She Fills In For A Wedding Singer, Unaware The Billionaire Groomsman Will End Up Loving Her
The Unexpected Performance
Harper Hayes was sweating through her borrowed satin dress and cursing her sister under her breath when the mic was shoved into her hand.
“Just get up there and sing something,” the wedding planner hissed through a forced smile.
“The real singer’s still stuck on the interstate and the bride is 2 seconds away from a meltdown.”
“This is insane,” Harper muttered, glancing toward the crowd of pastel dressed wedding guests sipping champagne beneath twinkle lights.
She wasn’t supposed to be here. She was supposed to be home baking cupcakes for her side hustle and pretending not to care that her sister bailed on being the wedding singer last minute.
But family was family and when her sister begged her to cover for just one set Harper caved.
The music started before she could chicken out. Her voice trembled for the first few bars, but by the time she hit the chorus, her nerves steadied.
She forgot the crowd, forgot the overpriced heels pinching her toes, forgot the fact that she hadn’t sung in public in over five years until her eyes landed on him.
He was standing near the head table, tall and broad shouldered in a tailored black suit, his dark hair a little too perfectly tousled. His tie was loosened, his glass full, and his gaze intense, focused on her.
Harper’s breath caught. He didn’t look away, didn’t blink, just watched her like she was the only person in the room and for a second she forgot how to breathe.
When the song ended the applause was loud but her heart was louder.
She ducked off the makeshift stage, cheeks flushed, and practically ran for the back hallway of the venue to get some air.
She leaned against the wall trying to catch her breath when a voice, low, smooth, and way too close, spoke behind her.
“You don’t do that professionally.”
Harper turned and almost smacked into his chest. He was even taller up close and way too attractive for someone she’d never seen before.
“No,” she said, “that was a fill-in, i’m just helping.”
He held out a hand. “Quinton Hail, groomsman and apparently now your biggest fan.”
She was wiping her forehead with a napkin when he appeared beside her again.
“You’re clearly not just some baker from the suburbs.”
She blinked. “How’d you—?”
“The wedding planner told me. I asked.”
“You asked about me?”
“You sang like that and expected me not to?”
Harper didn’t know how to respond, so she laughed. “You’re a little intense, you know that?”
“Only when I know exactly what I want.”
His words stopped her cold. She cleared her throat. “Well, thanks for the compliment.”
“I wasn’t complimenting you,” he said, “i’m asking you to dinner.”
She stared. “You’re joking.”
He didn’t blink. “I’m not.”
“You literally met me an hour ago at a wedding which you weren’t even supposed to sing at,” he pointed out. “That’s fate if you ask me.”
She laughed again, but it came out breathless. “You’re serious as a heart attack. Look, Quinton…”
“Just one dinner,” he said, “not a marriage proposal.”
Harper hesitated. She should say no. She barely knew him. He was probably some rich guy playing around because he was bored at a wedding.
But something about the way he looked at her, like she was more than just a passing distraction, made her pause.
“I don’t do fancy dinners,” she said.
He leaned in, his voice low. “Then we’ll do something else.”
“But I want to see you again,” he added.
Her heart flipped. “Fine,” she said, “but if you turn out to be a serial killer I’m blaming the wedding planner.”
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow,” he said, ignoring the joke. “What time?”
Just like that Harper found herself giving her number to a complete stranger in the middle of a wedding reception.
Well, not a stranger. Quinton Hail, the groomsman who looked at her like she was the only thing in the world that made sense.
As he walked away Harper leaned against the bar, dazed. “What the hell just happened?”
