Dean stepped behind the bar, grabbed a pint glass, and proceeded to fill it with ice, lemon-lime soda, and then the tiniest splash of grenadine. Her favorite, and she couldn’t help melting inside that he always remembered. She couldn’t decide if it was a good sign or not. He slid it across the bar to her and then angled his head toward the little break room. Suddenly panicked, Charlotte dug in the bottom of her bag for a piece of gum and stuffed it into her mouth.
Dean stepped into the room and held the door open for Charlotte. She followed and then turned to face him, her heart pounding in her chest.
But instead of walking toward her, he headed for the sofa. “Have a seat.”
“Oh, okay.” She did just that, and when she sat down, he took the sofa across from her.
Ouch. Definitely not a good sign. Was he … mad at her? First she’d embarrassed him with the sexy photos, and then she’d just now crossed the line with the jealousy comment. Oh shit. He was totally going to confront her about it.
“So, first I should apologize for what I said out there. That was so completely inappropriate and I should have known better,” she blurted.
Dean froze, his eyes meeting hers. “What are you talking about?”
“When I said you should stop making me jealous. I was out of line and I—”
Dean began to chuckle. “Did you think that’s what I brought you in here to say?”
Charlotte exhaled, relief washing over her. “Yes. I did.”
He grinned. “Charlotte, I’m going to be the one to cross the line here when I say … my … inappropriate conversations with you are my favorite thing about working weddings here.”
“They are?” she asked with a smile.
“They are. In fact, I probably like them a little too much.”
Okay. That wasn’t great. So, while it was a relief he hadn’t brought her to this room to confront her, it also sucked he hadn’t brought her here to make out. “Then what did you need to talk to me about?”
He reached up and scratched at the back of his neck before leaning his elbows on his knees. “It’s actually something I need to ask you.”
A wedding party of butterflies came to life in her stomach. “Oh? Okay, shoot.”
“You might recall last weekend I mentioned my sister was engaged.”
Charlotte’s happiness deflated a bit. If all he needed was to hire her for photos, such a production hadn’t really been necessary. It was what she did for a living, for goodness’ sake. “Of course. So do you need a photographer?”
“Well, yes. But I need more than that.”
“Oh? Well, I’m afraid my skills beyond that are incredibly limited. Unless you want me to enter a wedding cake-eating contest. I could probably help you there.”
Dean chuckled and she preened under his genuinely appreciative gaze. She loved making him laugh.
“Well, there is a possibility that eating cake would be required. You see, my sister’s re-enlisted and will be going to Italy after her two-week leave in July.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I know you were eager to have her home. But Italy, wow. That’s exciting.”
“Yes, it is. At least they’re excited. Anyway, she still wants to get married when she and Nate are home. And … well … she’s asked me to plan her wedding so she can basically just show up and tie the knot.”
Charlotte’s eyes went wide. She knew how much work went into planning a wedding. “You? Will your mother not do it?”
“She would have, but my mother and Alex’s father passed away several years ago.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Dean. I didn’t know.”
“Thanks, but like I said, it was years ago. A small-plane accident.”
“That’s awful.” She didn’t know what to say, but felt like she should acknowledge this tragedy. “Even if it was a long time ago, some parts of you never heal completely.” She gave him a small smile as he studied her intently. Would he ask her who she’d lost? Would she be honest if he did? The thought that she might want to share scared her a bit because she’d never shared it with anyone. Not friends, not even her own mother.
“That is true, yes, but I still have my dad. Alex … she lost everyone.”
“She lost her parents, but she obviously still has you. You’re pretty great.”
He gave her a sad smile, which Charlotte reciprocated. She desperately wanted to move to his sofa, put a hand on his shoulder, wrap her arm around him. But she stayed put. She’d wanted to come in here and kiss him, but in a small way she was more grateful for this moment of intimacy. It suddenly occurred to her that she had a very surface relationship with the man she’d crushed on for so long.
“So I guess you agreed to plan her wedding then?” Charlotte asked, sitting up straight, trying to ease them out of the deepness they’d found themselves in. Because while she was appreciating their newfound connection, she couldn’t tell if he was.
“I did. Alex is much younger than I am. I practically raised her after the accident, so … you were right when you said she has me. But Nate’s family is in Georgia. So basically … I need help.”
He stared right at her, and there was a certain pleading in his eyes that she couldn’t look away from. That was when she caught on. “You’re asking me to help you plan your sister’s wedding?”
An almost pained expression crossed his face, and he cursed under his breath. “Hearing it out loud, I realize what a stupid thing that is to ask of you. I just thought … I don’t know. I enjoy your company and I just need a woman’s perspective, I guess.”
Charlotte’s lips twitched. He was so adorably disconcerted right now. She’d never seen him this way. “I am a woman,” she teased, happy when he smiled and appeared to relax.
“Yes … you definitely are.” The warmth of his words, and the way his eyes drank her in, made her inner butterflies spring back to life.
“And I do know quite a bit about weddings.” She left off but I hate them at the end of that sentence. Not necessarily a selling point under the circumstances, because although she thought marriage was overrated, the opportunity of working alongside Dean was too great to pass up.
