Chapter 2
He’d waited three weeks for this moment. He stopped the van in front of the American Legion hall and slid out. Despite the calendar saying it was May, the temperature had soared into the eighties, so he’d taken the refrigerated van Junie rented in the summer to assure flowers arrived looking fresh. He sidled up to the entrance door. He knew this place well, having spent a time or two at karaoke night. He had a decent bass voice, or so he was told. A few beers didn’t hurt the reviews any.
It was a typical hall, with gray wood-paneled walls, but as he strode through the vestibule and stepped into the large reception hall, the room had been transformed. Gone were the wood-paneled walls, replaced by billowy white sheets and purple streamers that made the place look like something out of The Arabian Nights rather than a cow-town dance hall. Purple napkins sat beside white plates on white linen tablecloths. Purple must be the color choice, considering the vases of predominantly purple flowers, accented with white and pink ones, crammed into the back of the van.
He’d been hoping to find Kristy in the hall, but no one was in sight.
She’d brushed him off like he was an irritating mosquito. Like she couldn’t be bothered. And a woman who couldn’t be bothered was unlikely to expect a commitment, at least not in the beginning. And that was all he was in for. Begin and then move on. No one gets in too deep. No one gets hurt. No one learns too much.
Besides, he liked a challenge.
“Hello?” He heard footsteps and tensed.
“Hi” came a voice from behind him.
He whirled around. It was the other woman. Thin and diminutive with big brown eyes, she reminded him of a cute little chihuahua. “Hi. Is Kristy around?”
“You’re the florist guy.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Ariel. We passed each other at the office. I’m the designer for An Affair to Remember.”
He shook it, careful not to squeeze too hard lest he break a bone. “Rusty. Here to deliver the flowers.” He looked around. “Is Kristy here?”
“She’s on a call. But you can start unloading. A vase goes on each table in the center, and two vases go on each end of the bride’s table. Did you deliver the bouquets and the boutonnieres?”
“To 173 Crescent Street as directed. Women were there. The father of the bride was going to take care of distributing the boutonnieres.”
“Perfect. Can’t wait to see the flower arrangements. Need help?” She looked like a puppy eager for a walk.
“I’ve got a dolly, so I can handle it.” This wasn’t his first wedding delivery, but it was the first one to An Affair to Remember wedding. He hoped Kristy would get off the phone soon so he could see her. What he would do after that was anybody’s guess.
Suffice to say he’d been knocked on his proverbial butt when he first saw her. With expressive blue eyes that gave her away more than she probably realized, a halo of blond hair, and a nicely formed figure, she seemed angel-like, but happily was flesh and bones. And all business. He admired that. To a point, anyway.
He’d tried his best to focus on other things the past few days. But his mind kept drifting off to her. So much so, his other sister, Lexi, had accused him of daydreaming. He never daydreamed. He prided himself on being focused on the here and now. That was how he’d stayed alive for the last ten years. But apparently it only took one interesting woman to change that.
He headed back to the van, glancing about to see if he could get a glimpse of Kristy before stepping into the blazing sun.
He brought out the dolly from the back of the van and loaded vases onto it, making sure he secured them with cords.
He didn’t know what he would say to her, but he was determined to take things forward. Besides, what did he have to lose? Only pride.
The image of her flipping her blond hair over her shoulder, the rounding of her blue eyes when she’d first encountered him, the way her gaze had never left his face, the way she’d crossed her arms over her chest to shut things down. Yeah, he remembered it all.
He’d looked her up on social media to verify her relationship status, which said single. Though only a few pictures were available, they were of her with a guy taken over a year ago. She hadn’t looked especially happy in them, which gave him hope.
He pushed the loaded dolly to the entrance and was surprised when the door swung out. Ariel held open the door. He nodded his thanks.
“Those are beautiful. Just as I hoped. Your sister does great work.” Ariel swung her purse over her shoulder. “I’m off to the church to make sure things go well there.” She beamed a smile and stepped out.
Peering into the transformed reception area, he spotted Kristy cradling a phone to her ear, a frown on her face. He pushed the dolly into the room toward her. She had on a black sleeveless blouse, white flowy pants, and black sandals with spike heels. He liked the shoes. Gold earrings dangled from her ears, and a gold necklace wrapped around her thin neck. She looked elegant and poised, if annoyed.
He set the vases on the tables, feeling underdressed in his faded jeans and worn T-shirt, which was stupid, since he certainly wouldn’t be attending the wedding. The vases, filled with clusters of purple, lavender, and pink flowers mixed with white roses, seemed right at home in their new surroundings.
He kept Kristy in sight, peering out of the corner of his eye. Get off the phone .
He placed a few more vases, and finally she shoved the phone into her pants pocket and ventured toward him. She looked like a gazelle, crossing the room with her long legs made even longer with spiked heels. He felt a twitch low in his abdomen.
“These look perfect.” She drew alongside him and reached for a vase on the dolly, coming tantalizingly close as she set it on the table. “Did you deliver the bouquets and boutonnieres?”
He nodded.
“Great. Thanks for getting here in a timely fashion. It’s more than I can say for some people.”
He sensed trouble. “Why’s that?”
“I hired two college-aged brothers to park cars because this venue doesn’t have such great parking, and they are both calling in sick. Some virus going around. Ariel and I may be driving cars today, except she’s at the church making sure things go right there.”
“I’ll do it.” The words were out of his mouth in a flash, his natural instinct for fixing problems getting the upper hand. A damsel in distress was right up his alley, especially this damsel. “I’m not doing anything tonight. I can park cars.” What was the big deal about parking cars?
Kristy smiled for the first time since he’d entered the room. “You’re a little old to be a valet.”
“So are you. And a little too well dressed.”
