It was beyond unappealing, but…
“Of course. Meeting in the foyer at ten?”
“That’s the plan. There’s about a dozen of us going so we’re taking several cars. We’ll do lunch at the country club and then come back here to relax before getting ready for dinner. It’s going to be great!”
Nodding, he gave Leanna’s hand a gentle squeeze and fortunately, she understood that he was hoping for them to move on.
“And don’t worry, Char, all those little Tiffany boxes are going to look amazing! My staff was working on them all afternoon and they’re perfect!”
Charlene hugged her again. “That’s why I only wanted you to do the desserts, Lea. You’re the best!”
As they walked away, he could have sworn he heard Leanna mutter something under her breath, but he waited until they were in the far corner of the tent getting drinks at the bar before he asked.
“Everything okay?”
She nodded. “Sure. Why?”
He accepted his glass of champagne and smiled when she accepted hers and thanked the bartender. Guiding her away from the bar, he said, “It’s just that when we started to walk away from the happy couple, I could have sworn you mumbled something.”
“Oh. Heard that, did you?” she murmured.
“Well, I heard something. I can’t really say what.”
With a throaty chuckle, she grinned at him. “Let’s just say that my cousin is all happy and loving me now, but when she came for her initial consultation about the desserts, she was a bit of a nightmare. At one point she told me if I couldn’t do what she was asking, there were dozens of other bakers who could.” She shook her head. “Now I’m the best, so…”
“Ah…gotcha.” Taking a sip of his champagne, he felt a little bad for her. Like she was clearly here at the engagement party under duress already and he was adding to it with this whole plus-one thing. His only option was to make sure she enjoyed herself.
“As long as everything continues to go smoothly, Charlene will love me. If I mess up…”
“Believe me, I know the feeling. That’s why we’re here together,” he admitted. “And now that I know what you’re dealing with, I feel like a jerk.”
“Don’t worry about it. If I weren’t here with you, I’d still be here at the party and I’d probably be lingering by the dessert table to make sure nothing got ruined and I wouldn’t relax at all. Then I’d sneak out and go over to my trailer and work after putting in an appearance here.”
“What could you possibly have to work on? Last I saw, all of the cupcakes for tomorrow were done and so was the cake.”
She took another sip of her champagne before answering. “Next is more baking. That’s what we’ll be doing all day tomorrow. We’ve easily got another couple of hundred cupcakes to bake and decorate and we have to do some extra layers for Saturday’s cake. And because I know my cousin, I’m making sure I have extra of everything just in case.”
“Seems like you’re putting a lot of extra pressure on yourself.”
She shrugged. “That’s kind of my thing. At least it is where baking is concerned. My parents will tell you how the rest of my life is a mess or out of control, but I can control everything in the kitchen.”
It was all said casually, but he had a feeling there was a lot more to that simple statement.
“So why is the rest of your life a mess?”
She laughed softly. “Hmm…let’s see, I’m single and my older sister is happily married with two beautiful children. She’s a stay-at-home mom and her husband is a partner at a prestigious law firm. They have a vacation home up in Asheville and one in Myrtle Beach and they are the poster children for the country club sect.” She sighed. “Then there’s me. I wake up and go to work while it’s still dark, I have a tendency to look a bit like a hot mess while I’m working, there’s usually flour in my hair or on my clothes, I live in a one-bedroom apartment, and I drive an older sedan. And when I’m not driving that, I’m driving around in a white refrigerator van that my sister likens to a predator’s van.”
“Yikes,” he said, unable to hide his amusement.
“But what no one acknowledges is that I am a partner in a very successful event planning business. We built it up from nothing and we are the number one event planners in the Triangle.” She took another sip of champagne before continuing. “And while I’m not driving a Mercedes or vacationing at the beach, I am being very smart with my money. I have a healthy retirement fund and saving account. In another two years, the predator van will be paid off and then I can look into getting myself a new car. It may not look as glamorous as my perfect sister’s life, but I’m totally happy!”
It would be wrong to point out how her tone of voice said otherwise, so he kept that to himself.
“It sounds like you’ve got a good head on your shoulders, Leanna,” he said, hoping to make her feel better. “You’re not living beyond your means and making smart decisions with your finances. Good for you.”
“Yeah, great. Hard to believe men aren’t lining up to date me, huh?” She looked away as she said it, but now he knew there was more to all of this. Unfortunately, it was none of his business and this wasn’t the time or the place for them to get into it.
Off in the distance, some sort of obnoxious bell rang and Brody paused to look around. “What in the world is that?”
Beside him, Lea laughed. “It’s a dinner bell. I guess they thought it would be fun to use one.”
“Maybe if we were at a hoedown…”
“Oh, stop. Don’t be such a snob,” she chastised. “C’mon. Let’s go get in line for something to eat.”
Again, Brody inwardly groaned. This was so not the kind of party he enjoyed. Standing in line to get his food seemed ridiculous, but…here they were.
But to his surprise, Leanna must have sensed his displeasure because she managed to not only distract him, but regale him with conversation about the different kinds of events Meet Me at the Altar had planned and the varying menus she’d seen. By the time they were sitting down to eat, they were laughing and he started telling her about some of the places he’d traveled to and the different cuisines he’d tried.
Once dinner was through, they joined everyone on the dance floor for several songs. Dancing was never his thing, but Lea’s laugh and enthusiasm kept him going. They got through dessert–he opted for the fresh fruit and not a cupcake–and an endless round of toasts from everyone in the bridal party before he noticed that she was yawning beside him.
“Tired?” he asked.
“It’s been a long day and I have to get up early tomorrow. If I were at home, I’d be in bed already,” she said with a small laugh.
“Well then, let’s get you back to the house,” he said as he came to his feet. Once again, he held his hand out to her and continued to hold it as they made their rounds to say goodnight and on the ride back to the house.
“I really want to feel bad about using the golf cart to get back and forth, but my feet are very thankful for it.”
At the house, they walked inside and instead of taking the stairs, Brody led her around to the elevator. “No point in trudging up the stairs and exhausting you even more,” he teased.