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“My sister’s getting married and wants you to coordinate her wedding.”
His sister. Kelsey’s pulse picked up speed, racing faster than a car chase on the 101. The knowledge that Will Addison wasn’t the groom-to-be made her feel as though one of her weddings had been featured on “Weddings of a Lifetime.” She really did need a vacation if this was what a handsome stranger could do to her. Kelsey motioned him to the area where she consulted with clients. “Why don’t you have a seat?”
“Thanks.” Will sat in one of the overstuffed chintz-covered down chairs. “Nice place.”
“Thanks.” He should have looked out of place among all the feminine decor and bridal accessories, but he didn’t. Not one bit. And it annoyed Kelsey. This was her turf, her home field advantage, so to speak. Yet he didn’t seem uncomfortable among all the ruffles, ribbons and frills. “So when…”
As he picked up one of the bride magazines from the table and set it back down, Kelsey caught a flash of gold. She glanced at his left hand. At the ring finger of his left hand. At the gold wedding band on his ring finger.
Married. The man of her dreams was somebody else’s husband. No doubt another woman had realized he was a keeper. Yet he had flirted—well, maybe not flirted, but he’d—
Stop it.
This wasn’t like her. Not one bit. Will Addison was not the man of her dreams. Such a man didn’t exist. Kelsey of all people knew better than to engage in any sort of romantic fantasy. Not even for the briefest of moments. And definitely not with a married man. She straightened. “When is your sister’s big day, Mr. Addison?”
“Friends call me Will.”
“I’m sure they do.” Business demeanor back in place, Kelsey pulled out the five-year calendar planner from a nearby shelf and flipped it open. “So when does your sister want to get married?”
“February fourteenth.”
“I’m already booked for next year.”
“Not next year.” As he leaned toward her, she caught a whiff of him. Soap and water and something woodsy. Whatever cologne he wore, he smelled good, too good. Kelsey inched back in her chair until she could go no farther. She didn’t need a Ph.D. to know Will Addison was trouble. Big trouble. “This year.”
“But today’s the thirty-first of January. That’s only…”
“Two weeks away. It’s short notice, but—”
“Sorry, not possible.” With little regret, she closed the planner. It would be much better this way. Much better for her, that was.
“You have another wedding scheduled?”
Kelsey hesitated. This wasn’t her problem, her fault. Yet the intense look on his face… “I did, but it was canceled after the bride met someone else.”
The edges of his mouth turned up slightly. “So you can coordinate my sister’s wedding.”
She noticed he wasn’t asking her a question. “I can’t. Several clients offered to move their weddings up to Valentine’s Day, but I decided to take advantage of the cancellation and give my staff a well-deserved vacation. Everyone’s gone.”
Hope brightened his eyes, making them sparkle like emeralds. Not jewels, Kelsey told herself, but broccoli or AstroTurf or anything else that would be green and unromantic. Remember he’s married. And even if he wasn’t… “You’re here,” he said.
“Not for long. My flight leaves in three hours.” Kelsey reached for a nearby pad of paper and a pen. “I can give you some names of other wedding designers, but at this late date—”
“You don’t understand.” He brushed his hand through his hair, giving it an even more careless look than before. “It has to be you.”
“May I ask why?”
“Both my mother and my sister want it to be you.”
The desperation in Will’s voice almost made her believe it was true. He was a good actor, real good. “If it’s so important to them, why didn’t they come?”
His lips tightened, and he glanced at the pile of magazines. “It’s…complicated.”
It always was. “Mr. Addison, I’m about to leave the country for a much-needed vacation. I don’t have time for complications.”
He stared directly into her eyes, and Kelsey felt woozy. “My sister is Faith Starr.”
Of all the nerve…Kelsey’s blood pressure soared off the chart and perspiration wet the back of her neck. “Faith Starr?”
At least Kelsey now knew why Will Addison’s name sounded familiar—he was a blood relation, a brother no less, of the world’s worst client. It was all coming back to her. Will was the oldest of the siblings who traveled the globe running the family chain of Starr Properties—resorts, hotels and inns named for his mother—that catered to the rich, famous and not-so-famous. Just as Starr Addison’s husband, Bill, had used his wife’s name for the family’s real-estate venture, Faith had taken her mother’s name for her stage name. Not that it made a difference.
Nothing made a difference where Faith Starr was concerned.
Kelsey rose, barely able to contain the anger threatening to erupt worse than Mt. Vesuvius. She was an Armstrong and had been raised properly to follow etiquette and protocol, but one could only be polite for so long. “Get out of my office, Mr. Addison. Now.”
