“I wouldn’t be messing with anyone. I don’t understand. I learn by doing. I need to do this.”
She rose so she could better make her point. “Jasper, let me be clear. I will not have you destroying a beautiful wedding with your serial killer research.”
He looked completely baffled. “I wouldn’t do that. I’m kind of famous. They might be honored.”
“Or horrified.”
He stood—all six-foot-whatever of him—and looked down at her. “You really willing to take me on?”
“Oh, please. I’d take on you and the devil himself to protect my clients. My job is to give them the wedding of their dreams and I will do everything in my power to make that happen. Standing up to you is nothing.”
She spoke with conviction, aware that, with each word, she was most certainly putting an end to any afternoon delight on the Jasper front. On a purely I enjoy a man-induced orgasm as much as the next girl basis, everything about this pissed her off. But none of that really mattered—not when it came to her couples. She could always get a vibrator and a supply of batteries. Her brides and grooms had only one shot at their wedding day.
He started to respond, then simply shook his head and walked out. When he was gone, Renee sank back into her seat and drew in a breath. She’d done the right thing—she knew that down to her bone marrow. But doing the right thing often came with a price and this time that price was Jasper himself.
* * *
JASPER STARTED TOWARD his truck, then changed course and went looking for Pallas. He had a feeling she would be more reasonable than Renee.
He had to admit—he hadn’t gotten the reaction he’d been expecting. Yet more proof that he knew less than nothing about women. Were all guys this clueless or was he more lame than most? A question he would have to answer another time, he thought grimly as he stepped into Pallas’s office and looked around.
She wasn’t there and, based on the fact that her computer was off and her desk was clear, he would guess she wasn’t in the building either. Probably for the best, he told himself, as he headed back to his truck. Going over Renee’s head was kind of weaselly on his part. She’d been very clear on her feelings and while he didn’t understand them, he had to respect them. And her. She’d been fired up for sure.
Now, away from the situation, he had to admit she’d been kind of sexy when she’d been yelling at him. She hadn’t been intimidated by him at all. She’d been willing to take him on, no matter what, to protect her clients.
He reached his truck and slid onto the seat, but instead of starting the engine, he pulled out a pad of paper he kept in the glove box, along with a pen and began scribbling notes. He described how Renee had looked as she’d taken him to task—the fire in her eyes and the determined set to her body. Small but mighty, he thought. She was a woman who wouldn’t take crap from anyone—at least not when it came to one of her weddings. He wondered if she was that brave on her own behalf.
Mandy would be the same way, he thought absently. Strong and willing to take on the world. He wasn’t sure a wedding disaster would resonate with his readers but there had to be something... Did she have a baby sister who needed... Did she have a kid?
He looked out the window but instead of the wall of Weddings Out of the Box, he saw Mandy walking a little boy to school. No, a little girl. Mandy would take on the world for her. She would be fearless and determined. And if she was a single mom, getting involved with Vidar would mean higher stakes. She couldn’t bring just anyone into her daughter’s life. Plus, at the end of the book, when her life was in danger, the stakes would be even higher—she had to stay alive for her daughter.
Jasper scribbled notes as quickly as he could, all the while feeling that sense of rightness he got when he finally figured out a problem with his book. He was barely aware of a car pulling in next to his truck until the doors opened and the conversation drifted to him.
“We have to finalize the colors today,” the young woman said with a laugh. “If we don’t, Renee is going to fire us for making her crazy.”
The man with her smiled at her across the roof of the car. “I don’t think a wedding planner can fire the people who hired her.”
“Did you read the entire contract, word for word? I’m guessing there’s a ‘they make me crazy’ clause for situations just like this one.”
Jasper set down his notepad. The man was maybe thirty, about five-ten and wearing a suit. The car was a late model BMW. His bride-to-be was only a couple of inches shorter, with blond hair and a curvy build. They looked successful, happy and in love.
Even as he told himself a smart man would respect what Renee had told him, he was getting out of the truck and closing the door behind him.
“Morning,” he said. “You’re here to meet with Renee, right?”
They looked at him. “We are.”
“Great. I’m Jasper Dembenski.”
The couple exchanged a glance. “I’m Hanna and this is my fiancée, Graham.”
They both looked faintly puzzled and a little concerned as if they were wondering if he was going to try to steal away their business or tell them something bad about Weddings Out of the Box.
He offered them an easy smile. “You’re going to love working with Renee. Her weddings are magnificent.”
Hanna smiled. “That’s what we’ve heard. We’ve only started and we’re on a tight schedule, but so far, so good.” She tilted her head. “Wait, you wouldn’t be the Jasper Dembenski would you?”
“You mean the author?” He raised a shoulder. “I am.”
“Really?” Hanna turned to Graham. “I love his books. They’re the ones you read, too. What are you doing here? Are you getting married? You should so have your wedding here. You’ll love working with Renee.”
“No wedding, at least not the way you mean.” He glanced at the building and knew there would be hell to pay, and yet he was going to do it anyway. “But I am writing a book.”
