Josh’s eyes twinkled with good humor. “That sounds rough.”
“I couldn’t hack it,” she admitted. “I couldn’t stay still long enough.”
“It’s boring as hell.”
She stared at him, surprised he thought so. She’d heard he’d gotten way into yoga with Clarissa. “It is!”
He smiled, his brown eyes crinkling at the corners. A genuine smile. “Look at us getting along.”
She softened toward him. Maybe she should take that shoebox of money off his hands and let bygones be bygones. Then she remembered the last disastrous time she went through this with him six weeks ago and decided to handle it another way.
“You know what, Josh? You keep the money. Put it toward your bar. I don’t care about it anymore.”
“Yes, you do.”
Back to arguing with her! It was always a fight with this man, even when she was trying to be the bigger person. This was exactly why she kept getting sucked in! He pushed all her buttons all the time!
“It’s fine,” she assured him through gritted teeth. “Really.”
He smirked. “You’re just afraid to go back to my place.”
“I’m not afraid!”
“I admit last time was a complete disaster.”
She looked away. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Me either. This time will be different. Keep your dress on and everything will go fine.”
Her lungs constricted. Time seemed to stop. The words hung in the air between them keep your dress on. His casual comeback cut deep. After her meltdown today, after his stinging rejection while she stood there naked and vulnerable, after she’d started to warm to him again—it was all too much. How dare he bring up that humiliating night like it meant nothing!
She leapt from her seat. “You beast!”
“What’d I say this time?”
Chapter Three
After the exhausting engagement party for her mom and Joe, Hailey was relieved to be back in her office in Ludbury House on Monday. She made some notes on her online calendar and leaned back in her chair. Work was going well. It was the end of March and she had weddings booked solid every weekend from May through August, including her mom’s wedding, her friend Carrie’s wedding, and her friend Mad’s wedding. Carrie’s wedding in May was especially important because it would be featured in the national magazine Bride Special, along with a feature on Hailey as the wedding planner. It promised to be a huge article with Carrie’s wedding documented in full from proposal to planning the wedding to the ceremony and reception. Zach had proposed to Carrie during the get-together Hailey had arranged at Garner’s to show the Bride Special people how warm and inviting the Clover Park community was for locals and visitors alike. They’d loved it and asked permission to include the proposal in the article.
She fully expected to be booked solid year-round once the article published in the August issue. She’d be able to bring her part-time employee, her friend Ally, on full-time. It would be everything she’d ever dreamed of when she’d created this job for herself in her beloved hometown of Clover Park, minus her own happy-ever-after. Maybe this was how it was meant to be. Maybe she needed to save all her love and energy for other people’s happy endings. Clearly, she was good at it. She’d helped many couples get together among her friends and helped several engaged couples stick together during the sometimes stressful wedding planning process.
Her fur baby, Rose, a white terrier-Chihuahua mix, grumble-barked in her sleep, her little legs pumping in her pink Sherpa-lined bed. Must be one of her chase dreams. Rose had been her comfort ever since her friends gave her the sweet thing three months ago on New Year’s Eve. They’d recognized how out of sorts she’d been after saying goodbye to her friends-with-benefits relationship with Liam. Too bad she hadn’t been able to bring Rose to last night’s engagement party since her mom was allergic. She’d managed to return to the party after her crying jag, where her friends were all sweet concern and support. Her mom hadn’t even noticed she’d been crying. She’d thought Hailey’s long absence was because she and Josh were doing some wedding planning since they were maid of honor and best man at their parents’ wedding.
She sighed. She so dreaded her mom’s wedding. She was sure her mom would flake on Joe. The fact that her mom and Joe had gone from dating to engaged so quickly did not inspire confidence.
