Love, Honor, and Ink: (A Montgomery Ink Novella)

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  The location they’d picked was in an older building that had been redone by none other than the Montgomerys that Harper now worked with. He’d been the one to show her the place when they’d first started looking. The other tenants had decided to move away even though the business area was still thriving.

  She knew she wouldn’t have many—if any—walk-ins, but the idea of having a pleasant area to work thrilled her. There was a coffee shop right across the way, and a bookstore, as well. Not to mention her favorite bakery where her ordered cakes were made, and one of her top smaller florists. Everything she needed for a smaller wedding.

  Exactly how Arianna wanted it.

  She’d not only be able to show her clients photos of wedding ideas but she’d also have samples in her place. Plus, they could go on field trips together and see the other establishments for themselves. In fact, with this current couple, she’d done just that. They’d sampled different cakes and only had to walk there from her office. Even with the snow on the ground, the area had been salted and cleaned up before her clients had shown up. She truly loved the area and knew this could work.

  Because it had to work. Her evil ulcer would not be coming back, she promised herself. She could do this. One step at a time.

  There were three small offices in the back of the store where she and Colleen could hold meetings, plus she used one of them as her clutter room. As if Arianna would have actual disorder, but her organized piles worked for her.

  The front area held some of the older King antiques that her grandmother had given her. She’d had them in her home and in storage for years, but now they would be getting good use. Plus, she liked the thought of her grandmother having a hand in what she was doing—with or without her father’s help.

  Everything was working out beautifully.

  In other words, Arianna was a nervous wreck, waiting for the shoe to drop.

  She checked the display on her phone and cursed. It was already six in the morning. She’d woken up at four and started rechecking everything, though she’d already done that before she went to bed. Honestly, she’d never been so worried about a wedding going right before in her life.

  She’d done so many weddings, it should have been second nature, but she knew that each ceremony and reception was different. Each one took her entire focus and dedication to pull off.

  It was just that this one meant so much more because she didn’t have the safety net of King’s Weddings underneath her. Though failure was never an option in her father’s eyes; now, it couldn’t even be in the realm of possibilities. She honestly couldn’t afford it.

  Today, thankfully, she was only handling the reception. Starting small was always a good way to go. The couple had gotten married the week prior by the Justice of the Peace so they wouldn’t have to deal with each of their family’s religious views. Each had extended family that had wanted things their way, not the way the couple wanted. Apparently, that had caused friction for over a year, and they’d gone through three wedding planners before deciding to skip the elaborate multi-faith ceremony altogether.

  Instead, they’d spoken their vows in front of their best friends and parents, and today, would be celebrating with the rest of their friends, family, and loved ones.

  It had been Arianna’s idea to have the reception at an older winery she loved. It would be small and intimate, but with the decadent flair that signified a love between a couple Arianna had already fallen in love with herself. It looked beautiful in winter, as well, and with the large outdoor heaters and safety-conscious firepits, it was perfect for what they wanted.

  Now, though, she needed to get going so she could look into any last-minute problems.

  The soft knock at the door startled her, and Arianna checked the time again. Who on earth would be by her place so early?

  She checked the peephole and smiled, her stomach doing that odd clench that happened every time Harper was near recently. She couldn’t think about that too hard, though, not with so much at stake.

  “Harper, you’re here early,” she said as she opened the door. There was a slight chill in the air, but it had also been an uncommonly warm winter so far. He wore a soft leather jacket that he’d let her borrow a time or two in the past, and his hair looked like he’d rubbed a towel over it after he’d gotten out of the shower.

  Harper grinned at her—her stomach doing that flip again—and held up two to-go coffees. “Two caramel macchiatos.” His gaze traveled over her. “Go get in your work attire, and I’ll start packing up your car. You have the dress you’re wearing for the day?”

  She blinked, her heart warming that he was there…and skipping a beat at the sight of him in her home.

  Arianna mentally slapped herself. No, this was Harper. He was just being helpful. He was only her friend. Had only ever been her friend. It didn’t matter that he’d been touching her more, tucking her hair behind her hair, holding her hand while they walked. He hadn’t pushed anything, hadn’t changed who they were. And she wasn’t in a position to do anything about what was going on in the back of her mind anyway. She was too busy, too focused, and too…not Harper’s.

  “Going to let me in?” he asked with a grin, and she shook herself. He was out in the cold on her porch and probably hadn’t just walked in since it was way too early. He must have known she’d be awake, but still.

  “Come in out of the cold,” she said after a moment, trying to blink her treacherous thoughts away. “Thank you so much for the coffee. I can’t believe you’re here.” She moved out of the way and reached for her cup, her fingers gently brushing his. The swift intake of breath from each of them was new…and intoxicating.

