Holly was losing her patience. “How could I write it down when I don’t have access to your digital calendar?”
“Well…I don’t know.” She looked flustered, then turned angry, pointing her finger at Holly. “You’ve been distracted the last several weeks, and I know that you’ve left early several days.”
“I do work at home, Nicole. Often hours of it to get everything done.”
“What you do at home is not my concern. What about the call you received a few days ago and then you went running out?”
That had been the care center calling about Holly’s grandmother. She’d had an episode of memory loss that had made her violent, something that had never happened before. Holly left to try to calm her grandmother down. But there was no way Holly would tell Nicole that. She lifted her chin. “I took some personal time.”
“Well that personal time is coming from your paycheck.”
“That’s not fair.” Holly had easily put in fifty hours the week before and gotten paid a salary for only forty hours. This week—including the wedding—would be around sixty.
“It most certainly is.” Nicole’s jaw tensed. “You’re seeing a man, aren’t you?”
Holly froze. “What?” Did she know about Kevin?
“I know that look…the look of a woman in love.” Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t have time for you to be in love. I need you focused at work.”
“Nicole, my love life is none of your concern.”
“It is if you’re taking personal time to meet your lover.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. That was so uncalled for, even from me.” Tears filled Nicole’s eyes. “I’m sorry I’ve been impossible. I just can’t afford for anything to go wrong, Holly. You have no idea how much I have riding on this wedding.”
Nicole had hinted at it multiple times over the last two weeks, but this was the first time she’d been this direct. Holly’s anger softened. “I assure you that I’m doing everything I can to make sure this wedding goes perfectly. I know your reputation is on the line.”
“It’s not just my reputation, Holly. I have multiple clients threatening to cancel if this doesn’t go well. They don’t want to be known as hiring the event planner who wrecked the Johansen wedding.” Her mouth pursed. “Trust me, Coraline has a reputation. There are a lot of eyes on this, and if anything goes wrong, we risk losing over half our future income.”
Holly gasped. “What?”
“If this wedding doesn’t go well, you’ll lose your job, not because I’m firing you, but because I’ll have to lay you off.”
Oh. God. “Nicole,” Holly said, starting to panic. “I assure you I’m doing everything I can to—”
“I know.” Nicole sank back in her chair. “And I know Coraline Johansen is a self-centered brat who is impossible to please. That’s why I wanted to be the planner. So I would take the credit if it failed. So you could get a job somewhere else without the failure of a high-profile wedding on your résumé.”
Holly shook her head in disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Grabbing a tissue, Nicole dabbed the outer corners of her eyes. “At first, I was hurt and furious they chose you over me. And I confess that part of me felt relieved that I wasn’t dealing with her.”
“Then why did you want the job in the first place?”
“It was a gamble. One I was willing to take. I set my son up on a date with that twit of a girl all in an effort to get on that stupid country club committee, with no return on that risk, and now this. And I didn’t tell you any of it because I didn’t want you to deal with the added stress along with the stress of the wedding. I was the one who went after the Johansens. This is my doing.”
“I swear I’ll do my best, Nicole.”
Nicole turned her back to Holly, staring at her computer screen. “You wouldn’t be handling the wedding if I didn’t think you could. Now you better head out to the vineyard if you’re going to have everything set up in time.”
* * *
A couple of hours before the rehearsal, Holly was on a ladder replacing a burned-out bulb on a string of twinkle lights hanging from a tree branch at the vineyard. She had just gotten the bulb shoved into the socket and the strand had come to life when she heard Kevin’s voice behind her. “Isn’t that a job for your assistant?”
Her mouth parted and she looked down at him in shock as he moved next to the ladder. “What are you doing here? I thought you and Matt were having an impromptu meeting about his new investor?”
“Yeah…well…” He grinned. “It finished early, so I figured I’d head over to my second job.”
“Third job, when you count fixing up your house as your second,” she said with a frown, climbing down. “If you insist on helping me, why don’t you go home tonight and get some rest and you can help me tomorrow after you’ve had a good night’s sleep.”
“I’m already here and you need help. Besides, this job has perks.” He pulled her to him, and she acquiesced, meaning to make it a quick kiss, but his lips lingered longer than she’d planned.
“I needed this,” he murmured against her lips. “I need you.”
“I need you too.” And not just sex. He made her believe everything would be okay. No matter what they faced.
“Someone could see us,” she said against his lips.
He lifted his head. “Is my mother here?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t care.” He tugged her against him and deepened the kiss.
She leaned back and swatted his chest. “If you want to help me, I need less kissing and more light hanging. The wedding party’s going to be here for the rehearsal in less than an hour.”
He grimaced. “The last wedding rehearsal I went to didn’t go so well.”
She cocked her head and sounded worried. “And whose wedding was that?”
“My sister’s, but it all worked out in the end.” He shrugged. “Although I might have threatened the groom.”
Her brow furrowed. “I heard her wedding reception was a disaster, too. Maybe I should send you away.”