She looked him up and down and then looked at her watch. “I’m desperate. If you can be back here in two hours to park cars, that would be great. I can only pay minimum wage, and there won’t be any tips, I fear, since this is a wedding.”
“I’m not doing it for money. I’m doing it to help out someone. Just call me Rusty to the rescue.”
She laughed. “You should use that name for a new business.”
“Pretty much been my business my whole life.” Except that one fateful time.
“Okay, Rusty to the rescue, it’s a deal.” She smiled, and it was as if a ray of sunshine had broken loose from the sun to brighten the room. “And thanks.”
“No problem.”
He felt lighter, happier. Just the prospect of seeing her again did that. And maybe he could finagle a late-night drink with her at Smokey’s. That would be worth shuttling cars for the evening.
***
Kristy ran her finger down her printed to-do list as she stood in the reception hall. Everything was accounted for. And at least one disaster averted, thanks to Rusty. How many more would there be before the night was over? More importantly, how many would she be able to handle?
Despite having coordinated over two dozen weddings, her nerves always frayed before an event. So many things could go wrong. And there would be no one to blame but Kristy Winslow.
She looked at her watch. The church ceremony should be over in a few more minutes. Then there was an hour in between, though some guests might come straight to the reception regardless.
She surveyed the hall.
It truly was transformed. Ariel’s idea to drape the horrible gray paneled walls in white sheets with purple streamers as accents had transformed the space into a princess palace. The white and purple table linens, accented with the wonderful vases of lavender lisianthus, purple stock, pink hydrangeas, and white roses from Flowers by June, looked chic.
Several musical notes rang out. She glanced at the stage. The band was tuning up. She placed a big check mark near the word band .
This was the company’s introduction event to Gillette, and she needed it to be perfect, even if they were only the day-of coordinator. She’d gone all out, doing more for less money to assure it would go off without a hitch. The decorations and the flowers would make a positive statement, but the bride had chosen the caterer before Kristy had been hired. If the food wasn’t delicious, the guests would assume it was the fault of An Affair to Remember.
A knot formed in her stomach.
She strode out into the small lobby and spied the rolled-up red rug to the side of the door. Now that the caterer had finally arrived, she’d lay down the carpet and then head to the kitchen to check if the food was any good.
That knot in her stomach tightened just as the front door blew open, letting in a blast of hot, dry air. There, standing in the glow of the lowering sun, was Rusty. He wore black pants and a white dress shirt, with the collar open, under a black jacket. A lock of his thick auburn hair fell over one eye. The pointed-toe boots were the only hint that underneath those clothes was a cowboy at heart. The man certainly cleaned up nicely.
“You’re early” was all she could think to say. At least out loud. Yowza just didn’t seem appropriate.
“Wanted to be sure I was here when the first car arrived.” He smiled, and his eyes twinkled, as if he was actually looking forward to parking cars.
“You dressed up. You didn’t have to.” Especially since she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. Distracting, that was what he was.
“Wasn’t sure what a valet for a wedding should wear.”
“Well… you look nice.” Really nice. “But you’ll likely be mistaken for one of the guests.”
“I can always wear a sign.”
She had to laugh. “No sign. You’ll just have to announce yourself. And you can ditch the jacket. It’s too hot out there.”
“Will do.”
She took a step closer. The orange flecks in his blue eyes seemed to be dancing. Made her want to dance with him, to feel his arms around her, his hand on her back. Where had such thoughts come from?
Clearly it had been too long since she’d had a date. Not something she was planning on remedying anytime soon. Not something she wanted to remedy.
“Thank you. You didn’t have to do this. I could have tried to find someone. And I’ve worked as wedding staff more than once.”
He shrugged in that no-big-deal way. “I had nothing better to do.”
“Well, I’m sorry about that.” It was nice to know that even a good-looking guy didn’t have plans on a Friday night. Like she usually didn’t when she wasn’t working a wedding. Which, considering she was starting up a business in this region, had been a lot of recent Friday nights.
“Me too.” He looked serious. He turned his head to scan the room. “I meant to tell you earlier that you do good work. I’ve been to this hall many times, and no one would ever accuse it of looking elegant. Tonight it does.”
“Thank you. Much of that credit goes to Ariel. She’s very creative when it comes to decorating. So you come here often? Are you a veteran?”
He nodded. “Air force. Got out this past December after ten years.”
She wondered if he’d seen combat. “I imagine most people after ten years would consider it their career.”
He shrugged. “Guess I’m not most people.”
“Are you a pilot?” She’d heard about air force pilots being tomcats.
He shook his head. “No. Pararescue. Search and extraction.”
Sounded intriguing. And dangerous. And not at all like a tomcat. “So you really are Rusty to the rescue.”
He turned away. “I imagine you have last-minute things that have to get done. What can I help with?”
She couldn’t think of another man in her circle who would have been so accommodating. So unlike her ex, who thought he was the one in charge and giving orders, no matter the occasion. “Actually, I was just getting ready to lay down the red carpet.” She pointed to the rolled-up rug. “It is going to run from the foyer into the hall.”
“At your service. On one condition.”
“Only one?”
“You and I go for a drink after the wedding is over. I know a friendly bar not too far out of town that I think you’d like. Just to wind down and talk.”
She sighed inwardly. She could certainly lay the carpet herself, so this was awkward. And yet… “Honestly I’m not interested in anything but getting the business going.” She wanted to be clear up front, even though he did intrigue her.
“Just talking about unwinding with a celebratory drink in a nice bar after a stressful night. And finding out more about An Affair to Remember. I might be able to help connect you to potential clients.”
He was persistent, but charming about it. “Okay. If I’m not dead on my feet.” Or something goes horribly wrong.
“I’m around to make sure you won’t be.”