Not Quite Over You

by Susan Mallery

  He released her hands and stood up. “Do you remember Doug and Melissa from high school? Doug Newport? They’re married now, two kids. They just inherited some money and it’s a big deal to them. They trust me to do the right thing. They trust me with their future. I want that.”

  “What you do is important,” she said quietly.

  “Thanks. Ironically, I’m kind of liking being half owner of a traveling bar, too. I wasn’t kidding about the franchise opportunity, Silver. That could be big.”

  She rolled her eyes. “One crisis at a time, please.” She moved close and hugged him. “We will deal with the party and your mother and the bank thing as it comes. You know what you want. Just do that and ignore the rest.”

  She felt good. They’d always fit together perfectly. Funny how after all this time he couldn’t remember why he’d thought it was important to not be with her. Sure college had been great, but not Silver great.

  She leaned back and looked into his eyes. “So, when do you have to be at work?”

  “I have a little more time.”

  She smiled. “Oh good. I thought maybe we could take your mind off things.” Her smile widened. “You know, with sex.”

  His body’s reaction was nearly instantaneous. He kissed her.

  “You have the best ideas ever.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  * * *

  AFTER DREW WENT back to the bank, Silver prowled around her apartment. While her body was so relaxed as to practically be liquid, her mind refused to settle. Some of the problems were relatively easy. Planning Bethany and Cade’s party for one. That was just logistics. Bigger than what they usually did and probably with a lot more security, but still a party. She knew how to do that.

  On the scale of least to most, her relationship with Drew probably came next. What were they doing? Sure the sex was great and they were working well together, but what did that mean and where were they going? Or weren’t they going anywhere? Was this just for fun?

  Questions she couldn’t answer by herself and she wasn’t ready to talk to him about them, either. Probably the best approach was to decide what she wanted, and then see if he wanted to follow that path, as well.

  But figuring out the whole want thing was complicated. For one thing, she wasn’t sure how she felt about him. She liked him but liking and liking were worlds apart. She knew he was a good guy. She knew he was honorable, which was great, but she wasn’t sure she could see them staying together, long-term.

  He said he was all in with the bank but in her gut, she couldn’t help thinking he would look up one day and decide he wanted more than what Happily Inc had to offer, and then what? She was firmly settled here.

  But the biggest problem facing her was the one about Autumn—namely telling Drew about his daughter. Time was ticking and she had yet to cough up the truth. It sure wasn’t going to get easier as the days slipped away.

  Her phone chirped, giving her a perfectly good excuse to let the guilt go. She glanced at the screen and saw she had text from Leigh. Timing, she thought, as she read the text.

  You around for a little FaceTime?

  Rather than answer, she activated the app, then called Leigh. Her friend’s face filled the screen.

  “Hi,” Silver said with a smile. “What’s up? Wedding talk?” Please oh please don’t ask me if Drew knows about Autumn yet.

  The picture became a dizzying swirl of movement, then Autumn’s face filled the screen. For the millionth time, Silver saw that her daughter was all Drew, with dark hair and his eyes. The shape rather than the color, but still.

  “Hi, Silver. Guess what? I have a dress for the wedding. It’s so pretty. I’m super excited. I’ve never been in a wedding before. I’ve only been a guest at one in my whole life. People don’t want kids at their wedding. But I get to go to this one and be in the wedding and stay up super late. Mom said she’d do my hair really special and I get to carry flowers like a real bridesmaid. We are going to have so much fun!”

  “We are. I can’t wait,” Silver said when Autumn took a breath. “My friend Wynn says she has a bike for you to ride,” she added. “You can explore the town and everything.”

  “Yay! I can’t, can’t, can’t wait!”

  The picture moved again, then Leigh reappeared.

  “As you can tell, she’s pretty excited.”

  “I got that.”

  “She’s all confirmed at the Learning Center,” Leigh continued. “From eight-thirty to two-thirty, Monday through Friday. I know you love her, but we’re going to be gone a whole week and that’s longer than you’ve ever had her. Autumn can be very high energy.”

