Page 40 of Marry Me, Right Now

I nodded, and his eyes flicked to my stomach. My sudden laughter caused him to crack up as well. “I need to get a t-shirt

made that says, ‘Not pregnant’.”

“Right. Not my business anyway. My concern is getting you the wedding that you want that will also keep Rosalind off your case. Am I right?”

I sipped my coffee, nodding, and extremely relieved that he understood.

“So what are we dealing with here?” he asked pointedly.

“Well, Rosalind already told us that the venue shall be the Cornwall Arms Hotel. The second we told her the day she made a call.” I didn’t mention I was pretty sure that she had another party kicked out for that date.

He was already taking notes. “Great place. Wonderful layout, good kitchen, all of the bells and whistles. What’s your theme?”

“I was thinking simple and rustic, but there’s a reason. Can you promise that this stays between us?”

He nodded seriously, holding up his hand as if swearing an oath. “Planner-planee confidentiality. Go on.”

“I don’t come from money. And the thought of wasting so much money on one day sickens me. So I thought, if the money has to be spent, I could hire independent vendors who really need the money, and could use a huge gig to pad their portfolio, and get more business in the future.”

His hand grabbed mine and squeezed. “You’re a doll. I’m loving this. Go on.”

“So since I don’t really care about the details, we could go to these vendors and just ask them what they do best. What flowers are in season, what cake flavor do they know that everyone loves? Let them do their best work, and let them shine.”

Zachary was furiously taking notes. “Loving this to pieces, honey. Do you have any color preference whatsoever?”

“All greens go together and don’t have to match, right?”

“Brilliant. Nature theme. Simple. Elegant. Not all matchy-matchy, yes?”

“Precisely.”

“Do you have a vendor list started?”

I gave him all of the notes I had so far. He flipped through quickly, smiling and nodding at my organization. “Flowers, decorations, no problem. Local wineries and breweries – Local is so very now. Any thoughts on food?”

“There are so many people with food issues. Can we make sure that the vegans and the gluten intolerant and everyone can still have something delicious instead of an afterthought?”

“I’ll see to it. How about farm-fresh veggie everything, fresh local bread, and we’ll have the chef decide what sort of meats are the best. They know what people love.”

“Perfect.”

He suddenly stopped, picking up my left hand carefully. “Lord love a duck, will you look at this.” Holding my ring up in a beam of sunlight, he grinned widely. “Somebody loves you, girl.” He released my hand, then pursed his lips. “The dress?”

I shook my head. “I have no idea.”

“You must have some idea,” he said, picking up his pen again. “Poofy princess, a ton of pearls, crystals, a tiara?”

“None of that. I don’t want to play dress up.”

“Okay, but…” He looked at me very intently. “People are going to expect some sort of show.”

Interesting that he chose that word, I thought. “You’re right. But I don’t want to trip all day.”

“No train. No huge skirt. Picture an elegant dress that a well-known actress would wear to an awards ceremony when she knows she’s going to win.”

I laughed, instantly understanding. “Simple and walkable… if that’s a word used for dresses.”

“There we go. If you don’t want a tiara, maybe just a big glittery clip. Get a little bling in your hair. And don’t worry, honey, I have a makeup artist that will make you look like an extremely polished version of yourself, not your weird slutty cousin.”

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