Katelyn sat propped up against the pillows and smiled as he handed her a glass. "This is fun."
He laughed and joined her in bed. "Drinking wine in bed?"
"All of it."
"Yeah. It is."
He turned on the TV and they drank wine and watched the news, commenting on some of the stories. Then he had her again, slow and lazy and luscious, before they fell asleep in his bed.
-
Tanner had set his alarm for ten and it woke them both out of a sound, exhausted, satisfied sleep. They had lazy morning sex, then showered and dressed.
Katelyn frowned at the dress she'd worn last night, but it wasn't really that out of place in the morning light. She'd tossed her disposable contacts last night and now had her glasses on as she sat at Tanner's kitchen island, checking emails on her phone while he toasted bagels for them.
Her phone rang in her hand and she tipped her head as she swiped to answer the call, glancing at him apologetically. He just nodded and smeared cream cheese over half a bagel.
"Oh hi, Mrs. Corrigan. How are you?" She greeted the mother whose son's wedding had now been postponed several times.
"They got married at city hall."
"What? Who did? Chandler and Adriana?"
"Yes. I can't believe it," Caroline Corrigan continued, her voice rising with her agitation. "They didn't even tell me. I overheard my daughter telling her boyfriend. Chandler apparently called her and told her to come down to City Hall because he and Adriana were secretly getting married. Apparently Adriana said the wedding was too stressful for her and she couldn't deal with it."
"Oh, dear."
"I can't believe they did this to me!" Caroline cried. "I can't believe they got married with no family there."
Katelyn covered her eyes with one hand, her stomach dropping with disappointment. "So the wedding is off, then?"
"They haven't told me to call it off. They haven't told me anything! They think I'm still planning the wedding, but now it's just a big charade and means nothing! I feel sick about this. I don't know what to do."
"Okay, well … " Katelyn thought fast. She caught Tanner's concerned expression as he slid a plate across the counter toward her and gave him a weak smile.
Caroline Corrigan had been a problem to deal with all along. This wasn't her wedding, but you would have thought it was. She was going to have to be tactful with the woman.
"First of all, if you go ahead with the wedding, it's not a charade," she said gently. "It's a public celebration of their marriage even though they already had a private ceremony."
"Should I confront them and tell them I know?"
"Well, that's up to you, but if you're going to tell them that you know, I think you need to be careful how you do it. Caroline … this isn't about you. This is their wedding."
Silence greeted her and she winced. She could be losing a well-paying client.
"So if you talk to them, I think you need to calmly share that you found out that they're already married and ask them if they still want to go ahead with the wedding you're planning. Or … you can keep quiet about it, go forward with the wedding, and enjoy your chance to celebrate their marriage with them. But I hope you won't confront them as if they've done something wrong and taken something from you, because I don't think they did this to hurt you, and they don't owe you a wedding."
More silence. Then a sniff.
Katelyn resisted the urge to jump into the silence and keep talking. Caroline needed to process what she'd just said. She stiffened her spine and prepared to hear the words "you're fired."
"Well. I certainly appreciate your honesty."
Katelyn sank her teeth into her bottom lip.
"I need some time to think this through," Caroline said. "I'll be in touch."
"Okay. Taking some time to think sounds like a good idea. Just give me a call."
She set down her phone and met Tanner's eyes.
"What was that?"
She told him the story. "I can see exactly what's happening. I'm sure the bride was overwhelmed and stressed by her future mother-in-law taking over everything, and they decided to quietly elope. Obviously, Caroline feels betrayed and hurt by that, and yet this probably happened because of her own actions."
"Ugh."
"And they didn't get married with no family there, as Caroline said-the groom invited his sister."