  She blinked then stepped back, needing to find that control again. “I’m going to go put on my suit. And, uh…all of my things are stacked by the table, ready to go. Harper, you don’t have to do this.” He opened his mouth to argue, and she held up her hand. They’d had this fight before, and today wasn’t a good day for her to get her back up about him helping. She needed to be grateful, not pushy. “But thank you anyway. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  Harper met her gaze, and something flitted across his eyes, forcing her to hold back the urge to wrap her arms around his waist and never let go. “Well, I’m here, so you don’t have to think about what you’d do without me. That’ll never happen.” He cleared his throat. “Now go get dressed, and I’ll meet you by your car.” He turned and then stopped, looking over his shoulder. “Ari? You’re going to kick wedding ass today.”

  She grinned at him, feeling a little more at ease by his presence. “Yeah. I’m totally going to kick ass.”

  He smiled back and then went to one of her piles, bending over so she got a fantastic view of his very tight butt in dark slacks. She shook her head and ran to her bedroom. What the hell was going on with her? Checking out Harper’s butt? It must be the stress.

  Yeah, that was it.

  It had to be.

  Because she didn’t have time for it to be anything else.

  By the time she was dressed and at the wedding venue, her nerves were fraying, but not from things going wrong. No, it was her worries taking care of that.

  Warm hands covered her upper arms, and she froze before turning, only to see Harper standing behind her. She smiled and turned, breaking the contact. He was too warm for her, too male. She could barely breathe with him around.

  So not what she was used to when it came to Harper in her life.

  “How’s it going?” he asked, his gaze on hers, unwavering.

  Arianna took a step back and tapped her headset. “We’re ready to roll in forty-three minutes when we let the guests break out of the staging area and into the dining room. B&G are with their families in the ready room and will join us then. They haven’t seen the center winery area with their tables because they wanted it to be a surprise.”

  Totally no stress or anything. It’s not like they could hate it on sight and feel like their wedding was ruined.
Except, of course, that was bound to happen if she kept thinking about it.

  She took a deep breath. “We’re on course.”

  Harper tucked a curl behind her ear. “Good to hear. Setting up the flowers in the rafters would have been a bitch for the florist. I’m glad you had us help.”

  The couple had wanted flowers to decorate the dark wooden ceiling and beams. They could have cared less about the expensive chandeliers in the room, and Arianna was grateful about that.

  It looked better with only a few of the lighting sconces on and the flowers and natural light making the afternoon reception perfect and intimate.

  “You look great, by the way,” he whispered. “That gold fucking rocks on you. I’m glad the wedding party wanted you to blend in with them.”

  Arianna blinked and ran a hand down the heavily beaded and adorned bodice of her gold dress. Rather than wearing her suit, her clients had wanted her to match. Half of the weddings in the past she had planned had requested her to match their settings, and, while it was harder to move in the long, flowing dress, she felt like a princess wearing it.

  “You don’t look too bad yourself,” she replied. And she wasn’t lying. In a black suit and gold tie, Harper looked model worthy, even with that rugged appeal that he could never quite lose no matter how hard he tried.

  He grinned, white teeth bright on tanned skin. “Where do you need me?”

  On me. In me. Over me.

  She coughed, pushing those thoughts away. Totally not the time to be going crazy.

  “I don’t know yet. I’m trying to anticipate problems, so why don’t you just stay by my side just in case?”

  His eyes darkened a bit, and she swallowed hard. “Standing by your side is easy, darling.”

  “Uh, thanks.”

  Smooth, Arianna. Smooth.

  Who was this Harper, and why couldn’t she seem to resist him?

  This was her best friend. Harper. Nothing more. Nothing less.

  Only she wasn’t sure about that anymore.

  “Go do your thing, I’ll be here.”

  “Arianna?” Colleen’s voice sounded frantic in her ear, and she wanted to curse at thinking things were smooth.

  “Yes?”

  “The chandeliers aren’t working.”

  “What?” No, no. That couldn’t happen. She was already running toward the reception room, Harper on her heels without her even having to say anything. “They were working an hour ago.”

  The lighting wouldn’t be needed at first since this was an afternoon event, but as soon as the sun began to set and people started to dance, they’d be screwed if they weren’t working. Her mind immediately went to her backup plans, but with the timing, she didn’t think any of those would work.

  Crap.

  Crap.

  Crap.

  “What is it?” Harper asked as they walked very quickly into the room. It wouldn’t do to run and alert any overeager guests that there was an issue.

  “The lighting isn’t working,” she answered as she looked up at the beautiful chandeliers that were now dead weight.

  “Shit, let me take a look.” He was already off to the maintenance area, tugging at his tie when she turned toward Colleen.

  “What went wrong?” she asked her assistant and friend.

  “I have no idea, and it’s killing me, Arianna. They were working, and then I went to turn them on to do one of your double checks and now they aren’t. It looks like a wiring issue according to one of the guys, but I think it’s too short notice to bring someone in.”

  Arianna closed her eyes, her mind going through countless scenarios. “Okay, get candles. Lots of candles. We have them in the back since the B&G almost wanted to use them until the last minute.” And what a headache that was. “Then, go find lights to put up in the corners. They won’t be as pretty, but we can get the florist and our lace girl to help spruce them up.”

  “On it.” Colleen was off and walking quickly.

  Arianna made her way to the maintenance area where Harper was and prayed her friend could help.

  “Tell me what we’ve got,” she said briskly, her nerves on edge.

