Private Engagement

by Adrienne Perry

  Still, a series of emails from Mari this morning was making her nervous. The red lights weren’t quite long enough for Emily to read much past the subject line, but they were increasingly threatening that Emily needed to be at the office ASAP. If Mari would just learn to text like every other normal person, Emily might have had time to read the content at the brief stops in traffic. Maybe Mari just wanted to check her progress with the designs before they presented them to Charlotte, but Emily would be at the office in five minutes, so there would still be plenty of time to go through the pages before the meeting. What was the emergency?

  Finally, at ten minutes past eight, Emily pulled into the parking lot. Though she usually bypassed the valet service and took the extra time to walk from whatever open spot she managed to find, today she shot a grateful look to Adam, the valet on duty that morning as she passed over her car to him and sailed right into the office building. As she pressed the elevator button several times, she felt a twinge of hope that she’d hear that mocking voice again, telling her that it wouldn’t work. She even casually turned around and scanned the lobby, checking to see if he was there again. This time, however, the elevator arrived without anyone to comment on it, and she rode upstairs to the Rivera Productions offices alone.

  When the elevator dinged at the fifteenth floor and the doors slid open, Emily was startled to be greeted by a frantic looking Troy. Panic flooded his eyes, and even though he was often prone to overreaction, there was something in his demeanor that put Emily on alert. The texts from Mari, this greeting by Troy. Something was wrong.

  “Oh my god, Emily,” Troy panted. “You’re finally here. I just got here two minutes ago, and it’s chaos in there. Mari’s on a warpath because the Wests showed up early. They were waiting outside the office doors when Mari got here, precisely at eight, because, you know she probably sits in her car waiting for the exact moment the minute hand reaches twelve, just so she can be here at exactly the same time every day.”

  Emily wanted to shake Troy in frustration that he didn’t just spit out the problem, but before she could say anything, he continued. “So the Wests are here, with fiancé in tow. They were already in the reception room when I got here, so I didn’t see him, but rumor has it he is hot, hot, hot! I wouldn’t mind seeing him in person, myself, but I’ll have to live vicariously through you. You don’t think you can snap a quick pic of him with your cell phone while you’re in there so I can see, and pass it around the office, do you? I’ll be king of the gossip trail if you do.”

  Troy played puppy dogs eyes at Emily, who would have been annoyed with him, if he hadn’t been ushering her into the office, taking her briefcase and purse from her, extracting her laptop and gently handling her binder. He even brushed some lint off her shoulder, commanded her to “smile” so he could check her teeth for food, and delivered a hot cup of coffee to her just as he finished gently steering her to the reception room door. Emily gratefully took a deep gulp of coffee. It was the perfect temperature, of course. Hot, but not so much that it scalded. She handed the coffee cup back to Troy, gave a smile of thanks, and gently opened the door.

  *****

  The sight that greeted her caused several simultaneous reactions in Emily. The sheer anger radiating off Mari was enough to draw Emily’s eye initially. Emily was wise enough to realize that her only hope of salvaging this situation with Mari was to act professionally and as if nothing was amiss. So Emily took a deep, calming breath, turned on her best smile, and turned to the rest of the people seated in the room.

  Emily had prepared for Mari’s anger. There was nothing Emily could have done to ready herself for the rest. Seated next to a nervous-looking Charlotte, holding her hand gently in his large grip, and looking far too masculine to ever be juxtaposed in this dainty and feminine chamber was Emily’s Prince Charming. The man from the elevator with whom she’d shared a steamy, hot kiss in the middle of a bar just three days ago. The man whose erection had pressed into her thigh before he’d bolted out the door. At least now she knew the reason for his sudden departure on Friday.

  Emily forced her smile to remain frozen in place, though her lips felt like they were going to crack from the effort. Charlotte sent Emily a meaningful glance, but Emily couldn’t interpret the message she was trying to convey. Did Charlotte know about the kiss? If so, why were they still here? If Charlotte didn’t know, Emily would have to tell her, even though that would be career suicide. Either the wedding would be off, or the couple would move past it and continue the planning, though it would happen without Emily’s help. Obviously, she couldn’t be involved.

