Chaos, Willa Grant decided, had a very specific scent. It smelled like wilted gardenias, spilled champagne on vintage wool, and the faint, panicked tang of human perspiration.
It was a perfume she knew intimately. As the founder, sole proprietor, and chief miracle worker of “Happily Ever After Helpers,” Willa was less a wedding coordinator and more a logistical ninja in a tastefully understated navy jumpsuit.
Today’s mission field was a sprawling Napa Valley estate where the afternoon sun was doing its best to bake the last vestiges of dignity out of the Henderson-Price nuptials. The bride’s vision had been “effortless rustic elegance.”
The reality was a string quartet tuning up with discordant screeches, a groomsman already three glasses deep into the good stuff, and a tiered cake listing to starboard like a doomed ship.
Willa took a deep, centering breath, running through her mental checklist. Floral arch secured. Ice sculpture not yet a puddle. Officiant sober (for now).
Her gaze swept the manicured lawn, a general scanning her battlefield. This was the big one.
A glowing testimonial from Tabitha Henderson, a society darling with an influencer’s reach, would be her golden ticket. It was the final puzzle piece she needed for her feature pitch to Bridal Bliss magazine—the article that would elevate her from a local lifesaver to a nationally recognized brand.
Failure was not an option.