Bestsellers: Duo - the Wedding Day and My Love

by Joanne Clancy

  Evette smiled and stuck out her hand. "It's a deal, sis."

  Chapter 7

  "You are going to love me forever!" Evette burst into the bathroom, where her sister was trying to enjoy a relaxing bath.

  "Do you mind?!" Nicole exclaimed. "Is knocking a completely alien concept to you?"

  "Relax, sis, it's nothing that I haven't seen before. You'll never guess what I've just done."

  Nicole's annoyance evaporated at her sister's infectious good humour and she couldn't help laughing as she watched her happy-dancing in the middle of the bathroom.

  "Go on, guess," Evette insisted.

  "You've won the lottery," Nicole guessed in a deadpan voice.

  "Almost, actually, it's a possibility, but it's not strictly correct. Guess again."

  "You've finally convinced George Clooney to go out on a date with you," Nicole tried again.

  "No, but I might bump into him soon and who knows, he may fall for my sweet Irish charms. Guess again."

  "No, Ev, just tell me, please!"

  "Ok. We're going to Las Vegas baby!"

  "What? We're going to Las Vegas? How's that possible? I'm broke and I know you're broke too."

  "It's my little secret," Evette smiled covertly.

  "You have to tell me or else I'm going to worry that you've gotten a bank loan or something equally irresponsible."

  "Fine, I'll tell you. You and Paul have a joint credit card, right?"

  "Right," Nicole replied slowly. She was beginning to dread what her sister might say next.

  "Well, I correctly assumed the honeymoon was booked on that card."

  "Ok."

  "I remember you said that it was some very expensive and exclusive resort in Mauritius."

  "Yes, our honeymoon was booked at the Heritage Awali Mauritius five star gold and spa resort, to be precise," Nicole interjected. "The travel agent told me that it was a honeymoon paradise. We were going to stay for twelve nights for the all-inclusive price of two thousand two hundred euro. It was going to be a holiday of a life-time and now all I have to show for it is a huge dent in my credit card, well, half a huge dent. Paul will have to pay half too."

  "No, Nicole, that's where you're wrong," Evette continued mysteriously. "You'll have a lot more to show for it than a dent. Don't ask me to fill you in on the details, but thanks to my superb snooping and research skills, I managed to convince your travel agent to exchange your honeymoon for a trip to Las Vegas!"

  "How the hell did you convince them to do that?" Nicole asked incredulously.

  "I lied and said that your fiance had died, so you had to cancel the honeymoon."

  "Evie! You are incorrigible!" Nicole shrieked. "You said Paul was dead! I can't believe you lied about something so serious? You've probably jinxed him now."

  "Jinxed, shminxed," Evette laughed.

  "What if something horrendous happens to him? It'll be our fault!"

  "Oh, get over it, Nicole. Let's not forget how badly he has treated you. A bit of pain and suffering wouldn't do him any harm if you ask me. Anyway, forget about Paul. Everything's booked. Hurry up and pack. Our flight leaves at midnight."

  "It's eight o' clock now. How will we get to the airport on time?"

  "Leave it with me, sis. Everything's under control. Ben is picking us up at half past nine to drive us to the airport. Las Vegas here we come!"

  ~~**~~

  "This is like a different world," Nicole gasped. She peered out the window as their plane was coming in to land.

  "I know, it's amazing," Evette smiled smugly, as if she had personally created the whole landscape.

  One minute all they could see was desert, the next, their window was filled with brilliant views of neon lights, skyscrapers and lines of traffic.

  "It looks like an island that's floating in the sand," Nicole breathed in awe. "It's completely crazy!"

  "That's what we've come for, sis; the craziness. If we can't party in Vegas, then where can we party?"

  "I wonder if it's going to be anything like the movie, "The Hangover", you know the one about a wild stag trip to Las Vegas?"

  "Some of my friends have been here before and they said that it's all about the clubs and nights out, but I've got a sneaking suspicion that these nightclubs are on a completely different scale to the clubs that we know back home. I read on the internet that some of them can accommodate thousands of people and are ten times bigger than the clubs in Ireland."

