Five Years Between Footsteps

Two hours later, I walked into the office in black heels, sunglasses perched on my head, and a second coffee that should’ve had a medical license. Madison Avenue was sunny in the way that made everyone look more successful than their mental health.

The limestone facade of our building reflected the sunlight, the small brass letters spelling MOGUEL ATELIER gleaming beside the door, not loud, just expensive enough to make people feel guilty touching the handle.

The moment the elevator opened on the second floor, I was greeted by the pop of a cork.

“I’m not dead yet,” I said.

“Not yet,” Danielle replied from the middle of the workspace, holding a bottle of champagne. “But if you pass out, we already have drinks.”

My entire team was gathered around the long table. Carla from florals had an iPad in her hand. Miles from logistics already had three spreadsheets open and looked happy in a deeply concerning way. Nora from client relations was smiling too widely, a clear sign she had already started imagining her bonus. At the end of the table, our new intern, Theo, stood straight as a schoolboy invited to witness a mafia family ritual.

Danielle poured champagne into tall crystal glasses. The bubbles rose with false enthusiasm.

I took one, smelled it, then looked at her. “This smells like a bad decision at a cousin’s wedding.”

“Financial strategy,” she said proudly. “We save on the liquid and invest in the presentation.”

“Beautiful.” I took a small sip and regretted it immediately. “This touches my tongue like a passive-aggressive email.”

“Baccarat makes it better.”

“Baccarat is suffering.”

But I raised my glass anyway, because that number from the Vales couldn’t be ignored, even by a woman who had once walked out on her own wedding. “Fine. You’re allowed to be happy for two minutes.”

Nora immediately made a small sound that was barely human.

“After that,” I continued, “we get back to work, because rich people don’t pay us to be impressed by their money. They pay us to make everyone else impressed.”

“I already made a preliminary dashboard.” Miles turned his screen toward me.

“Of course you did. You didn’t sleep, did you?”

“I blinked a few times.”

“Heroic.”

On the screen, the Vale family was laid out in neat columns that immediately set my brain to work. The venue hadn’t been finalized. The date was flexible between late spring and early summer. The guest count would probably be five hundred, though Nora had added a note in red that “five hundred” in Vale family language could mean seven hundred and fifty, plus the people they pretended not to invite but still gave seats to.

I set down my glass and picked up the iPad. “Bride’s requests?”

Carla raised her hand. “Aurora wants flowers that look like they’re growing wild out of the ballroom floor.”

“Possible.”

“But they can’t look rustic.”

“Still possible.”

“And there can’t be too much green because she says green makes her look ‘emotionally lost.’”

I stopped writing. “Green makes her what?”

“Emotionally lost.” Danielle checked her notes.

“Is that a medical condition?” Theo whispered.

“On the Upper East Side, yes,” I said. “Continue.”

“She wants the aisle built over water,” Nora took over.

“Indoor or outdoor?”

“Not decided yet.”

“That’s a threat.”

“She also wants a children’s choir to sing something classical, but not too churchy, and no love song that sounds like the couple is going to die in the third act.”

I nodded slowly. “Finally, a reasonable request.”

“The lighting vendor we usually use already backed out.” Carla lowered her voice.

“Why?”

“Aurora asked if they could create lighting that felt like ‘a childhood memory that never happened.’”

I looked around the room.

Danielle raised the champagne bottle. “Drink?”

“I’m working.”

“For emotional support?”

“Pour.”

The meeting continued for the next forty minutes at the speed of people who knew money could buy almost anything except time, taste, and the ability of wealthy families to answer an email with a clear subject line.

I assigned tasks, rearranged schedules, flagged backup vendors, called the chef, checked possible venues, and rejected Miles’s idea to create a risk-scoring system called the Aurora Index.

“That makes us sound like we’re tracking a hurricane,” I said.

“Technically...” Miles began.

“Don’t.” I sighed. “Where’s the groom’s name?”

“In the confidential file.”

“I saw that. I’m asking why.”

“According to their legal team, the Vale family wants to control the engagement announcement until the media contract is finalized.”

I opened the document again. The groom section was covered by a gray block labeled CONFIDENTIAL, like we were planning an intelligence operation instead of making sure a man found his way to the altar without tripping over his family’s ego.

“Is he a fugitive?”

“Not mentioned.”

“Does he have a name?”

