The Best Laid Plans (3 page)

“He wasn’t gossiping,” Diane said in his defense. “Charlie was just telling me how he’s the best man.”

Those eyes that were this mesmerizing mix of brown and green fell back on him. “Max asked you to be the best man?”

This was when Charlie wanted words to come out of his mouth, but all he could do was nod. She had this way of turning him into a mute.

“Huh.” She smiled and said, “Well, you better start writing a fabulous best man’s speech because the maid-of-honor one is going to be pretty awesome.”

No doubt she would knock it out of the park. She exuded a confidence that had to come from being successful at a thing or two.

“I’ll do that,” he said, knowing full well he’d wing it when the time came.

“Good. I’ll see you around.”

She started to go and Charlie panicked. “Nightingale, hold up.”

She stopped and her eyebrows arched while she waited for him to continue.

He didn’t have anything else to say. His mind went blank, then filled with things he couldn’t possibly do. He wanted to take her by the hand and pull her out of this busy hospital. He wanted to walk the city’s streets and find out what she loved about it. He wanted to know what she put on her hot dog and who she thought had the best pizza.

“Did you want something or are you planning on just smiling at me like that? Because it’s borderline creepy and I really need to get back to work.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder.

Charlie felt himself smile bigger. “Do you want to meet up sometime?”

“What?” Emma and Diane said at the same time.

“I mean, I heard you were planning the wedding, and I thought, since I’m the best man and you’re the maid of honor, maybe we could get together and talk about what would make Kendall and Max happy.”

Emma’s chin dropped. “You want to help plan my sister’s wedding?”

She made that idea sound weird. He didn’t want to seem weird. So he shifted the blame. “Max asked me to talk to you. I think he wants to make sure he has some say in all of this.”

“He thinks I’m not going to include him? I plan on checking with both of them before I do anything,” she said defensively, stepping back in his direction. “It’s their wedding. Of course he’ll have a say.”

Charlie wanted to kick himself for offending her. He tried again to backpedal. “No, of course he thinks you’ll involve him. I think he thought...I think we both thought it would be nice of me to help you out so you didn’t have to do it all on your own.”

Emma smiled, hopefully because she thought he was endearing and not a moron. “That’s really sweet, but I have it all under control.” Again, she started to leave.

“I have a few ideas, though.” He had no ideas, but desperation took over. Who knew getting her to agree to one meeting would be so tough. He watched as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Was he annoying her? That was the last thing he wanted.

“I’m off tomorrow.”

Relief flooded his body. “Me, too,” he said, barely believing his luck.

“I’ll be in touch, then.”

“Perfect.”

“Fletcher,” Serena said as she came back into the ER. “We have to go.”

He acknowledged her with a nod before smiling at a retreating Emma. “See you tomorrow, Nightingale.”

CHAPTER THREE

E
MMA
WENT
STRAIGHT
to Kendall’s house after work, hoping her sister would have an explanation for her fiancé’s distrust. Did Max really think she wasn’t going to plan a wedding with both him and Kendall in mind? He really thought he needed to send his best man to watch over her?

She knocked but walked in before anyone could answer. “Anybody home?” she shouted from the foyer. Kendall’s house was Emma’s home away from home. It was a cozy little two-story that, thanks to Kendall, was always warm and inviting.

Simon came running from the family room. “Aunt Emma, guess what?” His sock feet caused him to slide across the wooden floor when he tried to stop.

She put her hands out to catch him before he ran into her. “What?”

He smiled and she could see that one of his front teeth was growing in and one had just fallen out. The kid had a constant gap. “At school today, I got to say the Pledge of Allegiance over the intercom.”

“You did?”

Simon nodded proudly. “The principal said I did such a good job, I can do it every Monday if I want.”

“That is so cool.” It was more than cool, but it was a rule not to freak out too much when Simon spoke in public. He suffered from an anxiety disorder called selective mutism, which made it difficult for him to speak to or in front of other people. He went to a therapeutic school that had been helping him immensely. Every day Kendall said she saw improvements.

“Want to see what I drew at school? Mom said we can frame it.”

“Of course I do.” Emma took his hand and was dragged back to the kitchen where Kendall was cleaning up dinner.

“Hey, there,” Kendall said, drying the dishes. “If I knew you were coming over, I would have saved you a plate. You want me to heat something up?”

Emma waved her off. “Don’t worry about it. I ate on my break. I heard someone got to say the Pledge at school today.”

Pride shone in Kendall’s eyes. “I heard that, too.”

“Look at my picture,” Simon said, recapturing her attention and handing her his drawing. In colored pencil, he had sketched a heartwarming picture of his soon-to-be family. There were Max and Kendall, holding hands with each other and with their respective sons. Simon had paid careful attention to the details, even giving Max the five-o’clock shadow the man was so fond of. Her nephew was extremely talented for his young age and so much like his mother. Kendall had always been the most creative member of the family, painting masterpieces at Simon’s age. Emma’s artistic ability was limited to being able to stay within the lines of her coloring books.

“This is a beautiful picture of your family, buddy. No wonder Mom wants to frame it.”

