Operation Meet Cute by K.M. Neuhold
Chapter 16
TEDDY
“Absolutely not,” Harlow says flatly as we step out of the third venue of the day.
“What was wrong with that one?” Marnie asks. “The dance floor was kind of cute.”
“It looked like someone’s basement. I’m not letting the most special day of your life happen in a place that has a faint smell of mold.”
Oscar doesn’t seem to have a major opinion on the subject. In fact, he’s been mostly silent through all of the places we’ve seen so far, keeping a hand on the small of Marnie’s back and nodding politely when directly addressed. Smart man.
“We’re in Dodgeville,” she points out as the four of us pile into her car, Harlow and me in the backseat. “There isn’t a Hilton or any kind of a banquet hall for at least fifty miles.”
“How about a destination wedding?” he suggests, and she groans, shooting him a dirty look over the back of the seats. “Fine, what about something outdoors at least?”
Marnie’s glare turns into a grin. “Perfect, the next place we have scheduled to see is the peach orchard.”
“The peach orchard?” Harlow sounds skeptical.
“They have this pretty garden area where they do weddings. You’ll see.” She waves an annoyed hand at him. The two of them fall into a discussion about flowers and color schemes, to which I pay little attention, and not just because flowers and color schemes don’t interest me, but because Harlow is leaning into me, seemingly subconsciously, his shoulder jostling against mine with each bump in the road, the scent of his vanilla body wash filling the small space.
That split-second last night when I almost told him I’m in love with him has been replaying in my mind over and over. Did he stop me because he knew what I was about to say and doesn’t feel the same? Or did he stop me because he does feel the same and is terrified? My gut tells me it’s the latter, but I can’t be sure.
Slow and steady, I remind myself. There’s no rush, no deadline. If I try to move him along too fast, it will ruin everything.
We reach the orchard and all pile out of the car. We’re greeted by an enthusiastic woman who starts talking Marnie’s ear off immediately about all of the weddings they’ve hosted there before and the packages they offer. I let my attention drift, looking out over the neat rows of trees, the smell of peaches heavy in the air as bees buzz around lazily and bird songs echo.
To my surprise, Harlow slips his hand into mine as we walk around the back of the large building to get to the outdoor-wedding location. I glance over, and he offers me a crooked grin but no explanation. Not that I’m complaining. I squeeze my fingers around his, letting a smile spread over my lips as well.
“This isn’t horrible,” he says thoughtfully, more to me than to Marnie, who’s still deep in conversation with the event coordinator. The wedding area has rows of chairs all facing a floral arch, various flowers growing in the garden that surrounds the seating.
“It’s nice,” I agree, all too easily imagining myself waiting under that arch, my heart hammering and full of joy as Harlow walks slowly down the aisle. My throat tightens at the image. Now my imagination is pushing it. Hoping for something more is out of my control, but I draw the line at picturing my wedding to a man who may or may not return my feelings.
Besides, I doubt Harlow is an outdoor-wedding kind of man anyway. Marnie joked about the Hilton, but I have no doubt the wedding of his dreams would cost an absolute fortune.
“Can I tell you a secret?” he asks, leaning in close enough that I can feel the heat of his breath fanning over my skin.
“You’re Superman?” I tease.
“Batman,” he riffs. “But for real…I always thought that a wedding out in a field would be nice.”
“What’s with you and fields?” I joke to hide my surprise.
He bumps his shoulder against mine in a silent demand for me to be serious. “Wildflowers everywhere, and just a few friends and family there to share it. And then a big reception with all the riff-raff who didn’t make the cut for the wedding itself.”
“Am I in the first group or the second?” I ask, keeping my voice light, even though my throat feels too tight. Will I be able to handle being on the short invite list to his wedding one day? Not if I have anything to say about it.
Harlow is quiet for a second, and I glance over to find him studying me. “You’ll be at the wedding, Teddy Bear,” he finally answers, and my heart does a somersault.
“Good.” I squeeze his hand again.
My phone starts to vibrate in my pocket, and when I pull it out to silence it, I see that it’s Ezra calling. He knows I’m on vacation this week, which means he would only be calling if it’s important.
“Take it,” Harlow says, releasing my hand.
“Okay, I’ll be right back.” I slip away from the group and accept the call. “Hey, is everything okay?”
“Possibly better than okay,” Ezra says, sounding positively giddy.
“Did you win the lottery? What?” I find a shady spot near the building and lean against the wall, one eye still on Harlow, looking happy and absolutely breathtaking standing under the wedding arch while discussing something with Marnie.
“Are you listening to me?”
“Hmm?” I hum, tearing my attention off my best friend and trying to focus on what Ezra is telling me.
“For fuck’s sake, Teddy,” he grumbles. “They’re opening up a new portfolio manager position for large accounts in New York. It’s a major promotion, and I caught a glimpse of the list. Your name is right at the top.”
