All Tied Up (Business of Love Book 2)

by Ali Parker

  Wow. “Are you seriously calling me about this on Christmas?”

  “I can call you whenever I want when it’s about my husband—”

  “Soon-to-be husband.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Look,” I said firmly, this time not bothering to disguise my annoyance with her. “He didn’t call me. I called him to wish him a Merry Christmas and ask if there was anything you guys needed before I started my holidays. It was a courtesy call I give all my clients. And not that it’s any of your business, but he was apologizing because he found out I was unwell the day I met you both on the rooftop in Waikiki and he felt bad for making me work when I was having a rough time.”

  It was a flat-out lie, but I believed it was necessary. Nothing had happened between Rick and me and nothing would happen. I certainly wasn’t going to tell her there’d been heat between me and her fiancé and that he took me to the aquarium with him and his daughter.

  “I don’t believe you,” Verity said. “It’s completely unacceptable that you are speaking with my fiancé behind my back. I won’t stand for it. You sit and smile in my face and then go behind my back and—”

  “Verity, I’m your wedding planner. Not your punching bag. If you’re upset with Rick about something, I suggest you talk to him about it. Not me. Now I’m ending this call and turning my phone off and I have no intention of speaking with you again until my holidays are over. Merry Christmas.”

  I hung up the phone and glared at the screen.

  “What a bitch,” I hissed.

  I marched back into the dining room and found them all looking up at me.

  I hung my head. “Did you all hear that?”

  Rhys chuckled. “Yep.”

  “Sorry.”

  He got up from his chair and poured me another glass of wine. He pushed it into my hands. “Nothing to be sorry about. Sounds like the client from hell.”

  “You have no idea.”

  I wished Rick wasn’t marrying such a high-strung witch of a woman. He deserved so much better. And so did Chessie. But my job wasn’t to tell him what kind of mistake he was making. It was to make their wedding dreams come true.

  And it was beginning to hurt my heart to have to do it.

  Chapter 11

  Rick

  The house smelled like stuffing, turkey, and cranberry sauce. A Christmas lullaby was playing on the sound system built into my home and our Christmas tree winked in the dark living room. Night had long since fallen and Chessie was asleep in the middle of the living-room floor, nestled into a pile of red, green, and gold tissue paper. Curls of ribbon shot out from underneath her and one sparkly gold strand was wrapped around her wrist.

  She’d tuckered herself right out after a full day of eating and playing with her new toys. I couldn’t deny fatigue had settled upon me too, but I didn’t dare step away to go to bed already.

  Nights like these were the ones I would remember with the most fondness when I was an old man. Chessie would be a grown woman with children of her own. Maybe they would rest on beds of wrapping paper like she was now while I sat and read a book on my favorite recliner in a much smaller, more manageable home. Chessie would help clean up dinner while my grandchildren played and sang Christmas carols and we would build new memories.

  This one would never fade from memory. I would hold tightly to this forever.

  Verity moved up beside me and sipped her evening tea. It smelled like flowers and dirt and she’d been drinking it every night for the past four months—another trick to lose weight and stay slim to fit in her wedding dress. Apparently, it helped with regular bowel movements.

  Not that I needed to know all the details.

  “Merry Christmas, baby,” I said, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her in close to my side.

  She rested her head on my shoulder. “Merry Christmas, Rick.”

  I sighed and leaned up against the archway leading from the kitchen to the living room. My gaze returned to my daughter. “I know I should bring her upstairs and put her to bed but she looks so peaceful.”

  “She’ll sleep better in her bed.”

  I nodded.

  Verity lifted her head from my shoulder and nodded at Chessie. “Go ahead. I’ll wait for you down here. There’s something I wanted to talk about before we went upstairs.”

  I pumped my eyebrows. “You mean before we went to bed?”

  Verity rolled her eyes and padded across the living room. She wove through piles of wrapping paper and stepped over Chessie before settling into her favorite corner of the white leather sofa. When she spoke, her voice was barely a whisper. “Just go.”

  Chessie didn’t stir when I scooped her up in my arms, along with some stray tissue I couldn’t shake loose, and carried her upstairs to her bedroom. There was a small lit Christmas tree in the corner by her closet and I left it on for her. After I tucked her in, I sat down on the edge of her bed, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and wished her one last Merry Christmas.

  “See you in the morning, kiddo,” I said softly before leaving the room and closing the door behind me.

  When I returned to the living room, Verity was gazing at the tree, sipping her tea. I made a quick round of the carpet and picked up all the loose tissue, wrapping, and ribbon and crammed it into an open garbage bag hanging off the back of one of the kitchen bar stools. Then I returned to my bride-to-be and claimed a spot on the sofa beside her.

  “What was it you wanted to talk to me about?” I ran my fingers through her shiny dark hair. Her signature perfume overpowered the earthy aroma of her detox tea.

  Verity shuffled herself around on the sofa so she was sitting cross-legged facing me. She cupped her tea mug in both hands and drummed her long red nails on the ceramic. A little reindeer with gold antlers peeked out from beneath her fingers and her engagement ring glittered in the winking lights of our Christmas tree.

