Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 53349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
“Nate. Did I wake you up? I’m so sorry. Shall I call back?” It was Liz, and she was firing questions at him. What time was it? Why was she calling?
“Uh, yeah. No problem, I’m awake.” Nate did his best to sound coherent and halfway intelligent. It was Friday morning, and Liz never called like this, so it must be about something important. “Are you okay? Can I help you with something?”
“You’re not going to believe this,” she began, “but Jason sprained his ankle this morning. We’re on our way to the clinic to get it X-rayed now.” Barely stopping for breath, Liz continued, “Zach and Yuriko are coming in this morning to have one of our last meetings before the wedding. Their schedules are so tight I can’t ask to reschedule. I was hoping, since you already made such a good impression on Zach, that you could look after them until I get there.”
Nate was fully awake now. “Sure, no problem. I know he wants to talk about the technical side of things, so I can take care of that first.”
“Perfect, that’s what I was thinking. Maybe you could show them around and keep them busy until we’re finished at the clinic. I should be there by elevenish at the latest.”
“I’m on it. Don’t worry. We’ll see you later.”
As Nate got ready for work, he thought about all the things he needed to do today, including calling his brother to get last-minute instructions about his wedding this weekend. He’d been so busy this week, he hadn’t had time to even think about it—except, of course, when he was daydreaming about spending more time with Tamara. Then there was his to-do list for the Married in Malibu wedding, which now included meeting Zach and his fiancée and managing their questions about its progress. And underneath everything were his growing feelings for Tamara. No wonder he hadn’t slept well.
Before driving in, he checked his messages and saw a short email from Zach. The message was exactly the way someone like Zach would have done it, asking if it would be okay to drop by to discuss wedding details. Oh, yeah. It would be more than okay!
Nate found himself feeling very grateful for the box of coffee beans he had in the trunk of his car. Thanks to Tamara, those carefully curated and blended coffee beans were already in his care. He’d be able to surprise Zach and Yuriko and let them sample the coffee this morning. He was eager to try it himself.
Married in Malibu was surprisingly quiet when he arrived, and there were only a couple of cars in the parking lot, one of which was Meg’s. In the wake of Kate’s party, everyone must be taking their time, and, of course, Liz was at the medical clinic. He hoped Jason’s sprain was nothing serious.
Travis was also already working. Nate told him that Liz would be late, explaining about Jason’s ankle, and asked him to let everyone know that she’d be in around eleven a.m. He also asked Travis to keep an eye out for Zach and Yuriko, who would be arriving soon.
Nate went up to his office with the box of coffee and got to work on the wedding files for Zach. A short time later, he looked out the window and saw a Tesla sports car pulling into parking lot. Nate went down to meet them just as Travis called to say Zach and Yuriko had arrived.
Zach looked much the way he had on the video call, but in person, he seemed smaller somehow, and more personable.
“Nate,” he said, offering a hand. “It’s good to see you. May I introduce my lovely fiancée, Yuriko?” The woman beside him was simply stunning, dark-haired and slender. She and Zach made a perfect couple.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Nate said, trying to think of what Liz would do at this point. “You must be getting excited about the wedding.”
Looking around Married in Malibu’s grounds with obvious delight, Yuriko smiled. “I’m getting very excited, and it will be so nice to have our families here. I’m sure you’re all doing a wonderful job. Zach has assured me that you’re the best, and what I’ve seen of Married in Malibu online is definitely impressive. I just wish I’d had time to come over before now.”
Nate gave her what he hoped was a sympathetic nod. “Before we get started,” he said, “Liz has had a bit of an emergency this morning, but she should be here in less than an hour. If you are okay with this, I thought you might like to have a tour of the property and meet some of the people who are working on your wedding.”
“We’re not going to start with the uplink?” Zach asked with a smile.
His fiancée laughed. “Zach, I’m sure Nate will show you all the coding you want in a little while. For now, can we at least start by exploring the grounds and talking about dresses and cakes?”