Wedding Promises

The music had stopped, she realised belatedly. They weren’t dancing any more; they were just standing in the centre of the dance floor, so wrapped up in each other she couldn’t see anything else. But she knew what was happening.

Everyone was watching them. The guests, Melissa, Laurel, Sara the journalist and her photographer...everyone. And, whatever happened next, it would be recorded for posterity on the Internet, she was sure.

And she didn’t care. Not one bit.

Because Noah was letting his walls down at last, and she was there to walk right in.

She smiled and his whole body sagged with relief as he gathered her close and kissed her, long and hard and deep.

‘This is it, though,’ she said, the moment they broke apart. ‘You can’t shut me out again, once you’ve let me in.’

‘I know. I won’t. I won’t let you down again.’ He kissed her again, swift and soft. ‘But...I can’t change who I am either. People will be watching us; you know that.’

‘Noah, they’re watching right now.’ She laughed. ‘Melissa is going to be furious.’

‘I don’t care about Melissa. Or any of them. I only care about you.’

‘And I’ll be fine.’ She smiled up at him, certainty running through her veins. ‘I wouldn’t risk it for anyone else. But for you...I’ll stand in any spotlight you want, as long as you’re at my side.’

Because this was for ever. She’d known it from the moment they’d first spent the night together, even if she hadn’t let herself admit it until later. And, even if it wasn’t, it would still be worth it.

Because this wasn’t Hollywood. This was real love.

And Eloise was going to get her happy ever after, after all.

* * *

Noah grabbed Eloise close and kissed her again, trying to put all his love, his relief and his truth into that one kiss. This was right. This was the way things were meant to be, the story he was meant to be a part of.

And thank heavens Eloise was willing to let him.

Eventually, he broke the kiss, keeping Eloise tight in his arms. Around him, the guests had broken into applause, with the odd whoop and cheer, and for once Noah thought he might be the one to blush. But when he looked down at Eloise, her cheeks were their usual pale, creamy white above her perfect smile.

‘We should probably take a bow,’ she said, amusement in her voice. ‘I mean, that was quite a show we just put on there.’

He was pretty sure she was joking, but he pulled away to stand at her side all the same, taking her hand in his and swinging them up as he led them in a bow. Laughter went up around the room, and when he stood straight again he could see Melissa glaring at them. He blew her a kiss. That should annoy her.

‘So, Noah, am I right in thinking you might like to amend your statement from last night?’ Sara asked, her phone recording as before, and her photographer already taking shots of him and Eloise.

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I most certainly would.’

Then, turning to stare into Eloise’s loving eyes, he said the truest line of his career.

‘This isn’t a fling. It’s for ever.’

Eloise smiled. ‘And for ever starts now.’

EPILOGUE

‘NOAH! NOAH!’

The reporter yelled across the press area, and Noah pasted on a smile as he turned to answer her questions. The smile became more genuine when he realised it was Sara, the reporter who’d broken the story about him and Eloise.

‘Are you pleased with the reception Eight Days After has had at the festival?’

Was he pleased? No, he was ecstatic. The film had made its debut at the fringe film festival that afternoon, and already it was the only thing anyone there was talking about.

Of course, if it hadn’t been so popular, maybe he’d have been able to escape the interviewers a little earlier and get back to Eloise...

Eloise. Just the thought of her made him smile. Thankfully, Stefan had seen how important she was to him, and realised that having Eloise at his side meant that Noah would be calm, centred and everything he needed to be to give his all to the film.

‘I’m thrilled,’ he said honestly. ‘I think it’s an important film, a fantastic script, and it has a real message of hope for viewers. I’m glad that those people who’ve seen it seem to agree.’

‘And that’s not the only thing they agree on,’ Sara said, looking down at her notepad. ‘Consensus across the board is that it’s your best performance to date—and that you’re going to sweep the board with this one come award season.’

‘I can’t speak for that,’ Noah said modestly, while hoping against hope that she was right. ‘I’m just glad I managed to pull it off.’

‘And why is that, do you think?’ Sara’s lips twitched up into a knowing smile. ‘Could it be that true love might have inspired you to greatness?’

