Glam Squad & Groomsmen
Samantha Chase
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
Where did the Enchanted Bridal series begin?
The Wedding Season
Prologue
Chapter One
Also by Samantha Chase
About Samantha Chase
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
* * *
Copyright © 2018 by Samantha Chase. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means.
Chapter One
Friday nights at Enchanted Bridal were always crazy, but this was the first time that Penny Blake found herself literally running from the room.
“Oof!”
“You okay?”
Looking up, she saw one of her bosses – Angie – standing in front of her.
“Oh, God…sorry,” she murmured. When Angie didn’t say anything and just continued to study her, Penny knew she needed to explain herself. “I…I um…I just needed to…”
“Pee? Do you need to get to the bathroom?”
“What?” Penny croaked slightly and then immediately cleared her throat. “Um…I mean, no. No, I don’t need to use the restroom.”
One perfectly-shaped brow arched at her. “What’s going on? Is something wrong? Did someone say something to upset you?”
Knowing there was no way to avoid this conversation, she let out a weary sigh. “You see that woman over there?” She motioned over her shoulder. “Long black hair, black skinny jeans, ivory sweater?”
Angie nodded.
“See the guy with her?”
Angie’s eyes widened for a moment before she gave a knowing smile. “The sexy, nerdy guy? Sure. What’s up? Is he an ex?”
Penny nodded.
“Damn. Now that is a shame because he’s really…”
“Yeah, I know. Trust me.”
“So he’s here with his fiancée and you’d rather not see him. Got it,” Angie said with a quick nod.
“Actually, that’s his sister. We used to be friends,” Penny said quietly even as she was eyeing the door to the dressing room. Tonight was one of Enchanted Bridal’s weekly fashion shows and she was wearing a wedding gown – so even if it wasn’t horrifying enough running into your ex-boyfriend, the whole looking-like-a-bride thing just made it even more awkward.
“Used to be? What happened?” Then Angie gasped. “Did she stop being your friend because you broke up with her brother? Was she pissed? Did she hate the two of you dating? Oh my gosh, I know what that’s like. I dated a friend’s brother and she did not like it one bit. We stopped talking. I wonder whatever happened to her…”
Clearly she wasn’t going to make the quick getaway she’d been hoping for.
“Eva never had a problem with Spencer and I dating. But over the years we just…I don’t know…drifted apart. I think things were a little awkward for a while, but we got over it.”
“And the whole drifting apart thing…?” Angie prompted.
Penny stared longingly at the exit and wished she had simply kept walking and let her boss follow her. Now she was stuck in a conversation she’d rather not have, all the while hoping Eva and Spencer didn’t see her.
Angie glanced over Penny’s shoulder. “So you really need to just go and hide out for a few, right?”
Penny nodded. “If that’s all right. I hate being a coward or shirking my responsibilities, but if I could just have a few minutes to…”
“Penny? Is that you?”
Angie’s face mirrored her own. A little shock, a little uh-oh.
But then she grinned. And if Penny didn’t like her so much she’d smack her because she had a feeling her boss knew exactly what was going to happen and purposely kept her from hiding.
Dammit.
Turning, Penny forced a smile on her face even as her heart kicked hard in her chest.
“I’m going to want details,” Angie whispered so only Penny could hear right before she walked away.
“Oh, my God! It is you! Hi!” Eva cried as she grabbed Penny in a fierce hug. “We saw you up on the stage and I couldn’t believe it was you!” Another tight squeeze. “It’s been years! Way too long!”
“Uh-huh,” Penny murmured, on the verge of gasping for air.
“What are the odds of running into you here? Oh my gosh!” And yet another tight squeeze.
Luckily, she wasn’t facing Spencer so she had a minute to collect herself and prepare for all the crazy feelings she got whenever he was near.
“Hey, Eva,” Penny said as they finally pulled apart. “It’s good to see you. How are you?”
“I’m good, I’m good! And I’m engaged!” she cried as she held up her left hand.
“Congratulations! When’s the big day?”
“Sooner than I planned,” Eva admitted. “Brett’s a Marine and he’s shipping out in three months so we moved up our wedding date. I’m hoping to find something off-the-rack that I love and be able to have a somewhat normal wedding.”
“I’m sure you’ll find something here,” Penny said pleasantly, still carefully averting her eyes from Spencer’s. “We have a large inventory for you to choose from and we do all of the alterations here on site so you won’t have to worry.”
“So you work here as a model?” she asked.
“Just on Fridays,” Penny replied and when Eva didn’t comment, she figured she needed to clarify more. “During the week I’m an assistant manager of the dress shop and then I help out with our weekly fashion shows.”
“That is so cool! It’s like getting to play dress up all the time – like we used to when we were kids, remember?”
Just keep smiling, just keep smiling…
With a soft laugh, she said, “I do.”
