by Emma Roman
And through it all, she had Harper.
Harper.
Her hands fisted in the folds of her dark blue dress, and she forced herself to breathe once again. She couldn’t think of Harper, not now. He’d always been there for her, always, and yet it was different now. Things had changed so quickly that she could barely keep up.
One minute, he was her best friend, and she was doing her best not to think about how attractive he was with all those strong muscles and sweet smiles; the next, he was making her come against her front door with his hand over her mouth so she didn’t yell too loudly and scare the mailman.
She’d gone into this whole thing lying to herself about her true feelings about Harper, and now, she wasn’t sure if she could continue the lie. Maybe it was the whole Valentine’s Day theme, but she couldn’t quite keep her mind on her work, and off the man who filled her thoughts during the day and her dreams at night.
What would happen after this wedding? What would she do once the two of them had time to actually talk about their relationship and who they could be?
She’d done back-to-back weddings for the past couple of months to make sure she was ready for what would come next. She’d needed as many jobs up front as she could get so she had a cushion. Though she slept more than she had when she worked with King’s Weddings, it still wasn’t that much, and the wear on her body and nerves was beginning to show.
After this wedding, she had a couple of weeks where she only had to plan things and set up the next phase of her business. She’d done that on purpose, but now, she knew the time would come where she and Harper would actually have to talk.
What would they do when they actually spoke? She’d gone into this—whatever this was—telling him that it would only be for a night, and then later, for only a short time with no strings.
Yet all she could see were strings.
Holly’s voice sounded in her ear, and Arianna quickly pushed all thoughts of futures and Harper out of her mind—at least as much as she could.
Though Holly didn’t work for her as she had a perfectly amazing job on her own, because today was a holiday, her friend had offered herself and her new man up as aides for the day so others could have time off to be with their loved ones. Holly and Brody were beyond adorable, and they hadn’t minded working on the romantic holiday as long as they could be together.
“What is it?” she asked over her Bluetooth.
“We’re set up in the back to finish prep if you want to see,” Holly said. “It looks wonderful, Arianna.”
Arianna smiled, though the other woman couldn’t see her. “Well, let’s hope the front looks just as nice. I’ll be there soon.”
“No need, I’m here,” Holly said with a grin. The other woman had curled her pale blonde hair and pinned it back from her face. She wore a long, off-the-shoulder, deep blue dress that matched the bride’s colors. Brody stood behind her; his hair brushed back from his eyes, though Arianna knew it would fall forward soon. It tended to do that when he smiled, and she knew Holly loved it so much she practically melted in his arms.
“You were fast,” Arianna said with a grin.
“I was walking as I talked to you. I wanted to see your dress, and oh my God, Arianna, you look amazing. It’s like stars on moonlight.”
Arianna slid her hands down her dress and sighed. She truly loved this dress and was so happy she’d found it on clearance when she was looking for the perfect dress to match the wedding. She felt like a fairy princess in it. Plus, she remembered the way Harper’s eyes had darkened when she’d tried it on for him that day…
And enough of that.
Brody winked at Arianna as he spoke. “You do look stunning, but I have to go with my girl here on who looks best.”
Holly swatted at him as Arianna shook her head. “Well, I would be a little annoyed with you if you’d said anything else. Can I just say thank you again for coming? Both of you. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“We get cake out of the deal, so I’m happy.”
“It’s always food with you, isn’t it,” Holly teased.
Brody turned to her and grinned. “Well…not always food.”
Harper cleared his throat as he walked past the two lovebirds, and suddenly, Holly wasn’t the only person blushing in the side prep room.
The man sure could fill out a suit.
He stalked toward her, his eyes on hers, bright and dangerous. He didn’t touch her when he stopped right in front of her. Instead, the heat of him covered her body, and she wanted to slide her hands over his suit, his skin, every freaking inch of him.
“You look stunning,” he breathed, and she let out a shaky breath.
She was working for God’s sake. She didn’t have time to swoon like a young maiden in the arms of a dangerous rake.
“Arianna? We have a problem! The sprinklers just went off in the main room!” Colleen’s voice echoed in her ears, and Arianna froze.
“What? How? Is there a fire?” She ran as she spoke, the others on her heels. “Oh my God. Have we set the tables yet? No, we were waiting to do that until an hour from now because of dust issues in this place. Oh my God.”
This couldn’t be happening. Not again.
Why was it that every single one of her major events had issues like this?
Breathe, she told herself. Just breathe.
Assess the damage. Fix what she could, And find a solution.
She could do this. It was what she did best.
Though sprinklers had never truly been on her list of job requirements before this. She took a deep breath and entered the main room to survey the damage.
Well, it could be worse.
There could actually be an ark floating through the damn place with animals staring at her two by two.
“I’ll get on the sprinklers,” Harper said as he pushed past her. He was even undoing his tie as he splashed through the puddles on the way to the storage room like he was Superman on a mission.
Damn it. He had to save her once again, and she hated being his Lois Lane when it came to things like this.
