“And,” she continued, “just like before, you can’t tell anybody—I mean Liv knows, and Leah knows because she’s dating Samuel, and that guy has no lock on his mouth.But that’s it.Not Ash, nobody else.Because the very last thing I want to do is unleash the project manager on her own wedding when she should be relaxing and enjoying herself.”
Jason nodded back, pulling her close.“Do you actually think you can pull off saving this wedding with a dime and a prayer?”
There was silence, and he wondered whether he’d stepped too far, over boundaries they’d somehow erected as everything else about their relationship had changed.“Yes.”
He was overtired and could barely see, but her words were shaking, as if they were being held together by bad glue.“You’re going to save this wedding by yourself?”
Instead of answering him, she buried her head in his shoulder.“I’m going to try,” she said, her voice just more than a whisper.
“You need help?”
She nodded.“I might.But I’m going to have to make some phone calls, not only to set up the LLC for real and not just the legal side I did months ago, but also to go through the list of contractors Judith had expressed interest in…”
“And I recommended.”
Her smile was usually a gift, but this time it was tired.“Yes,” she said.“You recommended some of them.But I’m going to have to somehow do it without alerting anybody to the fact there’s a problem.”
“Which is where I come in?”
She nodded.“Maybe we can find some of these people at events or in other ways that won’t make it look like we’re consulting them, you know?”
So.Her hastily thrown together plan was to go on what amounted to a scavenger hunt in the hopes of finding a caterer, an event designer, a photographer and a wedding cake.
In just over two weeks.
While organizing a business from scratch.
Without informing the bride or the groom in order to allow both of them to enjoy the time they had before the wedding.
“It sounds ridiculous,” he said, “but if you’re going to try, I’ve got your back.”Because what else could he say?
“Good.
“Who’s first on your list?”
“My cousin Leah.You go lie down and I’ll give her a call.”
He nodded, and he wanted to say something, wanted to see if she wanted to go with him, but she seemed…off.
He pulled her close, and she clung to him.He kissed her temple, because he needed to give her comfort.But he also wanted to make it clear to her that he hadn’t left the page they’d turned.“I’ll go to bed,” he said.“But join me?After you’re done with the call?”
She didn’t pull away, didn’t say no, didn’t fight him.“I’d like to.”
“Good,” he said.And as he let her fingers go, let her body go, he stood and kissed her again, on the forehead.“You can do this.I have every single confidence in you.”
And only because he knew he’d be useless to her if he didn’t get sleep, he headed to her bathroom, threw some water on his face, got undressed, and climbed under the covers.At least he’d dream of her; at most, he’d wake up bathed in her scent.
With the stretch goal?Of waking up with her in his arms…
*
Naomi was notgoing to overanalyze the slow change of her relationship with Jason while he was sleeping in her bedroom.
Especially considering how impossible it had been to let him sleep on his own.She wanted to go with him, wanted to bury herself underneath her covers, and revel in his mere presence.
But despite her desire, she had work to do.She had a wedding to save, and that wouldn’t happen if she kept mooning over the hot man sleeping in her bedroom.She had a to-do list to organize and, she reminded herself, if she finished quickly enough, Jason would still be sleeping when she finished the items.
Which meant the first message would be to her cousin Leah.
