18. Carly
CHAPTER 18
CARLY
W hen Ruth and John said they were thinking of having their wedding at the community hall, it took all my strength not to wince. But now that we’re here looking around, I have to give it to them. This is a nice place. It’s light, open, and doesn’t smell of old people.
When I was first starting out doing this, I did my fair share of weddings in town halls and other places like this, but this is one of the nicest I’ve ever seen.
The manager, Angie, is showing us around, and Ruth and John are nodding along with everything she says. I’m glad they’re taking it in because I can barely think about anything that’s not Gabe.
Last night was incredible. He was better than any boyfriend I’ve ever had, and I haven’t had that many, but none of them have ever made me feel like that. Sex with boyfriends before has always been a necessary task, an okay kind of thing that was fun every now and again but not something I was wild about.
Even in times when I wanted it, they never seemed to care about me that much, and definitely not in the way I felt cared about when Gabe was making sinful movements with his tongue.
Where did he learn to do that?
Not a thought I can pursue. I don’t want to get jealous of an imaginary lover.
“We usually hold receptions in here,” says Angie, opening a door and ushering us through. “Generally, we accommodate about one hundred and fifty guests, but one time we did have a party of two hundred.” She rambles on, and I tune out, my thoughts wandering back to Gabe.
He was more handsome than I was expecting under his clothes, his broad shoulders, his soft belly, but not my usual type. Underneath that softness, though, was the clear feeling of muscle, a strength that he used to my advantage as well as his.
I’ve only been here a handful of days, and I still can’t wait to get out of here, but all of a sudden, Gabe is making it worth my while.
But no matter how good the sex is, I can’t get attached to him.
I like a sensitive guy, the kind of person who’s in touch with his feelings. The kind of guy who knows exactly what to say when you’re feeling down.
Gabe might be good in bed, but he’s already proven over and over again that emotional sensitivity is really not his thing.
Angie leads us through to her office and smiles. “I’ll leave you for a minute to talk it over. Just stick your head out and yell when you’re ready to chat.”
“Thank you,” I say, and she shuts the door behind her.
“What do you think?” asks Ruth.
“Nicer than I was expecting,” I say honestly. “We can definitely work with this.”
“You’re practically glowing this morning,” Ruth grins. “Were you listening to anything Angie said?”
“I didn’t need to,” I say, desperate for Ruth not to keep pulling at this thread. “This was for you guys. I talked to her at length this morning. If you guys are happy with this, she’s agreed to give me a package deal on flowers and catering because her sister owns a catering company, and her cousin runs the downtown flower store. It’s a great discount, so if you’re happy with all of this, I really think we should take it.”
John nods. “You’re a hell of a girl, Carly. I can see why Gabe likes you.”
“What? No he doesn’t,” I scoff, heat rising in my cheeks as I speak one of the least believable sentences of all time.
Ruth wiggles her eyebrows at me. “What have you two been getting up to?”
“Nothing,” I lie, banishing the thought of Gabe’s lips from my mind. “He has been really good to me, though. When I first met him, I thought I was in big trouble. He wasn’t exactly what I would call friendly.”
John chuckles knowingly. “That’s our Gabe. He’s been that way forever, though ever since he got back from the service, he’s been worse than ever.”
“Was he stationed anywhere?” I ask. “You don’t have to tell me. Obviously, it’s none of my business.”
“He worked maintenance,” says Ruth. “So he wasn’t frontline or anything, But he has been kind of distant since he got back. I think that’s more to do with his parents than the military, though.”
“Really?” I ask.
“They passed away,” explains John, and a rush of embarrassment hits me. I’m glad I didn’t ask him more about it now. He already thinks I’m insensitive.
“Is that why he came back? His parents?”
Ruth nods. “He probably won’t tell you if you ask, but everyone loved his parents. He inherited his shop from his dad, and his mom was a seamstress. Everyone in town knew them. It was a car crash. It’s partly why he started operating the tow truck — he didn’t want anyone to feel stuck on the roads. He’s a good guy, really. You just have to see past his shell.”
