Happy-ever-after might not be waiting for Dan, but that didn’t stop him hoping that others might find it.
‘I did invite him to join me for a drink, but he turned green around the edges at the very suggestion,’ Wendell went on. ‘What on earth did you do to him?’
Put him to bed and saved him from his friends, Dan thought. But there was no point saying it. His father expected him to be the bad influence, and no amount of facts or logic would change that.
‘It was his stag night,’ Dan said, shrugging. ‘You were invited. You didn’t want to come.’
‘It was. And I didn’t. But when I stopped by to see how it was going around midnight—your mother was still up reading and I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I might as well—Riley wasn’t there. And neither were you or his best man.’
‘It had been a long day.’
‘One of Riley’s friends told me you’d taken Riley off to put him to bed. Is that right?’ Wendell asked, one eyebrow raised.
‘He’d had enough.’ Where was his father going with this?
Wendell nodded. ‘Probably for the best, then. So, where’s that girlfriend of yours this evening? Working?’
‘Getting ready, I think,’ Dan said, frowning at the sudden change of subject. ‘But she will be working, yes. It takes a lot of hard work to put on an event like this.’
‘I’m sure it does,’ his dad said, without even a glimmer of understanding. ‘So, is this one serious? Are you considering settling down again? Your mother wants to know if she needs to clear some time in her schedule next summer.’
Dan blinked. His parents hadn’t asked about a girlfriend since Cassie had left. And they hadn’t even made it to that wedding—mostly because he and Cassie hadn’t planned on getting married until they’d arrived in Vegas and suddenly it had seemed like the obvious idea.
Wendell rolled his eyes. ‘Come on, Daniel. She might not be changing the world with her career, but it’s obvious to anyone with eyes that she’s changing your world. I wasn’t sure when we met her that first night—she seemed a little mouthy, I thought. But then I watched you today, walking with her on the beach, and later I spotted you in that café. And I saw that this is real for you.’
‘It’s not...’ Real. The one thing his relationship with Laurel couldn’t be. Even if it felt like it—felt more real than his actual life, in fact. ‘It’s still quite new,’ he said in the end, knowing that at least it wasn’t a lie. ‘I don’t know where it’s going to go.’
That part was a lie, of course. He knew exactly what happened next for them.
His dad clapped a hand on his shoulder and Dan tried to remember the last time he’d done that. If ever. ‘When it’s love you know, son.’
Love. Was that really what this was? It hadn’t felt this way with Cassie—that much was for sure. Cassie had been all high adrenaline and passion and never knowing what happened next—and then later their marriage had been bitter arguments and fear and pain. None of which he wanted to relive.
But with Laurel it was...peaceful. There was still passion, of course, but knowing he had nothing to lose—that he couldn’t let her down because he’d never promised her anything beyond the weekend, that she couldn’t leave him and break him because he’d be leaving first—had taken the fear out of it. He’d been able to relax, enjoy her company, to feel...at home, somehow.
Until now. Until his father had said ‘love’ and he’d realised that it didn’t matter that he’d only met her three days ago, or that their whole relationship was fake.
Laurel mattered to him. And that changed everything.
‘But what if you’re wrong? What if you don’t know?’
He didn’t know what had made him ask the question, or where the desperate tone in his voice had come from. His dad looked at him in surprise, but he didn’t seem to have an answer. His hand fell away from Dan’s shoulder and they stood in awkward silence for a moment—until the best man, Noah Cross, came barrelling across the room looking for a drink and Dan was able to put down his glass and slip out unnoticed.
He stood in the hallway, resting his head against the wall, and tried to get a grip. He had to, he knew. He had to get control of his body, of his mind, of his emotions, before he saw Laurel again.
Usually he was good at this. Control was what he was famous for. The ability to control a fall or a dive or a stunt so perfectly that no one got hurt every time. The control to keep his face expressionless as directors waxed lyrical about the risks their stars took without even mentioning him or his team, and the fact that they did all the stuff the more famous actors couldn’t. The control to keep his heart safe as another person walked away from him.
His mind drifted back to the strange conversation with his father. What had that been, exactly? An attempt to find a way back? To give some fatherly advice twenty years too late? Dan didn’t know. But whatever it was...it had felt like the start of something. He just wasn’t sure he was willing to risk it ending as abruptly as it had begun.
Just like him and Laurel.
As her name floated across his mind he heard her voice, not far away, and focussed in on it.
‘Benjamin, I don’t want to talk about this again.’
Benjamin. Her good-for-nothing ex. Well, Dan might not be her prince in shining armour, but he could save her from that idiot, at least.
He followed the sound of their voices around the corner in the corridor, finding them just outside the restaurant where the rehearsal dinner was being held. He hung back for a second, taking in the annoyance on Laurel’s face—and the stunning dark red dress she was wearing.
‘All I’m saying is you’re running out of time to take advantage of this offer, Laurel.’
Even his voice sounded smarmy and weaselly.
‘The wedding is tomorrow.’
‘I had noticed, thanks. And I have quite a lot of work to do before then. So, if you’ll excuse me...’ She made to brush past him, but Benjamin reached out and grabbed her arm, holding her in place.
And that was it for Dan.
Striding forward, he wrapped strong fingers around Benjamin’s forearm and levered it away from Laurel.
‘The lady said she was leaving.’
‘I haven’t finished talking.’ Benjamin looked up, annoyance in his face as he shook his arm out. He turned back to Laurel. ‘I don’t think you realise how important this is. Coral’s job is depending on it.’
‘And what about mine?’ Laurel asked. ‘If word gets around that I leaked confidential details of a client’s wedding, who will hire me after that?’
‘We can help with that!’ Benjamin sounded excited, as if he thought he had her now.
Dan knew better.
Laurel sighed. ‘Benjamin, no. I won’t do it. Please stop asking me.’
‘That sounds pretty clear to me.’ Dan yanked Benjamin back a few feet and stood between him and Laurel, arms folded across his chest. ‘I think we’re done here. Don’t you?’
Benjamin glared at him, then peered around to try and catch Laurel’s eye again. ‘It’s not too late, Laurel. Even tomorrow morning a sneak preview of the dress could be worth serious money. Don’t forget—she deserves it. Right?’
Dan took a step closer and Benjamin finally backed away. ‘Fine, fine. I’m going.’
He waited until Benjamin had disappeared around the corner, presumably back to the bar, before he turned to check on Laurel. ‘You okay?’
‘Fine,’ she said, nodding. ‘I just...I really didn’t need him tonight, you know? And he wouldn’t listen. So, thank you.’
‘You’d have got through to him eventually,’ Dan said. He reached out to take her hand. ‘I just speeded things up a little.’
‘Well, I appreciate it.’ She smiled up at him then, raising herself onto her tiptoes and pressing a kiss to t
he corner of his mouth. ‘Thank you.’
‘Any time,’ he said, without thinking.
Because he wouldn’t be there any time. He only had until Sunday morning. He had to remember that.
‘I might take you up on that. Now, come on—we’ve got a rehearsal dinner to attend.’
She sashayed off down the corridor, her curves looking so irresistibly tempting in that dress that Dan couldn’t help but follow.