Holiday Wedding (7 page)

“Consider it done. I'm off to grab some cocoa.” The old man grinned and headed for the escalator. His cane tapped on the floor, supporting his leg. “I hear Rocket Chocolate packs quite a punch.”

Drew watched as Santa posed for a picture with a small child next to one of the popular Nutcrackers, then slowly made his way to the first floor. What was going on? First the little prophet with a coloring book, and now a limping Santa promising he'd find his soul mate.

He laughed sarcastically, recalling the name of his future wife according to the little girl at the airport. “Hey, Santa.”

“Yes?” The old man turned around.

“Just make sure my soul mate owns sparkly shoes and likes candy canes.”

• • •

Lauren jammed one last fuzzy wool sweater into her overstuffed burgundy suitcase, pushing her palm down with all her strength while zipping it up with her free hand. She had over packed, but who could argue that she needed enough cute winter sweaters to last her the next two weeks?

Although she hoped the evenings before the wedding guests arrived would find her snuggling up next to Drew, in front of a roaring, romantic fire, with very little on.

Her body overheated at the idea of her body intertwined with his, and she tugged her sweater off of her skin, fanning her neck with her hand. Judging by Drew's storming out of the boardroom like he did and disappearing for the rest of the day, she had her work cut out for her if this fantasy was going to become a reality.

She sighed. That naked frolicking fantasy with Drew used to be
their
reality.

“Someone's excited to get out of town and start her assignment.”

Lauren turned to see Miles in her bedroom doorway, dressed in a black suit, Bluetooth in ear, and two Starbucks coffee cups in hand.

“Is that for me?”

“Venti Eggnog Latte, your favorite.”

She accepted the cup and took a sip; the velvety warm liquid coated her throat. “Oh, Miles. I'm going to miss you and your Starbucks runs.”

“I could go with you,” he offered and took a seat at the edge of her made bed.

“I won't miss you that much.” She yanked her luggage off. No, there was only one man escorting her on this trip and that was Drew. Her roommate would have to sit this one out and arrive with the rest of the guests in two weeks. “I can't believe I'm getting this second chance.”

“Pretty excited about that, are we?” Miles teased. Of course, he knew the answer. She'd talked his ear off until one a.m. this morning on how she couldn't wait to spend quality time alone with Drew.

Maybe it was wrong to get her hopes up, but deep down, she knew that whatever Drew was doing with his assistant was just a rebound. It had to be. Drew belonged with her, not Olivia. She was going to spend the next fourteen days proving it.

“I've missed him so much, and …” She sighed. “Realizing that I could lose him forever is exactly what I needed to finally admit what I want.”

“Forever?” Miles eyebrow shot up. “So you think this thing with Olivia is real?”

Lauren shrugged. “I don't know. I guess I'll find out, won't I?” She straightened her beige wool sweater in the mirror. “If he truly wants to be with her, I'll have no other choice but to respect his decision and wish him well.”

“But that's not what you want.”

“No, that's not what I want.” She grabbed her Strawberry ChapStick and swiped it across her bottom lip. “I know what I want.”

“Which is?” He motioned with his hand. “Say it. We practiced it last night.”

That they did, over a bottle of red wine and some amazing cheese that Miles had picked up on his walk home. Lauren took a deep breath. “I want to be Mrs. Drew Cannon.” Wow. It felt good to admit it out loud this morning not under the influence of alcohol.

“That's my girl.” Miles clapped. “Although, you know how I feel about that statement.”

“Yes, I do.” Lauren rolled her eyes. There was no love lost between Miles and Drew. While Lauren could tell her blossoming friendship with Miles and their becoming roommates irritated Drew, Miles just thought Drew was an idiot. Period. Still, her BFF would support her in going after what she wanted, and what she wanted was to get Drew back.

“I think I'm ready.” She turned to face Miles. “Wish me luck.”

Miles grabbed her hand and nodded for her to sit down next to him. “Not so fast, my little wedding planner apprentice. You do know you're planning a wedding from scratch to take place in fourteen days. That is the main reason you're going to Vermont, is it not?”

