I laughed. “Hey, don’t tempt me.”
“Your bride didn’t go to the same high school,” Laura pointed out. “I doubt she’d appreciate you making the theme of her wedding a school, place and time that she wasn’t even a part of.”
But what if I was marrying someone who did go to the same high school?
Not that I was serious about having my old high school as a part of my wedding theme. High school had been fun, but it wasn’t my entire life and I wasn’t one of those guys who spent all his time insisting that high school was where he’d had his “glory days” and was trying to relive it all in his late 20s and 30s, or even until middle age.
Still. The idea of having a wedding where I incorporated part of my past because my bride had that same past and we were celebrating our long journey together…the culmination of our relationship…. If only I was marrying Laura instead.
At least you get to spend time together. I was glad I’d found an excuse to drag out our time today. The more time I spent with her the more time I wanted to spend with her. I was wading into dangerous waters, and I knew it, but I also had no intention of turning back.
8
Laura
I’d worked with this event rental company many times, so the owner trusted me and gave me the run of the place. It was nice, just Cade and me, nobody else around. No one to disturb our privacy.
We started in the showroom so that I could help Cade see what the finished setups looked like, and then I took him to the warehouse.
“And here are the chair covers,” I said, notebook in hand so that I could scribble down anything that caught Cade’s eye.
“Y’know, I think the Spanish Inquisition went about it the wrong way,” Cade mused. “They should’ve introduced their victims to an event furniture warehouse and made them listen to all the different kinds of chairs there
are. They would’ve had a much higher success rate.”
I laughed. “I will remind you once again that you signed up for this wedding.”
“I should have just eloped.”
“And miss getting to spend time with me?” I batted my eyes at him in exaggeration.
Though I was just teasing, the look Cade gave me was soft and serious. “No,” he said, his voice quiet. “I wouldn’t want to miss out on that at all.”
I could feel my face flushing and looked away. “Umm…anyway, as I was saying—about the chair covers—”
“Laura,” Cade laid a hand on my arm, “In all seriousness, I’m overwhelmed with the choices here.” He bowed. “I am literally bowing to your superior knowledge.”
I chuckled and he straightened up, smiling at me.
“I want you to pick out what you think would look best. I don’t know which to pick and I don’t have a preference as long as it fits the overall blue and green thing we have going on. Nothing too frilly. I like simple. Classy.”
Honestly, it was so hard to dislike him when he was being like this. Cracking jokes and turning to me for my expertise. My heart felt like it was constantly on a rollercoaster, going up and down, unable to settle down.
“I think roundtables of ten will do nicely, we can put them on the expansive lawn behind the lake house. You can set up an arch under the big tree and have the ceremony there, and there should be room for a dance floor as well.”
“I was thinking about the gazebo for the ceremony,” Cade murmured.
My face felt hot as I remembered the last time I’d been in that gazebo. The way he’d passionately made love to me before taking me upstairs to his bedroom to make love to me over and over again, coming inside of me twice. I’d been certain there was no rush greater than the one I got when I felt him spilling inside me, making me feel hot and sated.
Of course, at the time, I hadn’t realized that he was getting me pregnant. The folly of youth, not wearing condoms, not on birth control, not thinking about anything other than being together and expressing our love.
“The slats on the gazebo,” I blurted out. “It’ll block the view for some people. And because it’s circular, depending on where people are, they’ll see just you or just the bride instead of both of you. Or their view will be blocked by the other person’s back. It’s better to have you both visible to everyone.”
“Once again, I submit myself to your knowledge,” Cade said, smiling. “Do you know what to order, then? Should we place it now?”
“That would be best.” We needed to reserve everything, so that we’d have it in time for the wedding before someone else booked the spot.
We placed the order, Cade agreeing to everything and not being upset by the price. He didn’t even blink hearing it, actually. Most of my clients would want to haggle, see what deals they could get. After all, events were expensive, especially weddings, and people who weren’t in the upper crust are concerned about costs. I could completely sympathize with them. But it was still frustrating when people tried to get deals all the time from vendors who were also trying to get a fair deal and their money’s worth for their products and work.