Bridesmaid For Hire (Matchmaking Mamas Book 23) Read online

  “Oh, that’s right. I forgot about that. Good thing you didn’t,” she added.

  “Well, I can’t really forget now, can I? That’s what you’re paying me for.” Coming out of the booth and carrying the dress folded in half on her arm, Gina said, “I just had an idea. When does your bridal shower take place?”

  Sylvie paused, thinking. By the look on her face, that was obviously something else that the still somewhat harried bride-to-be had forgotten to ask about.

  Thinking now, she remembered. “That would be next weekend. You’re invited, of course,” she quickly told Gina, then murmured, embarrassed, “You must think I’m an airhead.”

  Gina was quick to squeeze Sylvie’s hand and soothingly reassure her. “Absolutely not. Just a woman with a great deal on her mind as the big day draws closer. I’m just here to help you manage all that,” she reminded the bride-to-be.

  Sylvie smiled her gratitude. “It’s a Jack and Jill shower,” she added, watching to see if that bothered her new savior in any way.

  But Gina welcomed the news. “Good, that’ll give me a chance to meet the groom. The reason I asked about the shower is because I thought you might like having professional photographs taken of the event. Unless your fiancé gave you a cut-off point as far as spending money on the wedding went,” she quickly added. She knew that this wasn’t part of the usual expense associated with a wedding, but she thought that the added event might help get a photographer engaged at this late date. Offering him more money to shoot bridal party photographs could be a further inducement to say yes.

  “No, no limits,” Sylvie told her. “Jeffery just wants me happy. And as for your suggestion, I think it’s wonderful.” Her smile grew with each word she uttered. “I’d love to have professional photographs taken of the party.” She impulsively hugged Gina again. “You have just the best ideas,” she declared with enthusiasm.

  “I just want to make this the best wedding possible for you,” Gina told her.

  An almost starry look entered Sylvie’s eyes. “It really is starting to look that way, isn’t it?” she said happily.

  “Absolutely.”

  * * *

  Gina dropped Sylvie off at her apartment.

  The meeting with the photographer she had selected didn’t turn out the way she had hoped. Like the photographer before him, the photographer she had wanted to hire for this wedding turned out to have a conflict. He had regretfully told her that he wasn’t available.

  Disappointed but undaunted because she did have several other photographers to check out, Gina drove home and spent her evening poring over their websites. Eventually narrowing her search down to two candidates, she jotted both names down along with their accompanying phone numbers.

  She promised herself she’d call the one at the top of the list first thing in the morning.

  Worn out, she finally went to bed.

  Exhausted, Gina fell asleep before her head even hit the pillow. And then proceeded to have one dream after another, each one involving Shane in some way.

  The dreams, some fragments, some feeling as if they were practically feature-length movies, all involved a wealth of warm emotions that insisted on infiltrating her. All through the night Gina found herself vividly reminded of the way she had felt when she and Shane had been going together.

  That, in turn, reminded her just how much she had regretted turning Shane down almost from the very moment that she had. Because once her fears had subsided, allowing her to think logically again, she realized that she did love Shane and she wanted nothing more than to face forever with him.

  But by then it was too late.

  Shane had disappeared as if he had existed only in her mind.

  The way he did now in the dreams that kept assaulting her brain.

  Gina couldn’t help thinking that one stupid wrong move had cost her everything.

  Regret left a horrible, bitter taste in her mouth.

  “Maybe this is our second chance. We can do this over again.” Gina could have sworn she heard Shane whispering that to her.

  And then suddenly, he was there, right behind her. Wrapping his arms around her and making her feel safe and protected.

  The way, she recalled, that she used to.

  She was vividly aware of turning around in the shelter of his arms. Aware of her heart pounding wildly as he slowly began to lower his mouth to hers.

  Aware of wanting Shane more than she wanted anything else in this life.

  She felt whole.

  She felt—

  With a start, Gina jerked upright in her bed, her heart pounding double time, threatening to crack right through her ribs.

  The room—her bedroom—was still dark with only whispers of an approaching dawn beginning to infiltrate the darkness.

  She was alone.

  Alone just as she had been ever since she had allowed fear to speak for her all those years ago, thereby eliminating the best thing in her life.

  She had no one to blame for this but herself, she thought.

  Gina sat up straighter, dragging a hand through her hair. She was trying desperately to get her brain into focus.

  C’mon, Gina. Get with it!

  There was no sense in going over the same old thoughts she’d had time and again over these last ten years. This was old ground and if she covered it again, nothing new would come of it. She had a job to do, she reminded herself. Sylvie was paying her to make sure she took care of all things associated with the wedding. She certainly wasn’t paying her to mourn over her own stupidity.

  Kicking her covers aside, Gina got up and made her way into the bathroom.

  Maybe a shower would do the trick and bring her around.

  She looked like hell, Gina thought, catching a glimpse of her reflection in the bathroom mirror.

  “Time to do a little damage control and get back into the game,” she ordered her reflection.

  This was her eternal penance, Gina thought as she stepped into the shower and turned on the water.

