by Lucy Kevin
“I love Miles Davis.” She said it as though it was a guilty pleasure. “Now, since we don’t have any time to waste, I hope it’s all right with you if we start fleshing out our plans this morning.”
“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”
“Great.” Her smile was so beautiful that his heartbeat kicked into overdrive. “Have you thought about where you want the bride and groom to first meet?”
Of course, he immediately thought about the connection he’d felt with Meg when they’d met in Liz’s office. “What if we’re at a party and our eyes meet across a crowded room? We could instinctively move toward one another until we’re finally close enough for me to say something that makes her laugh.”
Meg’s cheeks flushed lightly, and he wondered if she realized that the two of them had been his inspiration for his scene idea.
“I like it. And what about the proposal?”
He turned the question back on her this time. “What would your fantasy proposal be?”
“It would take place outside.” She half closed her eyes as she pictured the scene. “It would be in the moonlight, on the beach.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
Meg’s eyes snapped open. “Are you sure? Just because it’s my idea of a perfect proposal, doesn’t mean you have to use it.”
“You’re the expert here. In fact, what do you say we go outside right now to check out the private cove?” He handed Meg one of the cupcakes, then took the other for himself. “Let’s take these for sustenance.”
Meg was the picture of grace as she led them out of her office, through the building, and into the gardens. Now that the rain had finally slacked off, the flowers were opening back up to face the sun. But Lucas only had eyes for Meg as she took them down the path to the private beach, the sand still damp from the earlier downpour. Somehow, she even managed to be elegant as she ate her cupcake.
“Wow.” He’d seen a lot of nice places on his tours around the world, but this private cove was truly incredible. “What a great spot.”
“When I started work here, I couldn’t believe spending time on the beach was going to be a regular part of my job.”
“It really is beautiful,” he said softly, looking at her instead of the ocean.
Meg flushed again, and Lucas loved that she reacted to him like that. So sweetly…and yet with a delicious hint of heat.
In the next beat, however, she directed them back to business. “Where exactly do you think we should set the proposal?”
He thought about it for a moment. “How about at the edge of the water, with the waves lapping at their feet.”
Meg walked closer to the shoreline to feel it out. As she closed her eyes and tilted her head back to face the sun, he thought he saw a flash of longing on her face. And as the wind whipped at her hair, tearing a single strand loose from its careful confines, he couldn’t stop himself from moving toward her. He reached out and brushed her hair back into place.
Her eyes flew open, and for a split second, longing seemed to turn to molten heat. Though she wasn’t the kind of woman who would ever let a man kiss her within minutes of meeting, he couldn’t help but want to slide his hands into her hair and press his lips to hers.
The buzzing of his phone in his pocket was the only thing that could have stopped him.
“I’m sorry,” he said once he pulled it out and saw the message on the screen. “I have to go do a few interviews the label set up.”
“That’s all right. We’ve made a good start today. And this will give me some time to listen to your songs so that I’m fully up to speed by tomorrow.”
Too soon, they were back in the Married in Malibu parking lot and he was getting on his Harley. “I’d like to take you to see a couple of other potential filming sites tomorrow, if that’s all right.”
“Are you planning to take me on this?” She looked at his motorcycle as though riding two-up was the craziest thing anyone had ever suggested.
“Ever been on a motorcycle?”
Again, he thought he saw a flash of longing in her eyes, before she shook her head. “I’ve heard they’re not safe.”
“I’d never convince you to do anything dangerous, Meg. Even if the press sometimes paints a different picture of me, I’m careful about the things—and the people—that matter to me.”
* * *
As Meg watched him go, she could still feel the tingling on her cheek where he’d touched her.
No one in her mother’s society world would have broken into her personal space like that. Instead, they would have left her with her hair in disarray, then gossiped about how she didn’t look as put together as she should. And if any of the men in her mother’s circle had dared to touch her, Meg doubted they would have made her heart beat as wildly as Lucas had.
She headed straight for Liz’s office to give her boss the report she was likely waiting for. Carefully schooling her face so that none of her worries and concerns showed, Meg knocked on Liz’s door.
“Meg, I’m glad you’re here.”
Liz smiled warmly at her, gesturing for her to take a seat. Liz’s office was a comfortable space, so different from any of the rooms in Meg’s childhood home. It had always felt to Meg like the atmosphere in her mother’s house was made of sharp edges through which she had to carefully pick her way so that she didn’t cut herself.
“I was just about to come find you to see if you and Lucas needed anything,” Liz said.
“He had to leave for an interview,” Meg told her. “But I think he’s happy with everything we’ve come up with so far.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Just let us know what you need, and we’ll all pitch in to put it together. Travis will obviously need to manage security so news of the shoot doesn’t leak, and I’m sure Daniel will be up for helping with some of the videography. Jenn and Kate and Nate can make the sets look like a real wedding is taking place. All based on your designs and vision, of course.”
