Proposal for the Wedding Planner

Something to be grateful for, he supposed—whatever was between him and Laurel, it wasn’t love. Couldn’t be after just a few days of knowing each other. No, their pretend relationship had grown into something less fake, he’d admit. But that didn’t make it real. Not in the way that hurt.

‘Then what?’

Laurel’s eyes were sad as she asked, and he realised he had no answer for her. She had all her dreams laid out before her, and he had...

‘Maybe I’m happy just as I am,’ he said.

‘Maybe...’ Laurel echoed. But she didn’t look as if she believed him.

And Dan wasn’t even sure he blamed her.

CHAPTER EIGHT

BY THE TIME they made it back to Morwen Hall Laurel was ready for a nap. But instead she had to prepare for the rehearsal dinner.

The staff at the hall had been busy setting up most of the decorations, table settings and so on, but Laurel knew she wouldn’t be able to relax if she didn’t check on them. Leaving Dan to find his own way to their room to prepare, she headed to the restaurant—only to find she wasn’t the only person checking up on the arrangements.

‘Hey!’ Laurel called as she crossed the restaurant to where Eloise was slumped at a table. ‘Everything ready here? We just got back. Everyone’s gone to get changed for the rehearsal dinner. Which I’m guessing you will be too...?’

She left it hanging, not entirely sure Eloise didn’t plan on attending in her suit. Eloise didn’t like dressing up, she’d learned, and after a day of being poked and prodded by stylists for the photoshoot she wouldn’t blame her for being done.

‘Yeah.’ Eloise glanced at her watch. ‘Oh, yes, I’d better get moving. Did the tour go okay? Nice romantic day out with Dan?’

‘Yes, thank you,’ Laurel said simply.

There weren’t words to explain how perfect her day had been—or how bittersweet. Not without explaining the whole fake relationship and her feelings about the fact he was leaving in two days. And nobody had time for that this week.

‘What about you? How were the interviews?’

‘All fine,’ Eloise said, and Laurel relaxed a little.

She was incredibly grateful she hadn’t been thrust into the role of maid of honour, and so didn’t have to deal with photoshoots and interviews, but she had been a little nervous about how Eloise would cope with it. She wasn’t used to the spotlight any more than Laurel was. She was glad it seemed to have gone off without incident.

‘And how is the very gorgeous Noah?’

Laurel raised her eyebrows expectantly. Because, really, wasn’t that what everyone in the hotel wanted to know? After their kiss at the Frost Fair the day before everyone had an opinion on the possible relationship between the best man and the maid of honour. She’d heard at least three theories on the bus back from the seaside, but there was definitely a prevailing one.

Eloise groaned. ‘Don’t ask.’

‘So there is something going on with you two!’ Laurel cried triumphantly. ‘I knew the gossip was wrong.’

‘Gossip?’ Eloise jerked her head up. ‘What gossip? What are they saying?’

‘Nothing bad, I promise.’ Laurel pulled out the chair next to Eloise and sat down. ‘Nobody’s laughing or anything. In fact everyone seems to think that you’re keeping Noah at arm’s length. I take it that’s not entirely the case?’

‘It’s a secret,’ Eloise blurted out. ‘I don’t want anyone to know.’

‘Well, so far, they don’t. In fact, from what I heard people are pretty amazed. They’ve seen him hanging around, chasing after you—apparently that’s not his usual modus operandi.’ She didn’t mention the more outlandish theories—that Eloise was actually his estranged wife and he was trying to win her back, or that everything that seemed to be going on was actually an audition for a new film, or something.

Eloise sat back in her chair and stared at her. ‘Really? How do you mean?’

Laurel shrugged. ‘Seems he usually lets people come to him. He’s the chase-ee, not the chaser, if you see what I mean.’

When it came to her and Dan, which one of them had chased the other? Laurel wondered. Dan had suggested the fake relationship plan, but she’d put it into action. And she would be hard pressed to say exactly which of them had kissed the other first. And as for last night... There hadn’t been any chasing at all, she realised. Just two people coming together as if it were simply too much effort to stay apart. As if gravity had been dragging them in.

