Lori

Amber turned out to be one of my favorite brides. She was quick to decide and stuck to her decisions. Once we'd pegged down the invitations, the menu, the flowers, and the general decoration scheme, she relaxed.

I'd been terrified she'd come up with outlandish requests. Honestly, I was still daunted by the possibility. We had one week left until the wedding. Plenty of time for her to hop on Pinterest and discover that some brides wanted rose petal canons for their weddings and whatnot. However, either Amber didn't know about Pinterest, or she was better at resisting temptation than the rest of us mortals. But four days before the wedding, she did pull a number on me.

"Can we still whip up a rehearsal dinner?"

"Oh? What made you change your mind?"

"My parents insist. My best friends are also arriving that day, and it would give me a chance to catch up with them. Can you take care of it? Is it too much work?"

"I'll do it. Don't you worry about a thing." Most brides arranged their own rehearsal dinner, but with the commission I was getting, I couldn't say no.

The only issue was that I had to ask Val to keep Milo at her house for that night too, in addition to the wedding night. I knew my sister wouldn't mind, but I still felt guilty for having to ask her. I called Val as I approached my florist's shop. I had an appointment to discuss arrangements for another wedding. Val picked up right away, so I lingered in front of the shop to talk to her.

"Hi, sis. What's up?" she asked.

"Hi, Val. Listen, I'll make this quick. This weekend's bride decided that she wants a rehearsal dinner after all."

"That means I get my lovely nephew for an extra night?" 

"Is that okay?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, Val. You're the best. And I'll have to skip Friday dinner. But I promise I'll make up for it."

"Why don't you drop Milo off earlier? I'm trying to work shorter hours on Fridays, and knowing you will drop by will be a great incentive."

Val was a great preacher about work-life balance, about taking time for yourself. In reality, the only time Val had taken an extended vacation had been when she'd been forced to, because she'd been in an accident that left her with a concussion, broken ribs, and a broken leg. However, she was trying to cut back on her hours, and I was happy to help.

"That sounds great."

"I'll ask Hailey to come early too. We can do girly stuff. Paint our nails, make you pretty for the rehearsal dinner."

"I'm the planner, not a guest."

"You can still look pretty."

"Are you implying I'm not pretty unless you and Hailey work your magic on me?" I teased.

"I did not say that."

"You're not denying it either."

"Where would the fun be in that?"

"Should I be afraid of what you have in store for me?"

"Always."

After hanging up, I added the rehearsal dinner to my calendar. I loved the spike of adrenaline that came with pulling off the perfect wedding on such short notice, even though I was so busy I could barely tell my ass from my elbow. I'd also had two corporate events this week.

When I first went into this business, corporate events were my bread and butter. It was easy money, but it was boring work and I needed a new challenge. I'd always loved weddings, and after attending a bunch of them, courtesy of all our Bennett cousins marrying in the span of a few years, I took the plunge.

Now, I still did a few corporate events per month, but weddings made up most of my business. They were more work than corporate events, but I loved them. Plus, they brought in more revenue, which meant I could offer more to Milo. His college fund was growing nicely.

Later that day, while I was waiting for my next client to show up, I received an e-mail from Graham. I was sitting on a bench, slurping a cherry smoothie with too much agave syrup, watching the gigantic palm trees sway in the wind. Despite having lived in LA my entire life, the sight of the palm trees instantly brought on a vacation mood. From the bush to my right, a whiff of lavender reached me. It was a particularly relaxing moment, but the second I saw Graham's name pop up in my inbox, my heart rate went off the charts. This happened so often over the past few days that I was starting to feel silly. He'd e-mailed me the tickets to the concert. I could either print them out or show them directly on the screen of my smartphone. I immediately replied to thank him.

From: Graham Frazier

To: Lori Connor

My assistant had an electronic version of the tickets. They’re attached. Have fun.

From: Lori Connor

To: Graham Frazier

Thank you so much! If you change your mind about payment, let me know. I'd be happy to buy them off you.

From: Graham Frazier

To: Lori Connor

I do want payment.

I scrolled farther, but that was all his e-mail said. I opened the attachment with the tickets to see if the price was on them, but it wasn't. When I closed the attachment, I saw that Graham had sent another e-mail.

From: Graham Frazier

To: Lori Connor

Not monetary. I'd like to cook for you and your son one evening :)

I reread twice, didn’t understand, then shot him an e-mail for clarification.

From: Lori Connor

To: Graham Frazier

How is that payment? Means more work for you.

From: Graham Frazier

To: Lori Connor

Told you cooking relaxes me. Especially when I'm in great company. Think about it.

From: Lori Connor

To: Graham Frazier

I will.

From: Graham Frazier

To: Lori Connor

You can't say no, though. It's payment for the tickets, remember?

I laughed but didn't reply. When my client arrived, I had to make an extra effort to concentrate on our discussion. She wanted a vintage wedding, and I couldn't recall all the themes off the top of my mind. My thoughts kept drifting to Graham and his invitation. What was happening here exactly?