Simon took the paper back. “I’m gonna take a picture with the iPad and send it to Max so he can see it now.”

“Remember he’s at work,” Kendall called after him as he raced out of the room. “If he doesn’t text back, it’s because he’s busy. Don’t send a million texts!” She finished putting the last dish away and turned to her sister. “One night, he texted Max something like a hundred times. Most were just Max’s name over and over. Max got back to his office and saw all these texts from our house. He didn’t read back far enough to see it was just Simon, so he called here in a panic because he was worried something was wrong. I was putting Simon to bed and didn’t answer the phone. Max assumed the worst, left work, came here and scared the crap out of me by busting into the house screaming for me and Simon.”

Emma laughed. “Whoops.”

“Yeah.” Kendall chuckled, too. “At least I know he really cares, right?”

“Speaking of Max caring, what’s up with him sending his best man to spy on my wedding planning?”

“What?” Kendall seemed genuinely surprised.

Emma took a seat at the kitchen table. “Charlie showed up at the hospital today and informed me Max asked him to be his best man
and
also asked him
to talk to me about the wedding planning. Like he’s afraid I’m going to do something without checking with you two first.”

“Honestly, I didn’t even know he was going to ask Charlie to be his best man.” Kendall sat down next to her. “I don’t think he’s spying on you.”

“Why else would he ask Charlie to meet with me to go over the plans?”

Kendall shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t want you to feel like you had to do it all by yourself. Maybe he wants you to have a guy’s perspective when you start making plans. He never mentioned any of this to me, so I have no idea.”

Whatever Max’s reasoning was, it meant nothing but trouble for Emma. What did Charlie know about planning a wedding? What “ideas” was he looking forward to sharing?

Kendall and Max wanted to have a short engagement, which was why they’d been thinking about simply eloping at city hall. Emma had promised to come up with a church wedding that would stay small. She had no intentions of making this into some sort of monster wedding. Was that what Max thought?

“I’ll run some of my ideas by Charlie tomorrow to make Max feel better, but after that, I don’t need the interference. Not if you want to get married over the Fourth of July.”

“I don’t think Charlie is going to give you a hard time. Be nice to him.”

“I’ll be nice.”

“But not too nice. I think Charlie likes you a little. I’d hate for him to think you’re one of those nurses who dates paramedics.”

“Actually, you’d be amazed by how many nurses date cops. I don’t know what it is, but the ladies in my ER love the Chicago PD.”

“But not you, huh?” Kendall knew all about Emma’s life plan. Unlike Lucy, she didn’t usually treat Emma as if she was nuts for thinking she could map out her whole life. Kendall was the sister Emma could tell anything to and not feel she would be judged.

“Nope, not me.” Emma rested her chin on her folded hands and stared off dreamily. “I have my heart set on the handsome new doctor starting next week.”

“Oh, do tell.” Her sister leaned closer.

It was too early to gossip. Emma hadn’t even formally met him yet. Still, she knew he was the one. He fit perfectly in her plans.

“He’s the one I’ve been waiting for, I can just tell.”

“Yeah? He’s the one?”

Emma always got what she wanted, and sticking to her plan was the only way to prevent disaster. The last time she even thought about deterring from the plan, bad things had happened. “He’s got to be.”

The phone rang and Kendall jumped up to answer it. Emma could tell by the smile on Kendall’s face that it was Max calling.

“I know, isn’t it the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen? I told him we could frame it.” She paused to listen. “Emma’s here, by the way. She wants to know why you asked Charlie to help her with the wedding plans.”

All of a sudden, Kendall’s eyes widened and she turned her back, piquing Emma’s interest. Emma strode over and tried to overhear, but Kendall pushed her away.

“I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. We should talk about this. I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” Kendall said to Max.

“What did you know? What’s not a good idea?” Emma asked, trying again to hear what he was saying. Kendall ran out of the room. Emma followed. “What is he saying?”

Kendall swatted at her sister as she attempted to take the phone away. “She’s trying to get the phone,” she explained to Max. “Cut it out, Emma. I will pinch you if you don’t stop it.” Just like when they were children and only had one cordless phone in a house full of adolescent girls, Emma was undeterred by her sister’s warning and wrestled it away.

“What’s not a good idea?” Emma asked Max. “Why did you tell Charlie to meet with me?”

“Hi, Em. How are you tonight?”

“Don’t ‘Hi, Em’ me. What is not a good idea?”

“I was telling Kendall I really have to get back to work. Charlie just wants to help out. He’s my friend. Be nice.”

“Be nice? I’m always nice. That doesn’t answer my question. What is not a good idea?”

“Gotta go. Tell Kendall I’ll call when I get home.”

“Don’t you—” Max hung up “—hang up on me,” Emma said to no one. She turned on her sister. “What was that about?”

Kendall swallowed hard, a sure sign she was about to lie. “Nothing. He’s worried this wedding is going to take on a life of its own.”

“And Charlie is supposed to do what? Keep me from letting things get out of control?”

