Chapter 21
“ Y ou booked catering already? I didn’t even know we had a date!
” Zoe was struggling to stay calm. She really didn’t need this at the moment, her own catering team had just arrived and she barely had time to brief them about the next few days.
Tom really picked the worst time possible to tell her that he’d gone forward with wedding arrangements.
But what else was she supposed to do when she saw his text message?
“You told me you thought they looked good.” Tom sounded annoyed.
“Yes, but I didn’t say I wanted to hire them!
I assumed we’d be looking at this together once I’m back.
” She exhaled. “Besides, I’m the expert on this.
You should’ve waited for me.” Zoe sat down on a block of concrete that the people in charge of the tent had put aside, waiting to attach the tarpaulin to it.
She was hidden by tons of other material - wooden poles, boxes, tools.
“I get what you’re saying Zo, but they’re in high demand. They were nice enough to clear a spot for us when our wedding is less than four months away. Usually you have to book them a year in advance!”
“That’s not a reason for you to decide things without me.”
“Listen, I’m sorry, I should’ve asked you first, but also I’m very eager for this thing to happen and we need to move fast. I might start filming in July for that project I was in France for.
” Clanking sounds resonated through the phone.
Tom was probably making a late lunch or an early dinner or whatever.
Usually, Zoe found it endearing but now she was annoyed that his attention was divided. Especially for something like this.
“Tom, let’s stop here and pick up later. I have lots of work to do and this is getting nowhere. I’m just very upset that you didn’t think to check with me first if it was fine to book them.”
“I just thought you’d be happy to move the wedding forward so I saved you the hassle. It seems like you didn’t have time to think about it at all.”
“There’s no hassle to be saved, we’re supposed to do it together.”
There was a small pause, before Tom flatly said: “Well, I feel like I’m mainly doing it alone these days.”
Zoe’s eyebrows shot up. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Nobody asked you to do this alone, Tom.” She swallowed. “I’m on a work trip. I just didn’t have time.”
“Let’s talk about this later.”
“Fine.” She ended the call before she said anything she’d regret.
Zoe wanted to slam her phone on the ground.
This entire situation was ludicrous and Tom was acting like a child.
She buried her face in her hands and repressed a groan.
She couldn’t let this get to her, she had a job to do and the venue was starting to get crowded.
The rest of the bridesmaids had arrived a bit before lunchtime and Zoe had prepared a light salad buffet for them.
But tonight, full catering would be required, complete with starter and dessert.
It wasn’t every bride that Zoe worked for who requested meals not just for guests on the day of the wedding, but also for the bridal party beforehand, but Yasmine had insisted.
Part of her plan for a perfect wedding was to have everyone at their best on the big day, and a fully-catered experience from a celebrity chef for the bridesmaids was part of that.
She looked up to see her catering team manoeuvring an enormous freezer off of their truck, looking around for where to put it. She hurried over and herded them into the kitchen.
“You can put it in that corner,” she directed them, pointing to an empty space next to an outlet. “And then put a screen in front of it, so we still have the professional facade.”
“Wait no, don’t put that there.” Julie walked into the kitchen through the main hall. “We still have to run some cables through here for the lights.”
The delays from the day before had made the whole organisation a chaotic mess. Everybody was stepping on everybody’s toes.
Zoe sighed. “Does that mean that I have to wait for everything else to be done before we can set up the kitchen?”
Julie scratched her head. “Yeah… Sorry, I know it’s a bit nightmarish right now, but we should be done with the electrical stuff in an hour.”
“I have to prepare an entire three-course dinner for nine people, we’re almost mid-afternoon and I don’t have anything ready.” Zoe tried to not take it out on Julie. None of this was her fault.
“It sucks. I’m so sorry.” Julie looked embarrassed. “But worst case scenario, I can cook a giant omelette for nine people if you want.” She turned around and grinned at Zoe.
Zoe tried to repress a smile. She was still annoyed at the situation, but Julie always knew how to make her feel better. “That sounds great, but I’d rather you get the electrical stuff done. You already made breakfast, I wouldn’t want you to overwork yourself.”
“Thanks, I’m happy you recognise that cooking is hard work.” Julie looked at Zoe, before looking back at the freezer. “I’ll tell people to prioritise work in the kitchen so we can clear that area for you and you can do your thing.”
The fight with Tom hadn’t helped Zoe tame her growing attraction to Julie.
She was just checking all the right boxes today.
If she was trying to win Zoe over, she was on the right track.
Julie had taken charge of a group of workers near the doorway, gesturing and pointing authoritatively while referring to her copious notes.
Zoe watched her, a smiling tugging at the corners of her lips.
She’d never really seen Julie in “work mode” before.
It was a bit strange to see her laid-back friend look so serious and dedicated, but it suited Julie very well.
A warm feeling lingered in Zoe’s stomach.
Julie walked back with a man who had an impressive number of pockets on his trousers.
“Zoe, what do you need for your kitchen? This gentleman here - Marcel - can make things faster and install the electrical for your kitchen at the same time as the rest. It will look tidier this way.”
“Oh that would be amazing!” She looked at Julie who seemed very proud of what she had pulled off, the same look on her face as with her fried eggs earlier this morning. Zoe didn’t realise how long she’d been staring at her friend until Julie nodded at her, encouraging her to talk to Marcel.
She snapped out of it. “If you can follow me, I’ll show you what’s in the catering van.”
For the first time today, things were looking up.