  Cold water hit her body with the force of a thousand needles. It made her focus.

  She had callously ruined her own prospects and for that she was going to spend the rest of her life making sure that other women got the fairy-tale wedding she had turned her back on.

  * * *

  Gina met with the photographer she had put in first place on her list after her initial candidate said he wasn’t available. Happily, this new candidate was free for not just the day of the wedding, but he was also available for the bridal shower, as well.

  Closing the deal, Gina left the photographer’s studio with a firm commitment—and with a brand-new idea.

  She realized that part of the reason she was having dreams about Shane was because she had been racking her brain trying to come up with a legitimate reason to go see him again.

  She couldn’t just go back and apologize to him again about the way she had turned down his proposal. Thinking it over now, that would just seem like she was rubbing salt into his wound. Besides, if she apologized again, in all likelihood, he would just shut her out. She didn’t want to grovel. Groveling sent the wrong message to the man, not to mention that it put her in a position of weakness. That was not the image she wanted to project, nor did she think that Shane would look at her favorably if that was the way she came across.

  That was if he had any sort of a favorable view of her left, she amended.

  What this needed, what they both needed, was a fresh start, a clean slate. The one thing they still had in common was confections. Sylvie was having a bridal shower and a bridal shower needed refreshments. From everything she had read about Cakes Created by Cassidy he didn’t just make wedding cakes. He could make—create, she corrected herself—all sorts of different kinds of pastries.

  Since he had agreed to do Sylvie’s wedding cake, maybe she co
uld prevail on him to handle her bridal shower, as well.

  And if he turned the request down, citing how “busy” he was, well at least she would have gotten another opportunity to see him again. And maybe seeing her a few times would hopefully wear him down, make him remember just what it was that had attracted him to her in the first place.

  Maybe it would even make him decide that what they’d had was worth giving a second chance.

  One step at a time, Gina, she cautioned, trying not to get ahead of herself.

  Even so, she did a quick U-turn and instead of going to Shane’s shop, she went home first. Although she always dressed nicely, she wanted to put on something extranice. While she was at it, she also wound up freshening up her makeup.

  After checking herself over several times and deciding that if she did anything more elaborate, it would wind up looking like overkill, Gina drove to Shane’s shop at the shopping center.

  Although the distance between her apartment and the shopping center wasn’t very far, her palms were damp by the time she pulled her vehicle up in front of his show window.

  This was crazy. She hadn’t been this nervous even on her first date with Shane.

  But there was a lot more riding on this now, she thought.

  Turning off the car engine, Gina gave herself one final pep talk and got out of the car.

  The same tinkling sound announced her entrance this time as it had the other two times.

  The reception area was empty.

  A wave of déjà vu washed over her. And then, suddenly, she heard the sound of laughter. Gleeful childish laughter.

  The next moment, the door leading from the back area opened and a little girl of about four or five came dashing into the reception area.

  The little girl was holding what looked like a measuring spoon gripped tightly in her hand and there were traces of whipped cream outlining her lower lip. There was also some whipped cream on her right cheek.

  She stopped in her tracks when she saw Gina. But instead of being afraid, the little girl looked exceptionally comfortable and secure. She offered her a huge smile.

  “Hello,” Gina said, her interest definitely engaged. “And whose little girl are you?”

  “His,” the girl answered, pointing just as Shane walked in behind her.

  Chapter Seven

  Shane quickly crossed the room and made his way over to the little girl. Placing one hand on her shoulder, he made eye contact with her.

  “Ellie, you know what I told you about talking to strangers,” Shane told her sternly.

  But the little girl didn’t seem to be intimidated. “You said not to,” she answered.

  Ellie was usually either in preschool or with the woman he employed as a part-time nanny. But there was no preschool for her today and Barbara, Ellie’s nanny, had a doctor’s appointment so he had brought Ellie to work with him. It wasn’t really a hardship. The little girl loved the shop and moved through it as if it was her own private playground.

  At times Ellie could be a little too brave and that concerned him. While Shane didn’t want her to grow up frightened, he also didn’t want to have to worry about Ellie going off with the first stranger who was nice to her. He was beginning to learn that this wasn’t an easy thing to pull off.

  Continuing to make eye contact with Ellie, Shane replied, “Exactly.”

  Ellie peered around him at Gina. “But she looks friendly,” the little girl argued in her own defense.

  Turning, Shane spared a glance at Gina. “Looks,” he said cryptically, “can be deceiving.”

  “What’s de-de-deceiving?” Ellie asked, pleased with herself for getting the word right after two attempts.

  “That’s when somebody tries to fool you.”

  It wasn’t Shane who answered her. It was Gina. Shane’s words had cut into her like a sharp, jagged knife. She truly wished that there was some way she could make what had happened between them up to him, to prove to him how very sorry she was.

  But then he really didn’t need her to do that, she thought. Shane had obviously moved on. He had a daughter. He might have other children, as well. Now that she looked at the little girl’s face, she could easily see the resemblance. The dirty blond hair, the bright blue eyes, and especially when Ellie smiled. That was all Shane.

