Bridesmaid for Hire

by Nancy Warren

  "But there is something I want to do. I've discovered I love gardening, and landscape design, I'm thinking of going into business for myself. I might even think about doing a degree in landscape architecture."

  His parents both looked at him with similar expressions on their faces. As if they thought he might be joking. Because he was still humming with the enthusiasm that the For Sale sign had sparked in him, he went on. "I found a rundown cottage on a big piece of property that I think I could do something with."

  "Do what?" his mother asked.

  "You know, fix it up. Bring the landscaping back up to standard. I want to make something that's drought resistant, and uses natural grasses and indigenous landscaping."

  "But we hire people to do that."

  "Yeah. And somebody runs the business. That's what I want to do."

  As his parents looked at him, speechless, he suddenly realized that it wasn't them he should be talking to about this idea. It was Tasmine. He finished his drink as quickly as he could, while the subject changed to current events, and then he stood. "Okay, I'm going out for a bit. See you both later."

  "Are you in for dinner?" His mother asked.

  "No. Not tonight."

  In fact, he'd intended to stay for dinner. But he was getting that familiar feeling that he had on and off throughout his life that the things that mattered to him didn't matter to them. When the mood like this came over him, he was in danger of doing something really stupid. But he didn't want to act out and prove he was the irresponsible fool. He wanted to focus his energy into something useful, and productive. It simply wasn't the kind of useful and productive that the Van Hoffendams usually chose.

  He changed one more time, this time into jeans and a shirt he liked and sneakers that he didn't wear to work. He threw a few things into a duffel bag, some clean working clothes for the morning, his shaving kit and a towel that wasn't purple and then he headed back out on the road. He called Tasmine and she answered right away. On impulse he said, "Do you have a minute?"

  "Sure. What's up?" He could hear traffic sounds and he knew from the hollow sound of her voice that she was on her Bluetooth in her car. Excellent. He said, "I want you to meet me at an address."

  "Okay. What kind of address is it?"

  "It's an old abandoned cottage. It's for sale."

  "Are you real estate hunting?"

  "Maybe. I think so."

  "Eric, do you have any idea what a cottage costs around here? Even an abandoned one?"

  He groaned aloud. "Yeah. I do."

  "Well, it can't hurt to look."

  When she met him there a quarter of an hour later, he was already out of his car and looking at the property. The feeling of excitement bloomed again when he saw her. He rapidly pulled her in for a kiss. "I never saw you today. I missed you."

  "I know. I was crazy busy. I didn't have time to come by the Baileys’ place today."

  “I couldn't stop thinking about the weekend.”

  Her cheeks grew pink. “Me neither.”

  He kissed her again. "I hope you have the evening free."

  “The evening free for what?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “For me.”

  “Really? Is this how it's going to be? You just call me and give me one minute’s notice and I’m supposed to drop everything for you?"

  "No. I guess I didn’t think about it. I just assumed you’d want to see me."

  She made a sound of pure frustration. "Of course I want to see you. But I have a life. I need notice. I need some idea of where we’re going and what I'm supposed to wear."

  He glanced down at her high-heels and her linen skirt suit and then he glanced at the massive weeds and broken concrete that made up the garden area of the property. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

  Her lips twitched. "It's okay. Luckily, I love looking at real estate."

  He turned her so they were both facing the cottage. He tried to see it through her eyes, and figured it wasn't a very imposing sight. "I want to buy this place to fix it up."

  "Just the garden?"

  "No. The whole place."

  As they stood there side-by-side he felt the moment that her enthusiasm started to bubble up. "The potential here is amazing. Can you even imagine what you could do? Does anyone live here?"

  "I don't know. I don't think so."

  She grabbed his hand. "Come on. Let’s peek in the windows."

  They ran around like little kids pressing their noses against the windows and looking inside. It was clear that no one lived there since there wasn't a stick of furniture in the house. Well, that wasn't quite true. There was a broken chair in one bedroom at the back, and an ancient kitchen table. Otherwise, it was empty. Potential was right. Potential was pretty much all it had.

  "What do you think? Is it too big a project to take on?"

  "Well, you said yourself you have a lot of energy. But, I don't want to be rude or anything, but where would you get the money?"

  "I don't know. I've got some. But I need to get a mortgage."

  “You have to have a job to get a mortgage."

  "I was going to hit my folks up for loan, but they didn't seem too excited about the idea."

  She laughed at that. "Did you really think they would? Eric, they’re grooming you to be exactly like your older brother. Or your dad. Or Duncan Carnarvon."

  "I know. But I don't want to be like that."

  She grinned at him and gave him a swift kiss. "Good. Because I don't want you to be like that either."

  "I'm going to call the Realtor tomorrow," he said. “There has to be a way.”

  "I can't imagine what it would be like to come from money."

  "Honestly, the money part is good, but there's a lot of crap that goes along with it." Like the preconceived notions of what a person was supposed to be, and do, and even worse, who they were supposed to marry.

  "So, can I take you out for dinner?"