“I’m feeling lucky. Let’s see what happens.”
Holly shook her head. “I really need this wedding to go well.” She considered telling him how much his mother’s business needed this wedding, but it fell into that murky no-man’s-land of what was appropriate to share—while he was her boyfriend, she thought it was up to his mother to tell him that her business was flailing. “I’m about to start looking for four-leaf clovers to help make that happen.”
He took the strand of lights from her. “No luck needed. You’ve got this. What are we doing standing around here talking, then? Start bossing me around.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
The day of the wedding, Holly woke up bright and early, worried about the million and three things that could go wrong. The rehearsal had been like a powder keg waiting to explode. Coraline had been paranoid and confrontational, and the groom had threatened to leave before the appetizers were even served.
Kevin was still asleep, and she watched him for nearly a minute, basking in the happiness of the past two weeks. She started to get out bed, but Kevin cracked his eyelids and snaked an arm around her waist, tugging her back so they were face-to-face.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
She laughed. “I was going to take a shower. I have a busy day.”
“As your assistant, I have a busy day, too.”
She studied his face. “You seriously plan on helping me today?”
“Holly, I saw how hard you worked at Ken Douglas’s wedding. If you won’t ask my mother for an assistant, then let me be one.”
“And what if she finds out?” While Nicole had admitted that she appreciated Holly’s work the day before, Holly wasn’t sure how far that generosity would extend toward her relationship with her son.
He paused, then looked deep into her eyes. “She’ll never know. But if she finds out somehow, I’ll come up with a st
ory that won’t bite you in the ass.” When she didn’t protest, he gave her a huge smile and then a kiss. “Just think. More bossing me around.”
She laughed, but he’d been more helpful the night before than she could have hoped. And if there was ever a wedding she needed help with, it was the Johansen nuptials. If anything, Holly was shocked that Nicole hadn’t insisted on being on-site. “Okay. Deal.”
He cupped her face, his thumb tracing her jawline. “I have to run an errand before I head out there. Do you need me to do anything right away?”
She shook her head. “No. All the big stuff is taken care of, so I’ll just go to keep an eye on things for a few hours before the bridal party starts arriving and help the people from the bridal magazine get set up. This wedding has to be perfect.”
He grinned as he kissed her. “I know. You’ve told me a million times.”
“I think I’m just reminding myself.”
“Trust in yourself. I do.”
She kissed him, then sat up. “Thank you. Keep saying things like that, and I just might keep you around.”
* * *
Kevin made Holly a pot of coffee and prepared a travel mug for her while she finished getting dressed. He’d just finished putting on the lid when he heard her heels on the stairs. He turned to face her, once again sucking in his breath at the sight of her. Today she was all business in her pale pink blouse, black pencil skirt, and shiny black pumps. She’d put her gorgeous hair up in a twist.
He pulled her into his arms as soon as she hit the bottom step.
She gave him a teasing look of reprimand. “You can’t do that today at the vineyard, Kevin. You have to keep your hands to yourself.”
He dropped his hold, took a step back, and leaned over to kiss her. “I know how to keep my hands to myself.” His mouth skimmed to her neck.
“And your lips.”
“This will be very hard.” But he lifted his face and smiled as he saluted her. “I can handle the mission, Captain.”
She grinned and poked his chest with her finger. “You’d better or you’ll be fired.” Then her grin fell away. “I’m nervous.”
“Babe, it’s going to be stunning.”
“I’m more worried about the bride.”
He cringed. “She did seem a little temperamental.” She’d thrown a few fits the night before, making him wonder why the groom was marrying her. Especially when Kevin saw him and the maid of honor coming out of a dark room together. Kevin would have guessed he was marrying her for the money, but the groom’s family seemed to be loaded, too.
Holly let out a sigh. “Understatement of the year.”
“If anyone can handle it, you can.”
She gave him another quick kiss. “And with that note of confidence, I’m off.”
As soon as she was out the door, he pulled out his phone and called his father. “Dad, did you get my text last night?”
“You want to meet for breakfast?”
“Yeah, but without Mom. She can’t know. I need to ask your advice on something.”
“Tell me when and where.”
“Half an hour at the Big Biscuit?”
“See you there.”
Kevin hung up, then jumped when he heard a voice behind him.
“You really care about her, don’t you?”
He spun around to face Melanie, who was sitting on the stairs in her pajamas.
He squared his shoulders. “Yeah, I do. I’m trying to make this right for her with my mom.”
“Why? So you’re not caught in the middle?”
“No, because she deserves better than how my mother treats her. I’m going to see if my dad has a suggestion for how to handle this. I’d just confront my mother, but Holly has begged me not to, and I want to respect her wishes.”
She made a face. “I’ve tried to get her to stand up to your mother since she started working there, but Holly refuses. She just keeps saying she’s grateful to Nicole for hiring her.” She paused. “I’ve told Holly she needs to figure out when people are using her and use them in return, but she won’t listen. She says she won’t stoop to their level, but she’s only hurting herself.”
