Planning for Love by Christi Barth Read Free Book Online Page A

rough-hewn stone
window ledge.
    “Care for a drink?” asked a low, male voice.
    The stock answer popped out before she slipped back into her
shoes and turned around. “Thank you for the offer, but I don’t drink on the
job.”
    “Scared you’ll get wasted and flash all the overweight
spinsters doing the Electric Slide?”
    That spun her around fast. “Bennett
Westcott. Why am I not surprised? You don’t have even a modicum of respect for
this wedding, do you?”
    “Sure I do.” He brought out a bottle from behind his back and
slowly waggled it back and forth. “They served Veuve Clicquot champagne. I very
much respect the good taste of whoever paid for a dozen cases of the stuff.”
    Ivy kicked her shoes off again, relieved she didn’t have to put
her game face back on quite yet. “Tracy’s father bought the bubbly to celebrate
his daughter’s happiness. If you don’t share his sentiment, you’d better have a
darn good excuse for drinking it.”
    “ Au contraire , thou sweet champion
of love. You’ve got me all wrong.” Ben sidled closer, leaning his hip next to
hers on the wall. The sweating bottle he sat on the ledge, using it for leverage
while he pulled out the cork. It slid free of the neck with a muted pop,
followed by a quiet hiss of bubbles pushing for freedom. He hefted the bottle in
the air as if lifting a glass for a toast.
    “I, Ben Westcott, do solemnly vow that I believe today is the
happiest day of Tracy’s life.” He took a quick swig, straight from the
bottle.
    “Aha!” She knew he’d see the light. No one could resist the
magic of a wedding. Love became tangible, frothing the air as effervescent as
the bubbles he’d just swallowed.
    “So far,” he slowly intoned. “To be specific, she’s happy
today. No guarantees about tomorrow, or a month from now, or even a year.”
    No camera in sight, and yet still he baited her? Didn’t he get
that she was quite simply classier, not to mention far more tactful, than the
wedding coordinators usually profiled on WWS ? He
could keep trying to push her buttons, but she refused to give him any more
fodder for the show. There’d be no getting a rise out of her tonight.
    “How about we meet in the middle, and agree the bride and groom
had a wonderful day?”
    “I can stipulate to that condition.” Ben took another drink,
then set the bottle down right next to her hand. “Thanks to you. It’s really
impressive, the knack you have for being in three places at once. Ollie and I
could barely frame you in a shot before you’d dart off again. Never broke a
sweat, and your smile never wavered. I know, because I watched for it.”
    “You smile stalked me?” Ivy didn’t know how to feel about that.
She tugged at the idea from all sides, like trying on a new dress in front of
the mirror. A few reactions popped right up; a little intrigued, a little
embarrassed—and a lot flirty.
    “Catalogued you,” Ben corrected. With one blunt-tipped finger,
he traced slowly from her ear to her chin, electrifying every pore he passed
over.
    “The beaming, full-of-pride smile you shared with all the
parents. The joyful smile you used with Tracy and Seth. The indulgent yet
chastising smile you bestowed on the groomsmen when you took tequila shots away
from a couple of teenagers. Oh, and the worn out but satisfied smile you gave
Julianna when you told her to go home.”
    Now his finger moved along her lower lip. Ivy couldn’t resist
when he pushed the corners up into a smile. It took all her energy not to let
her mouth fall open and her tongue roll out.
    “Why did you send Julianna home? Wedding’s not over. You’re
still here, the DJ’s still rocking out the crowd. You’ve got to be just as worn
out as her.”
    So true. No matter how many hundreds of weddings Ivy did, the
exhaustion never lessened. Hardened planners simply learned how to ignore it and
work through it. And sleep in the next day. No client darkened their doors the
day after an event