He stood. “I understand why you’re upset. Faith hasn’t been the most reliable—”
“Your sister is nothing more than a spoiled starlet, who strings fiancés along as if they were her personal puppets.” Faith Starr, actress extraordinaire and the world’s most famous runaway bride, had almost given Kelsey an ulcer—four times in the past three years. Faith was a perfectionist both in her craft and in planning her weddings. Never had Kelsey worked so hard with so little payoff in her life.
“I’ve already planned four weddings for her. Count them—four.” Kelsey raised four fingers. That was three too many. More business was one thing, but this… “I won’t be involved in number five.”
“Can’t we talk about this? Work something—”
“Out. I have nothing more to say on this matter so please leave.”
“If you only understood the circumstances—”
“Look,” Kelsey said, trying to keep her tone polite, yet firm. “I appreciate you came on behalf of your family. That’s very…noble of you considering my past with your sister. But nothing you say will change my mind.”
His assessing gaze made her self-conscious. It was all she could do not to smooth her skirt and check to see if a piece of spinach was caught between her teeth. “Are you always so stubborn?” he asked, his eyes twinkling.
“Out. Now.” At least the band of gold wasn’t the only negative thing about Will Addison. “Get out of my office before I call security and have you thrown out.”
Waiting for Kelsey to step out into the hallway was far from Will’s idea of a good time, but he wasn’t leaving until he had a chance to speak with her again.
The seconds turned into minutes; the minutes into an hour. How much longer before she left for the airport? He stared at the door to Kelsey’s office. No catchy name for her business, simply Kelsey Armstrong Waters, Wedding Consultant, in a script font. Too bad there was nothing simple about the woman herself.
He should have handled it better, but Kelsey had caught him off guard, and he wasn’t a man used to being caught off guard. He didn’t like the feeling one bit.
Damn Faith.
Will was going to kill her. He shouldn’t have promised to oversee her wedding planning while she finished filming her latest movie. Faith had said this would be easy. As easy as pushing an elephant into an elevator. And the wedding was the least of it.
Will was used to being around beautiful, wealthy, accomplished women and having them flirt, even pursue him. He was used to tolerating such women; he was an expert at fending off their advances unless he wanted a little company. But it never went further than that. No one intrigued him enough to make him want more.
Until today.
Something had happened when he’d seen Kelsey’s reflection in the mirror. He’d stood transfixed as if watching a piece of living art. Unguarded expressions had played on her face, and emotion clogged his throat. He’d felt as if he were trespassing, but he hadn’t been able to stop staring at her. Tall and willowy, with long chestnut hair that shone and sparkled as if each strand had been individually cleaned and polished, she looked so young, so soft, so sweet. The wistful smile on her face had touched his heart and he’d wanted to capture the moment. For the first time in a long while, he’d felt the racing of his pulse, the pounding of his heart. And he’d liked the way it felt. Liked it a lot.
When Kelsey had realized she wasn’t alone, the glowing bride-to-be had metamorphosed into the cool, distant professional. No flirting, no fawning. She’d even called him “Mr. Addison” and kept it strictly business.
Yet when she’d realized he was Faith Starr’s brother…Talk about passion boiling under a cool facade. Will couldn’t believe the change in the woman. Flames had danced within the violet depths of her eyes, raising his temperature enough to melt the ice in his veins. She’d shown restraint, yet her anger had been clear. No amount of charm would ever change her mind. Forget the sweet talk, even his never-fail smile hadn’t worked.
Will didn’t get it. He always got what he wanted from women. Even with Sara.
Sara.
Will’s gut tightened.
What the hell was he doing? Being attracted to Kelsey was one thing. He hadn’t spent the past eight years as a total hermit, but he had no right to be intrigued by her. She wasn’t simply a guest at one of his resorts; she was the woman he had to convince to plan his sister’s wedding. His family, most especially his mother, was counting on him to bring Kelsey to Lake Tahoe. He wouldn’t let his mother down. He couldn’t let her down.
The door to Kelsey’s office finally opened. She stepped out, locked the door and turned. The moment she saw him, her lips tightened. “What are you still doing here?”
Her above-the-knee gray tailored suit hugged each and every curve. Will forced his gaze to focus off her body and on her face. There was both a delicacy and a strength to her features. Her classic beauty would only improve over the years, and she didn’t need all that makeup. High cheekbones dusted with blush, full lips painted the color of a mouthwatering plum and eyelids outlined with black liner. At least she hadn’t tried to hide the small mole near the left side of her mouth. “You seemed upset. I wanted to apologize.”
