Not Quite Over You. Сьюзен Мэллери

felt her chest tighten a little at the thought of Autumn in a beautiful dress, walking down the aisle in front of her mother.

      “Have you two figured out when? Or where, for that matter? Just say the word and I’ll clear my calendar.”

      Silver would be at the wedding, but just as important, she would stay with Autumn while Leigh and Denton went off on their honeymoon.

      “It’s funny you should ask that. We have set the date. It’s in a couple of months.”

      “Oh?” Silver swung her feet to the ground and sat up. “Won’t Autumn be in school? Are you going to delay your honeymoon?”

      “I know, I know. So many details. And here’s the thing.” Leigh hesitated. “Gosh, I hope you’re going to be okay with this.”

      Silver frowned. What wouldn’t she understand? “You’re marrying a great guy. Of course I’m good with it.”

      “It’s not the who—it’s the where. Now hear me out. Once Denton said he wanted a wedding rather than us just eloping or getting it done at City Hall, things kind of snowballed. We were talking locations and on a whim, I called around in Happily Inc. You’ll never guess!”

      Silver felt her breath catch in her throat. Happily Inc, as in the town where she lived? Where Drew lived?

      “Tell me,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound the least bit worried.

      “I spoke to this wonderful woman—Pallas. Do you know her?”

      Silver told herself to stay totally calm. That everything was going to be fine. “Uh-huh. She owns Weddings Out of the Box.”

      “Yes, that’s her. She’d just had a cancellation for a theme wedding. The bride and groom couldn’t stand waiting and eloped, but everything had already been ordered, so it was just there if I wanted to claim it. I’d never thought about doing anything like that, but it’s a Great Gatsby theme. The time period is so fun and the ideas they had were just charming. My dress is going to work and I’ve been looking online and I’ve found the best dress for you and another one for Autumn and well, Denton and I want to get married in Happily Inc and then have Autumn stay with you while we go on our honeymoon. Is that okay?”

      Silver was grateful to be sitting on the floor so she didn’t have to worry about freaking out and fainting. Autumn here? Leigh getting married here? No. No! They couldn’t. She couldn’t. There was no way to keep Drew from finding out about their daughter if Autumn was in town for a week or two.

      “I could take care of Autumn at your place,” Silver offered, thinking that if she limited the amount of Happily Inc time then...

      “Funny story.” Leigh laughed. “You know Denton and I each listed our condos and we’re building a house together?”

      “Uh-huh.”

      “Well, our condos have sold and are closing right before the wedding, but we can’t get into our new place until after the honeymoon. We’re moving everything into storage. I guess technically we’re between homes. Or we will be.”

      Silver pulled her legs to her chest and rested her head on her knees. She told herself to breathe, that everything would be just fine.

      “Silver? Is this okay?”

      “Of course it is,” she lied. “Yes, and yes. I’m thrilled you’re getting married here, and of course Autumn can stay with me while you and Denton are on your honeymoon. It will be fun.”

      She hoped she sounded perfectly happy and excited and did she mention happy? “What about Autumn’s schoolwork?”

      “I’ve taken care of that. Her teachers are giving her the assignments ahead of time. There’s a homeschooling kind of internet lab in town and I’ve already checked with them. Autumn will be there for six hours a day, Monday through Friday, just like regular school.” Leigh laughed. “It’s all coming together, just like it was meant to be.”

      “Just like.” Silver’s voice was faint.

      She was well and truly trapped. She loved Leigh and couldn’t be anything but happy for her. Being with Autumn was always fun and she looked forward to their one-on-one girl time. The only problem was, of course, Drew. There was no way Silver could explain away a kid who looked like him, who was the exact age their child would have been. He wasn’t stupid—he would put the pieces together. And not just him. Anyone who saw Autumn and Drew within twenty feet of each other would have questions.

      “I’m going to have to come clean with him,” Silver said. “Tell Drew about Autumn.”

      “There is that.” Leigh’s voice softened. “I’m a little worried about it. Am I pushing you?”

      “No, of course not. You’re getting married and I’m so happy. I’ll get together with Pallas and talk to her about how things are going. You’re going to love how she handles things. I’ll create the perfect signature cocktail for your reception. Leigh, this is going to be the wedding of your dreams.”

      “Oh, sweetie, thank you. I appreciate what you’re saying so much. Autumn is super excited about everything. Okay, I need to run but we’ll talk soon.”

      “Of course. I love you.”

      “I love you, too. Bye.”

      They hung up. Silver pulled the earbuds from her ears and closed her eyes. Too much had happened too quickly and she was going to need a minute to process everything.

      Leigh’s wedding was going to be its own kind of mess. Not the logistics—Pallas knew exactly how to throw the perfect event. It was more that Silver was going to have to explain her relationship to Leigh. Which meant telling people about Autumn. She was fairly confident her friends would be totally on board but she was less sure about how Drew would accept the information. Yes, he knew about their child, but nothing else.

      Guilt tapped on her shoulder, but she ignored it. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She wasn’t the bad guy. She’d been up-front from the beginning. Her relationship with Autumn was her business. If he’d cared, he could have asked what had happened, but instead he’d gone on with his life without so much as a backward glance. Which all sounded really good, but did nothing to take away her growing sense of dread and discomfort.

      A reckoning was coming—she could feel it.

      * * *

      “SILVER, I’M REALLY SORRY. I kept hoping I would get better.”

      Silver told herself it would be wrong to respond with anything but sympathy. Georgiana was a steady, dependable worker and she’d never once flaked out on an event.

      “It’s okay. You go take care of yourself. I’ll be fine.”

      “You won’t be fine.” Georgiana groaned. “I gotta throw up, and then I’ll call you—”

      Conversation ended with a gagging sound followed by a noise Silver didn’t want to identify. It took her a second to keep from throwing up herself. She ended the call and tucked her phone into her jeans pocket, then tried to figure out what on earth she was going to do. In less than four hours, there was a wedding for three hundred and twenty people at Weddings Out of the Box. The bride and groom were expecting her to handle all their beverage needs and as of ten seconds ago, she had no staff.

      She got out her tablet and double-checked the drinks menu for the night. The theme was a casual beach wedding. In order to keep costs down, the couple had chosen two signature drinks, along with beer and wine. In a pinch, Silver could get by with minimal help, but she absolutely needed at least one other person around.

      All the usual suspects were unavailable for the same reason Georgiana wouldn’t be in. That left friends, most of whom worked in the wedding business, so would be busy on a Saturday night with minimal notice. She tried Carol, but the call went directly to voice mail. Wynn’s did the same, leaving Silver cursing under her breath.