  Without realizing it, Gina glanced down at his left hand. There was still no ring there, but that didn’t mean anything. Some men didn’t wear wedding rings. Others took theirs off when they worked because they didn’t want to risk getting the ring caught on machinery. In this case, that could include appliances.

  Searching for neutral ground, Gina smiled at Shane and said, “She’s very cute.”

  Though he doted on Ellie, he pretended to shrug indifferently. “She has her moments,” he replied.

  He was still pretending to be stern for Ellie’s sake. But he couldn’t quite pull that off, not when it came to Ellie. Being the tough disciplinarian never really suited him.

  He ruffled Ellie’s blond curls and she made a face as she ducked her head away.

  “You’re messing it up,” Ellie complained. She raised her hands and with careful movement, she smoothed down her hair.

  Gina couldn’t help but laugh. “She’s all girl, all right,” she said to Shane.

  Gina wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. His eyes narrowed a little as he turned to look at Gina. He hadn’t been expecting her. It bothered him that she kept catching him off guard.

  “She is that,” he agreed. “But you didn’t come here just to evaluate Ellie.” Up until a few minutes ago, she hadn’t even known about the little girl’s existence, he thought. “What are you doing here?” he asked Gina bluntly.

  Making a fool of myself, Gina thought, although she forced a neutral smile to her lips. Okay, here goes nothing.

  “You know that woman you agreed to make that wedding cake for? Sylvie Stevens,” she said in case Shane didn’t remember who she was talking about.

  “Yes?” he prompted, waiting for her to get to the point.

  He deliberately kept any and all emotions out of his voice. As a result, it sounded almost icy cold. Part of the reason for that was because he didn’t want her realizing that he hadn’t agreed to make the cake for this Sylvie person, he had agreed to make it for her.

  Because, despite everything she had put him through, he wanted an excuse to see her again.

  Gina cleared her throat and pressed on. “Well, I know this is probably asking for a lot, but she’s having a bridal shower this weekend—”

  “Doesn’t the lady take showers every day?” Ellie asked, curious.

  Grateful for the distraction, Gina looked at the little girl. “It’s not that kind of a shower, honey. That’s what they call a party for a bride before she gets married,” she explained.

  “Then she doesn’t have to get wet?” Ellie asked. She screwed up her face, doing her best to understand.

  Knowing how involved things could get when explaining them to Ellie, Shane tactfully suggested, “Ellie, why don’t you go in the back and tell one of my assistants that you need someone to play with you?”

  Thinking he was shooing the little girl out for her benefit, Gina vetoed the idea. “That’s okay,” she told Shane and then crouched down to the little girl’s level. “I don’t mind explaining things. Bridal shower is really a silly name for it,” she agreed with Ellie. “I think they call it that because people come to the party and they shower the bride with presents. That means they give the bride presents,” she clarified just in case Ellie still didn’t understand.

  But Ellie understood just fine. Her sky-blue eyes opened wide as the information penetrated.

  “Really?” she asked gleefully, clapping her hands together. Her head swirled toward Shane. “Can I have a bridal shower?”

  “Not for a long,
long time,” Gina told her. “Someone has to ask you to marry them first.”

  “How do I get them to do that?” Ellie asked earnestly.

  Bad example to use, Gina realized. She could literally feel Shane looking at her. Was he waiting to hear what she was going to say in response, or was he just going to shoot her down without bothering to listen to her say anything else?

  But his silence dragged out so she gave Ellie an answer.

  “Well, if you’re very lucky, you meet a nice boy and the two of you fall in love. After a while, he asks you to marry him and then—”

  “Do I hafta wait for the boy to ask me?” Ellie asked, interrupting impatiently. “Can’t I ask him to marry me?”

  That caught Gina by surprise. It took her a moment to answer. “You can,” she told the girl.

  “Good, ’cause I don’t like to wait,” Ellie informed her.

  “Well, I’m sorry, kiddo, but you’re going to have to wait awhile longer,” Shane told the girl. He didn’t want any ideas put into that blond little head. “At least thirty years. Maybe more. Now go in the back and play like I told you,” he instructed. Seeing Ellie interacting with Gina took him to places he didn’t want to go. There was no sense in allowing that to happen.

  Ellie made a face, but even at her tender young age, she seemed instinctively to know when not to push. “Oh, okay.”

  Gina caught herself looking after the little girl almost yearningly as Ellie all but skipped out of the room.

  If things had turned out differently—if she hadn’t been such a coward, she upbraided herself—that little girl could have been hers. Hers and Shane’s.

  “She looks like she has a lot of energy,” she commented.

  “You don’t know the half of it,” Shane answered. “It’s nonstop all day long.”

  Myriad questions filled Gina’s head, questions she couldn’t risk asking right now. Things were still very raw and tenuous between them. If she said or asked the wrong thing, she was afraid that Shane would change his mind and back out of making the wedding cake for Sylvie. She couldn’t afford to do that to her client just because her curiosity was aroused.