Once Tempted

by Laura Moore

  While Ward clicked computer keys she stole a quick peek at the strong lines of his face. As a guilty indulgence it was better even than the bite of the chocolate-covered strawberry she’d filched in the kitchen. Though Ward had gotten his hair cut, a lock of it fell across his wide brow at a rakish angle. He really was dreamy looking, she thought with a trace of wistfulness. Too bad he was Mr. Wrong.

  She heard the miked sound of a man’s voice and quickly shifted her gaze to a bronze sculpture of a horse running with its legs outstretched.

  “That you, Ward?”

  “Yeah, Brian. How’s it going? Did you break the news to the families? I imagine there was much weeping on Carrie’s side.”

  Tess’s gaze slid back to Ward’s face, which was now creased in an easy grin. He was even more handsome right now, happily joking with his friend. A pang of homesickness pierced her. She missed Anna.

  Ward’s friend laughed, then answered, “Surprisingly no. Carrie’s dad didn’t even threaten to drive up to Boston and run me off with a shotgun for presuming to ask for his daughter’s hand.”

  “Miracles never cease.”

  “Yeah. I gotta tell you, bud, I’ve never felt so lucky. Or so happy. So, were Adele and Daniel okay with our having the wedding at the ranch?”

  “I think we’re going to be able to accommodate you.”

  “Fantastic news. Thanks, buddy. Hold on just a sec, Carrie’s coming. She was in her study. Guess what she was reading up on today?” Tess hadn’t even met Ward’s friend Brian yet, but she could hear the grin in his voice. “The article was called ‘Fluorescent Excitation of Spectral Lines and Close-Coupling.’ ”

  “Of course it was.” Ward laughed

  “Awesome, huh? Admit it, I have the sexiest fiancée in the whole world. Hey, hon, it’s Ward. He’s got great news. We can have the wedding at Silver Creek.”

  “Oh, yay! I’m so excited. Hi, Ward!”

  “Hey, Carrie. Listen, I’ve got someone I want you to meet. Her name’s Tess Casari and she’s our new events planner. If you guys hit it off, she’ll be coordinating your wedding for you. Let me turn the monitor around so we can all see each other.”

  At his words, Tess ran a quick, nervous hand over her hair, which she’d pulled into a ponytail to serve the high tea. But her bangs, long though they were, hadn’t stayed. She fiddled with a thick lock, tucking it behind her ear. Then she made herself fold her hands over the notebook she’d grabbed from her office so she could take notes. She’d spent some of the morning jotting down ideas and making lists but still … what if she blew this?

  Ward turned and must have seen the panic she was fighting back. “Relax. You’ll be fine. You look fine, too.”

  She felt her eyes widen in surprise. He hardly knew her. How could he have any sort of confidence that she could handle the minutiae of organizing a destination wedding? And he thought she looked fine?

  “Astrophysicist and political science junkie, remember? And they’re both about as nice as can be.” Dropping his long frame into the chair next to her, he flashed a smile at the computer screen, where Tess saw two people sitting on a sofa, holding hands, and grinning widely back at her.

  Ward’s deep voice was laced with amusement as he continued. “So, this is a little unusual, but Carrie and Brian, I’d like to introduce you to Tess Casari, my mother’s right-hand woman and our new events planner.”

  She didn’t want to admit that Ward had been right, but she took an instant liking to Brian and Carrie. They were a darned cute couple. Brian, with dark reddish hair and freckles and ears that stuck out just the teeniest bit, had the sort of boyish looks that made her want to grin right back at him. Carrie was equally appealing. Her gold blond hair fell past her shoulders and her large eyes were cornflower blue.

  It was pretty clear from the way they sat squeezed together on the large sofa that they were over the moon in love. Before they’d even exchanged hellos, Brian had lifted Carrie’s hand and kissed it. Tess didn’t think he even registered the gesture.

  She had never thought of herself as especially jaded, but while the four of them were all roughly the same age, she felt about a thousand years older than Brian and Carrie.

