Page 44 of Last First Kiss

“They only host events late September through early May,” Jordan announces as they walk. “But the owners are willing to make an exception. For your wedding.” He smiles over his shoulder at Amy. “If you want it.”

Behind her eyes, Jordan can finally see the hints of champagne bubbles. Of childhood dreams. The ceremony she’s longed for.

“I don’t know.” Sam’s eyebrows droop. “An August wedding outdoors? InAtlanta?”

Just as quickly, the bubbles burst. “The heat,” Amy fills in, sadly.

“The heat,” Sam repeats.

It’s true. Even after 5:30PM, it’s about ten degrees too unbearable for two hundred guests sitting in the sun. Clothes-stuck-to-your-skin hot. There’s a reason wedding season in Atlanta is typically fall through late spring. But Jordan anticipated this response.

“I’m glad you brought that up.”

He unlocks his iPad. Taps open the Conservatory vision board he made last week. With a flourish, he flips the screen around.

“I was thinking…this.”

Breathless, Amy says, “Ohmygod.”

“An evening ceremony,” Jordan narrates with the same excitement sparkling through Amy’s eyes. “Right at sunset. Pink skies to complement the floral arrangements. Trees draped with fairy lights. Paper lanterns on the arch.” He guides Amy and Sam through the fairy tale as it’s spun. “After your first kiss, the guests will hold up LED fiber wands as you walk back down the aisle as husband and wife.”

Beside him, Amy’s practically vibrating. Over her shoulder, Jamie smirks.

Jordan tears his eyes away to glance at Sam, who looks less enthused.

“What if it rains?” He eyes the sky. “We all know Atlanta’s weather is unpredictable.”

Another sad fact.

Amy’s shoulders sink back to a normal level. “I didn’t think about that.”

Jordan, however,did.

“Come with me,” he requests.

The Piedmont Conservatory’s crown jewel is a glass-enclosed botanical greenhouse used for large-scale events. From the outside, it’s a dramatic, geometric structure. Falling sunlight winks off the glass. Finely sculpted shrubs and iron benches surround the perimeter. A stone walkway leads to the entrance.

Jordan eases the doors open. “I planned on this being our reception venue, but—”

Amy’s audible gasp echoes inside.

The interior sprawls for what seems forever. Greenery crawls out from every corner, coiling around the steel framework. Hanging from the curved trusses is a variety of string lights and glass bulbs. Leafy chandeliers suspend from wooden beams while trees sprout up from the floor. Looming at the front, just beyond a flowered arch, is a peach tree.

“This is…” Jamie blinks several times. He never finishes his sentence. But his open mouth says it for him.

Wow.

Jordan’s chest puffs. Only a little. “If the weather isn’t perfect, we can move the ceremony in here.”

“I’d love that,” Amy asserts.

Behind her, Sam paces in a small circle. He takes it all in.

Jordan walks Amy over to a far wall covered in leaves and colorful flowers. “Photos can be done here.”

She nods eagerly.

They stroll to the other side of the greenhouse where another arch is erected, this one wrapped in vines. “Your entrance here.”