Josh shook his hand. “You?”
“Right answer.” Lake’s lips twitched.
Josh got the feeling that was this guy’s version of a grin. Kirsty nodded with approval. “I’m watching you,” she told Josh.
“And so am I.” Betty wobbled up to them. “Now, what’s my role in this wedding? And it better be a good one.”
Lake’s lip twitched again. “I’m putting you in charge of making sure Josh doesn’t mess with Caroline.”
Betty looked Josh up and down. She was clearly unimpressed. “Can I hurt him if he steps out of line?”
“We’ll negotiate that on a case-by-case basis.”
Her eyes glinted with glee. “I’m in.”
Josh bit back a laugh. This was the most fun he’d had in years. Coming to Scotland was the best decision he’d ever made. Nope, he thought as he looked over at Caroline, it was the second best. Proposing to the ice queen was number one.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
It was less than two weeks to the wedding and the town was on lockdown. They’d made national news, and it wasn’t good. Mitch grabbed the remote control and turned up the volume on the massive TV screen, which was now wedged into the much smaller office because Caroline had banished it from the grand room. The volume was almost deafening—the only way they could hear it over the building works.
“In other news this Tuesday morning,” the breakfast show presenter said, “the small Scottish town of Invertary appears to have set up its own form of passport control.” A photo of Josh appeared on the screen. “Grammy Award-winning singer Josh McInnes is soon to be married in this Highland town. To a local girl, Caroline Patterson.” A picture of Caroline looking very severe flashed on the screen. “It’s rumoured that Caroline met the singer at the library, of all places.”
The screen changed to a shot of the domino boys manning a makeshift barrier on the main road into town. “Nobody with a camera is getting in here,” Archie said. “We’re going to keep this wedding private if it kills us.” He smiled into the camera lens. “Or kills you. Don’t even think about sneaking over the hills; we have people watching and we’ll get you.”
It cut to the woman who was interviewing the domino boys. “As you can see, the town is taking this wedding very seriously indeed. As members of the press, we haven’t been allowed to go any further than this roadblock.”
The camera scanned the growing crowd beside the entry point to town. There were several news crews.
“Although being stuck out here isn’t so bad,” the woman said. “We’re getting regular food deliveries.”
A face pushed into the frame with the reporters. “This little problem”—Morag McKay pointed at the roadblock—“isn’t going to stop the wonderful members of the press from tasting my award-winning pies.”
She beamed at the camera. It was gruesome. The reporter stepped away from Morag. “We’ve seen many unusual and secretive celebrity weddings over the years, but we’ve never seen one where a whole town shuts down. We’ll keep you posted on future developments.”
The screen went black. Mitch turned to Josh, who was sprawled out on the tiny two-seat sofa.
“This is a publicity nightmare. Your PR team have no idea what to tell anyone.” Mitch pointed at the TV. “They’re turning you into a laughing stock. There may be no coming back from this.”
Josh clasped his hands behind his neck. Mitch’s tension was contagious; Josh’s neck was beginning to freeze on him.
“They’ll get fed up and move on to something else. I don’t have time to deal with this right now. Caroline will be here any minute. We’re picking out a wedding dress today.”
“You need to make time.” Mitch sat on the arm of the chair facing Josh. “We’re a three-ring circus for the entertainment press. This story is going to run every day until the wedding, and for years after it.” He threw the remote onto the chair and rubbed a hand over his face. “This wedding idea of yours is blowing up in our faces. Your credibility is going down the drain. A few more weeks of this and the story will be right up there with Jacko’s monkey, Mel Gibson’s meltdown and just about everything that Miley Cyrus does these days. You’re screwing up everything you’ve worked to achieve. Is it worth it?”
Josh ran his palms down his jean-clad thighs. He was beginning to feel stir crazy. The work crew were ripping apart his home, and every day it became more uncomfortable. The carpet was gone, the walls were clad in dark wood panelling and most of the ground floor was out of bounds. He’d been exiled to the tiny TV room that was overcrowded with furniture, the kitchen, which was full of his moody parents, and his bedroom, which was far too empty for his liking.
“Look.” Mitch huffed out a sigh. “Maybe we should move the wedding. A resort in the Caribbean, or LA? At least there they’re used to dealing with celebrities.”
“I can’t. It’s one of Caroline’s conditions. Get married in Invertary.”
“Fine, at least let me call in some expert security. Guys who are trained to deal with the press and not make things worse every time they open their mouths.”
“Lake Benson is handling security. You checked him out yourself. He’s got a great rep. What more do you want? If we replace the domino boys with gorillas in suits, everyone will say it’s overkill.”
“And this isn’t?” Mitch pointed at the blank screen. “Do you want to be known for your music or for this farce?”
He had a point. “No professional security on the roads. I want to keep it low key. Make sure Lake is keeping an eye on everything in case it gets out of hand. In the meantime, issue a statement letting it be known that we are very touched by the quirky locals, who feel so strongly about Caroline that they are making sure her wedding is private. Tell them I feel like a member of the family and that we’re all real amused by the town.”