situations, but there’s so much to do for a wedding,” Vanessa says. “You need a location, staff, cake, flowers, music, a state marriage license, and…oh, no.”

“What is it?” Chloe asks.

“What about your dress? This is your wedding. Your dress has to be just right,” Vanessa says.

I rest my head in my hands. “Ugh. I love him so much, but he can really challenge me sometimes,” I say with a laugh.

“I can call Camilla and fill her in,” Vanessa offers. “I’ll see if she has time to see us.”

“That would be amazing. Thanks, Vanessa,” I say, and she leaves the table to make the call.

“Ladies.” Holly, the event coordinator, approaches us and sits down. “What can I do for you today?”

I look at Chloe and cringe. “Just rip off the band aid,” Chloe says, taking a drink of wine as Holly studies us with a nervous laugh.

“What’s going on?” she asks.

“The good news is that Ethan and I have decided to move forward with the wedding.”

“That’s wonderful news. Congratulations,” she says.

“The not so good news is that Ethan has decided he wants it to happen in a week…here at the pack house,” I say with a sigh.

“Oh.” Holly’s face turns white. “Oh, no. Oh, this is bad. This request comes from the Alpha?” she asks.

“Yes,” I say. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t know what to do,” she says.

“Holly, it’s okay. I don’t expect you to cancel events you already have planned.”

“I would typically move things around if it were possible, but the Combined Pack Council is having a retreat here next weekend. It’s been planned for months, and they wouldn’t take kindly to me trying to change it. I wouldn’t have any staff available to serve your event.”

“Holly, relax. Just tell me your next available date.”

She opens her calendar on her phone and breathes a sigh of relief. “I have a Saturday open two weekends from now.” She looks up at Chloe and me. “Would that work for you?”

“I think that would be perfect. We’ll take it.”

“I’ll reserve Friday evening as well. You’ll want to have your rehearsal Friday night, of course. Any idea how large the guest list will be?”

“I’m not sure how large of an event we want this to be, but I’ll talk to Ethan tonight and text you as soon as I know.”

“Perfect,” she says as she starts making notes on her phone. “I’ll get started on flowers, cake, music and the menu. As soon as I have some things in the works, can we meet to confirm your choices?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Holly, you’re freaking amazing,” Chloe chimes in.

“Oh,” Holly says, giving us sad eyes and a pouty face. “Your dress. What are you going to do?”

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