Noah laughed. ‘Inspired me to greatness? I don’t know about that. But I do know that I’m late to meet my girlfriend. Today’s a big day for her too, you see. So, if you’ll excuse me...’

He was already halfway across the room before Sara responded. After all, Eloise was waiting for him. Eighteen months ago he’d sworn that he’d never let her down again. And he intended to keep that promise for the rest of his life.

* * *

Eloise checked the set-up one last time, then glanced at her watch. Where was Noah? He’d promised he’d be there on time.

‘I’m sorry!’ She heard his voice before she saw him, pushing his way past circus performers and a waitress carrying a tray of specially designed festival cocktails. ‘I’m here!’

‘Just as well,’ Eloise said with a smile, as she stepped into Noah’s arms for a brief kiss. ‘From what I hear, you’re the star of the festival.’

‘Not me, the film.’ Noah stepped back and looked around the outside space she’d commandeered for the opening night party. ‘And that’s only until they see this place. Wow! This is quite the show you’re putting on, honey.’

Eloise shrugged. ‘The festival committee said they wanted a spectacle, so that’s what I’m giving them.’ A garden party complete with entertainment, music, the best canapés on the West Coast, magical lighting and some of the special touches that Eloise’s company—Spectacle Events—had become famous for, over the last year and a half.

And what a year and a half it had been. While Noah had thrown himself into his role in Eight Days After, she’d focused on pursuing the dreams she’d let fall by the wayside for so long. It was as if having found her way into the spotlight, and with Noah at her side, she suddenly knew she could achieve anything.

The best part, she’d found, was the evenings they spent together at Noah’s LA home—her home now too—talking through their day, preparing a meal and eating it together, or just kissing until they fell into bed.

Which wasn’t to say there hadn’t been difficult moments too—times when one of them was working too many hours, or when Noah retreated back into himself after an emotional day’s filming. But the difference, Eloise had realised, was that now she had the confidence to call him out...and he had the faith and trust in her to let her.

Tonight was the culmination of eighteen months of love, laughter and hard work—for both of them. Spectacle Events had started small, with just Eloise and her clipboard organising baby showers and birthday parties, but it had grown as word got around. She wasn’t naive enough any more to believe that some of that word of mouth didn’t have something to do with her being Noah Cross’s girlfriend—but she also knew she wouldn’t have landed the jobs she had, or been able to expand into real offices with an actual staff, if she wasn’t good at what she did.

She was proud of herself—and even prouder of Noah. She’d watched the film the night before, with Stefan the director and the rest of the cast, rapt as Noah nailed every emotion, every moment of pain or guilt his character felt. She’d squeezed his hand tight at the most emotional parts, and known that he’d be offered any part he wanted after this performance.

‘I couldn’t have done it without you,’ he’d murmured as the credits rolled.

And now, tonight, it was her turn to shine. To show Hollywood what she was capable of.

And she was nervous as anything.

‘I’m so glad you’re here,’ she said, reaching out to take Noah’s hand again.

‘I wouldn’t be anywhere else.’ Noah tugged her close, back into his arms. ‘Especially as I have something I need to ask you. Before the world and his wife descend on this shindig of yours.’

‘Oh? What’s that?’ Eloise asked, glancing away towards the entrance. Was that the first group of reporters and guests arriving?

When she looked back, Noah was down on one knee, and her eyes widened.

‘Eloise Miller...’ Noah started.

‘Is he proposing?’ The shout came from the entrance, where one of the waiters was trying to hold back a couple of reporters.

‘He was trying to!’ Noah yelled back. ‘Think you could give us a minute here?’

Eloise shook her head. ‘You know they won’t. A photo of you down on one knee might be more valuable than the one of us falling out of a cupboard.’

‘The world is always watching, huh?’

‘Seems like it.’

Noah reached into his pocket and pulled out the most beautiful ring Eloise had ever seen—a large emerald-cut diamond on a platinum band. ‘How about you and I really give them something to talk about?’

He pushed the ring onto her finger and Eloise felt a moment of perfect calm settle over her, even in the middle of organising the biggest event of her career, and with the world’s media watching.

This. This was exactly where she was meant to be and who she was born to be—and to be with.

