in my hand and then up at Evan, knowing I wasn’t really in a position to argue. He was saving me from potentially ruining my best friend’s wedding and I had to accept.
“Hey Shel, sorry about that. I was just talking to my assistant.”
Evan flashed a grin and walked to the door. “I’ll be back in ten.”
And just like that, he was gone.
“So anyway,” she started, “I was saying that I have you and Hilarie sitting with Bianca and Kirk at the rehearsal dinner.”
“Hilarie went on maternity leave,” I said absently, before I thought the better of it.
“What?” The sound of pure terror was dripping from the single-word question. “Who’s going to photograph my wedding?”
“It’s taken care of,” I said answered quickly, trying my best to sound convincing. “I’ve already lined someone else up and it’s going to be great. I don’t want you to worry about a thing.”
Shelby exhaled loudly and I smacked my hand against my head. What in the world was I thinking? It took me months to train Hilarie, and with the wedding five days away, I only had four of them to get Evan up to speed.
“We’ll be there Friday night,” I said reassuringly. “But I need an extra room for him.”
“Him? Who is him? Is him good-looking?” she asked in rapid succession.
“Evan. He’s my assistant.”
“And?”
“And yes…he’s good-looking,” I said quickly, hanging up the phone with a laugh as I heard her squeal excitedly.
FOUR
“BECS!” SHELBY SCREAMED when she saw me in the lobby.
I turned to see my best friend happier than I had ever seen her in our eight years of friendship. She ran over to me and threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. It had been months since we had been together, and this marked the end of our lives as singles. It would just be me…and all my married friends.
“Shel, you look amazing,” I gushed.
“Hey Bec,” Evan’s voice sounded from behind me, and I could tell from the wide-eyed look on Shelby’s face that she approved of the photographer I had subbed in for Hilarie. “I think I got everything. Where should I put it?”
“Evan, this is the bride, my best friend, Shelby. Shelby, this is…”
“My photographer,” she finished breathily. “I mean…hi.”
“Nice to meet you. Becca’s told me a lot about you.”
Shelby nudged my arm and grinned. “She’s left a few things out about you.”
“Okay. Anyway, I was just about to check us in,” I said before she could add anything else.
“Oh…about that.” Shelby winced. “There were no extra rooms. They said something might become available tomorrow, but we won’t know until the afternoon.”
“You mean, like, while you’re getting married?” I asked, unable to mask the shock in my tone.
She nodded and linked her arm with mine. “But your room does have a couch that folds out, so at least there’s that.”
“I’m going to kill you,” I muttered under my breath, and she squeezed my arm.
“Or maybe you’ll thank me,” she whispered with a wink.
“Thank you? I barely…” I stopped myself before I put her into full panic mode.
“Barely what?”
“He’s my assistant.”
She looked over her shoulder and I followed her gaze to see Evan picking up the bags, and she giggled. “You have the ass part right.”
I laughed at her ridiculous joke and shook my head. “You are impossible. Where’s Michael? I need to tell him you’re checking out other guys.”
“Not other guys…your guy.”
“He’s not my guy,” I argued.
“If you insist.”
She walked me and Evan to our room and sat on the couch as we unpacked the gear. Shelby went on and on about the wedding planner and the argument she’d had with her about the flowers. I would have been more invested in the conversation if I wasn’t so consumed with the fact that my landlord, who I had only just met days earlier, was going to be sharing a room with me.
“I think I left a bag in the car,” Evan said. “I’ll be back in a sec.”
He left the room and Shelby gave me her full attention, waiting for an explanation. I was in the middle of examining the equipment and making sure that everything was accounted for when I heard her clear her throat.
“You might want to take some medicine for that,” I said dismissively. “You don’t want to be sick for the honeymoon.”
“So…Evan’s sexy,” she said in her seductive tone, ignoring my warning.
“Assistant.”
“What’s going on with you two?”
“Assistant,” I repeated.
“Oh…yeah. He wants to assist you all right, and not with photography.”