Susan Mallery - Not Quite Over You

“No, of course not. You’re getting married and I’m so happy. I’ll get together with Pallas and talk to her about how things are going. You’re going to love how she handles things. I’ll create the perfect signature cocktail for your reception. Leigh, this is going to be the wedding of your dreams.”

“Oh, sweetie, thank you. I appreciate what you’re saying so much. Autumn is super excited about everything. Okay, I need to run but we’ll talk soon.”

“Of course. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Bye.”

They hung up. Silver pulled the earbuds from her ears and closed her eyes. Too much had happened too quickly and she was going to need a minute to process everything.

Leigh’s wedding was going to be its own kind of mess. Not the logistics—Pallas knew exactly how to throw the perfect event. It was more that Silver was going to have to explain her relationship to Leigh. Which meant telling people about Autumn. She was fairly confident her friends would be totally on board but she was less sure about how Drew would accept the information. Yes, he knew about their child, but nothing else.

Guilt tapped on her shoulder, but she ignored it. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She wasn’t the bad guy. She’d been up-front from the beginning. Her relationship with Autumn was her business. If he’d cared, he could have asked what had happened, but instead he’d gone on with his life without so much as a backward glance. Which all sounded really good, but did nothing to take away her growing sense of dread and discomfort.

A reckoning was coming—she could feel it.

* * *

“SILVER, I’M REALLY SORRY. I kept hoping I would get better.”

Silver told herself it would be wrong to respond with anything but sympathy. Georgiana was a steady, dependable worker and she’d never once flaked out on an event.

“It’s okay. You go take care of yourself. I’ll be fine.”

“You won’t be fine.” Georgiana groaned. “I gotta throw up, and then I’ll call you—”

Conversation ended with a gagging sound followed by a noise Silver didn’t want to identify. It took her a second to keep from throwing up herself. She ended the call and tucked her phone into her jeans pocket, then tried to figure out what on earth she was going to do. In less than four hours, there was a wedding for three hundred and twenty people at Weddings Out of the Box. The bride and groom were expecting her to handle all their beverage needs and as of ten seconds ago, she had no staff.

She got out her tablet and double-checked the drinks menu for the night. The theme was a casual beach wedding. In order to keep costs down, the couple had chosen two signature drinks, along with beer and wine. In a pinch, Silver could get by with minimal help, but she absolutely needed at least one other person around.

All the usual suspects were unavailable for the same reason Georgiana wouldn’t be in. That left friends, most of whom worked in the wedding business, so would be busy on a Saturday night with minimal notice. She tried Carol, but the call went directly to voice mail. Wynn’s did the same, leaving Silver cursing under her breath. A name occurred to her, but she ignored it until there were no other options.

“Hey,” Drew said when he answered. “I didn’t expect to hear from you so quickly. What have you decided?”

“I haven’t. I’m still considering.” More things than he knew about, she thought. Not just the business proposition but how she was ever going to tell him about Autumn. Neither of which concerned her now.

“Did you mean what you said about helping me with events?” she asked. “That you’d be a real working partner?”

“I did. Why?”

“I want to give you a trial run. It will help me decide.”

She knew she was assuming a lot—for one thing, that Drew would be available on a night when most single, good-looking guys had plans. Not that she’d heard of him dating anyone, but he often kept his romantic relationships private. For all she knew, he was practically engaged, something she found herself not wanting to think about.

“You want me to work a wedding?” he asked. “Tonight?”

“Yes.”

“Is the last-minute thing a test or desperation?”

She sighed. “Mostly desperation. My regular hires called in sick. They worked a party at the Chapel on the Green. Someone brought in some bad shrimp and they all have food poisoning.” Silver shuddered. “Based on what I heard, it’s really awful.”

“I don’t need any details,” he said quickly. “I’m happy to help. Just tell me when and where.”

“Weddings Out of the Box in an hour. Wear khakis and a Hawaiian shirt. That’s what all the servers are wearing.”

“Should I bring anything?”

“I’ve got that handled.” She hesitated. “Thanks, Drew. You’re helping me out of a jam.”

“Glad to do it. See you in an hour.”

Silver hung up. She’d already changed into khaki shorts, a red bikini top with an open red Hawaiian shirt tied at the waist. Her hair was pulled back in a simple braid with a silk hibiscus clipped to the end. Her makeup was light, her earrings simple gold hoops. Her job was to provide bar service and otherwise blend in with the background. In a perfect world, she wouldn’t be noticed at all.

She drove over to Weddings Out of the Box and backed the trailer into place. Once it was in position, she unhitched it and drove the truck around to the far end of the parking lot, then returned to her Airstream to start setting up. That morning she’d collected all the supplies she would need for the drinks. The decorations had been finalized and delivered at the last prep meeting on Thursday. Except for additional manpower, she was good to go.

She’d barely unlocked the trailer when she heard the sound of rapid footsteps on the walkway. She turned and saw Renee Grothen scurrying toward her.

The petite redheaded wedding coordinator had a tablet in one hand, a clipboard in the other and an air of concern pulling her eyebrows together. Looking at her, one would assume the sky was falling, but Silver had done enough weddings with Renee to know that the woman was always in full-on freak-out mode right up until the wedding started. Once the happy couple were safely married, she slowly relaxed. As the reception transitioned from appetizers to entrées to cake-cutting with nary a disaster, she relaxed a little more and the frown went away. Renee knew her stuff, but she was a little on the tightly wound side.

“I’m fine,” Silver said before Renee could ask.

Renee’s green eyes widened. “I heard there was food poisoning and that everyone was vomiting.”

“They are, but I wasn’t there and I’m fine.”

Renee’s hands trembled. “You can’t handle the bar yourself. It’s too much. Even with the limited drink menu there is simply no way—”

Silver smiled. “Renee, trust me. I have it under control. Help is on the way. This part of the wedding is totally taken care of.”

Before Renee could start keening or whatever it was she did when she was really upset, Pallas, the owner of Weddings Out of the Box, joined them. Silver and Pallas had been friends for years. When Pallas had started working at Weddings Out of the Box and Silver had opened AlcoHaul, they’d begun working together on a regular basis.

The previous year Pallas had fallen madly in love with artist Nick Mitchell. They’d married and were expecting their first baby. Silver glanced at her friend’s still almost-flat stomach.

“How are you feeling?”

Pallas’s first trimester had been a nightmare of morning sickness.

“Better,” her friend said. “I’m only occasionally queasy and it passes quickly. What a relief!” She turned to Renee. “If Silver says she has it covered, she has it covered. You can let it go.” She smiled. “I mean that.”