She tugged Noah to his feet and wrapped a hand round the back of his head as she pulled him down to kiss her.

‘Honey,’ she said as they broke the kiss, both breathing heavily. ‘They’re going to be talking about Noah and Eloise Cross for centuries.’

Noah grinned at her use of his name. ‘Oh, yeah? And why’s that?’

‘Because true love is the best story in the world,’ Eloise said, and kissed him again.

* * * * *

Proposal for the Wedding Planner

Sophie Pembroke

From one proposal...to another!

Laurel Sommers’s world crumbled when she discovered her father’s other family. Now she’s been roped into organizing her famous half sister’s wedding...

Plus, Laurel’s ex-fiancé is invited. So when the groom’s gorgeous brother proposes he play her convenient boyfriend, she agrees! Stuntman Dan Black’s relationships are like the roles he steps into—temporary. But it’s soon clear his and Laurel’s chemistry is here to stay, and Dan starts considering a more permanent proposal...

Wedding of the Year

Saying ‘I do’ in the spotlight!

Eloise Miller and Laurel Sommers have their lives turned upside down by Melissa Sommers’s celebrity wedding.

With Eloise promoted to maid of honour, and Laurel’s wedding planning skills pushed to their very limits, the last thing these two need is for the best man and the groom’s brother to intervene…

But as the media descends the headlines get more scandalous. Can Eloise and Laurel pull off the wedding of the year without a hitch?

Find out in...

Slow Dance with the Best Man

Proposal for the Wedding Planner

You won’t want to miss this sparkling duet

from Sophie Pembroke!

SOPHIE PEMBROKE has been reading and writing romance ever since she read her first Mills & Boon at university, so getting to write them for a living is a dream come true! Sophie lives in a little Hertfordshire market town in the UK with her scientist husband and her incredibly imaginative six-year-old daughter. She writes stories about friends, family and falling in love—usually while drinking too much tea and eating homemade cakes. She also keeps a blog at www.sophiepembroke.com.

For Ali, Ally and Ann Marie

CHAPTER ONE

LAUREL SOMMERS STEPPED back from the road as a London taxi sped past through the puddle at the edge of the kerb, splashing icy water over her feet, and decided this was all her father’s fault, really.

Well, the fact that she was stuck in London, waiting in the freezing cold for a car to take her back to where she should be—Morwen Hall, the gothic stately home turned five-star hotel in the countryside an hour and a half’s drive out of the city—was clearly Melissa’s fault. But if their father hadn’t wanted to have his cake and eat it for their entire childhoods then her half-sister probably wouldn’t hate her enough to make her life this miserable.

Sighing, Laurel clasped the bag holding the last-minute replacement wedding favours that Melissa had insisted she collect that afternoon closer to her body as a stream of cars continued to rush past. It was three days after Christmas and the sales were in full swing. London was caught in that strange sense of anticipation that filled the space between December the twenty-fifth and New Year’s Eve—full of possibilities for the year ahead and the lives that might be lived in it.

Any other year Laurel would be as caught up in that sense of opportunity as anyone. She usually used these last few days of the year to reflect on the year just gone and plan her year ahead. Plan how to be better, to achieve more, how to succeed at last. To be enough.

Just last year she’d plotted out her schedule for starting her own business organising weddings. She’d been a wedding planner at a popular company for five years, and had felt with quiet optimism that it was time to go it alone—especially since she’d been expecting to be organising her own wedding, and Benjamin had always said he liked a woman with ambition.

So she’d planned, she’d organised, and she’d done it—she had the business cards to prove it. Laurel’s Weddings was up and running. And, even if she wasn’t planning her own wedding, she did have her first celebrity client on the books...which was why this year that optimism would have to wait until January the first.

All she had to do was make it through her half-sister’s New Year’s Eve wedding without anything going terribly wrong and she would be golden. Melissa was big news in Hollywood right now—presumably because she was a lot nicer to directors than she was to wedding planners—and her wedding was being covered in one of those glossy magazines Laurel only ever had time to read at the hairdresser’s. If this went well her business would boom and she could stop worrying about exactly how she was going to earn enough to pay back the small business loan she’d only just qualified for.

