I suck in a breath at the mere mention of her panties. Yeah, fuck that, no one needs to be seeing that—no one but me.
I mutter, “Yeah, I’d hate to have to gouge some man’s eyes out.”
“What was that?”
I turn back to the mirror. “Oh nothing, I’m having trouble with my tie.”
She’s standing at my shoulder, looking at me in the mirror. “Let me help you.”
I turn to face her, and she lifts the tie and ties it perfectly. When she’s done, she smooths it down my flat stomach, and I barely hold my groan in. With her hands on me, standing this close to me, I have no control over myself..
She steps backward, putting some distance between us, and I release the breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“Thank you.” I hold my arm out to her. “Ready?”
She picks up her bags of photo equipment and nods her head. I grab the bags from her and she loops her arm through mine.
The drive to the church for the rehearsal practice only takes a few minutes. I can tell she’s nervous, so I try to get her talking about the studio she wants to open. She opens up then and I can hear the excitement in her voice. “I’ve wanted this for so long. I may have to put it off for a while, but it’s a dream I plan on making happen. I even have the perfect spot picked out in downtown Nashville. It is right off the main street, so it’s close but not too close. I’m hoping that it stays empty for a little longer. I think I just need a few more weeks before I would be ready… fingers crossed.”
“I’m sure you’ll be a success, Krissy,” I tell her honestly. I want to tell her not to worry about the building, but I can’t. Not without giving my secret away. And I’m not ready to do that yet.
The church is full of family when we get there and immediately the wedding planner starts telling everyone what to do and where they need to be. I leave Krissy at a seat to take my position up at the altar next to my brother. I wanted to introduce her to everyone, but they are already in the thick of things. Besides a quick head nod and slap on the back with my brother, we are down to business.
The rehearsal goes quickly and I know I should be paying closer attention, but my eyes are on Krissy. She’s moving around, not getting in the way, but getting shots of everyone. She’s completely in her element and the joy on her face makes her even more beautiful.
After a quick run through, we drive over to the hotel where the dinner is being held. When we pull up, I hand my keys to the valet and rush around the truck, waving off the man about to open the door for her. I help her down and grab her bags out of the back. Once we get inside, it’s a whirlwind. Everyone is so excited to meet Krissy and she and Chelsey get caught up talking about the pictures she wants.
Everyone sits down to eat, but Krissy walks around the room capturing photos of the group. I ignore the people around me. Which isn’t uncommon for me. I’m always the quiet one that doesn’t have a lot to say, so no one is surprised by it. Because I can’t stand it anymore, I fix her a plate and take it to her. “Here. You haven’t eaten since you got off the plane.”
She smiles at me and eyes the plate. “I’m working, Jared. I can’t eat.”
I grab her by the hand and I can see the surprise in her face. “C’mon, ten minutes. You have to eat something. I should have fed you earlier. I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking.”
She lets me lead her to a corner of the room and we sit next to each other at a small table. I set the plate down in front of her. She sets down her camera and looks back at me. “Oh, I’m sorry, I guess you need your hand back.” I release her hand, and want to kick myself for being so awkward.
She looks at me and my face flushes. “I don’t know. I kinda like holding your hand, Jared.”
When I don’t respond, the smile drops off her face and she concentrates on her plate, taking a bite of the steak medallion.
I scoot my chair closer to her and hold my hand out to her. When she sees it, she gently places her hand in mine and lays our joined hands down on her thigh. She smiles as she takes another bite of food.
Krissy
Jared’s whole family is amazing and just by meeting Jason and Chelsey, I know that this is going to be one of the most beautiful weddings I’ve ever done.
We get back to Jared’s house late and before I go upstairs to bed, I have to bring it up. “Jared, I think we need to talk about something.”
His eyes get big and worried, but I assure him it’s okay. “I just need to talk to you about the picture fee. Look, thirty thousand dollars is ridiculous. I’m not taking that amount of money from you for this. And Chelsey told me you offered to foot the bill for the photographer. Please, the money you have already put into my account will cover expenses. I can show you my packages I offer and you can order from that for the rest.”
He’s shaking his head. “Let’s not talk about this now, okay? I know you’ve had a long day and we have a big day tomorrow. We’ll talk about this later.”
I laugh at him. “Well, I’ve already seen how you can make money magically appear into someone’s account. That’s why I thought we should figure it out now.”
He’s put his hand at the small of my back and leads me up the stairs. He opens the bedroom door and sets down my bags on the dresser before turning around to face me. “Don’t be mad, okay?”
“What did you do?” I ask him incredulously.
“I already put the money in your account. But I promise, I’m going to have you so busy the next few days, you are probably going to need to ask for more.”