CHAPTER 1
90 DAYS UNTIL ANNA & DRAKE'S WEDDING
PIPER
A face-plant into the concrete steps would ruin both Piper Daws's dignity and her carefully calibrated timeline for the biggest day of her event planning career.
The black key fob she stumbled on skittered across the step leading to the door of her office building. The fob popped open, tossing two little circular batteries flying.
The button kind that are a total pain to find at the store.
She reached for the stair railing to catch herself before disaster really struck. Her pastel-pink fingernail polish contrasted against the chipping black paint as she grasped the warm metal rail.
"I'm not going down that easily," she muttered, steadying herself with the same resolve she used to handle difficult clients and impossible deadlines.
Not today of all days, when she finally had the contract from the Directors of Interment and Cremation Knowledge locked down for her employer, Montgomery Events. She was a junior event planner with aspirations to snag the head event planner role. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one with the goal.
But this contract meant guaranteed corporate clients who wouldn't sob over wedding centerpieces or demand a last-minute dove release. Just neat, orderly, funeral professionals who appreciated her ability to organize the hell out of a conference and the occasional luncheon.
Sayonara to the bridezillas and the family drama that always paired so well with weddings. The briefest flicker of her mother's fourth wedding tickled at her memory. But she shut that shit down fast.
"Success by death." She smiled at her little joke. Smiled so wide it settled deep in her soul. Even the bright pink, yellow, and red flowers peeking through leaves seemed to cheer her on.
Piper had made her own magic happen. Unlike those ridiculous fairy tales her mother used to read her, where some born-royal prince showed up to save the day. Thanks to her hard work, this was the best day ever.
The universe clearly wanted to test her best-day-ever declaration when her right heel stuck in what was in the running for the world's stickiest wad of gum.
Okay, ew.
Balancing the found key fob on the top of a nearby trash-can lid, she pulled off her glittery gold shoe and, standing on one foot so she didn't accidentally step her bare foot into something worse, she scraped the residual gum goo through the rectangular opening into the waste bin.
Smacking the stretched Hubba Bubba against the side dislodged most of the sticky nonsense, but there was a good amount of scraping still to be done.
"Need a hand there?" a guy with a husky, deep voice asked in a tone that held entirely too much teasing given her precariously one-footed situation.
She glanced up, ready to deliver her standard "thanks, but I've got this" speech—and promptly forgot how words worked.
Because standing there, looking like he'd just walked off a photoshoot for HotGuysinCasualWear.com, was quite possibly the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen outside of a wedding party where the groom modeled regularly for GQ.
"I'm… fine?" she forced out with only a tiny squeak.
Though—her current position with one shoe off—balancing drunken flamingo-style while scraping gum on the trash can might have suggested otherwise. "Urban bubblegum warfare. It's everywhere in Cherry Creek these days."
He chuckled at her joke, and the sound did something weird to her stomach. Weird good, that is.
"The Mint Gum Menace hits again. He is particularly active around corporate offices lately. The jerk." He stepped closer and she held her breath.
Not because of the proximity, but he probably smelled amazing to match the whole thing he had going on. She did not need that kind of distraction in her nostrils.
He reached his hand out and?—
"That key's for my car."
"Oh." She glanced to where it balanced on the trash can lid. "I was just going to turn it in at lost and found. Though, technically, it found me. Attacked me. Whatever you want to call it."
"It's been known to misbehave," he said, a twinkle in his eye that made her suddenly want to misbehave.
His eyes were so ocean blue they made her want to jump in and go for a swim. They crinkled at the corners as he smiled. "The damn thing's never coordinated an attack with gum before. That's new."