“No,” Kendall insisted. “We appreciate everything you’re doing. We’re both swamped and there’s no way we could plan a wedding without help.”

“But?”

“But nothing. I know you. You are going to give me the best wedding a girl could ask for. But even without planning it, this is overwhelming. Bear with us, okay?”

There was still something her sister wasn’t saying. Maybe Kendall believed in her, but Max was another story. Emma was going to show both of them. She was going to help them have the wedding of their dreams, with very little stress to show for it. Even if she had to share credit with Charlie Fletcher.

* * *

A
FTER
GOING
BACK
and forth about where to meet, Charlie and Emma settled on the Chi-Town Chilly Cow Ice-Cream Shop or, as Emma and her sisters called it, the Triple C. It was an Everhart family favorite.

“I’ll take a double scoop of the blackberry with some fresh strawberries and a small squirt of whipped cream.”

“You are definitely a woman who knows what she likes, Nightingale,” Charlie said as he continued to study the menu board.

“I’ve been here a few times,” she explained with a smile.

The young man behind the counter made Emma’s sundae and went to ring her up. She stopped him before he entered anything into the register.

“Oh, I’m Lucy Everhart. There’s a note back there that says I get all my ice cream free.”

Lucy had helped the original owners by pushing them to go organic and making the Triple C extremely profitable in the Lincoln Park area. As a thank-you, the owners told Lucy she would get free ice cream for life. Only, Lucy didn’t eat ice cream, organic or not. She didn’t do dairy. Emma didn’t see why someone shouldn’t benefit from Lucy’s good fortune.

Charlie looked amused but didn’t give her up. Instead, he tried to get in on the action. “Does that free deal cover the ice cream for friends of Lucy Everhart, as well?”

Emma licked some whipped cream off her spoon. “Sorry, Charlie. The discount is for me and me alone.”

“Aren’t you a Lucky Lucy?”

“Oh, I am,” she said, diving into her sundae.

After he paid for his treat, the two of them settled in a booth in the back of the shop. Emma had brought along a notebook to jot down whatever ideas Charlie was here to share. She already had a binder full of all her own ideas separated into categories—ceremony, reception, bride, bridesmaids, groom, groomsmen.

She started with her thoughts on day and time. Charlie thought having the wedding on a Friday was brilliant. She flipped the page to the reception ideas, all of which Charlie felt were amazing. She figured he wouldn’t have much of an opinion about what the women wore but told him what she was thinking in regard to the tuxes, and Charlie was happy to wear whatever.

Basically, Charlie had no opinion at all. He thought everything Emma said was fantastic. It didn’t seem to matter what idea she proposed; he liked them all. It strengthened her belief that he was here to spy, not to actually help.

“You really put a lot of thought into this,” Charlie said, flipping through the binder. “Do you only plan weddings? My dad’s retiring in June and my sister wants to have a party for him. We could use someone as organized as you to get the thing off the ground.”

“I’m not a party planner. I love my sister, and the last time she got married, I was in college and had no time to be much help.”

“It’s cool that you and Kendall are so close. I come from a big family, spread out all over the country. I can’t remember the last time we were all under one roof.”

“Maybe you will be for your dad’s retirement party,” Emma suggested.

“Maybe. Having all my sisters together can sometimes be more trouble than it’s worth. You and your sister seem to get along better than mine ever did.”

“Did you guys grow up in Chicago?”

“Northern suburbs, near the Wisconsin border. Ever been to Six Flags Great America?”

“Only every summer until I was about twenty.” Going to the amusement park once a year was one of her favorite childhood memories. Emma loved roller coasters and rides that made her stomach drop. One advantage to being so tall was getting to ride them with her sisters even though they were older than her.

“I grew up just a couple miles away. Worked there in the summers when I was in high school.”

“Wow, that makes working at the grocery store as a teenager seem really boring.”

“It was a pretty fun job. The best job I ever had, though, was at a pancake house while I was training to be a paramedic. My pancake-flipping skills are top-notch. I make perfect pancakes.”

This was why everyone found him so endearing. His quirkiness was a refreshing change from guys who spent all their time telling a woman how much money they made and how fast their car went. Emma liked that he wasn’t really full of himself and his attitude toward life in general was always so positive.

“I’m impressed by this, honestly,” she said. Emma had grown up in a house where her father made pancakes for the girls every Sunday. The first batch was always a mess and every pancake was usually burned on at least one side.

“But enough about me. Let’s talk about you,” Charlie said.

“Aren’t we here to talk about Max and Kendall’s wedding?” The point of this meeting was making less and less sense as it went on. She had let him distract her from their reason for getting together.

“Yes. Let’s talk about the wedding. Are you bringing a date?”

“What does that have to do with the wedding plans?”

Charlie shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I wasn’t sure if the maid of honor and best man should bring dates or not. I was thinking of coming alone so I don’t shirk any of my responsibilities.”

She was beginning to believe he had no ideas. That this whole meeting was a setup so he could report back to Max. “Well, I do plan on bringing a date, and I will still make sure everything goes off without a hitch. Max has nothing to worry about.”