Oliver Schmidt is one of the best tactical agents the F.B.I has to offer - cunning and quick, he gets the job done. He’s also notorious for preferring to work alone. Needless to say, he’s less than happy when the agency assigns him as senior officer to Allyson Davies, a young but skilled agent. But Allyson - Allie, she insists - is nothing if she is not stubborn, and she slowly worms her way into a friendship with the grumpy older agent. When an undercover operation goes awry, Allie manages to escape, but Smitty (as she has grown to call him) is taken hostage. With the clock counting down, Allie realizes she’s desperate to save him - not just because he’s her S.O., but because somewhere along the way, she fell in love with him.
Planning a wedding was one of the most stressful things Allie had ever experienced in her life, and she had had a fair share. Sure, she definitely didn’t have to put so much pressure on herself to make it perfect, but that’s who she was, and that was why she was standing in this linen store alone, with six swatches of silver fabric that looked almost exactly the same- to anyone who wasn’t Allie. Though the differences were subtle, she saw that the stitching and levels of shine varied in each of them and two were lighter than the others. It had to be perfect. She tried to picture the venue in her head and decide which silver would look best on the tables if she used the centerpieces she had been looking at earlier.
After a few minutes of contemplation, she chose the matte fabric, realizing that the shiny ones looked quite tacky and wouldn’t fit the atmosphere she was attempting to attain. Satisfied, Allie looked around for the saleswoman she had been speaking to earlier and conveniently found her standing at the cash counter flipping through a notebook. She was about to make her way over when the familiar sound of her ringtone started from inside her purse. Quickly, because it could be a vendor with important information related to the wedding, she rummaged through the bag and pulled out her phone, answering without looking at the caller ID.
“Hello, Allie Davies speaking.” She greeted the caller politely as she walked towards the counter.
“Geez Al, since when do you answer your phone like that?” Her amused brother’s voice came through the speakers and Allie smiled.
“Sorry, kind of a habit now that all of the vendors for the wedding keep calling. I didn’t check to see who it was. What’s up?”
“Tell her I’m pregnant and can’t fit into my bridesmaid dress!” A distant female voice shouted on Macon’s end.
Allie stopped dead in her tracks. “Was that Harper? She’s joking right? Tell me she’s joking. I know she’s probably joking but Macon-”
Macon cut her off with a snort. “Oh my god Allie, of course she’s joking, what’s wrong with you? Harper, quit it.” Allie could hear her laughing in the background.
“You know I’m on edge with all of this planning, that wasn’t funny!”
“You’re nuts.”
She rolled her eyes and laid the fabric on the counter, waiting for the saleswoman to finish what she was doing. “Did you just call to make fun of me, or was there something you actually needed?”
“Lighten up Al, you know we love you. I just wanted to know if you wanted us and Dad to fly up a day early so we can spend some time together before you get all bridezilla.”
“I am not going to get all bridezilla.”
“Right. So?”
The saleswoman gestured that she was going into the back room for a moment and Allie nodded, smiling warmly at her, then returned her attention back to the phone call. “Yeah, I think that would be great, let me just check with Smitty and make sure we don’t have a lot going on. You mean the day before the rehearsal dinner?”
“That’s the one.”
“Okay yeah, I’ll call you back later tonight. Everything good over there?”
“Couldn’t be better. How’s Smitty?”
Allie grinned. “Good. His usual smartass self, you know him. He’s planning most of the honeymoon so he’s got his hands just as full as I do.”
“Sounds like you guys are busy. You balancing everything okay with the studio and stuff?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Sienna took over a couple of my classes for the time being so that I don’t have as much on my plate.”
“Alright sounds good. I’ll let you go, I know you’ve got stuff to do.”
He had pretty impeccable timing, as the saleswoman had just emerged from the back room. “I’ll always make time for you, Macon. Thanks for calling, I love you.”
“Gross. Love you too.”
Allie laughed. “Okay, talk to you soon.” She waited until he said goodbye and then ended the call, putting her phone back in her purse and turning to the woman at the counter. “So I’ve decided on this one. How much for a rental of 30 tablecloths?”
By the time Allie returned to the apartment, her legs had begun to ache and her purse, full of pamphlets and reference booklets, was considerably heavier on her shoulder. She closed the door behind her and stepped out of her shoes, then let her bag fall to the floor with a loud clunk.
“Long day?” Her fiance asked from the couch, an amused tone in his voice, and Allie pouted.
“This wedding stuff is hard,” she moaned, and shuffled over to him. Smitty adjusted himself as she flopped down beside him and they curled towards each other. Both were too long to lay together on the couch, but somehow they still managed to fit comfortably. They lay there intertwined in silence for a minute, taking a moment to just relax and be with the other after a busy day.
“You know, we could always just elope. Much less complicated.”
“Your mom would kill us.”
“I think we could handle it.”
Allie laughed and kicked her foot against his. “Believe me, running away with you sounds amazing, but I’m in too deep now. I ordered the tablecloths today.”
She felt his chest shake as he chuckled and then kissed her head. “You’re right, that’s serious. You’ve committed to something big.”
“Don’t make fun of me! Tablecloths are important.”
He shook his head and shifted slightly so he could look at her. “I’m just kidding. I know you’ll make everything perfect.”
“Hey, that’s a lot of pressure.” She smiled, though.
“You and I could get married in the middle of the street and it would still be perfect. I’m marrying you, after all.”
Allie snorted. “You’re such a sap.”
He feigned hurt. “Now who’s making fun of who?”
“Shut up.” Allie pushed herself up so she could kiss him, and he laughed into her lips. “I love you,” she reminded him when she pulled away. “Even if everything went wrong, it would still be perfect because I love you. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“I can’t believe you call me a sap and then go and say things like that! You’re ridiculous.”
“But you love me,” she grinned widely.
He looked at her, shook his head, and smiled. “I do.”
“Hey! No ‘I do’s’ until the big day!” Allie joked, nudging him.
“That was cheesy.”
“I know. Speaking of cheese, you wanna order a pizza?”