She clicked over to her email. Ooh! Something from Judith Mayer, the Bride Special reporter. She’d been hoping to hear from her soon. The article would come out in a little over four months, and they’d said they’d let her read an advance copy of the feature on her. She quickly read the email and gasped. They’d decided to run her wedding planner feature in the April issue, in print as of today, a copy was in the mail to her, and it had published online a week ago! Carrie’s wedding would appear in August as planned. Apparently, a wedding fell through and they’d needed to fill the space in the April issue quickly. She clicked on the link for the article and slapped a hand over her mouth. Omigod, the headline was everything—Queen of the Happy-Ever-After.
The picture of her in a lavender cocktail dress standing on the front porch of Ludbury House had turned out spectacular. She’d hoped they’d get a lot of the historic mansion in the picture since it was one of the main selling points for brides. Ludbury House was a gorgeous two-and-a-half-story white clapboard mansion with white columns and a wraparound porch. The home and manicured grounds had previously been the summer retreat of a wealthy New York City family back in the late eighteen hundreds. The town of Clover Park owned Ludbury House, and Hailey paid rent for the office space and use of the building for weddings. She also had to share the space occasionally for community events. The town loved that she regularly hired local businesses for the many needs of the weddings she planned. It was a mutually advantageous arrangement, but she dreamed of one day being able to buy the mansion from the town and truly own every part of her business. That would cost upwards of two million, so still just a faraway dream.
She started reading the article, hoping she came across as warm and friendly instead of the bundle of nerves she’d been at the time. So far so good. Judith described Ludbury House in glowing terms and Clover Park as a “quaint New England town centered around Main Street with shops and restaurants.” More scenery—Baldwin Park, churches, Victorian homes, modern colonials, etc. They described her as cheerfully incandescent and said all things romantic came naturally to her. Nice!
Whoa, wait. Hold on now. Judith hinted that her romantic side was because of the “palpable love” between her and Josh. She gulped. Hopefully Josh wouldn’t see this article. He’d never let her live the love thing down. The truth was, a little over six months ago, she’d asked Josh’s brother Logan to join her for part of the interview, playing the part of her devoted boyfriend because she wanted to look like she was part of their close-knit family and not single. Josh had shown up instead, trickster that he was, trying to catch her off guard and then laying it on thick with the reporter. Here we go, a big juicy Josh quote.
Josh: “I come from a large family—four brothers and a sister—and she’s got us all wrapped around her little finger. This is a woman who understands family, community, and how to bring them together. Any couple that looks to her for wedding planning can be assured her heart is invested in their happiness. She’s queen of the happy-ever-after.”
Heart pounding against her rib cage, she stared at the words, the implications slowly sinking in. He’d given the outstanding headline with his quote, and he actually respected her and her work. At the time she’d thought his smirky smile after everything he said at the interview had meant it was all a game, but reading it now without the smirk, it all sounded so sincere. Did he really mean these things?
She kept reading. More incredibly wonderful Josh quotes described her as “a dynamo building her business from the ground up” and “a smart successful businesswoman.” And the best, “Clover Park is lucky to have her.” Her throat tightened
, her eyes hot.
She hit a quick reply to the reporter, thanking her for the glowing article, and then just sat there, stunned. She should thank Josh. It was Monday afternoon. He was probably at work only a short walk away. He rarely took time off. Neither did she. They were both workaholics in their own way, both working toward a dream. He’d put his dream of owning his own bar on hold to pay his sister, Mad’s college tuition. Hailey had only recently learned from Josh’s dad that Josh had helped out Mad. Frankly, she’d been shocked to hear it because his billionaire twin, Jake, easily could’ve afforded it, which she’d said to Josh, and he’d gotten pissed and walked away. Apparently, he had a chip on his shoulder about money since he could’ve gotten in on the ground floor of his twin’s company, but instead chose a less lucrative career path. She could understand that angst. If she had a twin, she’d assume they’d be equally successful. But it was the life Josh chose, so he shouldn’t get so bent out of shape about money.
Another email popped into her inbox. Oh, it looked like a potential new client. The email was from phillyabroad. The subject line read Planning an Exclusive Wedding. She clicked on it.
