Page 2 of Something to Someone

“Whether it is or isn’t, this isn’t happening, Ryder.”

“You say that now,” he said with a smirk that made my insides melt. “But your reactions say something different. And I know one day you’ll change your mind, so I’ll wait. I’m very patient.”

I brushed past him and ignored the way his eyes lingered on my face. “You seem very sure of that,” I challenged. I could hear his steps as he followed me toward the door, and I found myself walking faster.

With my hands full, I was struggling with the door when he stopped behind me.

His lips once again brushed my ear, and I felt the heat of his body at my back.

“I’m very confident, Caroline.Veryconfident.”

ONE

WINE ABOUT IT

Caroline

One and a half years later

“That timeline won’t be an issue,”I confirmed with the prospective clients on the video call. The two men lived overseas and wanted a quick turnaround for their wedding ceremony and reception.

It was barely April, and they wanted to travel back to the US in July for the wedding.

I’d planned weddings and parties with shorter timeframes before, so I wasn’t concerned. And with the new assistants I’d recently hired, I knew we could make it work.

“Perfect!” Stephen said, smiling at his future husband, Miles, with so much love I could feel it through the camera.

“Do you have any other questions you want to discuss?”

They looked at each other quickly and both shook their heads. “Nope,” Miles said. “Send over the contract, and we’ll get it back to you tomorrow. We’re going to have one of our friends step in with a few in-person things like touring venues and food tastings.”

Excited about the possibility of planning their big day, I jotted down a few notes on my notepad and nodded. “Sure, no problem. I understand it can be helpful to have someone around who knows you both personally.”

We said our goodbyes, and I logged off the call. Blowing out a long breath, I slid lower in my chair and leaned back. It had been a long day full of meetings and client calls, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I loved the work I did and the business I’d built.

I’d started Grant Events not long after I graduated college, and now it was known as one of the foremost event-planning businesses in the state. Ten years of hard work and dedication meant I had a business I could be proud of.

There was a knock on my door a second before it opened. Although most of my office was glass looking out into the hallway to my left and to the parking lot below at my back, my door was wood, so I didn’t see Addie’s face until she appeared in the small space between the doorframe and the door itself.

“How did it go?” she cautiously asked.

I waved her in and sat up straight although my back was yelling at me not to. “It went really well. Can you ask Julia to send the contract and questionnaire to them when you leave?”

“Yeah, definitely. You’re leaving, right? Julia said you were already at your desk when she got here at seven this morning, and you’ve barely come out of your office.”

I twirled my hair around my fingers and fished a clip out of my desk drawer, eager to get it off my neck and out of my face.

“Yes, I’m leaving,” I said, closing my laptop and shoving it into my bag along with any other items I’d spread out on my desk during the day.

I wasn’t necessarily a workaholic, but I did occasionally have longer days. That was part of owning my own business.

“You should probably leave, too.”

She rolled her eyes but agreed to head out, too. I’d hired Addie a few months earlier after she applied via one of the manyjob listings we’d posted. She already had a full-time job as an events coordinator at a luxury senior living community, but for whatever reason, she needed the extra money that came with a part-time job.

She didn’t offer up any details, and it wasn’t my business to ask. She was one of the best employees I’d ever hired—upbeat and always on time. She genuinely enjoyed helping people which extended to me apparently.

The blonde ushered me out of the office and to the elevator before I could even think to argue. She waved at me as the elevator doors closed, and I sagged against the wall.

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