Keeping one eye on the bride at all times, I went to her. “What now?”
I just wanted one second to sit back and enjoy the idyllic scene we created. The purple-blue sky made the ocean so dark and the white caps on the waves seemed to fight against it.
“One of the groomsmen is insisting he needs to make an announcement. The DJ is holding him off, but he won’t take no for an answer.”
We discretely walked along the perimeter of the patio to where a man, with his white shirt unbuttoned down his chest and glazed eyes, was arguing with the DJ. “Just give me the mic for one minute. I have to say something.”
I tapped his shoulder, and he spun to me. “Hi, what is it you need to say?”
“They need to know. I have to tell them.”
I kept my smile in place and said in a sweet voice, “What do you have to tell them?”
“That the bride is pregnant, and it’s mine.” He swayed on his feet, and I blinked.
“We should get him to his room,” Maggie suggested.
I was not a therapist. This was none of my business. My only job was to plan and pull off the bride and groom’s dream wedding. If the family found out I let him destroy their day, I might not get paid. Even worse, they could file a complaint with the resort. A bad review could destroy my career. I would not let that happen.
“Okay, you’re right. That’s very important,” I told him and put my arm on his back. “But you can’t just blurt that out. You should really think about what you’re going to say. Maggie’s going to walk you back to your room so you can plan it out.”
He didn’t fight me as I led him farther away. “Yeah?”
Maggie took over, leading him by his elbow. “She’s right. You don’t want to ruin your one chance.”
“Don’t let him out of his room. Call security and have someone stand watch outside.”
She nodded as she walked him back toward the tower of guest rooms.
Only two fires to put out so far. The ceremony had gone off without a hitch, and the dinner was uneventful. Why couldn’t I have just one wedding that went smoothly? At least this time, it had been things I never could have planned for. Everything on my end was fine. It was the humans I couldn’t control.
I wondered if what the groomsman said was true. Was the bride really pregnant? I’d been working with her for four months, and she seemed so in love with her new husband. I couldn’t see her having an affair, but stranger things had happened.
When Maggie got back, we checked on the food and drinks. Both were well stocked and the guests seemed to be enjoying themselves on the dance floor, so I checked on the cake.
“What do you think?” Robbie stepped back from the cake to reveal a beautiful creation. He’d added orange, purple, and pink flowers cascading down from the top tier like a sunset.
“It’s better than before!” I crushed him with a hug and turned to Maggie. “Signal to the DJ that it’s time.”
I scanned the cake again, amazed at the transformation. “It’s really beautiful. Thanks so much for your help.”
“Glad to help.” He grinned and opened his mouth, but Maggie called out. “Ready.”
I waved to a server, “Can you help me with this?”
She rushed over and helped me push the cake table outside. Everyone was gathered around, but my eyes were on the bride, waiting for her reaction. Her eyes filled, and I sucked in a breath.
“It’s even more perfect than I imagined,” she gushed and smiled at me before looking at her husband. They cut into it as I slipped away. Luckily, she hadn’t seen the cake before. If she asked why the cake was different from the all-white one she had designed, I’d tell her something about Robbie seeing it and being struck with inspiration. I doubted she would care though, especially after her dad passed me and quietly said a quick thanks.
So all was well.
When the DJ announced it was time for the newlyweds to leave, I locked in on them. They were beaming at each other, completely oblivious to the rest of the world. Seeing them so blissfully happy reminded me there were parts of this job that weren’t so bad.
After the official send-off for the bride and groom, which Maggie and I watched as the reception wound down and people began trickling away. I told the staff to discreetly begin clearing the food away and cleaning up without intruding on the remaining guests.
It wasn’t until after one in the morning that I collapsed at my desk in my office behind the front lobby of the resort.
“All the invoices are here.” Maggie handed me a folder, and I added it to the rest of the paperwork for the night.
“Good work tonight,” I told her while pushing off my heels.
“Yeah, it was one of the easier ones.” Maggie sat across from me. “Aside from the supposed baby daddy.”
I laughed. “None of our business.”
“Thank heavens for that.” She sighed. “So what’s next?”
I pulled my black scheduling book from the top drawer and flipped it open. “The Wells-Malkin wedding.” The names didn’t sound familiar. “Did you work with this one?”
She shook her head and pulled out her own notebook. Her finger trailed down a page before she stopped. “Oh right. We’ve been talking to Chloe Murray and Sydney Cullen about it.”
It was rare the bride had nothing to do with the planning, but not entirely unheard of. This was my first experience with it, but during our first two calls the two women had been easy enough to work with. We’d covered the basics of the wedding, but the majority of the planning had been done through email.
“Have you started their file?” I asked while opening my laptop.
“Yeah, I put together the information they sent over.”
I opened the folder and clicked on their first form that gave basic information on the bride and groom. I scanned over it and froze. “Did we know that he’s a hockey player?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
While she searched her notes, I searched his name. “Maggie.”
Her eyes snapped to mine. “What?”
“He’s an NHL player. He’s transferring to a brand new team in Seattle this fall. He’s a big deal.”
She swallowed. “How big?”
“Like career-changing big,” I whispered as I pulled up various pictures of the couple. They were young and beautiful, and while they might not be movie stars, Noah Malkin was a big enough of a name to draw in photographers and magazines. If I got them to agree to allow the media, this could be my big break.
“Don’t freak out,” she warned. Two summers together, and she knew how I operated. I hadn’t shared how badly I wanted to leave the resort and build a wedding planning business for myself, not yet. There were still things I needed to get into place before I could quit. “We treat this like any other wedding. You can’t let it get to your head, or you’ll overthink everything.”
I let out a slow breath. I was exhausted from the long day and needed sleep, but there was no way I’d be able to stop myself from staying up all night. Sydney and Chloe already gave us some really great information, and I could put together a couple of idea boards to send them in the morning. The wedding date was three weeks away, so I’d have to work fast in order to pull off the perfect event worthy of magazine covers.