“Sounds good.” Jenna’s words were tight. She grabbed the handle of her carry-on bag and walked away. She stopped after several feet, seemed to think something over, then turned back to Liam. “Don’t be a dick, brother mine.” Then she gave him her back and stalked across the expanse of tile floor to the elevator bank, where she jabbed the Up button several times.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Liam muttered.
“Good,” Mike said. “Do not ruin this for her...or you’ll answer to me.”
The warning couldn’t have been any clearer.
Liam wanted to respond with his own warning, to tell this clown that he knew why the guy was marrying Jenna, but all Liam could do was stare and say nothing at all.
They wanted to see what was in store for their wedding. But what they were going to encounter over the next twenty-four hours would show Jenna exactly what type of man Mike was. Because watching Mike physically move Jenna aside, speak over her, tell her how they’d handle check-in followed by the suggestion that Ella could show them around, thus bypassing Liam?
No. To all of it, no.
Liam could only hope for two things. First? He hoped Jenna would understand what he’d done to make her see the truth about Mike’s character...or lack of.
And second, he had to hope Ella would forgive him and accept his efforts to make amends when the wedding went straight to hell in handbaskets she’d decorated.
CHAPTER TWELVE
ELLA WAS UP to her elbows in fresh flowers. She loved floral arranging and had taken on some of those duties as a sort of indulgence. Designing was cathartic, forcing her to focus on the flowers and their shape and size and smell, the orientation of each bloom and the way they were placed for maximum impact.
Working beside her was a master baker who was applying fondant to the cake for tomorrow night’s rehearsal dinner. Both this cake and the wedding cake would be adorned with floral toppers made by Ella herself.
She’d just placed a water pick on a bird of paradise stem when her cell buzzed. Gently setting the flower down, she dug her phone out of her back pocket. The display showed a number she didn’t recognize. “Ella Montgomery.”
“Don’t panic.”
“Any time you tell someone not to panic, Liam, it’s the first thing they do. Hold on a second. I need to step outside.” She waved at the baker and mouthed, “Be right back.” Maneuvering around the work space, she made it to the side door and stepped into the sunshine. The air felt warm, especially after working in what was essentially a cooler. A bloom of sweat decorated her hairline, and she rubbed it off with the back of her forearm. “Go ahead. Tell me what I’m not supposed to panic over.”
When Liam spoke, the urge to scream welled up in her throat, choking off her air and, with it, any ability to respond.
“Did you hear me, Ella? Jenna and Mike are here.”
She nodded as she tried to force her lungs to work, her mouth to open, her lips to form words. “When you say ‘here,’ what exactly do you mean?”
“I’m not sure there’s another way to interpret ‘here.’ They’ve checked in to their rooms, are currently getting settled in and would like to do a walk-through of the event this afternoon,” Liam bit out.
“You know, if I’m not allowed to panic, you don’t get to be an ass,” she retorted.
“I’m not being... Never mind. The point is, they want you to take them through the rehearsal plans and ceremony setup. They’re calling me after they’ve unpacked their bags and want me to perform introductions.”
“I’m not ready! I was supposed to have another day! There are some key things I need to finish before I can do a proper walk-through with them!” She fought the suffocating panic that ballooned in her chest.
“What would you have me do, Ella?”
There was no good answer. “Buy me some time and I’ll find a stopping place here. Can you do that—entertain them, walk the resort, something? Just let me finish this bouquet and I’ll meet you in the lobby in—” she looked at her watch “—an hour. What have they asked to see today?”
“They want to see what you’ve put together. All of it. Jenna’s excited.”
The tone of his voice told her he was anything but.
Yanking at the tie that held her hair up in a loose topknot, Ella dropped her phone. A wide crack split the screen corner to corner. “Shit,” she snapped. Retrieving her phone, she looked it over. Hopefully, it would keep working until she could get home and replace it.
“What’s wrong?”
Hysterical laughter rose up the back of her throat and emerged as a croak. “Everything is wrong, Liam. If you’re asking what just happened? I broke my phone. It’s one more expense I don’t need, one more thing I’ll have to pay for because I can’t do without it. And you’re calling, asking me to do the walk-through when only half of what needs to be done is actually done.”
“Ella, I can’t do this for you.”
“I’m not asking you to. I’m asking you to stall them, Liam. Make small talk over drinks until I can pull together a walk-through that won’t leave them regretting the choice to hire me.”
Swallowing past the almost debilitating fear, she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing.
“Ella?”
“Just...give me a second.”
She ran through the list of things that had been fully prepped, things she could share with the bride and groom. There were excursions to walk through, the menu, entertainment, the ceremony site. She could call Arvin and get him to set up a taste test of the wedding dinner. All that would take up the rest of the day. There would be plenty of time to finish the flowers tonight. Then tomorrow she could actively manage the guest excursions and the rehearsal, see the couple and their guests through the rehearsal dinner, and, finally, put the finishing touches on the wedding ceremony and the reception. The end was in sight. She just had to push through and get there in one piece.
The initial shock having passed, she took a deep breath and relayed her plan to Liam.
