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his was my worst nightmare. I’d never had an event hit this kind of roadblock with such devastating consequences. Sure, there’d been problems in the past—every event has at least one—but never to this magnitude and never with this terrible of outcomes.

I hated that I was going to have to cancel a fortieth wedding anniversary party. It gutted me. I didn’t care so much about the profit I would lose, or the problems it may cause as far as reputation for my company. I really just hated that I was going to have to tell Mr. and Mrs. Reigleman they weren’t going to have the party they’d dreamed of. At least not tomorrow.

“Good news,” Riley said, taking the seat next to me. Although, she didn’t sound excited about this good news. She was feeling this loss just as badly as I was.

“Portland City can take a party of seventy-five, tomorrow at six.”

“Well, that’s great, but it also sucks.”

“I know,” Riley groaned. “I’m sorry, Rose.”

“Riley, I swear, if you apologize one more time...” I didn’t finish the sentence because I had no idea what I was threatening. I’d what? Forgive her again? Thank her for doing exactly what I would have done? Exactly what I would have wanted anyone to do in her position?

The door opened behind me and when I turned I saw Aiden come through the doors. When he’d left I thought it was to use the restroom or something. So why was he coming in from outside the office? He must have seen the confused expression on my face because as soon as he was close enough, he gave me an answer.

“I may have a solution,” he said, almost sounding as though he was out of breath. “I just called Mr. Meir, the owner of the Belmont Estate, and he’s agreed to allow the Reiglemans to have their party there tomorrow.”

“Wait, what?” Riley practically shouted.

“You mean the mansion you’re not done renovating yet?” I asked, confused even more so.

“All the basics are there, babe. Plus, it’s got a killer view and if you put up tents, a dance floor, and people warmers, they won’t even pay attention to the inside of the building. There’s plenty of space up there, and tomorrow’s weather is supposed to be clear.”

“That could totally work,” Jasper said from the other side of the room.

Suddenly I noticed that everyone was looking at me, waiting for me to say something.

“But what about catering?” Rachel called out.

“The Reiglemans hired catering outside of the Hilton anyway. We’ll just need to make sure they can either cook what they need before they get there, or have the capability to cook it there,” Rose said, sounding certain.

“Electricity is no issue. There’s power.”

“Bathrooms,” someone else called out.

“I have the number of the very best portable toilet company in the area. They can have a whole building set up with toilets in a few hours,” Jasper said. That was true. When you planned events for a living, you made friends with people who had weird skills. “They’re very high-scale. You wouldn’t even know you were in a port-o-potty.”

Without even meaning to, I turned to Aiden and gave him a smile. What a strange relationship quirk, to get all mushy over portable toilets.

“What else?” Riley asked, encouraging everyone to brainstorm possible issues, so we could have a plan ahead of time.

“Tents. We’d have to rent tents.” That came from Emily.

“Hardly anyone has outdoor parties right now. I’m sure there’s a rental company who would love to rent their tents out. And chairs.” I didn’t want to get overconfident, but this plan wasn’t half bad. It was almost doable.

An hour later, I nervously made the call to the Reiglemans. The wife answered the phone and she sounded absolutely beside herself, completely upset she’d have to cancel her party.

“Mrs. Reigleman, let me assure you, I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure you get the party you want. And before we go any further, I want you to know that I will be giving you a complete refund for my services, regardless of the outcome for this particular event.”

I was in my office with Mrs. Reigleman on speaker. All my employees were in the office with me with the explicit instructions to remain silent unless I asked them a question directly.

“We have two options for you, and please understand that these are just options. We will do whatever we can to accommodate you.” I breathed in, trying to prepare myself for complete disappointment from Mrs. Reigleman, then continued. “We have arranged, if you wish, for a party of seventy-five to have dinner tomorrow at Portland City Grill. Obviously, this bill would be covered by me and Rose City Event Coordination. All deposits you’ve put down on vendors would remain, and we could reschedule the actual party for a better date.”

“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Reigleman said, and I could have sworn I heard a sniffle in her voice, breaking my heart.

