“I should. I need to sit and cool off. I didn’t think I’d get this hot and I don’t want to stink. I’ll wash up in the bathroom.”
“No,” he said. “Go to my place and shower.”
“What?” she squeaked out.
“It’s not as if you haven’t been there before.” He pulled his phone out. “I’m going to unlock the door now. Just go down and clean up and change. It’s not a big deal.”
“You want me in your house without you using your bathroom?”
“I want you to not look like a sweaty mess in front of clients,” he said, smirking. “Or be standing in the bathroom like a homeless person giving yourself a whore’s bath.”
Her mouth opened wide. “If I wasn’t so rushed and thinking the same as you, I’d be insulted.”
“No reason to be insulted if it’s what you wanted anyway.”
“Your delivery could have been better,” she said.
“This is as good as it gets,” he said. “Go. There isn’t much time and I know you’ll be mad if you miss something.”
If she didn’t agree with him, she’d be annoyed, but Meredith was relieved that she could clean up and that he was nice enough to offer it.
No, he wasn’t nice about it. But it was considerate.
Or maybe it was as Brooke said. He wanted nothing to fail and his wedding planner looking like she was half-assing things wouldn’t help any.
12
SECRETLY WATCHING
“That looked like a success to me,” Meredith said once the last of the people were gone.
It was six and he’d been here since seven this morning.
Meredith showed up at eight, the wedding at noon, ending at five. All vendors and family or friends of the wedding party had been cleaning up and finally exited the barn.
Ash just left, his father too. It was him and Meredith left to close up.
“It was,” he said.
His pockets were lined with tips, which he didn’t care so much about. It had more to do with being present for anything that happened with his name attached to it.
This was a pretty mild wedding.
He’d only had one so far that was rowdy. The way a good time should be, but he always wanted to ensure there was no damage to the property either.
He pulled some cash out from behind the bar and handed it to her.
“What’s this?”
“Part of the tips.”
“I don’t need that.”
“You should get it,” he said. “You came back and worked the bar too. I saw you slipping around and picking up things without people knowing.”
Empty glasses, helping with the caterer to clean up plates when they got behind. Bringing out dishes for the cake to be cut.
For someone who tripped over her own feet, she was pretty discreet when it mattered.
