Page 46 of Center Ice

“When’s your birthday?” I asked.

She twisted and looked up at me. “That’s random.”

“Well, you need a break from thinking about tomorrow, and I’m curious.”

She smiled and went back to laying on me. “February fifteenth.”

“Almost a Valentine’s baby!”

“I know. I’ve asked my mom why she didn’t push faster, but I wasn’t that lucky.”

“That would have been a very fitting birthday for you, but I guess two days to celebrate you are better than one.”

She nodded against me. “Yeah, more opportunity to spoil me.”

I laughed, and we continued talking about easy things for hours. Her laugh was my favorite sound. I wanted to hear it as much as possible. Plus, I wanted to give her a break from worrying, just for a little while. It wasn’t until security came by and told us the beach was closed at midnight that we moved.

16

Dani

The realization I had one more day left at the resort was the first thing I woke up to. Great way to kick off the morning on a stressful note. I was jobless and soon to be homeless. Last night had been perfect, not only the wedding, but talking to Jake for hours. It was so easy, so natural. The barriers that had been there when I first met him were giving way for me. He was letting me in, and I liked him more than I should. He was leaving today, and I was … I didn’t know yet. I needed to plan.

My phone vibrated on the nightstand, so I picked it up and saw dozens of new emails and a few missed calls.

Had something happened? Was there a disaster that needed to be fixed?

Wait, they wouldn’t call me. Not anymore.

I sat up against my pillows and scanned the emails. Some were from various news outlets, wedding websites, and then there were a few from names I didn’t recognize. I opened the oldest one. It was from a woman in Seattle asking if I was available next June. The next one was from Wedding Bells, one of my favorite websites, asking for an interview. One of the news stations from where I grew up wanted to do a piece on me. A football player’s fiancée in Michigan wanted to work with me since I’d proven I could be discrete with Wyatt’s wedding. There were more and more of these emails. One opportunity after another.

I had options. Real options.

An agency in Los Angeles offered me an interview. Their website claimed they were the premier wedding planners in the area. I could only imagine who they worked with and the budgets they got to work with. It was tempting. Very, very tempting.

But I wanted to break out and stand on my own, and with the attention I was currently getting, now was the time. I had to take advantage of my fifteen minutes of fame while I could.

There were at least seven requests from brides. That alone would keep me busy for the next year or longer.

And the big articles hadn’t even come out yet. There might be some pictures and short updates about Colby and Noah’s wedding, but it would be a month or two until the magazines hit the newsstands. Then even more requests would come in, if this was any indication.

If I was smart and strategic about this, I could really start my own business. I might even be able to hire an assistant. The Dani Glisten Agency. DG Weddings. Glisten Planning.

I broke from my fantasizing and finished all the emails. It was almost too much. I didn’t want to mess anything up or miss an opportunity. I needed help. I wasn’t too proud to admit that. I knew I was out of my element, but who could I reach out to? I didn’t know many other people in the industry since I was isolated in Cancun.

Jake. I needed to talk to him.

I got out of bed and hurried to change into joggers and a t-shirt. I was halfway to his room when I realized he was the first person I wanted to tell. Not my parents. Not Maggie. The man I’d known less than a week. I didn’t have time to figure out what that meant. I could analyze it later.

I knocked on his door, and a moment later, Lance answered wearing only a pair of low-slung shorts. He grinned and leaned against the door frame. “Well, good morning.”

I ignored his flirty tone. “Is Jake here?”

“He’s in his room. I’ll grab him,” Mikey shouted from inside, and I pushed past Lance.

“One of these days, you’re going to realize there are better options.” He waggled his eyebrows, and I just laughed.

“Hey, Dani. Is everything okay?” Jake walked out of his room tugging on his shirt, covering those abs that deserved their own exhibit in a museum.