  The thought made her feel sad, both from a professional standpoint and from a personal one. She really liked Charlotte, and now whatever possibility of friendship had been there was erased. Yet, even while Emily thought of her career and her friendship, she couldn’t prevent a frisson of arousal from pulsing between her legs as she remembered the feeling of being body to body with this man. She couldn’t stop the voice that cried More! in her mind.

  Emily took in the situation and tried to figure out exactly what was going on, and how she should handle the situation. As Ethan stood, Charlotte jumped to action. She gracefully rose out of the soft suede armchair she’d been sitting in and embraced Emily.

  As she came close to Emily for the hug, she whispered in her ear, “Just follow my lead. It’ll be okay.”

  Stunned by the message, and still confused as to what it meant, Emily returned the embrace, grateful for the extra seconds of brain processing time it provided. Aloud, Charlotte said, “Emily, it’s wonderful to see you again! I’m so excited to see the designs you have for us, but first, please let me introduce you to my fiancé, Ethan Forrester. Ethan, honey, this is our brilliant wedding planner Emily Hunter.”

  Ethan approached the women, extending his hand towards Emily. “Pleasure to meet you, Emily,” he said, and his deep, sexy voice sent shivers down Emily’s spine. How was it possible for a voice to be that damn sensual that it could arouse her with just a few beats?

  His eyes met hers, and she asked him with her own what was happening. He gave her an almost imperceptible shake of his head, and his index finger gently rubbed over her pulse on her inner wrist. She felt the stutter in her heartbeat at the intimate contact, made even more arousing by its illicit and taboo nature. He was turning her on while his fiancée stood just two feet away, and yet it was a private exchange between just Emily and Ethan.

  Chapter Seven

  Emily didn’t know what, exactly, was going on, but she knew enough to follow the lead of Charlotte. She maintained her smile as she greeted Vivienne, and sent a bland, yet pleasant nod of greeting to Mari.

  Charlotte’s Southern charm stepped in to explain their presence in the office.

  “Oh, Emily, we were just telling Mari how sorry we are to show up early this morning! It’s just not done, and Mama is simply overwrought by our rudeness.” Emily gave a glance to Vivienne, who did seem even more subdued than last time. This time, there was no trace of the steel backbone she seemed committed to hiding at their first meeting. Today, she really did look like the doormat that the media had portrayed her as over the last year. Vivienne also seemed to have a distant look in her eyes, almost as if she wasn’t focused on the people or setting around her. Emily might have wondered about it more, if she didn’t have a million other thoughts zinging through her brain.

  Charlotte went on with the explanation. “But Ethan here had another last minute meeting come up, and he just couldn’t put it off…he’s just so busy all the time. And I told him that he absolutely had to come to this meetin’ today, or y’all would never believe he and I are really gettin’ married.” Charlotte giggled nervously. In her haste to deliver the story, her Southern accent was becoming more pronounced.

  “We tried to call this morning, but it must have been too early. Ethan suggested that we just come by. He was very insistent that he be around to meet you today.” Here, Charlotte gave Emily another meaningful l
ook. Emily still couldn’t fathom what it meant. She could only assume that Charlotte knew about her and Ethan, but was somehow keeping up the pretense that everything was okay. So she hadn’t, obviously, told her mother, and she was keeping Mari in the dark as well.

  But they were still going along with the wedding, it seemed. That was what Emily couldn’t figure out. If Charlotte knew, then why was she still here? Even if Charlotte wanted to keep the engagement moving forward, why would she want Emily to continue planning it? Emily snuck a glance at Ethan to see if she could clear anything up by assessing his posture and expression. Normally, she considered herself an excellent judge of mood. Ethan was inscrutable.