“Yes. I know. How hard can it be? We pick a beautiful place for the reception, a fabulous cake, select some gorgeous flower for the bouquets, and book a great band …”

“Yeah, that's all I do,” he scoffed.

“I didn't mean it that way.” Lauren wrapped her arms around Miles and gave him a squeeze. “Drew and I are going to need your help big time. Think of it as you're staying in command central and we're your in-the-field wedding assistants, hanging on your every instruction.”

“That could work …”

“Why, we could even assign code names, and you could make Drew do really uncomfortable stuff like decorate the honeymoon suite for his brother or book a bikini wax for Kate.”

“You're just trying to make me feel better.” He sighed. “I know you'll do a good job, even with Drew in tow.”

“He'll be fine. The way I see it, you and I are really planning the wedding. Luke's just doing this to give me quality time alone with Drew.”

“Okay, let's plan on daily Skype sessions to go over what you are doing for the day.”

“Aye aye, captain.” She gave Miles a quick salute.

“I talked to Luke this morning. Vanessa and I are going to call everyone on the guest lists this morning, sharing the change of plans. Luke's booked enough log cabins to accommodate everyone who can now make it to Vermont.”

“How are you going to keep Kate from suspecting something's up?” Lauren asked while shoving her phone and iPad in her purse. She really did need to get on the road soon.

“Honestly, I don't know. I thought it was going to be hard, but today she's canceled all of our meetings. Maybe it won't be as difficult as I thought. She seems preoccupied.”

Lauren raised an eyebrow. “Everything okay?”

“I think so.” Miles shrugged. “Probably just getting used to having a stepfather. She told me she's taking tomorrow off to do some Christmas shopping, too.”

“Hmm … That's so unlike her.” Really not like Kate at all. She worked around the clock and had to have at least a dozen VIP clients getting married in the spring. Normally Miles was way out the door by now and rarely came home before eight.

“I know. Very mysterious,” he agreed.

“Okay, well, I'll text you when we get there.”

Miles grabbed her suitcase handle, struggling to lift it. “Holy jingle bells. What do you have in there?”

She smiled. “I'm going to be gone for a while.”

“Who knew two weeks' worth of negligées and condoms would be so heavy?”

“No.” She rolled her eyes, then giggled. “Okay, maybe one week's worth. I didn't want to get too cocky.”

“One cock is all you need,” Miles responded, not missing his usual saucy beat. He helped her take the suitcase downstairs and loaded it into her BMW along with her other bags.

Lauren thought back to her conversation with Drew yesterday afternoon. Hours after storming out of the boardroom, Drew had stopped by her office to say he'd reconsidered and would accompany her to Snow Frost Mountain. They then decided to take her car instead of flying.

She didn't know where he'd gone or whom he'd talked to, but he'd been in a much better mood and expressed confidence that they would come up with the perfect plan to save the dolls. He also said he needed to leave for the rest of the day and something about wanting to avoid Luke.

“Call you soon.” She air-kissed Miles, jumped into her car, and turned right toward Luke's penthouse apartment on the Upper East Side. Maneuvering through traffic, it only took her ten minutes to reach his tree-lined street. On the cobblestone sidewalk stood Drew with a bundled-up Olivia, arms draped around him. Lauren pushed on the horn and popped open her trunk. Rolling down the window she flashed a smile. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” Drew said and untangled himself from Olivia's arms. Lauren watched from her rearview mirror as he placed his suitcase in her trunk. He was dressed casually in dark jeans and a black pea coat. She doubted he had a ski jacket or winter boots in his suitcase. They might have to go clothes shopping. According to the weather report, Snow Frost Mountain was going to live up to its name with a snowstorm in the extended forecast.

“We'll see you in two weeks,” Lauren couldn't resist stressing to Olivia before she rolled up her window.

“That wasn't very nice.” Drew jumped into the passenger seat and began playing with the vents, loosening his scarf.

“What?” Lauren asked innocently.

“This isn't easy on her.”

“I take it she didn't take the news so well.” She feigned concern.

“No, she didn't.”

“Well, it's not like we're going away for a month. You'll be reunited in no time.”

