Holiday Magic (Second Chance) (4 page)

Since this was an all-inclusive wedding, in addition to the décor, the staff was responsible for coordinating the various aspects of the evening, but doing so unobtrusively, allowing the bride and her family to enjoy the event. The hotel would cater the meal, provide bar service and the army of servers who roamed the room, but making sure that everything went off without a hitch was Georgia’s responsibility. She walked over to the table in the far corner reserved for the staff of Holiday Magic. It looked no different than any of the other tables in the room, and she had provided the favors for her staff as an extra thank you for the long hours they would put in tonight. While they would be fed and could have a maximum of two alcoholic beverages each, they would need to watch for problems throughout the evening. An unruly guest could spoil a wedding very quickly.

Meg and Sam wore the smart uniforms Eleni had designed for them. The tuxedo style pants and jackets in black pinstripe, set off by snowy white blouses, were both functional and formal, and suited the occasion perfectly. She had given each of the girls some of her Delicate Design jewelry to wear, so that was a bit of bonus advertising for her. She reached for the water glass and sipped. Her nerves were strained as she waited for her first glimpse of him.

Chapter Four

The buzz of noise in the room increased, and Georgia looked up to see the bride and groom, and their attendants entering. The bride wore an elaborate, pearl-encrusted gown of snowy white brocade and carried a large bouquet of red roses. Her attendants wore floor-length, strapless, black satin dresses and carried smaller, similar bouquets. The groom wore black tails with a gleaming white shirt and a red rose in his lapel, while the groomsmen wore white tuxes with black shirts. The monochromatic scheme was bold and impressive. She was about to take her seat when her eyes were drawn to the last man to enter the room.

Dressed in a black wool suit, his white shirt split by the slash of his black, silk tie, Mark stood in the doorway searching the crowd. At six foot four, he dominated the men in the bridal party, easily attracting the attention of the single girls in the room. His copper hair, glistening in the overhead lighting, was longer than the way he used to wear it, but the tousled curls looked good on him. He had shaved that horrible mustache that had reminded her of a wooly caterpillar, leaving his beautiful, kissable mouth just the way she liked it. His warm, brown eyes, flecked with amber, scanned the crowd, and she knew the moment he had found her, and every part of her cried out with need. Her heart rose into her mouth, but she forced herself to remain calm. He leaned over, said something to the groom, shook his hand, and started through the crowd towards her. When he smiled, she melted inside as she always had.

“Evening, ladies,” he said, acknowledging the two girls who stood beside her. “So, those are the new uniforms. Nice. The jewelry really sets them off well.”

“
Do you really like them?” asked Meg, twirling for him. “Georgia said we could keep the earrings and pins. Isn’t she great?”

Georgia reddened at the sudden attention bestowed on her.

“Yes, she is,” said Mark, turning the conversation back on the girls.

She suspected the young girl might have a crush on him. If she gushed any more, she’d leave a mess. The only thing she hadn’t done was bat her eyelashes at him.

You’re not jealous, are you?
She heard her conscience whisper. She had been fighting with it all day.
Of course not. What do I have to be jealous about?

She pulled her thoughts back to the conversation around her.

“They’re really comfortable too, and can you believe it? They’re washable?” said Sam, smiling at Mark.

He laughed. “Getting you something that needed to be professionally cleaned each time you wore it wouldn’t have been very practical. The guys are wearing black pants and shirts with white ties.”

He turned to look at her again. His gaze lingered, taking in every bit of her in his inspection, and she could see warmth and something more, something she wanted to ignore, in his eyes. He masked it quickly and stuck out his hand.

“
Hello, Georgia.” His whiskey-smooth voice enveloping her. “It’s been a long time. You look incredible.”

She blushed. He had always been able to make her feel special, and he had done it again. It would be rude to ignore his hand, so she reached out hers. Big mistake! Thousands of electric shocks attacked her nerves at his touch, sending a flood of heat to her nether parts. She released his hand quickly, hoping that he had not sensed her response, but knew from the quizzical look on his face that the tell-tale flush had heightened her color.

