The Tycoon and the Wedding Planner

by Kandy Shepherd

  ‘The huge new one with the mammoth towers and the world’s highest infinity pool, fifty-seven floors up?’

  ‘The very one.’

  ‘The one with the amazing spa on the fifty-fifth floor?’

  ‘Yup,’ he confirmed.

  ‘And the luxury shopping mall underneath, and the casino, and what they say are the best views in Singapore?’ By now she was practically screeching with excitement. A couple at the next table looked at her oddly and she lowered her voice.

  ‘I’ve booked a suite on the highest floor I could,’ he said. ‘With a butler.’

  ‘A butler? You’re kidding me.’

  ‘No. Nothing short of the lap of luxury for Ms Parker.’

  ‘But...but you’ll already be there and I’ll have to get there by myself. I don’t know that I—’

  ‘If you can get to Sydney, all you have to do is get to the airport. There’ll be a first-class ticket waiting for you. You’ll hardly know you’re in the air.’

  She lowered her voice to a note above a whisper. ‘But, Sam, what if I can’t do it? What if I don’t get as far as Sydney?’

  ‘Then we cancel it all and wait until I can get down there to see you.’

  ‘Okay. So I have an escape route.’

  ‘If you like to see it as that, yes,’ he said. ‘But Kate, here’s the deal: to make it easier for you, I’ll send down a chauffeur-driven limo to pick you up from home. He’ll drive you to Sydney International Airport so you don’t actually have to worry about driving. That will be one less pressure on you. The driver—who is on my staff—will escort you into the first-class lounge where you can check in. Then I’ll meet you at the other end.’

  ‘Sam, I so want to see you. I...I miss you. And this all sounds terribly exciting. Like a dream, really.’

  ‘So you’ll do it?’

  ‘Just give me a second.’ She took a few of the controlled, calming breaths she had been practising. ‘Yes. I’ll do it. Mum told me I needed to get my wings back but I didn’t know that she meant aeroplane wings.’

  ‘Great,’ he said and she was surprised at the relief in his voice.’

  ‘Sam?’ she ventured. ‘Thank you. This might just be the incentive I need to get me out of that dome once and for all. I’ll see you in Singapore.’

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  I CAN DO THIS. Kate kept repeating the words like a mantra as the ultra-smooth limousine, way too big for one person, left Dolphin Bay behind. She realised she was sitting rigidly on the edge of the seat and she made herself sink back into its well-upholstered comfort.

  She’d only had a light breakfast, but felt a little queasy, so she made herself take the controlled, calming breaths the psychologist had taught her. Buried deep in her handbag was some prescription medication she’d got from her doctor, as insurance in case she got overwhelmed by panic. But she was determined it would not come out of its wrapping. She wanted to be with Sam. To be with Sam, she had to stay in this car and not beg the driver to take her home. She was determined to find the strength to turn her life around. I can do this.

  She pulled out her phone from her bag and flicked through to the photos of the wedding. There was a lovely one of Sam and her, she smiling up at him, him with his dark head bent to hear what she was saying. She pressed a kiss to her finger and transferred the kiss to the photo. All this was worth it.

  It didn’t seem long before coastal bushland made way for rolling green farmland. She gazed out the window and marvelled that she had not been along these roads for five years. But that self-imposed isolation was behind her now. She’d smashed through the dome.

  The previous night she’d had a broken sleep, kept awake by alternate bouts of churning excitement and worry. Three times she’d got out of bed to check that her passport and travel documents were packed. By the time the car was driving through the picturesque town of Berry, she was fast asleep.

  The driver woke her as they approached Sydney International Airport. She looked around her, bewildered, until she realised where she was. A wave of exultation surged through her. I’ve done it!

  The last time she’d flown, it had been with the dance troupe. That had involved a bus ride to the airport and the cheapest of bargain airline seats right down the back of the plane.

