Holiday Wedding

by Robyn Neeley

  It wasn’t always easy working in headquarters, when the spitting image of Drew was her boss, but she’d been determined to start a new life and focus on her career.

  She wasn’t the only one who relocated to New York City. When Kate moved to Manhattan to be with Luke, Miles decided to join her so he could continue to work as her junior wedding planner. They set up a Tie Your Knot regional office in Manhattan and now had a long list of clients in major cities up and down the East Coast.

  Lauren immediately asked Miles to move in with her and was grateful he’d said yes. Her roommate—and his awesome martini recipes—had been a lifesaver as she adjusted to the job and a new life in New York.

  She flung open the stall door and Miles broke out into laughter. “Darling, you look good enough to lick.”

  She sighed and looked down at her candy cane tights. “I don’t know why Luke insisted that I have this experience. I’ve already been through one holiday season with the company.”

  Miles raised an eyebrow and reached up and adjusted her hat. “Might I remind you of last year’s”—he put up his fingers in air quotes—“‘incident’?”

  “So, I made a couple of kids cry. I don’t see what the big deal was. The company had a banner year and my marketing campaign rocked.”

  “Um … you told a whole line of children waiting to see Santa that he was an imposter.”

  “Well, they’re going to learn the truth someday.” Lauren faced the mirror and fiddled with her green top. “I did their parents a favor.”

  “If that’s your story.” He laughed and grabbed his briefcase from the red velvet ottoman. “I’ve really got to get going. Try not to ruin anyone’s Christmas.”

  She rolled her eyes and looked around for the shoes that went with her costume. The last thing she wanted to do was wear the ruby red high heels she’d had on earlier. Not with this outfit. “See you for drinks tonight? I want to check out the new lounge on Forty-Eighth and Third.”

  “You bet. I’m headed to the Four Seasons to meet with the chef and Kate, and then Vanessa and Jack want us to swing by the church. Apparently they have some new development to share.” Miles shrugged, no doubt use to the ball of drama that always seemed to form around Kate’s eccentric mother. It was usually small and easily extinguished.

  Lauren continued to play with her elf hat, wedging one last bobby pin in. “Everything okay with the happy couple?” Kate’s mom, Vanessa Ashby, and Luke and Drew’s dad, Jack Cannon, had been dating for over a year and were finally tying the knot.

  Miles checked his watch and buttoned up his long black wool coat. “Who knows? I have a feeling it has to do with the fact they were MIA last weekend.”

  “Oh, that’s right. Their secret getaway. It’s all people are talking about at the office.” She laughed because the gossip mill had been running at full speed lately now that Luke’s fiancée was also going to be his step-sibling. For such a large city, it was a small world when it came to the Cannon men and Ashby women.

  “What are they saying?” Miles asked.

  “That Jack has never missed Friday afternoon’s storytime, even after he retired. It’s definitely unlike him to disappear without a word.”

  “I’m not worried. I bet they were hibernating in Jack’s penthouse all this time.” He wiggled his hips. “Bow chicka wow wow.”

  Lauren laughed. Miles was probably right. The two were notorious for acting like teenagers in love. “Well, I’m happy they’re finally getting married.”

  “Vanessa really wanted a holiday wedding. I’m just glad she’s doing fine and there are no health issues for either of them.”

  “Me, too.” Lauren knew he was talking about the lump Vanessa had found in her breast, which prompted them to postpone their first wedding, which was supposed to happen last year at this time. Luckily the test had come back benign. But Vanessa had her heart set on a holiday wedding and was willing to wait another year for it.

  Lauren’s assistant, Natalie, breezed in, acknowledging Miles with a quick wave. “Santa’s ready for you. I forgot to give you these.” She thrust a pair of red and green sparkly flats into Lauren’s hand.

  Miles just about lost it. He covered his hand, stifling his laughter.

  “I’m not wearing those.” Lauren balked and flung them aside.

