Happy-ever-after might not be waiting for Dan, but that didn’t stop him hoping that others might find it.
‘I did invite him to join me for a drink, but he turned green around the edges at the very suggestion,’ Wendell went on. ‘What on earth did you do to him?’
Put him to bed and saved him from his friends, Dan thought. But there was no point saying it. His father expected him to be the bad influence, and no amount of facts or logic would change that.
‘It was his stag night,’ Dan said, shrugging. ‘You were invited. You didn’t want to come.’
‘It was. And I didn’t. But when I stopped by to see how it was going around midnight—your mother was still up reading and I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I might as well—Riley wasn’t there. And neither were you or his best man.’
‘It had been a long day.’
‘One of Riley’s friends told me you’d taken Riley off to put him to bed. Is that right?’ Wendell asked, one eyebrow raised.
‘He’d had enough.’ Where was his father going with this?
Wendell nodded. ‘Probably for the best, then. So, where’s that girlfriend of yours this evening? Working?’
‘Getting ready, I think,’ Dan said, frowning at the sudden change of subject. ‘But she will be working, yes. It takes a lot of hard work to put on an event like this.’
‘I’m sure it does,’ his dad said, without even a glimmer of understanding. ‘So, is this one serious? Are you considering settling down again? Your mother wants to know if she needs to clear some time in her schedule next summer.’
Dan blinked. His parents hadn’t asked about a girlfriend since Cassie had left. And they hadn’t even made it to that wedding—mostly because he and Cassie hadn’t planned on getting married until they’d arrived in Vegas and suddenly it had seemed like the obvious idea.
Wendell rolled his eyes. ‘Come on, Daniel. She might not be changing the world with her career, but it’s obvious to anyone with eyes that she’s changing your world. I wasn’t sure when we met her that first night—she seemed a little mouthy, I thought. But then I watched you today, walking with her on the beach, and later I spotted you in that café. And I saw that this is real for you.’
‘It’s not...’ Real. The one thing his relationship with Laurel couldn’t be. Even if it felt like it—felt more real than his actual life, in fact. ‘It’s still quite new,’ he said in the end, knowing that at least it wasn’t a lie. ‘I don’t know where it’s going to go.’
That part was a lie, of course. He knew exactly what happened next for them.
His dad clapped a hand on his shoulder and Dan tried to remember the last time he’d done that. If ever. ‘When it’s love you know, son.’
Love. Was that really what this was? It hadn’t felt this way with Cassie—that much was for sure. Cassie had been all high adrenaline and passion and never knowing what happened next—and then later their marriage had been bitter arguments and fear and pain. None of which he wanted to relive.
But with Laurel it was...peaceful. There was still passion, of course, but knowing he had nothing to lose—that he couldn’t let her down because he’d never promised her anything beyond the weekend, that she couldn’t leave him and break him because he’d be leaving first—had taken the fear out of it. He’d been able to relax, enjoy her company, to feel...at home, somehow.
Until now. Until his father had said ‘love’ and he’d realised that it didn’t matter that he’d only met her three days ago, or that their whole relationship was fake.
Laurel mattered to him. And that changed everything.
‘But what if you’re wrong? What if you don’t know?’
He didn’t know what had made him ask the question, or where the desperate tone in his voice had come from. His dad looked at him in surprise, but he didn’t seem to have an answer. His hand fell away from Dan’s shoulder and they stood in awkward silence for a moment—until the best man, Noah Cross, came barrelling across the room looking for a drink and Dan was able to put down his glass and slip out unnoticed.
He stood in the hallway, resting his head against the wall, and tried to get a grip. He had to, he knew. He had to get control of his body, of his mind, of his emotions, before he saw Laurel again.
Usually he was good at this. Control was what he was famous for. The ability to control a fall or a dive or a stunt so perfectly that no one got hurt every time. The control to keep his face expressionless as directors waxed lyrical about the risks their stars took without even mentioning him or his team, and the fact that they did all the stuff the more famous actors couldn’t. The control to keep his heart safe as another person walked away from him.
His mind drifted back to the strange conversation with his father. What had that been, exactly? An attempt to find a way back? To give some fatherly advice twenty years too late? Dan didn’t know. But whatever it was...it had felt like the start of something. He just wasn’t sure he was willing to risk it ending as abruptly as it had begun.
Just like him and Laurel.
As her name floated across his mind he heard her voice, not far away, and focussed in on it.
‘Benjamin, I don’t want to talk about this again.’
Benjamin. Her good-for-nothing ex. Well, Dan might not be her prince in shining armour, but he could save her from that idiot, at least.
He followed the sound of their voices around the corner in the corridor, finding them just outside the restaurant where the rehearsal dinner was being held. He hung back for a second, taking in the annoyance on Laurel’s face—and the stunning dark red dress she was wearing.
‘All I’m saying is you’re running out of time to take advantage of this offer, Laurel.’
Even his voice sounded smarmy and weaselly.
‘The wedding is tomorrow.’
‘I had noticed, thanks. And I have quite a lot of work to do before then. So, if you’ll excuse me...’ She made to brush past him, but Benjamin reached out and grabbed her arm, holding her in place.