  "There's no comparison really." Nicole was beginning to look a little nervous. "Where are we staying?" she asked her sister, as they made their way through customs and passport control. "We're staying at The Hard Rock Hotel," Evette replied, struggling to push her overloaded suitcase in front of her.

  "Is that part of the Hard Rock Cafe chain?"

  "It sure is."

  "I wonder if we'll meet anyone famous?"

  "Hopefully, I read that Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton and Lauren Conrad from The Hills have all been seen there. Lady Gaga made her first Las Vegas appearance at The Hard Rock."

  They hailed a cab which took them to their hotel.

  "This place is huge," Nicole seemed totally awe-struck as they entered the hotel foyer.

  "Yes it's totally awesome," Evette agreed. "It's the perfect place to lose ourselves for a few days. We can eat, drink and party as much as we want without having to worry about bumping into anyone we know from home. Las Vegas was the least romantic place that I could think to take you on holiday, but also the most fun."

  "I'm sure we'll have a fantastic time, in fact I know it will be outstanding. I can feel the party atmosphere already."

  The girls dumped their luggage in their bedroom and quickly made their way back downstairs to The Hard Rock Cafe. They ordered an ice-cream cocktail and sat back to soak up the Las Vegas atmosphere.

  "I'm absolutely mesmerised," Nicole smiled at her sister. "My eyes aren't big enough to take everything in."

  "I know what you mean," Evette laughed. "Last month I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I'd be sitting in The Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas."

  "It's very cool, isn't it? This place is full of rock'n'roll memorabilia. Look, there's a cape that was worn by Jimi Hendrix and stage costumes worn by Kiss," Evette pointed out.

  "Who are Kiss?" Nicole asked.

  "They're a glam-rock heavy metal band," Evette explained.

  "No wonder I haven't heard of them," Nicole grinned. "My musical tastes aren't as sophisticated as yours, give me Celine Dion or Westlife any day of the week."

  "Ssshh," Evette teased. "Someone might hear you."

  Nicole punched her playfully on the arm. "I can't believe the size of the hotel.”

  "It's quite overwhelming. The concierge told me that there are five restaurants, including a branch of the exclusive restaurant Nobu, lots of shops, a spa and hair salon, a nightclub and the hotel even has its own artificial beach!"

  "Wow! We don't even need to leave the hotel if we don't feel like it, there's so much to see and do here."

  "Don't worry, sis. I've got a full itinerary planned for us. Come on, we should get some sleep. We've got a lot to see and do tomorrow."

  "This is like a huge theme park," Nicole said as they emerged from the hotel early the next morning. "There's a huge roller coaster on the outside of the New York, New York Hotel and a terrifying one at the top of the Stratosphere Hotel."

  Evette consulted the itinerary that she'd printed out.

  "Let's skip the rollercoaster," Nicole suggested.

  "Shall we go to Madame Tussaud's?" Evette suggested.

  "Excellent idea."

  The sisters spent a few very happy hours wandering around Madame Tussaud's and had their photographs taken with life-like models of Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas. Later that afternoon they took a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon and they got to see The Hoover Dam too. The sisters had never been in a helicopter before and it took some adjusting to, but it was well worth it. The view
s of the canyon were absolutely breathtaking and it made a pleasant change from all the neon lights and signs on the Strip.

  They treated themselves to dinner at Sushisamba, a Brazilian-themed sushi restaurant. Apparently, Sushisamba is a favourite spot of the Kardashians but the sisters didn't spot them there. They didn't care as they were having so much fun. Their long weekend went by too quickly. They were absolutely blown away by the Cirque du Soleil show "Love" at the Mirage Hotel. They treated themselves to huge sundaes and cocktails at Serendipity. They boogied the night away at Tao nightclub at the Venetian Hotel and ate a mammoth pizza at Lavo.