The bottom of her dress was soaked, but she ignored the pang at the thought of the beautiful dress being forever ruined. There were far more important things going on right now.
“Okay, Colleen, head to the back and make sure the other rooms are dry,” she ordered. So far, Arianna had only seen this room under water, but they couldn’t be too careful. The wedding was supposed to start at the other venue soon before coming here for the reception. As she had only stopped by here to check on the place before going to the chapel, she knew she was running out of time to do anything productive.
Plans formulated in her head, and as soon as she opened her mouth to give people directions, the sprinklers stopped.
“Thank God,” she whispered. “Okay, this is what we are going to do.”
They quickly salvaged what they could, thankful that most of the pieces hadn’t been in this room, and worked to move everything outside to their Plan B station. They would need the outdoor heaters and make sure any leftover snow didn’t stand in the way, but they would make this work. The couple had originally wanted an outdoor wedding in February anyway, but their parents had wanted something a little more formal.
Well, by hell or literal high water, Arianna was going to give them a formal outdoor wedding.
She just needed to tell the bride.
No big deal.
Or, rather, a huge big deal.
Harper came back in, drenched, and a fire in his eyes. “Someone fucked with the system, Ari.”
She met his gaze, and her jaw tightened. “I don’t have time to think about who could do that, but I have a feeling we both know.” She cursed under her breath. “I need to deal with this.”
“Then we’re going to deal with whoever did this, together.”
With that, he strode off, and Arianna’s anger slapped at her again. He kept saying we needed to fix this, and yet this w
as her problem. She was the one who needed to confront the person who kept sabotaging her plans, and even bring in the police if needed.
And yet, Harper was the one who kept saving the day. Some small part of her felt like she couldn’t be enough; couldn’t quite do everything on her own, if he was the one who constantly fixed things for her.
How could she stand on her own two feet if Harper was always there to catch her?
She let that thought fade from her mind and went back to work. It wouldn’t help anyone for her to second and third guess herself at this point.
She went out front to make the call to the bride and groom when she noticed a familiar car parked out on the street.
Dread filled her, but everything clicked into place as soon as she saw it.
Damn the man. Damn him and everything he stood for.
Her phone clutched in her hand, she faced her father, her pulse beating so hard in her temple she could feel it on her teeth.
“I knew you were cruel, but I never knew you were petty,” she said once he came toward her.
He smiled indulgently, and she wanted to slap it off his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She held up her hand, not in the mood. “You know what, I don’t care. I don’t care why you’re here, and I sure as hell don’t care why you feel the need to try to ruin people’s days. I’m going to call the police once I call the bride and groom because I’m done with you.”
“I don’t know why calling the police would be my problem. You’re the one who can’t seem to plan a wedding on your own without some sort of mishap. Why don’t you come back to King’s Weddings, Arianna? Come back to your old position, and we’ll discuss the Justin situation.”
She tilted her head; honestly stunned the man who had raised her—if what he did could be called raising—thought he had a foot to stand on.
“No. No. No. No.” Each word got louder so she was almost shouting. “I’m done. I told you I was done before when I walked out, and, apparently, seeing the back of me wasn’t good enough for you. I’m done. For real. I want nothing to do with King’s Weddings. Nothing to do with your precious Justin. Nothing to do with you. And if you come near my work or me again, I’m calling the police. In fact, I’m calling now anyway because you had to have broken some laws at this point, and I’ve been too busy trying to fix things to worry about that. But no more. Get off this property, and stay out of my life. I’m done.”
“You heard her, King. Go.”
She clenched her jaw as Harper stood beside her.
Of course, he was here.
Of course, her best friend was here to see her make a fool of herself and see her father try to break her one more time. Why wouldn’t he be? It’s not like Harper thought she could take care of herself.
Clearly not.
“Arianna,” her father began, but she held up her hand once again.
“Go. Now.”
He looked like he wanted to say something else but when he looked at Harper, his features paled ever so slightly, and he turned abruptly, walking away.
She knew it wouldn’t be the last time she saw him, not with how their lives would intersect, but him leaving for now would have to be enough. And she hadn’t been lying about calling the cops either.
“Are you okay, Ari?” Harper reached for her arm, and she turned to get out of his reach. She ignored the look of hurt on his face. She had to if she was going to tell him what she’d needed to tell him for far too long.
“Why did you have to do that?” she asked, her voice scratchy. She would not cry. Not now. “I was doing fine on my own. Why did you have to come here and save the day? Again.”
Harper’s eyes narrowed, a hint of temper flaring within the deep depths. “What the hell? He was hassling you. Of course, I helped.”
“Of course.” She let out a breath. “I didn’t need your help, Harper. I’m always grateful that you’re there. Always. But you never let me fail on my own. You never let me succeed on my own. Everything I do now is because you’ve done it with me or even for me in some cases. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t breathe with you around sometimes, and it’s because I’m so worried that something is going to get messed up, and I’m not going to be strong enough to fix it.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re angry that I’m helping you? That’s what friends do. That’s what lovers do. That’s what we do.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s what you do. You never let me help you. Everything is about you helping me as if I can’t do it on my own. I’ve never once been able to help you. I could have helped somehow with your new position with Montgomery Inc., but you never gave me the option. Never let me in. I could have done something for you other than warm your bed after you helped me once again with my father fucking up my business.”