“That’s what I was thinking, too.” He smiled, his voice turning playful. “Your expertise would be very appreciated.”
“Hmmm,” she said. In her heart, she already knew she was going to say yes. This was Dean. But her one concern was her lack of time to devote to such a project. She was already stretched thin between weddings, countless hours of editing, and of course trying to promote her other shoots …
And that was when the most brilliant idea popped into her head. It was almost too perfect. If she could convince him of the same it would be anyway. Spending a few months overworked and exhausted would be worth it.
“So, I just thought it over,” she said with a head tilt.
“Are you sure? You can let me know—”
“I’ll help you plan your sister’s wedding, but you have to do something for me.”
He sat up, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “Of course. Anything.”
“Anything? Even if it might make you uncomfortable?” She smiled and lifted an eyebrow. “And required you to take your shirt off?”
The shocked look of understanding on his face made her laugh. “Did it just come to you?”
“I hope I’m wrong, Charlotte.” His voice was wary.
“Oh, come on, Dean. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen you shirtless, but I have a feeling that Jen was right, you would be good at it.”
“Oh shit.” His large manly hand scrubbed down the length of his face and then lingered on his chin for a long moment. Finally, his eyes homed back in on hers. “You’re serious about this.”
“I’ve never been more serious in my life.” Or more excited, she realized. Her heart pounded and her mind began processing all of the possibilities. Please say yes.
He quickly stood up and walked slowly toward the far end of the room. Then back. He sighed and eyed her again, his hands settling on h
is perfect hips. He was truly contemplating doing this for her. Which meant his sister’s happiness must really be important to him. All the better for Charlotte. And some lucky book cover, of course.
“You promise there’s no nudity.”
“Only if you want to,” she said, laughing when his eyes bugged out. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. No, no nudity. Promise.”
“So you’ve never taken photos of a guy naked?” The tone of his question implied that the answer was important to him. She wondered why.
“No. Never.”
His shoulders sagged a bit. He nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
Charlotte gasped and stood up also. “Seriously?”
She was almost embarrassed about her shrill reaction but he seemed to enjoy her enthusiasm, an embarrassed smile showing on his face. The truth was she probably would have helped him no matter what. Saying no to a request from Dean would have been almost impossible for her, but this was hitting the jackpot.
“You do know you’ll probably be regretting this once it happens,” he said.
“Not a chance, pal. I’m ready to compare your real naked torso to the one in my fantasies.”
A low groan emitted from his chest, and he smiled down at the floor. “You tease me too damn much, Charlotte.”
If he only knew all the ways she wanted to tease him. “You want me to stop?”
His eyes met hers and it appeared he was actually considering his answer, but he finally replied, “Absolutely not.”
Five
Tuesday morning Charlotte parallel-parked alongside the downtown square and walked across the small section of park green to the Stag. It was a beautiful early-May morning, warm enough to finally show some skin so she’d taken advantage, choosing her favorite chambray shirt-dress and yellow crocheted ballet flats. She’d decided to wear her hair down after it occurred to her this morning that Dean had probably never seen it that way. For weddings she preferred it off her face so she usually styled it in a ponytail or bun.
It was still bizarre to think about what she was doing coming here so early. She was going to plan a wedding with Dean Troyer.
The past three days she’d worked the idea over and over in her head and it surprised her—the hater of weddings—how much she’d enjoyed coming up with ideas, imagining color palettes and reception décor. It was probably because she’d seen so many weddings, and it was nice to put those ideas into practice. She was a creative and motivated person, so it made sense that the idea of implementing her skills was what had her excited.
She waved to an oncoming car that gave her the right-of-way and crossed the street. As she made her way up to the Stag building, she glanced up to the symbol etched in stone above her head. The Freemason emblem. It always seemed rather fitting that a former Masonic lodge building was now occupied by three strapping men.
Charlotte stepped inside and was instantly greeted by the scent of baking bread. She knew that meant it must be vodka day, which was made out of 100 percent wheat at the Stag.
Surprised to find the front desk empty on a weekday morning, Charlotte walked over anyway to wait for a moment. She quickly spotted a note on the counter with her name.
Charlotte—Text me when you get here. Dean
His phone number followed so Charlotte did as he instructed and pulled out her phone to shoot off a message stating that she was waiting in the lobby.
She lifted her heavy bag onto a small sofa and stared out the window while she waited for him. Looking around, she considered that she’d never been to the building this early. The sunlight filtered into the windows so beautifully. It would be a wonderful place to shoot an engagement session this time of day.
The thought made her think of her upcoming shoot with Dean. She was so looking forward to it and couldn’t decide which concept she should use him for. So many great choices came to mind. Football player? Firemen? Fighter? Good Lord, the thought of any one of those scenarios sounded insanely hot, and she didn’t want to waste this opportunity.
“Hey you,” a sexy familiar voice said behind her a moment later.
Charlotte turned, unable to conceal the easy smile that spread across her face. Goodness, he was a handsome man. Today he was in jeans, this time with a gray polo-style shirt.
