Page 29 of To Have and to Scold

“Then why?” He moves another bin and box around to wedge the final stools in. “Everybody around here calls me Beck, except for some who can’t stop calling me Billy from when I was a kid. No one calls me Mr. Billingsley. It’s just weird.”

“I want to keep things professional. And I think that’s extra important on days like today where you’re joining the meetings with clients.”

“Was that okay? Stepping in like that?” He’s not meeting my gaze since he’s still fumbling with the stuff in my trunk. But there’s a hint of vulnerability in his voice.

I remember how broad his arms looked folded across his chest during the client meetings, and how his eyes tracked me every time I spoke. He seemed…amused almost. Or proud of me when I was doing my thing.

Except, proud of me? That can’t be it. The man does not like me.

I feel my lips twitch. He was an asset. “I guess it makes sense, since you’re renovating the space.”

“But.” He pauses, his gaze softening from its former hardness. “Was it okay withyouthat I was there? Or would you rather handle the client meetings on your own? I’ve never worked with a wedding planner before.”

I hesitate. Besides having Kaia, my assistant in Georgia, I’m used to mostly working on my own up until the day of the wedding when we pull in movers and others to set the spaces. “I’ve never worked with a construction manager before, so…” I shrug. “I don’t really know the protocol, either.”

“Obviously, I won’t be able to make a lot of the meetings, but it was helpful to me to be there today.” He finally finishes with the trunk and closes the hatch.

“Helpful to you?”

Leaning his back on my car, he folds his arms and jerks his shoulders in a shrug. “I didn’t know all that went into planning a wedding.”

“So you haven’t been through the experience yourself, huh?” Why I’m asking him about his marital history is beyond me. And yes, I’ve wondered. I can’t help it—it’s what I do. I see the world through the wedding planner lens. It’s both a blessing and a curse.

His brows go in the air. “The experience of planning a wedding?” He chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. Even with mussed up hair and dirt on the knees of his jeans, he’s still sexy.

Sexy just from the wedding planner lens. Nothing more!

He looks down at the pavement. “Not exactly.” He clears his throat.

Not exactly? What’s that supposed to mean?

“I avoid weddings, if I can help it,” he says. “Although, I can’t miss my brother’s wedding, can I?” He meets my gaze. “So getting a peek behind the scenes is helpful, I guess.”

My voice turns into sappy syrup. “Aw! You want to learn about weddings because of your baby brother.”

He grumbles out a sigh. “Don’t look so starry-eyed about it.”

“I’m not—But I can tell you don’t approve.”

His gaze whips around, as if he’s afraid someone else will hear. He takes a step closer. “I approve,” he insists, but his eyes belie his words. At my frown, he speaks again. “It’s a little fast, is all. How can you really even know someone after only a few months?”

“I’ve seen everything. Getting engaged after three weeks. Getting engaged after being together twenty years. Oddly enough, in terms of whether or not the marriage will make it, time together beforehand doesn’t seem to be much of a factor.”

If only I could figure out the secret sauce, what strange combo of things means a couple stays together. So far, the Death List from Kaia has given me few clues, and therefore, my brain can’t help but go to the only thing I can control: how I execute the weddings themselves.

Which means I have to execute them as perfectly as I possibly can.

No more slacking and last-minute attempts. No more fails.

Again, it doesn’t make logical sense, but tell that to my overworked brain.

His cheek twitches. Why is he always low-key annoyed with me? “In your very scientific research.”

“Hey. It’s a qualitative study, not a quantitative one. I’ve seen enough to know that. And I’ve seen enough to know there are always surprises.”

“How do you know when a couple doesn’t last? Do they stop sending you Christmas cards or something?”

“Sometimes.” I give him side eye. “I do stay in contact with a lot of my brides. It’s sorta nice to bond while helping someone with the most important day of their life.”

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