A Wedding Tail

by Casey Griffin

  Zoe narrowed her eyes at the woman. “To where?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” she said, her voice infused with sweet innocence. “Somewhere way, way, way over there in the back corner.” She gestured in an ambiguous “over there” direction.

  Zoe gritted her teeth. She should have expected Chelsea to pull something like this. But this was bold even for her. “Funny that I’ve supposedly been relocated and you just so happen to be the one taking my place.”

  “The event coordinator told me first thing this morning. I’m just being cooperative.” Her eyelashes fluttered. “I guess they decided to give the better space to the better planner.” She pointed to her chest, in case Zoe didn’t know who she meant.

  Zoe half-hoped she’d accidentally stab herself with one of her ridiculously pointy gel nails. She shifted the mannequins in her arms for a better hold and turned to head back to the main lobby. “Well, I’ll just have to go find him. Straighten this all out.”

  “Oh, sure,” Chelsea said, casually. “I’m sure it’s just a simple mix up. Make sure to ask for James,” she called to Zoe’s back. “James Carruthers!”

  Zoe’s footsteps came to a halt as the last name sank in. “Carruthers? As in Chelsea Carruthers?”

  “Yeah, that’s right. As in my cousin. What a weird coincidence, right?” She laughed like they were two besties sharing a good joke. “But don’t let that stop you. I’m sure he’ll side with you over his favorite cousin.”

  Zoe kept her face straight, except for a sharp eyebrow arch, but her insides were strung tight. There was just something about Chelsea that ruffled her calm, orderly feathers.

  Her arms tightened around her bride and broom until plastic squeaked in protest. But Zoe quickly pushed the annoyance back down, screwing the cap tight on that bottle-o-crazy.

  Chelsea wasn’t worth the effort—not that Zoe had the time to spare for it, anyway. The doors opened to the public in an hour and she still had to find and set up her booth. She’d just have to win over her clients because she could offer them more talent and skill than Chelsea ever could. Besides, who could ignore her kick-ass display replete with a bride and groom?

  “Oh, Zoe.” Chelsea clicked her tongue as she took in the bride’s wedding gown. Zoe’s wedding gown. “The dress is a bit outdated, isn’t it? You know, you should really put your best foot forward for these kinds of events,” Chelsea told her very seriously. “They’ll really make or break you.”

  “It’s a classic style,” Zoe told her. Although, she wasn’t sure why she was defending her style to the likes of Chelsea.

  “Not with this lace it isn’t,” she said. “My own dress is going to be Chantilly. Nothing but the best.” She smiled like she had a secret to tell.

  Zoe realized Chelsea didn’t mean for her display but for her own trip down the aisle. She’d obviously been looking for any excuse to spill the news. “You mean you’ve actually found someone to put up with you? Congratulations. I didn’t think that was possible.”

  Chelsea bit her lip like she wanted to say more but then stopped herself for some reason. Instead, she fingered the fabric with distaste. She shuddered. “Is that polyester?”

  Zoe used the groom’s hand to slap hers away. “Hands off the merchandise.”

  Chelsea checked her watch. “You’d better hurry. You don’t have long to set up, and it’s a very long walk to your booth.” Chelsea waggled her fingers. “Bye-bye.”

  Zoe sneered at her, but shook her head. “You’re right. I don’t need to waste my time with you. One day, all the things you pull will catch up to you. You’ll get yours eventually.” Not about to let her rival delay her any longer. With two lead weights in either arm, she could do little more than turn and trudge to the other end of the Grand Ballroom. Way, way, way at the other end.

  After wandering around for what seemed like forever, she finally located a table with Zoe Plum, Plum Crazy Events hastily scribbled on a sticky note. She groaned as she set her bride and groom down, dumping the rest of her supplies onto the floor.

  Once the feeling to her arms returned, she removed the top hat from her head and plopped it onto the groom’s. She frowned and angled it by five degrees.

  While she stood back to appreciate it, her skin began to prickle with the sense that someone was watching her. She slowly turned around and discovered her perv sitting at the table directly beside hers.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said.

