Page 20 of Yours Actually
“Fair point,” Rhodes agrees and I keep smiling.
Sasha elbows her fiancé.“Not helpful, babe.”
“It’s true, though,” Callan says.
“So, what, she should just sleep her way to finding her true love rather than date?”Sasha arches her brows at Callan waiting for his response.
I turn in time to see his features darken.
“She should take things as slowly as she wants,” he says.
“She’ssitting right here in between all of you,” I remind them.“And she’s not interested in dating or sex at the moment.”
Rhodes looks positively horrified.“You’re off sex too?”
“I’m just taking a break, Rhodes.”
“For how long?”He still looks pained like he could never imagine taking a break from sex.
“For as long as it takes me to figure things out.”
A text comes through on my phone and I gladly check it while the three of them have a conversation about abstinence.
Harper
Livvy!!I got engaged!!I’ll call you later but I wanted to share the news with you right now.And I want to ask if you’ll consider being my wedding planner since I won’t be back in New York before the wedding and our moms both insist on us holding the wedding there.Please say yes!I know you’ve never planned a wedding before but there’s no kind of planning you don’t excel at.Love you xx
“Oh my god!”I look at Callan.“Harper and Landon got engaged!”
He smiles.“Good for them.”
“She wants me to plan her wedding.”
“Who’s Harper and Landon?”Rhodes asks.
“Harper is Olivia’s cousin,” Sasha says.“She and Landon live in Paris.”She looks at me.“Will you say yes?”
“I don’t know.It’s such an important day in her life.I’d hate to mess it up.”
Callan touches my arm.“You won’t mess it up, Ace.”
I meet his gaze and read between the lines of what he’s saying.The only person in the world who knows all my fears and hurts and regrets is Callan, and he’s reading me perfectly.He knows I already feel responsible for a tragedy in my family when we were children and that since that day I’ve done everything in my power to ensure Harper is happy.“I might,” I say softly.“So many things could go wrong.”
“So many things could go right.If anyone can plan a wedding, it’s you.I’ll help in any way I can.”
Callan has always been my protector and he’s not letting me down now.I know he absolutely means it, and that he would walk through fire if I asked him to.I also know he wouldn’t make this kind of offer for very many people.It isn’t that he’s not kind, helpful or thoughtful; it’s that helping plan a wedding, or anything really, isn’t where his skills lie.Planning an event is actually his idea of hell, so this means the world to me.
“You might regret that,” I say, keeping hold of his gaze.
“I don’t think so.”He’s watching me like he’s got all the time in the world for me.Like he wants to make sure I’m okay.
We’re in the middle of this moment when Rhodes says, “I agree with Callan.If anyone can plan a wedding, it’s you, Liv.”
I break eye contact with Callan to look at Rhodes.“Thank you for saying that.”
“I agree with the guys.You will make an excellent wedding planner,” Sasha says before leaning into her fiancé.“Now, it’s time for you to dance with me, babe.”
I smile at the way Rhodes accepts his fate without argument and leads Sasha to the dance floor.I then turn my entire body to face Callan.“Thank you for offering to help.I don’t know if I’ll say yes, but if I do, I’ll definitely be calling on you.Even if just for moral support.”