Dear Ms. Adams,
My sister Silvia Rourke has asked (more like begged) me to contact you on her behalf in regards to her upcoming wedding. She read about you in Bride Special and insisted she had to have you. She’s in her senior year at Yale, hurtling toward final exams, while also out of her mind as a bride-to-be. Obviously I spoil my little sister by indulging her desire to have a “beautifully romantic” stateside wedding with her American fiancé, instead of the planned private legal ceremony. She will have a traditional wedding back home this summer. In any case, if a stateside wedding is to occur, it must be completed before July 1 and it must be done in complete privacy from the press. I will be staying in New York City for a monthlong visit both business and family related. If you’re available to meet, please let me know at your earliest convenience.
Regards,
Phillip Rourke,
Prince of Villroy
Ahhh! Hailey jumped from her seat. Was this for real? Her planning a wedding for a princess? Maybe it was a joke. Her friends knew she was a superfan of Prince Phillip. He had dark brown hair on the longish side, sexily rumpled, curling a bit on the ends, piercing aquamarine eyes, stubbled jaw, and a sexy smirk of a smile. His stats were readily available: five feet eleven, age twenty-eight, Norwegian and Irish descent. He was delicious, an A-grade hottie, and frequently photographed doing his prince thing throughout Europe. Villroy was a small island country just off the southwest coast of France, and the pictures she’d seen were mostly stunning scenery—the royal castle at the center, cute white cottages with blue trim, fields of heather, dramatic cliffs, and blue sea. A Viking tribe known as the Wild Ones originally populated the island. She’d always imagined Phillip was quite the wild stallion.
Double ahhh!!!
Okay, first things first. She texted Mad—the one most likely to pull a prank—and point-blank asked her if she was behind this turn of events. Mad had never heard of Silvia and assured Hailey she’d never mess with her at work. She shivered with excitement and quickly sat at her desk, searching online to see if there really was a Princess Silvia Rourke soon to be married to an American. She didn’t keep up with the entire royal family, only the hot one. She sucked in air a moment later. It was true. There was even an official royal announcement! She looked to the ceiling and screamed. Rose startled awake and leapt out of her bed, running in a circle around the room, barking her head off. Probably looking for the intruder. Hailey hurried over and scooped up her little love bug, looking adorable in her spring outfit—a bright yellow bow on a tiny ponytail on top of her head with a matching yellow and white polka-dotted thin sweater.
“It’s okay, Rose. I’m just happy.” She cuddled her close and stroked behind her ear. Rose quieted, resting her paws on Hailey’s shoulders. She danced around with Rose in her arms. Woo. Good thing she didn’t have any more client appointments this afternoon. She rushed back to her seat, settling Rose on her lap, and wrote back.
Your Royal Highness,
I would be honored to plan your sister’s wedding. I will make time whenever it is convenient for you to meet. Will your sister be joining us? I’m in Clover Park, Connecticut, which is about an hour outside New York City. Just let me know the time and place. Please be assured of my utmost discretion. I previously worked with Claire Jordan and successfully kept the press in the dark for the entirety of her attendance at several mutual friends’ weddings.
Sincerely,
Hailey
Claire Jordan was an internationally famous movie star and a good friend of hers. She almost wanted to add a title to her name like Phillip had. Ooh, how about her new title from the article? Hailey Adams, Queen of the Happy-Ever-After. She laughed to herself and left it out. She hit send, stood with Rose in her arms, and did a happy twirl in her office. Rose whimpered, which meant she needed a bathroom break.
She grabbed the leash from her doggie purse, clipped it to Rose’s collar, and took her out the back door for some privacy. It suddenly occurred to her she was booked solid this summer for weddings and had no room for a royal wedding. Crap. It wasn’t like you could move a wedding after a year or more of planning. No matter. She’d make it work. Maybe she’d use an alternate location for the ceremony and reception, or maybe she’d plan the wedding for a Friday or Sunday night. She did have those nights free, mostly to give her time for prep and cleanup for the usual Saturday and Sunday weddings. She’d temporarily staff up if she had to. How could you say no to this kind of opportunity?