  Reclined in a plastic chair, feet propped up on the table with a guitar resting on his chest was Levi Dolson. “Miss me?”

  4

  Paws Off

  Zoe tapped the edges of her pamphlets, setting them perfectly in line with her display. But that didn’t look quite right. So she set them at an angle. A little more. A little more … Finally, she settled on fanning them out so each one could be seen.

  She could feel Levi watching her from the next table over, but she was far too busy to pay any attention. She wasn’t aware of his blue eyes running up and down her long legs. And she certainly didn’t care why, out of all the tables in the twenty-thousand-square-foot venue, he was sitting next to her. Nor did she let the fact that he seemed perfectly at ease bother her.

  As she rushed to put the finishing touches on her display, he sat back in his chair, feet on the table, strumming a guitar lazily instead of preparing for the rush of customers about to flood through the doors at any moment.

  “Don’t you have to get ready?” she asked, and realized that she actually was paying attention to him. In fact, he was so annoyingly present he was impossible to ignore. Or maybe that was just her. “The expo’s about to begin, and you’ve just been sitting there since I arrived.”

  “That’s not true.” He plucked a few strings. “I helped you in with all your stuff.”

  “Thank you for the help by the way,” she relented. “I’m not sure what happened to my assistant. She was supposed to be here early to help.” She checked her phone again, but there was still no text or call from Natalie. What was going on with her lately?

  He eyed her display. “Why do you need so much stuff, anyway?”

  “To advertise what I do, what I can offer my clients,” she said, rearranging the brochures again. “The question is, why don’t you have more stuff?”

  “Because this is it.” He waved a hand over his reclined body. “What you see is what you get.”

  Actually, what Zoe saw surprised her. If he wore T-shirts and crinkled jeans to a wedding, Zoe would have expected him to show up to the expo in pajamas. On second thought, he didn’t seem like the PJ kind of guy. More like a boxers-only guy. Or maybe au natural. That would explain why he’d shown up to the wedding without his tighty whities. Zoe’s eye automatically dipped down again.

  But Levi had stepped it up a notch that day. He’d taken a razor to his stubble, the smoothness highlighting his full lips. His slate gray button-down shirt—with only a few wrinkles—made his blue eyes pop. In fact, that wasn’t the only thing highlighting his eyes. It looked like Levi had smudged charcoal eyeliner around his thick eyelashes.

  His fingers picked at the guitar strings in a random tune, nails painted black with chipped polish. His hair stuck up on his head as though he were caught in a wind storm. Zoe was certainly blown away. He looked like a regular rock star who just walked off stage. And was that eyebrow always pierced or had it been the other one?

  After tearing her eyes away, she faked a scoff. “I’m afraid to tell you that you might want to improve your sales pitch or add some incentives.” Although secretly, from what she’d seen so far, it was more than enough incentive.

  Since she’d met Levi, every time she’d pulled out her toys for a little stress relief, her mind kept wandering back to that vestry in St. Dominic’s church. To Levi standing there with nothing but a shirt on. Oh, then Levi on the desk. Oh, yes. Then she’d tried to imagine what he’d look like with nothing but that tie on. Mmmm. And in a church, no less. How naughty, how hot! And yes,
yes, yes!

  As Zoe’s toy did its job, and imaginary Levi did his, she got closer, and closer, and then … it simply stopped. Her vibrator remained full of energy, yet she was the one who kept fizzling out.

  It had been like that for the last week. It was unheard of. It had never happened to her before. Hell, considering her sexual appetite, she wouldn’t have thought it possible.

  Of course, she’d tried to imagine something else, anyone else. She’d even blown through her Pure Pleasure porn collection. But every time she got close, it was Levi’s face that kept popping back into her head.

  It’s just curiosity, she told herself. She wondered what he’d done to deserve that red lipstick kiss, what he’d been doing all night that kept him up so late. And what was under that shirt?

  If she could only satisfy her curiosity, she was sure she’d get her mojo back. What would he do if she asked him to simply whip it out? A slow smile crept across her lips.

