Brody and I get to work. He carries in the flower arrangements while I start on the photo backdrop—a full greenery wall made of 20 x 20-inch boxwood panels framed with silk flowers to match the real ones on the cocktail tables, and a custom neon sign that reads She said yes!
“Where do you want these?” he asks, gesturing to a particularly large centerpiece that looks like it weighs more than me.
“Set it down beside the welcome sign, I think.”
We work in silence for a while. It’s actually kind of nice. Comfortable. Like we’ve done this before, even though we absolutely haven’t.
Arranging flowers. Hanging backdrops. Setting up the small gift table near the entrance. Putting out decorative dessert trays for when the caterers arrive.
Brody sheds his jacket, rolls up his sleeves.
I try very hard not to notice his forearms.
I fail spectacularly.
“Chloe?”
I jerk my attention back to his face like I’ve been caught stealing. “What?”
He’s grinning. Like, knows-exactly-what-I-was-doing grinning. Busted. “I asked where you want this banner.”
“Oh. Um—” Think. Words. Use them. String them together in a coherent fashion. “Above the gift table?”
“You okay?”
“Fine. Just…concentrating.”
“On my arms?”
My face goes nuclear. Like Chernobyl levels of meltdown. “I was not—you’re very—I mean—shut up.”
He laughs. The sound reminds me of that ocean color in his eyes, like waves crashing on the shore. Loud, exciting. I need to hear it again.
“You’re cute when you’re flustered.”
“I’m not flustered.”
“You’re flustered.”
I spin back to my work, focusing very hard on the precise placement of the dessert trays. “Are you going to hang that banner or just stand there being smug about your stupid attractive forearms?”
“I can do both.” He gets the ladder from the storage closet Lisa pointed out and sets it up.
I watch him climb up, reach for the banner, secure it to the wall.
“Toss me the other end?” he calls down.
“I got it.” I grab the banner’s opposite corner and climb on a chair, because I’m helpful like that.
“Careful,” Brody warns.
“I’ve got it.”
Deep down, I’ll admit that I should have known I don’t “got it.” But in this moment, all I’m thinking is Look at us, we’re so cute working together.
I reach too far, trying to line up the banner with the hook. The chair wobbles, and I have a brief moment of clarity where I think This is it. This is how I die.
And suddenly, I’m in Brody’s arms.