  But this meeting wasn’t about her. So she shut the door on painful memories of how quickly her own giddy happiness at marrying the man she loved had turned into confused anguish and heartbreak, and injected every ounce of warmth and enthusiasm into her smile that she possibly could.

  “Hi, Carrie. Hi, Brian. Congratulations on your engagement. I hope the two of you will be very happy together.”

  “Hi, Tess. It’s so nice to meet you. Brian and I are so grateful that you’ll be handling the wedding details. I already know that I’m going to love your ideas. If you work for Adele you’ve got to be good at your job. She’s amazing, isn’t she?”

  “Yes, she is,” Tess agreed. She drew a breath. There was no way she could do this job without being completely up front with Ward’s friends. “But I think you should know right off the bat that I don’t actually have experience in planning weddings on my own—”

  “Not to worry, Carrie. Mom’s giving Tess her files, which contain contacts and notes, and I’ll be serving as Tess’s second lieutenant. We’ll make sure your wedding goes off without too many hitches.”

  Tess had noted an air of delicacy about Carrie. Combined with her enormous blue eyes and sweet disposition, certain men would probably scale mountains or act like Lancelot in her service.

  Ward obviously fell into that category. It had taken less than three minutes for his protective impulses to be triggered.

  Carrie beamed. “Whatever Tess and you do will be more than good enough for us, Ward. We just know having it at Silver Creek will make our wedding a beautiful and happy event, right, Brian?”

  For an answer Brian kissed her hand again.

  Tess stifled a sigh. These two lovebirds clearly had no idea how much planning—days and months of it—went into making an event “beautiful and happy.”

  “We’ll do our best for you,” she said. “I’ll start on Monday to give us as much time as possible to make all the arrangements. So first off, I’m going to give you a little homework.” Perhaps someone who spent her time studying galaxies would like the concept of homework assignments. “Do you have anything to write with that’s handy?”

  Nodding eagerly like the model student Tess assumed she’d been, Carrie reached for a notepad lying next to her on the sofa. Brian had leaned in the opposite direction. When he presented her with a pen, Carrie smiled as if she’d been given two dozen roses.

  “Ready,” she said happily.

  “Okay. First, you’re going to have to think about your wedding dress. Once we have an idea about its style, we’ll be able to figure out what flowers would look best in your bouquet and in the floral arrangements.”

  Carrie glanced up from her notepad, her previous elation slightly dimmed. “I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of fashion sense. Generally I ask Erica, my stepsister, to shop with me. She’s got incredible taste.”

  “Well, I’m sure she’d love to go bridal gown shopping with you to help you choose the perfect dress.”

  Carrie’s gaze shifted to Ward and an odd expression crossed her face. Tess wasn’t sure but it seemed to contain equal parts worry and embarrassment.

  “That’s a fine idea,” Ward said, which struck Tess as strange, because of course it was a perfectly fine idea for Carrie to ask a family member to help her find a wedding dress.

  She cast a sideways glance at Ward. For once she could read him. The tight line of his jaw told her the casual reassurance he’d given Carrie masked something not so casual. Abruptly she recalled the comment Quinn had made earlier at the staff meeting about Carrie’s stepsister being somewhat less than wonderful.

  Well, she knew firsthand no family was perfect. Here was the first wrinkle to iron out. “Or, if you prefer, I can email you pictures of dresses I think would suit you along with the addresses of th
e shops where you can try them on. You can bring your phone with you when you go to the boutique. The salesperson will be happy to take your picture so we can decide together which one looks best on you.”

  “You’d do that—hunt down wedding dresses for me?”

  “Of course. I love shopping.”

  “Really? I don’t. I just get overwhelmed. Completely overwhelmed. Gosh, that would be so helpful. I only wish we could do the same thing with the food. We’ve been to some of our friends’ weddings. The menu, the cake, it’s all kind of beyond me. I’m not much of an eater. I mean, I eat—it’s simply not that big a deal to me what the meal is. I’m not terribly sophisticated when it comes to food,” she confessed.

  “Basically, if the food at the wedding is better than what Carrie and I can cook, we’ll be happy.”

  Carrie turned to Brian. “I’m not that bad.”