Rose finished her business and attacked a dead leaf. Hailey scooped her up. “Good girl. Back to work.”
She headed back to her office. Since no one else was around, she shut the office door and gave Rose free rein to explore the office. She’d hidden small treats inside dog toys in various spots around her office to give Rose a job to do. She changed the spots every morning before she let Rose in from where Hailey tied her leash to a chair in the hallway. All part of their fun routine. Rose got busy sniffing, and Hailey went back to her desk, her mind racing with royal wedding ideas. Time flew by.
Just before she was about to close up shop for the day, she checked her email one last time. Eep! The prince replied! She clicked on it.
Dear Ms. Adams,
You may dispense with the formal greeting of your highness. That’s more my older brother’s style. I’m one of many spare heirs to the crown, second in line, which affords me a great deal more freedom than my brother’s stuffy duty-filled lifestyle. I will arrive at Ludbury House with my sister on Friday at five p.m. I look forward to meeting you.
Phillip
The Spare
She laughed. He had a sense of humor and sounded very down-to-earth for a prince. Oh, wow, now she really had to go thank Josh. If he hadn’t said such nice things about her, calling her Queen of the Happy-Ever-After, none of this would’ve happened.
She pulled the treat jar from her desk drawer and shook it. Rose came running, sat, and lifted both front paws in her beg position. She fed her a treat. “Good girl. Time for a walk.” She put on her tan spring coat and tied the belt. Then she put her pink doggie purse over her shoulder and settled Rose inside.
She practically floated down the sidewalk and across the street to Garner’s Sports Bar & Grill. This had turned out to be the most amazing day. And to think it happened the day after she’d hit an all-time low bawling her eyes out at her mom’s engagement party. Welp, there was nowhere to go but up when you hit rock bottom like she had. Now she might have an amazing new client. Why, if this went well, maybe she’d plan more weddings for the royal family. According to her brief online search, there were six royal siblings besides the princess, all of them single. How cool would that be?
She shook her head at herself. She never stopped dreaming. This wasn’t even a sure thing yet. She opened the front door of Garner’s and stepped inside, instantly w
arming in the familiar space. To the right was the restaurant area with several booths and tables, where a few young families were having dinner. Straight ahead was the long wraparound dark cherrywood bar, which was empty. Josh stood behind it, leaning against the bar and watching the news on one of the TVs perched over the bar.
“Hi, Josh!”
His head swiveled toward her. “You sound cheerful.”
“I am.” She closed the distance, and Rose set off a warning growl. Rose hated Josh. Hailey had no idea why. Josh had never even touched Rose. Maybe it was because he growled back at Rose. “Settle,” she told Rose. And she did. Hailey had gone through an intensive training program with Rose, who was now certified as a therapy dog.
“What’s up?” He wore a black T-shirt with ripped jeans that molded to his tall muscular frame. His stubble was back too, a five-o’clock shadow that always made him look a little dangerous, or maybe that was the edge to him hidden under a charming laid-back persona. He was a former soldier, cool and calculating. She’d seen the cool calculation in his eyes the first time they’d met, though as she got to know him over the years, his dark eyes reflected other things too, sometimes sharp intelligence, sometimes a deep soulfulness bordering on sadness, but mostly good humor at her expense.
She pulled out her phone, brought up the article, and showed him. “This.”
He took her phone and read the Bride Special article, brows drawn together in concentration. Yup, it was all there in black and white. Josh secretly respected her. She wasn’t just his personal entertainment system. She was so bowled over by what he’d done, calling her Queen of the Happy-Ever-After, and the subsequent outstanding turn of events, she blurted, “Why didn’t you say queen of the happy ending? I did start the Happy Endings Book Club to help single women find their happy endings.”
An Inconvenient Plan (Happy Endings Book Club, Book 10) Page 3