Chapter 12
T he day before the wedding, Kelly sprang out of bed first thing.
She knew they could get the entire wedding set up within a few hours if there were several people to help, but she couldn’t leave it to chance.
This was her opportunity to prove to herself that she could do this. That she was good at this.
And maybe she could go back home and tell her family all about it and how she wanted to branch out with her own business.
Or maybe not. But it was fun to think about.
She went to the coffeehouse, as she had made a habit of doing every morning, and grabbed a coffee and breakfast sandwich for herself.
As an afterthought, she grabbed another coffee for Miles and a hot chocolate for Emma since Miles mentioned she didn’t have school today.
She took a chance that the ladies behind the counter would know what Miles preferred.
They did, and they confirmed he hadn’t been in there that morning.
She used a drink tray to carry the three drinks while she ate her breakfast sandwich with the other hand.
She finished the sandwich just as she was walking along the sidewalk to the resort.
A familiar car pulled into the parking lot, and she stopped to wait for Miles to park.
He saw her and smiled as he pulled into the same parking spot he had on the first day.
She looked down at the wrapper in her hand and closed her fist to wrap it into a ball and chucked it at the hood of his car.
He opened his door while laughing, and she laughed along with him. Then Miles pulled open the back door and Emma got out. She looked at the wrapper that sat on the hood of the car and frowned.
“Why did you litter? That wasn’t nice.”
“Oh, it was just a joke, honey,” Kelly said. She stepped forward and reached for the wrapper, but Miles waved her away and grabbed it himself.
“It wasn’t very funny,” Emma said, clearly confused and still frowning at the wrapper that was now in Miles’s hand.
Miles chuckled. “It’s just an inside joke between us.”
“What does that mean?” Emma asked.
“It’s a joke only Kelly and I understand.”
Emma’s frown deepened. “Littering is not funny. Uncle Ethan would be very mad.”
Kelly looked at Miles, and he smiled apologetically at her. Kelly only winked and looked back at Emma.
“I’m sorry I littered. I won’t do it again. Maybe a hot chocolate will make it up to you?” Kelly asked. Then she looked quickly at Miles. “If it’s okay with your dad, of course.”
Emma’s face lit up, and she looked at Miles. “Can I?”
Miles nodded as the three of them walked through the resort doors. He tossed the wrapper into the first trash can they passed.
Kelly pulled the small hot chocolate off the tray and handed it to Emma, who eagerly took a sip. Then she pulled another coffee off the tray.
“And, Daddy, this one is for you,” Kelly said.
Miles raised an eyebrow, and a smirk appeared on his lips. Her ears tinged red as she realized what she had said. He took the drink from her and leaned in close so only she could hear.
“Good girl.”
His low voice did something to her. She swallowed hard and watched as he took a long drink from the cup, his throat working the liquid down, and she gulped. She hadn’t even intended on it being sexual, yet here they were.
They parted ways at the restaurant, with Kelly heading toward the ballroom. Miles told her that his brothers would be in to help as soon as they were all done with their obligations for the day. Additional staff would come in and help as they could.
She let herself into the ballroom and flipped on all the lights.
The same things she had set up were still in place as she had left them, but there was still so much to do.
She set her coffee and bag down on a table and stretched her arms above her head, doing a quick stretch before heading to the storage room.
She had set up only three more tables before her muscles were protesting from all the work yesterday.
She hadn’t even pulled the chairs out yet for any of the tables except the sample one she had Emma had set up the day before.
Kelly pulled a chair out of the storage room and set it up at an empty table and dropped into it.
She was already exhausted. She dropped her head into her hands and scrubbed her eyes.
Her phone pinged, and she dug it out of her bag, looking at the screen to find a text from Ava.
Ava: Are you working already?
Kelly: Yeah. I couldn’t sleep.
Ava: Would you like some help?
Kelly: Please.
Ava: I’ll be there soon.
Kelly sighed and leaned back in her seat. Ava had attended enough weddings as a photographer to spot any problems that Kelly might be missing. Not that she suspected there were any problems, but she couldn’t be too careful.
The door to the ballroom opened, and Kelly stood.
“Thank God. I was…” She drifted off as a man she didn’t know stood at the doorway. “Oh, hello. Um, can I help you?”
He looked around the room and then walked toward her with a friendly smile. “Hi. You must be Kelly. I’m Ethan.”
“Oh. Oh!” Kelly said. “You’re Miles’s brother. You do the hikes, right? My friend did one with you yesterday.”
“That would be me. I was told you may need a little help getting set up.” He looked around again and frowned. “Or a lot.”
