Page 14 of Marry Me

She grinned. “I’m coming. It sounds like a nice detour from my day-to-day.”

“Oh. Well, in that case, we’d love to have you.” Allison thumbed through a small notebook she pulled from her bag. “I have Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoon available.”

“Put me down for Wednesday.” Megan had no idea what in the world had possessed her to say yes to speaking to a group of fourth graders, an invitation she never would have accepted normally. Refusing to analyze it any further, she smiled at Allison. “Just tell me what’s expected, and I’ll be there.”

Allison beamed like Megan had just presented her the moon. “This is going to be fantastic.”

She smiled back, wondering what in the world she’d just gotten herself into.

* * *

“Who’s coming today? You still haven’t told us. Is it another kids’ doctor?” Levi whispered as he turned in his math test. “Tired of those. They act like they’re so smart.”

Ally smothered a smile, because Levi had high standards. “No. Not a pediatrician, but you’ll have to wait and see who is coming, though. It’s a new one.”

He passed her a curious gaze. “Keep talking.”

“I can’t—it’s a secret. Now go sit down.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re a kid, and it’s what you do.”

He nodded. “Good point.”

Fifteen minutes later, after the last test was submitted, in walked Megan Kinkaid wearing a belted sweater dress, heels, and what had to be a five-hundred-dollar bag. Not that Allison knew how much bags of that variety went for. Every kid in the room sat straight up. Allison waved and grinned, beckoning Megan to the front of the room.

“Everyone, I want you to meet a friend of mine, Megan Kinkaid.”

“Hi,” the kids said in near unison, beaming, excited to meet this new person.

“Hi there,” Megan said back.

Allison continued her intro. “Have you ever seen one of those fancy weddings in the movies, or an exciting party where everything is just perfect, and wondered how all of it happened?” She doubted the answer was actually yes, but her class was clearly all-in and nodded enthusiastically. “Ms. Kinkaid, along with her staff, plans those very events. Her company is called Soiree, which means a party. The word originated from the French language.”

“Do you speak French?” Augustus called out without raising his hand.

“I don’t. No,” Megan said with a wince.

“Oh.” Augustus thought on this. “That’s okay. I still think it’s a good name.”

“Me, too,” Allison said. “It’s why I’ve asked Soiree to plan my wedding.” That did it. The class let out a collective gasp, and Megan’s value in the room just went up.

Ally gestured to Megan that she now had the floor. “Ms. Kinkaid, why don’t you tell us a little bit about what it’s like to be an event planner?” She saw several of her students, most notably her firecracker, Haley, scribble down Megan’s official title. Haley didn’t like to miss a detail. She was going to take over the world.

“Thank you, Allis—Ms. Hale for having me here today.” Shesmiled warmly at the kids. “My name is Megan, and when I was little, I wanted to be a tightrope walker in the circus. After that, I thought maybe I’d be a zoologist. In high school, I thought of being a fashion designer. But then something happened. I learned what I was really, really good at.”

“What was it?” Augustus shouted from the back. She really needed to work with him on raising his hand. She put her finger to her lips silently, a gesture for the class to listen to their speaker.

“Spotting the details it takes to get a large task completed way before everyone else. Have you ever worked on a group project?” The group of heads nodded. “Well, it’s kind of like that.”

Megan went on to explain, and the kids listened in awe. She had them hooked. She found a way for them to relate and built her story from there. She never spoke in complicated terms and turned on the charm, even pulling a few laughs. The kids swarmed her when it was time to say good-bye, the girls especially in amazement of her success and the fact that she got to attend an actual wedding each weekend. “Can I intern for you someday?” Haley asked. “My sister is an intern at our vet’s office. I promise I have a lot to offer and will never be late.”

“I believe it. Look me up when you’re older,” Megan said and booped her nose.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Levi asked. “You’re alluring.”

Allison closed her eyes in mortification because allure had been one of their vocabulary words last week, and now it was coming back to bite her. “That’s too personal of a question, Levi,” Allison said.

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