  "Don’t you think you should be saving your money for your down payment?"

  "Yes. I should. But not tonight. Tonight we celebrate."

  She laughed. "And what exactly are we celebrating?”

  "Today I figured out what I want to do with my life."

  "Buying a rundown house is your life's ambition?"

  "No. I’m going to start a landscaping company."

  "Eric, that’s a great idea!"

  It was a relief to have someone excited about his idea. "I know. I actually love working at the Baileys now that I’m doing real gardening. I think I might even be getting José on board.” He told her about the jasmine and she said that alone was worth celebrating. “There is so much potential with their property, and the cool thing is they know it." He looked down at her. "I did some research online. There's a landscape architecture program at Berkeley that I wouldn't mind taking."

  She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him, she simply stared up into his face. "You know what I love?"

  "What?" For some reason his heart sped up.

  "I love to hear the enthusiasm in your voice. I think maybe you'd been drifting for a while, and now you have a goal, and a life plan. I love that."

  "I think you are a good influence on me. I mean, you are the queen of the life plan."

  "Wow, you're good for me too. You remind me to stop and have fun."

  "So, speaking of fun? Where do you want to eat?"

  "I've been in a suit and heels all day, and I already had one meal in a restaurant with clients. You know what I would really like?"

  "No, what?"

  "We pick up some take-out, or get something to barbecue, and sit on my balcony." She grinned up at him. "And we can make a plan for your business."

  He closed the distance between them and kissed her. And the kiss bloomed into something as sweet and magical as he imagined this cottage could one day be. "I like that."

  So they picked up some take-out on the way to her place and then sat on her balcony in the evening sunshine while they made their plan.
Tasmine pulled out a note pad and began to sketch out ideas. "You have to start with the business plan. Even my bridesmaid business wouldn't have started without a business plan."

  "A business plan?" He’d imagined clients, and his ultimate vision of gardens of the future, but he had never thought about a business plan.

  "Yes. For instance, what equipment will you need? You may have to trade-in that fancy little sports car of yours for a truck."

  "A trade in?" He loved his car.

  "Absolutely. You will have to haul things like, I don't know, soil, lawnmowers, shovels and tools and trees and plants and things. You're going to need salaries, because I don't think you can do all of this yourself. Where will you get staff from? What kind of suppliers will you have? How would you get your clients? And what segment of the market are you going for?"

  At least he could answer one of those questions. "I've already decided that I'm going for the really green angle on this. I think I'd like to start with larger properties because the impact will be greater and the profit will be higher. Plus, the Baileys are influential people. If they like what I do then they’ll tell their friends."

  "Okay." She nodded. "That makes sense. Plus, your last name will be a good calling card for other rich snobs."

  Other rich snobs. He decided to let that go and assume she was teasing.

  "Where are you going to get startup money?"

  "The bank, I guess."

  "Then you really do need a good business plan. I think you're going to probably need yearly profit projections and expenses projecting forward five years."

  He really wished he’d paid more attention to the business courses at school. "You’re making this sound real."

  They talked for a long time, and he could see that her enthusiasm was almost as high as his.

  And then it hit him. She believed in him. She believed he could create and run a business in a competitive market. Tasmine Ford might be the only person in his entire life who had ever taken him seriously.

  He worked so hard for so long not to be taken seriously that it was strange to have a woman he respected helping him, believing in him, and encouraging him.

  "What do you think about buying that house?"

  "I think you should get ahold of the Realtor and tour the property. Are you really ready to purchase real estate? Are you really ready to take on a renovation as well as a garden from scratch? I don't know. I think you should make a plan for that as well, and see if it works into your plan of your gardening company."

  He nodded. "That makes sense." He thought for a minute, "Plus, even if I don't end up buying the house, somebody will. And they might want landscape help."

  "Exactly."

  They talked until long after the sun set and the sky grew dark. He reached for her hand and led her towards the bedroom. He paused beside the couch, remembering how it felt to take Ashley's wedding gown down from her bedroom wall and to bring it into the living room. "What did you do with that wedding dress?"

  “Nothing yet. I can't decide what to do with it. It seems wrong to make money off it, which I could do if I took it to a really high-end resale store. But I don't know who to give it away to."

  "Don't make such a big deal about it. Sell it and get some money. You know that's what Melody intended."

  "But it was Ashley's dress. Ashley doesn't have any more money than I do. I feel like she should be the one to get some money for it."

  "May I remind you that Ashley dumped that dress in your arms, along with the fallout from a canceled wedding, and took off?"

  "I know. But let's face it, she did us both a favor."

  "There is that."

  He didn’t didn't really care that much about the dress, except that he didn't like it hanging around in Tasmine's apartment for some reason.

  Then she rose on her tiptoes and kissed him and he forgot all about everything but the warm feel of her skin under his hands.

  Chapter 12

  Tasmine woke to the sounds of Eric dressing. It was dark and when her eyes opened it felt like the middle of the night. She looked over to see the silhouette of him as he dressed swiftly. "What time is it?"