“Or, we have the option to move the party to the Belmont Estate. Are you familiar with the property?”

It was quiet for just a moment, but then she spoke. “You mean the beautiful mansion that sits atop the west hill? With the gardens and the breathtaking view?”

I smiled, but then tried to rein in my excitement.

“That’s the one. We have a connection with the owner and he’s agreed to let us use it tomorrow, at no cost to you. But there are a few catches.”

“Such as?”

“It would become an outdoor party. That means we’d have to bring in tents and heaters, dance floors and find a new DJ. But, if that’s the choice you want to make, I’m confident we can make all that happen.”

“What about all the guests who will be showing up at the Hilton tomorrow night?”

“Well, we can either have people there to inform your guests that the party has unfortunately been postponed, or we can provide transportation from the hotel to the Belmont, if that’s what your guests would prefer.”

“A lot of the guests are coming in from out of town and staying there,” she replied contemplatively.

“Then it would be easy to rent five-star transportation, and then your guests could enjoy themselves without worrying about driving.”

“So, you’re saying you can move the party to the Belmont without any problems?”

I almost laughed out loud. Problems? There would be many. But I wasn’t about to tell her that.

“It would be a pleasure to move the party to the Belmont. And I must add, the weather tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful and the view from the estate is incredible. It would make a very memorable party.”

“Oh, I’m so relieved,” Mrs. Reigleman said on a sigh. “I was very worried we wouldn’t get our party. We’ve been looking forward to it for so long.”

Everyone in the room threw their hands up in silent celebration. My eyes went to Aiden, who stood in the corner, feet spread wide, one arm crossed over his chest, his other hand at his beard. He was smiling, I knew it, even if I couldn’t see it. I could feel it.

He’d absolutely saved the day.

“It’s going to be a great party, Mrs. Reigleman. And I don’t want you to worry about anything. We’ve got everything under control.”

I spent the next ten minutes going over details with her and when we hung up the entire office erupted into cheers. I let them have their celebration, and I participated, smiling and clapping, but then I had to turn into the boss again.

“Is there anyone in this room who might be available all day tomorrow?”

I waited for a response, knowing that no one here owed me their entire Sunday for any reason. When hands started reaching into the air I tried to ignore the tugging at my chest and the wave of emotion that came over me.

“Okay, let’s get the loose ends tied up for now, then meet back here tomorrow at ten a.m. so we can break up into teams and check off all the things on our lists.”

Everyone started moving and chatting, and I remembered one last thing.

“Also, everyone,” I called out over the noise.

Everyone stopped talking and looked at me, waiting for whatever I had to say.

“Thank you all, very much, for putting in the work today. And every day. I’m always proud of what we accomplish, but today I am especially proud of all of you. So, thanks.”

Everyone gave me smiles and left with waves and different variations of “See you tomorrow” until it was just Aiden and me left in the office.

“That was crazy,” he said when we were finally alone, walking slowly toward my desk.

“It was. But I think it’s all going to work out. We’ll see tomorrow, though. It’s not over until it’s over.” I leaned back in my chair, feeling a little relaxed for the first time in hours. Something warm was unfurling inside me. It felt like a mixture of happiness and contentment.

“I’ll call my guys and have them head over to the site tomorrow morning, early, and get it cleaned up. You won’t even be able to tell it’s being renovated by the time we’re done.”

“You don’t have to do that, Aiden. Seriously, you’ve done enough already.”

He came to my chair and spun it around so I was facing him, then bent at the waist and put his hands on the armrests, bringing his face so close to mine, my breath caught.

“Hey,” he said, his eyes darting back and forth between mine. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m in this for the long haul. Whatever you need done, if I can do it, I’m going to.”

Of course he was.

“Did you know I love you?”

He didn’t answer me with words, but he leaned down and kissed me so sweetly, it took my breath away.

“Been a long day,” he said softly when he pulled away.

“Yeah,” I said on an exhale.

“Wanna go home and get into bed?”

“Yes,” I agreed enthusiastically. I didn’t bother asking whose home we were going to, because it simply didn’t matter. If Aiden was there, I was already home.