One Winter Wedding. Barbara Hannay
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the special account established for Emily’s wedding.
“Thanks.” Lisa breathed a sigh of relief as she noted the deposit on the invoice. “This wedding is going to mean the world to my business.” She laughed as she pressed a button on the cash register and slid the check inside. “Like I need to tell you that, right? You’ll be flooded with calls after Emily’s friends see the amazing job you’re doing. Have you thought anymore about getting your own place?”
Excitement pulsing through her veins, Kelsey nodded. “I’ve put down first and last month’s rent on the space in downtown Glendale, near the antique shops.”
Lisa gave a squeal. “And you didn’t even say anything! When are you moving in?”
“As soon as the current renters move out. The landlord’s supposed to give me a call.”
“You must be so excited! I know I was when I first opened this place. Do you have all the furniture and office equipment you’ll need? Have you thought about hiring a support staff and—”
“Whoa, Lisa! Don’t get carried away,” Kelsey said with a laugh that sounded far too shaky.
“I’m not. Don’t tell me you of all people—with your day planner and your endless lists—haven’t thought of these things.”
In fact, she had, and only days ago she’d been riding high on her plans. Now, with Connor back in town, she feared she’d put the honeymoon before the wedding, and her stomach roiled at the thought of losing control. “I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself.”
“What are you talking about?” Lisa challenged. “Emily’s wedding is only a week and half away. You aren’t too far ahead. If anything, you’re behind!”
“Well, thank you for giving me that combination vote of confidence and total panic attack.”
“I’m sorry. But I know how much effort you’ve put into this, and I want to see it pay off for you.”
I want Emily to be happy. What do you want?
With Connor’s words ringing in her head, Kelsey insisted, “Emily’s happiness comes first.”
“Honey, Emily’s happiness always come first,” Lisa deadpanned.
“That’s not fair, Lisa,” Kelsey insisted quietly.
Emily and Aileen could have turned their backs when their unknown and potentially unwanted cousin showed up to live with them. Instead, they’d done everything possible to include Kelsey. It certainly wasn’t their fault she’d never fit in.
“I know.” Lisa’s sigh expressed an unspoken apology. “But I also know you’ve played second fiddle to both your cousins for as long as I’ve known you. I don’t want you to be so focused on Emily’s wedding that you lose track of your dream.”
“I haven’t and I won’t.”
Despite her determined vow, a touch of guilt squirmed through Kelsey. She’d kept silent about renting the shop for exactly the reasons Lisa mentioned. Her aunt wouldn’t want her attention on anything other than the wedding. But the shop was nothing compared to Connor McClane. The man was a living, breathing distraction.
“Emily’s wedding is my dream,” Kelsey added. “A highprofile event with an extravagant budget and built-in publicity thanks to my uncle’s business contacts and my aunt’s country-club friends—it’s guaranteed to put my business on the map.”
“I agree, and I can’t believe you pulled it off in only two months!”
“It was short notice, wasn’t it?” Kelsey asked, fiddling with the zipper on her purse. “Yes, but you did it!”
Kelsey nodded. Thanks to working almost nonstop, she’d pulled off planning the event in a fraction of the time it normally took, but Emily had insisted on a June wedding…hadn’t she?
Sudden doubts buzzed through her mind like annoying insects, unrelenting and unavoidable. Had Emily pushed for the summer wedding? Or was the idea Charlene’s…or Todd’s? Kelsey had been so focused on getting everything done on time, she hadn’t stopped to wonder about the short engagement. Until now…until Connor had stirred up the hornet’s nest of doubt.
Connor hung up the phone after ordering breakfast and ran his hands over his face. He hoped the distraction of food would wipe the nightmare from his memory. It wasn’t the first time disturbing images had invaded his sleep.
The beginning of the dream was always the same. Connor watched his client, Doug Mitchell, arrive at his wife’s apartment through the tunnel-eye view of a telephoto lens; only when he tried to stop the man from attacking his estranged wife, did the dream shift and alter, keeping him off balance, unsure, helpless. Sometimes he froze in place, unable to move a muscle, unable to shout a warning. Other times, he ran through air thick as quicksand, each move bogged down by guilt and regret.
But no matter how the dream changed, one thing remained the same: Connor never arrived in time to stop Doug.
A sudden knock at the door jarred the memories from Connor’s thoughts. Undoubtedly the Wilsons had picked the best hotel around for Emily’s reception, but no one’s room service was that fast. Besides, he had an idea who might be on the other side of the door, and it wasn’t the maid with fresh towels.
Opening the door, he summoned a smile for the woman standing in the corridor. “Morning.”
Emily Wilson beamed at him, looking like a Hollywood fashion plate of old in a yellow sundress layered beneath a lightweight sweater and a scarf knotted at her neck. “Connor! I’m so glad you’re here. I know I should have called first, but—”
He waved off her not-quite-an-apology and held the door open. “Come on in.”
As she breezed into the hotel room and set her handbag next to his laptop, Connor was glad to see the computer logo flashing across the screen. Last thing he needed was for Emily to see the dossier on her fiancé.
Emily took her time looking around the suite’s miniature living area: a cluster of armchairs and end tables encircling the entertainment center. The added touches of a stone fireplace, balcony overlooking the pool and hot tub spoke of the hotel’s five-star accommodations, but Connor doubted she was impressed. After all, she’d grown up surrounded by luxury and wealth.
“What are you doing here, Em?”
“I wanted to see you.” She blushed as prettily now as she had at eighteen, but somehow for Connor the effect wasn’t the same.
An image of Kelsey flashed in his mind, and he couldn’t help making the comparison between Emily and her cousin. It was the difference between a sepia photograph—all soft, dreamy hues—and a full-color, HD image that instantly caught the eye.
As a hotheaded teen, Emily had been his unattainable fantasy. But now it was Kelsey and her down-to-earth reality who kept intruding into his thoughts.
Like yesterday evening, when he’d stood on the balcony and watched to see if the Arizona sunsets were still as amazing as he remembered. As he watched the blazing light slowly fade on the horizon, it wasn’t past evenings that came to mind. Instead he thought of the way sunshine caught the fire in Kelsey’s auburn curls…
“I snuck out like when we were kids.”
Emily’s words jarred Kelsey from his mind. He told himself the swift kick in the gut was remembered pain and not anything current or life threatening. But, dammit, he didn’t need the reminder that as far as the Wilsons were concerned, he’d never be good enough. And while Kelsey might not look like her blond-haired, blue-eyed cousins, she was still a Wilson, and some things never changed.
Judging by Emily’s impish grin, she’d enjoyed reliving her youthful rebellion and the walk down memory lane. Too bad the trip wasn’t so pleasant for him. Feeling his smile take a sardonic twist, he asked,