37. Bailey

I setthe final centerpiece on the table and stood back to double-check that everything was where it should be. String lights hung in a starburst from the center of the tent out to the edges. Every plate, candle, piece of silverware, and all glassware was in place on the six round tables.

The ceremony was to be held on the grass overlooking the city and the Bay. All of the chairs were lined up, and in the center was a row of red rose petals serving as an aisle runner.

Everything looked beautiful, but the real showstopper was the view. The blue water was shimmering as if diamonds were floating on the surface. And as the day wore on into evening and night, the buildings and bridge would be lit up, making it the perfect backdrop for the reception.

Today's couple was close to my heart. Joanna Garrett, or Mrs. G, and Tom Burke had a love story for the ages. The two of them had dated over forty years earlier, when she was working as a waitress in the Playboy Club and he was a Chippendales dancer.

They lost touch, but then were reunited when Sadie, the daughter of Mr. Burke and owner of Sweet Temptations, met and got engaged to Alex Vaughn, a former foster child of Mrs. G. The wedding today was being held in Alex and Sadie's backyard, which felt like the perfect place for the two to exchange their vows.

Their love story had given me hope that Simon and I would work out one day. Which, I supposed it had, just not in the way I'd expected. I knew now, without a shadow of a doubt, that Simon was not the right person for me.

After spending three days with Cole, he'd raised the bar for what I expected in a relationship, and Simon did not even come close to reaching it.

One month had passed since Cole had driven away, leaving me on the sidewalk with my suitcase. Even after seeing him and Lindsay kissing, I'd still spent the first week expecting him to contact me. Every time I opened the shop, I was sure I'd catch a glimpse of him across the street at the bakery. Every time my phone rang or alerted me to a text, I expected to see his name. Every time there was a buzz at my door, I hoped it would be him on the other side.

I think the reason I kept thinking he was going to show up was the look in his eyes when he said he needed to tell me something. That look haunted me. I just couldn't get it out of my head or let it go. But I'd come to peace with the fact that he was more than likely back together with his ex. And, if not, whatever he had to say couldn't have been that important.

Was I kicking myself that I hadn't had the confidence to message him that first week after he'd dropped me off? Yes. Because the window of appropriate time to ask what he wanted to tell me had passed. If I messaged him now, it would make me seem like I'd been thinking about it and obsessing over it all this time. Which I had, but I didn't want him to know that.

For the past three weekends, I'd wondered if he'd show up at one of the weddings I'd worked. He hadn't. Since today was a small, intimate affair, I knew I wouldn't see him. There were less than forty people attending, and that included plus-ones and kids.

"The DJ had a flat. He's running a little late," Billie informed me as she stepped beside me and looked around. "Wow. It is the perfect day for a wedding."

At first, I thought my sister was being sarcastic, but when I saw she was serious, I brought the back of my hand up to her forehead to check for a fever. "Are you feeling okay?"

She gave me the side-eye as she moved away from my touch. "Yes. Why?"

"Nothing." I lowered my arm. "It's just that in all the years we've been working weddings, you've never commented that it's a good day for a wedding."

Grandma Betty used to say that Billie was the Grinch of weddings. She'd never found them enjoyable or romantic like both Birdie and I did. Billie had always maintained that if you needed a piece of paper to prove that you loved someone, there was an issue with the relationship.

Billie shrugged. "I like Mrs. G and Mr. Burke. They deserve their day to be perfect."

A smile spread on my face. Mrs. G and Mr. Burke had a love story so pure that it even melted the cold block of ice around my sister's heart.

"Have you talked to Cole?" Billie asked, changing the subject to a question she'd posed several times since our early morning phone call.

"No."

Her forehead scrunched in confusion. "You haven't?"

"No. Why?"

"When I was leaving the boutique yesterday, I saw him. He had parked up the street and was getting out of his truck."

"He was probably going to Sweet Temptations. Remember, I ran into him there when he was getting his sister's cake. He said it's his favorite bakery."

Hearing that he'd been so close to the shop and hadn't even said hi made me feel sick to my stomach. But I told myself, it made sense. If he was, indeed, back together with Lindsay, it wouldn't be right for him to be stopping by to see me, even if it was just to say hi.

Billie didn't look convinced. "Have you tried to call him? To text him?"

"No." And if I was on the fence about that decision before, knowing he'd been on the street outside my shop and hadn't contacted me, put me firmly on the side of not reaching out.

For a month now, I'd picked up my phone to call or text him at least a hundred times. That wasn't an exaggeration. Several times a day, every day, I had to actively resist the temptation of contacting him. Now, I knew more than ever that keeping my distance was the right thing to do.

The last thing I wanted was a repeat of my relationship with Simon. I refused to romanticize the time we'd shared together and make it into some larger-than-life love story. The best thing to do was to see the weekend for what it was and nothing more.

"Why not?" Billie questioned.

"Because."

"Is it still the age thing?"

That didn't help, but no, it wasn't.

"No."

Something was stopping me from telling my sister that I'd seen Cole and Lindsay kissing. Right now, Billie had a good opinion of Cole, which was something that didn't happen often. I wasn't totally blind to the fact that I was repeating old habits. I'd always defended and protected Simon, and now I was doing the same thing for Cole.

The difference was, Simon deserved my sister's wrath, Cole did not. He didn't owe me anything. We weren't a couple. We shared one weekend together. Sure, it was the best weekend of my life, but it was still only one weekend.

No promises were made. There wasn't any discussion about the future. Nothing indicated to me that he'd ever planned on us seeing each other outside that vineyard. The opposite, actually. He'd been very forthcoming about not being in the right headspace to have a relationship.

The whole thing sort of felt like a fever dream to me. If someone had told me three months ago that Simon's wedding to another person would be one of, if not the best, day of my life, I would have been sure they were either crazy or on drugs, or both. But it had been. Because of Cole.

He hadn't done anything wrong, and I didn't think it was fair for Billie's opinion of him to sour because he'd gotten back together with his ex.

"I'm going to go check on Mrs. G," I told my sister, figuring it was my fastest way out of this conversation. She couldn't argue with me doing my job.

Billie nodded and headed back inside the main house, where the men were holed up. I headed down the path to the ADU, which Mrs. G lived in with Mr. Burke. As I looked around, I couldn't help but note that this wedding was my perfect wedding.

Beautiful backyard.

Under fifty guests.

All I needed now was the right groom.