“Never thought I would see the day, bro but congrats,” Austin slaps me on the back.
“Congratulations, Son,” my dad said.
“So, have you picked a date yet?” Cara asks. “I can’t wait to start planning!”
“We will be getting married two weeks from yesterday,” I reply and watch everyone’s jaws hit the floor for the second time in only a few minutes.
“Oh my God! Are you pregnant, Kenzie?” Cara asks loudly.
“No! Definitely not,” Kenzie quickly stammers.
“Cara!” mom scolds her.
“I’m sorry… I just thought…”
“It’s okay, Cara. No, we are not planning a quick wedding because Kenzie is pregnant,” I confirm, almost chuckling to myself at the irony of that question, given that Kenzie and I haven’t even had sex.
“Two weeks… that’s not much time, Nicholas,” my mom points out.
“It’s not a lot of time, but we both want a very small wedding so there won’t be a lot to plan. The venue for the wedding has already been booked—”
“Where are you getting married?” Cara interrupts.
“On a beach on the coast of the Carolinas,” I answer.
“Wait until you see the pictures, it’s absolutely beautiful there. The beach is very private and is surrounded by rocks and the ocean,” Kenzie describes the pictures we viewed online almost perfectly. I can see the smile in her eyes as she describes the beach where the ceremony will take place.
“You’ve already booked the location?” my dad asks, his eyes questioning.
“Yes, we’ve been talking about getting married for a couple of weeks now, so we knew the type of wedding we both wanted. Before I proposed today, I found a few venues that I thought Kenzie would like and afterwards we both chose one that happened to be our favorite.”
“How did he ask you, Kenzie?” my mom asks.
“He completely surprised me,” Kenzie goes on to tell how I picked her up this morning, took her horseback riding and then proposed over a picnic lunch.
“Nicholas, can I speak to you for a moment?” My dad asks.
“I’ll be right back,” I whisper to Kenzie before kissing her gently on the cheek and following my dad into his office. I was expecting him to ask to see me, no doubt to ensure that I have had Kenzie sign a prenup.
“Let’s have a drink to celebrate your engagement, Son,” he pours me a small glass of scotch. We clink our glasses before taking a drink.
“Before you ask,” I decide to put everything on the table before he can even bring it up. “Yes, Kenzie has already signed a prenup. She is aware that she is not entitled to half of my company if our marriage were to end.”
“While I’m glad to hear that, and appreciate you thought this through, I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into,” he takes another drink before continuing. “Marriage isn’t easy; it’s not something you do one day and never think about again. Marriage takes work—you have to be committed to spending the rest of your life with that beautiful woman out there. You need to make the time in your busy schedule to ensure she knows every day how much you love her. You need to make sure that you spend time together, and I don’t mean at all these business dinners that you go to. Once in a while, you need to spend time just with her. Even if that’s just curling up on the couch and watching a movie; it’s important that you take those couple of hours out of your busy schedule to let her know that she is important to you. Marriage is not another client that PFS takes on: one that you pay attention to in the beginning and then let it do its own thing and monitor it through financial reports every month—”
“Dad, I wouldn’t—”
“I’m not saying you are planning to do any of this. I am just sharing my experience with you. It’s easy to let life take over and for your marriage to take a back seat to everything else going on, especially with PFS as successful as it is. I don’t want you to lose what you have right now; anyone can tell by the way you two look at each other how in love you are. Don’t ever stop looking her like that, Nicholas.”
“I won’t, Dad.”
His words startle me; that’s the second time that someone has said that they can tell how in love Kenzie and I are by the way we look at each other. When my mom first said it, I chalked it up to us being good at acting but my father seeing it is surprising. He’s not the romantic type, so for him to say what he said confuses me. What is it they are seeing between me and Kenzie? How are we looking at each other that make people think we are in love? Of course, it’s great for publicity and supports our arrangement further, yet I can’t help but wonder what it is people are seeing. Could they just be seeing two friends who care about each other? That must be it—they must be confusing that with love...
“I’m very happy for you, Son. It’s obvious how much Kenzie loves you, and it’s good to see you happy again. I haven’t seen you smile this much in a very long time.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
We make our way back to the great room where Kenzie is chatting with my mom and Cara about our wedding plans. They’re talking about flowers and decorations: all things I could care less about.
“We do not want the media to learn of our engagement as a security measure; we need to ask that for now you each keep this news to yourself. We will be using a wedding planner who will have everything brought to Accord Towers rather than us going into stores to make decisions.”
“That makes sense. I’ll give you the name of the event planner I use; you don’t have to use her Kenzie—”
“Thank you, Vivienne, that would be very helpful,” Kenzie says.
“I know you said this was going to be a small wedding, but how small are we talking?” my mom asks.
“I’m not sure,” I look at Kenzie but she shrugs. “We want it very small; just immediate family and probably Alex and Ella from work.”
“Kenzie, how many people from your family will you be expecting?”
“Umm… my family will not be able to attend our wedding,” Kenzie says.