Hanna’s eyes widened. “A new one? A new book?” She clutched her hands together. “Are you doing research? Is that why you’re here? Say yes! Please say yes.”
Jasper chuckled. “You guessed it. My serial killer will be involved with a wedding. I don’t have all the details yet.”
She waved Graham closer and grabbed his hand. “Do you need to research a specific wedding?” She looked at Graham. “Is it okay if he uses ours?”
“Sure. Can one of us be the serial killer?”
Hanna jumped up and down. “Yes! Pick me. Or Graham. Or my dad! He loves your books, too. We’re doing a Scottish-themed wedding. Does that work for you? Do you want us to change something?”
Because they would, he realized. They would do pretty much anything he asked, which was exactly what Renee had been worried about. That he would turn their wedding into his.
“What I’d like is to observe,” he said. “Just stay in the background and take notes. Maybe ask questions.”
“Anything,” Hanna said. “This is so exciting. I can’t wait to tell my dad. Come on. You have to meet Renee. She’s the best. She’s going to be so thrilled.”
Reality landed like a sucker punch to his gut as Jasper realized Renee was going to be many things, but thrilled wasn’t one of them. Less than twenty minutes after she’d shut him down, he’d managed to get exactly what he wanted. He was still trying to figure out how he was going to explain himself when they walked into her office.
“Hi,” she said, coming to her feet. Then her smile collapsed when she saw him. “What are you doing—”
“You’ll never guess,” Hanna said happily. “This is Jasper Dembenski. He’s an author.”
“Oh, I know exactly who he is,” Renee said, staring at him. “You three know each other?”
“We just met in the parking lot,” Graham said. “Jasper’s writing a book about a serial killer at a wedding and he needs to
do some research.”
“He’s going to use our wedding as the backdrop.” Hanna clapped her hands together. “I really hope one of us can be the serial killer.”
Renee’s gaze sharpened as she stared into his eyes. He saw anger and frustration but what hit him the hardest was the disappointment. Then she blinked and the calm, organized wedding planner Hanna and Graham knew was back.
“A serial killer bride would be interesting,” she said pleasantly. “Now about your wedding—let’s go into the conference room and review where we are. As I recall, we were going to have our color choices made by today. How are we coming on that?”
Jasper stepped back so Renee could lead the way. He followed Hanna and Graham down the hall. He knew she was mad now, but it would be worth it. At least that was what he told himself. Whether or not he believed it was another story.
CHAPTER SEVEN
RENEE GOT THROUGH the meeting with Hanna and Graham by focusing on them and pretending Jasper wasn’t in the room. A reality made difficult by Hanna deferring to him on every decision. On the bright side, they’d chosen medium blue and mauve as their colors and they’d set up meetings to discuss food, drinks and decorations.
With all that decided, Renee printed out the details and handed a copy to Hanna and Graham before reluctantly passing one to Jasper.
“I’ll be in touch next week with the information we’re waiting for,” she said as they prepared to leave. “We’re on a tight time frame, so we need to get going on everything.”
“This is so wonderful,” Hanna told her. “I can’t thank you enough.” She turned to Jasper. “You have our email addresses, right? So if you need anything you’ll be in touch?”
He looked faintly uncomfortable as he shook hands with them. “You know I will be.”
Renee was hoping his uneasiness came from the fact that he had to now face her. She hoped he was feeling like the worm he was, but she had her doubts. If he cared about anyone but himself, he wouldn’t have done what he did. It wasn’t a lesson she wanted to learn, but better early in their nonrelationship.
Hanna and Graham left. Renee half expected Jasper to duck out with them to avoid her, but he stayed where he was. She waited until she was sure the other couple was out of earshot before turning her attention on him.
“That was lucky timing,” she said, careful to keep her voice calm when she really wanted to throw a chair at his head. “It took you what, fifteen minutes, to go behind my back?”
“Renee, it’s not what you think.”
“It’s exactly what I think and you know it. You understood everything I was saying and when you didn’t agree, you did what you wanted. You never gave a thought as to why I felt as strongly as I did. You didn’t care that I would be upset or feel betrayed. You wanted what you wanted and that’s all that matters to you.”
She closed her tablet. “Your book is nowhere near as important as their wedding. It’s their day, not yours. You were thoughtless and selfish and you have proven that I was a fool to think we could be friends or that I could trust you. Neither is true. Now I would like you to leave.”
“I don’t get to say anything? What about my thoughts on what just happened?”
“Your opinion doesn’t matter at all to me, Jasper. Not anymore.”
When he made no move to stand, she got up and walked out of the conference room. She went to her office, where she closed and locked the door. While it was unlikely he would follow her there, she wanted to make it clear she was done talking to him.
