CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER ONE
The Mix-Up
Lila Hart was certain of one thing: wedding invitations did not address themselves.
Which meant the mountain of envelopes on her desk—fanned out like some paper version of a panic attack—was her responsibility alone.
“Okay,” she whispered to herself as she adjusted her glasses. “Two weddings. Two couples. Zero disasters.”
Her new office, Hart & Confetti Wedding Planning, was barely bigger than a closet and smelled faintly of vanilla candles and printer ink. But it was hers, and she loved it.
She tapped the screen of her laptop and pulled up the two guest lists.
Isabelle Reed & Daniel Reyes on one side.
Maya Rossi & Lucas Grant on the other.
Easy. Simple. No problem.
At least, that’s what she thought.
A light buzz jolted her—her phone vibrating with a new message.
Mom:
How’s the new business? No disasters yet, I hope?
Lila snorted softly. “Define disaster,” she muttered, thinking of her empty bank account and the way her printer coughed like it had a lung condition.
Still, today was going well. The sun was shining, the invitations were printed, and she had two happy couples relying on her. She reached for the first stack and began slipping each card into its delicate cream envelope.
Name after name, address after address.
So far, so good.
Then her phone buzzed again—an unknown number calling.
She let the envelopes fall and grabbed for it.
“Hello? This is Lila Hart speaking.”
“Lila! Maya here.”
Maya Rossi’s voice was bright and cheerful—the exact opposite of Lila’s current state.
“Oh—hi! Is everything okay?”
“Better than okay! Lucas and I finalized our guest list, so I emailed it over. Hope it’s not too late.”
Lila froze.
Emailed it… over?
“But I already—” Lila glanced between her laptop, her desk, and the envelopes she had sealed moments ago. Her stomach dropped. “Yes. Got it. Thank you,” she said, forcing her voice calm. “I’ll take care of it.”
When the call ended, she opened the email and felt the world tilt.
This list was different. Completely revised.
Which meant the stack she’d just sent—already dropped in the courier box downstairs—was wrong.
Very wrong.
“Oh no,” she whispered. “No, no, no—”
She paced across her tiny office, running her hands through her hair. Isabelle and Daniel’s invitations had gone out. Maya and Lucas’s invitations had gone out. But mixed. Entirely mixed.
Two weddings.
Two couples.
Hundreds of guests… all going to the wrong ceremony.
She grabbed her bag, keys jangling like an alarm, and sprinted out the door. Maybe she could catch the courier. Maybe she could fix this before—
Her phone buzzed again.
Daniel:
Hey Lila. Quick question. Why did my Aunt Rosa just call saying she got an invitation to a wedding for someone named… Lucas Grant???
Lila stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk.
This was it.
Her first official disaster.
Her career-ending disaster.
She squeezed her eyes shut and whispered to herself:
“Two weddings. One planner. Zero chance I’m surviving this.”
