My breathing was a touch heavier now. I couldn’t help it. One of my pet peeves had always been people who shrugged things off at work.
Before I’d sold my system, before I’d been able to convince someone to give me a shitty, entry-level job, I used to wonder if those people just coasting through had any clue how lucky they were. I had skills, sure, but they’d been self-taught, and with no formal experience or qualifications, it had taken me a long time to find someone willing to give me a job.
I’d gotten to where I was by clawing my way up, fighting tooth and nail against the world when it kept shooting me down. It used to make my blood boil when I saw people who had been given chances just fucking wasting them, and that had never changed.
Luna’s gaze was on mine, questions in the slight wrinkle between her brows, but she didn’t ask them. Instead, she took a small step toward me and nodded. “I get it. Let’s say I don’t owe you. Will you let me help you anyway? Again, I’m sure you have friends who—”
“I don’t have many of those actually.” My breathing was no longer irregular, but my fists clenched as I shoved my hands in the pockets of my slacks. “Especially not ones who know a single fucking thing about wedding planning.”
Frustration blew through me again. This shit would have been so much easier if Peter just would have caved and let me hire a goddamn wedding planner. Why does he have to be the only person on the fucking planet who doesn’t want my damn money?
Maybe I should find a wedding-planning agency to invest in. That way he couldn’t get pissy about it if they did it for him.
On the other hand, I’d given him my word and I couldn’t go back on that. Plus, I didn’t particularly want to sit with a wedding-planning agency in my portfolio once Peter and Jenny were hitched. I wanted to be able to go back to that happy plane of existence where I never had to think about weddings at all.
My fingers uncurled as I dragged one hand out and ran it through my hair. “I would appreciate your help very much.”
Luna’s mouth split into a smile and her eyes lit up. “Great. I’m glad. We’re going to have fun with this.”
“We are?” I frowned. “I very much doubt that.”
Thankfully, Luna didn’t take offense to my statement. She rolled her eyes and waved a hand. “Come on, Cyrus the Wedding Grinch. Have a little faith, would you?”
Despite my annoyance and frustration, I smiled a little. “Never. I can have faith in a lot of things but not weddings and certainly not marriages.”
“You really are Grinch-like.” Her eyes rolled again, the corners of her mouth still turned up. But then she inclined her head at the counter. “Let me print out a list for you of information we’ll need for a start and then we’ll jump in tomorrow. Does that work for you?”
Does it work for me to dedicate time on a third fucking day in a row to wedding planning? Hell no. “Sure. Let’s just get it over with.”
“Oh, goody.” She clapped her hands with mock excitement, her tone dry but her eyes sparkling. “It’s going to be such a pleasure to be working with someone who’s got such a passion for what we have to do.”
“Hey, you offered to help, remember?” I smirked as she moved to the space behind her computer and wiggled the mouse to wake it up. “I didn’t force you into working with me.”
She laughed. “True but you’re stuck with me now, I’m afraid. If you can get all the information on here before we meet tomorrow, we should be able to make a decent headway. I’ll have to bring in one of the temporary employees I use sometimes to watch the shop for me so we can head out, but I’ll have to talk them through a few changes I’ve made recently first. Could you be here by about ten?”
“I’ll be here.”
It honestly hadn’t even occurred to me when she’d first offered to help that she’d have to get someone in to watch the shop for her. Probably because it hadn’t occurred to me we’d have to leave. I was surprised by how helpful she was willing to be, to the extent she was willing to spend money on a temporary employee.
“Thank you,” I said, and I couldn’t remember a time when I’d meant it more.
Luna just smiled and waved me off with a roll of her shoulders. “It’s not a problem at all. I’ll see you tomorrow, Grinch. Do try to find some joy in all of this, would you? It’s not a death sentence.”
I chuckled, already turning to leave. “Well, it’s not mine. Marriage is just that for the groom, though.”
Chapter 9
Luna
Excitement rippled through me as I waited for Cyrus to arrive. Despite the fact that love hadn’t quite worked out for me, despite his cynicism about it and April’s, I really did love weddings.
Planning my wedding to Landon had actually been what I’d been looking forward to most about getting engaged, which probably should have clued me in to the fact that something wasn’t right between us.
I’d long since come to the conclusion that at that time of my life, I’d been more in love with the idea of marriage than I’d been with the man I’d wanted to enter into one with.
It had been a rough blow to take when I’d realized it, but ultimately, it had helped convince me that Landon hadn’t been the one for me anyway—married or not. Having realized that really sped the healing process along.
So even though I wasn’t ready for a relationship, it certainly wasn’t because I was pining for my ex. I was well and truly over Landon. I’d also just learned a few lessons in the process and I wasn’t eager for a repeat of them.
Now finally, two years after the opportunity to plan a wedding had been yanked away from me, I was finally going to get to do it. All thanks to Cyrus.
It was an added bonus that in doing so, I’d get to help him just like he’d helped me. He might not have felt like I owed him, but I sure felt like I did.
Plus, wedding planning? Swoon.
I was bouncing on the balls of my feet when a fancy, sleek black sports car pulled up at the curb.
A quick glance at the driver was all I needed to confirm my suspicion that the car belonged to Cyrus. No one else around here drove a car like that. I rushed over to him before he’d even gotten out, eager to get started.
He saw me coming and reached for something on the inside of his door as he gave me a curious frown, his head tipped to one side. I didn’t hear the lock clicking, but I assumed that was what he’d done since the door handle gave way easily when I pulled on the warm metal.
I hopped onto the buttery leather seat, barely sparing a glimpse at the ridiculously fancy interior of the cab before I buckled up and turned to face Cyrus. “Did you speak to the bride? What did she say?”
“Good morning to you, too.” A grin spread on his lips as he shook his head at me. “You’re really enthusiastic about sorting all this wedding stuff out, aren’t you?”
“Shamelessly so,” I said with absolutely no hesitation. “I can’t wait to get started. How about we go grab coffee somewhere so you can share what you’ve learned with the class? Then we plan our day from there?”