  Mari was trying to mask her irritation, and Emily could see the struggle going on in Mari’s head playing out across her face. Mari definitely didn’t know what was going on, but Emily knew from experience that Mari was going to be furious that everyone would be seeing her designs at the same time. Had things gone according to plan, Mari would have asked to see the proposal Emily had put together, and had she approved, Mari would have passed the ideas off as her own. This way, though, everyone would know it was all Emily’s doing. This could go either very well or very, very badly.

  Charlotte was still the only one speaking, filling the room with the conversation no one else seemed capable of creating. “Now, since we have such a short amount of time, I was hoping, Emily, that we could all take a quick peek at your design ideas. I see you have some ideas for us there. So, can we see?” Charlotte grinned brightly, an adorable little dimple creasing one cheek in cherubic perfection. Emily couldn’t help being charmed by her. And grateful that whatever else was going on, Charlotte was putting everyone at ease and directing this meeting to the best outcome.

  Emily smiled back. “Of course, Charlotte. I’d be delighted. These are preliminary ideas. At this point, I have created some general themes that I thought would suit you. While I’ve grouped these ideas into overall looks, as we go through them, you can pick and choose what elements you like best, and then we can combine all those individual elements into one unique and coherent theme just for you…and Ethan.” Emily couldn’t help but stutter over his name.

  Dammit. She’d had the hottest kiss of her life with this man just a few days ago, and now it seemed she was helping him to plan his wedding. To someone else. She’d also had some of the most explicit sexual fantasies starring this guy throughout the weekend, often waking from slumber aroused and sweaty, only to be disappointed each time she awoke alone in her room.

  As Emily prepared her portfolio for viewing, Charlotte began directing everyone into place. Somehow, it was organized so that the only spot left available for Emily was next to Ethan in the too-small love seat that was usually reserved for the happy couple. Its plush cushions and tight fit made it impossible to maintain your own personal space when seated, and when Emily carefully lowered herself onto the soft, suede surface, she found that her thigh was pressed tightly into Ethan’s.

  Emily fidgeted with her skirt, trying to pull it lower down on her leg, but her efforts were thwarted by the push of his hard muscle against her. She tried to wriggle away from him, forcing her own legs more tightly together and nudging up against the side of the sofa in an effort to make more space, but Ethan just readjusted himself to fill in whatever small gap she’d managed to create between them. She would swear he was man spreading into her space.

  She couldn’t escape him, and the truth was she didn’t want to escape. She’d been craving the feel of him since the kiss. Now, here he was, and though she didn’t quite know the why and the how, her body caved to its thirst, and with a sigh, she relaxed herself into his heat. She caught, out of the corner of her eye, the twitch of his lips that signaled his pleasure at her capitulation.

  A clink of china as Charlotte prepared a cup of tea for her mother, and Emily’s thoughts snapped tight on the sexy feelings she was having for Ethan. Clearing her throat, she continued speaking to the group about the designs and opened the portfolio to the first pages. As she leaned forward to place it on the custom lazy susan on the low coffee table, however, Emily’s left breast accidentally grazed Ethan’s upper arm. She felt more than heard his sharp intake of breath, and jerked her body away to try to make space.

  “In this first theme,” Emily explained. “I wanted to show you something that is bursting with romance. Everything about this theme is soft and dreamy. I think that the sense of smell is often overlooked in weddings, so I have brought aroma into the design as well. The combination of flowers and greenery featured here combines the dreaminess of jasmine with a slight spiciness of the accent plants with the muskiness of these florals here.” Emily pointed to a flower on the page, while she continued.

  “Now, you’ll see that this is outside, and I’ve incorporated a tent, of course, but this tent is one that is specially designed to capture the scents of the floral elements. Strategically placed vents will not only direct the airflow to provide both a refreshing breeze, but will also hold the aromas inside, while making it seem as if the scent is carried in by the early summer wind. While these flowers, themselves, are subtle, that’s what makes the illusion of the garden scent so effective. It really does seem as if the scents are coming in from the environment and are not something that we’ve created. It brings an element of magic to your event.”