“Oh,” my mom is obviously surprised by this. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s fine.”
“We will probably end up with a dozen or so people at the wedding,” I quickly bring everyone back to the original topic to take the focus off of Kenzie. She looks incredibly uncomfortable right now; I doubt she expected anyone to ask about her family and why they wouldn’t be in attendance at our wedding. I wrap my arm around her lower back, trying to keep her from thinking about her past.
“That sounds lovely: small and intimate,” my mom says.
“That’s what we’re going for,” Kenzie smiles and I can almost see the tension leaving her body. “I couldn’t see having a huge wedding surrounded by people you barely know. It seems too formal for me.”
“I assume your PR department will make some sort of announcement about the marriage afterwards?” my dad asks.
“Yes, while we’re on our honeymoon, my PR department will release a statement and a chosen picture from the ceremony announcing our marriage,” I explain.
“Where are you going for a honeymoon?” Cara asks.
“That’s a surprise,” I smile at Kenzie, who is looking at me unsure. “Not even Kenzie knows where we are going.”
“How is she going to know what to pack? A girl needs to know these things, Nicholas; you can’t just spring—” Cara tries to argue.
“I will arrange to have a personal shopper put together everything she will need for the honeymoon, Cara, don’t worry,” I assure her. “And if there is something that is forgotten, we will pick it up there.”
“Well, I’m sure it will be wonderful wherever you go,” Mom says.
Before we leave to head home, my mom and Cara have planned to come to Accord Towers as soon as it can be arranged to help Kenzie chose a wedding gown. I almost interrupted, to let them know it wasn’t necessary because I didn’t want Kenzie to feel pressured, but after seeing her eyes light u
p I realized that she was looking forward to having them there with her. I hadn’t thought that planning a wedding might be hard for her without having any family of her own to help her. I’m grateful that my mom and sister stepped in and offered their support.
“Everything moved in, Carter?” I ask as we drive back.
“Yes, sir. Ms. Rose’s boxes have been placed in the spare bedroom next to her room.”
“Thank you, Carter,” Kenzie says.
“Of course, Ms. Rose.”
“You know you can call me Kenzie, right?” she smirks.
“Yes, Ms. Rose,” I can almost hear the snicker in his voice. She’s been after him for months to call her Kenzie, but he sticks with Ms. Rose for the most part.
When we get back, I take Kenzie on a quick tour of the apartment, having learned that Carter only showed her a few main areas when she stayed the weekend here. She absolutely falls in love with the library the moment I open the door. I make a mental note to have Carter arrange for a large, comfortable chair to be moved into the room so she can have a place to read. I can see her eyes trying to focus on the titles of the books, trying to figure out what to read first.
“I need to get some work done tonight, but I needed to talk to you for a moment,” we head back into what is now her bedroom.
“I know I told you that I have nightmares, but I need you to know that they can get loud and sometimes very rough at times. It’s very likely you will be able to hear them from your room—”
“Nicholas—”
“I just need you to know that you cannot wake me up when I have a nightmare. Carter tried once and it resulted in him having a black eye and a split lip. I can’t… I’m not myself when I have a nightmare. I can’t have you in there. I can’t… I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Nothing helps keep the nightmares away?”
“No. I saw therapists for years when I was younger, but nothing ever changed. I would never forgive myself if I accidently hurt you, Kenzie.”
“I understand. Thank you for letting me know.”
“I… I need to get some work done. Your boxes are next door, but you should find a fully stocked closet behind that door—”
“Wait! What?”
I chuckle and close the door behind me as I hear her walk across the room towards the closet. I knew she would try to tell me she didn’t need all the clothes in the closet the moment she opened the door, so I figured it would be best if I left before she had the chance to say anything. I had arranged for the personal shopper that my mother and Cara use to have a complete wardrobe delivered while we were out this morning.
Chapter 7
Kenzie
“No! Please… don’t hurt me… I’m sorry!” A voice screaming pulls me from my deep sleep.
I quickly run out of my room, following the sound of the screaming which seems to becoming from downstairs. As I approach the bottom of the steps, I realize the screaming is coming from Nicholas’s bedroom. I immediately rush to his door and try to open it, but the door is locked. I recall the conversation we had the other night when he cautioned me not to try to wake him from a nightmare. I can’t just stand here and listen to it, though; I need to do something.
“Nicholas? Nicholas?” I knock on the door and call out to him.
“I’ll be a good boy I promise… please...”
My heart is breaking as I hear the nightmare; I slide down the wall and sit outside his door. I don’t know what to do, but I don’t feel right going back to my room while he is in so much pain. I wish I knew where the keys were to his room; I wish he could hear me calling his name from the door.
“No! Please… don’t hit! I don’t want a bath! No! I be good boy.”
I don’t know how long the nightmare lasts, but I stay outside the door, sitting on the floor trying to come up with some idea to wake him up. Eventually the screaming stops, and it turns to sobbing at which point I can’t stop the tears from my own eyes from falling. I don’t know much about his childhood before he was adopted by the Parkers; his speech at the awards dinner the night he became sick hinted at it but we never discussed it. After hearing the nightmare tonight, I realize how little I really know about his past…
“Fuck!”
