Chapter One

      I can’t believe I’m doing this, Kelsey Wilson thought as she hurried through the airport as fast as possible in her straight skirt and low-heeled pumps. Her oversized purse thudded against her side with every step. The shoulder strap caught a lock of red hair that had escaped her sensible bun, and she felt as though someone had reached out and grabbed her. Holding her back from the job she had to do.

      The family is counting on you, Kelsey. Her aunt’s voice rang in her mind. You know what can happen when a woman falls for the wrong kind of man.

      Kelsey hadn’t needed Aunt Charlene’s reminder. She had her mother as an example. Olivia Wilson had thrown away everything for a man who left her with nothing. Olivia had been eighteen when she met Donnie Mardell—Kelsey’s father, though she never thought of him in those terms. Donnie had promised Olivia a love of a lifetime, as well as freedom from her too-strict parents, and she fell for every word. When her father made her choose between Donnie and her family, Olivia chose Donnie. But while Olivia may have had stars in her eyes, Donnie had dollar signs in his. When the Wilsons offered him money to leave town, he took it without a glance back at his girlfriend or unborn child.

      But Kelsey’s cousin Emily hadn’t fallen for the wrong man. She was engaged to Todd Dunworthy. The only son of a wealthy Chicago family, he’d come to Scottsdale to start his own company and add to his already considerable fortune. Todd was handsome, charming, and Charlene couldn’t have handpicked a better son-in-law.

      Kelsey had worked nonstop for the past two months to put together the perfect wedding. The dress, the flowers, the music, the cake, everything wove together like the hand-stitched Irish lace in Emily’s veil. But Kelsey knew how delicate that lace was. One wrong pull, and it could all fall apart.

      She refused to let that happen.

      She needed this wedding to be amazing. She’d staked her reputation on the success of the ceremony, certain her cousin’s wedding was the spotlight that would make her business shine. She’d been so sure of that she’d put most of her savings into a down payment for a small shop in Glendale. Kelsey had felt confident making the huge step. After all, her aunt and uncle were wealthy, influential people with wealthy, influential friends. Once the guests saw the job she’d done, Weddings