Crap. Had she really just said “I do” while wearing a wedding gown?
It was during one of those games of dress up that Spencer had first kissed her. She was six, he was eight and Eva had conned him into being the groom for their pretend wedding game. And ever since then, she’d been hooked.
On Spencer, not playing dress up.
“Hey, Penny.” As if sensing her wayward thoughts, Spencer finally spoke.
Making sure she didn’t show too much of a reaction, she turned to him and smiled. “Hey, Spencer. How are you?”
And damn. It was like a sucker punch to the gut just like it always was. He always had been her ideal man. Sandy brown hair, clear blue eyes and he still wore those wire-rimmed glasses that just totally worked for him.
She had to fight to keep herself from sighing dreamily.
“I’m fine,” he said, smiling slowly. When it broadened, it brought out his dimples and Penny had to force her attention back to Eva.
“If you’d like, I can introduce you to the owners and they can set up an appointment for you to come in and try on gowns. There isn’t a huge crowd tonight, so you might even be able to look at some now – if you have time, that is.”
Eva let out a little squeal of delight. “We totally do! Right, Spence?” Then she looked at Penny again. “My poor brother drew the short straw tonight to come with me. He’s only in town for a short time but no one else could come with me to the show so I convinced him it would be fun.”
Spencer chuckled before adding, “S
he sweetened the deal by paying for dinner, so…”
Unable to help herself, Penny laughed with him. “You should definitely get the good brother award – especially if she starts shopping now.”
Just then, one of Penny’s other bosses walked over. “Hey, Hailey!” Penny said, getting her attention. “This is Eva and she is a bride with a short timeline. Any chance we have some time for her to look at our inventory tonight and then get an appointment?”
With the serene smile Hailey was known for, she introduced herself and replied, “Of course! Eva, why don’t you come with me and we can talk about what you’re looking for?”
And just like that, Penny was standing alone with Spencer.
While wearing a wedding gown.
And feeling kind of foolish about it.
“So…” he began.
“Um…yeah…so…”
“You look great,” he said.
“It’s the gown,” she said, blushing.
But Spencer shook his head. “No. It’s not the gown.”
Damn. And just like that her knees were turning to jelly at his words. She was about to thank him when someone called her name. Looking over her shoulder, boss number three – Becca – was waving to her.
“I’m sorry but I need to go,” she said quietly. “It looks like someone’s interested in this gown.”
The disappointment on his face was clear, but he didn’t say anything. He merely tucked his hands into his pockets and nodded.
“It was good to see you, Spencer.”
“You too.”
And as she turned and walked away, Penny realized she didn’t feel the relief quite like she thought she would.
Penny Blake.
Damn.
Spencer watched her walk away and wondered why he didn’t stop her and at least ask for her number or if she’d like to get a cup of coffee sometime. Then he sighed. You’d think after knowing each other for twenty years and three breakups that this wouldn’t be such a big deal.
But it was.
You didn’t forget a girl like Penny.
Ever.
Looking around the massive showroom, he wondered what he was supposed to do with himself. He hadn’t paid attention to where his sister had gone off to and now he felt a little foolish standing alone in the middle of the room. He walked toward the main door and then made his way toward the dress shop. If she was looking at gowns, that would be where she was, he imagined. He walked by a tuxedo shop, a flower shop, a photography studio, and a small coffee shop. Pausing, he looked around and realized that almost all of the shops were wedding-related.
Who knew there was even such a thing as a bridal mall?
Sure enough, he spotted his sister talking to Hailey in the bridal shop. She smiled when she spotted him and then looked at him curiously.
“What?” he asked. “What’s the matter?”
“Where’s Penny?”
He shrugged. “She had to get back to work, I guess. Someone called her over and she had to go.”
Eva frowned a little. “Well damn.”
“You know Penny?” Hailey asked. “I just thought you were asking her about her dress when I walked over.” She was a very sophisticated looking woman – blonde hair done up in some sort of sleek style and dressed in a stylish suit.
“We do!” Eva said a little too enthusiastically. “We’ve been friends practically since kindergarten, but we’d lost track of each other years ago. I was so excited to see her here tonight.” Then she smiled at Spencer. “Admit it, you were too.”
What was he supposed to say to that? Especially here with an audience. There was the urge to roll his eyes at his sister’s giddy tone, but he opted to reel it in. Luckily, he was spared from having to make a comment when Hailey spoke.
“Penny’s amazing. She’s my right-hand girl.” Then she turned to Spencer. “We haven’t been properly introduced. Hi, I’m Hailey.”
He shook her hand. “Spencer Buchanan. Eva’s brother.”
Hailey smiled brightly. “Aren’t you sweet for helping your sister out!”
He actually felt himself blush. “Yeah. That’s me. Sweet,” he said with a low chuckle.
