No Groom Like Him

Weird how she’d grown up in this bedroom but no longer thought of it as home. Then again maybe not so weird because a lifetime had passed since she’d lived here. She was on the road so much even her place didn’t feel much like home. Blinking away the remnants of sleep, she reached for the phone and glanced at the display. Not her alarm but a text message.

What is going on with the Carmichael/Girard wedding? Anything I need to know?

The message was from her local office manager, Mara, who would—naturally—be in the office before the sun came up. Which was precisely why Lily had promoted Mara from the position of Manhattan assistant to handle this office.

Mara Tepper had been with Worldwide Weddings Unlimited ever since Lily had contracted her as temporary help for the Bristow/Sonnenburg wedding in the Hamptons nearly five years ago. With half the Democratic National Party in attendance, she’d had to call in two crews from the field, as well as hire local labor.

When several of Lily’s crew became sick with an unfortunate case of food poisoning barely thirty-six hours before the event, she discovered Mara knew her way around weddings. Within a year she’d become an assistant in the Manhattan office. A few years after that she was running this branch in Poughkeepsie.

Lily didn’t bother texting a reply, but instead depressed the speed dial. The first ring had barely ended before the call connected.

“I thought that inquiry was on top of the queue for the next proposal review,” Mara said.

Lily sighed. “It was. Now it’s a go.”

“Um, yeah. Got that part. Ginger’s been talking about the wedding nonstop. She seems to think you’ve already agreed, and I didn’t have the heart to break it to her. The part I don’t get is why I had to read that you’d accepted the job online.”

Lily usually awoke with a clear head. Whether she was a morning person or because she lived in a constant state of semianxiety, she wasn’t sure, but this morning she must not have been thinking as clearly as usual. “What are you talking about? I simply…well, not agreed per se, but sort of got maneuvered and guilted into saying yes.”

“Lily, what are you doing? You need a vacation.”

“It’ll have to wait.”

“Even so, how on earth can you possibly squeeze in another event?”

“We’ll manage.”

“This is not doable. You’ve got a lot on your plate right now. We’re forty-eight hours out in Brussels. Three weeks in Los Angeles. Six in Geneva and Aruba.” Mara paused to exhale an exasperated breath. “You’ve got four more events in production right behind those and that lineup doesn’t include my office, which you well know operates like the redheaded stepchild.”

A rather witty comment as Mara was a tried-and-true redhead—freckles and all. But the pressure Lily suddenly felt precluded humor.

“I know. And I refused. Everyone ganged up on me. It would have taken the Jets’ defensive line to stop them.” The muscle under her left eye twitched. “But what do you mean you read about it on the internet? Where?”

“The All About Angel blog.”

How could a day go south so fast? “You. Are. Kidding. Me.”

“Not kidding. Log on and read it for yourself if you must, but that would be an unpleasant way to start the morning. And you’ve got unpleasantries that takes precedence, I’m afraid. There are some unhappy media outlets at the moment. You promised an exclusive. I followed up last night by assuring they’d get one.”

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes. Several have already read the bogus blogger and word’s getting around fast, apparently. My inbox was practically smoking when I logged on this morning.”

Lily rubbed at the twitching muscle. “Let me check something and call you back.”

She had no clue what Max’s typical morning schedule might look like beyond knowing he had to get Madeleine off to school. If it was a little early for him…well, he could lose some sleep. She certainly would because of this big wedding he’d dropped in her lap.

Scrolling through the contacts on her phone, she found his number.

He answered quickly. “Lily Susan.” His voice soft and gravelly, a morning voice.

“Good morning, Max. I’ve got a question for you.”

“Shoot.”

“After you left here, did you speak with your mother last night about your brother-in-law’s wedding?”

“No. I didn’t actually see her last night. She and my father had some sort of engagement that kept them out late. How come?”

Lily frowned. That wasn’t what she’d expected at all. But she couldn’t imagine why he’d lie when he’d been so blunt with his opinions.

The prodigal, indeed.

“The All About Angel blogger somehow knows I’ve confirmed for your wedding.”

“You thought I jumped on the exclusive?” He sounded offended.

“That seemed the most likely way for the news to get out. I mean, your mother thought I’d already agreed. I wonder where she could have gotten that idea?”

The cad didn’t even bother defending himself. “Did you agree?”

She wanted to say no, simply because he was irking her. “I agreed.”

“I thank you, then.” That voice rippled through all her still-sleepy places without permission. “I know you wanted to relax on this trip, and you will. Like your mom said yesterday, you’ll have help. You have my word that I’ll pitch in any way I can.”

“Oh, you will, and I’ll need help. Lots and lots of it. Be forewarned.”

“Not a problem.” There was a chuckle in there. “And for the record, I would not jump on an exclusive, even if I had spoken with my mother last night. But I didn’t know you’d agreed. I can prove it—”

“You don’t have to prove anything, Max. I don’t think you’re a liar for the record. Merely pushy. And I can’t figure out what’s going on. Two days in a row, I’ve got personal information going public without my knowledge or consent.”

“That is disturbing. Any ideas?”

“No clue. I didn’t tell anyone.” Because she was still in denial over being outmaneuvered so handily. She’d wanted to savor the first night of her vacation in peace. “My assistant in Manhattan doesn’t have a clue. The last he heard, we’d put the inquiry on top of the pile for the next review meeting. And I didn’t even talk to my office manager here after I confirmed with your mother.”

“Could the blogger be speculating? You’ve said yourself that their information isn’t accurate.”

“But how would the blogger even know about the wedding? Unless he or she was at the airport yesterday when you announced— Damn it.” She practically growled. “It’s in the news. The press might not know whether or not I was planning the wedding, but they knew I was considering it.”

There was silence for so long that suddenly Lily knew without a shred of doubt where she’d find the first headline.

“You didn’t.” Not a question.

“Well, it is news.” He didn’t sound in the least bit repentant. “Big news.”

“Max, you knew I was trying to lay low—”

“Excuse me, got to run. I hear Madeleine.”