I close the door behind me and lay the dress on Nicholas’s bed. I feel odd being in here without him being home or even knowing that I’m in his room. It sort of feels like I’m invading his privacy by being in here, but Vivienne had a good point that it would be easier to change in here than go back and forth to my bedroom.
How’s it going? –N
Trying on the first dress now. –K
Found a couple you like? –N
I think so. Hope you don’t mind, your mom suggested I try the dresses on in your room rather than going up and down the stairs to change. I’ll be in and out quickly. –K
It’s fine. Take your time. –N
Thanks. –K
See you tonight. –N
I have to admit, I’m enjoying texting with Nicholas, which is something we weren’t able to do with our previous arrangement. He did eventually text me while we were still under contract with Bridget, but it took him a while to do that since he didn’t have my number.
I quickly take off my clothes and slip into the dress that I had chosen. As soon as I put it on, I realize there is no need to try on the other dresses; this dress is absolutely perfect. The dress has thick spaghetti straps holding it up, the front drops just enough to show a very small amount of cleavage while the back is open to about the center of my back. There are small stones sewn into the shoulder straps and on the bottom of the dress which adds just enough sparkle in the light. The dress is fitted to my waist and then loosens up slightly but not to the amount of your typical wedding dress. There’s no need for a big slip or anything under this dress. Glancing at Nicholas’s mirror in the bathroom, my decision is finalized that this is the dress I will wear.
“Oh, Kenzie,” Vivienne gasps when I walk back into the great room.
“You look so pretty!” Cara exclaims.
“Thank you!” I’m so glad they think so highly of this dress.
“We have a few others to try on yet—” The shop owner begins to pull another dress from the rack.
“I don’t think that will be necessary. This is the dress that I would like for the wedding,” I interrupt.
“Perfect! I wish all brides decided as quickly as you did! Now we need to talk about your shoes so I know how much to hem from the dress.”
“Actually, I won’t be wearing any for the ceremony itself.”
“None?”
“No, the wedding is on the beach, so I’m going to walk down the aisle bare-foot.”
“How romantic!” Vivienne gushes in the background.
“And for the reception?”
“Flats… probably ballet type flats. Definitely no heels,” I answer.
“Perfect, other than hemming it a little, I don’t see the need for any other alterations.”
Cara, Vivienne and I chat long after the shop owner leaves with the dresses. Using the new laptop, I show them the pictures of the flowers that the wedding planner sent me yesterday. They both seem to like the flowers which are simple yet colorful. It was nice to have someone to share the ideas with and to get someone else’s opinion on things for the wedding. I haven’t wanted to bother Nicholas with the small details, considering how busy he has been with PFS.
The next few days go by slowly; Nicholas works late most nights, comes home for dinner and then works again until long after I’ve gone to bed. I’ve come to enjoy our breakfasts together: it seems to be the only time of the day that he isn’t distracted by incoming emails on his phone or reviewing files for meetings the next day. Our wedding plans are coming together quickly—I took his advice and gave the wedding planner the suggestion to present full options to us rather than each individual choice for each item. It worked well and after reviewing the choices, we both agreed to a menu, bar option and ceremony set up.
By some stroke of luck, I haven’t had a nightmare since I moved in. My nightmares aren’t regular; sometimes I go weeks without one, and then there will be weeks when I have several. There never seems to be a reason to the pattern, but right now I’m thankful that I’m not having them. I wish I could say the same about Nicholas—he seems to have them almost every single night. Each night, I sneak downstairs and sit outside his bedroom door until the nightmare ends. Of course, I knock on the door and try to call his name, but it never works.
Chapter 8
Nicholas
The last two weeks living with Kenzie have flown by: adjusting to living with her was much easier than I expected. The first couple of days, I couldn’t help but feel nervous leaving her at the condo when I went to work. It had nothing to do with her and everything to do with what happened when I had left Harper in my apartment. Each day, though I came home and nothing was disturbed in my office or in my bedroom; even when she tried on wedding dresses in there.
Last weekend we went out for dinner and of course, we were photographed as soon as we left the restaurant. The press continues to publish articles about me although they seem to range from the standard “when are they going to break up?” to the “why is she staying with him?” None of the articles seem to hint at our upcoming marriage which leads me to believe that the NDAs that I had all the vendors sign were effective.
“Mr. Parker?” Melody’s voice grabs my attention.
“Yes, Melody?”
“Alex is here to see you, sir.”
“Send him in please.”
“Mr. Parker?”
“Yes, Melody?”
“The other Mr. Parker is also here requesting to see you.”
“Let him know that I will meet with him after I am finished with Alex.”
“He is requesting to meet with you and Alex together, sir.”
“Very well, send them both in.”
My brother very rarely ever shows up to PFS unannounced so the fact that he is here right now has my interested peeked. Even more so, once Melody said that he wanted to meet with me and Alex. I can only assume he has a business proposition he wants to discuss, although rarely would he request Alex be in the meeting.
“Hey, bro!” Austin barrels into my office.
“Austin, this is a surprise,” I shake his hand and gesture for him to sit down.
