Page 11 of Full Mountie

She’d never make a scene. But she wouldn’t pull her punches if she knew they’d land silently.

“I definitely had other things on my mind,” I admit. “But that’s no excuse.”

“We should talk about those other things.” She presses her lips together. “At some point.”

Before I can answer her, Gavin swings the door to his office open. “Beth, do you know—oh, Lachlan. Good, you’re here. Come on in. I can’t believe how many questions keep flying back at me about this thing.”

I clear my throat. “This thing? Your wedding is a big deal.”

“Getting married is a big deal. The wedding is what it is because of who I am.”

“Fair enough.” I grab the purple file folder and follow him into his office. I’ve always liked this space. Wood-panelled and with secret doors, it’s big enough to hold his daily briefings with the senior staff, but also comfortable enough to talk, just the two of us.

He sits behind his desk and grabs his travel mug of coffee. “Okay, so you get the deal, right?”

“About the food?” I flip the folder open. “Beth gave me a bit of a rundown, but I’ll need to follow-up…maybe with the protocol people? And your communication staff?”

He grimaces. “I’d really rather avoid pulling too many staffers onto this. You need to be liaising with them for security stuff, so I know pushing back on menu details is way outside your area of expertise, but…”

Ah. I get it. “You don’t want to be accused of using your staff to plan a personal event.”

“I don’t want tousemy staff to plan a personal event.” He gives me a wry look. “Although avoiding the appearance of impropriety is always good, too. Just…talk to the wedding people. Find out how many more of these types of questions there are going to be, and do I need to privately hire a wedding coordinator at this end.”

“Beth says that’s my role.”

He laughs. “Well, if she said it, it must be true. You know who’s really in charge.”

For a second, I think about telling him everything. We have a unique relationship, and if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that Gavin wouldn’t judge the complicated dynamics I’ve got going on with Beth and Hugh.

But in exactly the same way as the PM can’t use his staff to plan his wedding, it would be beyond inappropriate for me to use my boss as a personal kink and relationship counsellor.

“Okay, I’m on it. I’ll talk about security concerns often enough to make the call legitimately within my purview, and get a clearer picture on why they seem so over-their-heads on planning a VIP wedding.”

“Perfect.” He takes another sip of coffee. “Missed you at pick-up this morning. I thought we might talk about this on the drive.”

“I had a late night last night, so I switched the schedule.”

“Hot date?” He gives me a hard look.

Hot something. “It’s complicated.”

His face tightens into the now very familiardon’t-break-Beth’s-heartlook. Okay, so maybe he wouldn’t be an objective relationship counsellor after all. “You should come over for a beer soon.”

I can’t refuse, but I can fight dirty. “I’ll bring all the wedding details with me.”

He groans, then laughs. “Well played. Actually, it would be good to go over everything together. Ellie’s been really chill about all the planning, but we’re getting close now, so…yes. Good idea.”

There’s a knock at the door. My cue to leave.

His staff file in as I rise, and we exchange a quick handshake while the conversation shifts around me to topics that are more befitting the prime minister. A new trade deal with the European Union and an upcoming First Ministers Meeting with the provincial leaders.

After I checkin with my teams, I go over the material sent from the wedding venue. I quickly realize that the problem lies with the bride and groom not answering some basic questions. Well, that’s easily enough fixed.

I head over to the University of Ottawa where Gavin’s fiancée, Ellie, is a PhD candidate.

I find her in her cramped office, reading what looks like an academic journal. I knock on the door frame.

She jumps, and I laugh. “Sorry to interrupt.”

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