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Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 1 (#ulink_cfeef816-fd0c-525d-aeb5-d5c52b1725c9)
“You’re headed off to your friend’s wedding this weekend, right?”
Elina Sinclair barely managed to keep herself from groaning out loud to her boss. She hated weddings. Reece was the sole reason she was going. Her best friend had seen her through enough trauma in her life. The least she could do was be there for her girl as she walked down the marriage-guillotine-aisle. “Yeah, I leave tonight. I’ll be back on Sunday. But if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”
Her boss, Delilah Donovan, leaned back against the sofa in the lounge area of their office. In the far corner, Delilah’s business partner, Willow, hunched over her laptop.
“Honey, it’s a wedding, and a couple of days off. Enjoy it. Flirt with the cute best man. That’s what you’re supposed to do.”
Elina considered this. Maybe right now was not the time to tell Delilah that she loathed every single thing about weddings. That, thanks to her mother, the fairy-tale luster had worn off...probably not a good idea to mention that since her boss had just tied the knot herself. “Yep, I hear you. Fun, fun. That’s me.” She forced a smile.
More like she’d rather be following some survival guide through the Mojave Desert, eating things gross enough to make her stomach turn, than go to this wedding. It’s for Reece. Yeah, for her bestie, she could suck it up and put on her big-girl thong.
Delilah rolled her eyes. “Elina, I swear it’s like you don’t want the time off.”
“Not really. I’ve gotten used to the pace, and I like it.” D. Donovan Image Consultants was a boutique public relations agency. They cleaned up the reputation of the worst media screwups. Made problems go away. Technically they were PR firm meets law firm, but they were so much more than that. They affected real change in people’s lives. Their clients included CEOs, diplomats, politicians and athletes. Delilah didn’t handle celebrities anymore though, thanks to several bad apples.
After graduation, Elina had been drifting, looking for something permanent. Trying to decide if she was going to grad school or not, and she’d seen one of Delilah’s clients on television with Delilah standing right next to him—clearly in charge of things. Elina had been fascinated and contacted the agency right away, practically begging for an interview. She’d even offered to work for free for a month. To her surprise, Delilah had said yes. During that month, Elina did everything from pick up dry cleaning for Delilah and her partner, Willow Green, to chasing down wayward clients and dragging them back to rehab, to drafting media statements. Delilah had hired her after that. That had been a year ago, and Elina wasn’t looking back. She didn’t know any of her friends who had that dynamic of a job. Especially not at twenty-three. And the best part was, Delilah was having a huge impact in the PR industry and she was only twenty-six. The story was she’d worked a great deal at Park & Associates where they paid for law school while she worked for them. So she’d gone to school at night, all the while getting hands-on experience from the best. Elina wanted to be her when she grew up.
“Speaking of you working your butt off, Willow and I wanted to talk to you about something.”
The stunning redhead’s alabaster skin looked like the center of an Oreo, where Elina and Delilah acted as the cookies. Willow smiled. “You’ve done some outstanding work and really stepped up in the last year. It doesn’t matter what we ask of you, and that’s really impressive.”
Delilah added, “I think you’re almost ready for your first solo client. Maybe we’ll start with someone who doesn’t have a huge profile to not overwhelm you. The next client I have coming in might be a pain, but I’ll give you parts of the account for sure. We’ll see how you do, then bump you up to do one all on your own. How does that sound?”
Elina giddily shifted in her seat like a kid on the last day of school. She tried to speak but all she could manage was a guppy impression. Finally, she found the words. “Oh my God, are you serious?”
Delilah nodded. “Yep. You’ve done great work. And you make things happen for yourself. You remind me of me.”
“Thank you so much. I really appreciate it,” Elina sputtered.
“You should celebrate and take off to the wedding early. Catch the off-peak jitney before everyone else heads to the Hamptons and it gets too crowded.”
Willow unfolded her long limbs and stood up from the bright pink lounger. The office decor was cool, comfy and contemporary with a mix of boho chic. Delilah had converted the warehouse space next to her old apartment into the offices for D. Donovan. When she’d married her husband, Nate, they’d moved to some fancy penthouse, and Willow had rented her old apartment from the couple.
As Elina walked back to her desk, she wanted to dance. Or laugh, or run and tell someone. Except there’s no one to tell. There was her mother. And she had friends. Good friends, though none as good as Reece. But she hardly saw them, because she’d been so focused on her job for the last year. Well, it didn’t matter that she had no one to call. Maybe Willow was right. She could head up now and spend some extra time with Reece...before the wedding. Inject some fun into her life.