Kelly sighed. “Yes. There are several more tables that need to be rolled out. I fear I bit off more than I could chew trying to do all this alone.”
“You hauled all these out by yourself?”
“I did.”
Ethan nodded in approval. “Damn. Good work.”
The door opened again, and Ava walked in.
“All right. Put me to work, bitch!” Ava shouted. Then she stopped short when she saw Ethan. “Oh, hey. I thought you were alone?”
“I just got here,” Ethan said. He pointed at Ava. “Ava, right? You were on my hike yesterday.”
Ava pointed back at him. “Yes. That was me.”
The door then opened again, and another man walked in.
“The muscles have arrived!”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “You’ll have to excuse Jackson over there. He’s got a giant head.”
A grin spread across Jackson’s face, and his eyebrows bounced up and down twice. “I certainly do.”
Ava burst into laughter, and Kelly looked at them amused.
Then another door opened, and another man walked in. He stopped short and looked at the other guys. “Does this mean there’s enough help, and I can head up the mountain?”
“No,” Jackson and Ethan said at the same time.
The man frowned and walked closer. “Hi, I’m Noah.”
Kelly looked at the men, who all looked similar and were obviously Miles’s brothers. “I’m Kelly, and this is Ava.”
Jackson smiled brightly and looked over at his brothers with a knowing smile on his face. Kelly frowned, unsure what that was about.
“All right. Let’s do this,” Ethan said, clapping his hands together. “Where are the tables going?”
Kelly pulled out the diagram and showed them what to do, then the three guys and Ava worked on pulling tables out and setting them up where Kelly directed. After an hour, they finished setting up the chairs.
Noah looked at his watch and frowned. “I need to head up the mountain. It was nice meeting you two.”
“Thank you for the help,” Kelly said.
Once Noah left, the rest of them laid out the remaining tablecloths.
“So, I have a question,” Ava said as she began arranging place settings like the sample table. “Ethan, did you teach Emma to say you’re a badass?”
Ethan laughed. “Of course not. She came up with that all on her own.”
Jackson rolled his eyes. “You’re right. A six-year-old said her uncle is a badass all on her own despite her father rarely swearing.”
“Did she pair it with a fist pump?” Ethan asked, ignoring Jackson.
Kelly laughed. “Yep.”
Ethan made a fist and pulled it back toward himself with a “yes.” Once all the tables and chairs were in place, the guys left to go back to work, leaving Ava and Kelly alone. Ava hung around for another hour as they did the last of the finishing touches.
They stood back and looked around. It was beautifully arranged, and Kelly knew it would be even more beautiful once the rest of the vendors arrived tomorrow morning to drop off their parts. Once flowers were added to the centerpieces and in vases around the room, it would be perfect.
“I’m proud of you,” Ava said.
Kelly smiled. “I’m proud of myself too. Thank you for volunteering me for this. I’m not sure I would have taken the leap if you hadn’t pushed.”
“That’s what friends are for. Ready to head back to the house?”
Kelly shook her head. “I’m going to hang out here and go over the notes to make sure I didn’t miss anything. You go on ahead.”
After Ava left, Kelly looked around the room one more time.
Her eyes landed on the glitter letters she had hung the day before with Emma.
It seemed crooked. She frowned and grabbed the stepladder, taking it over to the wall and stepping up.
She moved the pieces that seemed crooked and leaned back slightly to get a bigger picture without getting off the ladder.
“It looks perfect,” Miles said.
Kelly startled and lost her footing, falling backwards. His arms wrapped around her and held her tightly to his chest. Her heart thundered.
“You scared me,” she breathed.
His lips moved against her ear. “I’m sorry.”
Miles didn’t let go, and she didn’t complain. The feel of his arms around her felt amazing. She turned slightly, and they were mere inches from each other. His eyes dropped to her lips, and without a second thought, their lips were moving together. Kelly turned in his arms for better access.
Miles dipped his tongue between her lips, deepening the kiss. His hand threaded through her hair and gripped it, pulling her head back slightly to give him better access. She moaned, and his prominent erection pressed against her belly.
“Daddy?” Emma’s voice broke through the haze, and the two of them jumped apart quickly.
Miles gave Kelly a guilty look before plastering a smile on his face and turning toward Emma. “Hey, peanut.”
Kelly wasn’t sure what Emma saw, but she studied the small girl’s face for any indication.
“I’m hungry. Can you make me lunch?” Emma asked.
Miles cleared his throat. “Sure can.” Then he turned to Kelly. “Care to join us?”
Kelly smiled timidly. “I’d love to.”