  Obviously she’d been staring at him too long because he stood up and walked over, as though she were giving him “come-hither” eyes. Or maybe it was because she’d been staring at his crotch.

  “We could always team up,” he suggested. “I can sing romantic songs while you go through your sales pitch. Like background music. It will really put the customers in the moment, you know?”

  Perching on the edge of her table, all dramatic-like, he played a couple of riffs while making some nonsensical warbling noises with his deep voice. He gave her a goofy grin.

  She shoved him off the table but found herself laughing at the image of him serenading her clients. “You can definitely stay out of my moment.”

  Wandering behind her table, he popped the top hat off the mannequin’s head and slipped it on his own. “Why are you so worried, anyway?”

  “I’m not worried. Everything will go perfectly.” She snatched the hat off his head, placing it back on her groom. “I’m prepared, I’m confident, and my reputation is known throughout the city—despite the wedding from hell last weekend,” she added. “The expo is going to be an absolute success for my business.”

  “Then why do you need all the stuff?”

  Zoe groaned and flopped into her chair just as a voice boomed overhead through the speaker system.

  “Attention. The doors will be opening in five minutes.”

  “What are you really doing here, anyway?” she asked Levi.

  “It’s lovely to see you again too,” he said, and his pleasant smile supported that claim.

  “It’s always lovely to see me,” she informed him. “But what are you doing here?”

  “I’m a musician. I do a lot of wedding gigs. It’s my bread and butter. You know, until I make it big,” he said it like it was only a matter of time.

  “Last time I checked, the organ wasn’t highly requested on the radio.”

  He grabbed the chair meant for her MIA assistant like the decision to “team up” was already made. “So you admit I can play the organ.”

  “I’ll admit you did … pretty good,” she said.

  He seemed to consider her reserved answer before nodding. “I was pretty amazing, wasn’t I?”

  Zoe laughed. Actually, he had been amazing. He’d really saved her, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. He didn’t need any more encouragement than he seemed to be finding all on his own.

  Despite her standoffishness with him, he didn’t even seem to notice. He was relentless with his flirting. Heck, he’d even signed up for the expo. And while he said it was for his own business, it was a little too coincidental that he was assigned to the table next to her.

  Okay, so maybe she’d been guilty of flirting back. But in a very dry, so-not-impressed way. Well, maybe she was impressed, a lot, but she wasn’t about to let him know that either.

  Over the years, it wasn’t like men hadn’t tried to get close to her, but they never stuck around for very long. No man had ever been able to win out against her cold shoulder. Maybe because she knew none of them could win out against her vibrator. Because what else could she need them for? Certainly not a relationship, since she was so much happier on her own.

  No more flirting, she told herself. It wouldn’t be right. She’d only be leading Levi on. Besides, once the expo weekend was over, she’d never see him or his rock-hard abs ever again.

  “You know, I find it a strange coincidence that out of all these conference rooms and halls, and the few hundred expo participants, we’re assigned to booths side by side.”

  “So weird, right? It’s like fate or something.” He batted his eyelashes at her.

  Zoe puckered her lips, thinking fate probably had nothing to do with it. She’d heard that line before too. But “fate” had never been able to beat her cold shoulder either, so she wasn’t worried.

  Before she could dig into the real reason they were neighbors, her first customer arrived. She turned with her best you-can-count-on-me smile, but it wasn’t a customer, it was her assistant. Her smile vanished, replaced by her no-nonsense business face.

  “I am so sorry I’m late,” Natalie said. “My car broke down, and I had to call to get a boost.”

  “The tow truck delivers flowers now?” Zoe asked, indicating the giant arrangement Natalie was setting in the center of the table. Right on top of her fanned out pamphlets.

  “Oh yeah. I just so happened to break down next to a flower shop, so I thought I’d get us a nice centerpiece for our booth to make it up to you.”

  “Peonies. Very nice.” Zoe did find her irritation level shrink because of the gesture.

