Chapter 71

Chapter 71

I nearly choked on my response.

“You would officiate the wedding? Really?”

“Why not? You can’t find anyone else acceptable, and I’ll be attending the ceremony anyway…”

I wasn’t sure how to respond. It was one thing for Andrew to officiate his own daughter’s wedding, but to get him to officiate another wedding–the wedding of the cousin to one of his advisors, at that was a coup.

“Hello? Crystal? Are you still there?”

I shook my head to clear the fogginess from my brain.

“Yes, sorry, I’m still here. I’m just….are you sure that you want to do this? You won’t get to rehearse or anything.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve been practicing the ceremony to death in preparation for Lisa’s wedding. Just give me a cheat sheet with the couple’s names, and I’m sure that I’ll be able to pull it off.”

“I don’t know what I would do without you, Andrew. Are you sure that you’re a werewolf and not an angel?”

Andrew laughed.

“My wolf would like to argue against that,” he said, his voice light and good- natured. “So, is there any special time you’d like me to get to the venue to prepare for the ceremony?”

“Yeah, the ceremony starts at 4:30 p.m., so if you could be there at 2:30 for a sound check, that would be fantastic.”

“Okay. It’s going to be at the same venue as Lisa’s wedding, right?”

“Correct, but it’s the modern setup on the bottom floor.”

It was also the cheapest floor, but I wasn’t going to mention that to Andrew,

“Fantastic. I’ll see you tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.”

“See you then. Thank you so much for doing this.”

Chapter 71

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“Anything to save a damsel in distress.”

I wanted to stick my tongue out at him, but I stopped myself when I remembered that he couldn’t see me.

“I may have been in distress, but that didn’t mean that I needed you to come and save me. I would’ve found a way out of this.”

“I know you would have, Crystal. You always do.”

At 2:30 p.m. the next day, a quarter of the Ever After Weddings team was tending to the bride, a quarter was with the groom, and the final half was setting up decorations on the bottom floor of the building. Having been given a master keycard by the owner, I ran around the entire building, ensuring that everything was going off without a hitch. Fortunately for me, nothing had gone wrong since the officiant debacle.

Andrew arrived promptly at 2:30, dressed in a designer black three–piece suit. He found me helping to organize the centerpieces in the reception hall.

“Crystal!” he called out to me, raising his hand.

I excused myself from my colleagues and ran to him.

“I’m so glad you’re here.”

I took him by the hand and led him across the lobby to the conference hall, where we would be holding the ceremony itself.

“What, did you think that I wouldn’t show up?” he asked jokingly.

“That’s not funny.”

I pulled him up to the altar and behind the microphone stand.

“I need you to read a few lines of the ceremonial speech to ensure that you can be heard throughout the room. Wait for me to be at the back row of chairs.”

“All right.”

Andrew seemed thoroughly amused by my haste, but he did not put up any objections. Good. The last thing I needed was someone to fight back against

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the well–oiled machine.

I ran to the back row of chairs and signaled for Andrew to begin.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have gathered here today…”

白菜气:50%;

I could hear him clearly and distinctly. There was no fuzz to the microphone or any feedback. I sighed with relief and motioned for Andrew to stop talking.

“That should work,” I called back.

“Well, now what should I do?” he said with a laugh. “Do you need any help with the decorations?”

“Actually, that would be great,” I replied, turning toward the door without waiting for Andrew to catch up. “We could use some help finishing the metallic silver streamers, and we still need to put white roses around the open bar-”

Andrew grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me around. He looked me straight in the eye, and the message behind his expression was clear: Breathe.

“Slow down, Crystal. You’re going to kill yourself, at this rate.”

I stared back into his eyes and shrugged.

“No more so than any other time,”

“I’ve never seen you run this rampant before.”

“It’s just another wedding,” I said, “only much more high–profile. So yeah, I might be a little more on–edge today. But it’s no big deal.”

Andrew sighed and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. He leaned forward and k*ssed me gently on the forehead.

“Don’t run yourself ragged for their sake.”

I nodded, but I knew that I wouldn’t listen to his advice. Not when Ever After Weddings‘ reputation was on the line.

The wedding went off without any problems. The silver and white decorations complemented the floor’s sleek, modern interior, and the black and cream

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color scheme for the bridal party and guests helped them to stand out and blend in at the same time. Polly had insisted that her bridal dress be white. with gold accents, and the dress made her shine under the LEDs.

When Polly saw that Andrew was her officiant, she shrieked with joy, and tears. streamed down her face. It was a surprisingly heartwarming reaction.

Polly’s eyes searched the crowd. When she finally found me, she waved and l*pped, “Thank you!”

Igrinned and waved back, l*pping “you’re welcome” before I gestured for her to continue her march down the aisle..

Andrew performed the ceremony flawlessly. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him, and his voice filled my ears like a siren’s cursed melody. He delivered the words with such authority and sincerity; I couldn’t wait to see how he planned to officiate Lisa’s wedding.

When the ceremony ended and the bride and groom walked back down the aisle, now wife and husband, my eyes stayed on Andrew. He glanced over at me and smiled broadly. We stared at each other for a moment before Terri tapped me on the shoulder and motioned that we should go help with taking pictures and ushering people into the reception hall.

In the chaos of pictures and getting people over to the reception, I lost track of Andrew. It was probably for the best. He was too much of a distraction for me to do my job properly.

After what seemed like an eternity, everyone was settled with their chicken or fish and enjoying their endless drinks–some a little more than others. Those were the guests that we’d have to keep an eye on. It wouldn’t be the first time that we had been forced to throw out an overly drunk wedding guest.

By the time the toasts were given and the first dance was completed, my feet. were longing for the relief of a seat. Lily always told us to not let our clients. see us sitting down, but after four hours of running around in heels at this wedding–plus another six at the bridal shop beforehand–I needed to take a minute to not twist my ankle.

I found a chair secluded in a corner and discreetly took off one of my shoes, rubbing the sole of my sore foot.

“Do you need help with that?” Andrew’s voice startled me.

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I fumbled to put my shoe back on, but Andrew put his hand on mine and shook his head.

“Please, let me help you.”

He took my foot and began rubbing it, pressing his thumbs firmly into the arch in little circles. I moaned softly and covered my mouth so that no one could hear me. Andrew chuckled.

“I told you that running around like that would kill you,” he chided.

1 lowered my hand.

“I would hardly call my feet hurting something killing me

“It’s but the first step in a long journey…

As his massage continued, so did my muffled moans. He looked up at me with half–closed eyes and spoke in a low, seductive voice.

“If this makes you uncomfortable, we could continue somewhere a little more…private.”

I blushed, but the idea of being alone with Andrew did sound very appealing at the moment, especially if he wanted to continue his massage. I looked around the room. Terri and the others seemed to have everything handled.

“I could give you a private tour of the floor that Lisa’s wedding will be on.”

Andrew gave me a wolfish grin.

Bob wasn’t sure why Lisa made him attend these kinds of events. Yes, there was a political advantage to keeping social ties with diplomats, but this was the cousin of one of Andrew’s advisors, not exactly someone high up on Bob’s priority list. Still, Bob wanted to keep Lisa happy, so he accompanied her.

He had convinced Lisa to take a break from the dancefloor and sit down when he spotted Crystal in a corner with Andrew. They appeared to be putting Crystal’s shoe on her foot.

Bob nudged Lisa and asked, “What is going on over there?”

Lisa turned around and watched as her father pulled Crystal to her feet and

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escorted her to the exit. Fury rose within her, mirrored by Bob’s own.

“I don’t know,” she said.

Bob stood up and offered his hand to help Lisa stand.

“I say we go find out.”

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