𝐒 𝐎 𝐏 𝐇 𝐈 𝐀

"I'm calling to confirm the venue viewings we have this week for the Kensingtons. The bride to be has been calling me a lot, worrying something will go wrong," I explain to the venue owner over the phone, juggling three coffees in a drink holder in my other hand. Pushing the door to the coffee shop open with my hip, I make my way back onto the bustling streets of New York.

The sound of the cabs beeping their horns and the cab drivers shouting out the window to pedestrians getting in their way reminds me of why I moved to the city from the suburbs. The nine-to-five office workers talking on the phone or shouting to someone who didn't do their job proper, as they try to get to work on time fills my ears, like it does every day. It's no surprise how New York got the title of the city that never sleeps. From the busy work days to the bustling nightlife, the city is always awake.

That's New York for you.

"Yes, Tuesday at eleven and three. Then Friday at one and four," I clarify, as I cross the road. My heels click against the pavement as I make my way through the streets to get to work. Turning down a street, away from the hustle and bustle, I wave to some business owners as I pass by. After setting up my wedding planning business down here three and a half years ago. I have gotten to know the neighboring shops and their owners.

"That's great, thank you." I end the call before placing my phone in my bag and opening the door to the office building, seeing Nicole sat behind her desk and Jackson sat in front of it as they talk. "Good morning."

"Morning, boss." Nicole smiles. "Pay up," she says to Jackson with a smirk. He sighs, pulling out his wallet slapping a twenty-dollar note into her hand.

"I thought today would be the day where Sophia Coleman turns up late," Jackson sighs, putting his wallet away. I roll my eyes, placing the coffees down on Nicole's desk before taking my coffee and putting my stuff down on my desk.

"Jackson, you should have learned by now the only time Sophia here will ever be late to work is if the world is ending." Nicole rolls her eyes. I sit down at my desk, placing my bag under the table and turning on my computer.

"I was getting us all coffee. You're welcome, by the way." I glare at him, and he chuckles. "The line was horrendous. You know how New Yorkers feel about their coffee," I say, and they nod.

Never get in the way of a New Yorker and their coffee.

"Yeah, I remember first moving to New York and on accident spilling someone's coffee when I worked at Starbucks when I was in college," Jackson says. "That day still haunts me." 

"And you never spilled coffee ever again," Nicole tells him. "How was your night?" she asks me. "No, let me guess, the Bachelor," Nicole says and I smile sheepishly. "You have a problem."

"And how was your night, miss judgemental?" I tease.

"It was good, Meghan surprised me with dinner when I got back in," Nicole says, referring to her girlfriend of two years. "Now that ladies and gentleman is the perfect soulmate."

"Speaking of, you know when you pop the question, I'll take care of your wedding for you," I tease.

"Yeah right, I know what we charge our clients. I can't afford those rates," Nicole says, getting a file out of the cabinet.

"Oh, come on, I'd never make you pay for it. It would be a wedding gift," I offer. Nicole smiles gratefully.

"Do I get that too?" Jackson asks and I chuckle.

"For your pretend wedding with my best friend?" I tease him about his crush on Victoria, and he glares at me as Nicole laughs. "When you get someone to marry you for real and not in your fantasies, let me know," I joke.

"I'll remember this. And I'll have you know our fantasy wedding was magical," Jackson points out, making me laugh. "Who was on the phone?" Jackson refers to earlier.

"Oh yeah, it was the venue owners. They clarified the viewings for next week for the Kensingtons," I tell Nicole, who nods and writes them down.

"Hopefully she stops calling us now, or stops listening to her psychic," Nicole says, and I chuckle. "I have a vendetta against that physic. Telling our client something will go wrong and making our life harder."

As I go to reply, the door opening gets our attention as a couple walks through, elegance radiating off them both.

The new clients.

The soon-to-be groom screams business and luxury while the soon-to-be bride screams happiness and kindness. My eyes fall down to their entwined hands, and I can instantly tell the type of married couple they will be. There are different types of people who get married. The genuine ones who are in love and want a long-lasting life together. The arranged marriage ones where they get married to merge companies for money or for a power move. The gold digging marriage where the woman or the man is after the other's money and will cheat on them while they remain oblivious and in love. The love-hate marriage where they argue all the time, then have makeup sex after it...those never last.

From the hand holding to the way they look at each other with love and admiration to all the touching, it's clear my new clients are the genuine type of couple and will stay married.

"Hi, you must be Sophia. We spoke on the phone. I'm Savannah and my fiancé Elijah." Savannah smiles introducing them both.

"It's nice to meet you both. These are my colleagues Nicole, my assistant, and Jackson, our photographer." I stand up, shaking their hands. "You'll be seeing a lot of them as well," I say. "Take a seat," I offer, and they sit down in front of my desk.

