Planning Bliss (Bliss Series Book 1)

The Bride

The Bride

For the next four days, I had more conversations with Sandrine over the phone than with my own mother. And that was saying a lot since my mother called me up every hour to tell me about the most mundane things in her life. I might seem like a pushover, taking over Jake's wedding plans, but I assure you that I was not, I was simply being professional.

Chase had been supportive in her own way, but every time the phone rang and it was Sandrine calling, she huffed and stomped out of the room. Apart from that, she was my personal cheerleader.

The plus side was that Jake had often visited me at the office, mostly to talk about Sandrine and their plans, but once he came to drop off tea and my favorite pastries from our favorite bakery. Okay fine, he got called in to work before we started talking about his wedding, but still...

Finally, on the fifth day, I had the chance to meet Sandrine, but not before Chase pulled me back into my office, locked my door, sat me down on the loveseat, and told me of a new plan. Her new brilliant plan. I wasn't quick enough to take note that she was all too happy for it.

"You're going to steal him back." She held both my hands, her hazel eyes squinting at me--a sign of ruthless determination.

"Steal who back?" I knew who she meant but it was an audacious thought, not an unfamiliar act for Chase, but completely out of left field for me.

I was always the good girl and she was the devil dressed in designer black.

Her head sagged, and she said, sighing in exasperation. "Jake. You have to steal him back." She trained her eyes back at me.

I blinked at her. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you're meant to be together. I know you still have feelings for him. And think about it... he asked you to plan his wedding. There are hundreds of wedding planners in the city but he. asked. you." She punctuated those three last words by pointing her finger at me.

I huffed. "He asked me because he likes what I do. He's seen what I can do to the most ordinary events. And it wasn't entirely his idea, it was Sandrine who told him to ask me." I blinked furiously, as though it would exaggerate my point.

Chase can be quite outrageous. If she wasn't such a great friend and her mind not an excellent tool for the business, I wouldn't have her in my life. But she has been my anchor.

The dirty, gritty things I would not rather do, she got done, such as asking for payments or yelling at a drunk server, or an unfit caterer. She had almost always been my bodyguard, my dark angel, protecting me from the evils of event planning kingdom.

When Jake broke up with me to be with Sandrine, Chase stepped in and offered to hold my hair when I needed to throw up after buckets of tequila shots (which technically she caused). She nursed me through the heartbreak, but she couldn't quite cleanse me of what I felt for Jake, not for lack of trying. No. Never for lack of trying on Chase's part.

She had pushed man after man towards my way, hoping one of them would snag my attention, even the tiniest bit. None of them were ever good enough. Not one of them ever came close to Jake's perfection.

I might sound picky but once you've met a perfect guy, you just couldn't look elsewhere. You would crave him like he's part of your soul, like your every breath depended on his presence, like every heartbeat only responded to his voice, his touch, his kiss.

Chase adamantly shook her head. It was her way of telling me that I was being stubborn. If I continued the conversation, she would lay out a plan for me, which she most likely had been working on since I told her about Jake's engagement.