“What?” He has my full attention now. “I put my name in for that promotion three years ago.”
“Well, looks like your ship is coming in, boss.”
My mind is reeling, I’m not even sure what to say. Nothing is official, of course. I’ll likely need to interview for it still, and…fuck, New York? I can’t move to New York. I look over at Harlow again, who smiles and gives me a cheeky wave.
“I can’t take it,” I say, and Ezra groans.
“It’s double the salary.”
“Ez…” I shake my head.
“Look, think about it at least. You know I’ll move to New York to be your assistant, and…” he trails off, and I can practically hear him weighing his next words, which means I won’t likely appreciate them. “Don’t throw away an amazing opportunity just to be someone’s backup plan.”
My jaw tenses, but I bite back my rebuttal. I don’t feel like Harlow’s backup plan, but I don’t exactly have much evidence to the contrary. He’s right. I shouldn’t write off the promotion completely, at least not until after I talk to Low about it.
Maybe there is a deadline after all.
HARLOW
“This place is perfect,” Marnie says, standing under the floral arch and smiling like a lovesick fool.
My heart flutters and flips, and I find myself glancing over at Teddy, who’s now looking a little dazed as he leans against the side of the building, his phone no longer pressed to his ear.
“I like it,” Oscar agrees, sweeping his fiancée up in a kiss.
The event coordinator starts flipping frantically through the binder she brought with her. “It looks like we have availability next spring.”
“Next spring?” my best friend repeats, frowning. “We wanted something a lot sooner.”
“Hmm,” the woman hums, turning pages back and forth. “The only other possibility is this Saturday.”
“This Saturday?” I repeat. “As in, four days from now?”
“Unfortunately, yes. We had a cancelation. Otherwise, I’m afraid this is a rather popular location for weddings.”
“Well, that’s just crazy. You can’t get married in four days,” I say, turning back to Marnie, who’s sharing a look with Oscar, the two of them seeming to communicate silently.
“Okay,” Marnie says.
“Okay?” I repeat while the woman smiles widely.
“You want to take the Saturday opening?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “That’s in four days.”
“So what? We’ll hurry up and get everything planned. It’ll work out.”
There’s no way she’s thinking this through. She needs a caterer, a cake, a dress, flowers… “But—”
“Harlow,” she cuts me off. “We’ll make it work.”
“I don’t get it. What’s the rush? Are you…?” I glance down at her stomach meaningfully.
She scoffs and smacks my arm. “Please, you know I would’ve told you if I was knocked up.”
“So, what then? Why does it have to be so soon?”
“I just…” She looks at Oscar again, another dopey smile taking over her whole face and lighting her up. “I don’t want to not be married to him anymore.”
The look he gives her in return is just as sappy. I can’t decide if I want to swoon or throw up, but either way, I’ve clearly lost this argument. Teddy finally returns.
“What’d I miss?” he asks, looking between all of us.
“Do you think we can push our plane tickets back another day?” I ask him.
“I’m sure we can. Why?”
“Because, apparently, we have three days to plan a wedding. They’re getting married Saturday.”
“Wow.” He blinks a few times in surprise and then smiles. “Well, I guess we’d better get busy planning then.”
“Why don’t you come inside, and we can go over the packages,” the event coordinator suggests.
“You know what, I’m going to walk around out here for a little bit,” Teddy says. “You guys go ahead.”
I frown. “Is everything okay? Is Ezra all right?”
“Everything’s fine. He just, um, had some work gossip he couldn’t sit on.”
He’s lying. I can read it all over his face.
“I’ll stay out here with you. Or better yet, we’re not far from the motel. Why don’t we head back while they handle all these details,” I suggest.
“No way, the cake tasting is after this. No way are we missing free cake,” he jokes, but there’s still a tightness around his eyes.
“You guys go. We’ll wait out here. I’m sure you’re capable of picking open bar options without my oversight,” I tell Marnie, waving them ahead.
Once they’re gone, I grab Teddy’s hand again and wander with him into the orchard.
“You sure everything is okay?” I check. Maybe he just didn’t want to say anything in front of perfect strangers.
“Great. He was calling with good news, actually. I’ll tell you about it later.” He lifts our joined hands and presses his lips to my knuckles.
I consider pushing it, but if he’s not ready to talk about whatever it is, I can wait.
“Want to go make out up against a peach tree?” I offer, and he barks out a laugh.
“Sure, why the hell not,” he agrees. “Just not whichever one you lost your virginity under,” he teases.
“Told you, that was in the field half a mile away,” I counter, pushing him against the nearest tree and crashing our mouths together.
As our lips and tongues tangle and slide against each other, I can’t help but wonder what it was he wanted to say to me last night, and what would’ve happened if I’d let him. Will I get another chance to find out? And most importantly…what are we going to wear to Marnie’s wedding?