And just like that, her happy mood evaporated. Maybe it wasn’t too late to back out. No. She could support her best friend no matter how she personally felt about weddings. Even if it killed her...slowly...with a pickax to the soul.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out to answer. But when she saw it was her mother, she sent the call directly to voice mail. Elina knew her mother by now. It was her mother’s third call that morning, which could only mean one thing.
Either she had some new boyfriend that she was desperate to introduce Elina to, or, she had a man for Elina. The last thing Elina needed was a guy in her life. She’d told her mother this countless times. Of course her mother didn’t listen. The woman was always chasing love. Had been ever since Elina was little. Hell, she’d been married seven times. On paper, her mother was Gigi Meyers Sinclair James Adams Sinclair Thomas Stoya Sinclair.
Her parents had married three times. They just couldn’t leave each other alone. No matter how destructive and codependent they were. Growing up, Elina must have been the only kid of divorced parents who wished her parents wouldn’t get back together. She adored her father and could never understand why he put up with her mother’s dramatics. Must have been love. After he died, her mother had been devastated, and Elina felt like part of her heart died, too. Her parents might not have been married at the time, but her mother always called her father her greatest love.
After seeing what love could do to her mother, and the pain of losing her father, Elina refused to let love do that to her again. No matter how hard her mother tried to change that.
Nope, Elina had a singular focus—her career. There would be no falling in and out of love, no series of walks down the aisle. She’d seen it all. And weddings, love and relationships held zero appeal. She’d keep her eyes on the prize—kicking butt and showing Delilah what she could do.
Chapter 2 (#ulink_58efb84b-ecd1-532e-8a1d-4f6de85c8a26)
Promises, promises. So what if Elina promised herself she’d never attend another wedding. She’d lied. At the time she never thought Reece would get married. But she would make it through this weekend. She had to.
Reece was waiting at the jitney stop with a convertible and a grin as the sun glinted through her golden locks. “Jesus, girl, could you be any more Hamptons?” Elina laughed as she strolled over to the car.
Reece was far more exuberant in her greeting. “Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod. You’re here, you’re here!” The screeching was punctuated with a running launch and a huge hug. It was a good thing that Reece was all of five feet tall, otherwise she would have knocked Elina onto her butt.
Although Reece was small, she was mighty. The hug she gave was strong enough to cut off crucial air supply. Elina hugged her back, reveling in the familiar embrace.
When they’d been paired as freshman year roommates in boarding school, Elina didn’t think she and the blonde Southern transplant from Georgia would have anything in common. But from the moment Reece had barged into the dorm room, she’d been one of those friends who wouldn’t let go. Reece was one of those people who left no option but to love her. And if you didn’t love her at first, she was going to make you love her. The girl didn’t take no for an answer. It was probably why the two of them got along so well.
“Honey, when I said I was coming early, I didn’t mean for you to pick me up personally. I thought you’d send Uber or something.”
Reece’s delicate brow drew up. “You’re kidding me, right? First of all, my mother-in-law and Mama have this thing on lock. All I have to do is show up. And I’m a happy bride for it, not having to make any decisions.” She laughed. “All I wanted was final say on the dress and the hair and makeup, because you know Mama would have me looking like a pageant girl reject if I let her. Southern women and the big hair. I didn’t give two flying figs about the whole Hamptons wedding nonsense. All I care about is Adam. So I have nothing to do except walk down the aisle.”
And that was why Elina loved her bestie. Keeping it real and keeping it relaxed. Most women, like Elina’s mother, would be in full bridezilla mode right about now.
Reece wrestled her bag from her and tossed it into the back of the car. “Gimme that.”
“Seriously, Reece, I’ve got seven inches on you. I can carry my own bag.”
“Look, I know how you feel about weddings, so I’m going to make this whole process as easy on you as possible.”
“You don’t have to do that. This is your day, or weekend rather.”
“I’m so glad you feel that way, so you might as well shut up and do as I tell you.”
Elina laughed. “Okay, suit yourself.”
“I will, thank you very much. We’re off to brunch.”
“Seriously? There has to be some wedding thing to do.”
“It is not my wedding day. I have nothing to do except hang with my girl. Not until tomorrow, anyway. This is the day before my wedding day. And I get to do what I want. We’ve already done the shower and the bachelorette party and everything, so we get to chill out. Come on, I’m starving.”