  “I called Kimberly a couple of hours ago,” Verity started. “There was something I needed to discuss with her and she got very rude with me, Rick.”

  I blinked at her. “You called her on Christmas Day?”

  “It was important.”

  “What could have possibly been that important?”

  Verity’s dramatic black eyebrows drew together. Her big brown eyes flicked back and forth between mine and then she looked away sharply. “She said you were apologizing to her.”

  Shit.

  “Apologizing?” I asked. “For what?”

  Had Kim told Verity that I nearly kissed her on that bridge in the aquarium?

  Verity sipped her tea again. “She claims you felt bad for making her sit on that rooftop with us in Hawaii when she wasn’t feeling well.”

  I tried to hide my relief as a breath I was holding escaped me like air releasing from a balloon. “I did feel bad,” I said. But that definitely wasn’t why I’d been apologizing. I’d felt bad for putting her in an awkward position and for not catching myself sooner. There was no excuse for how I’d behaved and I still hadn’t been able to make sense of the impulse myself.

  Verity was my fiancée. She was the woman I wanted to be with.

  Wasn’t she?

  “I just find the whole thing off-putting,” Verity said. “I don’t like that the two of you are having conversations behind my back. I especially don’t like that she feels the need to be more open and honest with you than she does with me—”

  “Verity, please. Kim isn’t playing favorites here. She’s just—”

  “Don’t interrupt me.” Verity’s stare was hot and dark all at once. She eyed me coldly before setting her tea on the end table. “Kim prefers dealing with you over me because you’re easy to please. I’m not. I know what I want and I settle for nothing other than the best. I intimidate her.”

  “Verity, I don’t think that’s the case at all.”

  “Why are you defending her?”

  “I’m not. I’m just saying. Kim doesn’t have anything to gain by playing favorites between us.
We’re both her clients. And do you really think she’s foolish enough not to realize which one of us she needs to impress and pay attention to?”

  “She’s foolish enough to hang up on me,” Verity spat.

  “You called her on Christmas about personal matters,” I said flatly. “It stands to reason that she might feel annoyed or taken advantage of if you think she can drop everything and tend to your every need at all hours of the day, even holidays.”

  “Rick,” Verity hissed. Then she was pushing herself up to her feet and turning to face me with her fists planted on her hips. Her cheeks were turning a stormy shade of red. “We’re paying her a lot of fucking money to make this wedding exceptional. If I need to talk to her at nine o’clock on Christmas Day, you’d better believe I’m going to call her at nine o’clock on Christmas Day.”

  “Then you’d better expect to be hung up on.”

  Verity’s plump lips pressed into such a thin line that they vanished. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

  “No,” I said. “I’m not. Just because we have money doesn’t mean every person we hire has to compromise—”

  “I bet the check you wrote her was more money than she’s ever seen in her entire life.”

  “Why does that matter?”

  Verity rolled her eyes. “She works in the service industry, Rick! Service. And you know what her job is right now? To serve me.”

  “Us,” I corrected.

  “Why are you being such an insufferable asshole?”

  I was on my feet now too. “Why are you throwing a tantrum over a phone call?”

  Verity sucked in a sharp, furious gasp. “Wow. Really? That’s how you want to play this thing? You want to compare me to a child? I’ll have you know I’m the one who’s been spinning her tires trying to make sure this wedding is absolutely perfect. I’m bending over backwards trying to get everything done in time and keep the perfect physique for you but that doesn’t even seem good enough!”

  Where was all of this coming from? When had I ever implied I expected everything to be perfect? Or that I even wanted that? And since when was I to blame for the vise grip she had on her body?

  “Verity,” I said firmly. “Where is all this coming from? You know I don’t expect anything from you. I just want you to be happy. And safe. I want to give you this wedding because I know you’ve been dreaming about it since you were a little girl, but don’t think for a second I’m the one putting the pressure on you. You’re doing that on your own.”

  She shook her head at me. “Unbelievable. I knew there was no point in talking to you about this. I knew you would side with her.”

  “Are we seriously talking about Kim again?”

  “Who the fuck else would we be talking about, Rick?” Verity bellowed.

  “Hey,” I barked, taking a step toward her. “Keep your voice down. Chessie is sleeping upstairs.”

  Verity threw her hands in the air. “Big bad Rick. Always putting his foot down where it counts.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Never mind. I never should have brought this up. I knew you’d bulldoze me and make me out to be—”

  “How am I bulldozing you?”

  She marched around me with her nose in the air and her hands still planted on her hips. “I don’t care anymore. I’m going to bed.” She stomped over to the bottom of the stairs, put her hand on the railing, and looked over her shoulder at me, glaring daggers. “But I mean it, Rick. I don’t want you and Kim having conversations behind my back. She’s our wedding planner. From now on, I’ll be privy to all conversations. Got it?”

  “Jesus.” I raked my fingers through my hair. “Part of me feels like you wanted to start a fight with me.”

  She laughed like a movie villain. She full-on threw her head back and laughed at the ceiling with her eyes closed. Then she shook her head at me as she began climbing the stairs. “Oh, baby, if I wanted to start a fight with you, believe me you’d know it. No. I’m just reminding you where your priorities and loyalties lie. And that’s with me.”