“Parker,” Alex nods and sits next to Austin. One shared look between them has me wondering what the true reason is that they are both sitting in my office. Alex and Austin get along very well, almost too well, since they are so much alike. One look at them confirms that they have conspired together for something… I just don’t know what it is.
“What did you two do?” I ask when neither of them start the conversation first.
“Nothing,” Austin answers quickly.
“We’re breaking you out, Parker,” Alex states simply as if those few words explain everything.
“Excuse me?”
“We’re taking you out to celebrate your last taste of freedom,” Austin explains. “Since you refused to let me throw you a bachelor party, we’re going to a bar to have some fun.”
“Austin, I can’t just leave—”
“Melody has cleared your schedule, so actually you can just leave,” Alex interrupts. “Never did I think I would see the day when Nicholas Parker gets married. You have two days left of freedom, and Austin and I plan to help you at least enjoy today.”
“No strip clubs,” I warn.
“I know, I know,” Austin rolls his eyes at the reminder.
“We will be going to The Summit for the night,” Alex explains. “We figured it was the only way you would agree to come with us. Austin wanted to kidnap you and drag you to a strip club downtown, but I quickly squashed that idea. Although I have to tell you, the idea of watching a bunch of half-naked women dance around on stage for a few hours was a hard one to refuse.”
“I still think we could have gotten him there,” Austin winks at Alex knowingly.
“No, you couldn’t have,” I say firmly. The last thing I need is for the press to get pictures of me at a fucking strip club!
“Whatever, bro, listen, Cara is on her way
to your apartment to get Kenzie ready—”
“Kenzie?”
“When Cara heard that we were planning on taking you out, she insisted that she had to take Kenzie out as well. Unfortunately, Carter didn’t like the idea of you both going to different places—something about it being a security nightmare.”
“It would be.”
“We settled on reserving the VIP section of The Summit for tonight, with Kenzie and Cara meeting us there. Carter arranged security for the evening and for getting the girls there,” Austin explains.
“Probably the only bachelor party in history where the bride-to-be and the groom’s sister is present,” Alex grumbles.
“Can it, Alex, you’re just mad that you won’t get to see a bunch of naked women tonight,” I chuckle.
“True.”
“Tomorrow night, Alex,” Austin winks.
“What’s tomorrow night?” I ask.
“Since you are flying out a day early, Alex and I are having a bachelor party without you.”
“Is that really a bachelor party without a groom-to-be?”
“Probably not, but there will be a bunch of hot women there!”
“When are we leaving?”
“Um, now of course. Here’s some clothes to change into; we don’t need you looking like a stiff all night,” Austin tosses me a bag with jeans and a shirt from my closet.
“We’ll be back in ten for you, Parker,” they leave my office, whispering back and forth about something.
Cara just arrived. She says we’re meeting you? –K
Alex and Austin just informed me of our plans for tonight. Are you okay with this? –N
I don’t mind. Do you need me to bring you anything from here? –K
No, apparently they had Julie grab me a change of clothes. –N
Cara showed up with a bunch of clothes for me to wear tonight too. –K
Guess they really planned this out. –N
Sounds like it. –K
I’m told that Carter has arranged security. –N
Yes, Hunter and Ben will be with us tonight. –K
Good, stay close to them. The club shouldn’t be too busy when you arrive. –N
I will. See you soon. –K
After quickly changing into the clothes that Austin tossed at me, I send a few emails and check my calendar to ensure that Melody had rescheduled the call I had later today. It’s already after five, so I’m not technically leaving work early, but I rarely ever end the day before six-thirty unless I have a meeting scheduled off site. I am off the next ten days, so I had planned to work later than normal tonight to ensure everything was wrapped up before leaving tomorrow morning. Other than Alex, Brian and Asher, most of the staff at PFS believe that I’m leaving tomorrow for a vacation; something that I haven’t done in years. Whatever I didn’t get to finish this evening, will fall on Alex when I’m away, which I suppose will be punishment enough for him for dragging me out of the office today.
“Are you ready?” Austin walks in, with Melody quick on his feet, telling him he shouldn’t be walking into my office.
“Its fine, Melody,” I assure her.
“Let’s go! I’m starving!”
“Alright, alright, Austin. Shouldn’t you be working today?”
“You’ll be happy to know I finished my job early this week, and the next project doesn’t start until Monday.”
“Sir?” Carter appears at my doorway a few minutes later.
“Let’s go, Carter,” I confirm and I see a hint of surprise in his eyes before he quickly hides it.
Alex is ready and waiting for us at the elevators. I quickly let Melody know where everything stands on the projects I was working on, promising to email her tomorrow morning with anything I forgot. The ride to The Summit is short; it’s only a few blocks from PFS which makes it convenient for business meetings and happy hours for the local businesses in the area. During the day, it offers fine dining and catering for meetings, but by night it turns into a very popular nightclub.
Thankfully, Carter has planned ahead and reserved a large table in the VIP section of the restaurant. The area is set further back from the dance floor but has a dedicated wait staff, so you are never waiting long for food or drink refills. It’s roped off from the rest of the club, with security members ensuring that anyone not on the proscribed list doesn’t enter the area. This area has been useful for celebrating business deals and even on a rare occasion for a celebrity who is in town and wants a night out. When we arrive, the tables are already filled, with the exception of the largest table which has been reserved for us. Austin takes it upon himself to order a few bottles of wine, beer and a buffet of appetizers.