  He stepped slowly over to bed. "Sorry I woke you. It's five-thirty."

  "Do you always get up this early?"

  "I like to get to work early. It's become a habit, and now I'm used to it."

  "So dedicated," she said on a yawn.

  “Go back to sleep."

  "I'm awake now."

  She threw the covers off and got out of bed. She found some sweats and pushed herself into them, then went out to the kitchen and started coffee. "What are you going to do about your lunch?" He always had those amazing packed lunches from Millie, she didn't have enough food in the house for even one of those sandwiches.

  "I'll figure something out."

  She yawned. "Let me make you some breakfast."

  "Honestly, don't worry about. I'll find a diner or something that’s open."

  “I don't want to lose out to Millie in your favorite woman department." She reached in the fridge and pulled out a few vegetables and a carton of eggs. "I'll make you an omelet."

  "Babe, you don't have to."

  She turned to him. He was so gorgeous even first thing in the morning with not enough sleep. "I know I don't have to. I want to."

  “What can I do?”

  "You can grate the cheese."

  So they worked together, side-by-side, cooking omelets and drinking coffee. It was nice, cozy. They hadn’t been together long but she already felt like they were a couple. It was dangerous to think that way, but she couldn't help herself. When she had imagined the perfect man for her, and she described Eric, she thought at the time that she simply had a crush on him, but now that she knew him better, she realized her vision of what she wanted had been right. Eric was exactly the man she wanted. Not because he was perfect, nobody was perfect. The great thing about Eric was that she knew that he was capable of more than he realized.

  He was growing more amazing every day. Now he had an ambition and a budding business plan. She knew that she was good for him. She really hoped he would be good for her, or at least that he wouldn't break her heart.

  "What are you working on today?"

  "I finally got Judge and Mrs. Bailey to consider replacing the huge lawn with some drought resistant alternatives."

  "Wow. What about José?"

  "José has a big problem. He knows my ideas are good, so he either has to go along with them or look like a dick. And I don't think he likes looking like a dick in front of the judge. Plus, he knows things I don’t, so if we start working together I think we could really do something amazing."

  "Wow, I like this tough new Eric."

  "Not tough. Just determined."

  He ate breakfast swiftly like a man who had somewhere to be. When they were finished, he brushed his teeth, grabbed his bag, and stopped on his way out to give her a very thorough kiss goodbye.

  He was halfway out the door when she said, "Hey."

  "What?"

  "I'll bring lunch."

  "No, you don’t have to do that."

  "I know I don't have to," she repeated her words from earlier. "I want to."

  "I’m telling you right now, if you learn how to make apple cake, Millie won't stand a chance."

  She managed to kick his butt before the door shut on him and she heard him laughing on his way down the corridor.

  For the next two weeks, she and Eric spent every moment they could together. They worked on his business plan, talked about everything under the sun and he spent nearly every night at her place.

  He made her laugh, not only at the funny things he pointed out, but about herself. His teasing was gentle, but she could see that she had a tendency to over-plan and take on responsibilities she didn't have to.

  She took him to a yoga class and he took her to a baseball game. And she felt herself falling deeper and deeper.

  “I wish you were a closer friend of Do
novan’s,” she said as they were yawning over coffee and she was updating her online calendar.

  “Donovan? I hardly know him. Kylie’s the one I know.”

  “Well, if it was Donovan you could be in the wedding party and sit beside me at the head table instead of down on the floor somewhere.”

  “Right. That’s this Saturday, isn’t it. I can chauffeur you at least, and think pervy thoughts when you walk up the aisle.”

  “Is that what you do when I walk up the aisle? Think pervy thoughts?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “I did not need to know that.”

  “I’ll make a note of them on Saturday and then I can describe them on Saturday night when I have you alone.”

  But things didn’t go quite as planned.

  Kylie and Donovan's wedding day started out with a shower of rain and heavy-looking clouds, but according to the weather forecast it would burn off. Of course, there were plenty of contingency plans in case of poor weather, but Tasmine hoped for the bride’s sake there would be enough good weather that she could get the outdoor photos she wanted.

  Eric had arranged to pick her up and drive her to the wedding. It was nice to know that he would be there. Even though by the time the wedding came along she was usually pretty friendly with the brides, with their friends she was always an outsider. But Eric wasn't. And just knowing he was there, that she could look up and catch his eye during the course of the evening made the day special for her.

  They had been spending so much time together that she was disappointed he wasn't able to spend the night before the wedding at her place. His parents had some kind of dinner that he had to attend to which she clearly wasn’t invited.

  When he called her in the morning, she said, "Hi. I missed you last night. How was your dinner?"

  "It was okay. Some friends of my parents." He didn't elaborate.

  She said, "I hope the weather gets better for the wedding. Kylie was so looking forward to having her wedding pictures outside."

  "Don't worry about it. According to the weather forecast the rain won't last. No offense to Kylie and wedding pictures but I wish it would really rain."