“Like, oh, I don’t know…my job, maybe?”
Outside, the wind picked up, newly fallen leaves rustling along the pavement, clicking softly against the windows. Leah slid into bed. Sheets cool and soft, comforter just heavy enough. Might be time to dig out the flannel set. Winter would arrive in no time, and she tried to concentrate on that, the weather, which turned out to be laughable. Impending snowflakes and upcoming holidays were quickly replaced with much more pleasant things.
Like dark, dark eyes, olive skin, and dimples.
Chapter Three
“So, the DiMarco-Jensen wedding is Saturday, right?” Harlow McCann bit into her cheeseburger and hummed her delight.
Teddi nodded, stabbed a chunk of cucumber and a tomato from her salad, and tried not to let her cheeseburger envy show.
“Just get the burger next time.” Harlow shot her a wink. Harlow was her best friend and the most confident, cheerful person Teddi had ever met. Harlow loved life and everything about it. Gusto—Harlow was the epitome of it, and Teddi envied her more than she cared to admit. To herself or anybody else.
“That,” Teddi said, waving her fork up and down to indicate Harlow’s black floral-print dress and black leather jacket, “is fabulous, by the way. What I wouldn’t give for half your fashion sense.”
“Please, you always look amazing. You’re sophisticated. I can’t pull off sophisticated. I have to settle for edgy.”
She did it well, there was no denying it. Edgy. Trendy. Hip. Harlow was all those things. Teddi always took mental notes but just didn’t have the same level of style as her BFF. “How’s Rashim?” Harlow and Rashim had been her very first clients, their wedding simple and beautiful.
“My boo is great. Working too much, but that’s nothing new.” Something passed over Harlow’s face then. If she hadn’t known her so well, Teddi wouldn’t have caught it.
“What’s up?”
Harlow sighed, sipped her Sprite. “I’m just a little annoyed by everybody asking us when we’re going to start a family. Even my mom. Especially his mom. It’s been almost ten years. Where are my grandchildren?” Harlow did a perfect Pakistani accent when imitating her mother-in-law.
“You guys don’t want kids.”
“I know that. He knows that. Nobody else seems to even consider that as a possibility.” She groaned, then waved a hand. “Talk about something else. Please. How’s my boyfriend, Preston, the beautiful, beautiful hunk of a man?”
Teddi sipped her drink and grinned at the familiar question. “He’s good.”
“Still gay, huh?”
“Afraid so. Also, you’re married.”
“Listen, I have fantasies. You can’t stop me. They’re totally allowed.”
“They are.” God, she loved how Harlow could make her laugh. Shifting gears, she said, “I got a new client last week. Wedding’s next September.”
“Oh, good. And not a last-minute one. Nearly a year. That’s a nice change.”
“Right? I meet with her again this Friday. I’ll give her your card.” Harlow was a photographer and a damn good one. Teddi sent all her clients Harlow’s way, and not one had ever been dissatisfied. Not in ten years. “Her name is Kelly, and she came in with her big sister, Leah.”
Harlow popped a French fry into her mouth and nodded as she chewed.
“She seems to hold at least some of the purse strings,” Teddi said.
“The sister?”
“Mm-hmm. Kelly seemed to run things by her, looked to her for approval. I don’t know what she does for a living, but she didn’t seem to be worried about what I might charge. I wonder if it’ll be different as things progress. Whether it’ll be an issue.”
“With the sister.” Amusement. Teddi detected it in Harlow’s tone immediately.
Teddi swallowed. “Yes.” Felt herself flush.
“You’re blushing.” Harlow took another bite of her burger. Satisfaction was all over her face. Harlow knew her well. Too well. “Spill.”
“Damn it.” Teddi hung her head for a second, annoyed at her apparently fantastic impression of a piece of glass. Harlow saw right through her.
“You have a thing for the sister.” Again with the amusement, the self-satisfaction.
“Shut up. You don’t know everything.”
Harlow grinned widely. “I know you have a thing for the sister.”
“You annoy me.”
“It’s my life’s work. Now tell me all about her.” Elbows propped on the table, hands clasped near her chin, body leaning forward, Harlow was settled in.