“Told you I was starving,” he shrugs when I shake my head at him.
“Damn, Parker!” Alex whistles embarrassingly loudly a few minutes later.
“Alex!” I glare at him, but he doesn’t respond.
His eyes are glued to the entrance to the VIP area. It only takes me a second to realize why he reacted the way he did. Slowly walking towards our table is Kenzie… looking hotter than ever before. My jaw nearly hits the floor as I take her in: she is wearing a tight, short black dress that accentuates every curve of her body. Thin straps appear to be the only thing holding the dress up. A narrow strip of lace lines the bottom of the dress, which falls just to the middle of her thighs.
“Close your mouth, bro,” Austin chuckles at me.
I manage to stop myself from staring at her just as she arrives at our table. Remembering my manners, I quickly stand to greet and kiss her lightly on the lips, while wrapping my arm around her waist. She says hello to everyone before sitting next to me at the table. Cara joins us a few minutes later, having stopped to chat with some people at another table.
“I’d like to make a toast,” Alex says once everyone is seated. A waitress appears out of nowhere, pouring pink champagne in everyone’s glasses. “I told Nicholas earlier today, I never thought I would see the day he would be about to take off for his wedding. I’ve known him a long time, and I’ve never seen him happier than he has been in the last few months. You’ve made him happy, Kenzie, and for that, the staff at PFS thanks you immensely as you have inadvertently made our jobs easier. I haven’t known you for very long, but you must be doing something right if you can manage to make this man happy. If he ever gives you a problem, you call me. I’ve known him and Austin for so long, I have plenty of dirt I can share with you so you can use it against Nicholas—”
“Hey! What did I do?” Austin interrupts.
“I’m sure you’ll do something to piss Kenzie off at some point in the very near future,” Alex laughs.
“I would never!”
“Thank you, Alex,” Kenzie says quietly, and I feel her hand squeeze mine under the table. I have no doubt she is worried about what happens when our marriage is dissolved, but I refuse to focus on that. Right now, this arrangement is the perfect solution to my issue with the press—anything that happens because of the divorce will be dealt with when it happens.
“Stop worrying, I can make Alex’s life a living hell too,” I lean in close to Kenzie and joke with her so no one at the table can hear us. She smiles and giggles softly before turning her attention to Cara who is asking her about wedding details.
I’m surprised that I end up having fun out with Austin, Cara, Alex and Kenzie; I typically try to avoid spending much time in the nightclub portion of The Summit, but tonight it doesn’t bother me at all. We enjoy a great meal, many drinks and chat easily throughout the night. Once again, Kenzie seems to fit right in with everyone, easily jumping in to conversations. It amazes me how different this dinner would have looked three years ago.
“We should do shots!” Cara exclaims.
“I’m game,” I agree. With Carter, Hunter and Ben all here tonight, I know we have more than enough designated drivers to go around.
“I’ve never done a shot, but I’ll try one,” Kenzie says.
“What?”
“How have you never done a shot?”
“How is that possible?”
Everyone is clearly as surprised as I am to learn that Kenzie has never had a shot before. She had mentioned that she has only been drunk once, but I assumed she had at least experimented with alcohol especially since she went to college.
“Sorry, guys,” she blushes this adorable shade of red when she realizes all the attention is on her. “I’ve had beer, wine and mixed drinks, of course but never had a shot.”
“We’ll just have to fix that right now,” I signal for the waitress to bring us over a bottle of liquor and several shot glasses.
“To Kenzie and Nicholas!” Austin raises his shot glass, and everyone mimics him before gulping down his shot.
“Take it all at once, real quick,” I whisper to Kenzie who is sort of eye balling the shot glass full of liquid in her hand. I tap my shot glass to hers, she takes a deep breath and with her eyes never leaving mine she gulps down the shot in one swift move. She grimaces a little, but quickly smiles as she puts the glass down.
“That wasn’t so bad,” she says.
“Let’s do another!” Alex announces.
A couple of shots later, we’re watching Kenzie and Cara on the dance floor. I can tell Kenzie is starting to feel the effects of the shots she has had tonight; it seems when she drinks she tends to relax more. She seems to have let her guard down a little or maybe she is less focused on impressing everyone at the table and more focused on just having a good time. Whatever it is, I like this side of Kenzie. I can barely see the dance the floor from where we are sitting, but I know that Hunter and Carter are watching them.
“I think I’m going to go check on the girls,” I have a sudden urge be near her, even though I know she’s protected.
“You just don’t want to keep your hands off her any longer,” Alex chuckles, clearly also feeling the effects from his many drinks tonight.
I shake my head but don’t necessarily refute what he said: if we were just two people here at the club, I would be all over her. If it wasn’t for the fear of screwing things up between us, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of her. If I thought I could just fuck her for one night, I would take her to a hotel nearby for the night. If only I could be what she needed…
On Her Terms (The Arrangement Duet Book 2) Page 9