Get a grip on yourself
, she ordered her unruly emotions.
It’s only static electricity
.
He isn’t yours anymore, and you aren’t his,
but she knew that was a lie. She would never belong to anyone else.

“
How did things go at the church?” She was amazed that her voice worked, and hoped she could stay focused on the business at hand.

“
Great. The boys are collecting everything and taking it back to the warehouse as we speak. I was afraid those black satin bows would look funereal, but alternating them with white ones worked well.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out two business cards, which he handed to her, their fingers touching briefly, sending frissons up her arm.

“
These people were really impressed. They plan on calling to book weddings of their own later in the year. I told them to call in January, and you could help them out.” He looked around the room with his practiced eye.

“
Eleni is incredible. When the bride insisted everything be black or white, the red roses the only color, I wasn’t sure she could pull it off, but your sister’s artistic talent never ceases to amaze me.” He reached for the penguin groom in front of him and picked it up.

“
These little guys are kind of cute, aren’t they?”

“
Each couple gets a pair.” She was surprised by the blandness of her voice. She was bleeding internally, and yet she could stand there stoically discussing wedding favors. Grandma would have been so proud of her for keeping it together. Mark spoke to her as if they were complete strangers, meeting for the first time. There was no pain in his voice, no regret. Had she meant so little to him?

“
They’re salt and pepper shakers, so they can be put to practical use. There are extras for those who aren’t part of a couple.”

He slid his penguin groom over beside the penguin bride in front of her. “You can have mine.” The unexpected huskiness in his voice startled her.

Before she could comment, the MC announced dinner was served. The meal, a seafood appetizer, followed by Caesar salad, prime rib, and custard for dessert was excellent. Tony and Luke had arrived just before the meal was served, so she had been able to sit two chairs away from him. The conversation had been pleasant, especially since Sam and Meg had dominated it.

She was surprised to see that she had made a decent dent in her food. The last thing she needed was a lecture from him on her eating habits. She had gotten one of those the other night from her sister. Really, what difference was it of Eleni’s if she had lost another ten pounds—slim was in vogue, wasn’t it?

Once the music started, the young people got up and danced. Thankfully, the music was so loud that conversation was impossible. She sat there, lost in the past, remembering things she had tried desperately to forget. He still wore the same aftershave, and its tangy, ocean fresh scent teased her senses. She saw the way that particular curl still tumbled over his forehead, and had to sit on her hands to keep from reaching up and pushing it back. She watched as he used his fingers to keep the beat of some of the faster tunes, and imagined the way they had once glided along her body, playing her like a fine instrument.

When he got up and danced with Meg, her body remembered the way they had moved together on the dance floor, their bodies perfectly attuned to one another. She conjured up the feel of his jacket under her palm as he held her close, the thumping of his heart as he caressed her back while the music carried them along.

When the band began to play ‘Unchained Melody’, the song they had chosen for their wedding dance, Mark looked at her as if he wanted to say something, but before he could, she excused herself, and rose from the table.

Even though she had left the room, the music chased her along the hall. She sought to get a grip on her jumbled emotions. Tears threatened to fall, and she was grateful to find the powder room deserted. The room was flooded with the harshness of fluorescent lights. She looked at herself in the mirror, noticing how haunted her eyes appeared with the shadows under them. Had she always looked so unhappy? She noticed for the first time that the dress, which had clung to her curves when she had first worn it, hung loosely from her frame. Eleni might have a point, she conceded. She would have to make sure she ate more. Thin might be in, but emaciated was not.

Georgia repaired the damage the tears had wrought on her eye make-up, pasted a false smile on her face, and headed back to the ballroom, but stood outside in the hallway and waited for the song to end before walking into the room again. Seeing Mark, especially under these circumstances, had been harder than even she had anticipated, and she only hoped that as she saw him more often, the pain would ease. She doubted that the longing she felt to be in his arms would ever go away. Why had fate been so cruel?

She was on her way back to their table when she was corralled by the bride’s sister.

“Come on, Georgia. All single girls onto the floor. Amy’s going to throw the bouquet.”

Wanting to avoid the flowers, she moved into the middle of the crowd of eager girls, many of them several inches taller than her. Unlike most of those present, since she was working, she had worn sensible two-inch heels.

