Page 4 of The Backup Bride Proposal

Well, crap. She knew this family. They weren’t pushing this off on her, and they weren’t blowing smoke. They trusted her to protect the vineyards and wedding venues. “Sure. Of course.”

“Great.” Honor smiled. “Though I will miss you at Bellini Weddings.”

“Don’t think you can get rid of me that easily. I can juggle all of my responsibilities plus this. Expect me at meetings. And weddings.”

“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Maureen said.

“Exactly,” Erin said. “After all, we’ll need regular reports about what the movie people are doing.”

They put a plan together, and then Maureen contacted the director, Alexis Black, who set up a time today for Mae to meet with the team. After the Bellini meeting, Mae went into her office to go over her notes and plot her strategy. Also, to breathe, because she was nervous as hell.

She enjoyed the job she had, which allowed her to be more of a background player. She liked helping the wedding party with their special days, and also doing whatever she could to assist the Bellinis in whatever way they needed her. But this? This made her a key player, would put her front and center in a project that would give the Bellinis a serious amount of recognition.

She could not screw this up. She would walk over to the set, look around, start meeting people and get a feel for how it was going, and then she’d meet with Alexis Black and they’d gain an understanding.

She was so ready. Except she needed to step into the restroom and check her face and hair and outfit first. Hair, good. Face, outstanding. Outfit? Hmmm. It was a warm September day, and since it was Monday and meeting day, she hadn’t planned to see any clients, so she’d worn capris and a short-sleeved top. It was hardly the outfit she needed to be wearing to meet a Hollywood director.

She knocked on Honor’s office door.

“Come on in, Mae.”

She stepped into the office, waiting for Honor to look up from her laptop, but she didn’t, so she was obviously busy. Mae wanted to take up as little of her time as necessary since this was such a trivial thing. “I need to borrow a skirt and top for my meeting with Alexis Black.”

Now Honor looked up. “Of course. Go on up and help yourself.”

She was already halfway out the door. “Great, thanks.”

Even though Honor had moved out and now lived with her husband, Owen, she, like both her sisters, always kept extra clothes at the house. Since they all spent a lot of hours there and sometimes had to adjust from casual office attire to meet prospective clients, changes of clothing came in handy.

Mae stared into Honor’s closet, trying to figure out what the best outfit would be. She flipped through hangers over and over until she made herself dizzy. The problem was, she didn’t know what the hell she was supposed to wear to impress Hollywood types.

“Go for the red skirt and the white blouse.”

She turned around to see Brenna leaning against the doorway. “Red and white, huh?”

“Red screams attention, and the white silk top gives you that ‘I’m damn serious, but also check how hot I am’ look.”

Mae laughed. “All from two pieces of clothing, huh?”

Brenna shrugged. “Hey, it’s all about the ensemble. Oh, and here.” She took off one of her bracelets, a turquoise beauty. “This’ll look amazing against your skin.”

“Thanks.”

After Brenna left, Mae closed the door, changed clothes and slid the bracelet on, then checked herself out in Honor’s full-length mirror. She always kept black heels in her car, so those would go well with this ensemble.

Okay, she did look professional. And hot.

Now all she had to do was impress the director so she’d think Mae was completely in charge of this thing.

And Mae could totally do that.

••••••

“Why are youhere? I don’t want to see you yet.”

Kane smirked at the aggravated look on Alexis Black’s face. She was more of a big sister to him than a director.They’d known each other for more than fifteen years. She was the star of the first movie he’d ever been cast in, when he had been only seventeen years old. He’d been terrified and unsure of himself and Alexis had befriended him, taught him everything he needed to know about the business, both the insides and outsides of it, and had gotten him roles he otherwise might not have gotten. Then, when he’d gotten his big break in that big-budget action movie directed by Oscar Valentine, Kane had brought Alexis as his plus-one to the premiere. Oscar and Alexis had fallen madly in love in one of the greatest Hollywood romances of all time, though Alexis still refused to marry him, calling the institution antiquated and unnecessary.

He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “How’s Oscar?”

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