She stared down her perfectly shaped nose as if he were a mere peon. Fine by him. Will knew how to deal with women like that. He made a living catering to customers, to the whims of the wealthy guests staying at his family’s resorts. He hadn’t thought Kelsey fit that cold and shallow mold. She’d seemed more the warm and passionate type, but it would be easier this way. Much easier. “I also wanted to apologize for Faith. She’s very sorry for what she put you through.”
“Which time?”
“All four of them,” he admitted.
Unblinking, Kelsey studied him. “You’ve said your apologies, now leave.”
“I don’t blame you for being upset at Faith, but I wish you would hear me out. You didn’t lose money on any of her weddings.”
“No, your mother saw to that, but I lost something far more valuable—my time.” Kelsey flipped her hair behind her shoulder, and Will felt a twinge in his groin. Ignore it; ignore her. She continued, “And it hurt my reputation. In a business like this, reputation is everything.”
“Granted, but Faith has changed. She loves her new fiancé and is serious about getting married this time.”
“Which of her latest co-stars is she engaged to?”
“He isn’t an actor.”
The news seemed to surprise Kelsey, but she continued to stare at the gilt-framed botanical print on the wall. “A director, then?”
“No. His name is Trent Jeffreys. He runs a nonprofit agency.”
“Nonprofit?”
“Low-cost housing, affordable living alternatives. He’s even got Faith volunteering on a few of his projects.”
“So he’s not in the business.” From the prim tone of her voice, Will could tell Kelsey still wasn’t swayed. “I don’t think having a two-week engagement shows any growth on Faith’s part.”
He saw her point. “She’s been engaged since Halloween.”
“So why are you only coming to me now?”
Here’s where it got tricky, Will realized. Once Kelsey agreed to come with him, she’d learn the truth, but for now that was family business and private. Will wished he could keep it that way, too. Thinking about what had happened to his mother was hard enough. He didn’t want to talk about it. Might as well dangle the big carrot instead to see if Kelsey bit.
“As I said, it’s the real deal this time. No more Hollywood extravaganzas like the weddings Faith asked you to plan for her. She and Trent want a small wedding with only close friends and family in attendance.”
“Doesn’t matter. At this late date every place is booked for Valentine’s Day.”
“Not the Starr Lake Inn at Tahoe.”
Kelsey’s sharp gaze met his. “Weddings aren’t allowed at Starr Properties.”
“True. They are intrusive on our other guests, but rules are made to be broken. Especially for family.” Will saw he’d piqued her interest. “Unfortunately, the plans for Faith’s wedding have gotten—how should I put it?—a little out of hand. We aren’t known for putting on weddings, and we need a professional like yourself to help us with the finishing touches and the final arrangements.”
Kelsey said nothing. The seconds ticked by. Time to seal the deal. America knew how wealthy the Armstrong family was, so money wouldn’t be a good motivator. But according to his mother, Kelsey’s business meant the world to her. “If you agree to work on Faith’s wedding, we’ll allow you to use a Starr property for a future wedding. Any wedding.”
Kelsey’s eyes widened. Yes, her interest was genuinely piqued. Leave it to his mother…
“I’d want an exclusive contract to use any Starr property.”
Will was used to negotiating with cutthroat Realtors, city planners, you name it. Sharks, all of them. Kelsey was as sharp and smart. And something told him he would enjoy the challenge. Will smiled. “Only one?”
“At least one at each of your properties.”
Ouch. The shark bit off one of his limbs and spit it back at him. She reminded him of his mother. Starr was the reason the resorts were such a success. She had taught him everything she knew about business and negotiating. His mother had also taught him when to cut bait. “Fine. You may put on one wedding at each property provided you work with my office and use our chefs and staff.”
Kelsey got a faraway look in her eyes and it softened the features on her face, reminding him of how she’d looked when he’d first stepped inside her office and saw her in the veil. “Let me get this straight. All I have to do to get this wonderful opportunity is cancel my vacation, go with you to Lake Tahoe for the next two weeks and work on Faith’s wedding?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think so.”
He did a double take. “What did you say?”
“I said no.” She adjusted the leather bag on her shoulder. “Not even the exclusive use of Starr properties could make me want to work with your sister again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a plane to catch.” Kelsey pushed past him.
Her strength of will impressed him. At least she had principles. But everyone had a price. He only had to find hers. “What would change your mind?”
She pursed her lips. “Do you have another sister who wants to get married?”
“Hope’s already married.”
“Sorry.”
But he could tell she wasn’t. Damn. He’d never expected her to turn down his offer…Now he was in a real bind, which left him only one other option.
To tell her the truth. “Wait.”
She turned. “What is it now?”
“There’s something I haven’t told you about why we need you to plan Faith’s wedding.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
