Page 22 of White Wedding
She closed her eyes, flung the nickel into the fountain, and wished without thinking.I wish I could be with you.
A complete waste of a wish. It didn’t matter that they were both single. Or that he was no longer her enemy. She couldn’t get involved with him. Her father would see it as a sign of weakness. Another mistake, like her affair in Paris.
If Ben found out, he wouldn’t approve either. Just because he’d tossed her aside didn’t mean he wanted to see her with anyone else. Not that she gave a damn what he thought. But he’d accuse her of being unprofessional and rat her out to her father.
She couldn’t afford any missteps. Which meant no getting involved withanyone, not until the wedding was over.
But when Rafael touched her arm, ever so lightly, the pull she felt eclipsed all reason. Despite all the years they’d been apart, her desire for him hadn’t diminished. What would happen if she threw caution to the wind and kissed him? Just the thought of it set her pulse racing.
“Wh…what is it?” she asked.
“I know we got off to a rough start, and I was a jerk at the tasting, but—”
“I deserved it. You had every right to be mad at me.”
“Let me finish.” His eyes met hers in a tender gaze that melted any traces of ice left around her heart. “I don’t want this wedding to be any more hellish for you than it has to be. So, I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to make this the most talked about, Instagram-worthy, white wedding in all of Southern California. Whatever you need—you can count on me.”
She stared at him in awe. “You mean it?”
“Absolutely. Ben and Missy won’t know what hit them. If you need help with the decorations, Araceli will gladly pitch in. Same with her sister.”
“I might take you up on that. Missy ordered twenty Christmas trees. Real ones, not fake. She wants them all decorated with silver and gold accents.” Every time Missy updated her wedding Pinterest board, Victoria got an alert. Not something she appreciated. “Why don’t you come up to my office? I can grab the notes from our last design meeting.”
“Araceli’s gonna love this. She was just telling me how pissed she was that she can’t have a Christmas tree in her apartment because her psycho cats keep messing with it.”
She wanted to hug him for being so accommodating. The grumpy guy who’d scowled at her after the tasting was gone.Thiswas the guy she’d fallen for in Baja.
She led him up the stairs to the wing of the manor that housed a cluster of private offices. Most of the second floor was dark, somber, and weighed down with history, decorated with heavy cherrywood furniture, pretentious antiques, and faded Persian rugs. But she’d managed to personalize her office with potted bamboo palms, colorful accent pieces, and a wall filled with canvas prints.
“Take a seat.” She pointed to a mesh task chair in a funky shade of purple. While he sat, she flipped through the giant binder she’d created for the wedding.
“This is a great painting.” Rafael pointed to the oversize canvas that displayed the Eiffel Tower at sunset. “Did you get a chance to go back to Paris yet?”
“Not yet. But I plan to, eventually.” Even if her semester in France had led to her downfall, she’d never regret the five months she spent there.
“If you need a travel buddy, you should hit me up.”
His response surprised her. Not just for the familiarity of his tone, but for his interest in France. When she’d shared her stories before, he’d never mentioned wanting to visit. “Since when did you become a world traveler?”
“I haven’t been anywhere exciting yet, but I’m hoping to change that. Check out other cultures and try their food. France would be a great place to start. French cooking intimidates me, but I’d like to learn more about it.”
She hadn’t realized he was interested in expanding his culinary horizons. “Have you been experimenting with other cuisines?”
His whole face lit up. Like a little kid. “Yeah. I’ve only been doing it for a few years—since I moved back to Escondido. My brothers think it’s weird, but I love a good challenge.”
How was it possible that he was even more attractive than he’d been five years ago? He seemed more grounded. More responsible. Though no less sexy.
Forcing herself to focus, she located the pages with Missy’s sketches and handed them to Rafael. “Here. You can take these with you. I made extra copies, just in case. Missy’s ‘vision’ for the grand ballroom as her own personal winter wonderland.”
“Damn. Twenty Christmas trees. You weren’t kidding.” He gave her another of those heart-melting grins. “Was that how manyyouwanted when this was your wedding?’
“I just wanted four or five. Tastefully decorated. This is a whole forest.”
“Fess up. You wanted twenty.”
She started laughing. Hard. For the first time since she’d been assigned the wedding from hell, she could see the humor in it. She pulled up the browser on her computer. “You’ve gotta see her Pinterest board.”
“You meanyourPinterest board, Miss Blackwood?” He stood and leaned over her so he could look at the screen.