  Afterwards, they enjoyed cocktails upstairs, where they were star-struck to see Justin Timberlake in the flesh. They spent a relaxing afternoon at The Four Seasons Pool which is a plush and tranquil resort, providing a welcome refuge from the madness of the Strip. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been spotted swimming there with their ever-growing brood.

  They stopped by the infamous Little White Chapel. Evette was longing to see where so many couples went to have their quickie weddings. "Why would anyone want to get married here?" she asked her sister. "It seems so sad and depressing to me. Surely every woman wants to be a princess for a day and your wedding day is one of the few opportunities that we have to experience that."

  "It wouldn't be my taste," Nicole agreed. "I suppose everyone is different."

  They spent their last night in Las Vegas gambling at The Hard Rock casino playing blackjack. Evette was thrilled to win five hundred dollars. The sisters had had one too many cocktails before hitting the blackjack tables and had come up with the mastermind plan of playing out the part of the movie Casino where Sharon Stone kisses the dice.

  Evette had a wonderful time playing Sharon. It got to the point where she was so drunk that she started insisting on kissing everyone's dice for luck and whenever anyone won she'd jump up and down yelling "it's the luck of the Irish!" Most people found it charming and amusing at first, but quickly grew tired of her inebriated antics. Nicole decided it was best to remove her sister to their hotel room when security began to give them both meaningful glares.

  "I don't want to leave," Evette groaned wistfully as they hailed a cab back to the airport the next day.

  "All good things must come to an end," Nicole sighed.

  "Did you enjoy your honeymoon, sis?"

  "It was the best honeymoon I could ever have wished for. My batteries are completely rejuvenated. I'm looking forward to getting back to work and organising some dream weddings."

  Chapter 8

  "I'm exhausted," Evette groaned.

  "I think we may have had one too many cocktails," Nicole agreed.

  She handed her sister some painkillers and a mug of strong black coffee.

  "We've got a lot of work to do today so we'd better get stuck in."

  Evette opened her notebook and scrambled to find a pen while Nicole opened her laptop.

  "I think we made the right decision to focus on our wedding planning agency for now," Evette mused.

  "Yeah, we can work on the dating agency idea at a later date. It's usually best to focus on one plan at a time," Nicole agreed.

  It was late afternoon and the sisters had been working on their business ideas for most of the day. They'd vaguely thought about adding a dating agency to their business but after much debate they'd decided against the idea. They had made the commercial decision of focusing on the wedding planning agency side of the business and possibly developing the dating agency at a later stage, which they hoped would naturally evolve anyway. They'd roped Ben in to help with their planning and were busy quizzing him for his marketing expertise. There were sketches and plans strewn over the dining room table.

  "I feel like I'm going cross-eyed from staring at the computer," Nicole complained.

  "I never knew there were so many wedding planning websites out there."

  "Well, it's obviously a brilliant idea, or else there wouldn't be so many of them," Evette said optimistically.

  "Clearly there are a lot of people looking for help in planning their big day," Ben agreed.

  "I know I'd welcome the idea of having someone else plan my wedding for me. It would take a lot of pressure off the bride and groom."

  "Are you back on the market again, Ben?" Evette teased her friend.

  "You only broke up with Genevieve last month."

  "Yes, but I haven't had a date since," he protested. "Anyway, I've got my eye on someone else."

  He glanced at Nicole, who immediately blushed under his steady gaze. She looked away quickly.

  "I don't want our wedding planning agency to be like the rest of the agencies out there," Nicole said thoughtfully, as she pottered about in the kitchen making tea. "I get the impression that computers do a lot of the work for most of the agencies online. It seems that all you need to do is fill in a questionnaire, take a personality test, upload your profile pictures and make a list of your requirements and the computer does the rest. It's very cold and clinical. I don't want us to be like that.I want us to be known as the wedding planners with the personal touch. I want us to meet our clients face to face, get to know them as a couple, and really get a feel for what they want and need. After all, most people get married with the belief and hope that it's for life. I want to make it their best day ever; a once in a lifetime occasion."

  "Interesting," Evette nodded.

