Page 43 of Marry Me, Right Now

Reaching into his pocket, he handed me a folded wad of cash. “Here’s a little something for all of the things you might not be able to throw on your card,” he said.

“Good grief. How much is this?”

“It’s only two thousand. I can get you some more tomorrow.”

“Why on earth would you think that I need this much money?”

He chuckled at how I held the pile of paper rectangles in front of me as if it would give me a disease. Then he stopped laughing when he realized I was truly uncomfortable. “I’m sorry. Mia, something always comes up. It’s just a fact of life, a fact of throwing events. Something will come up, and you’ll be able to make things go a lot smoother if you can just pay cash for it immediately. Trust me. And if you don’t need it, that’s fine too.”

I stuffed the bills into the pocket of my pants, not wanting to leave it on the counter. “Do you need receipts for everything?”

His eyes were a bit darker blue this morning, sparkling when he laughed at me, but now filled with concern that he might be adding to my stress. It was oddly endearing. “No. Spend it all on candy if you like. Just please try to make this whole process as easy on you as possible.”

“Thank you. But that’s what Zachary is for, right?”

“Yes. If you have no strong opinions, he’ll likely throw together the whole thing and it will be fabulous. But it would be nice if some of your personality is scattered through.”

“What about your personality?”

He scoffed. “I don’t think I have one.”

I took a moment to look around the huge kitchen, dining room, living room space. Everything was beautiful, but there was nothing truly quirky or individual. The main palette was black, white, neutral woods, blues, and greens.

“Maybe you don’t have a distinct visual style, but there must be things that you like and don’t like. What’s your favorite color?”

“I like them all, really. Well… not all at once. I mean, rainbows and stuff are fun for parties or a crazy dress. But for room decor or a big event, I think I like one color to be the star.” He suddenly looked worried. “But Mia, seriously, do whatever you like. You’re the artistic one.”

“Is there any color you dislike? I’d hate to do everything in orange and find out that’s your least favorite.”

“Actually, you’re right. I’m not so big on orange.”

“But you like blues and greens,” I said, analyzing the condo again. “A few pops of that dusty, marine blue of the sofa pillows would be quite pretty.” It was nearly the same color as his eyes, but I wasn’t going to point that out.

“You’re going to base the wedding on the couch?” he laughed. His face just lit up when he laughed, but I was determined to focus on the project today, not the way his cheekbones were even higher when he was smiling.

I shrugged. “We’re going for speed, here, buddy. I’m going to have to make decisions on the fly and pretend that I have a reason for it. Whatever shade of blue is easiest is now your favorite color and I’m sticking to that.”

He leaned in, his hand pressing between my shoulder blades in a little half hug. “I’m so glad that we’re laughing through all of this. We’re a good team. Don’t you think?”

His warm hand rubbed against me in a circle before he pulled away as I nodded. “Yeah. We can giggle our stress away.”

“All the way to the bank,” he added, taking another swig of coffee. Reaching into the fridge, he grabbed an insulated bag that must have contained his lunch. “You’ll have to tell Carol what sort of breakfasts and lunches you’d like her to keep on hand for you. I’ve made her a list of meals I like, and she makes them at random so I’m surprised when I get to the office.”

I still couldn’t wrap my mind around having a housekeeper and cook, so I just nodded.

“Have a great day,” he said with a wave, after tucking his food into his shoulder bag. “Shop until you almost drop, but then have some coffee.”

I giggled, giving him a wave. I barely had time to take a swig from my mug before there was a knock at the door.

Zachary greeted me with a giant one-armed hug, as his other arm was nearly falling off from the weight of the bags. “Darling, we’re going to get a month’s worth of work done in one day, so hold onto your knickers!”

He took over the huge dining room table while I fixed him a coffee. “Oh, thank you, darling. Let’s keep each other caffeinated and hydrated today until it’s time for champagne.”

“Nice. When is that, noon?”

“That’s at one when we hit the bridal shops for your dress.”

“Drinking while you shop? I am totally on board with this concept.”

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