Page 59 of The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean

The driver looked into his rearview mirror, making eye contact with Mandy. “The traffic isn’t moving. I’m not sure why.”

“Can we get off this road?” It was a ridiculous question. They were in a giant limousine with cars that weren’t moving on either side of them.

“Yes, miss. I’ll see what I can do.”

“I’m sorry,” Mandy said. “This isn’t your fault. I’m just stressed is all.”

“Most brides are.” The skin around his eyes wrinkled at the corners. “There’s champagne chilling back there if you’d like.” There wasn’t just champagne but a fully loaded bar—crystal decanters filled with all sorts of different kinds of liquors, ranging from clear to a golden, honey brown. Most likely scotch. Edmund enjoyed an occasional scotch after dinner—and sometimes before dinner. Mandy never really developed a taste for it. But she couldn’t deny it always did kind of calm her. Or maybe it was the soothing tone of Edmund’s voice—Nothing to get so worked up about, he’d say.

However, the margarita and blueberry muffin Mandy ate already sat like a brick in her stomach. “I probably shouldn’t.”

“Very good, miss.”

“You can call me Mandy. It seems like we’re going to be together for a while.”

“Roger,” he replied, and it took her a moment to realize it was his name and not him saying,Okay, sounds good.

Mandy tugged the fabric on her dress over and attempted to get more comfortable. “So, Roger, are most brides as late as I am?”

His gaze shifted to the dash, then back to her. “The ceremony doesn’t start till four thirty. You have plenty of time.” Four thirty, because Mandy decided she wanted to start on an upswing instead of the minute hand ticking down. It seemed even sillier now considering how her day had already been. “Might notget to all the pictures you wanted before, but photographers are used to it, and there will be time after the ceremony and before dinner is served. Who’s the photographer?”

Well, that was a good question. Mom had picked them out. She had been thumbing through some magazine when she declared she found the best wedding photographer in all of Southern California—those had become Mom’s favorite words. Now whether that was what the magazine said or actually had any truth behind it, Mandy never found out for sure, but less than twenty-four hours later, the contracts were signed, and Mandy had a photographer named—Stupendous. Suspicious. “Serendipitous something?”

Roger chuckled. “Sweet Serendipity. Whitney is excellent. Very professional. You’re in good hands.”

“You’ve been doing this awhile?” Like the art world or the marketing world, there was probably a wedding world—where everyone knew each other because they likely hung out almost every weekend.

“Twenty years,” Roger answered. Mandy didn’t really get a good look at him when she got into the car—if he had been a kidnapper and she was required to do a drawing for identification purposes, it would be a blank page—but now that she studied his eyes in the mirror, they did seem to be the kind that said he’d seen a lot of things. Roger had wise eyes.

“You like it then?”

“It keeps me busy.”

Mandy nodded. Living in LA where limo sightings were common probably kept him booked year-round. “I bet you’ve met some interesting people.”

Roger’s eyes wrinkled again. “That I have.”

“Not a name-dropper, are you, Roger?”

“When it’s a name worth dropping.” He winked.

The car slowly moved forward as Mandy shot off another message to her mother:On my way.

A reply came almost immediately:And where is that exactly?

Mandy locked the phone and sat it next to her. “You got any hobbies?”

“Driving is my hobby. Started the business so I didn’t have to work in banking anymore, and when my husband passed, well, this is what I do to occupy my time.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. We had a wonderful life together for thirty-five years. Married for almost six of them.”

“That’s incredible. Got any advice for a newbie?”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. Money comes and goes, but it’s the people you surround yourself with that will keep you happy. So when times get tough, ’cause they always do, remember what brought you to this moment right here.”

Mandy had to stop and stare at Roger for a moment. “That’s really good advice.” She hoped her voice didn’t sound as surprised as she was. And why should she be? She didn’t know him, or anything about him, but he just dropped probably the best thing Mandy had heard since announcing her engagement.

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