Holly was at the reception venue by seven Saturday morning, setting out the centerpieces of rosebuds—which she hoped would be semi-open by tonight—and hanging the twinkling lights and decorations she’d prepared.
By noon, she was changed and at the church, making sure she was there before anyone else had arrived. She made a pass through the church sanctuary, making sure the flowers were all in place, then greeted the bride and her family when they arrived a half hour later. The wedding was at five, but there was a full schedule with hairdressers and makeup artists arriving to do the wedding party’s hair and makeup, then photos.
By the time the wedding started, she’d defused two crises—the first was a salad-dressing stain on a bridesmaid’s pale pink dress that Holly fixed with a stain remover she had in an emergency basket, and the second was a lost bow tie of one of the groomsmen. Holly took a bow tie from one of the ushers and replaced it with an almost identical black tie from the same basket. Once everyone was up at the altar and the service was going as planned, Holly took a moment to catch her breath.
The first half of the day was a success; now to make sure the second went just as well.
The reception was held at a local hotel. The DJ had arrived and set up, the hotel restaurant staff had everything ready for the cocktail reception, the cake was in place. Now that the candles on the tables were lit—thanks to the bride’s cousins—and the twinkling lights were on, the banquet hall was more beautiful than she’d dreamed.
The wedding guests trickled in slowly at first, then in groups, getting drinks from the bar and finding seats at the open-seating tables. Holly was about to head to the back entrance to greet the wedding party when she saw him, her heart leaping into her throat.
Kevin stood with two friends—Matt and a man she hadn’t met—looking more handsome than she’d ever seen him in his pale blue shirt and red tie. His friends provided competition in the looks department, but her eyes were on him. But he’d captured the attention of another woman, too. Her hand rested on one of his biceps, and the smile on his face let Holly know he didn’t seem to mind the contact.
She spun around, her back to him as she tried to calm her already strained nerves. What was Kevin doing here? She’d seen the guest list and the name Vandemeer would have jumped out at her even before she’d met him.
Why was she surprised he was hanging out with a woman? A gorgeous one at that. Was she his date? She sneaked a look back over her shoulder to confirm her first impression. Yep, gorgeous. Tall, thin, long dark hair, and eyes only for him. All three men’s eyes were glued to her.
Embarrassment washed through Holly, hot and cloying. She’d been such a fool. How in the world had she thought she could compete with someone like that?
“Holly?” The aunt of the bride shook Holly out of her reverie. “Michelle and Ken have arrived.”
Holly forced a smile. She needed to get a grip. She’d never had Kevin Vandemeer to begin with. So why did it feel like she’d lost him?
She greeted the wedding party, fluffing Michelle’s dress and touching up her makeup, as well as those of the maid of honor and the bridesmaids, then gave the DJ the signal to introduce the wedding party.
The bride and groom had decided to do something fun by dancing into the room to a popular upbeat song. The DJ started the song on cue just like they’d planned, and the entrance not only went according to plan, but it also started the reception off with a ton of energy, setting the stage for a fun-filled night.
Half the room joined the floor on the next dance, flooding Holly with relief. Her plan had worked, justifying the large dance floor. She couldn’t help that part of her relief was from spotting Kevin at a table with his two friends, the woman from before nowhere in sight.
The plan had been to let the party kick into gear, start the buffet, more dancing, cut the cake, then back to dancing. Holly was examining the cake table, trying to avoid the groom’s obnoxious brother, who couldn’t take the hint that she wasn’t interested, when she heard a voice behind her.
“Can I have this dance?”
Her breath caught and she turned around to face Kevin. She wasn’t prepared to be this close to him, especially with how handsome he looked and how amazing he smelled. It simply wasn’t fair that her heart had begun to get attached to him. Because, looking up into his warm brown eyes, she knew there was no denying it.
She was falling for Kevin Vandemeer.
He lifted his hand and then stopped midair and lowered it, as though he realized what he was doing.
She forced a smile. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. And besides, I’m working.”
“You’re not here as a guest?” he asked in surprise.
“Nope. This was my wedding.” She shook her head, feeling flustered this close to him after what they’d done the last time she’d seen him. “I mean, I’m Michelle’s wedding planner.”
“You planned this?” He glanced around the room, awe in his eyes. “I have to say, I usually hate receptions, but this one has been fun.”
“Thanks.” She had to bite her tongue to stop from asking if the woman who had draped herself on him had helped make this one fun. She was jealous. But she could hardly stand the thought of him talking to a beautiful woman, let alone dating one—both feelings she had no right to.
“Surely you can still dance with me.”
She shook her head, trying to rein in her emotions. “The bride and groom are about to cut the cake. I’m making sure everything’s ready.” Then she added, “But I couldn’t dance with you anyway. I’m working. Your mother would never approve.”
She wasn’t sure why she’d added the part about his mother. Maybe as a reminder to herself as to why she wasn’t with him.
He cringed at the reminder of his mother, but then he graced her with his sexy grin. Damn him. “But I was going to tell you if Whiskers was a Mr. or a Mrs. I never got a chance to tell you on Thursday.”
Before Matt had walked in on them.
Humiliation washed through her again, but he stood there looking sexy and confident, like he was used to being caught in the throes of passion.
Oh, God. What if he was?
But she needed to pull herself together. And she really wanted to know. “He can’t be a Mrs. for several reasons. One, he’s a boy.” She ticked off her fingers. “Two, if he were a she, she would have to be married and he is very much single, and, three, he’s much too young to consider marriage anyway.” She lowered her hand, her breath catching when she saw the grin in his eyes. “So tell me that I’m right.”
“Nope. Dance first.”
She put her hand on her hip, amazed that she could fall into this playful side with him when she felt sad. “That wasn’t the agreement, Kevin Vandemeer. We had a bet. You need to tell me if I’m right.”
“We never worked out the details of the bet.” He laughed. “A little late for that now.”
“Ha!” she said, pointing her finger at him. “You won’t do it because you know I’m right.”
“You’re much too confident.” He grabbed her finger with one hand, the other resting lightly on her hip. The contact sent a jolt of electricity skating across her skin.
“A bet’s a bet,” she said, trying to kick-start her brain cells into working again instead of letting her hormones take over. “Even if you already know the answer.”
He cocked his head to the side, his gaze sliding from her eyes down to her collarbone. She suspected that if she’d shown any cleavage it would have continued south.
“Actually I don’t know,” he said, his attention still on her neck. “The answer is in a sealed envelope.”
“What?” she asked, sure she’d misunderstood.
His eyes lit up as he returned his attention to her face. “I thought we should find out together.” He winked. “So when I find out I’m right, I can truly enjoy every moment of my gloating.”
Her chest warmed and her giddiness caught her off guard. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this happy over nothing. But it wasn’t nothing. He’d gone out of his way to do this for her. Why? “So open the envelope.” The words sounded breathless.
“Not yet. When we’re alone.” While his voice was slightly husky, his face remained neutral. “Later.”
“Later,” she whispered. What was she doing?
His hand fell from her hip, slightly brushing the outside of her leg and sending a jolt to her core. But if he recognized how he was affecting her, he didn’t let on. He just sauntered over to his friends without looking back.
She watched him walk away from her, taking in how his broad shoulders filled out his pale blue shirt and his dress pants clung to his ass. She couldn’t help wondering what she’d actually agreed to later.