25. Bailey
Bailey
“Wait, so you got his mom’s approval? You’re basically a Whitaker now,” Harper exclaimed over the phone. “What color bridesmaid dress do you think you’ll put me in? You know yellow clashes like a bitch with my skin tone.”
“You are oozing with dramatics today, aren’t you?” I drawled.
I was pulling together seating chart mockups and final quotes ahead of my two o’clock meeting with Emory, the mayor’s daughter.
“Are you deflecting because you don’t plan to ask me to be your maid of honor? Because I have no issue fighting someone for the spot. You know I take boxing at the YMCA,” she quipped.
“And who would possibly have the spot over you, Harp? Not that I’m getting married anytime soon. Noah and I don’t even have official labels yet,” I said.
“Key word there is yet, Bailey,” she said. “I’ll start brainstorming bachelorette spots. What do you think of Vegas?”
“Heading into my meeting, bye, Harp,” I called out.
“Don’t think you’re getting off the—”
I ended the call and sent her a heart emoji so she knew I still loved her.
I headed to the front entrance, anxious to get this meeting over with, when I spotted Emory in the parking lot. Emory and someone who looked exactly like her father. Fucking fantastic.
I pasted on a smile, determined to impress them both.
“Hi, Emory.” I reached out to shake her hand. “It’s great to finally meet you in person.”
“Likewise,” she retorted, her attention focused on her phone. Great start.
“Mayor Lewis, I presume? It’s great to meet you as well. I’m thrilled you chose Whitaker Inn for your daughter’s wedding.”
He ignored my outstretched hand and walked straight past me into the lobby.
Strike one.
“Is Noah around? I want to make sure he sits in on this meeting,” he declared.
“Oh.” That was an odd request. “He doesn’t normally sit in on these logistics meetings, but I’m happy to bring him in. I’ll have Eli show you both to an office and meet you there.”
I fired off a text to Noah.
Bailey: Code red. Mayor Lewis wants you to sit in on this meeting.
Noah: That’s strange. You’re more than capable of handling it.
Bailey: I don’t want to upset him. Can you meet me in the lobby??
Noah: Heading your way already
Noah: Your legs look incredible in that dress.
Bailey: FOCUS
Noah came around the corner and took my breath away. Damn him. He had been outside interviewing a new groundskeeper, and the windswept hair did wonders for him.
“Hi, baby,” he said. “How can I help?”
“I thought my meeting today was just supposed to be with Emory, but then the mayor showed up, requesting you join as well. Some sort of power trip he’s on, I’m sure,” I huffed. “Can you schmooze him a little, agree with everything I say, and sit there and look pretty?”
“I was born for it,” he touted.
We walked toward the spare office, keeping a professional amount of distance between the two of us. Then, as we passed the front desk, Noah’s hand brushed the back of my leg—barely there, but intentional.
“Your legs really do look incredible,” he murmured near my ear. “I can’t focus on anything else except them wrapped around me.”
I spun around. “I’m not walking into this meeting turned on, Noah,” I hissed. “Control yourself.”
He mimed zipping his mouth closed and opened the office door, guiding me in first.
“Mayor Lewis, it’s great to have you in this morning.” He reached out and shook his hand before doing the same to Emory. “I know you have already met Bailey, but she’s the best in the business. I wouldn’t have her handling your daughter’s wedding if I thought otherwise.”
I preened a little inside hearing Noah advocate for me like that.
God, did he have any faults?
“Let’s get into the nitty-gritty, shall we?” I asked.
An hour later, and I was fuming. My jaw was tight, my shoulders hunched, and if you looked close enough, I’m sure you could see my left eye twitching. Who the fuck did this guy think he was? He was the mayor, not the president.
Every suggestion I gave, he scoffed at. Every idea was a bad one, and he kept directing his questions toward Noah, who, no offense, had not planned a single second of this wedding.
I could tell Noah was itching to comfort me.
He kept throwing concerned glances my way, but I was absolutely not in the mood for it.
“Mr. Lewis, I can assure you our rain plan is airtight. If I see even a speck of gray in the sky, we will flip the ceremony to the lobby area. Our entire staff is well acquainted with the plan, and it would be a seamless transition,” I said.
“Seamless transition,” he scoffed. “How many weddings have you even worked on, sweetheart? You can’t be much older than Emory here,” he said condescendingly.
Strike fifty-two.
I closed my eyes, taking a breath that was meant to slow my racing heartbeat. You’ve dealt with assholes before, Bailey. Don’t let this one tear you down.
“My name is Bailey. Not sweetheart.” Fucker, I added in my head. “And my age is none of your concern. I’ve run numerous large-scale events and could run this wedding with my hands tied behind my back and blindfolded.”
“This is the kind of business you run, Noah? Letting little girls mouth off like that to clients? Well-connected ones at that,” he said.
I prepared to stand, decorum be damned, because this man had it coming.
“Mr. Lewis—” I started.
The chair legs scraped as I rose to my feet.
“Mayor Lewis, that is more than enough,” Noah declared.
I looked over at him in the seat next to me.
“I can handle this,” I huffed.
“You can, but you don’t need to,” Noah replied.
“Mayor Lewis, I want to do business with you. I think your daughter’s wedding would be one of the loveliest events this town has ever seen.
” He stood, letting his full height back up the words he said.
“But if you ever disrespect Bailey or anyone on my staff like that again, I will have no issue nullifying our contract. That is how I run a business.”
Silence fell over the room, thick and immediate. My heart was beating erratically. Is this what a heart attack feels like? Were my years of skipping cardio finally catching up to me?
No one had ever spoken up for me in that manner. Noah was willing to risk his reputation, the inn’s, just to save mine.
I think…
I think I had fallen for Noah Whitaker. Gently. Effortlessly. The same way the sun rose each day without a second thought. That’s what it felt like, falling for Noah Whitaker.
The mayor was clearly stunned, and for the first time since our meeting started, Emory finally lifted her gaze from her phone. She locked eyes with her father.
“Risk my wedding like that again,” she said evenly, “and I’m cutting the father-daughter dance.”
And, well.
That was that.