"Eli's sister recommended you to us. You did her wedding a year ago, Margot Campbell," Savannah tells me. I remember. That marriage was doomed from the start. They had a love-hate relationship. They even fought on their wedding day.

"Oh yeah, I remember. How are they doing? Still going strong?" I question.

"Divorced actually," Elijah says, "We all saw it coming, that marriage was not meant to last. I'm surprised it lasted the six months they were together." Elijah chuckles. Jackson sighs before taking out his wallet again, handing Nicole another twenty dollars, getting Elijah and Savannah to laugh. "We all knew it don't worry, won't hold it against you."

"We've been in this business so long it's easy to tell what marriages will last and what they're like as a married couple," I explain. "For example, you two look at each other with love and admiration. You haven't stopped holding hands since you arrived and he looks at you like you're the best thing on the earth," I point out.

"Way to out me," Elijah chuckles and I smile, shrugging. "You know what you're doing, though."

"What are you guys thinking about for your wedding so far?" Nicole asks.

"Well, we want to have it in or near New York," Savannah says. "We love it around here and it's more convenient for our families and friends. There's one slight thing. We want to get married in three months."

Three months.

This is going to be one hell of a rollercoaster. Planning a wedding takes time. There are so many details to prepare in such a small time frame. It's not impossible. We've done it before for a client. But it was the most stressful time in our career we've ever had. We have three months to plan a wedding and execute it along with all the other weddings we're planning too.

"We've been engaged since we left college, but with both of our careers, taking off—me as a lawyer and Savannah as a vet—we've never had the time and we don't want to wait any longer," Elijah explains seeing our bewildered faces.

"Ok then. Well, it's definitely manageable. We've dealt with weddings like this before, that are soon. Everything is fast-paced," I explain to them. "So first thing is first, do you guys have a date for your wedding?" I ask them and they nod before telling us the date that Nicole jots down. "And any specific budget?" 

"No budget," Elijah clarifies, and my eyes widen a little. Rich people.

"I can start looking into venues that way. We can figure out soon enough what extras we need to look for ourselves, since some venues use certain vendors we can choose from," I explain.

"This is all feeling so real," Savannah says. "Thank you all. I know three months isn't a lot of times and a few wedding planners have already turned us away. I thought we'd have no luck."

"Don't worry, we can handle it. So, we just need to set up another appointment so we can start sorting out the guest list to send out invitations and choose what theme you want for them. Is Friday ok for you?" 

They nod and I get Nicole to mark it down on my calendar. "Great! It was nice to meet you both. I'll see you Friday," I say. They wave goodbye as they walk out, and I sigh before slouching back in my chair.

"I would hate to be you right now." Jackson chuckles, and I don't hesitate to throw a notebook at him. "A notebook! Seriously? That shit hurt," he says, rubbing his arm where it hit.

"It was the closest thing to me," I say. He rolls his eyes, muttering something about being the target of abuse on a daily basis.

"Be glad she didn't hit that pretty face of yours," someone says, and I turn around seeing Victoria walk through the door. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jackson straighten up and can't help but smirk. It's no secret he's harbored a crush on my best friend ever since they've known each other. He stumbles across his words when she's around and will jump up straight away if she needs anything.

"You think I have a pretty face?" Jackson smirks and Victoria rolls her eyes, annoyed, but the twitch of her mouth gives her away. They'd make a cute couple, something I always tease her about. Her reason for refusing to give him a chance is the fact while she is twenty-four, Jackson is twenty-one and she has always refused to date a younger guy. But that doesn't stop her from having feelings for him.

"Shouldn't you be working?" I tease, "You know that thing that pays you money so you can live."

She rolls her eyes at me. "I don't have much to do today. We've been working hard on the new art exhibit, which is coming up. I expect you all to be there." Tori points her finger at us all. "Were those your new clients?"

"Yeah, the couple we have to plan a wedding for in three months," Nicole says.

"You poor soul." Tori places her hand over mine, "But this is perfect timing because I was coming to see if you all wanted to go out tonight?" Tori smiles.

"Didn't you go out last night?" I ask her and she shrugs her shoulders. "But the answer is no. Did you not just hear we have a wedding in three months?" 

"Oh, come on, this is perfect timing. You're stressed and going out will fix those problems," Tori encourages.

"We only have Savannah and Elijah coming in late afternoon." Nicole smiles sheepishly as I glare at her. "We can work from home in the morning, then come in the afternoon," Nicole adds. "Oh, come on, it will be fun. We haven't been out together in so long. Meghan will come with." I sigh.

"Pretty please with cherries on top?" Tori pouts, leaning on her hands. "I'll watch the Bachelor with you," she offers, and I know she can see my resolve cracking.

"Bring me ice cream and wine too, then we have a deal. I hate you all," I say as they cheer. "We still have work to do. It's only eleven in the morning."

What am I getting myself into?