Teddi blew out a breath, resigned, and sat back in her chair. “There’s nothing to tell, really. I mean, we spent about half an hour together.”
“But she affected you if you’re still thinking about her a week later, yeah?”
“She did.” She really, really did. Teddi didn’t add that part. Didn’t add how she’d watched Leah walk Kelly to her car or how she’d kept watching until Kelly had driven away and Leah had turned toward the shop. Had she seen her? Teddi had done a terrible job of pretending she’d been in the window to fix the display. No way was she going to tell Harlow that. “So, I stared at her when she left. I stood in my own window like a stalker and stared.” Teddi closed her eyes in defeat. It was impossible to hide things from Harlow. Impossible.
“She must be hot.” Harlow’s grin said she was enjoying this way too much.
“Stop grinning like that.” Torn between shame and humor, Teddi reached for the glass on the table, turned it slowly with her fingers.
“I’m sorry.” Harlow’s tone said she was, as did her reach across the table and the way she squeezed Teddi’s forearm. “It’s just been a really long time since I’ve seen you notice anybody. It makes me happy, that’s all.” Once Teddi let herself smile, relief crossed Harlow’s face. “What does she look like?”
That face was not hard to recall. It had invaded Teddi’s mind and stayed there for days. “She’s blond, hair just past her shoulders. And I’ve never seen eyes so green, my God. They were intense. Deep. She’s a little shorter than me. She was in a suit, so she must be some kind of businesswoman.”
“Pants or a skirt?”
“Pants. And pumps. Black pantsuit with black pumps and white shirt underneath with tiny black dots.”
“Interesting. A slick professional suit, but polka dots under it. She’s playful.”
“You think?”
Harlow laughed and held her hands palms up. “How the hell would I know?”
Teddi joined her laughter as any tension bled away. “She adores her sister—I can tell you that.”
“I wonder what their story is.”
Teddi nodded, not admitting to Harlow that she hadn’t wondered much else since the meeting. Those eyes… She cleared her throat and lifted one shoulder.
“I guess maybe you’ll find out on Friday?”
* * *
Fast paced, immersive, jam packed, and crazy busy—words that described every Friday before a wedding in Teddi’s business. Hopeless Romantic had always had a reputation for excellence and still did, despite their few recent bumps in the road.
“T.J. is on line two,” Preston told her as she hung up from a heated debate with a caterer.
“Carlson’s trying to jack up his pricing at the last minute. Put a note in his file for me. We’ll think twice before recommending him again.” Teddi swiftly changed lines. “T.J. the DJ. How’s the music business today?”
The morning flew by like it had a jet engine and someplace very important to be. She and Preston sat down over a lunch of subs and chips and went through their lists for tomorrow’s wedding. Amelia DiMarco was marrying Todd Jensen at a vineyard about an hour away. They were a sweet couple and Teddi was looking forward to it.
“This should be a nice one,” Preston said as if reading her mind. “No bridezilla. No douchebag groom. I think they’ll make it.”
“Same. What’s our average now?” Since they’d begun working together, they’
d predicted the future of each and every couple they’d dealt with—who’d stay together, who’d be divorced within a year, and everything in between.
“We are disturbingly accurate,” Preston said, then took a bite of his roasted veggie sub.
Teddi grinned. “Okay. I’ve conferred with the caterer, the florist, the DJ, and the delivery guys.”
Preston glanced at his tablet, scrolling a bit with one hand while he held his sub in the other. “Venue, Harlow, limo, videographer. Check, check, check, and check.”
“Fantastic. We are a well-oiled machine, my friend.”
Preston high-fived her across the table.
They ate in silence for several moments, decompressing from the busy morning and bracing for the rush of the afternoon.
“You have newbies coming in later?”
Teddi nodded as she swallowed. “At four. Kelly Scott. Seems like a nice girl. I’ll get more detailed info from her today, then let you know what we’re looking at.”
“This is the one that came in with her sister, was it?”
“Yeah, an older one. Leah. I don’t know where the mother is or if there is one.”
