Free The Wedding Favor by Caroline Mickelson

I’m not holding out, there’s just plenty that Mateo and I haven’t worked out yet.” Heaven knew that was the truth.
    “But you’re happy, right boss?”
    Ava hesitated only a second before nodding. “I can barely put it into words.” Was this going to be a new talent of hers? Saying just enough to be truthful and misleading at the same time? If she wasn’t careful she was going to end up running for political office. “Mateo is a wonderful man. He’s kind and thoughtful, gentle.”
    “And handsome?” Marti grinned.
    Ava smiled. “And handsome.”
    “Well that’s something a man likes to hear this early in the day.” Mateo stood in the doorway, a teasing smile on his face. “Hello ladies, I hope you don’t mind the interruption. No one was at the front desk.”
    Ava returned his smile. It was impossible not to. There was just something so alive, so kind, so real about it. About him. “Of course you’re welcome, come in.” She quickly introduced Marti and Jessie to him. “We were just talking about you.”
    “So I heard.” He crossed over to the desk, leaned down and brushed a kiss across her lips. “Don’t let me interrupt.”
    Flustered, Ava glanced at her companions, both of whom were smiling broadly. She could feel a blush on her cheeks. How ridiculous was that? She needed to get ahold of herself and stop reacting this way to her pretend fiancé. “We’re just about through actually. Marti and I have cleared our calendar for a few days, like we talked about.”
    Mateo smiled. “Excellent. We’re on track.”
    “What month are you thinking of?” Marti asked. “I can start looking up some preliminary information on venues if you’re interested. The best places can fill up about a year in advance.”
    Ava glanced at Mateo. He wore an amused expression. He nodded at her, which she took as an indication that it was okay to share the news that they would be married within days, not months. She turned to her assistant and smiled. “Thank you, Marti. You are always so quick to offer to help and I probably don’t tell you often enough how much I appreciate that about you.” She paused for a moment and then decided to just plunge in. “The thing is…we were thinking…” but her voice trailed off. Why was this so hard? Probably because none of it felt real.
    “Ava and I are going to be married the day after tomorrow,” Mateo said.
    This elicited precisely the response that Ava thought it would. They sat as if stunned. Ava certainly understood, she was still getting used to the idea herself.
    “I’d love it if you both would come,” she said. “Although I know its last minute.”
    “No, no, of course not,” Jessie corrected her. “I’d love to come.”
    “Me as well,” Marti added. “Are you kidding? There’s no way I’d miss your wedding.” She glanced toward the open office door. “Shall I keep this quiet or are you planning on telling the team?”
    Ava took a deep breath. She needed the extra oxygen to clear her thoughts. Her world felt like a merry go round that was picking up speed. It felt insane to invite her staff to a wedding that didn’t feel real but she wasn’t about to take the chance of hurting anyone’s feelings by not inviting them all. “Of course, everyone is invited. Marti, can you please spread the word and I’ll get the details to everyone by the end of the day?”
    Her assistant nodded. “Absolutely. What else can I do?”
    Much to Ava’s relief, Mateo stepped in. “I think my family’s got almost everything covered but thank you for the offer. Jessie, we’ll talk to you soon about the house, if that’s okay. I just don’t want to rush Ava into making a choice about where we’ll live.”
    Ava smiled up at him, grateful he’d answered Jessie’s unspoken question with such finesse. He laid his hand on her shoulder and kept it there while he made small talk with Marti and Jessie. His touch was warm and comforting.
    She glanced at her watch