Her voice was a little uneven when she said, "Thank you for the invitation. I'll take you up on it."
"Perfect."
I was backing up my chair when Amber and Matt came back in.
"I'm ready for the cake," Amber announced.
As we tasted the different options, I paid more attention to Lori than the cake. She was pulling me deeper under her spell. I felt like I didn't even have a choice. She took notes while we voiced our opinions, and then we all got up to leave since we'd covered everything.
"We're also going to need transportation after the party," Matt said as we were about to exit the room.
"I already arranged that. All the guests are going to be taken care of."
"For ourselves," Matt continued. "We're going to sleep at an airport hotel. Our flight leaves at 6:00 a.m., and crossing the city in the morning is a bad idea."
"Oh, I'd been under the impression you'd be staying with— never mind. I'll arrange transportation, of course."
Now I understood her comment about being in the way. She'd thought Amber and Matt were sleeping at my house after the wedding. She slung her bag over her shoulder and only gave me a smile before leaving. A very small, very quick smile. I'd have given anything to know what went through her mind when she realized we'd be alone that night.
Chapter Seven
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."