She was getting such a thrill out of helping Raffi, it almost shocked her. Like she was ready to head back, bust out her laptop, and set all these sites up for him. She wanted to help an Armenian business succeed, of course, but maybe she wanted Raffi in particular to succeed?
“Okay, Miss Wedding Planner, I obviously need to hire you for PR and marketing.”
Ani blushed, the warmth spreading from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. The first time he’d called her that, it had almost felt like sarcasm—like he was surprised that she actually had a good idea. He’d said it again at the wine-tasting party, and in that context, she hadn’t hated it. But now, hearing it again, she realized it wasn’t condescending or overreaching; it was playful, teasing in a way that made her feel like they were in on the same joke. And when he complimented her skills, it wasn’t flattery; it felt genuine, like he actually saw her as someone who knew what she was doing. For once, she didn’t feel like the B+ version of herself she’d been carrying around for years.
“Should we maybe make some time after the fountain assessment to work on it?” she asked.
Raffi said, “I’d like that.”
Ani hardly had time to take that in because her phone rang. It was Kami. She didn’t want to talk to her right now, especially as the momentum between her and Raffi was only growing and she didn’t want to hit the brakes on that. But Kami was, in truth, her most important client.
She turned to Raffi. “Sorry, gotta get this.”
“No problem.”
Ani slid her finger across the screen to answer. “Hey, Kami, what’s up?”
Kami’s voice on the other line was frantic. “I’m having second thoughts.”
Ani sat straight up in her seat, her heart whirring. “What?”
She felt Raffi’s gaze on her. This would materially affect him as well. Oh God. She had to handle this. Was it because she had been too flirty with Kami, too amenable? Did Kami want Ani back now? This was all her fault.
And thinking about it, if that was what Kami was calling about, why was Ani filled with a sick, roiling feeling in her stomach? No hint of excitement at all. Panic, in fact.
Kami’s words came through the phone like a flurry of feathers, high-pitched and rapid, each word tumbling out faster than the last. “About the iridescent crush color we chose. Did we dismiss the cashmere velvet too quickly? Like, I’m obsessed with iridescent crush, don’t get me wrong. But is it too trendy? Cashmere velvet is so classic.”
Ani relaxed in her seat and blew out a long breath. This was about the table linens. Second thoughts about the table linens! Not love. Not regret. She almost cried, she was so relieved.
And there were two lines of thought that washed over her. The first was that so much was riding on this wedding—more than she realized until she thought it might be snatched away from her.
The second was a shift she felt in her body, deep and tectonic. A shift so immense she had to shove it away in this moment and address Kami’s actual question.
Ani drew herself back into professional mode.
“Cashmere velvet is definitely classic, but we decided it wouldn’t be as stunning, as memorable. And you are going for out-of-this-world memorable. That’s what you get with iridescent crush. It’s undoubtedly the right choice.”
Kami seemed to calm on the other end of the line at this reasoning. “Right, you’re right. I just needed reassurance, you know? I knew you’d have the answer. So this is definitely the way to go.”
Ani filled her voice with a confidence she reserved for clients—even as something unsteady flickered beneath. “Without a doubt. You’re going to love it.”
“Oh my God, Ani, I don’t know what I’d do without you. Thank you! Ciao!”
And she hung up before Ani had a chance to reply.
Ani kept the phone to her ear, frozen, processing what had happened. Not about the linens. Not even about Ani’s momentary anxiety that the wedding was being called off.
Something bigger.
For two years, she’d lived with the ghost of what she and Kami had been. She had turned over in her mind every lingering thought of Kami, hoping, perhaps, that it was all a mistake. That Kami would come back to her. But sitting here, thephone warm in her hand, breeze cool on her face, she felt it—the astonishing lightness of not wanting Kami back.
It was a grief and a liberation in the same breath.
Ani put down her phone.
“What was that about?” Raffi asked, somewhat gruffly.
Ani blinked, as if waking from a dream she hadn’t realized she was still in. She put a hand over her heart and told Raffi only what he needed to know. “Kami started off the conversation saying she was having second thoughts, and I nearly died on the spot.”