  “You have to. All the other elves are wearing them.” Her eager-to-please assistant bent down and picked them up, handing them back. “Besides, you don’t want to run around in the heels you had on earlier, do you?”

  “Fine. I’ll wear them.” Lauren wasn’t going to make a scene in front of Natalie. She slid on the shoes and clicked three times. “It’s only two hours. It’s only two hours,” she repeated, trying to pump herself up.

  “Elf Candy Cane Sparkly Toes reporting to duty,” Miles quipped.

  “Shut it,” Lauren said, casting her roommate a dirty look. She was going to murder Luke for making her do this.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Lauren flew into her office on the tenth floor of JDL Toys, whipped off her elf hat, and flung it across the room. Sliding behind her desk, she kicked off the hideous glittery shoes that had pinched her poor little toes.

  For all her complaining, her time as an elf hadn’t been all that bad. Seeing how the little tykes lit up when they met Santa almost made her want one of her own.

  Almost.

  “Hi.” Luke popped his head in the door. “I see you survived your assignment.”

  “Piece of cake, Mr. Cannon.” Her curved lips mirrored the smirk on his face. “Can’t wait to do it again next year.”

  “I bet you can’t.”

  “I’m available for Easter, too. Just no bunny ears.”

  “Noted. So what did you ask Santa for?” Luke reached inside his tailored suit pocket and pulled out his vibrating phone. “Hold on one second.” He slid into the seat opposite her desk and took the call. “Hey, beautiful.”

  He must be talking to Kate. Lauren tapped away on her keyboard, hoping to fire off one or two e-mails while Luke chatted with his fiancée. Even though he appeared all merry and bright, her boss rarely came into her office to shoot the breeze. Not this holiday season, anyway.

  In addition to his father’s wedding that had everyone running around a bit more frantic than usual, Luke and Lauren had been trying desperately to dig themselves out of the financial hole the company had fallen into, thanks to Drew and his big idea.

  She shook her head, and picked up the latest trade publication to report on the Happily Ever After dolls debacle, glancing at the embarrassing story’s headline.

  Why Luke had gone along with the Happily Ever After dolls in the first place made no sense. All her focus groups and market research had suggested that—at best—Drew’s idea was mediocre, and convincing boys they wanted to play with the male dolls would be difficult. Not when the market was saturated this season with robots and popular gaming systems.

  She’d put in extra hours, trying to creatively market the dolls in different regions, yet there was no uptick in sales. Even here, in their high traffic flagship store, the shelves were full of dolls that would never have the opportunity to meet their soul mates.

  Over the last month, Lauren and Luke had worked overtime to form a recovery strategy, focusing on promoting last year’s high-performing toys. She didn’t agree with Luke’s decision to ice Drew out of the conversation, but that was exactly what he did. As far as she knew, Drew still didn’t know that they had abandoned all U.S. marketing on the toy and had started to yank the dolls off of JDL toy stores around the country.

  She sighed. There were other reasons beyond dismal bottom-line figures that made her more than a little nervous to see her ex. Tonight they’d be in the same time zone for the first time in over a year. She’d told herself in her bathroom mirror this morning—and every morning since she learned three months ago what date he’d be arriving—that everything was going to be fine.

  Since their split to separate continents, they’d manag
ed a cordial business relationship. Would things be different once they saw each other?

  She stood, walked over to her doorway, and peered out. Her gaze rested on the empty office across from hers that Natalie had set up this morning for Drew’s arrival.

  What would it be like to have him mere feet away for the next two weeks?

  Leaning against her door, she couldn’t help but wonder: Would she be able to resist his sexy smile or his gorgeous blue eyes when he was a stone’s throw away? Did she even want to? That was the bigger question she’d wrestled with these last few months.

  She couldn’t deny that she’d been thinking about Drew quite a bit lately and all the holidays they’d spent together—some right here in the city. Shortly after graduation, they had moved into a Brooklyn apartment and worked for a few years in New York City before relocating to California.

