That was uncomfortable, but it was over, thankfully. She’d never have to confess it to her friends and coworkers again. But she was sure she hadn’t heard the end of it. Once this nonsense with Julian wasn’t taking up her time, she had no doubt one of them would try to fix her up. They’d tried before, just attempting to help her find a guy, but now it would be a mission.
Laying out the last tablecloth, she looked across the room, which was like a checkerboard stretching out in front of her. In two days, she would be in this room as a guest instead of an employee. It was an odd thought, especially considering she’d be on Julian Cooper’s arm.
She couldn’t believe Bree actually thought that Julian could be the one to relieve her of the burden of her virginity. That was ridiculous, even with her secret knowledge that he was aroused by kissing her. There was a far leap between those two things. She was paid to be his date in public, not in private. If he actually slept with her, it would be because he wanted her.
There was no way in hell he wanted her. Or did he?
* * *
Julian pulled his nondescript black rental SUV into the parking lot at From This Moment. He really didn’t need to come here today. Today was a day of relaxation, small errands and final preparation for the big event. At least for the men. The women had gathered for a spa day in the morning, and this afternoon, they were having a bridal tea downtown. That left their male counterparts a day to themselves.
The day had started for them at the golf course. The weather at that hour was a little brisk for Julian’s California blood, but the skies were clear and they had a good time playing. They’d all had lunch at some famous hole-in-the-wall barbecue joint, where Julian had a grilled chicken breast and one glorious hush puppy, and then they returned to the hotel and went their separate ways.
With that done, Julian was able to clean up and get ready to do a few chores for the day. There were no messages on his phone from his family, nothing to concern him, so he could focus on wedding preparation. He needed to pick up the tuxedos and get the wedding rings from the jeweler. As the best man, Murray didn’t ask much of him. Running a couple errands and throwing a decent bachelor party Friday night were all that was required. It wasn’t hard.
And yet he found himself thinking he should pick up Gretchen and bring her along with him.
She wasn’t expecting him to show up. He knew she had work to do and his sudden arrival would likely throw her off her game. He told himself he needed to keep her on her toes, because the press certainly would, and she had to be ready for anything.
But in truth, he just wanted to see her again.
It was hard to explain—a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time. Lately, he’d dated his costars, women he saw on the set every day. He’d gotten used to that sort of immersive dating pattern. So last night, when he’d realized he wouldn’t see Gretchen until Friday evening at the rehearsal dinner, he’d felt a little...lonely. He found he missed her awkward smiles and sarcastic comments under her breath. He wanted to wrap his arms around her waist and kiss her until she blushed down into her cleavage.
He didn’t realize he was driving to the wedding chapel until he saw the sign ahead of him. By then, he figured it couldn’t hurt to pop in and see if she had the time to join him.
Turning off the engine, he climbed out of the SUV and went in the front entrance. The lobby was huge and shaped almost like a cross, with four arched doorways leading to different areas of the chapel. In the center was a round table draped in white with a sheer fabric over it. It looked as if tiny musical notes were stitched all over with shiny black thread, beads and crystals. A tall silver tree branch came up out of the center. Hanging from it were strands of crystal, musical notes and little white cards with people’s names on them.
Fancy.
To his left was the wedding chapel, and straight ahead was the reception hall, so he opted to go right, where the offices were. He found a closed door with Gretchen McAlister’s name on it and knocked softly.
“No, I don’t want to date your cousin!” he heard her shout from the other side of the door.
With a smile, he opened the door, peeking his head in to see her sitting at her desk, tying black and white ribbons around glass cylinders with candles in them. “But you’ve never even met my cousin. You might like him.”
Gretchen’s gaze shot up at the sound of his voice, her eyes widening. “Julian! Sorry about that. I thought you were Bree. What are you doing here? Is there a problem? I thought we weren’t getting together until tomorrow.”