  “We’ll be fine. I’m glad she’s going to stay current with her schoolwork.”

  Leigh’s eyebrows rose. “I assume Drew is excited to meet her.”

  Silver winced. “He will be.”

  “Silver, you haven’t told him?”

  “Not yet. It’s complicated.”

  “It’s coming up soon. You have to let him know. I’ve already told Autumn and she wants to meet him. She’s also asking me how many dads are too many, but I guess that’s a good problem to have.”

  “It is. And I will tell him.” She hoped she didn’t sound defensive. “Soon.”

  “As long as he knows before we get there. I don’t want to be the one who has to explain it all to him.”

  “You won’t. I’m going to do it.”

  Leigh’s tone gentled. “He has to be ready or he’ll break Autumn’s heart. I know you don’t want that.”

  “I don’t. I wouldn’t hurt her for anything. I’ll take care of it. I promise he’ll be totally on board before you and Autumn get here.”

  After they’d hung up, Silver thought about her promise and hoped she wasn’t lying. Telling Drew was one thing—having him okay with the information was going to be another.

  CHAPTER NINE

  DREW HELD THE passenger door open for Silver.

  “It’s just a party,” he said as he got in on his side. “Aside from food and drinks, what is there to plan?”

  “Only everything. Is there a theme? What time of day? Is it lunch? Dinner? Afternoon? Will there be a band?” She glanced at him. “This isn’t just a party—it’s part wedding shower, part reception. For Bethany and Cade, this is the closest they’re going to get to a regular wedding-type event in Happily Inc. The actual wedding and reception will be defined by protocol and El Baharian tradition.”

  “I stand corrected,” he said as he drove to Weddings Out of the Box. There was a meeting for all the vendors as Cade and Bethany discussed what they wanted. As Silver’s new business partner, Drew had been invited along to help with the brainstorming. Not that he had any idea of what they expected from him.

  “What do you brainstorm?” he asked. “We’re just bartenders so you do drinks and that’s it?”

  “I should slap you,” she said with a laugh. “Technically that is the service we provide, but at this point in the process, all ideas are usually welcome. There is the occasional bride who has been planning her wedding since she was ten and doesn’t want anyone else’s input, but most want to know what we think. We’ve done a lot of weddings and can often speak to the pitfalls. Some flowers are beautiful, but if they have a scent, they can overwhelm an event. Nothing makes food taste bad faster than stinky flowers.”

  There was more to what Silver did than he’d first realized. As a guy, he’d known that, for the most part, weddings mattered a lot more to the bride than the groom. Ashley Lauren had been obsessed with the details and less concerned about their relationship.

  They arrived at Weddings Out of the Box and parked. Silver collected her tote bag and walked next to him.

  “We didn’t bring any samples,” he said.

  “Until we know what they’re looking for, there’s no point. Once we pick a t
heme and colors, we’ll get together about the specifics. From what Pallas said, we have a really tight time frame, so nothing custom unless it can be done on a rush basis.”

  “I suspect the king of El Bahar can pull a few strings.”

  “I’m sure he can.”

  Silver led the way to a conference room. Pallas was already there, along with Renee, Bethany and Cade.

  Drew looked around. “I thought there would be more people.”

  “I did, too.” Silver frowned. “The caterer at least and maybe a florist. Are we conferencing them in?”

  “This is everyone,” Pallas confirmed. “Let’s take our seats and get started.”

  Bethany sat next to Cade. Drew took a seat on his right. Silver, Pallas and Renee were on the other side of the table.

  “To answer your question about the caterer,” Bethany said with a sigh, “my father wants me to use one from Los Angeles. Once we decide what the party is going to be, Cade and I will go see them and do our tasting there.”

  Cade took her hand and squeezed her fingers. “We’re going to make this our party,” he told her.

  “I want to believe you but my father is getting in the way.” She made a face. “He loves to take charge. It’s very annoying.”

