Page 7 of The Surprise Wedding
They began to talk details, and automatically, Nate made notes for himself and for Liz. Even though Liz would be talking with Yuriko later, he jotted down the other information Zach began to naturally share with him as they talked—details about the cake, the setting, and number of guests.
“We’d like the wedding to be a perfect combination,” Zach said. “We want a contrast between modern and traditional approaches to capture the moment and to capture the essence and cultures of our families.”
Nate’s digital pen flew across his tablet as Zach mentioned his mother’s nut allergy and his fiancé’s preference to avoid pure white in the fabrics wherever possible. Was this what Liz did? He wasn’t sure if he was doing it right, but he didn’t miss a detail. He kept thinking about what Zach had said about falling in love and how it had made him feel like he was a completely different and better version of himself. Was there a Nate 2.0 out there somewhere?
“There’s just one more thing,” Zach said when it seemed as though they’d gone through every conceivable detail. “I know I’ve already given you a lot, but this is an important one. Yuriko and I are both real coffee fanatics. We’ve spent a lot of time searching for the perfect coffee place, and we do have our favorites. For the wedding, we want to make sure we’ve sourced the best-possible coffee beans, not just for the reception, but also for the rehearsals and everything else.”
Nate grinned. He really did have a lot in common with Zach. “That sounds awesome,” he said, “and I can handle that, no problem. I love coffee, and I know someone very local who is an expert,” Nate assured him. “You’ll get the best coffee available. Guaranteed.”
When the meeting ended, Nate went to find Liz. He wanted to give her his notes and let her know what had been discussed. She was in the kitchen with Jenn, and when she was finished, they stepped out into the garden and took a seat at one of the tables.
When he got to the end of the long list of details that Zach had itemized, he mentioned the coffee request. Right away, Liz suggested asking for Tamara’s help.
“You know, Jenn is going to have a lot to do for this wedding,” she said. “Apart from designing the wedding cake, there are a lot of dietary considerations and other details. Do you think Tamara would be interested in handling this coffee request? I mean, she knows more about it than any of us. We know how we like it to taste, but I don’t think we have much knowledge about beans and roasting.”
Of course, Tamara had been the first person who’d come to his mind. He said, “I think that’s a great idea. I’m sure Tamara would like to get involved. Besides, it might be a good business opportunity for her.” He paused, feeling his heart rate quicken at the thought he might get to legitimately see more of Tamara. “How about I ask her about it?”
“Oh, don’t worry about it, Nate,” Liz said. “You’ve got enough to do. As it is, I feel bad about having to leave the meeting early and then handing all the note-taking to you. I can talk to Tamara.”
Nate felt his heart drop. No, he wasn’t letting this opportunity to talk to Tamara again pass him by. “Liz, it’s no problem. I’ve got to go over there anyway. I’m due for a refill.”
Liz didn’t get a chance to respond before Nate was on his feet and heading over there. He knew Liz must be wondering what was up with him. Five seconds ago, he was telling her about what sounded like a lot of technical work to get this wedding feed arranged, and now he couldn’t get across the street fast enough. But he knew that in a moment her phone would ring, and she’d forget about the whole thing.
Nate walked up to his office to drop off his tablet and check his messages. Before he left to speak with Tamara, he had a brilliant idea.
Rather than just dropping by the café, he wanted to have a chance to really speak to her. He didn’t want to be just one of a bunch of other customers trying to get her attention. His plan began by sending her a text.
Me again. Our new client has some specific coffee requirements. Since you’re the expert, could we set up a meeting to discuss?
After he tapped the Send, button he sent another, shorter message.
Would dinner tonight work?
Now all he had to do was wait…
And wait.
Why was it taking so long? Nate tried to stay calm. Maybe there was another rush at the café. Things had been pretty busy there this morning, and her new helpers were motivated but not very efficient yet. When his phone finally pinged, Nate forced himself not to grab it off his desk. This was just work, after all.
Okay, sounds interesting. What time, and where should we meet?
Nate offered some details, and Tamara agreed. It felt a little weird to be doing this via text. They’d gone out together only as part of a larger group of their work friends. So this was a bit different. But it was work, Nate reminded himself, even if he had ulterior motives.
Chapter Four
Tamara stood outside the restaurant and told herself for the dozenth time to stop overthinking things. In fact, just stop thinking altogether. Calm down and just let things flow. Relax. Yes, Nate had invited her to a great restaurant overlooking the ocean. Yes, it was the kind of place that someone might choose if they wanted to impress their date. But that didn’t have to mean anything. It didn’t have to be romantic. They’d settled on it more or less because it was between their apartments, and the parking was good.
She’d taken the time to get dressed up a little bit, picking out a light blue dress that she’d worn only once—and it wasn’t to the beach. She was wearing actual heels rather than her usual sandals or flip-flops. But she wasn’t dressing for Nate, or at least that’s what she kept telling herself. It was just that they were going to a restaurant that was kind of fancy, and they probably didn’t expect their customers to look as if they’d just walked in off the beach.
She gazed up at the restaurant that had taken the idea of being beside the ocean to a whole new level. Not only did it have views out across the water, but it was also architecturally ambitious, a glass and steel protrusion that stretched out over the water, giving the diners sea views on all sides, as well as the sensation of floating.
She turned, and there was Nate. She caught her breath and immediately had to remind herself that this wasn’t a date. It was a business meeting. He’d dressed up a little bit, too, swapping out his jeans for dark slacks. He looked really handsome, and the clothes suited him, although just about anything would look good on his athletic body. Tamara realized where her mind was going, and she tried to focus on something, anything, else.
“You look…” Nate began and then spent a second or two seeming to deliberate whether he should say anything or not. Finally, he made a decision. “Great. You look great.”
“Well, so do you,” Tamara said with a small nervous laugh. Why was this awkward all of a sudden? It was okay. She knew what this was and what it wasn’t. The best thing would be to just relax and enjoy the evening. After all, she was at a restaurant she’d never been to before, with a great friend and the guarantee of good conversation and maybe even a new business venture. It sounded like a perfect recipe for a really good evening.
“Thanks,” Nate said, holding open the door. “We should probably go inside.”