She leaned against her door and closed her eyes for a second. Disappointment didn’t begin to describe what she was feeling. While their relationship was never going to be about more than sex, she had thought he was a decent guy and now that was ruined forever. He was just some thoughtless jackass who had wormed his way into one of her weddings and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
* * *
“I’LL BE THERE at the end of next month, Mom,” Renee said as she turned on the road that would take her to the animal preserve. Her friend Carol had asked her to stop by, without saying why. A reason to be concerned, Renee thought, hoping everything was all right.
“I’m glad we’ll get a few days together,” Verity Grothen, Renee’s mother, said, her voice perfectly clear over the car’s speakers. “I’ve found a lovely little spa in the neighborhood. Let’s have a girls’ day out.”
“I’d like that, Mom.”
“Then it’s a date. You take care, sweetie.”
“I will. You, too.”
They hung up. Renee breathed a sigh of relief that her mother hadn’t mentioned visiting Happily Inc. There had been a few murmurings when Renee had first moved here, but she’d claimed she was too busy to have anyone visit and had instead promised a trip to her mother’s place in San Diego.
Not that she didn’t love her mother—she did. Verity was the only family she had. It was just having her mother around was complicated. Especially here, she thought as she parked at the animal preserve.
The Happily Inc Animal Preserve was on the outskirts of town—by the dump and recycling center. Carol’s father and her uncles, Ed and Ted, had bought the dump and all the surrounding land years ago. After establishing a healthy savanna, they’d brought in nonpredatory animals such as zebras, gazelles, giraffes and a water buffalo.
The nonprofit was supported by donations and a trust that had been established the previous year when artist Ronan Mitchell had donated several glass pieces that were sold at auction.
Whenever Carol hosted a girlfriend lunch, she had it at the preserve, weather permitting. While everyone else enjoyed being outside and catching sight of the animals roaming free, those lunches always made Renee nervous. She preferred to live her life wild animal–free. Not that she didn’t love nature—she did. Just from a safe distance that was definitely out of earshot.
A cat would be different, she thought wistfully. She liked cats. At least she thought she could, if she was ever brave enough to get one. But whenever she considered it, her mind reminded her of all the potential disasters that could follow.
Renee pushed those thoughts away and instead wondered why Carol had asked her to stop by. As Carol was happily married and the mother to an adorable baby, Renee didn’t anticipate them having to discuss a problem.
At least not a problem of Carol’s, Renee mentally amended as she walked toward the main offices. She, on the other hand, was still fuming from her encounter with Jasper two days ago. His complete disregard for her job, her clients and her specific request that he not get involved in a wedding had made it clear he was a definite candidate for jerk of the year. Her only regret was that she’d ever thought he was a decent guy. Obviously her ability to find the worst guy in the room was still alive and well. Note to self—avoid men forever.
Easy enough, she told herself firmly. She wouldn’t look, wouldn’t date and certainly wouldn’t touch. Any attempt to get along with a man on a romantic or sexual level would only lead to disaster. It was just...she’d really liked him. And now she couldn’t and that made her both pissy and sad.
Pushing all thoughts of Jasper and his dickishness from her mind, she walked into the main building and was surprised to find both Carol and Bethany waiting for her.
“Hi,” Renee said, smiling at her friends.
Carol and Bethany both rose and hugged her. Carol was a pretty, down-to-earth redhead who favored cargo pants and T-shirts. Bethany, a gorgeous blonde, was equally casual in her dress code. While Carol worked with the grazing animals that roamed the Happily Inc savanna, Bethany and her husband, Cade, were co-owners of a horse ranch outside of town. Bethany’s claim to fame was that she was the adopted daughter of the king of El Bahar and therefore an honest to goodness princess complete with tiaras and bodyguards. While she was in Happily Inc, she lived pretty much like everyone else, but when she returned to El Bahar, s
he was living the princess life.
“So what’s up?” Renee asked, then paused as the two women exchanged a glance. Her first thought had been maybe some kind of group party they needed help planning, but now she was thinking it wasn’t anything like that at all.
Her stomach clenched as she braced herself for bad news. Was someone sick? Was it worse than that?
“Let’s go back to my office,” Carol said, leading the way down a short hall.
They went into her small, messy office and she shut the door behind them.
After clearing files off chairs, they all found a seat. Renee looked at each of them.
“Just say it,” she told them. “I can handle it.”
“It’s nothing bad,” Carol said quickly. “I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s actually good news.” Bethany offered a fake smile. “Really.”
“Uh-huh. Why don’t I believe that?”
“I have no idea.” Bethany sucked in a breath. “I can’t do this.”
“You have to,” Carol said gently. “The news is going to come out eventually and the more people you tell, the better you’ll feel.”
“I’m not sure about your logic,” Bethany muttered before looking at Renee. “I’m pregnant.”
Renee blinked. She hadn’t seen that coming. “You are? That’s wonderful. But you’re not happy. Is there something...?”
Bethany quickly shook her head. “The baby is fine. It’s not that. I’m thrilled, Cade is over the moon. We’re both so excited. It’s just...”
Renee had no idea what she was talking about. If they were happy and the baby was healthy, then what could possibly be wrong? They were going to be parents. There would be a new generation and—
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