Chapter 3
ZACH
A Cinderella moment wasn't on Zach's agenda for his sister's wedding planning meeting, but then came Piper. Her preoccupation with verbal volleying paired with her fucking-adorable control made him want more. He shook his head because he wasn't there to explore this thing between them.
Anna had asked him to be her voice of reason since they'd always done that for each other. Plus, he already had that email thread going with Tess about Wild Sacks becoming official team underwear.
So, no, he wasn't there to explore his chemistry with Piper.
Still, he caught the brief warmth in Piper's eyes before she hid it and vanished with Aspen.
Right after they disappeared down the hall, Tess's phone buzzed.
"Sixty seconds," she said, already moving toward the hall.
"Hi—uh-huh—move the stadium loading dock to eleven.
If it's a go, we'll need a quiet room on club level for the bride.
I'm sending a dietary note to skip sushi this time, go light citrus.
Put the influencer list on hold until legal clears.
Text me the revised run-of-show." She ended the call, tapped a reminder, and was gone.
No wasted words. No wasted motion.
"Is she always like that?" Zach asked.
"Yup," Drake said. Super good guy who was currently digging through Anna’s purse, probably for a Gatorade or crackers or something.
Anna met Zach's gaze, opened her mouth, then closed it. Her eyes widened with alarm.
Oh crap, she turned an odd shade of green he recognized from the time he'd dumped a sticky mix of Elmer's glue and cornflakes in her shoes. When they were kids, clearly.
Dammit, he knew that look.
She was gonna hurl.
Without answering his question, Anna promptly tore off in
the other direction, the back of her hand covering her mouth.
"Anna." Drake called after her, then shot Zach an apologetic look before following her like she was the ball in a playoff game, and he absolutely refused to fumble the play.
Zach blew out a breath into the sudden quiet of the room.
Anna was busy tossing her cookies from the morning sickness that had invaded her life. His sister was pregnant, and it was not going well for her.
An official underwear deal with the Stallions would be game-changing for his start-up company.
After years of his family's polite confusion about why he'd chosen to design men's underwear instead of joining the family's uber successful flower business, this kind of validation would silence the doubters. The main one being his dad.
The sound of approaching footsteps in the hallway pulled him from his thoughts.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Piper's voice preceded her into the room, her heels clicking rhythmically until they stopped abruptly when she crossed the threshold.
She stood framed in the doorway, folder clutched to her chest, blinking at the vacant chairs. She turned to Zach. "Where'd they go?"
"Anna's throwing up, Drake's probably holding her hair, and Tess went to solve three problems at once," Zach answered.
The way Piper's forehead creased with concern made something twist in his chest. "Is Anna okay, that sounds—"
The door swung open again as Tess returned, her attention still half-focused on her phone screen. She glanced up and around the room pointedly. "We're missing a bride, a groom, and the wedding planner."
"Nope. I'm right here." Piper waved. "I'm the event planner assigned to this wedding."
The words took more than a second to register fully. This was the same woman who declared her hatred of all things matrimonial earlier, yeah?
"You?" Zach asked, not totally loving the way the word came out like an accusation with a sprinkle of shock. "Not Aspen?"
"Aspen is taking more of a strategic role, so you get me." Piper tried to be chirpy, but it didn't land.
Zach couldn't help his slow smile. "The woman who thinks fairy tales are a scam is planning my sister's happily-ever-after? This day just keeps getting better."
"Professional obligations trump personal opinions," Piper replied primly. "Separating the two is part of the gig."
"Ah, so you're saying you'll plan the perfect fairy-tale wedding while internally rolling your eyes the whole time?" Zach leaned forward. "That's some next-level compartmentalization."
"I excel at compartmentalization," she said, tapping her folder.
"It's how I've survived corporate retreats where CEOs demanded live tigers as 'conversation pieces,' charity galas where donors expected their names spelled out in fireworks, and a tech conference that wanted to release five hundred butterflies in an air-conditioned convention center in January. "
"Impressive résumé," Zach nodded appreciatively. "Any chance you're available to freelance? My sock drawer could use your compartmentalization expertise."
"Sorry," Piper shot back, "I only organize important things. Like seating charts that prevent family feuds and cake flavors that won't trigger obscure allergies."