  Though Drew had difficulty getting into the Christmas spirit, she’d always done her best to surround him in holiday cheer, particularly during those early years together, whether it was strolling by festive window displays, ice skating on a brisk night, or taking in the beauty of the Rockefeller Center tree.

  Last Christmas, she’d done all of those things alone or dragged Miles, pretending things were better this way. Deep down, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have a second chance to twirl around Drew on the ice, or have his strong arms around her as they gazed at the magnificent tree—

  Luke’s agitated voice jolted her out of her Christmas past. She turned and took her seat. “Okay, I’m headed right over. We’ll straighten all of this out. I love you.” He stood and raked his hand through his short blond hair.

  “Kate okay?” Lauren raised a curious eyebrow.

  “She will be. My dad and her mom want to talk to us. I’ve got to meet them at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.” He looked down at his watch. “Shoot.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m supposed to pick up Drew at JFK in an hour. I’ll never make it over there in time.”

  “I can do it,” she blurted out, jumping up from her chair. Her eagerness surprised even her, and she calmly sat back down, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m happy to pick him up. I drove today.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m done for the day anyway.”

  “That’s not really what I’m asking.” Concern colored Luke’s face.

  Lauren had confided in Luke that she’d been thinking about Drew a lot lately, and how nervous she was about the reunion. “I’m fine. Really. It will be fine.”

  “You know, these next two weeks might be just what you both need to reconnect.”

  “Do you think so?” she asked, not bothering to mask the hint of hope in her question.

  “You two belong together. I’ve always believed that. If you need me to slap some sense into my twin, I will.”

  She laughed because Luke probably would do exactly that if she asked. He’d made it known to both of them how silly he thought it was that they weren’t together. Hopefully Luke was right, and she’d get some alone time with Drew over the next two weeks. She wasn’t quite sure a reconciliation was in their future, but she couldn’t deny that she was anxious to see him.

  Lauren stood and peered out the window, down at the cars way below. “I’ll leave now, and bring him over to the church. If we get stuck in traffic, we’ll call you.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you both there.” Luke adjusted his dark blue tie, a twinkle in his eye. “Oh, by the way, what did you ask Santa for?”

  Her cheeks warmed. She might have mentioned to the jolly old man that her one wish was to spend time this holiday with the love of her life.

  He told her he was filling in for his brother today and offered her a candy cane instead.

  “I asked for a raise. A big fat one. Now, get out of here,” she ordered, and an appreciative Luke flew out the door.

  Turning back to her computer, she powered down and scanned the room for her oversized black tote bag containing the silky ruby red blouse, matching shoes, and black pants she’d had on earlier. Dammit. It must still be in the makeshift dressing room next to Santa’s Village. No way was she going back into the toy store in her elf costume. Twenty kids would flock to her, demanding to see Santa. She’d never get out of there.

  “Sorry, little ones,” she apologized to her perfectly polished red toes, jamming them into the pointy shoes.

  It took her a few minutes to retrieve her car from the parking garage next door and merge into a sea of yellow cabs and the bright lights of the city. Like most New Yorkers she normally didn’t drive to work, but today she’d wanted to transport some gifts she’d purchased last week that were too heavy to take home on the train.

  She turned up the heat and pointed the vents down to her bare legs. A sarcastic laugh escaped her lips as she looked over at the crumpled red and white tights she’d peeled off and thrown onto the passenger seat. There was no way she was going to look like a holiday stripper for this long-anticipated reunion.

  The butterflies in her stomach had started to multiply. In less than an hour, Drew would be sitting next to her on their way back into the city. Would he be excited to see her? Maybe she could suggest they grab a drink after they stopped by the church. There was so much to catch up on.

  Did Drew miss her as much as she’d missed him? That had been her hope initially—that after a year in Tokyo he would finally realize all that he’d lost, and when they did get back together, their love would be even stronger.