And that was it for Dan.
Striding forward, he wrapped strong fingers around Benjamin’s forearm and levered it away from Laurel.
‘The lady said she was leaving.’
‘I haven’t finished talking.’ Benjamin looked up, annoyance in his face as he shook his arm out. He turned back to Laurel. ‘I don’t think you realise how important this is. Coral’s job is depending on it.’
‘And what about mine?’ Laurel asked. ‘If word gets around that I leaked confidential details of a client’s wedding, who will hire me after that?’
‘We can help with that!’ Benjamin sounded excited, as if he thought he had her now.
Dan knew better.
Laurel sighed. ‘Benjamin, no. I won’t do it. Please stop asking me.’
‘That sounds pretty clear to me.’ Dan yanked Benjamin back a few feet and stood between him and Laurel, arms folded across his chest. ‘I think we’re done here. Don’t you?’
Benjamin glared at him, then peered around to try and catch Laurel’s eye again. ‘It’s not too late, Laurel. Even tomorrow morning a sneak preview of the dress could be worth serious money. Don’t forget—she deserves it. Right?’
Dan took a step closer and Benjamin finally backed away. ‘Fine, fine. I’m going.’
He waited until Benjamin had disappeared around the corner, presumably back to the bar, before he turned to check on Laurel. ‘You okay?’
‘Fine,’ she said, nodding. ‘I just...I really didn’t need him tonight, you know? And he wouldn’t listen. So, thank you.’
‘You’d have got through to him eventually,’ Dan said. He reached out to take her hand. ‘I just speeded things up a little.’
‘Well, I appreciate it.’ She smiled up at him then, raising herself onto her tiptoes and pressing a kiss to t
he corner of his mouth. ‘Thank you.’
‘Any time,’ he said, without thinking.
Because he wouldn’t be there any time. He only had until Sunday morning. He had to remember that.
‘I might take you up on that. Now, come on—we’ve got a rehearsal dinner to attend.’
She sashayed off down the corridor, her curves looking so irresistibly tempting in that dress that Dan couldn’t help but follow.
Even if he was starting to fear exactly what he was following her into and how far he’d go.
CHAPTER NINE
SATURDAY MORNING—New Year’s Eve—Laurel woke early, kissed Dan’s cheek while he slept, then slipped out from between the sheets and into the shower. As much as she’d have liked to stay in bed with him it was Melissa’s wedding day, and she had far too much to be getting on with.
The rehearsal dinner had gone off without a hitch—well, the dinner part anyway. Laurel closed her eyes as the water sluiced over her and tried to forget the way that Noah and Eloise had disappeared halfway through, only for a furious-looking Noah to return alone, behind a triumphant Melissa. Laurel didn’t know what had happened, but she could only imagine that whatever it was would be back to cause trouble for her today.
As she rubbed shampoo into her hair she mentally ran through her list of things to do that morning. As she smoothed on conditioner she ticked off everything she needed to double-check on. When she switched off the water she was ready to start her day.
She grabbed her notebook and pen at the same time as her wedding outfit, making notes as she slipped into her dress and hoping the hairdryer in the bathroom wouldn’t wake Dan. She smiled to herself. After last night she figured he probably needed the sleep to recuperate.
She didn’t know what had changed, but he’d been frantic the night before—desperate to touch every inch of her, to make love to her for hours. Even as they’d slept he’d kept his arms wrapped tight around her.
Maybe he was feeling the pressure of their time limit as much as she was. Sunday was creeping ever closer—but first they had to make it through the wedding.
By the time she’d finished dressing, and her hair was pinned back neatly from her face, Laurel’s checklist was complete—along with some extra notes for things she’d thought of in the shower. With one last glance back at the man sleeping in her bed she let herself out of the bedroom and headed down, out through the front door of the hotel to the honeymoon suite to wake Melissa.
The honeymoon suite was housed in the old gatehouse, just a short walk away from the hotel proper, and the crisp winter air blew away the last of the cobwebs from not enough sleep and one more glass of wine than she’d normally allow herself at the rehearsal dinner.
It was still early, and when she’d left her room the hotel had seemed asleep. But as she approached the bridal suite she heard laughter—Melissa’s laughter—echoed by two more voices that Laurel assumed belonged to her bridesmaids. For a moment she was just grateful she didn’t have to wake her up—her half-sister was notoriously grumpy first thing. But then her phone pinged in her pocket, and when Laurel checked it she knew exactly what Melissa must be laughing about.
She scanned the text as she waited for Melissa to open the door. It was one of the alerts she’d set up to notify her whenever a new article was posted about Melissa, Riley, or one of the wedding party. In this case she had a whole page of articles about Noah scrolling over her screen.
But not just Noah. Front and centre was a photo of Eloise, holding her dress up to her chest as she and Noah stumbled out of a closet she recognised from the same floor as the restaurant, obviously caught in the act.
Noah Cross says, ‘A fling always makes a wedding more fun, right?’
Laurel closed down the image, but the horror and shame on Eloise’s face stayed with her. Poor Eloise. Laurel wanted to run back up to the hotel and check on her friend, to try and find the words to make everything less awful.
