A Matchless Romance (Aisle Bound) by Christi Barth Read Free Book Online Page B

nothing else, this proved he’d paid attention to her.
    Mira settled herself on the couch, spreading out her skirt to avoid creases pre-photographs. “Tabitha. You didn’t tell us that your new client was famous. Better watch out. The Real TV cameras might focus on him all day instead of Ivy and Ben.”
    He blinked at her a few times. “Should I hide from them?”
    About two hundred percent too literal again. This guy cracked her up. Tabitha grabbed her purse. “No, not now. I promised Ivy I’d make sure the men are getting their pictures taken, on time,” she rolled her eyes at Ivy and received a beaming smile in return, “and you’re coming with me.”
    “We’re leaving?”
    “Yes.” Geez, cat got his tongue much? He’d been considerably more verbose before the other women came in. Perhaps that was his issue. Maybe Drew only felt comfortable one on one. Tabitha made a mental note.
    “Then I’d better do this now.” He took two steps forward, bent Ivy into a dip over one arm, and kissed her. Not a peck. A real kiss. Tabitha knew this because she felt each second tick away deep in her bones. She wasn’t sure whether she felt more scared that he was kissing her boss, or achingly jealous that Drew wasn’t locking lips with her. After five interminable seconds, he set Ivy back upright. Her cheeks were flushed, her lipstick smeared.
    “What the hell was that?” Tabitha screeched. Okay, maybe she was leaning a lot toward the jealous side. Still, she was certain that on Ivy’s innumerable lists for today, nowhere did it say that she planned to be smooched by a total stranger. On a scale of inappropriate behavior, this rated at about get-the-hell-out-right-now. “Have you lost your mind? This woman’s about to get married!”
    “I know. That’s why I kissed her.” Drew appeared unphased by Tabitha’s irritation. He wiped the lipstick from his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s an old Swedish custom.”
    She threw up her hands. Couldn’t bear to look at Ivy to see how upset she must be. “How does that apply at all here—now—today?”
    “When you asked me to attend a wedding, I did some research. I’d never been to a wedding before. Didn’t want to screw up on any traditional activities.” He shoved his hands deep in his pockets. “A lot of what I found wasn’t really applicable, like how in Russia it’s bad luck to get married in May. But I discovered a custom from Sweden, where the male guests kiss the bride. Figured that was doable.”
    “Stand down, Tabitha,” Ivy said. “Drew is right. It is a long-standing custom, still observed to this day.” She paused, then spoke slowly, straight to Drew. “Only in Sweden. In America, not so much.”
    “You might want to make a note of that for the next wedding you attend,” Daphne gasped. She was doubled over, silent tears of laughter streaming down her face.
    Next to her, Mira tried to hide her giggles behind a flailing hand. “There’s no better gift for an obsessive-compulsive wedding planner than acting on a well-researched, obscure tradition. Well done, Drew.”
    They could laugh all they wanted. Neither of them was responsible for the more than six feet of wild card smack dab in the middle of Ivy’s wedding. Ivy, who owned both the romance store and the dating service. Sure, they were friends, but at the end of the day, Ivy had a more official title in the company hierarchy. Her boss’s boss. “I’m so sorry, Ivy.”
    “Don’t be.” The bride flicked her veil behind her shoulders as she looked from Tabitha to Drew and back again. “I invited him. You agreed that bringing him to the wedding would serve as a fact-finding mission. Well, we just learned something vitally important.” Ivy picked up her wide skirts and hurried over to Tabitha. She stood on tiptoe to whisper in her ear. “He’s got serious potential. Trust me. I’m more than okay with that being the last kiss I ever get from anyone besides Ben.”
    Oh my.