Chapter Nine

 

* ABBY *

 

The sun was almost completely gone behind the horizon by the time Zach and I finished combing the beach for driftwood. We’d found some good pieces, along with several stunning seashells. On the one hand, I felt like this was going to turn out to be one of the best weddings I’d ever done. The bride had asked for rustic, beachy décor, and she was definitely going to get that. I just didn’t know if she would appreciate it being quite as rustic as it was going to be.

There was nothing I could about it now, though. I’d called every wedding vendor I could think of, and none had been able to help me. It was simply too late.

But even though I was upset about the wedding and the fact that the bride and groom probably weren’t going to be recommending my services to anyone, I couldn’t be truly sad. Not when Zach had decided to stay on Driftwood Island, and had told me he loved me. I felt like I was living out a fairytale right now. It all felt too good to be true, and yet Zach was very real, and he was walking alongside me with a happy smile as we headed back to our cars.

“Wait a minute,” he said, stopping suddenly in his tracks. “The bumper sticker car is yours?”

I gulped. I’d forgotten that he’d seen my car earlier that day outside the café. That felt like a lifetime ago now. “Uh, yeah. It’s mine. Pretty fun, huh?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “You were at Julia’s café this morning.”

I nodded. “Just for a minute, to get coffee. I saw you but…I didn’t feel like saying hello then. Things were sort of awkward.”

He sighed. “I guess I understand. Did you overhear me talking to Logan?”

I nodded guiltily.

“You know that I’ve changed my mind about all that? I’ve been an idiot not to let the resort go and spend more time with family. All I ever wanted anyway was a family and time to spend with them without worrying about money.”

I smiled at him. “Hey, it’s okay. I can see you’ve changed your mind on a lot of things over the last day.” Then I grinned. “But you haven’t changed your mind on wearing the exact same shirt as always. Seriously, do you even own a different color or style of shirt?”

He looked sheepishly down at his button-down, which was an exact replica of the other two shirts I’d seen him wear before. He shrugged. “I have so many duplicates of this exact shirt. I generally just wear the same thing when I’m traveling. Makes packing and getting dressed in the morning easier. There aren’t any decisions to make—I just grab a shirt and go.”

I laughed. “Well, you’ll have to branch out a little bit now that you’re going to be an island local. People here are going to think you’re too tightly wound if you wear the same thing all the time.”

He smirked at me. “Oh really? I might be a bit tightly wound, but at least my car doesn’t have so many bumper stickers on it that you can’t even see the paint!”

I glared at him. “Excuse me, sir, but my car has personality.”

He cocked an eyebrow at me and set the driftwood he was carrying down next to my car. “Admit it, you’re a mess.”

“Nope. Not a mess. I just have personality.”

He laughed and leaned in for a kiss. “You’re a beautiful mess. And I’m a stuffy, overscheduled businessman. I’m not sure what you saw in me, but I’m grateful. And I’m going to do my best to make sure you’re always happy being mine.”

I felt myself blushing as I pulled back from his kiss. I would have loved nothing more than to forget about wedding planning and just make love to Zach right there on the beach, in the dying light. But my clients were counting on me, and besides, Zach was staying on Driftwood Island! There were going to be lots of opportunities in the future to frolic on the beach. I could hardly believe it was true, but he had assured me he was staying.

Life on Driftwood Island was going to feel even more like paradise than it already did.

“Come on,” I said, opening the trunk of my car so we could deposit our driftwood and seashells inside. “I need to get back to the resort and break the news to the bride that her rustic wedding is going to be a little more rustic than she thought.”

Zach reached over and gave my arm a gentle squeeze. “It’s all going to work out, I promise.”

I hoped he was right, but I wasn’t holding my breath. Brides weren’t known for being calm a few days before their wedding in the best of circumstances, let alone when half the wedding details had to be changed at the last minute. But I had no choice other than to face the music and hope for the best.

Here goes nothing. I hope I come out of this weekend alive.

 

* * *

 

“Are you serious?” Bruce looked at me like he was about to explode, and then looked at his fiancée, Laura, as though worried she was going to explode at him.

I took a deep breath and told myself to remain calm. “Unfortunately, yes. I tried everything I could to fix the flower and décor situation, but it’s just too late to hire someone new. I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear, but I did come up with a potential solution that I’m hoping you might like.”

I quickly explained my plan to decorate the wedding and reception locations with local driftwood, local flowers, and seashells handpicked from Driftwood Island’s beaches. For a long moment after I finished speaking, Bruce and Laura just stared at me. Bruce seemed unsure of what to say, but he looked angry. Finally, he crossed his arms and spoke in a defiant tone.

“So you’re telling me you think it’s a good idea to just DIY our wedding? This is the biggest day of our lives. It’s not some chance to test out your Pinterest skills.”

My heart sank. “I’m sorry. I promise it’s not going to be—”

“It’s perfect,” Laura interrupted me.

Bruce and I both looked at her in surprise. “What?!?” we asked in unison.

She nodded, wiping at the tears that had been filling her eyes. “It’s perfect. It’s exactly what I wanted. A simple, heartfelt wedding scheme that fits the island. I didn’t want all these trendy flowers and signs and other décor. It’s just that all of my friends told me that’s what I had to do if I wanted my wedding to be one of those big, talked-about events.”

“Laura!” I said, reaching over to grab her hand. “Your wedding should be what you want. Not what other people tell you is the latest trend.”

She sniffed and nodded. “I know. I just got overwhelmed. But what you’re talking about now sounds perfect. I trust you, Abby. Forget about all the ridiculous demands I made. Please just make it cozy and fun.”

I grinned at her. “I will. I promise. Cozy and fun I can do. You two just relax and get some rest before the big day.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as I left the meeting. I had a lot of work to do, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t afraid of hard work. And even though this wasn’t going to be a trendy wedding that the magazines would eat up, it was going to be exactly what Laura wanted. And that was all that mattered.

At the end of the day, my job was about making sure true love was celebrated in the most authentic way possible. And I had a feeling that this was going to be one of my most authentic weddings yet. I could hardly wait to call Zach and tell him the good news. Maybe one day, he and I would be planning our own special day.

I couldn’t help smiling, even though I knew I was getting ahead of myself. I had a feeling that my favorite wedding to plan was going to be my own—and that the groom was going to be a very handsome billionaire named Zach Evans.