Without a further word, they headed out of Manhattan on Route 95 North. Lauren glanced over at Drew who appeared to be answering e-mails on his tablet. “I'm sorry,” she offered, breaking the silence.

He shook his head. “None of this is your fault. I blame Luke.” He turned his body and searched the back seat. “Where are our children?”

Her breath hitched at his question. “Our children?”

“The dolls. You did bring them, didn't you?”

“Right. Of course. Those children. They're in the trunk.”

“Good place.” He chuckled.

“Have you thought of any ideas on how we might sell them along with the extra thousand Luke shipped up to Vermont?”

“I'm working on it.” Drew looked away, and his voice softened. “You know. I really thought this toy was a good idea. I still do.”

Lauren smiled. “Drew, I know you've worked hard on these dolls. It's just—”

“Just what?” He turned, his gaze challenging her to finish her sentence.

“The research never indicated they would sell well. I told you and Luke from the beginning that boys just weren't interested. There were too many gaming systems saturating the market this year vying for their attention.”

“I know.” He flashed one of his signature smiles that always made her melt. “I used to think soul mates was just a term invented for Valentine's Day and romance novels, but I really believed in the concept for these dolls. I guess I was wrong.” He tapped on the passenger window. “Hey, do you mind stopping at the next rest stop? I'm kind of thirsty.”

“Sure.” A mile down the highway, Lauren turned off and pulled into a service station. She bit her lip as she watched Drew head into the convenient store. His attachment to the dolls and his disappointment in their selling had surprised her. The old Drew—the one she thought she knew even better than herself—would have moved on to the next big idea without batting an eye. There was something about the concept of soul mates that had her ex fighting for this toy.

A knot began to form in her stomach. Was Olivia the reason for igniting his newfound belief in happily ever afters?

Drew tapped his fingers on the stirring wheel and glanced over at Lauren. He'd taken over for the remainder of their trip while she confirmed appointments with Miles.

Before Miles had so conveniently interrupted—which he seemed to have a knack for doing—Drew and Lauren had brainstormed a bit on how to move the sales needle on the dolls. None of the ideas they came up with was particularly good, but hearing Lauren attempt to find a solution helped to soothe his growing anxiety. Maybe he wasn't climbing this uphill battle alone.

He smiled, thinking about all the dolls he'd given out yesterday. Luke hadn't called yet to chew him out. He had to know about it by now. Drew didn't regret for a second what he'd done because he needed to get those male dolls into consumer hands. If he needed to pretend he was the CEO to do it, so be it.

It was killing him not to check the Happily Ever After website for any activity. He promised himself he'd wait until they got to Vermont. Give it over twenty-four hours for kids to play with the dolls and go online with their parents to find their dolls' soul mates.

“Got it. Talk to you tomorrow.” Lauren tapped off her phone and tilted her head back, massaging the base of her neck with her fingers. “Okay, Miles is working on confirming all of our appointments for this week. We're sampling wedding cakes tomorrow. That's as far as he got. We'll know more in the morning.”

“I still can't believe my brother is making us do this. It's not like we asked him to lift a finger for our wedding.”

She blinked and turned her head toward the passenger window.

Good going, Drew.
He mentally slapped himself alongside his head. He didn't mean to bring up their aborted wedding, although he was also pretty sure it would be inevitable. “I'm sorry. I just meant that—”

“No. You're right.” Lauren cut him off. “It's weird that he picked us to plan it.” She looked down at her hands, saying softly, “What do we know about pulling off a wedding?”

“Our day was beautiful.”

She cocked an eyebrow.

“Remember, I was there for part of it.”

“Oh, that's right. Saving Luke from making a big mistake while I was in my bikini sipping margaritas with Kate poolside, playing fairy godmother, and convincing her of our plan.”

The thought of Lauren lying on a lounge chair wearing one of his favorite bikinis made his groin tight. He bet it was the string lavender one that he'd enjoyed peeling off of her on more than one occasion. Her body was definitely not that of a fairy godmother's. He sat up and cracked his neck. “We really did save the day,” he said.