“Sorry, I was in the back building. You look amazing today,” he said quietly. It was obvious he hadn’t wanted anyone to hear, although as far as Charlotte could tell they were alone.
“Thank you.” Charlotte tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. “You’re just used to seeing me on wedding days when I look ragged.”
“Maybe, but you always manage to make ragged look beautiful.”
“Well, thank you.”
He gave her a wink. “Follow me.”
She leaned down to grab the strap of her bag just as a large hand slid against hers. “Let me get this. Looks heavy.” He lifted with a mock grunt. “It is heavy. What the hell do you have in here?”
She followed him through the first floor to the offices on the left side of the building. “I went ahead and picked us up some bridal magazines. I also had a couple of books and some pamphlets that were lying around my office.”
Dean led them into a small conference-style room. A table for eight people sat in the middle. The room was flooded with warm light from the windows that ran along the top of the left wall.
“Does Tara have the day off?” Charlotte inquired. She enjoyed working with Tara although it was usually over the phone, but she’d been one of Charlotte’s brides many years ago, and she was very excited—if not a wee bit envious—of her pregnancy.
Dean set her bag down with a heavy sigh. “I wish. Apparently, she’s developed pre … uh…”
Charlotte’s eyes widened. “Preeclampsia?” Dean nodded and she gasped. It broke her heart every time she heard of any woman having complications with her pregnancy. Hit way too close to home. “Oh no, that’s so awful. So she had to take some time off early, I assume.”
“Yeah, I’m afraid she won’t be back until after her maternity leave this fall. Part of the reason why I bartered for your services.”
“We were supposed to do her maternity shoot before too long. I should call and check on her. That is nothing to play around with. A friend of mine ended up in the hospital for the last two months of her pregnancy.”
Dean’s eyes widened at that. Charlotte knew the guys had a great relationship with Tara and were probably worried.
“Ben will baby her, I’m sure. So will her mother. But in the meantime we are sort of fending for ourselves where the wedding side of our business is concerned. TJ has taken over most of her work, leaving me to deal with the distilling alone … and my sister’s wedding. As I explained Saturday night.”
Charlotte smiled. “I’ve already said yes, Dean. You don’t have to convince me I’m needed. I’m here.”
He sighed. “And I’m so grateful, I want you to know that. I still can’t believe I’m doing this.” He ran a hand through his hair and stared at the bridal magazines Charlotte pulled from her bag and arranged on the table.
“But it’s such a nice thing you’re doing. Obviously your sister trusts you. So many important and personal decisions to make. Every bride wants her day to be just right. Perfect.”
“You’re making me even more nervous, Charlotte.” His smile did little to hide the panic in his eyes. She needed to reassure him.
“I’m sorry, I mean, she’s trusted the right person. You, her brother. And now you’re trusting the right person. Me. This will be great.”
“Have you ever planned a wedding before?” Dean asked.
Oh shit. This question could be handled one of two ways. She could just be honest. Admit that, yes, she had in fact planned a wedding before. A beautiful affair to which she’d invited 150 people, paid many deposits, and ended up the fool of the century when her fiancé realized she wasn’t the one. Or she could just lie.
She met Dean’s eyes. His expression was wary and waiting, one
eyebrow up, revealing that he wasn’t sure why this was a difficult answer for her.
“Um, yes. I have planned a wedding before.” She smiled and pulled out a chair. Maybe he’d leave it at that. Guys didn’t usually want meaningless conversation, so they rarely probed for more. Charlotte reached into her bag and pulled out the fresh notebook she’d bought yesterday. Every new project required one.
“Whose wedding did you plan?” Dean sat down right next to her, and she could sense his eyes on the side of her face. He’d opened up a bit about himself the other night. If she liked this man, she owed him the same.
She turned and looked him right in the eye. “Mine.”
His eyes widened, his gaze darting to her left hand. “You’re married?”
Charlotte shook her head. “No. Definitely not, but I … almost was.” She pulled out the next magazine and slid it across the table in front of him as if to bring his attention back to the task at hand.
“Almost?” He scooted closer, obviously not ready to abandon the discussion. “So … what happened?”
“It’s kind of personal,” she said, trying for coy, but fearing it came out bitchier.
She was sure that indeed it had when his head jerked back a little in surprise. “You’re right, I apologize. I’m prying. Honestly, I just can’t imagine anyone having the chance to marry you and not taking it.”
Her cheeks flushed at that. She glanced over at him. “Thank you. But crazy things happen every day. It’s not really something I like to talk about.”
“I understand. I guess I should ’fess up, too. I was married. Divorced now.”
“You were?” That surprised her. “I had no idea. I can’t imagine anyone being married to you and letting you go.” She countered his previous comment with a little smile.
He chuckled. “Thank you for that, but like you said, crazy things happen. To all of us, apparently.”
Damn, now she was curious. When was he married? How long? What happened? But she couldn’t pry herself when she’d just made it clear that she didn’t welcome him doing the same.
“Well then, I guess I was right. We are the right people for the job, since between us we have a little experience with weddings. Surely the two of us losers can give someone else a happily-ever-after.”
Maybe I Do Page 5