“On three!” shouted the MC. “One, two, three!” The throwing bouquet, three red roses wrapped in black ribbon and snowy lace, went up into the air, spun twice, and landed on Georgia’s head, the ribbon tangling in the clip that held her hair in place. When someone tried to grab it away, she couldn’t. The flowers were securely attached.

“
That’s a new one folks.” The MC laughed. Instead of the girl catching the bouquet, the bouquet caught the girl.” Everyone laughed and clapped.

Georgia stood still while Sam untangled the ribbon and handed the roses to her. “I guess this means you’ll be the next bride.”

She smiled, but didn’t say a word. The roses were unusually fragrant for such deep red ones. The rest of the evening passed quickly. She danced with each of the boys and one of the groomsmen. She thought she saw a glower on Mark’s face when the man pulled her tightly to him. Despite wanting to push him away from her, she let it be. She was grateful when the music ended, and she was able to excuse herself to go and see to the cutting of the cake. A decadent selection of desserts was set out along with coffee and tea, signaling the end of the evening. On the stroke of midnight, the bridal party left, and the guests wandered off to the various private functions being held after hours in other rooms of the hotel.

Georgia eased off her shoes and began to help fold the tablecloths that would be sent for cleaning and pressing before they could go back to the warehouse. The room’s main lighting came on. Instead of the beautiful, pristine room from earlier in the evening, she saw a well-used party room that had lost its magic touch. The bud vases and penguins had gone home with the revelers, the china had been collected, and the tables were littered with partially burned candles, beer bottles, liquor and wine glasses, and champagne flutes. Four of the small mirrors that had stood under the candle plates as well as four of those had disappeared, and they would be added to the bride’s bill.

Sam and the others worked to take down the yards of sheer, black fabric obscuring the ceiling. The miniature white lights resembling stars were neatly rolled and put away in bins. The other items used to turn the room into a black and white, once-in-a-lifetime fairyland, were packed into crates and soon everything had been carried out to the truck.

Georgia picked up her purse, placed her penguin couple inside it, reached for the roses, put her shoes back on, and did one last circuit of the room to make sure nothing had been forgotten. The first of the many scheduled events for which she would be responsible had gone well. Mark had behaved appropriately. She looked around quickly and saw that everyone had left. She had better get a move on if she didn’t want to miss her ride.

“I’ll wait for you out front.” said Mark stood in the doorway.

“
That won’t be necessary. I’ll climb in the truck. That’s how I got here.”

“
That’ll be hard to do, since the boys are already gone. Meg and Sam took the van back.”

“
I can get a cab then,” she answered sharply, annoyed at having been left behind.

“
Don’t get mad at them. This is the way it’s normally done. Eleni usually rides back with me, and we discuss what could be done differently next time.”

“
I see.” The last thing she wanted to do was spend half an hour in a car alone with Mark.

“
I noticed you didn’t have much to drink.” She had only seen him drink a glass of wine with dinner and a bottle of beer during the evening. The rest of the time, he’d consumed water. He had only taken a sip from his champagne for the toast to the happy couple, and had given the rest to Sam.

“
I don’t drink very often, and when I do, I follow staff rules and limit myself to two. I can assure you that I’m quite sober.”

It’s too bad he hadn’t followed that rule when he’d had his bachelor party
.

She would never be able to get that memory out of her mind, and no matter how many times it replayed itself, she couldn’t understand why Mark had done such a thing, and with Lucy of all people.

She could never figure out how or why he had ended up in her bridesmaid’s bed that night, but she had refused to listen to anyone at the time. He’d still been asleep when she had walked into the bedroom, and the sight of him on top of the sheets, had made her drop the glass jar of orange juice she had held in her hands. The sound of shattering glass had woken him from his drunken stupor, and from the lop-sided grin he had given her and the response of his body, at any other time, she would have sworn the sight of her had pleased him. That’s how she’d found him, buck naked, hard as a rock, in another woman’s bed. The sight of Lucy, the sheet falling away to reveal a skimpy negligee, had been more than she could handle.