Love in Jeopardy

Chapter 14

After the holidays, Gideon went back to work with a vengeance. He had an important case coming up that he had to prepare for. He spent long hours at the office. Taryn tried hard to be understanding. She found it difficult to paint all the time because the light coming into her studio was winter quality and not very bright.

Gideon's phone calls were sporadic. Taryn was lucky if he called her once a day. She had plenty of housework to keep her busy, but that's not why she moved in with Gideon.

Luckily, Kim started to give Taryn more stuff to do for the wedding. She asked Taryn to paint the vases for the center pieces which would be at all the banquet tables at the reception hall. She needed thirty of them. Taryn was glad to have something to do.

Taryn discovered that being a maid of honour was a huge job. She hoped she wouldn't end up disappointing Kim. Gideon was Charlie's best man, but he didn't seem to have as much to do as Taryn did.

Wedding dress shopping was fun. Kim liked a lot of different styles and Taryn tried to help her narrow it down. It was hard because Kim looked good in everything.

They finally found the gown on their third shopping trip. The style suited Kim perfectly. She was ecstatic and cried when she saw herself in the mirror, especially after the sales clerk put a sample veil on her head.

"Do you think Charlie will like it?" Kim asked, twirling in front of the mirror.

"He'll love it for sure," Taryn replied heartily. "You're going to take his breath away."

Kim couldn't stop smiling. She was so excited. Taryn was happy for her.

"I can't wait to get married now that I've found the dress," Kim continued.

"Don't you still need to send out the invitations?" Taryn asked, smirking.

Kim sighed.

"You're right," she said. "I need your artistic eye to help me pick them out. Are you free tomorrow?"

Taryn sighed inwardly. Kim's wedding was taking up more and more of her time, but she wanted to be available for her friend.

"Sure," she replied, smiling.

"I have the samples at the gallery," Kim noted. "It should take long for us to narrow down our choices."

Taryn nodded. Planning a wedding was sure time consuming. She hoped she wouldn't have to go through the same thing if she ever got married. Not that she was expecting Gideon to ask her, or anything.

As if reading her mind, Kim said, "Just think, you'll be an expert at this by the time it's your turn."

Taryn blushed.

"Let's not get ahead or ourselves," Taryn said demurely. "Gideon and I just moved in together."

"I know," Kim said. "But there's nothing wrong with imagining your wedding day."

Taryn honestly hadn't given it that much thought. She was just happy to be with Gideon that she wasn't thinking of the next step. Besides, she didn't want to put any pressure on him. He was under enough already.

As they were leaving the bridal shop, Kim asked Taryn if she wanted to go for coffee.

"No thanks," Taryn replied. "I have to get home to cook dinner for Gideon."

"Oh," Kim replied. "Maybe some other time, then."

"Sure," Taryn said. "I'll see you at the gallery tomorrow."

Taryn was starting to feel frustrated at the lack of progress with her painting. At the rate she was going, she wouldn't be able to put a show together for the late spring. She'd been too tied up with other obligations. But at least she didn't need to rely on her income to pay her living expenses. Gideon gave her plenty of money to buy groceries and household supplies. Still, it would be nice if she could supplement her own income a bit.