“In theory, I’m sure he does.”

I pressed two fingers to the bridge of my nose. “We’re designing an eight-figure wedding without knowing who the man getting married is.”

“As long as he’s breathing?” Nora smiled carefully.

“Breathing, wearing a suit, and showing up on time.” I closed the file. “That’s the industry standard.”

I had handled drunk governors, Oscar-winning actors who were only allergic to gluten when cameras were present, and mothers of the bride who tried to change the reception layout through astrology.

One secret groom wasn’t a problem.

>>>

My first meeting with Aurora Vale was scheduled for that afternoon in the presidential suite at Hotel Maravilla, a Moguel property owned by Papa.

The suite was on the top floor, with enormous windows overlooking Central Park, cream-colored sofas that had probably never been touched by a child, and a low coffee table already set with mineral water, espresso, tiny pastries, and a vase of white flowers that looked far too pure for the wedding industry.

Aurora Vale stood when I walked in.

I had seen her face in magazines, of course. The fashion world loved blonde women with good cheekbones and families who could buy a small kingdom when they got bored.

But the pictures didn’t capture the way she bit the inside of her cheek when she smiled, or how her hands immediately smoothed the edge of a Chanel cardigan that didn’t need smoothing.

She was beautiful, yes. Very. With soft blonde hair, gray-green eyes, and skin that appeared unfamiliar with pores. She wore a tweed miniskirt, sheer stockings, and Mary Janes that probably cost more than Theo’s laptop. Small diamonds sparkled at her ears when she moved.

“Aubrey,” she said sweetly, relief in her voice. “I can call you Aubrey, right?”

“As long as you don’t call me before seven in the morning, we’ll be fine.”

Aurora laughed. A real laugh, short and slightly embarrassed. “I was already afraid you’d hate me.”

“I haven’t read all your requests yet.”

She winced. “So there’s still a chance.”

“Plenty.”

And as it turned out, Aurora wasn’t annoying.

A little spoiled, yes. She asked for her espresso to be replaced because the crema looked “sad,” then apologized to the server three times because she felt mean to the coffee. Her preferences were absurd, but she wasn’t cruel. She listened when I spoke, took notes on her phone, and never once called herself a “visionary,” which immediately moved her higher on my list of clients who qualified as human.

But there was something behind her eyes, like someone wearing beautiful shoes half a size too small and forcing a smile because everyone kept telling her they were perfect.

“Will your fiancé be joining the meeting?” I asked.

Aurora checked the small watch on her wrist. “He should be. He’s late because of an investor meeting.” She said it quickly, “He’s always like that. It’s not because he doesn’t care.”

I nodded with my professional face. “That’s fine. We can start with the overall concept.”

Danielle sat beside me with her laptop open. Nora took the chair next to her, ready to smile and document any new aesthetic trauma if necessary.

I opened the presentation folder. “You said you wanted something that felt classic but not old, romantic but not soft, luxurious but not like someone was trying to murder the guests with gold.”

Aurora pointed at me slightly. “Yes. That. Exactly.”

“So we built three concept directions. The first is a glass garden. Lots of reflections, candlelight, floral structures that feel like they’re growing out of the architecture instead of being placed on top of it. The second is private opera. More dramatic, with ivory, burgundy, and black, and music that feels intimate but still grand. The third...”

I stopped because Aurora was no longer looking at the screen.

Her eyes moved toward the door.

Someone outside was speaking quietly. A man’s voice. Footsteps approached along the suite corridor, unhurried, as though time wasn’t something chasing that man but an employee waiting for instructions.

I froze.

That low voice...

No.

Plenty of men had low voices in Manhattan. The city was full of men who spoke as though taxes, love, and traffic all answered to them. It could be anyone. An investor. A lawyer. A hotel heir who had been hugged too often by his mother. Some random man with a good jaw and communication problems who was deeply in love with Aurora.

Not him.

It couldn’t be him.

Five years was long enough for the universe to find a new hobby.

Aurora immediately turned toward the door, her face brightening with relief. “Zach’s here,”

I completely froze...

The door opened.

I turned toward the door.

And the world betrayed me very quietly.

The man walked in wearing a dark suit that fit his body perfectly. His black hair still fell slightly over his forehead, messier and sexier than it had been five years ago, his jaw sharper. His face more mature....

Zachary Bandini.