Page 47 of The Best Man Problem
She elbowed him gently but smiled. “Damn right we are.”
Lilly motioned to the snow outside. “The snow is making the roads slick and icy, but I called in a favor with a limo company. They agreed to meet the vendors who aren’t here yet and the guests who will be arriving tomorrow at their business and drive everyone up and back.”
Marie let out a high-pitched shriek. “Lilly, you are the absolute best!”
The woman flung her arms around the wedding planner. Lincoln held back a snort of laughter at the panicked look on Lilly’s face as the woman tried to gently pat his friend’s back and extricate herself from the hug.
“I’m simply here to make sure your special day runs smoothly.”
He called bullshit on that. Lilly went above and beyond for her clients. And from what he learned of her the other day, that giving extended into her personal life. Sure, her mom might be paying her to organize her latest wedding, but he knew Lilly would have done it no matter what. The woman might try to hide behind a wall of propriety and ice, but inside she was a big ol’ softie who just wanted the people around her to be happy.
Damn, she was amazing.
“Oh.” Marie sniffed, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Now I have to fix my makeup.”
“You look amazing,” Lilly said with a shake of her head.
“You do, babe, but I can take you to your room if you want to freshen up before dinner.”
“Yes, I think that would be for the best. Thank you, Lilly.”
“Just doing my job.”
He watched as his friends headed upstairs to where he assumed Marie was staying. Lilly stood, watching them go with a longing smile on her face. He could relate. His friends had the kind of relationship people dreamed about. The kind you only read about in books or saw in movies. There’d been many a time over the years he’d compared his own failed marriage to his friends’ relationship and wondered where he went wrong. Fair? No, but hard not to do.
“Admit it,” he said as he stepped up to her side. “You’re some kind of superhero, aren’t you?”
She laughed, her eyes still on the spot where Marie and Kenneth had disappeared. “Not a superhero. Just really good at my job.”
“Really good at making people happy.”
“I like making people happy.” She sighed. “The world needs more happy.”
“And what about you?”
She turned to face him. “What about me?”
“What would make you happy?”
Her gaze traced over him, eyes heating, waking up every cell in his body. It took all his willpower to hold still when what he really wanted to do was haul her into him and worship every single inch of her body with his tongue.
“You.” The word whispered out of her of its own volition.
“That can be arranged, sweetheart.” His voice was so low and husky he almost didn’t recognize it.
“You’re still a client.” She shrugged. “Sort of.”
He lifted a brow, clenching his hands into fists to keep from reaching out to touch her. “Not after tomorrow at five, I’m not.”
A cheeky grin tilted her lips. “Technically, the wedding ends at ten.”
He couldn’t help it—he threw his head back and laughed. “Okay, you win. Ten. But after ten…”
She bit her lip. He wanted nothing more than to soothe the small pain with his tongue.
“Tomorrow.” The word whispered out of her. “The place is booked until Sunday. Mo and I usually hang around to make sure the place is all cleaned up, so if you want to stay after the wedding, we can…”
His eyes widened in shock. “Seriously?” They’d been talking, flirting, even gotten a little naughty over the phone, but he was still surprised she’d finally agreed.