“He’s the best,” Eva chimed in. “Seriously, I had no one to come with me tonight and Spencer took one for the team.”
Hailey looked at her quizzically.
“Well, Brett can’t come with me, now can he? And Mom is working the night shift at the hospital. Dad says he’s writing the check for everything so that means he doesn’t have to shop,” she explained with a small laugh. Looking at Spencer, she smiled sweetly before adding, “That just left you.”
“Somehow I doubt that. You probably had a ton of people to come with you. Bridesmaids or something,” he replied. “You just wanted an excuse to torture me.”
“That’s just a perk,” Eva said sassily before turning back to Hailey. “When is a good time to come in and try on gowns? And tuxes!” she quickly added. “The guys are going to need tuxes too!”
Spencer groaned. Wasn’t it enough that he was here tonight? Why did this have to get dragged into more outings to the wedding mall?
“If you saw any tuxedos that you liked tonight at the show, I can write them down and when you’re ready, we’ll let the sales staff in the tux shop know and have them pulled for you.”
“I didn’t even think to look at them,” Eva said with a pout. Then she looked at her brother. “Can you go and take a quick look, Spence? See if anyone’s still walking around in the showroom? I totally trust your judgement.”
The groan was louder this time. “Eva, I have no idea what I’m supposed to be looking for,” he protested. “And really, isn’t this something Brett should be doing? After all, he is the groom.”
“I know that, but if you help us get a head start, it would really save time. And you know you’re going to be one of the groomsmen so go. Please? Please just go and look and maybe get some information? I’m going to be at least another fifteen minutes with Hailey,” she went on. “Maybe flag down Penny and see if she can help you.”
Ah. Now he realized what his sister was doing and he had to admit, he kind of approved.
Not that he was going to tell her that.
Instead he let out a sigh of agitation, looked at his watch and then glared at her. “You said this wasn’t going to be an all-night thing.”
Good, she clearly believed him because she looked a little crestfallen at his lack of enthusiasm.
He let out another sigh for good measure and then said, “Fine. But fifteen minutes, Eva.” And as he turned and walked away he added, “And then you’re going to owe me dessert!”
Even though his words sounded firm, he was grinning. With a little pep in his step, Spencer headed back to the showroom and at the entrance he quickly scanned the room. He spotted Penny easily enough – her long wavy red hair tended to stand out no matter what – and for a minute all he could do was take in how beautiful she was.
Still.
They had often joked that when he’d kissed her as her pretend groom when she was six that they had sealed their fate.
And right now, he kind of believed it.
Because all he wanted to do was walk over to her in her wedding gown, kiss her and make her his. For good this time.
Whoa…that was a big decision to make after only seeing her again for three minutes!
“Can I help you with something?”
Spencer blinked and looked at the woman standing in front of him. She was the same one Penny had been talking to earlier when he and Eva approached her.
“Um…my sister sent me back in here to look at tuxes but…”
She smiled. “You have no idea what you’re supposed to look for, right?”
He nodded.
“I’m Angie,” she said with a smile. She was tall and had a mass of dark curly hair and a southern twang. He had a feeling she’d be able to not only help him find a tux, but kick his ass if he got out of line. She just had that sort of
presence about her.
Intimidating.
“Spencer,” he replied. “It looks like a lot of the models have already cleared out so…”
“Hang on. There are still a few and maybe I can flag down one of the guys to help you.” She looked around the room and then said, “Follow me.”
It didn’t take long for him to realize they were heading toward Penny and he said a silent prayer of thanks for whatever luck happened to be on his side tonight.
“Penny,” Angie said when they got closer, “Spencer needs help looking at some tuxes. I think Martin’s gone home already because he has a sick kid. You’ve done some temping for them. Any chance you could help him out?”
It was funny how Spencer could almost hear what Penny was thinking – how this was definitely not something she wanted to do. At all. But her smile never fell. He had to hand her that. But right now, he was kind of thankful that she was being put on the spot and didn’t seem to be able to say no.
“Um…sure. No problem,” she said pleasantly. Then she looked at Spencer. “Does Eva know what she’s looking for?”
“Not at all,” he said with a small laugh. “I think she just wanted time to look at dresses without me hovering and looking at my watch.”
“Have a good night,” Angie said with a grin and a wave as she walked away.
There was a bit of an awkward moment as they both just looked at each other and if it were up to him, he’d keep looking at those blue eyes all night.
“So…um…” he began and then realized he had no idea what else he was going to say. They stood there in awkward silence for a long moment.
“Tuxes,” Penny finally blurted out. “Um…” Then she looked down at herself and shook her head. “Kind of wish I wasn’t still walking around in this.”
Rather than agree or disagree, he held out his arm to her and said, “Come on. I may be dressed casually, but I think I can help you maneuver around like any of these guys in their fancy suits,” he teased.
Glam Squad & Groomsmen Page 1