  Being ushered into the first-class lounge was a different experience altogether. She tried not to look too awestruck at the level of elegant luxury that surrounded her. Customers waiting for their flights could enjoy anything from a snack to a three-course meal. There was even a day spa where she could book in for a facial—all part of the service. It was like a six-star hotel on a smaller scale. But she couldn’t enjoy it—even if she tried looking on it as research.

  Everyone else seemed to know where they were going, what they were doing. The staff bustled around, greeting frequent flyers by name but not paying her any attention. Kate felt awkward and alone and unable to pretend she fitted in. She sat huddled on the edge of an ultra-contemporary leather sofa with a plate of gourmet snacks uneaten on the small table beside her.

  She was wearing slim black trousers, a silk tank top and a loose, fine-knit black jacket trimmed with bronze metallic studs. Teamed with black ballet flats, she thought her outfit looked fine and would be comfortable for the flight.

  But there wasn’t a designer-label attached to any of it.

  And this was designer label territory.

  Was this Sam’s world? She hadn’t thought of him being super-wealthy but the personal chauffeur and the first-class travel indicated otherwise.

  How well did she actually know him?

  Every so often, boarding calls went out over the sound system. Each time she thought it might be for her. Each time she realised she’d forgotten her flight number and had to fumble in her bag to pull out her boarding card. Each time she got more and more flustered.

  She began to dread the thought of actually boarding the plane—seven hours cooped up with no possibility of escape. Seven hours of escalating worry. What if Sam wasn’t there to meet her at the other end? What if she had to find her own way to the hotel in a foreign city? What if she got lost?

  Dread percolated in the pit of her belly. She started to shake and tried to control it by wringing her hands together. Her heart thudded wildly. Perspiration prickled on her forehead. She couldn’t do this.

  She used her breathing techniques to slow down the panic—then started to feel angry. This wasn’t about an unresolved issue in her past. It was about Sam.

  Sam should not have expected this of her. This was forcing her to run before she was even sure she could walk. He knew her problems only too well—and she’d thought he understood them. She should not be expected to fly to Singapore on her own. This was the first time she had been able to venture out of her home town for five years. To pop her on a plane all by herself like a first-class parcel and expect her to cope was nothing short of cruel.

  It dawned on her that, not only hadn’t she seen Sam since he’d gone back to Sydney, she hadn’t really talked to him that much either. He was always preoccupied with the company he had taken charge of with renewed vigour. What had he said about the reason for his cancelled wedding? I was a selfish workaholic.

  Obviously things hadn’t changed. He hadn’t changed.

  Maybe Sam in Dolphin Bay and Sam in Sydney were two different people. Away from stress and the pressure of his job, he’d been the kind, thoughtful man she’d fallen in love with. But back on the city treadmill he’d become that ruthless, selfish person she’d always suspected might be there beneath the surface—a man whose woman would always come second to his business, who would have to fit in around him when it suited him.

  She didn’t want that kind of man.

  It had been a classic holiday romance, she supposed with a painful lurch of her heart. Only he had been
the one on holiday and she had been the one left behind when he’d gone home. He had been more than generous with dollars in organising this trip for her. But he had been exceedingly stingy with his time.

  Sure, she’d wanted to see that wonderful hotel in Singapore. But most of all she’d wanted to see him. Now, on top of the shaking and shivering and cold sweats, she felt tears smarting. She could not get on that plane.

  No way could she risk a public meltdown high in the sky somewhere between Sydney and Singapore. Only to be met at the other end —if he wasn’t too busy in a business meeting—by someone she was no longer certain she wanted to see.

  Kate swallowed the sob that threatened to break out, got up from the sofa and picked up her bag. She couldn’t go home, that was for sure. Instead she’d march out to the taxi rank and get a ride to one of the glamorous new Sydney hotels she’d explored only on their websites. There she’d lock herself away for a few days, cry her eyes out, order room service and figure out where she went from there.

  But as she headed towards the exit she was blocked by a tall, dark-haired man wearing a crumpled business suit, sporting dark stubble and an expression of anguish. ‘Kate. Thank heaven. What was I thinking of, to expect you to fly by yourself?’

