Between The Vows

Chapter Four

After we ate, she disappeared, and I cleaned up the dishes in the sink. After wiping down the counters I went upstairs to say goodbye. She was walking out of the bathroom and wiping her mouth.

"Seriously, Ellie?" I yelled. She stormed into her room and slammed the door shut before I could get another word in.

"Leave me alone!" She yelled back. I went into the bathroom and dumped the trash contents onto the tile floor. There were wads of saran wrap that were covered in sweat. Even though I knew Ellie had a problem, I didn't know it was this bad.

"Why does yours look better than mine?" Liam held up the centerpiece he was working on and I busted out laughing. He was true to his word, bringing dinner for the both of us. I was expecting something glamorous since he was so eager to cook for me. He showed up with gourmet turkey sandwiches, but I was grateful nonetheless.

"You have too much going on in there." I took it apart. "Watch me, closely this time." I felt his eyes on me as I put the roses in the vase first, followed by the baby's breath. "You only need three roses and two stems of baby's' breath. Just wrap the pearls twice around the teacup on the saucer." I held it up for him and smiled. "See, super easy."

"I could barely do one in the time you did five." He shook his head.

"I plan over twenty weddings a year. I can do this in my sleep."

Before Liam arrived, I paced around my house for thirty minutes and did deep breathing into a paper bag. I had imagined how this night would go countless times throughout the day and each time I came to the realization that it would be awkward, as it turns out, that couldn't have been further than the truth.

"What made you want to become a wedding planner?" He asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. We both had our backs leaned up against the couch, sitting side by side and I suddenly felt how close he was.

"My roommate from college was getting married and asked me to be the maid of honor." I began. "I had not the slightest idea what to do. Me being the organized person I was, I bought a wedding planning album that told you everything you needed to do. It was challenging but the joy I saw on Beth and her husband's face that day will be something I will never forget. In that moment I realized that I wanted to make everyone feel that way on their special day."

"So, are all these girls going to get together to plan your wedding?" He tried to meet my eyes, but I avoided his.

"What is this, 27 dresses?" I laughed. "That's not necessarily on my list of things to do."

"You plan weddings but don't want one of your own?" He asked as if this surprised him. It was a concept everyone tried to wrap their heads around. At the wedding conventions I attended each year, I spoke to dozens of wedding planners who have either already gotten married or are yearning for the day they walk down the aisle. They ramble on and on about what their big day would be like. When it's my turn to obsess over my dream wedding, I simply state that there were no wedding bells in my future. They raise a brow and continuously tell me I am in the wrong line of work.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't think about it much. I already have a lot going on in my life." I didn't want him to press any further and he could sense that. "What made you want to become an attorney?" I asked, changing the subject.

"My grandfather was one then my father and uncle followed. I wanted to be a pro golfer, but my father wanted me to be more realistic. I had been groomed for law my entire life, so I just went for it."

"You wanted to be a pro golfer?" I raised a brow.

He nudged my side. "I'm pretty good. I still do it for leisure with my buddies. We should go sometime, so I can show you up."