But as she turned to go Melissa opened the door, beaming, and Laurel knew that somehow her half-sister was behind this.
‘Did you hear?’ Melissa asked, gleefully chivvying Laurel into the gatehouse. ‘Noah and Eloise—who would have thought it? I mean, obviously he was just fooling around with her—but the poor girl looked thoroughly besotted with him. I imagine he must have broken her heart completely, saying what he did.’
‘I saw,’ Laurel said, trying to keep all emotion out of her voice. ‘I do wonder how the photographer found them, though.’
A flash of something spread across Melissa’s face. Not guilt. Laurel was sure of that. But perhaps...fear? Of being found out? Laurel couldn’t tell.
‘Well, they did go missing from the rehearsal dinner at the same time,’ Melissa said, busying herself with straightening the perfectly hung wedding dress that was suspended from the spiral staircase leading to the upper floor.
That was the only place with the height to hang the dress without risking wrinkles to the train, Laurel remembered.
‘I mean, it was only natural that someone would go to find them.’
‘That someone being you?’ Laurel guessed. ‘And you just happened to take a reporter and a photographer with you?’
Because of course Melissa wouldn’t be able to stand that people were talking about Noah and Eloise instead of her. That Eloise, whom she’d tormented through all their teenage years by all accounts, might end up with a bigger Hollywood star on her arm than Melissa had.
Laurel could almost see Melissa’s thought processes working. This was her wedding, and no one should be talking about anyone except her. Not Laurel and Dan, not Eloise and Noah. And God forbid any of them try to step out of the roles Melissa had assigned them in the movie of her life.
They were all there as bit players—extras to her leading lady. And, as such, they didn’t really matter to Melissa at all. Not even if she destroyed them.
Laurel felt the heat of anger flooding through her, and tried to keep it down. Anger wouldn’t help her today. What she needed was cold, dispassionate rational thinking. She needed to get through this wedding and get on with her own life—not Melissa’s. That was what Dan had been trying to tell her all week.
Just saying that she was the heroine in her own story wasn’t enough. She needed to live it. She needed to believe it.
Starting the moment this stupid wedding was over and done with.
Or maybe even sooner.
‘It’s funny how these things work out sometimes, isn’t it?’ Melissa said airily, dropping her hand from the wedding dress.
But she didn’t turn to meet Laurel’s eyes. And Laurel couldn’t look away from the dress. Couldn’t forget Benjamin’s words. She deserves it.
‘Anyway, Caitlin and Iona are already upstairs, checking through their responsibilities lists. I’m going to go and get showered, and then we can all run through the details for the day. Yes?’
Melissa didn’t wait for Laurel’s agreement. Instead she disappeared up the stairs to the bathroom, leaving Laurel alone in the main room.
With the wedding dress.
Biting her lip, Laurel raised her phone and snapped a quick photo of the dress.
Just in case.
* * *
Dan woke alone again, and felt that same sudden spike of panic before he remembered what day it was. New Year’s Eve. Melissa and Riley’s wedding day. Laurel would be rushing around the hotel somewhere, getting everything ready for the wedding, or out at the gatehouse with Melissa.
But tonight, once it was all over, she’d be done—and they could just enjoy their last night together.
Maybe not even their last night. Maybe he could change his flight—stay an extra day or two. A week at the most. By then surely they’d both be ready to move on. Really, they hadn’t had enough time for this fling to run its course—not with
all the wedding stuff Laurel had had to do. It only made sense to make the most of their passion before it ran cold.
But, no. He couldn’t risk it. Dan knew that. One day would stretch to two. Which would become a week. Or a month. And before he knew it he’d be trapped. Drawn in. Attached.
He wouldn’t be able to leave until he’d stayed long enough for Laurel to leave him.
And he had to be the one to leave this time. Whatever the truth about his feelings—and, really, what good would it do to examine them too closely at this point?—Dan knew he couldn’t give Laurel the happy-ever-after she wanted. Couldn’t live up to her fairy tale expectations.
And so tonight would be their last night. However much that hurt. Better to take the sharp sting of the controlled fall now than risk the much greater injuries that came from being unprepared for the blow when it came. Because that blow always came eventually.
Decision made, he rolled out of bed and went to get ready for the wedding of the year.
Half an hour later, dressed in his tux and as prepared as he could be for the day ahead, Dan headed down to the large hall where the ceremony would be held, looking for Laurel.
He spotted her adjusting the flowers at the ends of the rows of chairs either side of the aisle, and found himself grinning just at the sight of her. She was wearing a dark blue dress, cut low in a cowl at the back, but higher in the front, and falling just past her knees. Her shoes were high and strappy—far higher than he’d seen her wear before—and he wondered if it would change how they kissed if she was so much taller.
Maybe it was time to find out.
‘I think that flower arrangement is lopsided,’ he called—unhelpfully—then laughed when she looked up and glared at him. ‘Kidding. Everything looks perfect.’
‘It should. I’ve been up for hours getting everything just right. Including the bride.’ She crossed the aisle towards him, slotting so easily into his arms he might almost believe she was meant to be there.
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