“From where? My feet break out if I wear cheap shoes.”
That was not something Jay wanted to picture. He caught Rebecca’s eye in the rearview, but she was clearly too stressed to find the situation funny.
He pulled up to the front of the castle. “Your daughter, Kenzie, is waiting for you in here.”
Mrs. Phillips climbed out and threw open the heavy doors. “Where are you, my darling?” Mr. Phillips followed, looking resigned.
Jay glanced back at Rebecca. “Stay seated, my lady. I’m going to park this in the carriage house. A golf cart in front of a castle kind of ruins the magic.” He pulled into the carriage house and parked next to a Suburban they kept for picking up stray guests.
Rebecca got out and glanced around the dark space, her eyes eventually landing on her feet. He came around and touched her arm. “You okay?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do with them. Marlise said not to let them in the castle. And of course, as soon as they arrived they wanted to go inside. I trudged off toward the lake with no plan, just talking about how nice it was. I—”
Jay pulled her into a hug and she stopped talking. It was such an instinctive response, but now she was in his arms, and her hair smelled good, and the way she was clinging to him…
“Jay! I need you in here. The groom just saw the bride in her dress, and she’s convinced their marriage is now cursed.”
He touched his speaker button. “Their marriageiscursed, Clarissa.”
“Very funny. But if they don’t go through with it we’ll all be getting paid a lot less.”
“She’s such a romantic,” Jay murmured into Rebecca’s hair.
Rebecca pulled away, looking sheepish. “I better let you get back. I’ll go see what Marlise needs me for next.”
He gave her a salute and headed outside, feeling a little off-balance and unsure what he should do. He’d meant to dial back his attention toward her today, but that wasn’t exactly what just happened.
Ten years ago, he’d jumped headlong into their friendship, convinced it would all work out the way it was meant to, convinced his love for her would conquer all. But it didn’t, and he’d grown cautious, especially when it came to women. Yet, his heart still wanted her. How was he supposed to protect it again?