  "I think it might be a good idea that we ask the couples to post their photos to the website. We'll be able to look at them and have a quick read through their profile to see if we'd be interested in taking them on," Ben interjected.

  "I don't know," Nicole said doubtfully. "It seems cold to me. An image on a computer can't account for the chemistry between two people. Maybe they uploaded an unflattering photo of themselves or maybe they don't look good in photos. I'd imagine it's difficult to think of something witty and catchy to say in the small space they have in their profile description. What happens if they simply don't have a way with words?"

  "A picture paints a thousand words," Ben said wisely.

  "Hmmm, there's a lot more to a connection than a photo," Nicole countered.

  "Well, we have to have some sort of a filtering system," Evette insisted. "What happens if we're inundated with couples wanting our help? We can't possibly meet everyone in person."

  "Maybe not," Nicole reluctantly agreed. "Let's hope we have the problem of being inundated with work. But I already know that I'd rather have a few select clients who I can dedicate myself to than have lots of clients who I hardly know."

  "What are you suggesting?" Evette asked.She could see that her sister was alive with ideas brimming under the surface.

  "Well, I'd like to offer a more personal service to our clients, a service with a human touch. Online websites are useful but human intelligence and the personal touch is what could set our service apart from the others. We can offer people a chance to connect with us and we can authenticate prospects in a way the internet can't. I want our business to help people who are genuinely interested in planning their dream wedding."

  "You also need to remember that you'll be running a business," Ben said.

  "I realise that fact," Nicole agreed, "but I want it to be a service for people who want to have the wedding of their dreams. We'll be dealing with people's hearts. I want it to be more than about us making money."

  "I like that idea," Evette smiled.

  "Obviously, we'll need an internet site to advertise our agency and to have our clients make initial content with us, but after that initial contact I want to make it more personal. Maybe we could interview our clients in person. We could meet them for lunch or coffee and try to get a better understanding of what they need."

  "Excellent idea," Evette enthused, as she furiously took notes.

  "Let's brainstorm," Nicole suggested as she handed cups of hot sweet tea to Ben and Evette.

  She tried to ignore the frisson of tension that passed through her when her fingers tou
ched Ben very lightly. "Whenever I had an idea for a story at the newspaper I'd take fifteen minutes and jot down every thought and random idea that popped into my head. It's an amazing way to clear your brain and get your ideas together in one place without limiting yourself," Nicole continued.

  "Ok, let's do it." Evette perched at the end of her seat, her pen poised over her notebook.

  "What is wedding planning?" Nicole began.

  "I suppose the definition is that wedding planning is the art of planning marriages in fine detail," Evette answered.

  They sat until late into the evening bouncing ideas off each other. They were full of enthusiasm and drive for their new business.

  "I'll make an appointment to see my bank manager tomorrow and then we can really get started," Nicole decided.

  "I don't know about you two but I need to hit the hay. I feel like my brain is fried," Ev groaned, as she tried to stifle a yawn.

  "I'm too wired to sleep now," Ben said. "What about you Nicole?"

  "I'm not tired either," she said primly. There was something about Ben that made her feel nervous. He had such an aura of masculine energy about him.

  "Well, I'm off to my bed. Goodnight you guys."

  "'Nite Ev," Ben and Nicole chimed in unison.

  "Would you like some wine? I don't about you but I feel like I've earned a glass after our hard work today," Nicole tittered hysterically.She almost jumped off the couch in her haste to avoid sitting too close to Ben. She felt slightly panicky being in the same room alone with him. She didn't know why he made her feel uncomfortable, but he did.

  "I'd prefer a beer if you have one," he said easily, as he stretched out his long legs on the couch and flicked on the television.

  She had a quick peep in the refrigerator and was relieved to see a few cans of beer shoved at the back. Pull yourself together woman, she thought as she poured herself a large glass of cold white wine and took a few deep breaths to calm down. What's wrong with me? I haven't felt this nervous around a man in years.She was desperately trying to think of something to say, but couldn't think of anything so she took another long sip of her wine and went back into the living room.