Kevin disagreed, but kept it to himself. He loved that Holly lived by a moral compass. He’d dated too many women who didn’t.
Melanie stood and walked down the steps toward him. “And if Holly broke it off right now, would you still help her?”
“I care about her. I only want her to be happy, whether she’s with me or not. But there’s a good chance this wedding is going to fall apart today. I need to make sure Holly’s job is protected.”
Melanie broke out into a big smile and pulled Kevin into a hug. “Then welcome to the Greenwood family.”
* * *
Half an hour later, Kevin’s father was waiting for him at the restaurant.
“Thanks for meeting me, Dad.” Kevin held out his hand, but his dad pulled him in for a hug.
“Of course. I’m just sorry it’s taken us this long to see each other.”
“Yeah. I still can’t figure out how you got out of Megan’s shower. You need to teach me your tricks for saying no to the women in our family.” Kevin grinned, but he was dead serious.
The hostess led them to a table then left a pot of coffee with the menus. Once they placed their orders, his father gave him a wry smile. “This is obviously about your mother. What has she done now? You’re not here on Megan’s behalf, are you?”
“What? No. This is all me.” Kevin took a deep breath, hoping he wasn’t breeching Holly’s trust. “I love Mom, but you know she’s not always the most fair and unbiased person. I need to protect someone I care about.”
His father hesitated. “Who are you trying to protect?”
Kevin had weighed the risks of what he was about to do, but it was still hard to spit out her name. “Holly. Her assistant.” He shook his head. “Her employee.”
His father groaned, leaning back in his seat. “What has that woman done this time?”
Kevin tried to contain his rage. “I have no idea what Mom tells you, but Holly is the sweetest, kindest woman I have ever met. She’s brilliantly talented. Mom’s threatened by that and treats her like crap.”
“I was talking about your mother.” His father released a soft laugh. “I had no idea you even knew Holly, let alone cared about her so much.”
“I love her.” He said the words without thinking, but he knew it was true. There was no way he could stand by and let his mother hurt her anymore. “If the wedding Holly’s working on today crashes and burns like I suspect it might, Holly will have a hard enough time dealing with it without the added stress of worrying that Mom is going to fire her. Which means someone has to shake some sense and decency into Mom. The only person I know capable of such a feat is you.”
His father was silent for several long seconds. “Maybe you should start at the beginning. Like how you two even met.”
Kevin gave him a condensed version of Megan buying his house, his meeting Holly, then finding out at the shower how she was connected to his mother. “A lot hinges on this wedding today. Holly won’t keep our relationship a secret from Mom after the wedding. It’s killed her to hide it the last few weeks. We both know Mom will probably fire her. She wouldn’t even let Megan go out to lunch with Holly.”
His father grimaced and shook his head. “So you know that if the wedding doesn’t go well, Holly likely won’t have a job?”
Kevin’s mouth dropped open. “Mom admitted it? Even knowing how temperamental the bride is acting?”
“The threat is because of the bride’s behavior, not your mother’s.”
Kevin stared at his father in disbelief. “You know about this? And you condone it?”
His father picked up his coffee cup, looking confused. “How is your mother responsible for the spoiled woman’s behavior?”
“Exactly!” Kevin said, his frustration mounting. “If Mom can’t be held responsible, then how can Holly?”
“What are you talking about, son?” Bart Vandemeer shook his head. “I’m pretty sure we’re talking about two very different things.”
“What are you talking about?” Kevin asked.
“I’m talking about how much is riding on this wedding for your mother’s business. If this wedding crashes and burns, she’s set to lose half her upcoming functions. No one wants the stink of the Johansen failed wedding attached to their event planner. And if that happens, your mother will be forced to lay Holly off, no matter how much it kills her.”
Kevin sat back in his seat as shock washed through him. “Why didn’t Holly tell me?”
“For one thing, I suspect she doesn’t know. Your mother was trying to keep it from her. She didn’t want to give Holly any additional pressure. And, second, I can imagine if your mother told her, she swore her to secrecy.” He took a sip of coffee, then lowered the cup. “Your mother only confided in me last night.”
“But she’s been so awful to Holly. …”
“Your mother is unbelievably stressed. You of all people should know she doesn’t handle stress well.”
“Maybe so, but that doesn’t make it right.”
His father shrugged. “I never said it did.”
“And what about Holly and me? I love her. I know she’s the woman for me and I don’t want to hide it from Mom. I want to tell her, but I don’t want to jeopardize Holly’s job—presuming she still has one when this is over.”
His father chuckled and lifted his hands in surrender. “You don’t have to try to convince me. I’m onboard. I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle this.”
“So you’ll help?”
His father smiled, his eyes lighting up. “I’ve never heard you say you loved a woman. And I’ve met Holly, so I know how special she is. I’ll help you make this right.”
“Dad. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I still have to figure out how to handle this. Experience has shown it usually works better when your mother thinks it was her idea to begin with.” His father winked. “The trick is in planting the seed.”
Only You Page 27