Page 82 of Taming I Do
“I was just curious. But it might be fun to share that on social media. Gives you some legitimacy if you’ve got the numbers to back up your claim of being the most romantic place in Texas to tie the knot.”
“Wait, you’re posting about your experience in town on your social media accounts?” I asked.
“She’s got her own hashtag for the contest and everything,” Lacey squinted at me. “I thought you knew about that.”
“No, I’m pretty sure I didn’t.” Not that it mattered much. I didn’t even have any of those online accounts. I had no need to tell the world what I planned to eat for dinner or how I felt about social issues. If someone wanted to know, I’d rather have a face-to-face conversation.
“Well, you ought to check it out.” Lacey held out her phone. A recent post from Delilah featured a picture of the Hampton barn, where we’d watched that movie a few weeks ago, and had over five thousand likes.
I blinked hard, and the number grew by ten. If and when we did move forward with the wedding barn idea, I’d need to get upto speed on all of that. I almost groaned at the amount of work ahead of me. Maybe Delilah would be willing to help me get started since she obviously knew a lot about it.
“I’ve got to go check on the wedding party.” Lacey tucked her phone back into the pocket of her dress. “Y’all feel free to head outside and find a place to sit. We should be starting in just a little while.”
“Thank you so much for the tour. I’d love to walk around outside and get some pictures of the gardens.” Delilah looked up at me.
“Sure, let’s do that.” I held the door for her, breathing in a whiff of her perfume as she passed by.
“I can see why so many couples choose Ido for their wedding.” Delilah turned right at the bottom of the steps, taking the path that led to the garden where the wedding would be held.
“Lacey’s done a fantastic job. She pretty much saved the town by coming up with the idea of focusing on weddings.”
“I read something about that in the information Mr. Plum gave me. Ido used to be known for a big stationery company, didn’t it?”
“That’s right.” I walked under an arbor covered in some sort of climbing vine. No need to get into the scandal surrounding the downfall of the Phillips family business. I turned the conversation. “It sounds like you’re pretty good at that social media thing.”
She leaned over to snap a photo of a butterfly resting on a large orange bloom. “It comes with the territory. One of my responsibilities with this contest is to post pictures of my experiences. Hopefully, it will make more people aware of what each town has to offer.”
“That’s smart.” I nodded, wishing I could ask for help with putting together some ideas for the wedding barn. But I wasn’t ready to talk to her about that quite yet. I still wanted to keep itto myself so she wouldn’t be swayed one way or another when it came time to make her decision.
“I’ve also started ramping up the marketing for the new company Stella and I are working on... the one I told you about with my mentor, Monique. Stella hired a publicity company to do the launch and everything, but I’m handling the day-to-day posts.”
“I wouldn’t even know how to get started.”
She turned to me and put a hand on my arm. I could feel the weight of her touch, even through the layers of my long-sleeve dress shirt and the suit jacket. “I’m sure you could figure it out, it’s not that hard.”
“Thanks.” I stopped myself from sliding my hand into hers and pulling her close.
As Delilah moved around the garden, snapping pictures of flowers and groups of smiling wedding guests, the music began to play. “Should we find some seats?”
“You pick.”
“We’re not really part of the official guest list. Let’s stand at the back.” She headed toward an area off to the side, behind the rows of chairs.
I followed, my chest burning as I watched the gentle sway of her hips. My fingers tingled with the memory of having my hands on those curves just a few days ago.
She stopped at a bench that had been set up at the edge of a path that wound through the garden. “How about here?”
“Works for me.” I waited for her to get settled, then took a seat next to her, my hip brushing hers on the narrow bench.
“What a gorgeous dress.” Delilah smiled as the bride took a spot behind her bridesmaids. “She looks so happy.”
I glanced from the nervous excitement on the bride’s face to see the calm, confident stance of the groom, who waited for her at the end of the aisle. Delilah gripped my arm as thebridesmaids finished trailing down the aisle. The crowd stood for the bride, and the swell of the wedding march began.
I couldn’t help myself. My fingers found Delilah’s and tangled with hers.
She gave my hand a squeeze as the couple took their places under a wooden arbor covered in flowers. The officiant asked the guests to be seated. Delilah didn’t break our grip. Not while the couple said their vows. Not when the tiny ring bearer handed over a satin pillow. Not when the couple kissed for the first time as man and wife.
I had been to a fair number of weddings in my life, but for some reason I seemed to watch this one unfold through new eyes. Instead of watching a couple of strangers pledge their love to each other until death, I couldn’t help but wonder how it might feel to be the one standing there, in front of my own friends and family. Pledging my love to one woman for the rest of my life.