  I watched her go as something cold, heavy, and familiar settled in my gut.

  Doubt.

  Was this what I wanted? Was this a snapshot of what life would be like when Verity wasn’t getting her way in the future? What would happen when I wasn’t able to take as much time off work to plan the wedding? How would she fare when we were hopping all over the country staying at the different properties I owned, not just holed up here in Nashville?

  Was she going to resent me for having business meetings with female clients?

  Was she going to throw a fit every time I had a call from a female colleague that I didn’t tell her about?

  Suddenly, the Christmas tree didn’t look so sparkly anymore and my feet felt too heavy to pick them up and make my way to the stairs to follow her up to the bedroom.

  Chapter 12

  Kimberly

  When I opened my home office door on the morning of January fourth, I stopped in the doorway and wiggled my toes on the plush carpet. It smelled like a room that had been closed up for nearly two weeks, so I padded over to the window and cracked it open two inches to let in some fresh, albeit cold, air. I powered on my laptop and lit a eucalyptus-scented candle on my desk to kick me into work mode.

  There was something about a burning candle and a blanket on my office chair that made settling down to work not so terrible, even if it was after a long two-week vacation that had been much needed.

  I’d spent my days off with Vanessa and Rhys. It had given us the time to pin down all the final details for her baby shower, and I’d even managed to finalize everything on my end. Now all that was left was waiting for the day to arrive.

  It felt good to have another thing checked off my list as I dove headfirst into work that morning. I started with my emails, of which I had over a hundred and fifteen. First, I sorted through spam. Most of them were deals and promotions from vendors I’d used in the past who had me on their mailing list. I cleared them out of my inbox and moved into the relevant emails from vendors for weddings that were currently in the works.

  Most, naturally, were confirmations from Rick and Verity’s vendors.

  It took me over an hour to respond to and sort through all of those. Then I moved onto client emails. There weren’t many because my clients respected that it was the holidays. Ones they had sent were all signed with nice little notes like, please don’t feel like you need to respond until you’re back from the holidays, which I appreciated.

  But others, like the one from Verity with the word “URGENT” in the subject, did not hold the same level of understanding or well wishes.

  Over the course of my vacation, she’d sent me six emails. None of them had been urgent. They were about flowers and decor and discounts.

  “Such a diva,” I muttered as I sat back in my chair and eyed my cell phone. I wanted to call Rick.

  I’d been thinking about it since I woke up that morning. Then I thought about it some more while I showered. Had Verity told him she called me on Christmas? If she had, what did he say? Did it bother him? Or did he shrug it off as just another one of those not so charming things his bride-to-be did?

  Had she accused him of anything?

  Had he come clean and told her what happened on the bridge?

  “Not likely,” I muttered.

  My phone dared me to pick it up and call him, so I bit the bullet and went for it. If I didn’t call him now, it would just be in the back of my mind all day, distracting me.

  He answered on the third ring. “Kim,” he said. His voice sounded warm. “Long time no talk. I was going to call you later this afternoon.”

  “Oh? Would you look at that. I’m so good at my job I’m anticipating your needs without you having to lift a finger.”

  His deep chuckle filled the line and I could have sworn I felt it between my thighs like a little bullet vibrator.

  “Does this mean I have to buy you two bottles of exp
ensive red wine now as a thank-you gift?”

  “I wouldn’t say no. You can afford it.”

  He laughed in earnest this time, and for some reason, it made me a little anxious. Was Verity going to hear him laughing on the phone with me? Would it bother her?

  Give your head a shake, girl. Who gives a shit what that psycho thinks?

  “Do you have free time to grab a cup of coffee this afternoon?” Rick asked.

  It caught me off guard. “Coffee?”

  “Yeah. You know, the dark rich stuff everybody drinks when they need a pep in their step?”

  “Ooohhh, coffee,” I mused. “Sure. What time?”

  “Two? At that place we met up the first time we sat down together for a consultation?”

  I remembered the place. It was close to my apartment, which was even better. “I’ll see you then.”

  The Orchard was a trendy hot spot in downtown Nashville with an enclosed and heated glass patio. There were still sparkly snowflakes stuck to the glass but the Christmas trees and depictions of Santa Claus had already been removed to make space for the streamers and New Year’s celebratory decor. I suspected that too would be gone within the week.

  Rick was already there when I arrived. He’d claimed a low fire-top table on the patio and he was leaning back in his seat with one leg crossed over the other. His light gray bespoke suit fit him perfectly and accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist, which was obvious even though he was sitting down. His white button-up hugged his chest and an expensive silver watch flashed on his left wrist.

  He stood with a smile when he saw me coming and greeted me with a handshake. I supposed hugs were off the table now that we’d gotten a little too close for comfort on the aquarium bridge.

  “It’s good to see you,” I said as I lowered myself down into my chair.

  He passed me the drink menu and took his seat. “You too. How was your vacation?”

  “Sublime.” I grinned as I flipped open the menu. “I ate entirely too much food and binge watched more shows than any adult has any right to do.”