Chapter Twenty-Five
There was nothing like an empty ballroom and an urgent table setup to help Jason gather his thoughts. It was his version of Zen.
In the wilds of a pre-catering moment, no matter how high up the proverbial food chain he was, he’d always find the time to help with table setup.
Following the detailed diagrams shared by the planner in conjunction with the wedding client, he’d fold napkins, lift centerpieces and put plates where and how they belonged.
Rolling up his sleeves in the midst of the waiters, doing their best.
As he folded napkins in the hours before his best friend’s wedding, he tried to figure out when the best occasion would be to talk to Naomi.
Not just ask about the weather, but really, really talk to her.
Tell her how he felt. What she meant to him.
And what he’d lost without her by his side to share things with.
Because when he remembered the details of the days he’d spent with her, he found himself on a random website that described all the best things to do on a date. Which was when he’d realized that he’d done every single one of them with her.
And then the loud noise of the practically vacuum-sealed door opening scared the ever-loving crap out of everybody.
Including him.
Until he saw the gorgeous woman in a black suit and a blue low-cut top that matched the bridesmaids, the one with the slicked-back dark hair and earpiece.
Secret Agent Planner.
If he managed to remain upright until she arrived, he would call it a miracle.
There were millions of reasons she could be standing here, coming to this room. Inspecting the cutlery was one of them.
But an experienced planner like her? She wasn’t going to be shaken by the state of the cutlery. Something else would make her do that.
What?
And all of a sudden, she was getting closer. Like a shark…he wanted to see.
“Hi,” she said.
Her voice was shaking. He bit his tongue. “Hi,” he managed.
“Can we…talk?”
He nodded but gestured toward the piles of table settings. “You want to help?”
He didn’t think she’d say yes, but she was a professional.
And she nodded, looking at the table and grabbing the necessary elements for the setting. “I want to apologize,” she said.
“Well,” he said, “you’ll have to wait.”
She blinked. “What?”
“I have something to say to you.”
The words were difficult to get out of him, practically impossible.
“Okay?”
She was hesitant, as this was a situation that was slightly outside of her comfort zone. Wasn’t exactly a cup of tea for him either. But he was going to do this because he didn’t like feeling this way around her; on edge, waiting for the pins to prick his feet.
“You said something to me a while ago, and I may have blustered right over you. And that was unfair. The thing you made me realize was, and let me finish, that you were, in fact, under our prior arrangement, acting as my business caretaker. Which was ridiculously unfair to you…”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to.”
“But I should never have asked you in the first place. Which is where we need to start.”
“Okay?”
“Here’s the thing. I have a new proposition for you, and I will preface it by saying that it comes with me. It comes with, you know, all of the ridiculous weird and strange things I’ve got in my life, including the possibility of being deeply involved in the knish business.”
“What?”
Jason continued, “Between the two of us, which of us is slowly edging into the middle of a family business that employs many people and has a great name in the food world? And I’ll give you a hint, it isn’t you.”
“But I thought you didn’t want anything to do with the business?”
“One of the many things that’s changed.”
“How?”
“Because I don’t want any part of the business like it is now.
But if they were to, like so many other heritage businesses, add a thing I would like to call a Catering Division, I would not only like to be part of that, but I would also want, you know, the best event planner in the world, and no I’m not exaggerating, to give right of first refusal for her services to this division.
And that would include at least one person on staff to answer phones for her, so she can plan and not babysit. ”
She blinked, and he wondered what she was thinking. “You’d do that?”
He nodded. “I would. I’d risk it all and ask for something like that.
Because you risked everything to help me prove I didn’t need a caretaker, when the reality was that all I needed was you.
And more importantly, if I wasn’t demonstrating how much I valued your skills, why should my relatives who are stuck in the fifties? ”
He continued. “What do you say?”
*
As Naomi digested the words that had come flying out of Jason’s mouth, the reality of the situation hit her.
Hard.
She swallowed.
Was she dreaming?
“Are you sure you want to do this with someone who hasn’t apologized, or agreed to listen to you when you’re speaking, no matter what background research they’ve done? That when you say you don’t want to do something they’ll follow your advice?”
“I’ll take it,” he said with a grin that warmed her all the way to her toes. “But you have to understand I value your advice, and I swear I’ll never mock or ignore your research again. There’s also one other thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said as she kissed him, lost herself in the beauty that was kissing him.
Until, that was, the ridiculously loud sound that was the door opening broke them apart, to reveal Samuel, Leah, Artur, Liv and Lev, clapping along with Abe and Steven, Jason’s brother.
“Let’s have a wedding!” Lev yelled.
And as she put her head on Jason’s shoulder, the fact that she wasn’t terrified at the thought of a future with Jason, told her she’d made the right decision, chosen the right way out of her conundrum.
Knowing all too well she’d make the same decision over and over again.
The End