  While Emily kept everyone entranced by the picture she was painting with her words, she used everything in her to remain calm and coherent, since Ethan had leaned forward to get a better look at the book, and was now pressed even more tightly against her. She knew she wouldn’t be able to move away without creating a scene, but that didn’t mean she was happy about it. He should not be acting like this with his fiancée and future mother-in-law siting just inches away from him. The thought made her feel angry at him, and when he reached forward, presumably to look closer at the book, and his spicy, sexy scent wafted into her nose, she struck back by kicking the pointy toe of her shoe into his ankle. The movement was so subtle that it would be nearly impossible for anyone in the room to notice it, but it was still risky. If anyone were looking down towards their feet, she’d be caught. But the group was preoccupied by the images spread out on the table in front of them, and Emily let a small smile of satisfaction escape her lips. Ethan’s leg jumped in response, and he accidentally bumped the coffee table.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled.

  Emily gave him a benign and ever-so-slightly patronizing smile. “Oh, Ethan, it’s not unusual for the grooms to get a little jumpy at the sight of so much frilliness. We do know it’s out of your comfort zone. But trust me when I say that your guests will be smitten by all this.”

  Even though all eyes in the room were on them now, Emily couldn’t resist narrowing her eyes at him in warning.

  He returned her look with a bland one of his own. He reached towards the book on the coffee table.

  “Well,” he drawled as he picked it up. “I wouldn’t say this makes me uncomfortable at all. In fact, this might just be right up my alley. I can’t wait to see what else you have for me…uh, us…to look at.” He settled the book on his lap, but with his proximity to Emily, it draped over her lap as well. As he turned the page to see more of her ideas, he let his right hand slip under the book and brushed his fingers against the skin of her thigh. Emily’s whole body jumped at the contact, and Ethan smirked at her.

  “You all right there, Emily? You look like you just got stung by something.”

  Emily felt her cheeks redden. What the fuck was he doing? She cleared her throat, “Oh, I’m fine. It was nothing.”

  Despite her attraction to him, she needed this to stop. She didn’t go for men who were in relationships. Charlotte was her friend; at least Emily hoped she was. This needed to end. Now.

  With an internal sigh, Emily backed away both mentally and physically, from Ethan. Physically, she distanced herself by standing up and replacing the book on the table. Instead of sitting back down, she offered everyone a drink, a
nd invited Charlotte to turn the page to the next scene. She took a long look at Charlotte’s kind and open face, and chastised herself for kissing Ethan, and even more, for wishing she could do it again.

  Emily continued with her pitch. “This next scene combines romance and tradition with modern touches. I think this theme will bridge that gap between the older generation and the younger folks at your wedding.”

  Emily detailed her ideas for the group. Charlotte responded with quiet oohs and sighs of delight; Vivienne remained silent. Mari sniffed periodically, as it to remind everyone that she was still in the room. Emily could sense Ethan trying to catch her eye, but she ignored him, and pushed through her pitch. She was feeling a desperate need to escape.

  Finally, she made it through the book, and had showcased every possibility she proposed for them.

  “So, what do you all think? Really, what I need from you, Charlotte and Ethan, is to define the theme, and we will build the rest of the elements around that.”

  Emily looked over at Charlotte, who was entranced by the pictures in the portfolio.

  “Oh, these are just all so gorgeous! Emily, these are amazing! How can I pick just one?”

  “Well, Charlotte, like we talked about last week, I imagine you with traditional combined with modern edges.” Charlotte nodded her agreement, and Emily went on. “So we can do that, like I’ve shown here, but what I want to know is, do you like formal or do you want casual? Would you rather have people talking or dancing? That’s the sort of thing we need to figure out next. You two should go through the book I created and select the things you like best, give me a list of your favorite songs or artists, foods, those things, and I can use that information to tailor these ideas I’m presenting to you today specifically for you. I have to warn you, though, this can take some time. Do you have that time today? Or will we need to schedule another meeting?”