  “No, of course not. You do an excellent microwave.” He grinned.

  Okay. Her first wedding clients were the kind who zapped pizzas in their microwaves and pronounced them “delish.” Ward had been right about Carrie needing guidance. Well, she could do better in that department than Giorgio Bissi, her old boss. He would either have rushed the computer on Ward’s desk and started screaming that they were imbeciles or he would have simply gotten up out of his chair and stormed out of the room.

  “Luckily, I like to eat almost as much as I like to shop,” she told them with a smile. “Why don’t you send me a list of the foods you like best—steak, lamb, fish, chicken—as well as your favorite vegetables and desserts. The wedding cake will probably be yummy no matter what combination of cake and filling you choose, but if you hate any particular flavor, let me know. Generally it’s the design of the cake that people get worked up about. I’ll take your preferences and brainstorm with Jeff and Roo, the chef and pastry chef at Silver Creek, or the caterer if we need to hire one, and design menus for the different meals. Will you be able to come out to California for a tasting?”

  “I hope so, but we haven’t had a chance to look at our schedules yet. We might manage a quick weekend.”

  “It’d be great if you could,” Ward said. “Something tells me that we won’t have that much time to hang out during the wedding weekend.”

  “We’ll get to work on it then,” Brian promised.

  “Depending on how many people you invite we may have to arrange for an outside caterer. I’ll ask Jeff and Roo to give me a number they feel comfortable working with.” She jotted down a note to talk to them ASAP. “And we’ll need an estimate of your numbers for printing the wedding invitations—and I’ll be happy to help you choose the font and style,” she said with a smile, already guessing that this would be another challenge for Carrie.

  “Did your parents have an idea about the number of guests they’d like to include? We may need to reserve additional blocks of rooms in other local hotels and B&Bs,” Ward said.

  “I think we better reserve some extra rooms anyway. Some members of my family will need to be lodged as far apart as possible—my parents, for example,” Brian said with a grimace.

  “And your mom and stepdad, Carrie, have they got a big list?” Ward asked.

  She sighed. “I’m afraid so. Once Mom got over the shock of our wanting to have the wedding at your place, she began counting the number of people who simply had to be included, so it’s safe to assume we’ll be more than the sixty Brian and I hoped for. I’ll get our lists coordinated and email you the number as soon as I can.”

  It didn’t come as a surprise to Tess that Carrie’s mother was inflating the guest list. She must be so happy for her daughter. Tess checked her notes and saw another item she’d have to get busy on. “Have you made any decisions about your wedding party?”

  Brian answered first. “I’d like to have Paul, my brother-in-law, and Reid as my groomsmen. Ward has agreed to be my best man. Always stepping in when I need you, bud.”

  Tess shot a quick glance at Ward. An embarrassed flush stained his cheeks. Who’d have thought Ward Knowles could blush? With an effort, she bit back her mirth and prompted, “And how about you, Carrie?”

  “Well, I’d like Hannah and Grace—those are Brian’s nieces—to be my flower girls. They’re six and eight.”

  “That’s a perfect age.”

  “They’re adorable.”

  Tess smiled. “Even better. And for your bridesmaids?”

  “Well, I’d like to have Brian’s sister, Allie—she’s Hannah and Grace’s mom—be one of my bridesmaids.”

  Tess nodded and wrote down Allie’s name. “Anyone else?”

  There was a pause. “Well,” Carrie hesitated, looking terribly uncomfortable. In a rush she continued, “Ward, I’m so sorry about this. But Erica called to wish Mom and Benjamin a happy Valentine’s Day and so, of course, heard our news. Well, she immediately assumed that I would want her as my maid of honor, which is fine and doesn’t really bother me except that I know how difficult—”

  “I can handle it.”

  “Really?” She seemed to melt against the sofa cushions. Her relief was short-lived, however, for a frown appeared between her brows. “I’m embarrassed to admit it, Ward, but I’d been trying to figure out a way to avoid having her in the wedding party. I didn’t want to make things hard for you. But, of course, I couldn’t come up with one. If I ask Allie, then I have to ask Erica. It would hurt her feelings not to—”

  “Don’t fret, Carrie.” Ward’s voice had dropped a register, and Tess suddenly wondered how much practice he’d had at soothing females. Was this Erica one of them?

