"And honestly," Piper added offhand, "this way we avoid all the typical engagement horror stories. No restaurant proposals where the ring gets eaten, no flash mobs of weird strangers being awkward." She tapped her pen thoughtfully against her palm. "I mean, statistically, it's a sound decision. The average engagement costs nearly four thousand dollars for what is, essentially, a glorified promise party—with a twenty percent failure-to-launch rate, so if you factor in—" She caught herself. "I mean... What I mean is…" She licked her lips. "You know what? Some thoughts are inside thoughts. I should remember that. What I should've said is, congratulations on finding a meaningful approach that honors your relationship."
Anna's mouth hung open slightly, her eyes wide with apparent shock. Drake stared fixedly at the table, suddenly fascinated by the wood grain. Tess froze mid-text, her perfectly manicured fingers hovering above her phone.
For three excruciating seconds, no one seemed to breathe.
"And that's why we keep Piper away from the greeting card department," Zach quipped, shooting his sister a wink.
Interesting that the wedding cynic from the sidewalk chose that moment to peek through Piper's professional facade.
"We're already beating all kinds of statistics," Drake assured Anna.
"And there's no way Babushka's gonna let Drake out of the engagement," Zach said wryly. "She's going to insist on being at future meetings like this."
"No," Anna said immediately, panic crossing her face. "No, we are not involving Babushka. The last time she 'helped' with an event, the fire department showed up."
"That was a misunderstanding," Zach defended. "The flames were meant to be there."
"The flames, yes. The explosion, no," Anna countered.
"There was also that other thing," Drake said with a loud exhale.
"You mean the thing where she locked us in a room together?" Anna asked, pursing her lips and crossing her arms.
"You can't even be mad about that one," Zach said on a huff. "It saved your relationship."
Piper looked between the siblings with a mixture of horror and fascination. "I'm sorry, your grandmother sets things on fire?"
Of the two issues, apparently that one seemed like it was the biggest deal.
"Not intentionally," Zach said at the same time Anna said, "Always."
"Moving on," Tess interrupted. "We need to set a timeline. I'm thinking engagement shoot next week, followed by the wedding in three months."
"Three months?" Piper's eyes widened. "That's... ambitious."
"We need it before training camp," Tess explained. "And before Anna starts showing."
Anna's hand instinctively went to her still-flat stomach.
"Then we better get going," Piper agreed, diving back in.
The meeting finally wrapped up, and Tess was the first to leave, already on another call before she'd even left the room. Drake helped Anna up, his hand protectively at the small of her back.
Anna gave Zach a quick hug on her way out. "Fair warning, Mom's planning to call you tonight about the shop inventory system again."
Zach groaned. "I already told her I don't know anything about florist inventory management."
"You're the tech-savvy one," Anna shrugged. "In her mind, that means you can fix anything that comes with a power button."
Zach lingered after they left as Piper organized her notes and materials. She seemed determined to ignore his presence, though he caught her glancing his way twice.
"So," he finally said. "Weddings? Am-I-Right?"
Her hands stilled. "For reasons that you don't need to worry about, I need this job to go well."
Zach leaned against the conference table, studying her. "I know we barely know each other, but I'm thinking that maybe we can help each other on this one."
"How exactly?" Piper narrowed her eyes, her chin tilting slightly downward as she took a half-step back.