“That’s fine. Jen and Mike will meet you in the lobby. What time?”
“I said an hour. I’ll stick to that. After I’ve finished here, I’ll grab my portfolio so I’ll be able to show them the sketches. That’ll help them visualize what the actual ceremony will look like. Otherwise? They’ll be wholly dependent on my descriptions to fill in the blanks.”
“I’ll be there.”
“You’re coming, too?”
“I want to support my sister no matter the outcome.”
“‘No matter the outcome?’” she parroted. “What does that mean?”
“Poor choice of words. I’ll see you shortly.”
An odd feeling settled low in her gut. “Don’t screw this up, Liam.”
“Pardon?”
“Just...forget it. I’ll see you in a little while.”
A single tap on her cracked screen and the call disconnected. She finished the bouquet and headed back to the bungalow, thankful that her phone at least worked. She’d struggled with this event so much she’d begun to think the universe hated her, but maybe—just maybe—she was wrong. Maybe the universe didn’t hate every cell in her being.
Just most of them.
* * *
Liam stood on the balcony just off the lobby. Jenna and Mike were several steps away, their heads together as they whispered, laughed and sneaked kisses. They were trying to stay away from the main foot traffic at the resort, but they’d insisted they wanted to get a feel for the ambience and see some of the decor.
Mike said something to Jenna and she laughed, a low, throaty sound that moviegoers worldwide would recognize. Liam looked over to find them slow dancing on the balcony.
“Get a room.”
“We got two,” Mike said, sotto voce.
“I’m sure Jenna did.”
Mike stille
d.
Jenna turned and looked from one man to the other. “What? What did I miss?”
Tension built until it crackled on the air like a summer storm. Mike didn’t look away from Liam when he answered. “Your brother’s suggesting I’m a gold digger.”
Jenna’s eyes flashed with anger. “Liam? What is wrong with you?”
“Just protecting your assets, sister.”
“My assets are mine, Liam. I’ll do as I please with them. That means if I want to invest in an alpaca farm in Nepal, you’ll smile and wish me good returns. Likewise, if I want to pay for my own wedding, you don’t have a say in that choice.”
Liam clenched his jaw tight, but it wasn’t enough to stop his damning judgment from spilling out. “No? Fine. But your choice doesn’t change my opinion. I’d rather you had someone willing to carry his own weight in the relationship.”
Mike took a step forward. “And how do you know I don’t?”
Liam’s laugh was so bitter it left an aftertaste. “How do I know? You certainly didn’t buy that designer three-carat bauble on her finger on a farm league salary. You moved in to her place instead of her moving in to yours. You’re driving her cars everywhere you two go. You were unemployed and now claim to be moving up to the big leagues, but it hasn’t hit the trade papers. Need more examples?”
“You have no idea what I make or what I’m worth.”
Liam arched a brow, his sole intent to piss the other man off. “It so happens that I do. Your farm salary was reported in the trade papers. The right word in the right ear and I found out what your endorsements paid. Added together? Your value isn’t even half of what Jenna makes for a single film. I can’t imagine it has improved since you quit.”
“You son of a bitch,” Mike spat, starting for him.
Ella cleared the large French doors just then, taking in the situation. In one fluid move, she stepped between Liam and Mike, extending her hand to the groom. “Hello. You must be Mike Feigenbaum, the lucky groom. I’m Ella Montgomery, your event coordinator.”
Mike drew up, social custom and common courtesy partnering to halt what would likely have been a bloody good fight. Liam watched as the other man shook Ella’s hand and forced a tight smile. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Montgomery.”
“Please call me Ella.” Then she turned to Jenna. “And you, Ms. Williams, are even more beautiful in person than on screen, which I wouldn’t have believed possible. It’s lovely to finally meet you. Your brother has spoken so highly of you.”
“It’s lovely to meet you as well, Ms. Montgomery... Ella.” Jenna smiled the smile she used for publicity shots, paparazzi and interviews. “And while it’s good to know Liam has spoken so highly of me, I’d be more interested in hearing what he’s had to say about my groom.”
Liam didn’t miss Jenna’s word choice—my groom.
Ella didn’t miss a beat. “He’s been nothing but complimentary of the choices you and Mike have made for your wedding. Beyond that, he’s said that your happiness is the most important thing in the world to him.”
The tension around them fractured into a thousand pieces that the trade winds carried away.
Liam was dumbfounded, watching Mike and Jenna relax into each other as Jenna’s smile morphed into the one reserved for friends and family—the real smile. Mike became engaging and, damn it all to hell, charming as well. Liam couldn’t say what it was Ella had done, but her presence, her word choices, her approach—all of it had defused a situation that was fast devolving into something that would have made the papers.
The papers.
Jenna had been most clear about that—she didn’t want news outlets carrying the story of her wedding or gossip rags featuring it on their covers. She’d been so worried about that one specific thing, and he’d nearly brought it down on her head.
He owed Jenna, at the very least, an apology. He stepped forward a fraction of a second after Mike took her hands and claimed her attention, face solemn.