  She spotted the business card tucked into the blooms. It was from a florist she often used on 16th Street called Pushing Daisies. However, she knew Natalie lived in North Beach. She wouldn’t have been anywhere near that florist on the way to the expo.

  Zoe figured it was none of her business how she got there, just that she was late. However, she was there now, and it wasn’t really the time to address it. Saving the rest for later, she said, “Thanks for the flowers, but next time I expect a call or text. I had enough to deal with after running into Chelsea Carruthers and Juliet Fisher.”

  Natalie blanched slightly. Her face took on that wide-eyed, groom with cold feet look, like she’d worn the day of Juliet’s wedding. She didn’t blame her assistant, because even Zoe was still having nightmares about the day. But Natalie wasn’t exactly made of the toughest stuff, either. The girl wouldn’t have lasted twenty seconds in a bouquet-toss fray.

  “Don’t worry,” Zoe told her. “Security dragged her away. But not before she managed to turn half the expo guests against me.”

  Natalie sighed with relief. “Don’t worry. There are going to be so many people coming this weekend that it won’t even matter.”

  Zoe gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks. I hope you’re right.”

  Only those in the hotel lobby had witnessed Juliet’s blow up. And it was just the first day. Within a couple of hours, the witnesses would be replaced by all-new expo guests eager for her business. Even now she could see new faces circulating around the area in time to the music from the overhead speakers, like a game of musical chairs. Someone was bound to end up in her silver bride and groom chairs.

  And just as she thought that, a woman passed by her table and curiously picked up her business card. Zoe smiled, thinking things were already turning around.

  She opened her mouth to greet the woman, but the music was suddenly interrupted, replaced by a female voice. A voice that had Zoe reaching into her purse for Darling Dolphin.

  “Testing. Testing. I have an announcement to make,” Juliet declared. “Zoe Plum is the worst wedding planner ever. She ruined my wedding day. Don’t hire her. She’s—”

  “Give me that,” a male voice demanded.

  “Hey!” she yelled.

  “Stop … Don’t.”

  There were sounds of struggling and muffled banging. A loud electronic squeal had the entire ballroom covering their ears. A bridezilla scream blasted thro
ugh the speakers, one Zoe knew all too well.

  “Ouch!” the male cried.

  Zoe’s potential customer dropped her card on the table and walked away. Finally, the air went dead—as dead as Zoe’s schedule for the upcoming season was going to be.

  5

  Leader of the Pack

  Zoe marched down an aisle suffused with the sweet scent of flowers, purposeful steps falling in time with the sounds of Prince’s Kiss. Flanked by her two besties, Piper and Addison, her confident stride held everyone’s rapt attention as she passed, because she was the woman of the hour, the star of the show. Zoe was San Francisco’s premier wedding planner, and she was planning one of the most anticipated weddings of the year: the Summers-Caldwell wedding.

  It was time to put Juliet’s botched wedding behind her. So what if everyone at the expo heard about the matrimonial mess? So what if they were avoiding her booth like that weird uncle the bride’s mom forced her to invite?

  Zoe was looking toward the future. Aiden and Piper’s specifically. Their epic wedding was going to boost her promotion power by gossip and word of mouth alone. Juliet Fisher who?

  Hands reached toward Zoe as she passed each vendor’s stall, thrusting Venetian veils, demo reception playlists, personalized place cards, and everything a wedding planner could need.

  But Zoe declined all the free swag and samples. She already had everything she needed to pull off the most legendary wedding of all time. After all, she’d practically been planning it since the day Piper met Aiden, the young CEO of Caldwell and Son Investments.

  The couple met when Aiden had bought the old Dachshund Rescue Center and Piper was still working three jobs to put herself through veterinarian school. When she’d lost two of those jobs, Aiden had offered her a position as his dog walker. And the rest was history.

  Okay, well, it hadn’t been quite that simple. But it all worked out in the end because they got a beautiful new rescue center where Piper could do surgeries and procedures on the sick pups that came in, and they were now tying the knot. It was going to be nothing short of the best for her bestie.