We were just a week away from the big day and Kristen was waffling about the flowers she wanted in the floral arches, which had the florist calling me in tears, panicked about trying to source something entirely knew ages after she’d already placed orders for the original blooms. She had just launched her business and struggling to keep up with the smiley yet demanding bride who didn’t seem to have any clue just how unreasonable she was being.
Carter was in full support of whatever his fiancée wanted in terms of flowers. I was pretty sure he didn’t have a clue what the difference was between a hydrangea and an azalea, but he kept telling everyone that whatever she wanted was fine with him.
Granted, he had leveled up as well, deciding that he wanted the band they’d booked plustwoDJs who were going to be flown in from Europe. It didn’t seem like a big deal but it required our AV team to go into warp speed to try to figure out how to accommodate all of the wiring required. Poor Drew had tried his best to convince Carter thatone extra DJ would deliver plenty of club vibes, but he’d insisted he needed both because they had totally different sets.
At first glance the upheaval seemed like nothing more than the typical wedding vision-board resets that happened all the time, but the undercurrent beneath all of the changes hinted that there was trouble in paradise. Kristen seemed focused on the pageantry and Carter on the party, which led to plenty of sparring, and one full-on argument. The way they were acting made it seem like they’d never had a real conversation about what was important to either of them.
And honestly, I wouldn’t have been shocked if they hadn’t. They’d been dating for about five minutes before getting engaged. They lovedeach other, but they didn’tknoweach other. Not really.
Which made me alittleworried about the scaffolding holding up the whole relationship.
But I wasn’t just thinking about their relationship. I was focusing on my own, as well. Things were amazing with Drew when we were together, but finding time for that was an increasingly tricky proposition, given how insanely busy we both were. When wedidfind a second, we were usually too exhausted to actually enjoy it.
So that meant we had to try harder. I’d seen plenty of relationships fracture when the couple was under too much stress, but the ones who made it through were the ones who made an effort to keep the spark alive. I was willing to put the work in to maintain and grow what we had, and I felt that he was, too. If there was one thing you could say about Drew Ashford, it was that he wasn’t afraid to work hard. He’d work hard for this—forus. I was sure of it.
Hence my little plan.
I’d reached out to Drew’s assistant Shelby and Ethan the GM to set up a mini-vacation for us at the resort. Okay, so that just meant having lunch on a hidden balcony, away from the filming and shoutedinstructions from the dictator with a camera. But even if it only lasted for an hour or so, that still sounded like heaven to me.
Drew strode into the bright sunshine where I was waiting for him looking like he was afraid of what was about to happen. When he spotted me standing next to the table for two beneath the giant striped umbrella his entire body relaxed.
“Oh, thank fuck,” he sighed. “I wasn’t sure what I was walking into.”
He strode over to me, took me in his arms and gave me a kiss that stopped time. He cupped my cheek and stared into my eyes.
“You did this for me?”
“For us,” I corrected. “A little break in the day, before the day breaks you.” I’d seen how much he was stressing, even behind his customer service smile.
He chuckled and kissed the top of my head. “You’re amazing.”
“Agreed,” I laughed. “And wait until you see what Chef whipped us for us.”
I stepped aside so that he could see the Insta-worthy spread that included surprises that weren’t on the menu. Drew went quiet as he took it all in, and I watched his handsome face break into a giant smile, the likes of which I hadn’t seen in days.
“Is thatAlmascaviar?” Drew asked as he pointed to the brimming silver bowl.
“Damn, you’ve got an incredible eye. It is. Chef said it’s your favorite, so he made sure to source it.”
“How did you plan this?” Drew smiled at me.
“It’s what I do,” I insisted. “I make magical memories.”
“I know that for a fact,” he murmured, watching me like he wanted to scoopmeup with a mother of pearl spoon, not the caviar. “You amaze me.”
We both went still as we seemed to consider the same question; eat or fuck?
Drew’s phone buzzed and when he pulled it out the answer was clear. “Damn it. Carter is demanding an audience at one thirty.” He glanced at the time. “So much for a lazy lunch.”
So much for fucking.
“What does he want?” I asked as I sat down.
Drew’s expression went tight as he joined me at the table. “All he said is that he has an idea that’s ‘epic,’ and it’s non-negotiable. I’m terrified that it’s something like wanting to hire Cirque de Soleil for the cocktail hour.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” I laughed. “How bad has he been for you? Because it sort of feels like he’s playing both of us, like a kid with his parents. If he doesn’t get the answer he wants from me, he immediately looks for you.”
The waiter appeared with sparkly pink non-alcoholic drinks and we both paused until we were alone again.