She might not have the husband she’d planned on, and she might not be a Hollywood star like Melissa, but once her business went global no one would be able to say she wasn’t good enough.

But of course that meant rushing around, catering to Melissa’s every whim—even when that whim meant a last-minute trip back to the capital to replace the favours they’d spent two weeks deciding on because they were ‘an embarrassment’ all of a sudden.

And, as much as she’d been avoiding thinking about it, a peaceful wedding also meant dealing with seeing Benjamin again. Which was just the cherry on top of the icing on top of the wedding cake—wasn’t it?

Another car—big and black and shiny—slowed as it reached the kerb beside her. Lauren felt hope rising. She’d asked the last of the cars ferrying wedding guests from Heathrow to swing into the city and pick her up on its way to Morwen Hall, rather than going around the M25. It would mean the passenger inside would have a rather longer journey, but she was sort of hoping he wouldn’t notice. Or mind having company for it.

Since the last guest was the groom Riley’s brother—Dan Black, her soon to be half-brother-in-law, or something—she really hoped he didn’t object. It would be nice at least to start out on good terms with her new family—especially since her existing family was generally on anything but. Her mother still hadn’t forgiven her for agreeing to organise Melissa’s wedding. Or, as she called her, ‘That illegitimate trollop daughter of your father’s mistress.’

Unsurprisingly, her mother wasn’t on the guest list.

Dan Black wasn’t a high-maintenance Hollywood star, at least—as far as Laurel could tell. In fact Melissa hadn’t told her anything about him at all. Probably because if he couldn’t further her career then Melissa wasn’t interested. All Laurel had to go on was the brief couple of lines Melissa and Riley had scribbled next to every name on the guest list, so Laurel would understand why they were important and why they’d been invited, and the address she had sent the invitation to.

Black Ops Stunts. Even the follow-up emails she’d sent to Dan when arranging the journey and his accommodation had been answered by the minimum possible number of words and no extraneous detail.

The man was a mystery. But one Laurel really didn’t have time to solve this week.

The car came to a smooth stop, and the driver hopped out before Laurel could even reach for the door handle.

‘Miss,’ he said with a brief nod, and opened the door to the back seat for her. She slid gratefully into her seat, smiling at the other occupant of the car as she did so.

‘I do hope you don’t mind sharing your car with me, Mr Black,’ she said, trying to sound professional and grateful and like family all at the same time. She was pretty sure the combination didn’t work, but until she had any better ideas she was sticking with it.

‘Dan,’ he said, holding out a hand.

Laurel reached out to take it, and as she looked up into his eyes the words she’d been about to speak caught in her throat.

She’d seen this man’s brother Riley a hundred times—on the screen at the cinema, on movie posters, on her telly, in magazines, on the internet, and even over Skype when they’d been planning the wedding. Melissa hadn’t actually brought him home to meet the family yet, but Laurel couldn’t honestly blame her for that. Still, she knew his face, and his ridiculously handsome, all-American good looks.

Why hadn’t it occurred to her that his older brother might be just as gorgeous?

Dan didn’t have the same clean, wholesome appeal that Riley did, Laurel would admit. But what he did have was a whole lot hotter.

His hair was closer cropped, with a touch of grey at the temples, and his jaw was covered in dark stubble, but his bright blue eyes were just like his brother’s. No, she decided, looking more closely, they weren’t. Riley’s were kind and warm and affable. Dan’s were sharp and piercing, and currently looking a bit amused...

Probably because she still hadn’t said anything.

‘I’m Laurel,’ she said quickly as the driver started the engine again and pulled out. ‘Your half-sister-in-law-to-be.’

‘My...what, now?’ His voice was deeper too, his words slower, more drawling.

‘I’m Melissa’s half-sister.’

‘Ah,’ Dan said, and from that one syllable Laurel was sure he already knew her whole story. Or at least her part in Melissa’s story.

Most people did, she’d found.

Either they’d watched one of Melissa’s many tearful interviews on the subject of her hardships growing up without a father at home, or they’d read the story online on one of her many fan sites. Everybody knew how Melissa had been brought up almost entirely by her single mother until the age of sixteen, while her father had spent most of his time with his other family in the next town over, only visiting when he could get away from his wife and daughter.