  Renee sighed. “Kings. What are you going to do?”

  There was a moment of silence, then everyone laughed.

  Pallas activated her tablet before looking at Bethany. “Even if the caterer is coming from LA, you still get a say in what you’re going to be eating. This party is for you and Cade, and we’re going to make it amazing.”

  “There isn’t much time,” Bethany said, sounding doubtful. “We took so long arguing about what event was happening where and then picking a date, we aren’t going to be able to do anything really fun.” She looked at Cade. “I don’t want this to be some big royal event. All our friends will be there—I want them to have a good time. I want the party to be about us and how we are as a couple. What we like and how we see ourselves.”

  “It will be,” he told her. “Have a little faith.”

  Pallas leaned toward her. “Bethany, I know you’re overwhelmed. I promise to do everything in my power to make sure you love your party. Give us a chance to make you happy, okay?”

  Bethany nodded. “Sorry. I’m being whiny. It’s just if you saw what was happening back in El Bahar, you’d run screaming into the night.”

  Drew glanced at Silver. “Does she know it’s the middle of the day?” he asked in a stage whisper.

  Bethany grinned. “It’s a figure of speech.” She drew in a breath. “Okay, let’s make this work.”

  Drew didn’t consider himself overly intuitive when it came to women but even he could see that she was upset.

  Renee picked up her pen. “Every good party needs a theme. If this were a traditional shower, it would be easier, but I’m not sure any of those ideas would work with the crowd we’re expecting.”

  “Why not?” Cade asked.

  Pallas and Renee exchanged a look. “Themes can range from spa day to lingerie. I’m not too sure we want to go there.”

  “No hats,” Silver said with a smile. “So a Mad Hatter party is out. Let’s see. You two own a ranch and work with horses. What about a backyard barbecue?” Her eyes widened. “Oh, I know. Let’s do the I Do BBQ theme.”

  Renee began writing furiously. “Yes, that would totally work. I’ve seen it done with weddings and showers. There are a million ideas on Pinterest. We dress as cowboys and cowgirls, the food is a combination of picnic, barbecue and down-home cooking.” She looked at Bethany. “What do you think?”

  “I think I like it.” She turned to Cade. “Honey, are you good with that?”

  He nodded. “It’s not scary. Or too pink. Men in suits will look out of place, but that was going to happen anyway.”

  “Dark suits?” Pallas asked.

  Bethany nodded. “Security for sure. My dad, the president.”

  “Great, so we’ll do black, white and red as the colors. The bride and groom can be in plaid shirts. Jeans for Cade and a little white leather skirt with fringe for Bethany, or a white denim skirt.”

  Bethany began to relax. “I like that.”

  “Don’t forget the white cowboy hat with a veil,” Silver added. “This is going to be great. All your friends can wear red Bride’s Posse T-shirts.”

  The ideas were flowing fast and Drew wasn’t sure what he was supposed to add. Telling everyone he couldn’t wait to see Silver in a tight T-shirt didn’t seem helpful.

  “We’ll make this easy,” Renee said. “We can get ceramic cowboy boot vases for the centerpieces. We’ll go red and white with the flowers, but have table accents in black. Burlap table runners are neutral. We can have plaid everywhere.”

  “Cow balloons,” Silver said. “Big bouquets of them.”

  Bethany grinned. “I like that. This is fun.”

  “It gets better,” Renee said. “We can put most of the tables inside because there’s no ceremony. A few will be outside, but we can use a portion of the lawn for games. Croquet, horseshoes, even a beanbag toss.”

  “We can do spiked lemonade, margaritas and beer for the drinks.” Silver made some notes. “What about food?”

  “I want a cake pop stand,” Bethany said. “In the shape of a tiered wedding cake.”

  “Done,” Renee said. “How about fair food? Pulled pork, beef and chicken sandwiches. All kinds of salads, a taco bar, maybe some sliders. For dessert, in addition to the cake pops we can do s’mores.” She looked at Pallas. “We can set up a grill where people can roast their own marshmallows.”