Again, Meg tried not to betray her nerves. Liz had taken a big risk in hiring her when she didn’t have a professional event-planning track record. Before coming to work at Married in Malibu, Meg had only ever organized parties and charity events for her mother. The idea of Lucas’s entire video shoot resting on her abilities was a daunting one.
Despite Meg’s attempts to play it cool, Liz obviously caught her hesitation. “I’m well aware that shooting a music video wasn’t in the job description we agreed upon when I hired you. And I didn’t exactly give you a chance to turn it down this morning, did I?” Liz looked apologetic. “If you don’t feel this is a challenge you want to take on, I can call Lucas and let him know that he is going to need to look into other options.”
“Please don’t do that.”
Yes, she felt like she’d been thrown into the deep end. At the same time, however, she now realized just how badly she wanted to live up to this opportunity. Not to prove something to her mother, or to Liz.
But to prove something to herself.
“Honestly, I really do think we’re off to a good start.”
“I’m glad to hear that, but don’t forget that I’ll be here if you need me to help with anything. In fact, why don’t we work out what the others can do to help, which will hopefully take some of the pressure off you.”
“The song is about finding true love,” Meg explained, “so we will need to set up the main hall the way we do for a normal wedding, plus have an amazing cake, a gorgeous wedding dress, and guests hired from a talent agency. The same goes for the woman Lucas and his director will cast to star with him in the video.”
“Hiring extras shouldn’t be difficult. Finding the right woman to be his screen bride might be a little harder. Although it certainly helps that Lucas is a distractingly handsome man.”
“Who did I just hear my wife describing as distractingly handsome?”
Although Meg had never looked at Jason Lomax as anything but a friend, there was no denying that he was quite goo
d-looking. And from the way Liz lit up, it was obvious there was absolutely no contest between him and any other man in the world.
“You, obviously.” Liz stood to give him a kiss.
“Obviously,” Jason teased. “And who else?”
“Our most recent client, thanks to you.” Liz turned back to Meg. “Jason is the one who recommended Married in Malibu to Lucas.”
“I told him you guys would make all his worries go away. There’s nothing the Married in Malibu crew can’t handle. My happily married niece is living proof of that.”
More determined than ever to help Lucas make the best music video his fans had ever seen, Meg nodded. “You’re absolutely right, Jason. In fact, Lucas and I are going to look at other locations tomorrow, so everything is right on track.”
“Does that mean I can steal Liz away for lunch with a clear conscience?”
Meg grinned. “Of course you can.”
But as the couple walked out of the office with Jason’s arm wrapped tightly around Liz’s waist, Meg couldn’t ignore the small ache in the center of her chest.
A longing to be that close to another person.
And to be loved for exactly who she was.
Chapter Three
Lucas drove his restored 1964 Mustang to Married in Malibu the next morning. As much as he enjoyed the thought of Meg riding the Harley with him, he didn’t want to make the mistake of pushing her too far, too fast.
She was waiting outside when he pulled up, and with the sunlight shining on her hair, she was so stunning that he nearly stalled the car.
“Good morning.” As he got out to open the passenger door for her, she asked, “No motorcycle today?”
Did he dare hope that was disappointment on her face? “Not today.”
She slid onto the soft leather seat, and though he thought he detected a small sigh of pleasure, she quickly schooled her expression into one that was purely professional.
“I’ve got a couple of places on my list to show you,” he said, “but I want your honest opinion about whether you think they will be romantic enough.”
“I’m not sure you should be taking my word for the most romantic spots in the area,” she replied, “when there are three happy couples working at Married in Malibu who would probably be more help to you on that front.”
“Like I said yesterday, your opinion is the one I want.”
Initially, he had simply been considering locations that would look good through the camera lens. Between yesterday and this morning, however, his focus had turned to the kinds of places Meg might find romantic.
“Okay, then I promise to do my best.”
“I doubt you ever do anything but your best,” he murmured.
Lucas knew what it was like to carry a heavy weight on his shoulders. He wished he could ease hers, wished he knew how to make her smile and keep her smiling.
They set off, heading toward the Getty Museum. Bel Air, which was full of mansions on sprawling estates, was only a few minutes from the museum. Though Lucas could easily afford to buy one of the large homes, he wasn’t sure he would feel comfortable in the old-money neighborhood, given that his upbringing hadn’t been full of much money at all, old or new.
He pulled on a dark baseball cap and sunglasses as they got out of his car. Though he’d been to the Getty only a handful of times, when he’d thought about what Meg would like, the cultural hotspot had seemed the perfect fit.
Only, it wasn’t the museum that Meg seemed excited about. “Did you see the sign for the penguin sanctuary? I think it’s on the next property over.” She turned to him, her eyes lighting up as she suggested, “What if you and your bride-to-be go there for your first date? Maybe you could even feed the penguins?”
“I’ve always been a fan of penguins,” he said first. And then, “Have you been to feed them before?”
“In my family, we didn’t do that kind of thing. I know the Getty quite well, though. My mother thought the museum was appropriate and educational, so she had me taken over fairly often.”
