of the family, from the groom’s side. He called the bride by the ex-girlfriend’s name twice during the vows. The best man forgot the rings back at his hotel and he’s not staying in town, so there wasn’t time for him to rush back and get them.”
Jasper might not know anything about weddings, but even he could guess that using the wrong name was not a good sign. Before he could say anything, the bride and groom appeared and everyone applauded.
For the next hour, he circulated with appletinis while the guests mingled and snacked on appetizers. The best man appeared with the rings and there was an impromptu second ceremony where the bride and groom slipped them on, then kissed.
He returned to the trailer only to have Silver whisper, “Are you listening to the music?”
“I haven’t been.” He’d been too busy trying to take in all the activity while still doing his job.
“The DJ is only playing breakup songs. Someone told me his girlfriend dumped him last night. This wedding is turning into a disaster. Poor Renee.”
He searched the crowd and saw Renee heading purposefully toward the DJ. She looked plenty determined and if Jasper were a betting man he would put his money on the fiery redhead. As far as she was concerned, this was her couple’s special day and no one, not even a heartbroken DJ, was going to get in the way of that.
* * *
RENEE DIDN’T BOTHER drying her hair after her shower. She combed it out and then quickly braided it to get it out of the way. She pulled on yoga pants and a T-shirt before walking barefoot to the kitchen. After getting out plates and napkins, she poured herself a big glass of water and then slumped into a chair.
Her feet hurt, her back hurt, her head hurt, but the apple wedding and reception were behind her. She didn’t have to think about anything for the next forty-eight hours and she planned to take full advantage of that. And lucky for her, after the wedding, Jasper had offered to stop by with dinner—which made him fifteen kinds of hero in her book.
She heard a knock on the door.
“It’s open,” she called, then watched Jasper walk in with a big pizza box and a six-pack of beer. Whatever misgivings she might have still harbored disappeared when she saw him. Right now, she would forgive nearly anything if someone fed her and got her a little liquored up.
He opened a beer and passed it to her, then slid a slice of pizza onto her plate.
“Eat,” he told her. “You’ve got to be starving.”
“I am. This is great. Usually I have to forage around for leftovers. I keep telling myself to plan ahead and have a simple meal waiting, but so far that hasn’t happened.”
She took a bite of the hot pizza and tried not to moan at the deliciousness of it. They ate in silence for the first slice, then took a second to catch their breath before diving in again.
“What did you think?” she asked.
“It was overwhelming. There are so many moving parts. I know you have that program and all, but I still don’t know how you do this every single weekend. The cake disaster, the DJ, the guy who choked on a piece of apple. There was something happening all the time.”
“We don’t usually have guests choking,” she said, reaching for more pizza. “Thank goodness we had people there who knew what to do. I can perform the Heimlich maneuver, but that guy was huge. I wasn’t sure I could get enough leverage. But he was fine and the party went on.”
“What about the parents fighting? They got loud.”
“Parents fight all the time. It’s a way to release tension after months of dealing with their baby getting married. At least the DJ’s song selections got more upbeat.” She grinned as she spoke.
He studied her. “What did you do to make that happen?”
She raised a shoulder. “I might have mentioned his predicament to one of the bridesmaids who thought he was really cute. They started talking and I’m pretty sure they stole away for a quickie.”
Jasper’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding.”
“I’m guessing, but I’d put money on it. They were both holding hands and smiling a lot after his break.”
“I had no idea.”
“Now you do.” She reached for her beer. “No more wedding mysteries for you. Now you’ve seen one up close and personal. Well, not the ceremony, but the rest of it.”
As