  Harper cursed and licked his thumb, his gaze meeting hers. “Someone or something fucked with the circuit breaker, baby. It could just be that it’s old, but it was shitty timing. Whatever happened just got the wires to the lighting you’re looking at, so everything else is fine, at least. I can rework one of the chandeliers, Ari, but that’s it. The others would require someone like Luc, who’s the Montgomery Inc. electrician. And he’s at another job site across town. It would take way more time and noise than you can give up at the moment to get him here.”

  Relief that something could work and the smidge of despair that something was wrong in the first place hit her hard, and she nodded, her mind working on her new battle plan. “Okay, we can work with this. We’ll have some extra lighting and candles, and we’ll have one chandelier working. Which one is it?”

  “The center one, thankfully,” he answered then winced. “If you can be thankful for it that is.”

  Arianna let out a breath. “The center one is good. Real good. Okay, we can do this. It won’t be exactly what I planned, but the B&G wanted flowers over the chandeliers anyway. We went with the lighting this way at the last minute because of their family.” Even though they’d gone non-traditional because of the couple’s families, there had still been some issues. Hopefully, they wouldn’t care now, and know that the B&G were more important. Either way, though, Arianna would do her best to make sure everything else went off without a hitch.

  She reached for Harper and squeezed his arm. The heat radiating from him shot down her system, and she released him, blinking hard. From the way Harper’s eyes darkened, he was not unaffected. Not that she could think about that right then. “Thank you, Harper.”

  He met her gaze and nodded. “Told you, Ari. Anything. Remember that. Now, go make that B&G whatever smile and love you. I’ll be around to check on you soon.”

  By the time the B&G were on the dance floor, cake cut, and toasts made, all Arianna wanted to do was take off her shoes, strip off her dress, and take a long bubble bath.

  “They look like they’re they only two people in the world,” Harper whispered in her ear, and she shuddered, his warm breath tickling her skin.

  She licked her lips, trying to remember that this was Harper touching her, running his hand over her hip. This was her best friend, not someone she should be thinking naughty things about.

  And oh were they naughty.

  “They look in love.”

  Harper brushed a kiss against her temple, and she froze. “Dance with me.”

  She blinked and then looked over her shoulder. “I’m the wedding planner. I can’t dance at the wedding.”

  Harper shook his head, then took her hand, pulling her onto the dance floor anyway. “A dress like the one you’re wearing deserves to be shown off. Your job is done. Colleen and the minions you hired for the day are taking care of the rest of the event, and after you dance with me, you’re coming home and resting.”

  She raised a brow, falling into his arms for a slow dance despite the fact that she’d refused. “You don’t get to dictate my actions.”

  Harper grinned, unrepentant. The hand at the small of her back squeezed, and she pressed her body against his in tune to the music.

  “Your crew dictated, Ari. They wanted to make sure that you actually relax after your hard work. You haven’t truly been resting even though you’re sleeping more than before you started this business, and now that you’ve gotten one wedding—one amazing wedding—under your belt, you can breathe. Let the people you’ve trained and trust finish up. Relax. If only for a night.”

  What he was saying might be true, but that didn’t mean she could give up control so easily. “Harper…”

  “Only for a night, Ari.”

  One night. She could do that.

  Harper twirled her on the dance floor, and she laugh
ed, letting her head fall back, feeling giddy and a little drunk. Though she hadn’t had a drop of champagne. The man in front of her, her best friend, did that to her, and from the knowing gleam in his eyes, they both knew it.

  By the time she’d said her goodbyes and ensured that her staff was ready to go—twice—Harper was practically dragging her to his truck. She’d left her car with Colleen so her friend could not only have a ride home but also have all of Arianna’s backup supplies in one place. Arianna had picked her friend up on the way to the site with Harper since they hadn’t wanted to take up too many parking spaces at the small winery.

  Her shoes in hand, Arianna made her way up to her doorstep, Harper on her heels. She turned toward him, the moonlight glistening off his hair, the dark and promising look on his face making her stomach clench.

  “Thank you for the ride…and the dance.”

  Harper nodded then cupped her face. She blinked, knowing what he was going to do. She should have stopped him, should have pushed him away and reminded him that they were friends and nothing more. Their friendship was one of the most—if not the most—important things in her life. They couldn’t risk that for a simple kiss.

  But their kiss was anything but simple.

  His lips brushed hers, once, twice. She gasped, parting for him. His tongue swiped against hers, and she sank into him, letting the sweet taste of Harper, wedding cake, and cider mix and settle on her tongue.

  He moved her head back, running his thumb under her jaw, and she wrapped her arms—shoes still dangling from her fingertips—around his waist. She moaned, wanting more, craving more, then sighed as he pulled back, leaving them both breathless, a heady anticipation hanging in the air.

  “Why…why did you do that?” she whispered.

  Harper shook his head and then met her gaze, his hands in his pockets as if he had to force himself not to touch her. “You know why I kissed you, Ari. I’m going to go home now before you kick me out.” He gave her a sad smile, and she reached out, grabbing his arm.