“What does that mean, she had you taken over?”
“By my nanny.” She waved her hand in the air as if to erase the whole conversation. “Since you like the penguin idea, why don’t we go inside to talk to one of the staff members to find out if visitors are allowed to help feed the animals.”
As they headed toward the entrance, she seemed mesmerized by the people all around them, especially the families having picnics on the grass just inside the gates and couples walking hand in hand.
He smiled at her. “People are fascinating, aren’t they?”
She looked a little stunned, as though he’d caught her doing something illicit. “They are. Especially here, where everyone seems to be having such a good time.”
“Me and my friends used to take the bus from Silver Lake when we were teenagers, to see what was happening in the fancy parts of town, like Beverly Hills and Bel Air. But we always ended up having more fun here with penguins.”
“Is that where you grew up, in Silver Lake?”
“We lived in a little rented apartment at the back of our block.” Silver Lake was interesting, diverse, and about a thousand times less glossy than he suspected Meg’s childhood home had been. “My mom still lives nearby. All of her friends are there, so she won’t leave, but at least she let me buy her a house with a yard. I stop in as often as I can to see her.”
“That sounds wonderful. It’s nice that you have a good relationship with your mother.”
She sounded a little envious, but as they’d just arrived at the entrance, he didn’t get a chance to ask her more about her own upbringing. Especially given that once the security guards asked him to take off his hat and glasses and realized who he was, he ended up posing for several photographs.
“Sorry about that,” he said to Meg once they were inside. “I didn’t want to abandon you, but I also don’t want any of my fans thinking I’m an ungrateful rocker who has forgotten where he came from.”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for. It’s great that you have such respect for your fans.” They were making their way toward one of the penguin enclosures when she added, “Where you come from is important to you, isn’t it?”
“I don’t want to forget about my upbringing, my roots, just because I have money now. I don’t want to pretend my mom didn’t have to save up every cent just to make rent. Or that my first guitar came from a pawn shop.”
“It did?”
“They had it in the window, and every day on the way to my part-time job at a shoe store, I’d walk past it and hope that it would still be there. My biggest fear was that someone would buy it before I could afford the beat-up old thing.” He grinned, remembering the rush of finally having his own ax. “I’ve replaced just about every part of it over the years so I can keep playing it.”
They were standing at the penguin enclosure when she said, “I love that you still play your first guitar.”
“First loves, I’ve found, are often the very best of all.”
The way Meg was looking at him, not with stars in her eyes, but as though he’d said something that really made her think, had him wanting to kiss her again.
When the penguin feeder came out with buckets of fish, the penguins all started to go wild.
“Listen to them, they’re adorable!” Her face lit up at the birds’ antics. And when the trainer pointed out two penguins who were holding their flippers close and said that they had been a couple for twenty years, Meg reached for Lucas’s hand. “That’s amazing.”
He agreed—both about the penguins’ long-running relationship and how good it felt to hold her hand. “It really is.”
Belatedly, she seemed to realize what she’d done and let go. “I’m so sorry about that.” Her cheeks had gone pink with embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to invade your space. I got so excited about the penguins, I forgot to be professional.”
“It’s okay. I like you in my space.” He hoped it didn’
t sound like a pickup line, because he’d never been more serious. “And you don’t have to worry about being professional with me, Meg. I want you to feel comfortable about being yourself, okay?”
He couldn’t quite read her expression—confusion, mixed with longing, mixed with something that looked an awful lot like hope.
Finally, she nodded. But it was quickly back to business as she said, “We should go have a quick chat with the trainer about the possibility of filming here, and then make our way to the next location.”
After the trainer confirmed that it was possible to get a special permit to film in the penguin enclosure after hours while also feeding the animals and then signed a confidentiality agreement, what seemed like half the staff at the museum came to meet Lucas and take pictures. It was a good half hour more before they finally made it out of the building.
“I should have guessed that was going to happen.” Meg sounded deeply apologetic. “I’ve never spent time with anyone as well known as you are. Although it’s more than just being famous—everyone loves your music so much, that’s why they’re so desperate to meet you. And I wanted to tell you, I listened to your songs last night. All of them.” She smiled, her face lighting up. “Your songs are wonderful. You’re so talented.”
“That means a lot coming from you.” Again, he could feel how strong their connection was. Hopefully, she would soon give him a clear sign that she felt it too. Maybe if he was lucky, their next destination would inspire her to open up to him even more. “The second place I want to take you is a nearby Japanese tea garden.”
He was gratified to see her eyes light up. “I love the tea garden.”
After the hustle and bustle of the penguin sanctuary, the tea garden was peaceful and serene, with a gently arching bridge over a pond, carefully cut trees, and a tea house at the center.
They took their places at one of the low tables, and though Lucas was completely out of his element, for once it didn’t matter, simply because he was with Meg.
“We talked a bit about my upbringing,” he said. “Now I’m curious about yours. Where did you grow up?”