People rarely asked any questions about that other family, though. Or what had happened to them when her father had decided he’d had enough and walked out at last, to start his ‘real’ life with Melissa and her mother.

Laurel figured that at least that meant no one cared about her—least of all Melissa—so there were no photos of her on the internet, and no one could pick her out of a line-up. It was bad enough that her friends knew she was related to the beautiful, famous, talented Melissa Sommers. She didn’t think she could bear strangers stopping her in the street to ask about her sister. Wondering why Laurel, with all the family advantages she’d had, couldn’t be as beautiful, successful or brilliant as Melissa.

‘So you’re also the wedding planner, right?’ Dan asked, and Laurel gave him a grateful smile for the easy out.

‘That’s right. In fact, that’s why I’m up in town today. Melissa...uh...changed her mind about the wedding favours she wanted.’ That sounded better than her real suspicions—that Melissa was just coming up with new ways to torment her—right?

It wasn’t just the table favours, of course. When Melissa had first asked her to organise her wedding Laurel had felt pride swelling in her chest. She’d truly believed—for about five minutes—that her sister not only trusted in her talent, but also wanted to use her wedding to reach out an olive branch between the two of them at last.

Obviously that had been wishful thinking. Or possibly a delusion worthy of those of Melissa’s fans who wrote to her asking for her hand in marriage, never knowing that she tore up the letters and laughed.

‘She’s not making it easy, huh?’ Dan asked.

Laurel pasted on a smile. ‘You know brides! I wouldn’t have gone into this business if I didn’t know how to handle them.’

‘Right.’

He looked her over again and she wondered what he saw. A competent wedding planner, she hoped. She hadn’t had as much contact with Dan over the last few months as she had with the best man or the bridesmaids. But still, there’d been the invitation and the hotel bookings, and the flights and the car transfer—albeit she’d gatecrashed that. She’d been pleasant and efficient the whole way, even in the face of his one-word responses, and she really hoped he recognised that.

Because she knew what else he had to be thinking—what everyone thought when they looked at her through the lens of ‘being Melissa Sommers’s sister.’ That Laurel had definitely got the short straw in the genetic lottery.

Melissa, as seen on billboards and movie screens across the world, was tall, willowy, blonde and beautiful. She’d even been called the twenty-first-century Grace Kelly.

Laurel, on the other hand—well, she wasn’t.

Oh, she was cute enough, she knew—petite and curvy, with dark hair and dark eyes—but ‘cute’ wasn’t beautiful. It wasn’t striking. She had the kind of looks that just disappeared when she stood beside Melissa—not least because she was almost a whole head shorter.

No, Laurel had resigned herself to being the opposite of everything Melissa was. Which also made her a less awful person, she liked to hope.

Dan was still watching her in silence, and words bubbled up in her throat just to fill the empty air.

‘But you know this isn’t just any wedding. I mean, Melissa and Riley wanted a celebrity wedding extravaganza, so that’s what I’ve tried to give them.’

‘I see,’ Dan replied, still watching.

Laurel babbled on. ‘Obviously she wanted it at Morwen Hall—she has a strong connection to the place, you see. And Eloise—she’s the manager there...well, the interim manager, I think... Anyway, you’ll meet her soon... What was I saying?’

‘I have no idea.’

‘Sorry. I’m babbling.’

‘That’s okay.’

‘Oh!’ Laurel bounced in the car seat a little as she remembered where she’d been going with the conversation. ‘Anyway. I was just about to say that there’s lots planned for the next few days—with the welcome drinks tonight, the Frost Fair, and then the stag and hen dos tomorrow, local tours for the guests on Friday before the rehearsal dinner...’

‘And the actual wedding at some point, I assume?’ Dan added, eyebrows raised.

‘Well, of course.’ Laurel felt her skin flush hot for a moment. ‘I was working chronologically. From my Action List.’

‘I understand. Sounds like you have plenty to keep you busy this week.’

Laurel nodded, her head bobbing up and down at speed. ‘Absolutely. But that’s good! I mean, if this wedding goes well... It’s the first one I’ve arranged since I started my own business, you see, so it’s kind of a big deal. And it’s not like I’m in the wedding party at all—’