That was the other thing about Reece. For such a small woman, she ate enough for two grown men. “Then by all means. Let’s feed the tiny beast.”
By the time they were seated in a lovely café overlooking the water, Reece had already regaled her with stories of wedding shenanigans from both her mother and her mother-in-law-to-be. The two women got along, but they were so eager to one-up each other, things had gotten more than a little crazy.
“I mean, you should see the damn centerpieces, Elli. They’re huge. It’ll be any wonder the guests can see around the things to chat. And don’t even get me started on the gift bags. I mean who needs Tiffany’s cell phone charms? Explain this to me. Who?”
“Your mother?” Elina laughed.
“God, that woman is infuriating. Speaking of infuriating, how is Mama Sinclair?”
Elina sighed. “I’ve gotten three calls from her today alone, with two ‘call me’ urgent texts.”
“Maybe it’s important. You know. She might need you.”
She shook her head. “No. Since she has a habit of calling so often we established that if it was an emergency she needs to text 911, otherwise I’ll call her when I get a chance.” Elina shrugged. “And right now, I haven’t had a chance.”
Reece grinned. “Let me guess, you had to define what an actual emergency was at some point?”
Elina almost choked on her French fry she was laughing so hard. “It’s like you were there.”
“Nope, I just know your mother.”
“I mean who else has to explain to their parents that what to wear on a date is not an emergency. Or some guy not calling is not an emergency. Or that some guy sexting a pic of his schlong is not an emergency. I finally had to outline an emergency as something that involved the fire department, police, ambulance, illness, hospitalization or impending death. And even then, she called me once because she pulled a muscle at boot camp and the paramedic who came to the park to check her out was supercute. She claimed that required an ambulance so that was warranted.” Elina shook her head. “This is my life.”
Reece just laughed. “I love your mama, so awesome.”
“That hurts me right here.” Elina put a hand over her heart as she laughed.
“Enough Mama madness. How’s the job?” Reece asked.
“Great, actually. I came early because Delilah gave me the rest of the day off.” Elina filled Reece in on the details, and true to form Reece was genuinely happy for her.
They chatted for another half hour when Reece did a double take and beamed. “Look, there’s Adam and Gabe.”
Elina finished her fry and plastered a smile on her face. She had to go into happy wedding mode. Not that she had any problem with Adam. As a best-friend-in-law-to-be, he could have been worse. Adam was really sweet and loved her bestie, so he was okay in Elina’s book. It was just the whole matrimony thing. Why couldn’t they just be the Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell of normal people?
“Hey, ladies. Fancy meeting you here.” Adam kissed Reece on the nose. He and Reece were just about the cutest thing in the world to watch. Adam was maybe Elina’s height if she was being generous. And his dark hair and eyes were the perfect contrast to Reece’s golden hair and bright blue eyes. They were like a pocket-size Ken and Barbie.
Elina stood, and they enveloped each other in a huge hug. “Hey, stranger. You ready to make an honest woman out of my friend here?” she asked.
“She’s making me the honest man.” Adam beamed.
Elina shook her head. The two of them making googly eyes was not something an avowed single girl needed to see. She turned to Gabe, who gently released Reece from a hug. Or more like, Reece finally let him go.
Elina felt vindicated when she saw him gulp for air. “You must be Gabe. I’ve heard a lot about you.” She thrust out her hand, but he ignored it. Instead, he wrapped her in a warm hug. The near physical slam of lust was enough to steal her breath and singe her panties.
He smelled like sandalwood and the beach, and she was so temporarily blindsided that she almost leaned in and inhaled. Gabe released her quickly and stumbled back.
When he spoke, his voice was husky. “Reece’s mom says you don’t shake hands with family. And seeing as we’re family now, that calls for a hug.”
It took her several seconds to find her voice. Where the hell had she misplaced that thing? She told herself it wasn’t her fault. Any red-blooded woman would have this response to a guy like Gabe.
She judged him to be just a little over six feet. And while he was lean, he was solid. From what Elina could see from his biceps and forearms, he didn’t skip time at the gym. And his soft cotton T-shirt didn’t hide a thing. Certainly not the defined pectorals. Get it together, Elina. He’s just a guy. You’ve seen them before.