“That’s not how we work, and you know it. I know you’re pissed off at your dad, but don’t take it out on me.”
Was that what she was doing? She wasn’t so sure. Not anymore.
“You know what? Fine. I’m done. I need to actually do my job. Thank you for dealing with the sprinklers. I mean it. Thank you.” She took a deep breath. “But I think I can handle everything from here.”
“On your own,” he bit out.
She met his gaze, knowing they were talking about more than just this wedding. “On my own.”
And with that, she left him standing there on the sidewalk as she went to make that call. Her dress swished around her ankles, damp and ruined…much like everything else she had.
8
Harper stood on Arianna’s doorstep two days later, his heart in his hand and his head lowered. He’d been such an idiot, and he knew it. Now, he just had to pray that Ari would take him back.
He didn’t even have to knock on the door before she opened it. He looked up and held back a curse. She had dark circles under eyes and looked exhausted, but her hair was in place as was her perfect suit.
She could work through anything, he thought. She was so fucking strong, and somehow, he’d made her feel like she wasn’t—like he thought she wasn’t. Well, he was going to fix that, damn it.
Only fixing things was how he’d gotten into trouble in the first place.
“Harper,” she croaked.
He wanted to pull her into his arms, hug her close, and tell her she was everything to him. And yet, he couldn’t gain his footing.
“Arianna…I didn’t know if it was okay if I just showed up like this, but I wanted to see you.” Needed to see you.
“You could have used your key.” She moved back as she said it, and he took that as an invitation to go inside. She closed the door behind them and looked up at him, confusion in her gaze. “Of course, I didn’t really leave you an option to do that, did I?”
“I was afraid you’d change the locks,” he said honestly.
She snorted, but it ended on a silent sob. “Oh, Harper. How did we come to this? You’re my best friend. I never thought we’d end up here.”
“Here being together, or broken?” He stuffed his hands in his pockets so he didn’t reach out and touch her as he wanted.
She pressed her lips together. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything. I shouldn’t have blamed you for what I did, but not everything I said came out of anger about my father.”
He let out a breath. “I get that. I do. I never once wanted to make you feel like you weren’t strong enough to do anything you put your mind to. I just wanted to be by your side and do what I could to help. I didn’t realize I was stifling you in the process.”
She shook her head and took a step toward him. He wanted to count that as progress, but he wasn’t sure. “I was so afraid I was going to fail, and yet I was more afraid of what I would do when you weren’t there to catch me anymore. I didn’t want to rely on you because I didn’t know what we were. And add in the whole thing with Justin before, and it got a little confused in my mind. He’s gone, though, since he was neve
r a threat to begin with, so to hell with him. But because of all of that, I jumbled up everything in my mind, and it made me act irrationally. I hate being irrational. You know that.”
He quirked a smile at that. “Yeah, that I know.” He took a risk and cupped her face with his hands. She didn’t pull away, and he let out a relieved breath. “Ari, I’m not going away. I know the first night I said it could only be for a night, but I lied. I want you. I want all of you, every day until the end of my days. You’re so fucking strong, so fucking amazing. I’m in awe of everything you do, and the fact that you let me be a small part of that is everything to me. But, baby, I love you. I’ve always loved you, and I’m not leaving. Not now. Not ever. You’re mine, damn it. I just got you the way I want you,” he said with a laugh as tears slid down her cheeks. “I’m not letting you go. And I know that’s the wrong thing to say after you tried to push me away because I was helping too much, but I need you to know that. Selfish of me, I know, but I love you so fucking much, Ari. So. Fucking. Much.”
She closed her eyes and leaned forward, leaving a soft kiss on his chest. “I fell in love with you, too. I don’t know when, though. I keep trying to remember a time when I didn’t love you, and I can’t think of it. It might have been a different kind of love before this, but you’re part of me, Harper. Deep down, you’re part of me. And I don’t want to let you go. And I know I have insecurities when it comes to doing things on my own, but I shouldn’t have thrown them on you.”
He kissed her then, his heart about to burst at the realization that she loved him. That she’d always loved him. “We’re not perfect, but that’s what makes us ideal for each other. You spend your days making everyone’s dreams come true, while I try to make them a home they can live in. I try to build one kind of foundation, while you lead the way for another. We’re a team, baby. And I know I didn’t come to you during the trial phase with Montgomery Inc., but that was because I was trying to make sure I didn’t put too much on your shoulders.” Her eyes flared, and he continued quickly, “But that was wrong. From now on, we’re a team in truth. We’ll both help each other. I promise.” He paused. “I got a promotion yesterday, by the way. Wes and Storm liked my work.”
