Bridesmaid For Hire

He cut her off. “A friend, then?” he asked in disbelief. This was really an unusual circumstance if she was making the decision for a friend. Despite his initial decision to just close the door on Gina the way she had so callously closed it on him, Shane found his curiosity aroused. “Are you here making arrangements for a cake for a friend?”

Saying yes would have been the easy way out, but Gina knew her best bet was to be totally honest with him. “I can’t call this bride-to-be my friend, although some of my clients do wind up that way by the time the wedding takes place.”

He stared at her. He hadn’t a clue what she was talking about.

“You’ve lost me,” Shane told her impatiently.

His choice of words vividly brought back the past to her.

I did, didn’t I? Gina thought, a huge pang of regret twisting her stomach. She really wished that there was such a thing as a do-over button she could press.

She took a breath. “Maybe I should explain,” she began.

“Maybe you should,” Shane agreed crisply.

He silently warned himself not to get caught up in any of this. That meant that he couldn’t allow the sound of her voice to get to him or allow the way he had once felt about her to influence him in any way.

But despite everything, Shane had to admit that his curiosity had been aroused in a big way.

Gina took another deep breath before telling him, “I’m a professional bridesmaid.”

His reaction was the same sort she had become used to getting. “What the hell is that?” Shane demanded.

“Just what it sounds like,” she told him. “Simply put, I hire out my services to prospective brides. I promise them that I will take care of any and all possible emergencies that might arise before and during the ceremony. Emergencies that could derail what the bride had envisioned as her perfect day.”

Gina’s explanation had almost rendered him speechless.

Almost.

“You’re kidding,” Shane said, recovering. “You, the woman who couldn’t commit herself to the man who foolishly bared his soul to her, you’re in charge of making other people’s weddings a success?” he asked incredulously.

There it was again, Gina thought, that wave of guilt that threatened to all but drown her. “Shane, I can’t tell you how much—”

Shane upbraided himself for dropping his guard and allowing this to get personal. Aware of his error, Shane waved away what he could tell was going to be another apology. He didn’t want to hear it. The damage had long since been done and they had both moved on.

As possibly a direct result of her rejection, he had forged a better version of himself and had gone on to create a career out of the ashes that was far more satisfying to him than the path he had been set to follow when she’d suddenly stomped on his heart.

“Never mind all that now,” Shane told her rather formally. “This cake you’re trying to order, it isn’t for you?” he asked, wanting to be totally sure before continuing.

“No, it’s not. And Sylvie really does seem to have her heart set on you being the one making this cake for her.” And then she added what she hoped would be the argument that would tip the scales in Sylvie’s favor. “If you won’t make the cake, it’s almost as if the rest of her wedding is doomed.”

Shane laughed shortly at the absurdity of what she’d just said. “That’s a little dramatic and over-the-top, don’t you think?” he asked.

For the first time, Gina laughed in response. He found the sound disturbing in a way he definitely didn’t want to be disturbed.

“You’d be surprised what some of these brides are like and what they say when they feel stressed,” Gina told him, extrapolating on this momentary temporary truce that they had struck. “The term bridezilla is not just some whimsical, weird name that someone dreamed up. It’s actually rather an accurate description of the transformation that some of these perfectly sane women undergo when dealing with the one hundred–plus miscellaneous details that comprise pulling off the perfect wedding,” she told him.

“Just as an example,” Gina went on to say, “suddenly the size and color of the table napkins take on a whole new meaning. Weddings put enormous pressure on the bride and on the people around the bride who are trying to emotionally support her.”

He supposed, although he hadn’t given it much thought, he could see that happening. “If that’s the case, why not just go to a wedding planner?” he asked.

“Some do,” Gina agreed. “But I’m actually less expensive and in many cases, a lot friendlier. I’m more like a paid best friend, there to listen and to hold the bride’s hand for the duration ranging from just before the wedding to the three or four weeks leading up to the big day, depending on when I’m called in.”