Best Man for the Wedding Planner

She turned to leave but he put a hand on her arm. “Are you really okay? Considering people are dropping like flies with this bug...”

She looked at his fingers for a moment, and then looked up into his face. For a fleeting moment, something passed between them. Not regret, not awkwardness. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear it was longing. But that didn’t make any sense. She’d left him. And never looked back.

“I’ve been drinking lots of tea. It helps.”

“Okay,” he responded. There was nothing to be done, anyway. The wedding would go on and she was stubborn enough to power through. He’d learned last night not to bother insisting on anything. Adele was far more stubborn than he remembered.

The next time he saw her, she was standing by the door of the hall, cradling an actual mug instead of a paper cup. He moved into position at the front, standing next to Pete, while the ushers took their places to his left. She took a sip and then put the mug down on a small table at the back, rolled her shoulders and gave the flautist a nod.

When the opening bars of Gounod’s Ave Maria sounded, she slipped out the door.

Then the doors opened—both sides—and the first bridesmaid entered, her hair perfect, smile wide, her navy dress rippling along the carpet runner. Then the next bridesmaid and the maid of honor, all carrying identical bouquets of mostly white blooms with silvery accents. Looking around at the twinkly trees, flowers, chairs and other preparations, Dan started to understand exactly how much planning went into a wedding day, and how Adele had taken Holly’s vision of her magical day and made it a reality. A new respect for her blossomed. She was good at this. Really good.

The music changed, shifting to Pachelbel’s Canon, and Holly stepped inside the doors.

A collective gasp went up from the guests, and one glance at Pete told Dan his best friend was a goner. Pete’s hands were folded in front of him, but Dan saw the fingers clench and release several times as Holly started her walk up the aisle. And when Pete’s eyes misted over, Dan reached inside his pocket and took out a pristine white handkerchief. When he handed it over, an emotional laugh fluttered across the room, making the vibe suddenly very warm and personal.

He looked to the back of the room and saw Adele standing there, a satisfied smile on her face.

He gave her a brief nod before turning back to the ceremony.

And yet, as the people he cared about said their I dos, as he handed over the wedding band and signed the register, he couldn’t stop a hole from opening in his chest. This should have been them. It would have been them, if it had been his choice. And maybe it was better this way. Maybe she’d known something he didn’t, and they wouldn’t have lasted. Not getting married had to be better than going through with it and divorcing later.

But for the first time in several years, he came face-to-face with the fact that he’d never gotten over her. And now he wasn’

t sure if he ever would.

* * *

Relief was the only emotion Adele felt right now.

She had twenty-five whole minutes during the ceremony to sit down at the back of the room, out of sight, and sip her tea, which was miraculously still hot. One of the waitresses for the cocktail hour had noticed her sniffling and had brought her a fresh cup, a very thoughtful gesture and one of the reasons Adele loved having events at the Fiori Cascade. Luca, Mariella and their team did a fabulous job.

But once she got through her mental checklist for the ceremony, making sure nothing needed the smallest tweak, she found her mind wandering to Dan.

His help and concern today had been utterly unexpected, but he had backed off instead of pressing the issue like he had last night. Of course, he’d made it plain he was doing it for Pete, and not for her. Still, he didn’t have to. And then that moment when he’d put his hand on her arm...there’d been something. Something that was impossible to ignore, even though she knew she should.

But again...she’d never stopped caring about him. So maybe she should stop thinking and just give herself a break. It was natural for feelings to crop up, wasn’t it?

Dan handed the ring over to Ms. Fraser and then stood back, clasping his hands loosely in front of him. He was still so handsome, too. And when he’d grabbed her arms this afternoon, stopping her from colliding with everyone, he’d smelled the same as she remembered.

I’ve got to be delirious, she thought to herself. She was spending far too much time thinking about the best man when she should be thinking about the next steps the moment the ceremony ended.

But sitting down had been a bad idea. Now she felt as if a fifty-pound weight was tied to her feet, and she didn’t want to get up. Exhaustion started to creep up on her, and she knew that was a bad thing. A few more hours were all she needed. Once dinner was served, once the cake was cut and the first dances over with, everything else would just play out. The guests would enjoy the open bar and the music, the happy couple would retreat to the honeymoon suite, and that was that.

A few hours. She could make it.

But first, she had to stand up.

She got to her feet and made a point of draining the mug of honey lemon tea. The flautist was playing something simple now as the bride, groom and witnesses signed the register. It would only be a few more minutes and they would walk out of the hall as Mr. and Mrs., and Adele would zip up to the lounge to ensure the cocktail hour was ready to go.

That she was feeling weaker by the moment didn’t help matters. At all.

But she persevered, mentally pushing through by reminding herself she could sleep all day tomorrow if she wanted to. She dashed to the lounge to ensure the champagne was chilled and the bartender ready, as well as the waitstaff who would circulate with hot and cold hors d’oeuvres. She slipped out of sight as all two hundred and fifty guests made their way past the wedding party. Immediate family would stay behind for pictures.

Once the hall was clear, Adele and the Cascade staff leaped into action. The whole room was reconfigured, adding tables and moving the chairs around them, and then topping the tables with navy and white linens. Adele blew her nose and then reached in her bag for hand sanitizer before helping place the centerpieces on each table. Place settings were added. A tech crew came in and adjusted the microphones and added a podium for the emcee and speeches. The potted trees were moved for a more precise placement and the showstopper, the champagne table, was wheeled in and prepared.

Which meant that it was time to bring in the sculptures.