“I think I’ve been figuring that out,” I say softly. “After all, he was kind enough to let me stay.”
“He’d do it for anyone, really. He pretends he doesn’t like people, but he just likes his own space. He’s always been like that too. He’s always valued his alone time, but he’s loyal,” says Ruth.
“And if you get on his good side, he’ll do anything for you,” adds John. “I would have been bullied so much harder at school if it hadn’t been for him.”
I nod slowly.
Everything that they say about him makes the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle fit together better. He’s a lonely guy; that much is obvious. He needs some more new friends.
“You guys should hang out with him more,” I say. “Not that it’s any of my business, of course, but I feel like he could do with some friends.”
“Believe me, we’ve been trying,” scoffs John. “He’s not the easiest man in the world to convince of anything.”
“But he is going to come to our wedding,” says Ruth with that determined glint in her eyes. “That much is certain. Maybe you can come together.”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” I say quickly, deflecting. But from the way I play with my hair and bite my lip, she can clearly see right through me.
The thing is, I’m not quite ready to talk to Gabe’s friends about the fact that I slept with him. That feels like way too intimate of a detail to share with someone whose wedding I’m planning, let alone strangers who are his friends. They’re hiring me to do a job, not to gossip about a guy I barely know.
“Should we get Angie back and agree to the terms?” I ask to get back on topic. “The sooner we do this, the sooner I can get on with arranging flowers and decorations.”
“Sounds good,” says John with a smile. “You really are good at this.”
“I don’t charge a lot for bad service. I’ve been at this game for a long time now. I know exactly how to pull off big events.”
“Have you ever done anyone really, really famous?” asks Ruth.
“You remember last year, Catalina, the movie star? She’s about the most famous I’ve done.”
“Oh yeah, her wedding was fabulous ,” says Ruth.
“That was all me.”
“Wow,” says Ruth. “We’re so honored.”
“It’s just a job.” I stare down at the floor so I don’t have to meet either of their eyes. I’m not usually shy about being good at my job, but I’m not often complimented about it either. “At the end of the day, it’s all about connecting with other people and getting things done. That’s all. Wedding planning is about who you know and who you can get to know quickly.”
“Well, we’re glad to have you.”
I get up and call Angie back in. This conversation is starting to get a little bit too personal.
Angie grins when we tell her that we want to go ahead. “Oh, fabulous! I already gave you the phone number for the catering, right?”
“You did,” I say. “I’ll let you know when we want to come back and plan the decorations.”
“Please call me anytime. It’s my pleasure.”
“Thank you for being so accommodating,” I say, blinking in surprise. It really has been too long since I did anything low-key like this. I’ve forgotten how pleasant it is to deal with people who aren’t rude or demanding, and with venues that aren’t so exclusive that it’s a fight to get the date you want, let alone a chance to see the space at all.
Seeing the way that John and Ruth smile as we leave stirs something inside me. Maybe it’s just the leftover hormones from last night, but being in this town is doing something strange to me.
If you’d asked me three weeks ago if I love my job, I would have said yes, and it would have been true.
But doing this for them, for their true love, rather than bragging rights or a flashy photo for a magazine, is reminding me why I love weddings so much. This truly is why I became a wedding planner. To see couples connecting and celebrating.
I always thought that I would get someone else to plan my wedding so that I could be like all these couples who get to sit back and let someone else do all the hard work. I always imagined I would marry someone who I truly loved with all my heart.
It’s a plan I’ve been putting on hold for years. But seeing the way Ruth and John hold hands and giggle with each other over nothing is setting alight an ache in my chest that I’d forgotten was there.
Between them and Gabe, I don’t know how I feel anymore. I don’t want Gabe to be the one I’ve been searching for.
Or do I?