  Her heart starting pounding so hard she had to put her hand to her chest. Sam. Gorgeous, wonderful, sexy Sam. She desperately wanted to throw herself into his arms. But that wouldn’t work.

  * * *

  Kate looked at him with an expression of cold distaste in her beautiful green eyes. How could Sam blame her? He’d been nothing short of inept in the way he’d gone about this whole trip, a trip that was supposed to give her a treat and cement their relationship.

  He could blame the pressures of the sale decision and subsequent reassurances to the staff, many of whom had been unsettled by the reports in the press about the potential takeover. But that was no real excuse.

  By the time he’d finally got some time to himself on the plane to Singapore, he’d realised what he’d done. He’d reverted to the same old bad, work-obsessed ways that had destroyed his relationships before. After all that angst over the sale of the company, the new direction he wanted to take, he hadn’t changed a bit. He’d expected a girl struggling to overcome a form of agoraphobia to do what must have seemed impossible to her. What kind of fool was he?

  Kate went to move away from him and he realised she was heading towards the exit. ‘Kate, where are you going? We have to board the plane in ten minutes.’

  She spun back on her heel. ‘We? Sam, what are you doing here? I’m confused, to say the least.’ He realised she was dangerously close to tears—tears caused by him. The knowledge stabbed him with pain and guilt for hurting her.

  ‘I got to Singapore and realised what an idiot I was to expect you to get on a plane by yourself. So I got another plane back here as soon as I could so we could fly together.’

  Her brow furrowed. ‘You what?’

  ‘I just flew back from Singapore. My plane landed here at this terminal. I wanted to be here to meet you when you arrived by limo, but the plane was late and there was a hellish crowd in the arrivals hall. Thankfully, I got here in time.’ He would never have forgiven himself if he had missed her.

  A smile struggled to melt her frosty expression. ‘I don’t believe what I’m hearing.’

  ‘I booked another ticket for me so we could fly together, like we should have in the first place.’

  ‘But what about your meetings in Singapore?’

  ‘I rearranged them.’

  ‘Weren’t they important?’ she asked.

  ‘Nothing is more important than you, Kate.’

  He didn’t blame her for the scepticism that extinguished that nascent smile. He put his hands on her shoulders and this time she didn’t move away. ‘Seriously. I had a lot of time to think on that plane coming back to Sydney. I realised I had to change my obsessive, destructive, workaholic ways or I’d lose you. And I couldn’t bear that.’

  ‘So what do you intend to do?’ she asked.

  ‘Delegate. Give some of the really good people I have in my organisation more chance to manage. My father’s old right-hand man has been seriously under-utilised because I saw him as a threat rather than a help. Most of all, I’m going to build in time for the woman I love.’

  Her eyes widened with astonishment. ‘Did...did you just say you...?’

  ‘That I loved you? Yes, I did. And I’ll say it again—I love you, Kate Parker.’ He gathered her into his arms and kissed her on the mouth.

  After the frantic dash from the plane to the lounge, Sam had been so engrossed with making sure Kate would be getting on the plane with him that he had completely forgotten about his surroundings. He was brought back to reality by a polite smattering of applause and turned around to see that they had attracted a smiling audience.

  He looked at Kate and she blushed and laughed, her dimples flirting in her cheeks. She turned to face the people applauding and dipped a deep, theatrical, dancer’s curtsey. He joined her in a half-bow of acknowledgement. Then he took her hand and tugged her towards him. ‘C’mon, we’ve got a plane to catch.’

  * * *

  Travelling first class was an adventure all on its own, Kate thought as they disembarked in Singapore. She’d enjoyed a fully flat bed, pillows, blankets, luxury toiletries, even pyjamas. And the food had been top-class-restaurant standard delivered with superlative service.

