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Arun was mortified, and he apologized half a dozen times as he led them to an aisle at the end of the warehouse, near the loading dock. With a flourish, the decor manager waved his arm at the items stacked on shelves.

“Which ones?” Dina asked in a businesslike tone.

“All of them, madam,” Arun said. “Your sister’s wedding planner was very clear that she wished to have the entire lot.”

There was a moment of silence as Dina and Lucky contemplated the collection Hania had sent them to pick up: place settings, a mountain of fake flowers, lamps, lights, tapestries, candles, and crystal decor. Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad.

“We’ve taken the liberty of loading the rest in the truck,” Arun said now. “The falcon, matching lion and lioness set, the snow leopard and selection of brass monkeys, plus the winged horse, the extra-large planters, the golden cage, and two wooden swing sets . . .” He was reading from the list, and Lucky watched Dina’s eyes grow round as Arun continued.

“What do you mean by . . . truck?” Dina asked, her voice faint. “Hania never mentioned anything about a truck.”

“It is all laid out in our contract,” Arun said, flourishing his clipboard at them like a magician. “We agreed to load the items, and the wedding party would arrange for someone to drive the truck and handle the setup. Otherwise, delivery is an extra surcharge.”

“We can pay!” Dina said hurriedly. She looked panicked, and Lucky felt instantly protective.

“The groom will cover the extra delivery charge, no problem,” Lucky said with some authority.

Whatever goodwill Arun might have had for them when he thought they were a charming couple had now fled. “I am afraid that is impossible. We have no one on-site to drive the truck, unless you can wait until tomorrow.”

“The mehndi is tonight,” Dina said. She turned to Lucky. “What do we do?”

Lucky felt a sudden warmth radiate from his chest. It felt good to have Dina turn to him, those warm brown eyes so trusting and confident that he had the solution. He held out his hand to Arun. “I got my commercial vehicle license years ago. I’ll drive,” he said. Arun dropped the keys in his palms. Lucky turned to Dina. “You figure out how we’re going to unload the menagerie your sister rented for the mehndi.”

Chapter Ten

Dina had anticipated that her sister would plan something special for her mehndi. The pre-wedding party, during which no actual henna was applied, was a chance for guests to cut loose before the wedding ceremony and usually involved lavish food and entertainment. It was common for both the bride and groom’s family and friends to perform choreographed dances, set to Bollywood or popular English songs. Dina had been looking forward to the mehndi celebration, especially since her sister had kept details about the venue and theme a secret. So when her sister had called her that morning, hysterically babbling that her mehndi would be ruined unless Dina used her lawyer brain to threaten a party-supply store in the west end of the city, she had reluctantly suited up, ready to do battle. She had paused long enough to write a few more messages to herself on her stack of Post-it Notes, sticking one in particular inside her purse before she ran out the door.

Bumping into Lucky had been a surprise, though not as unwelcome as it should have been. In fact, once she got over the shock of seeing him at Your Occasions Decor, it was a relief to have an ally. She had nearly collapsed with gratitude when he had offered to drive the truck full of the larger items Hania had rented—an entire sculptural menagerie, according to Arun’s exhaustive list. So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when Hania revealed the location of her mehndi at last: Her sister had rented out the iconic CN Tower to host her last night as a single woman. Or rather, the revolving restaurant at the top of the CN Tower. Because of course she had.

By the time Dina fought through downtown traffic to arrive at the tower, she was in a foul mood. She doubted she would have time to head back to her house in Mississauga to get ready, and would have to ask Lisa or her mother to bring her clothes and jewelry and change in the washroom of the restaurant.

At least Kulsoom, her sister’s long-suffering wedding planner, had managed to corral a group of burly-looking men to unload all the decor items and maneuver them inside the service elevator up to the top of the revolving restaurant. The expense and effort her sister had gone to for this mehndi was ridiculous, and hours later, Dina was even more annoyed by the extravagance.

The only bright spot was Lucky. From the start, he had immediately taken charge, quickly making decisions, coordinating with Kulsoom and her team, discussing the best way to bring up the larger decor pieces. Dina tried not to notice how easily he lifted the heavy-looking vases or manhandled the ridiculous life-size flying horse Hania had rented. It was hard not to marvel at his stamina, or his patience, as the day dragged on. When Lucky paused to wipe his face with his shirt, revealing a strip of tantalizingly toned flesh and defined abs, Dina couldn’t help but stare. She had always found Lucky attractive, but he had clearly spent many thousands of hours at the gym these past six years, and it was hard not to appreciate the result.

She forced herself to look away and reached for the note she had written earlier that morning, reading it over: Lucky can’t hurt you again. She needed the reminder, because current Lucky was distracting. It was unfair, actually. She was here to help her sister and then bill Hania and Samir for a week’s worth of massages and mental health counseling after she survived this wedding. Not to ogle her former crush, the one who had rejected her six years prior. She knew better. Or rather, her head knew better, but her heart—and other parts of her anatomy—were less convinced. It had been a long time since she had been intimate with anyone; even before Arshad had left, there had been little love between them. Maybe Lisa was right and she deserved to begin to consider other possibilities.

After what felt like days but was really only five hours of frantic work, the room was set up. Kulsoom set the giant Pegasus statue at the front to greet guests, and the rest of the menagerie was arranged around the restaurant, which offered 360-degree views of the city as it gently revolved. The wedding planner took her team out for a well-deserved meal, leaving Dina and Lucky alone. Dina was exhausted, slumped in one of the chairs surrounding the makeshift dance floor when Lucky passed her a cold bottle of water.

“Remind me to never answer my sister’s phone calls again, at least not for however long this wedding lasts,” Dina said.

Lucky chuckled, the sound warm caramel to her ears, though he looked flushed and tired. He didn’t have a water bottle of his own, she noticed, and she passed him hers. He took it and drank deeply. “Same,” he rasped. “Samir owes me big-time. When he called this morning, he mentioned decor items. I was expecting streamers and maybe a balloon arch, not lifting museum pieces.” He took a seat beside her, and together they looked around the restaurant.

In addition to Hania’s bizarre animal-forward design choices, the wedding planner had set up two gold thrones at the front of the room on a raised stage, flanked on either side by oversize vases, a profusion of flowers spilling down their sides. The lion and lioness, snow leopard, and brass monkeys had been set up by the table, where warming dishes stood ready for the appetizers.

“I’ve never been to a mehndi where the theme was Disney’s Animal Kingdom,” Lucky said, and Dina laughed.

“Have you been to a lot of mehndis?” she asked.

“Tons,” he said.

“Not mine, though,” she said, and his hand froze, the bottle halfway to his lips.

“Not yours,” he agreed.

Dina fidgeted for a moment before she burst out with the question she had wanted to ask since they met at the airport. “Why didn’t you come to my wedding?”

Lucky paused, then shrugged. “I’m surprised you noticed my absence.”