“You’ll find out.” He wasn’t wrong. Being a wedding planner was weirdly like being a bartender. People just told Teddi things. Secrets. Hopes. Fears. She knew about unannounced pregnancies. She knew about last-minute affairs. She knew when a woman wanted to get married more than anything in the world, and she also knew when a woman thought she might be making the biggest mistake of her life. She got it all, never by asking, and she was used to it by now. Preston’s perfectly shaped eyebrows met at the top of his nose. “Leah Scott? Why does that name sound familiar?”
“I’m pretty sure that’s what her sister said. I don’t think she’s married.” Objection. Rejection. Irritation. Her reactions to the idea of Leah being married. Ignore them. Ignore them all.
Preston tapped a manicured finger against his lips, then shook his head. “Nope. I can’t place it. I might be thinking of someone else.”
Teddi popped the last of her turkey sub into her mouth and crumpled up the wrapper. “Ready for round two?”
Preston mimicked her cleanup. “Let’s do this.”
They stood together, fist-bumped, and then headed in separate directions to conquer the battle that was a Friday afternoon at Hopeless Romantic.
Is it four o’clock already?
The question flew through Teddi’s head a while later when the electronic ding-dong that meant the front door had opened hit her ears. She heard Preston’s greeting and knew Kelly Scott was here. Was Leah here, too? It occurred to her that she wasn’t sure. She kind of hoped so—she could admit that. She stood up and glanced in the mirror that hung in her office. She had fixed her hair, repaired her eyeliner, and was adding a quick coat of lip gloss before she registered what it was she was doing. Oh my God, you’re primping. You’re actually primping. Stop it! With a shake of her head, she took a deep breath, let it out, then left her office to meet her client.
* * *
“Say something,” Leah demanded of Kelly as they pulled the door to Hopeless Romantic open and a pretty little electronic bell sounded.
Kelly squinted at her. “What?”
Leah feigned shock, tapped the face of her silver watch with a finger to punctuate each word. “I. Am. On. Time.”
Kelly stopped dead halfway through the door. A super tight hug followed, one that surprised Leah but made her laugh. “You are.” The door eased shut behind them, and Kelly let go of her but didn’t step forward.
“You okay?” Leah asked quietly.
“I’m nervous.” Kelly turned wide eyes to her. “Is that weird?”
Looking at Kelly transported Leah back many years. Just for a moment, she was twenty-three and Kelly was fifteen, getting ready to go out on her first date, gazing at her big sister for reassurance as she told her how nervous she was. Leah had felt protective then and she felt protective now. As she tucked an errant strand of hair behind Kelly’s ear, she smiled tenderly. “It’s not weird at all. I think hiring a wedding planner is a thing that sets it all in motion, you know? Forward, full-force. No turning back. Of course you’re nervous. Totally normal.”
Semi-convinced. Leah could tell by Kelly’s expression. But Kelly gave one nod. “Okay.”
“You must be Kelly Scott.” One of the handsomest men Leah had ever seen walked toward them with a hand outstretched. Judging from Kelly’s deer-in-the-headlights look, she felt the same way. “I’m Preston Lacosta, Teddi’s assistant manager. It’s lovely to meet you.” He shook Kelly’s hand.
“Isn’t Ms. Baker going to be here?” The words were out of her mouth before Leah even knew she was thinking of saying them. She rolled her lips in and bit down on them.
“And you’re the sister. Leah, is it?”
Those deep, richly dark eyes of his probably mesmerized a good chunk of the women—and probably some of the men—who came in here.
“Kelly. Leah. Good to see you both again.” Teddi Baker materialized from somewhere in the back, and just like that, the ground that had felt shaky and uncertain under Leah’s feet seemed to stabilize. Weird. Teddi shook hands with Kelly, her smile wide, dimples on full display. When Teddi turned to Leah, those dark, dark eyes seemed to reach out and collect her, cradle and hold her within them. Their hands clasped, and Teddi’s smile softened as she greeted Leah with a soft “Hi.”
