Even more so than the things that had happened to him, the fact that a brilliant journalist and a brilliant barbecue guy had offered them his help would have been the center of his thoughts on any other night.But this one?
The relief in Naomi’s eyes after a night that was successful beyond her wildest dreams, where she’d got a caterer, a tax guy and a lead on Judith’s dream cake, as well as confirmation that her instincts were always one thousand percent right in one night, was the fuel that powered Jason on the drive to the city.It excited him to the point where he strongly suggested that the head parking attendant at his favorite garage should put in an order for celebratory knishes, after he’d agreed to put the car in a place that was easy to get to.
But by the time they arrived at his apartment, all of the energy they’d had seemed to evaporate.
“Tea?”
Naomi nodded, exhaustion clear in the way she held her body and her inability to leave the couch.“Yes.”
Not long after, Jason had joined her on the couch, matching tea mugs warming their hands and their hearts—her favorite nighttime brew and his favorite green.
Once he’d settled onto the couch, the closest he’d get to holding her when she was drinking a steaming cup of tea, he said, “let’s do an inventory.What do we have?”
“Well,” she said.“We have a venue, we have a photographer, an event designer, and we have a caterer.”
He nodded.“We’ll talk about the cake later, because you said you had something?”
She nodded.“Okay, that leaves music and clergy.”
“Lev will officiate, if the rabbi from Briarwood can’t,” he said, doing his best to remember and then pass along information that had been discussed in the best men/groomsmen group chats.“If that happens, I’ll take best man ceremonial duties and then pass the torch back to him while I’m in the kitchen.”
“And that’s clergy,” she said.“My folder is on the other side of the room, but I don’t remember whether Judith made music choices or if she signed contracts about it.”
“Odds are,” he said as he remembered that discussion, “Ash probably said he’d take care of it.And it makes sense—he’s got favors he can pull, but also both Artur and I can make inquiries.I also suspect Artur might be on the hook for this one because he might owe either you or me.”
“Which makes sense as to why I had no idea,” she said as she took a long drink of her tea.“I mean the Ash of it.So that’s organized.Checked off.”
“Now the cake,” he said.
“Your interesting conversation was about your family,” she said with a laugh.“My interesting conversation with Batya was about my ex-boss.”
“Interesting,” Jason said as thoughts ran through his head.“Good conversation?Bad conversation?”
She shrugged.“Interesting conversation that made me think.But…”
“Yes?”
“We went from my ex-boss to community to Charlotte Liu, and how she’s expecting us tomorrow, before noon at the bakery on Long Island.”
Jason paused, thoughts running through his head; that conversation would have his head spinning too.He also found himself thinking of people who would be back in for the wedding but were out of town at the moment.“The Rockliffe Manor bakery?”
“Yes,” Naomi replied.“There.”
Which meant they had a direction and maybe a plan.“Then the plan is…”
“To drive out there and catch her?Which is not as bad as that sounds.Batya said to expect me, or us or…?”
“Of course I’m going with you,” he said, not even waiting for the end of that line of thought.“I’m in it with you.I’m going to see this through with you.”
She bit her lip, and the uncertainty affected the look of her whole face.“I didn’t want to assume…”
He kissed her shoulder.“We’re doing this.I promise.”
“Good,” she said.“I…you…”
“It’s okay,” he said, pulling her close.“I’m here.Way too few people are.”
“I’m lucky,” she said, and he could feel the emotion in her voice, in her expression.“We need to get there by twelve.”