I hear Nicholas mumble, and I immediately run back up to my bedroom. I don’t want him to know that I was sitting outside his door or that I heard the nightmare. I saw how hard it was when he first told me he suffered from nightmares; I don’t want to make things uncomfortable between us by asking about them.
“You’re up early,” Nicholas says as I enter the kitchen after washing up and changing out of my pajamas the next morning.
“So are you,” I smile.
“I have work this morning, what’s your excuse?”
“I’m a morning person by nature. Actually sleeping until six is late for me; when I worked at the bakery I was up by four or sometimes even earlier.”
“You’ll get back there you know. Once the press dies down after our wedding is announced, you’ll be able to return to the bakery. If you want to—”
“I do. I hope you’re right. Ginny said she would hold my job, but I don’t know if she thought it would be this long. I don’t know how the new owners will feel about holding my job.”
“Have you talked to Ginny?”
“A few days ago, I called her to see how everything was going.”
“And?”
“She said, for now the new owners have decided to leave everything as is. They apparently hired her to manage the place for at least the first year to ensure the transition is smooth, I guess.”
“Is she okay with that? I know you said she wanted to move to be closer to her daughter, right?”
“She said they are giving her a good amount of paid time off so she doesn’t mind working. She had assumed it would take a year or two before she found a buyer for the bakery, so I guess she had planned to keep working, at least for now.”
“Good, then it sounds like you have nothing to worry about. In a few weeks, the press will realize there is nothing more to write about and will start to leave us alone. Things will get crazy once our marriage is announced, which is why I’m having the PR department time it so we are out of the country—”
“We’re leaving the country?!?!” This is the first clue I have received on the location of our honeymoon.
“Yes,” he chuckles. “But that’s all I’m saying about where we are going.”
“No other hints?”
“No.”
“Good morning, Ms. Rose, what would you like for breakfast?” Julie asks walking into the kitchen.
“Whatever you have made is fine,” I’m finding it very difficult to get used to the idea that someone is here to cook for me.
“Mr. Parker is having an egg white omelet, would you like that or something else?”
“That’s fine, thank you, Julie.”
“What are your plans for today?” Nicholas asks.
“Your mom and Cara are coming over; the wedding planner has arranged for gowns to be brought over today from a local shop she has worked with in the past.”
“Oh good. And you’re okay with my mom and Cara being here for it? I wasn’t sure—”
“I’m more than okay with it. It’ll be nice to have a second opinion on the dresses anyway.”
“Kenzie… is there anyone you want to invite to the wedding? I can arrange flights for them; money isn’t—”
“No, there isn’t anyone.”
“Are you sure? I really don’t mind—”
“Nicholas, I don’t have anyone I would consider inviting to my wedding. Even if this wasn’t,” I glance at Julie, not really sure how much I can say in front of her. “So sudden, there isn’t anyone I would want to have there with us. I don’t have anyone I consider my family.”
“If… okay,” he’s clearly surprised by my honesty, but I needed to say it.
“Sir, ma’am, your breakfast,” Julie has perfect timing, breaking the awkwar
d moment between us as she sets plates in front of us.
“Thank you, Julie,” I say just as she leaves the kitchen.
“The wedding plans are coming along then?” Nicholas asks as we eat.
“I think so. After today, I should have a dress picked out which will probably take a few days for the alterations to be done. I picked out some simple flowers from pictures she sent me yesterday. There are so many small details I hadn’t realized that I would need to decide on.”
“Like what?”
“What color runner is on the sand, what the setup of chairs look like, whether or not we have wedding favors, what type of appetizers to have… the list is just endless.”
“You don’t need to decide all of that. Just tell her to use her discretion; these people plan weddings on a daily basis. I’m sure she can put a package together for us to review.”
“You think?” I hadn’t thought about that, but it would definitely take some of the pressure off of me.
“Absolutely. Have her send you something tomorrow and when I get home from work we can review it all.”
“Thank you, I’ll call her today.”
“I need to get going. I’ll see you tonight,” he kisses me on the cheek before heading towards his office.
I place our plates in the sink before heading to the library to get lost in a book before Cara, Vivienne and all the dresses arrive. I am surprised when I walk into the library and see an oversized chair sitting near the large window that wasn’t there the other night when Nicholas showed me the library. As soon as I find a book, I head over to the chair, finding it just as comfortable as it looked. It’s one of those chairs that is large enough for you to get really comfortable in without being cramped. After a couple of hours of reading, I realize I need to get ready for the rest of my day. I’m once again surprised when I walk into my room to find two small boxes on my bed.
“What?”
Opening the larger box first, I find a brand new laptop; the small box contains a brand new iPhone, which puts my cheap smart phone to shame. I open the card that was on top of the boxes last:
The Arrangement Duet Box Set Page 39
