She raised her eyebrows. “Oh wow. That good, huh?” She yawned and rubbed her cheeks. “Tomorrow is gonna be a bear.”
“Count on it.”
Rebecca dozed off, or at least pretended to, in the ten minutes it took to drive back to her car. It was probably for the best. Their relationship had just experienced a seismic shift, and he’d no longer be able to escape behind a crusty boss exterior when he didn’t want to deal with his feelings for her. It was freeing and terrifying all at the same time, and he wanted to backtrack and pretend he hadn’t held her hand and told her he missed her, too.
He pulled up next to her car and walked her over.
“See you tomorrow, Jay.” She smiled up at him, making his heart thump harder in his chest.
“Get some sleep.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek, acting like it was a casual gesture, but everything inside of him was on high alert. He paused by her ear. “You’d look nice in a gunny sack too, you know.”
***
Wow, did Jay know how to turn on the charm when he wanted to. She gripped her covers, shivering all over at the memory of him whispering in her ear. Sleep was about to steal her away to dreamland, but Rebecca’s thoughts replayed their conversation and the crazy impulse that came over her to grab his hand. She must have been out of her mind.
Jay was herboss. He wasn’t the young idiot and best friend of ten years ago, and he wasn’t the uptight jerk she’d met on her first day on the job. So who was he?
She set her alarm for the next day, and after staring at the ceiling for a few minutes, the next thing she remembered was frantically grabbing up her cellphone, sure it couldn’t be five-thirty a.m. already. Why did people have morning weddings?
She took a little more time on her hair and makeup than yesterday and put on one of her nicer dresses. It was a fancier event; that was all.
The castle was the farthest property Marlise owned, and with traffic, Rebecca didn’t get there until almost eight, only two hours before the ceremony would begin. She jogged over to Marlise, who was directing the setup of a dance floor and tents on the massive grounds.
“I’m glad you’re here. Put on this headset and go up to the turret on the east side. The bride insisted on using a turret as her dressing room, even though it’s hot and stuffy up there. She’ll barely fit through the door in her massive dress. Make sure she gets down the stairs without breaking her neck and fetch her anything she needs. Last I checked, she was panicking about a bridesmaid who hadn’t shown up yet.”
Rebecca put on the headset and quickly tested it with Marlise’s, before walking to the castle entrance. She’d gotten a tour earlier in the week, but the place still held the same magic as it had on first glance. It wasn’t filled with ancient history like its European predecessors, but it looked like it did. Backed up against the San Gabriel Mountains, the cut stone massive art piece gave one the feeling an order of knights might ride up at any moment.
She pulled open the heavy wrought iron doors and came face to face with Jay.
He looked stressed and tired, and she felt bad for keeping him up late.
“Clarissa’s upstairs with the bride. Objects have been thrown, and she’s trying to calm her down as we speak.”
“Oh, no. Where’s the groom?”
“Um, he’s got a little bit of a hangover.” Jay held up a bottle of aspirin. “I’m off to get him coffee. Don’t go in the conservatory. He’s passed out on the couch in there.”
Rebecca wasn’t sure where the conservatory was, but she wouldn’t go wandering. “Do you think I should go up with Clarissa?”
He grimaced. “Ask Marlise.”
Ah, the headset. Rebecca fumbled with it, trying to remember which button to press.
Jay came over and guided her hand to the right spot. “Remember that while you have this pressed down, everything you say into it will be heard by me, Clarissa, Marlise, and Annette. And please speak at a normal volume or we’ll all end up with a headache.”
She nodded, staring into his hazel eyes. They were friends. Just friends.
She held down the speaker button. “Uh, Marlise? Clarissa’s with the bride. Do you want me up there with her?”
“No, don’t come up!” Clarissa’s voice immediately came through.
“That’s okay,” Marlise replied. “Run back here and get my keys from me. I need you to grab a bag of zip ties from the toolbox of my truck. Did you get that?”
“Yes. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Thank goodness for sensible shoes. She’d almost picked out her peep-toe heels to go with her dress, but practicality won out. Rebecca gave one last look back at Jay and jogged back to Marlise for her keys. The parking lot was another fifty yards further.
“Don’t forget to lock it back up!” Marlise called as Rebecca ran off.
