Chapter 5
Love at first sight is romantic, but you won’t see clearly until you take a second look!
— MATCHMAKING MAMAS
Silas
“Want a coffee?” I chirped as I popped a pod into the Keurig in our break room.
Heidi, my administrative assistant, raised an eyebrow. “You’re in a good mood today.”
I shrugged. “Had a great weekend.”
“You’ve got a 10:00 a.m. with the Kennedys,” she said. “A noon meeting with Sheffield, and a 2:00 p.m. consult with a prospective client.”
“Great!”
Heidi narrowed her eyes. “You hate meeting days.”
I shrugged. “It’s part of the job, right? Besides, Caitlyn is finally bringing in Branson today.”
“Her mystery groom? We started an office pool on whether the guy even existed.”
I rolled my eyes. “C’mon, that’s not cool. Caitlyn is a sweetheart.”
“A sweetheart with an invisible groom,” she muttered.
“Branson stayed in Little Rock to sell their house while finishing out a work contract. He’s picking up and moving here so they can be closer to Caitlyn’s family and raise their kids in the Midwest. I’m sure he’s wanted to be more involved.”
I hoped for Caitlyn’s sake that was true. She spoke so fondly of him that I had no doubt she loved the heck out of him. She reported in with his opinions on our plans regularly, so he obviously cared enough to weigh in, which was more than some grooms living in the same town did.
I was giving him the benefit of the doubt until we met. I glanced at the clock. “Ten minutes. See you in there.”
“Sure,” Heidi said. “I’m right behind you.”
I took my travel cup with me, sipping coffee and humming softly under my breath. Carol Ann, the other wedding planner—and owner of Veils )
Maybe I’d played too hard to get. Maybe I should text him about the date so that he knew I actually wanted to go.
Or maybe I was putting way too much importance on one date. I didn’t do this. It wasn’t like me. I’d had a good time with plenty of men. Then I moved on to the next guy.
I did not pine for them.
Granted, Bryson had been unlike any guy I’d hooked up with in years.
Because I went on a date with him. Any guy signing up with the Matchmaking Mamas was not gonna be like a Grindr or Thrust hookup. But I hadn’t expected him to be so…compelling, either.
“Here’s the binder,” Heidi said, coming through the door.
I slapped my phone face down on the table as if it contained a big secret. Heidi glanced from me to the phone. “Everything okay?”
“Yep!”
She took the seat beside me. “I added your note about the peonies.”
They were always difficult to get out of season, and I’d warned Caitlyn we might have to come up with an alternate plan.
I flipped open the binder to the florist section and highlighted a couple of replacement flowers that Maverick had recommended to me.
Hopefully, Caitlyn and Branson would be okay with a substitute.
If they were willing to pay enough, we could still make it happen. I prided myself on being a wedding planner who could move heaven and earth for his brides—but Caitlyn was down to earth. I suspected she’d pick another flower and move on.
“Also, Marissa called and said they’ve got a question regarding ingredients in the main course. I included the note in—”
“Knock-knock,” Caitlyn called from the doorway.
“Hey!” I popped up from my seat and went to hug her. “Please tell me Branson didn’t have to miss again?”
“Oh, no, he’s just grabbing some water.”
I leaned out of the doorway to catch a glimpse of the mystery groom from behind. Over six feet tall, lanky but with some breadth, and a mop of curly hair not so unlike Bryson’s.
“Nicely done, Cait,” I teased.
She giggled. “I know, right? He’s going to look amazing in a tux. He lives in jeans and T-shirts and flannels.”
“Someone wants some suit porn,” Heidi said behind us.
Caitlyn shushed her with a laugh, and we returned to the conference room to take our seats and look like well-behaved adults to the groom.
I pulled the sticky note from the binder. “Caitlyn, we need to discuss your flowers. The peonies are in short supply, as we expected, so we’ll have to go another route.”
“Too bad,” a deep voice said.
One startling familiar.
I jerked my gaze up, eyes clashing with Bryson’s vivid blue ones. My heart leapt. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
“Uh, I’m Branson Larkin. I’m with Caitlyn.”
I shook my head, reeling. “No. Caitlyn’s marrying Branson Kennedy. You’re not— You can’t be—”
“Oh.” He laughed. “I see where the confusion is. Yeah, my last name is Larkin, but Caitlyn is keeping her name, so we booked under Kennedy.”
I stared at him, horror dawning. This was Caitlyn’s groom.
Branson, not Bryson.
Bryson had just been a fiction, a made-up man to have a little fun on the downlow behind his bride’s back. No wonder he hadn’t texted me about our next date. There would be no date.
I stood so fast my chair went sliding across the room. Heidi jumped, looking at me with wide eyes.
“I should have known,” I said in a tight voice.
Branson blinked and looked at Caitlyn. Of course. He would be worried about me telling her what happened. How could he do this to such a sweet woman?
Not only had he lied to me and used me—but he’d made me complicit in hurting Caitlyn.
“Should have known what?” Caitlyn asked. “Silas, are you okay?”
“No, I’m sorry. I can’t continue as your wedding planner.”
“What? But the wedding is in a few weeks!”
I nodded. “Heidi can see you through to the end. I’m sorry. I have to go.”
My stomach churned, and if I didn’t get out of the room, I was going to throw up or punch Bryson—er, Branson—or both. I hurried for the door.
Branson caught hold of my arm. “Wait, you can’t just run out on us with no explanation!”
I glared at him hard enough he flinched back, releasing my arm.
“You should be glad I’m not giving an explanation,” I said angrily. “But I’ll leave that to you. If you’ve got any decency at all, you’ll come clean.”
“What?” He looked genuinely shocked as I fled the room.
Had to hand it to Branson, though. He was a damn good actor. He’d had me fooled like no one else with all that romantic nonsense. I couldn’t believe I’d fallen for it.
I’d learned nothing since Michael stood me up at the altar.
When I let my heart lead me, I always ended up the fool.