Until Sunday—when all forces would be reversed and they’d be thrown apart again.

She shook her head, hoping to dispel the depressing thought. But when she turned her attention to Eloise she realised that her friend’s expression echoed exactly the way she was feeling. She hadn’t been able to put a name to it herself, but seeing it on Eloise’s face it was suddenly so, so obvious.

‘Are you okay?’ Laurel asked, trying to ignore the lump in her throat. ‘You look...scared.’

As terrified as I feel. Like you don’t know what happens next, and you can’t see your way clear to the happy-ever-after.

There had to be a happy-ever-after. That was the only thing keeping her going through all the wedding prep—knowing that once it was over she got to chase her own dream.

So why was she suddenly so reluctant for Sunday to come?

Laurel’s heart tightened. I don’t want him to go. Not even if it means I don’t get to go searching for my happy ending.

‘I’ll be fine.’

Eloise pasted on a smile that Laurel was sure was only for her benefit. Underneath it, she looked utterly miserable.

‘I need to go get ready for tonight.’

With a groan, she pushed her chair away from the table and stood, walking away without a goodbye, leaving Laurel alone at the table, wondering how the two of them had ended up in such a mess. And whether they could legitimately blame Melissa for the whole thing.

* * *

Dan had showered, changed and headed down to the bar before Laurel came back to the room. He figured he might as well give her the time and space to get ready for the rehearsal dinner in peace.

He wasn’t avoiding her. Really he wasn’t.

Well, maybe a bit. But only because if he was there and he knew she was in the shower...naked...there wasn’t a chance of them making it to the rehearsal dinner on time. Or at all.

Besides, he still needed to find his brother. Theirs was a long overdue conversation that couldn’t wait much longer.

He knocked on Riley’s door on his way down, but there was no answer. Still, when he saw how many guests were already congregating in the bar he figured it was only a matter of time before Riley appeared too, so he might as well have a drink while he waited.

He signalled the barman over and ordered a beer, trying not to think how much more fun he’d be having if he’d stayed in the room and waited for Laurel.

Despite his decision to

enjoy every second of the time he had left with her, somehow that seemed to be getting harder as the hours ticked by. Already he was counting down to Sunday, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that everything would change then.

Laurel had said she couldn’t see beyond the wedding itself, except for some fantasy happy-ever-after. He’d never had that problem—he’d known exactly what he was going back to, what was waiting for him, what his life would be.

The only problem was for the first time in a long time his life didn’t seem like enough.

It was crazy—he knew that. He’d known Laurel all of sixty hours. That wasn’t enough time to make any sort of decision on their acquaintance. And even if he wanted to, he couldn’t.

Because however good it felt, being with her, he knew the truth: that it was all an act. He wasn’t her prince, her happy-ever-after, or anything except her fake boyfriend. Yes, they had chemistry. Yes, they had fun. But he’d had that before, with plenty of women who’d seemed perfect—and they’d all left him when something better came along. Someone more famous, someone who could help their career more. Or just someone who was willing to marry them.

He couldn’t do that again. Not after Cassie. And Laurel deserved that fairy tale she wanted—which meant she couldn’t have it with him.

End of story. Credits roll.

‘Starting early, are we, son?’ His dad’s voice echoed across the mostly empty bar. ‘Your brother seems rather less inclined to indulge after last night.’

‘Have you seen him?’ Dan asked quickly. With the wedding less than twenty-four hours away his time to talk to his brother about Melissa was running out. He should have done it sooner, he knew, but he’d been...distracted.

Wendell nodded. ‘He was just heading to Melissa’s rooms—that honeymoon suite out in the gatehouse.’

Dan cursed silently. If Riley was with his fiancée, then he had no hope of getting him alone. Why had he waited so long to do this?

Because I didn’t want to, he realised. It wasn’t just that he’d been busy with Laurel. He hadn’t wanted to potentially ruin all Riley’s hopes and dreams for the future.