  There was just one problem. Drew seemed to adjust to his new life without her just fine. They rarely spoke other than the weekly senior team conference calls, and even then he was always professional and never asked her any questions beyond business.

  Whether he addressed her during their video conference calls or not, her heart always beat a little faster when she saw his handsome face on the flat screen. She wasn’t sure how she’d do it, but she was finally ready to admit to Drew how much she missed him.

  Arriving at JFK, she headed for short-term parking and found an empty space. It only took a minute to kick off the pointy shoes and put on her knee-high black boots that thankfully she’d left in the back seat the night before when she hadn’t bothered to change out of her gym shoes. Her long tan coat would hide the rest of her hideous costume. Although, if she did get up the courage and ask Drew to have a drink with her later tonight, she’d need to stop by her apartment and change.

  She raced across the parking garage straight to baggage claim, dodging holiday travelers in every direction.

  Suddenly her heart stopped. There he was. As handsome as ever in a black peacoat and red plaid scarf. He had a nice tan on his perfectly chiseled face. His blond hair was spiked up.

  She stood still for another second, as the butterflies continued to swarm.

  Really, Lauren. It’s not like you don’t see his mirror image every flippin’ day. Get a grip.

  Easier said than done. She took a deep breath and headed toward her heart. It was time to welcome it back.

  “Hi, stranger.” She reached up and tapped his shoulder.

  He turned, a big smile on his face. “Lauren.” His familiar strong arms wrapped her in a warm hug while his delicious spicy cologne tickled her nose. “What are you doing here? I thought Luke was picking me up.”

  “Change of plans. He had to meet Kate and your dad at the church.” She glanced down at the suitcases next to him. Two of the three were a lovely shade of lavender. Not quite the luggage color she would have expected him to have. Maybe it was a Tokyo thing?

  “I’m just getting our bags.” He pointed to the carousel.

  “Our bags?”

  “Drew, I can’t reach Luke …” Olivia came up beside Drew. Lauren was pretty sure the surprise on Olivia’s face was nowhere near the one on her own. “Lauren, what are you doing here?”

  What is Luke’s conniving ex-girlfriend doing here? Lauren fought to spit out the words jammed in her thr
oat. “I … um … came to pick up Drew … for … um … Luke.” She squared her shoulders and forced a wide smile. “Luke had to meet Kate and their parents at the church. I’m your chauffeur.”

  “It’s good to see you. Isn’t it, Drew?” Olivia’s smile had a hint of smugness.

  “Yeah, really good,” Drew agreed, pointing to Lauren’s head. “Your hair is so long.”

  Lauren touched her locks. She’d grown it out since the last time he’d seen her in person and mostly wore it back for their team video conference calls. “Shall we?”

  She walked slightly ahead, pretending to check her phone. Why had Olivia joined him? Surely he didn’t need his assistant for this trip. As far as Lauren knew, he was only planning on staying through Christmas.

  Olivia couldn’t have been invited to the wedding. No way. Even if Jack had forgiven her for duping Luke into almost marrying her, there’s no way she could have scored an invitation. Kate and Miles certainly wouldn’t allow it. Not in a million years.

  So why was she here? The butterflies Lauren had earlier had been wiped out by a wave of nausea now thrashing about inside her stomach. Something wasn’t right. “I’ll just run and grab my car. You two stay here.”

  Before they could say a word, Lauren sprinted across the road and headed for her car. She jumped in and grabbed the red and white tights and sparkly flats, shoving them in her glove compartment.

  Within minutes, she turned her BMW into arrivals. Drew and Olivia stood on the curb with their luggage, Olivia huddling up to Drew. “They look awfully close,” she said and cocked her head to the side.

  All of a sudden her mouth dropped as she watched her ex-fiancé wrap his arms around his assistant, his black gloves moving up and down Olivia’s back.

  Lauren fought the tears that threatened to fall out any minute and pulled up beside them.