Page 8 of Dear Wedding Planner
4
VERONICA
"So first he pretends that you two are a couple, and then he tells you that he thinks you are gorgeous," Tabitha recaps what I had just told her about the cake tasting yesterday. “And you said nothing?”
“I didn’t know what to say. I thought that it might have been part of the whole pretending we are a couple scenario.”
“You could have asked him to clarify.”
“I didn’t want him to think that I got lost in the ruse of playing a couple. What if I made everything awkward, and he told Mackenzie, and she fired me?"
Tabitha sits back in her chair across from me. “Maybe you're right. I guess you made the right calling saying nothing without knowing all the facts."
My computer dings with an email notification. I click it open, expecting to find a list of the available times for some of the venues Mackenzie wanted to visit when her fiancé got back in town. But instead, I see it’s an email from Miles.
Dear Veronica,
I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I would say if I ever got the chance to see you again. I wanted to tell you how I felt the summer after graduation, but I missed my opportunity by just a few days. When I showed up at your house to make my declaration, you were already gone, and I thought, so was my chance for anything more with you. But our paths have crossed once again, and I knew I wouldn’t let this moment slip through my fingers this time around. I tried stupidly yesterday to see if what I felt was only one-sided by pretending that we were the bride and groom at the cake testing, but I walked away feeling more confused than ever. You played along, which gave me hope. But when I told you I thought you were beautiful, you shut down, and that bubble of hope was popped. I'm done playing it safe. I will do what I should have done years ago and put my heart on the line. My feelings for you have never wavered in all the years since we’ve last seen one another. I don’t want to waste another moment if there is even the possibility that I could find love and a future that included you. If you think there might be a chance that you could see a future for us, I will be waiting for you at the address below tonight at eight o’clock. I hope that you will meet me.
Sincerely Yours,
Miles
“Veronica?” Tabitha’s voice cuts into my thoughts. “Are you even listening?”
“What?” I look at her in confusion. My mind is racing so quickly that I can’t focus on what she is saying.
“Are you okay? You look flushed.”
I put my fingers to my head and feel the heat radiating off my skin. I’ve only ever suspected that Miles felt something back when we were in school. I can’t believe that not only did he feel something for me back then, he still has those feelings. I've never been a risk-taker in my life, so I never let myself fully face what my feelings were back then or now when it came to Miles. If the physical reactions I’m feeling right now—rapid heartbeat, increased body temperature, trouble concentrating on anything that doesn’t involve Miles, it’s safe to say the flood gates of what I’ve been holding back have finally been opened.
“Where are you going?” Tabitha asks when I push away from my desk and stand.
“I have something I need to do tonight,” I tell her.
“But I don’t have anything on the books for you.”
“It’s personal.”
“Does it have anything to do with a certain brother of the bride?”
“Maybe.” I give her a knowing smile. “Since I’m leaving, you can head out too.”
“I have a few more things on my list to get done, but then I will head out.”
“Okay, but don’t stay too late. Do something fun tonight.”
“I will, but only if you do someone fun tonight,” she calls after me.
That’s the plan.
MILES
I was an idiot to leave her arrival up to chance. What if she doesn't show up, and I’m left standing there like a jackass?
Mackenzie made a few calls to secure a reservation for Veronica and me atThe Anchor. It’s the best restaurant in town and nearly impossible to get a table if you don't know someone. Thankfully my sister has connections everywhere in the city, and she was willing to help me out.
I’m standing near the entrance to the pier that leads down to the water and restaurant. With each minute past eight o’clock, I try to tell myself that she’s running late and not standing me up. But the tightness in my chest feels like a vise-like clamp is constricting my lungs and making it hard to breathe.