She managed to stammer, “Right, family.” He hadn’t been able to make it to the shower, and somehow through the years they’d never met. Because if she had met him, she’d have prepared herself for that stunning lopsided smile. Maybe she would have done some mental calisthenics or something. His eyes were a beautiful shade of green—so clear and alert, with flecks of blue and brown and yellow. Butterflies danced low in her belly, and her smile broke free even though she knew better. Her body—tingling. Brain—on vacation. His mouth was moving. Damn, what was he saying? Focus.
“Really glad you could make it down early. Now we can get to know each other before the big day.” He was flirtatious, and his voice held a hint of mischief. And he stunned Elina into a momentary silence.
Yes, hell yes. Wait, what? No. No. She was not looking for anything. The last thing she needed was a guy. Particularly this guy, who was too good-looking for his own good.
Besides, she’d had someone like this once. Beautiful to look at, charming as hell. She’d even considered forever with him, too. That is, until she discovered he was just as charming with several other girls. No. She knew better than to get sucked in.
“Yep. Well, I wanted to get some extra time in with Reece.”
“I think Reece will probably be busy, but I’m sure we can probably find a few things to get up to in the Hamptons. Let me be your guide.” He was persistent.
Oh boy. This guy would guide her right into trouble. The naked, fun kind. But trouble nonetheless. “Somehow, I have a feeling that you might be the kind of guide that gets me lost.”
He winked at her. “Isn’t that half the fun?”
Elina was sure of one thing. If she wanted to hold on to her panties and her sanity, she had to stay on her toes around Gabe. It didn’t matter if he made her insides go all fluttery. Besides, if she ever wanted her own solo client, then she had to keep her eyes on the prize and not on his muscles.
* * *
It was the chase. It had to be the chase. Gabe Alexander stared at Elina on the dance floor. She was laughing at something that Reece’s mom said and he was completely struck by her. Had been since yesterday. But no amount of charm and wit was getting through to her. She was like flirting with a brick wall.
Normally, women fell into his lap. He wasn’t used to doing so much work to get someone’s attention. But it didn’t matter what he did, Elina gave him nothing to work with. He already knew from Reece and Adam that she didn’t have a boyfriend. No recent breakups. She was single.
And he felt that electric current when they first hugged, so she was attracted, but she still didn’t take the bait.
Not like he had time to chase a girl right now. He was chasing funding for his first movie, and was running out of time. Stone Heart was the unofficial biography of his grandmother, Gretta Stone, and how she became the first Hollywood movie executive back in the fifties. She was the reason his father got a start in the business.
He’d wanted to tell the story for a long time, but the funding was difficult. Well, it doesn’t have to be difficult. But there was no way he was asking his father for the funds. That was the last place he wanted to go. Not that the old man would even back the film. Once he’d transitioned out of acting, he’d become a director, only focusing on the big-money projects. He didn’t think the movie would make him any money.
It didn’t matter, though; Gabe was determined to do this on his own. For once, he wanted his career to be his own with no influence from the old man. He owed his grandmother everything. Between her and his mother, they’d pulled him back from the brink. He was getting this story told.
As a kid, it made sense. He was Andrew Alexander’s son. It made logical sense to follow in his father’s footsteps. But soon, all anyone had ever seen when he walked into a room was his father. So, like any teenager, he’d rebelled. And he was still paying for that rebellion.
But he had a few friends in the business, and plenty of money, thanks to a wildly popular trilogy he did when he was twelve, but he didn’t have producer money. And the rest of the world saw him as that spoiled kid, acting out, boozing it up and sleeping with too many women.
Thanks to his grandmother, after college, he’d long since cleaned up his act, even made some wise investments. He needed to change that bad-boy image if he wanted a career in this business.
But even with everything going on, and everything on the line, he was completely drawn to Elina. It was mostly her laugh. Every time she talked to Reece she was happy and giddy. They laughed like two teenage girls snickering over some boy they liked.
But during the ceremony, Elina looked haunted, scared. He wanted to know why. More than that, he wanted to fix it. To make it go away.
“You stare any harder at her and I will make you declare your intentions.”
Gabe laughed and slapped Adam on the back. “How is the newly minted groom doing?”
His best friend grinned. “I’m perfect. I can’t believe it’s finally done. She’s mine.”
Watching Adam and Reece almost made Gabe want to settle down. They were so suited to each other, and really happy. “Good for you, man. I’m happy for you. And I hope you enjoy your wedding present to the fullest.”