  Okay, so she’d learned something here. This couple came with some interesting family dynamics. Brian’s parents—divorced presumably—feuded and perhaps even erupted into full-scale war; Carrie seemed to have a sister who caused problems. Was she a drama queen? A bitch to end all bitches? It would be nice to know sooner rather than later so she’d be prepared to deal with any unpleasantness, but Carrie was unlikely to provide the necessary details.

  The answers would have to wait for a little while. Until then, best to get back to the business at hand.

  “Well, it’s great that you’ve chosen your attendants. Once you select your wedding dress you can decide what style of dress you want for your flower girls and your sister-in-law and stepsister.”

  Carrie smiled weakly. “Erica will have a very definite opinion about what she wants to wear.”

  “Okay.” Erica clearly intimidated her stepsister. But Tess didn’t like the idea of Carrie not having her preferences respected on her own wedding day. She decided that if she sensed Carrie was being bulldozed by Erica, she wouldn’t hesitate to stand up for her client. What did she care if the stepsister didn’t like her?

  Obviously Ward wasn’t alone in having his protective instincts roused by Carrie, she thought. Or maybe a part of her was rooting for this couple to have everything she hadn’t had with David: a beautiful, special wedding followed by years of laughter and love.

  She offered Carrie and Brian a bright smile. “I think we’ve covered the essentials for now. I’ll be emailing you lots of stuff to look over in the next few days, and I’ll be expecting lots of lists with preferences and ideas in return. You’ll probably feel a little overwhelmed at first, but once you’ve decided on the major items, things will get easier.” For them, at least. She’d have to hustle big-time to organize a wedding in such a short period.

  She continued smiling as Carrie and Brian thanked her repeatedly, saying how awesome she was and how comfortable they felt with her already. She waited as they exchanged a few more words with Ward, and Brian promised he’d check his and Carrie’s schedules for a free weekend. She closed her notebook and waited silently as Ward stood, went to the computer, and clicked the keys. The screen in front of them went momentarily blank, then a photograph appeared of the main lodge in summer, the front flower beds awash in color and the trees heavy with dark green leaves. Adele had the same screen saver.

  She waited
until Ward turned around. “So what’s the deal with this Erica person?”

  It would have been too much to hope for that Tess wouldn’t pick up on the fact that any time Erica’s name was mentioned everyone fell over themselves in apology, Ward thought with a resigned sigh.

  Tess was not only perceptive, she was a careful listener. With Brian and Carrie she’d have been doubly attentive since she was trying to get a sense of them and their families. Even if Quinn’s morning fumbling hadn’t clued her in, Carrie had made it crystal clear that Erica was a touchy subject.

  “Erica? Not a big deal at all. Carrie’s just feeling a little awkward because Erica and I were engaged.” If he spoke as if he wasn’t bothered by having to address the subject then maybe they could talk about something fucking else.

  Anything else.

  “Excuse me? You were what?”

  He crossed his arms. “You heard me. We were engaged to be married and then she decided it wasn’t a good idea so she broke it off.” He’d kept his voice level, and when he was finished speaking he gave her a long look, daring her to follow up.

  Stupid of him to think she’d back down. “Are you kidding me? What in God’s name are Brian and Carrie doing, asking to have their wedding here when you and Carrie’s stepsister—”

  He cut her off with a bored drawl so she’d understand how uninteresting the topic of Erica was. “Because Brian is my best friend and some of his happiest memories are linked to Silver Creek. And because, as I’ve said before, the fact that I was engaged to Erica really has no bearing on this situation at all. Now, if we’re finished here, there are some pregnant lambs I should check on.”

  For a moment he thought she’d continue questioning him. To his immense relief she gave a short nod.

  “I’m sorry if you thought I was prying. I’m simply trying to understand the dynamics of this wedding, which are turning out to be a little more complex than I’d expected.”