The Best Laid Plans

Max scratched the back of his head after tossing his phone on the coffee table. “I’m all for people being helpful. But sometimes people think they’re being helpful, when, in fact, they’re being a pain in the butt.”

“Someone at work?” Charlie asked just as the Blackhawks started a power play. The game was tied and would determine which team would have home-ice advantage in the playoffs.

“I wish,” Max said, his own eyes glued to the television. “I’ve been engaged for less than a week and this wedding is already making me cranky.”

The hockey puck refused to go in the goal no matter what the Hawks tried. Another shot went wide.

“Come on! We only need one goal, guys!” Charlie shouted at the screen as if the team could hear him.

“We’re going to lose this game if we don’t convert on this power play.”

“The Hawks will pull this out. We just need one. We can get one.” Charlie had faith. He believed things would work out in the end—they always did. “Don’t tell me your fiancée is driving you nuts.”

“No, not Kendall. We agreed that we wanted our wedding to be low-key. We talked about just going to the courthouse and making it official. Her sister, on the other hand, has other ideas. Emma thinks we need to have a ‘real’ wedding, and if we can’t put it together, she will.”

“Emma, huh?” The game no longer held Charlie’s interest. Emma was the complete package. She was the perfect combination of sweet, sexy, smart and interesting. Every time they bumped into one another, he became more enamored. She was cool and exuded an easy confidence, as though she always knew exactly what she was doing and why she was doing it.

“Yeah. Kendall swears there’s no one better at organizing things, but I think we should keep it simple. Just family and a justice of the peace.”

“I’m with the Nightingale on this one. You’re marrying Special K! You can’t marry a woman like that at city hall. Plus, if you have a real wedding, you’ll get gifts and I’ll get to drink out of a real glass when I come over to watch the game.” Charlie held up his plastic kiddie cup filled with Coke.

Max snorted when he laughed. “That’s one way to look at it, I suppose.”

Finding the bright side was Charlie’s gift. He was a silver-lining kind of guy. His optimism was a trait passed down through the generations; his father and grandfather had similar personalities.

Charlie’s grandfather swore it was the power of positive thinking that had won the two elder Fletcher men the women of their dreams. Unfortunately, Charlie hadn’t experienced the same kind of luck in the romance department. Women found him funny and charming when they met him, but eventually they all broke his heart, perpetuating the nice-guys-finish-last theory.

Emma had dream-woman potential. Charlie hadn’t pursued her yet out of fear. One more failed relationship and his optimism might be lost for good. Then he’d be lonely and depressed. He couldn’t let his thoughts drift in that direction.

“What if I helped her? I could make sure she doesn’t get too carried away. Make sure it’s how you want it.”

Max lifted one eyebrow. “You want to help plan my wedding?”

“Honestly? No. But I would like to spend some time with Kendall’s sister.” Charlie grinned. “Is that wrong?”

This garnered all of Max’s attention. He sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “You want to spend time with Emma? When did this happen?”

Charlie scrubbed his face with his hands. There would be no going back once the cat was out of the bag. “Pretty much since the first time I saw her.”

“What? How did I not know this?” He reached for his phone, but Charlie smacked it out of his hand.

“You can’t tell Kendall.”

“I have to tell Kendall.”

“You cannot tell Kendall.”

“I don’t think you understand,” Max said seriously. “Kendall will be told. If not now, then later.”

“Later. Please.”

“Fine.” A smile spread slowly across Max’s face. “Charlie Fletcher, I thought we were friends, but you’ve been holding out on me.”

Charlie hadn’t been intentionally keeping secrets. There wasn’t much to tell other than he had a crush. “There was nothing to say. I like her. I’ve been holding back a little because the women who somehow resist my good looks completely fall at my feet when I turn on the charm. It’s embarrassing, really.”

Max laughed into his fist. “Okay, but seriously. Emma’s cool. Now, if you were head over heels for Lucy, I’d tell you to run for your life. Emma’s usually easy to get along with, but I think she’s dating some doctor. If you let me call Kendall—” he reached for his phone “—I could find out.”

“No way.” Charlie smacked his hand again. “I have sisters. Sisters tell sisters everything. If you tell Kendall, she’ll tell Emma and things will be weird.”

“Okay, then just ask her out on a date,” Max suggested.

“But you think she’s already dating someone?” He’d worried this was the case. A beautiful woman like Emma probably had a boyfriend.

“Kendall and Lucy always say things about Emma marrying a doctor, but I feel like I’m missing something. I’ve never met any doctor boyfriend, so I’m not sure.”

Before he made a fool of himself, Charlie needed to find out if Dr. Boyfriend was real or not. If he wasn’t, he’d ask her on a date. If she was already taken, Charlie would have to reassess the situation.

“Well, you wanna be my best man?” Max asked.

“Yeah?” Charlie grinned. He hadn’t expected to get a title. “You want me to be your best man?”

“If you’re going to help my future sister-in-law plan my wedding, you should probably be my best man.”

“You’re a good man, Floor Three. I’m in.” Charlie had never planned a wedding, but he’d been to a few. Something told him he’d have to look at flower arrangements and discuss things like color palettes—things he had no interest in whatsoever. Spending some time with Emma could definitely be worth it, though.

Max and Charlie shook hands just as the Blackhawks’ forward scored a goal with only seconds left in the third period. Both men jumped up, cheering loudly. They high-fived and clapped for their team as if they were fans in the stands. A win for the Hawks had to be a sign that good things were going to come Charlie’s way.

* * *

“PEOPLE NEED TO turn down their music and look in their rearview mirrors every once in a while,” Charlie’s partner complained as she honked the air horn and drove the ambulance around some guy who simply refused to pull over.

Charlie stared him down as they passed. “He’s on his phone. I knew it!” There was nothing more frustrating to a paramedic than not being able to get to a call because of negligent drivers.

Serena made a wide right turn onto a one-way street. She double-parked in front of the brownstone where the 911 call had been made. Charlie grabbed his jump bag and headed for the building. A new life was about to begin today. The caller, Mr. Garrison, said his wife was in labor and was too far along to leave the house.

He wasn’t kidding.

The young woman lay on the bed clutching her swollen belly and shrieking as another contraction brought her one step closer to motherhood. Her husband ran back to her side and held her hand until it was over.

“I told her we should go to the hospital when they were coming every ten minutes, but she thought she had enough time to shower.”

Charlie noticed Mrs. Garrison had done more than shower. Her hair was styled and she had a face full of makeup. Something told him she’d been more worried about how she would look than about getting to the hospital on time. This had to be her first child, because most women didn’t wait when they’d been through the “joys” of natural childbirth before.

Serena instructed Mrs. Garrison not to bear down and asked the husband to get them some clean towels or blankets. Charlie pulled out the necessary equipment from his bag and put on a pair of gloves. Speaking as calmly as he could manage, he let the very-soon-to-be mother know everything that was happening as it happened. He got her positioned correctly and found the baby’s head was already crowning.

“You need to take me to the hospital! I can’t have my baby delivered by an ambulance driver!”

Sometimes Charlie’s profession got no respect. People didn’t realize how much training was necessary to be a paramedic. No, they weren’t doctors, but they were medical professionals capable of providing treatment until the patient could get to a hospital.