“I owe you an apology, sweetheart. I let Liam bait me even after you asked me to keep my cool. I nearly caused a scene when I know you don’t want anything to draw attention to us being here. I’m so damn sorry, baby. It won’t happen again.” He kissed her then, gently but thoroughly, before stepping away.
Flushed, Jenna smiled up at Mike. “Thanks, baby. I know he can be a lot to handle at times. He’ll get better.” The “or else” was implied. Heavily.
“I’m sure Mr. Baggett didn’t intend to start a fight,” Ella started, but Liam waved her off.
“No, Ella. Mike is right. I baited him. I’ll not do it again.”
Mike and Jenna nodded, but neither spoke.
Ella gestured toward the stairs that led to the resort’s largest lawn and a raised garden that was framed in hedges and looked out over the ocean. “Let’s head down to the garden, and we can discuss the rehearsal and ceremony.”
Jenna and Mike started out ahead, Liam falling in step with Ella just behind them. “That was well done of you. Thanks.”
She barely spared him a glance. “It was clear there was about to be bloodshed.”
“Without a doubt.”
“Why didn’t you just apologize?” she asked. “It’s the least you could do given that this is their big day.”
“I beg your pardon,” he snapped. “I bloody well did apologize.”
“No, Liam. You didn’t. You said you shouldn’t have baited Mike.”
“And?”
She sighed and shook her head, crossing her arms under her breasts. “The words I’m sorry never passed your lips.”
“She knows I meant it,” he said, rationalizing his choice despite the voice in his ear that whispered Ella was right.
“It would have gone a long way with her, and him, to have heard those two words from you.”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what he thinks of me.”
This time Ella laid a hand on his arm, forcing him to stop with her. “The thing is, Liam, this isn’t about you or your decisions or your wants. This is about her—her future husband and the life they’re about to build together.”
The skin across Liam’s shoulders grew tight. “He’s not good enough for her.”
“That’s not your decision to make.”
Her words, so softly delivered, set him back a step. “I want what’s best for her.”
“And you don’t trust her to know what that is?” Ella countered.
“I’ve seen that man’s true character, Ella. He has repeatedly talked over and around my sister. He has disrespected her in front of me, and I won’t have it.”
“How is what he’s done so different from what you just did?”
“I love her!” he bit out.
Ella reached out and took one of Liam’s hands, squeezing gently. “It would seem Mike does, too.” She dropped his hand and then strode forward to catch up to the couple.
Liam stood there for several seconds, his mouth hanging open like a fool’s. Ella was absolutely right. He was no better than Mike. Liam had been presumptive, domineering, controlling and brash—all traits he’d criticized in the other man.
Could Ella be right? Could Jenna have found her miracle in this man who professed to love her? Could it be possible that he’d so severely underestimated Jenna’s choices?
It seemed that he had.
Shaking off the stupor the truth had wrought in him, he strode toward the couple and their event coordinator. His lover. The woman who wasn’t afraid to tell him the truth no matter the cost, and he vowed he’d make this right.
It dawned on him as he reached the steps to the garden that what they were about to encounter was as wrong as wrong could get. And he had no way to stop it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ELLA WAS HALFWAY up the stairs when the scream hit her. She tripped up the last step and stumbled to a halt at the
garden’s back wall. Something pink darted left. Something darker pink darted right. And there, fifteen feet away, stood Hollywood’s it girl, Jenna Williams, screaming as if an ax murderer was closing in. But it wasn’t an ax murderer. It was...a peacock? No. It was a pink peacock.
Two.
Three.
Four pink peacocks ran amok, long tails flowing behind them.
And one, presumably the appropriately named cock, strutted toward Jenna, his red eyes sinister, his cotton candy–colored tail on full display, his head bobbing to and fro as if to mesmerize Jenna before slaying her.
Mike wrapped Jenna in his arms and looked about wildly.
Ella lurched forward as Liam crested the stairs and ran smack into her.
“What’s going on?” she demanded.
“Where the hell did the peacocks come from?” Mike shouted, partly from obvious fury and partly to be heard above the bride’s screaming and the birds’ squawking.
Liam rushed past her and reached for Jenna, but Mike swung her up into his arms and carried her toward the nearest exit at a swift jog.
“Mike?” Ella called, following after them.
“She’s terrified of birds, Ms. Montgomery,” Mike bit out. “Actually diagnosed as ornithophobic. That’s why the paperwork said ‘Absolutely No Birds.’ And why the hell did you dye them pink? Jenna is an animal activist, very vocal on animal rights and environmental preservation.”
“I know. I didn’t order the birds,” Ella said, forcing herself to stand up straight and meet Mike’s accusing stare.
Jenna peered up at her, tears having turned well-applied mascara into raccoon eyes. “Someone did, Ms. Montgomery, and there are only two people who would have. Liam, who knows I’m scared of birds, and you. I can’t imagine Liam doing something like this when he knows I’m petrified of the things.” She shuddered. “So who else would’ve done it if not you?”
“I don’t know,” Ella answered.
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