“Hey.” Leah had never believed in things like instant connections or soul mates or any of that hokey crap, but there was something here. Something undefinable. Something sharp and heavy and strong. Did Teddi feel it, too? She wanted to know so badly, but how exactly did you ask that of a virtual stranger? Yeah, keep your mouth shut. You’re here for Kelly.
That shook her back to reality. The spell broken—or at least temporarily set aside for now—they moved to the same table they met at last week and took seats, Preston joining them. There was a white mug half filled with coffee and bearing a pale pink lipstick print.
Teddi grabbed it and held it up. “Can I get anybody coffee?”
“I have had more caffeine than I need today, but thank you,” Leah said. Kelly shook her head.
“You’ve met Preston?” Teddi asked, and at their nods, she went on. “He’s my right hand around here. I will be your point of contact always, but if for some reason you can’t get ahold of me, don’t hesitate to call him.”
“I have access to everything Teddi does,” Preston added, his smile revealing the perfect white teeth Leah expected. “Files, vendors, your details, any emails. It’s unusual for Teddi to be completely out of reach, but if she is, I can usually get to her.”
“It’s true. I can’t get away from him.” Teddi exchanged a look with Preston that told Leah they were yin and yang to one another, their fondness obvious.
The down-and-dirty came next. Leah listened but let Kelly take the lead. Casual observer was the role she took on, and she couldn’t help but smile as Kelly became more animated. Teddi watched her with a soft expression, probably humoring her. There was no way Teddi hadn’t heard this stuff a million times, but she never rushed Kelly, never interrupted her, and seemed to understand every single thing Kelly said.
And Teddi was beautiful. Leah took in the ivory sweater dress Teddi wore, a classic contrast to her olive skin. Gold bangle bracelets jingled softly when Teddi moved her hand. Her hair was down, a soft brown that looked like it might be a shade darker underneath. Subtle brown eye shadow accentuated the deep dark of Teddi’s incredible eyes, and her full lips shone with the glimmer of a coat of lip gloss, just a hint of pink.
And it wasn’t odd at all that she noticed Teddi’s impressive posture, right? Her spine was straight, her shoulders squared the whole time she spoke, twisted, moved her arms. Teddi wasn’t tall—maybe two inches taller than her—but she seemed it. The way someone carried themselves said a lot about them, her mother used to say, and nobody in her recent memory illustrated that point better than Teddi B
aker. Her presence said: Yes, I’m attractive. I also run this show and will snap you like a twig if I need to.
Leah felt the corners of her mouth tug up at the thought.
“What are you smiling at?” Kelly’s question took her by surprise, and Leah sat up a little straighter. Teddi’s eyes were on her as well, and Leah swore she could feel them, straight down to her—
“Just happy to see you so happy,” she replied, pulling an answer out of her ass so fast she even impressed herself. Teddi’s gaze stayed on her for an extra beat. It did things to Leah.
Shoulder bumps were Kelly’s signature move of affection, and she leaned into Leah with one. “Can you give Teddi the deposit?”
“Oh. Of course.” Leah fished her wallet out of her purse and pulled out her Visa card.
Preston took it from her hand and slid it through the Square he’d plugged into his tablet. “Leah Scott,” he said as he watched the transaction on the screen. “Your name seems familiar to me.”
“Pretty common name,” Leah said.
“She’s a lawyer,” Kelly said, pride in her tone.
“Oh yeah?” Preston turned the tablet around and pointed. “Just sign here with your finger.”
Leah hated signing with her finger, always felt like a five-year-old trying to sign her name in crayon, and she squinted, certainly signing as slowly as one.
“What kind of lawyer?” Preston asked.
Leah hit the green button that read Done. “I’m a divorce attorney.”
A heavy coffee mug had to hit the ground just right in order to shatter, and Teddi’s apparently had, the sound of the crash startling the other three enough to make them each flinch in their seats. Leah’s head whipped toward Teddi, who sat wide-eyed and seemingly shocked, a Rorschach inkblot of a coffee stain blossoming on her beautiful ivory dress.
“Oh my God, are you okay?” Kelly sprang into action, her kindergarten teacher reflexes kicking into high alert as they did any time something was spilled or broken.
Hopeless Romantic Page 3