"Are you implying my socks aren't important?" Zach pressed a hand to his chest in mock offense. "They're the unsung heroes of the wardrobe world."
"You seem unusually passionate about socks." Piper pointed out, a reluctant smile tugging at her lips.
"I'm passionate about many things," Zach replied, his voice dropping slightly. "Priorities being one of them."
The look that passed between them lasted a beat too long, the rest of the room seeming to fade into the background.
"You know, when I first started my business, I'd lie awake at night, worried I'd fail spectacularly. Had to learn to compartmentalize or I'd have never gotten out of bed."
Piper's eyes gentled momentarily. "The 3 a.m. entrepreneur panic? I know it well. Started planning events out of my studio apartment. First year, I organized a birthday party where the flower delivery went to Idaho instead of Indiana."
"Ouch."
"Yeah. Had to raid every grocery store within fifty miles at dawn. The bouquets were creative, to say the least."
"But you pulled it off," Zach said.
"Always do," she replied with quiet pride that resonated with something inside him.
Tess cleared her throat. "Now that we've established that. I have two notes. One: we need to add a quiet room to the venue plan, zero fragrances. Two: medical details stay private unless Anna and Drake approve release." Her gaze flicked to Zach—not unkind, just unmistakably in charge.
Zach blinked, the world rushing back into focus as he remembered they weren't alone. Tess had clearly observed their exchange with clinical interest. Her gaze flicked between them, a slow, deliberate assessment, as if she were scouting players for a different kind of team.
Honestly, he'd only ever seen a thorough observation of that magnitude from his babushka.
"You'll run point on logistics," Tess said to Piper. Not a question. "Be sure to secure and forward vendor NDAs to me before disclosing any details."
"Absolutely." Piper pulled the cap off her pen to take notes.
"Do you have a status on the happy couple?" Tess asked.
Piper frowned. "I understand the bride is experiencing a sort of… um… you know… a… nutritional reversal situation."
"Anna's puking and Drake's probably holding her hair," Zach clarified.
"Pregnancy can be unpredictable." Tess's expression didn't change. "Let's build buffers into the wedding schedule. Ten minutes margin per segment."
"Anna's pregnant?" Piper asked, pausing from her note taking.
"Yes," Tess said. "And it's important that all medical details stay internal unless the couple approves release."
"I've planned events with expectant mothers before," Piper assured.
"There are accommodations we can make. I'll arrange seating with back support, if she needs to sit during the vows, we'll make it elegant.
I'll be sure she's not on her feet all night, and water is always within reach.
We'll keep restrooms close by, transportation easy, and I can even prep the wedding party to quietly step in if she needs help.
It's all very doable." Her voice held genuine concern that caught Zach off guard.
"That's really thoughtful," he said, surprised by how much he appreciated someone else caring about Anna's comfort.
"My sister had hyperemesis during both pregnancies," Piper explained quietly. "I know how rough it can be."
The personal revelation felt like a small gift, something she hadn't needed to share but chose to.
"We're hoping the sickness goes away by the second trimester." Zach shrugged. "Mom had said it was the same for her, and it did eventually go away."
"Will you be participating in all wedding prep?" Tess asked.
"Anna asked me to help out, so that's the plan," he replied.
"I say the more the merrier with planning this kind of thing," Piper straightened her already-perfect posture. "Fresh perspectives can be... valuable." Her gaze flickered to Zach for just a heartbeat before returning to Tess.
Tess looked between Piper and Zach, lifting an eyebrow in that way only certain people can accomplish without looking like a super villain.
"And you two know each other?" Tess asked, glancing between Zach and Piper with curiosity.
"Not really." Piper's response collided with Zach's confident, "Yeah."
"I mean, we've met," Zach clarified.
"But it's not like we know each other, know each other," Piper replied.
"I mean I did help you get dressed," Zach said, a dimple appearing in his right cheek.
"Barely," Piper replied, her cheeks flushing.
Zach opened his mouth to explain their sidewalk encounter, but Tess cleared her throat, the sound more of a cue than reprimand.
"Actually, Tess, since we're already here together waiting, I wanted to talk to you about the Stallions," he said.
He didn't need long. Just enough time to confirm next steps on the official underwear conversation.
"What do you need?" Tess asked, again with the straight to the point. Her phone buzzed and she typed out a message on the phone screen before stashing it again.