The Wedding Pact Box Set - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,244

some hell.”

Chapter Thirty

Nana Ruby had gone to the church with his aunt and mother. They’d fought over who was stuck taking her, so Nana told them they both got to ride with her in her old pickup truck. With the windows down.

At first Garrett’s friend wasn’t too thrilled by the prospect of drafting a brand-new document, but he changed his tune as soon as he heard the terms, which gave him a good maniacal laugh.

“I owe you, man,” Garrett said, rubbing his hand through his hair. He had just sent the document from his laptop to the printer in the hotel business center, and his heart was working double time. Would this actually work? “Seriously, send me a bill.”

“Nah, just make me the best man in your wedding to this girl and we’ll call it good. I’m happy to be an emissary for true love.”

“Let’s not put the cart before the horse.” Garrett sighed. “One step at a time.”

He hung up and pulled the three-page document off the printer, one page at a time, but the third page caused a paper jam. He tried—and failed—to open the printer. Panicked, he ran into the lobby and skidded to a halt at the front desk. “Can someone help me? The last page of this document is stuck in the printer, and I need it like five minutes ago.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. 4:30. Blair would be walking down the aisle in just half an hour.

The startled hotel employee looked him up and down. “Someone will come around to help you in about ten minutes, sir. We’re short-staffed.”

Garrett leaned over the counter, desperation filling his words. “You don’t understand. My entire future depends on that page. I need it to stop a wedding and save the bride-to-be from a terrible mistake.” He knew he sounded like a crazy person. He found he didn’t much care. He was a crazy person at this point.

“Oh, isn’t that romantic,” an older woman said behind him. “He’s trying to stop a wedding.”

“How’s that romantic?” a man grumbled. “He’s breaking up a wedding.”

“I bet he loves the girl.” She tapped Garrett on the shoulder. “Do you love the girl, young man?”

“Well, yeah . . .” he mumbled, then turned back to the bewildered desk clerk. “Please. Is there any way you can you send someone sooner?”

The elderly woman approached the desk. “Can you send someone? This boy is trying to win his woman.”

“With a paper?” the desk clerk asked, incredulous.

“Please,” Garrett begged. “Just trust me.”

The clerk shrugged. “Sorry. I don’t know anything about the printers, and the guy who does just left the building. But he should be back in less than ten minutes.”

“The wedding’s in twenty-five minutes.”

The older woman walked away from the desk, heading toward the busy lobby. “Excuse me,” she asked in a voice as loud as an umpire’s, “does anyone here know how to fix a printer? This young man is trying to stop a wedding and win his girl, but he needs a particular paper to do so, and the printer is jammed.”

The entire lobby, which had been buzzing with activity moments before, came to a halt. The guests and employees began to murmur as they all stared at him.

“Isn’t that sweet,” a woman gushed.

“Do you love her?” another woman asked.

“Yes,” he said, his face flushing. “I love her. Can anyone help me?”

A middle-aged man called out, “Why do you need the paper?”

Garrett put his hand on top of his head. “I just do.”

A woman hit the man on his chest, giving him a disapproving glare. “Roy! What kind of question is that?”

“It’s a logical question, Bev!”

She scowled and gave his arm a slight shove. “Give him your printer.”

“What?”

“Let him print off his paper thingamajiggy on your printer.” She glanced over at Garrett. “Roy has a portable printer in his bag here. He can set it up and print off your paper.”

“Thank God.” Garrett hurried over to the couple and watched as the man slowly pulled his printer from a bag and set it on a coffee table in the lobby.

The man glanced around. “I need an outlet.”

Garrett took the cord and plugged it in, then proceeded to watch the man set up the machine as slowly as humanly possible. A crowd gathered in a tight circle around them as he waited for the printer to warm up.

“Can I do anything to help?” Garret asked, running his hand through his hair and glancing up at the clock.

“What time is