  Bethany leaned against Cade. “We have the best friends ever.”

  Drew sat back and listened to the ideas flow. In less than an hour, the party was planned. They had a preliminary menu, the list of drinks, a theme and decoration ideas. Renee set up a time to go with Cade and Bethany to LA and do a tasting. Pallas promised to have the decorating samples in-house in less than a week and they’d agreed on three kinds of margaritas for the party. That tasting would be in a couple of days.

  He hadn’t offered a single idea, mostly because he’d been unable to think of any. Silver, Pallas and Renee had moved too fast. He knew they did this sort of thing all the time but he’d had no idea they were so creative. He’d figured being a part of her business was going to be easy. After all, he had a degree and worked in business. He hadn’t realized how wrong he could be.

  * * *

  SILVER’S HEAD WAS spinning with ideas. She had a lot of things she wanted to look up when she got home. There were some decorations she’d seen on Pinterest that she wanted to share with Renee. If they could make them work, Bethany would be thrilled.

  “That was a good meeting,” she said as Drew parked in front of her storefront.

  “Is it always like that? So fast and creative?”

  “Mostly. Sometimes the bride has an idea that we just can’t make work. Those meetings can be a slog, but we always keep going until we find something she loves. Bethany is easy. She’s totally open. Her big dream is to have fun party. That’s a lot easier to work with than a sea horse ball.”

  “You’ve done a sea horse ball?”

  She laughed. “Technically an under-the-sea wedding, but you get my idea.”

  They got out of his car. “You were impressive,” he told her.

  “I appreciate the compliment but Renee’s the real creative one. She just keeps coming up with different ideas until the bride is happy. And then she goes to town on all the details. I have to admit, when Pallas first hired her, I wasn’t sure I liked her, but I’m becoming a fan.”

  “I couldn’t keep up,” he admitted.

  “It takes practice to get good at brainstorming. Plus, you need to have ideas.”

  “How can I learn about weddings and decorations and t
hemes?”

  “If you’re serious, get a couple of books on wedding planning. Read some bridal magazines, and then spend quality time on Pinterest. There are a million ideas and they’re all so good. I could spend hours browsing table decorations and drink ideas.”

  “I’ll do that. I want to be a real partner.”

  “Not just a pretty face?” she teased.

  “I don’t mind being that.”

  He stood close enough that her body was intensely aware of him. She thought about offering him a quickie upstairs, but he had to be at the bank and she had work to do. There was also the looming issue of telling him about Autumn. She had to do it. Honestly, she was going to pick a date and time and invite him over. She knew why she was putting it off, but wasn’t proud of herself or her actions.

  “Drew? What are you doing out here? Why aren’t you at the bank?”

  They both turned as a middle-aged woman approached. She was beautifully dressed, with dark hair and eyes and enough of Drew’s features for Silver to be able to guess who exactly this was.

  Silver had never met Irene before—she and her husband had left Happily Inc shortly after Silver had moved to town. When Silver and Drew had been dating, his parents had been off somewhere in Europe—Silver could never remember exactly where.

  “Hello, Mom,” Drew said, his tone more dutiful than pleased. “I’m surprised to see you in town.”

  “I could say the same thing. You didn’t answer my question. Why aren’t you at work?”

  “Mom, this is Silver Tesdal. Silver, my mother.”

  Silver smiled. “Hello, Mrs. Lovato.”

  “Yes, hello.” Irene positioned herself so her back was to Silver. “Drew, I’ve heard that the royal party is going to be planned very soon. I want you to find out as much as you can for me. I want to be prepared.”

  Drew looked both resigned and uncomfortable. Silver lightly touched his arm, then smiled at Irene.

  “You’re going to love it, Mrs. Lovato. Bethany and Cade picked a cowboy theme. I Do BBQ. She’s going to be in a white cowboy hat and they’ll wear matching plaid shirts. The food is all down-home barbecue inspired. Oh, and there will be a s’mores station. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”