  The best thing of all had been Sam’s company. After his frantic dash from Sydney to Singapore and back again, he’d drowsed for much of the flight, but every moment they’d both been awake they’d been together. She’d even managed to ask her final question, number five—how had he got that scar on his eyebrow? The prosaic answer related to an unfortunate encounter with a sharp metal window frame being moved around on a building site. She would have preferred something more romantic but, as he’d said in his practical way, he was lucky he hadn’t lost an eye.

  And now was her first sight of exotic Singapore.

  Another limousine was there to pick them up. As she waited for her suitcase to be loaded into the boot, she sniffed the warm, humid air, tinged with a fragrance she didn’t recognise. She asked Sam what it was.

  ‘I call it the scent of Asia—a subtle mix of different plants, foods, spices. I find it exciting every time I smell it—and it’s intoxicating when it’s the first time.’

  She couldn’t agree more. She was in Asia!

  It was night-time, and Singapore was a city sparkling with myriad fairy-tale lights that delighted her. As they drove across a bridge, her first sight of their hotel made her gasp. Brightly lit, its three tall towers seemed to rear up out of the water, the famous roof-top pool resort slung across the very top.

  ‘I can’t wait to get up there and swim on the top of the world,’ she said. She clutched Sam’s arm. ‘Oh, thank you for bringing me here. This is the most amazing place I’ve ever seen.’

  ‘I’m happy to be sharing it with you.’ He smiled his slow, sexy smile. ‘Around here is the really modern part of Singapore. Most of this area is built on reclaimed land—it’s an engineering marvel. Tomorrow I’ll take you to the old part. There’s a mix of gracious buildings from the colonial past and temples I think you’ll find fascinating.’

  ‘I’ll look forward to it,’ she said. ‘You know, I’m having to pinch myself to make sure this is all real and I’m not dreaming.’

  He laughed. ‘It’s real, all right.’ He looked down at her. ‘But the best part is having you here with me.’

  ‘Agreed,’ she said happily, squeezing his hand.

  Thank heaven, she thought, as she had thought a hundred times already, she hadn’t walked out of that exit back at Sydney airport.

  Inside, the hotel didn’t disappoint. The atrium was so mind-bogglingly spacious she got a so
re neck from looking upwards. And the interior design was like nothing she’d ever seen—upmarket contemporary, with Oriental highlights that made it truly unique.

  ‘Considering your interest in hotels, I’ve arranged for you to have a private tour,’ Sam said as they went up in the elevator to their room. ‘You just have to decide on a time that suits you.’

  ‘You’ve thought of everything,’ she replied with a contented sigh.

  ‘Except the most important thing,’ he said with a wry twist to his mouth. ‘I’ll never forgive myself for expecting you to get on that plane by yourself.’

  Kate silenced him with a halt sign. ‘I’ve forgiven you, so you have to forgive yourself. Really. You realised your mistake and remedied it with the most marvellous of gestures.’

  ‘So long as you’re okay with it,’ he said. ‘I shocked myself at how easily I relapsed into work-obsessed ways.’

  ‘So, I’m going to police this workaholic thing,’ she asserted more than half-seriously. ‘It’s not good for you. Or me.’

  ‘You can discipline me whenever you like,’ he shot back with a wicked lift of his eyebrow.

  ‘Count on it,’ she said, smiling as the elevator doors opened on their floor.

  The first thing she noticed when they walked into their spacious suite wasn’t the smart design or the view across the harbour. It was the fact that in the open-plan bathroom the elegant, free-standing bathtub was full of water and had sweetly fragrant rose petals scattered across the surface. When she looked across to the bed, rose petals had also been scattered across it.

  ‘How romantic!’ she exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight. ‘Did you organise this too?’

  ‘I can’t take the credit,’ he said. ‘The hotel staff...uh...they seemed to think we were on our honeymoon.’

  ‘Oh,’ she said. ‘Well, I hope... That is, I’d like to think this will be a...a honeymoon of sorts.’ She wound her arms around his neck. ‘Sam, this hotel is wonderful. Singapore is wonderful. All the stuff you’ve got planned for us is wonderful. But just being alone with you is the most wonderful thing of all.’