Proposal For The Wedding Planner

Laurel’s knees wobbled as she stepped out of the car, but in an instant Dan was there, offering her his hand as she descended. A friendly hand, she reminded herself as he smiled at her. She wasn’t going to waste time pretending that there could be anything more between them. Apart from anything else, if there was a chance of that he wouldn’t have offered to be her fake boyfriend, would he?

Besides, she was waiting for the real thing—the right person, the right time, the right place. And Dan, at Melissa’s wedding, surrounded by their families, while Laurel was working every second to make the week perfect and magazine-worthy, was definitely not any of those things.

She looked up to thank Dan for his assistance when something else caught her eye. A too-flashy car, pulling up beside theirs on the driveway. A shiny silver convertible, the sort that Benjamin had liked to drive...

Oh. Perfect. There he was, her cheating rat of an ex, all ready to make her miserable week just a little bit more unbearable.

Her feelings must have shown in her face, because as Benjamin shut off the engine Dan bent his head so his mouth was by her ear and whispered, ‘This is the ex?’

Laurel nodded, unable to keep her eyes off the car. She couldn’t look at Benjamin, of course. And she couldn’t look at Dan or he’d know how truly pathetic she was. And she definitely couldn’t stare at the tall, leggy blonde that Benjamin was helping out of the car, even if she did look a bit like Melissa. The car seemed by far the safest bet.

Cars didn’t betray a person, or break her heart. Cars were safe.

Far safer than love.

Love, in Laurel’s experience, went hand in hand with trust and hope. None of which had ever worked out all that well for her.

Every time she’d had hope for the future that relied on another person, and every time she’d trusted a person she loved, she’d been let down. More than that—she’d been left abandoned, feeling worthless and hopeless.

Which was why, these days, she was putting all her faith, hope and trust in herself and in her business. That way at least if she got hurt it was her own stupid fault. One day her prince would come—and he’d be the kind of equal opportunities prince who loved it that she had a successful career, and thought she was brilliant just the way she was. In the meantime, she would never, ever feel that worthless again.

‘Laurel!’ Benjamin called out, a wide smile on his face as the blonde stepped out of the car, high heels sinking in the gravel of the driveway. ‘How lovely to see you! Quite the venue you’ve picked here.’ He shot a glance over at Morwen Hall and winced. ‘It doesn’t exactly scream romance, I have to say, but I’m sure you know what you’re doing.’

Always that slight dig—that slight suggestion that she was doing something wrong. Never enough for her to call him on it—he’d just put his hands up and laugh, saying she was being over-sensitive. But just enough to leave her in no doubt that he knew better than she did. She wasn’t quite good enough.

Well, the biggest advantage of not being in love with him any more was that she didn’t have to care what he thought.

‘Giving my sister the wedding of her dreams!’ she said, smiling as sweetly as she could as she held a hand out to the blonde, for all the world as if she was meeting her for the first time and hadn’t found her naked in her own bed six months previously. Because she was a professional, dammit, and she would prove it. ‘Hi, I’m Laurel Sommers. The wedding planner.’

The blonde’s smile barely reached her cheeks, let alone her eyes. ‘Coral. Ben’s fiancée,’ she added, obviously wanting to make her status absolutely clear. As if Laurel didn’t already know the whole sordid history of their relationship.

‘Lovely to meet you, Coral,’ Laurel lied. She glanced down at Coral’s left hand, unable to help herself. There it was: a beautiful diamond, oversized and ostentatious and... Hang on.

That was her engagement ring. The one she’d given him back that morning in the coffee shop because she couldn’t bear to look at the damn thing a moment longer and, besides, it was an expensive ring and she hadn’t felt right keeping it.

She’d expected Benjamin to return it or sell it or something.

Not to give it to the woman he’d cheated on her with.

A strange, shaky feeling rose up in her—something between fury and confusion. How could he? Wasn’t it humiliating enough that he was here at all? And now this woman was wearing her ring? How much embarrassment was she supposed to take? How little had she mattered—to Benjamin, to Melissa, to her own father—that she found herself in this position? Alone and humiliated and...

Wait. Not alone. Not quite.

Laurel took a deep breath. And then she made a decision.

Reaching behind her, she grabbed Dan’s hand and pulled him forward, keeping a tight grip on his fingers as he stood beside her. ‘Benjamin, this is Dan. My date for the wedding.’

Until that moment Dan had stayed quiet and still just behind her, not drawing any attention to himself, and it seemed that Benjamin and Coral had barely even registered his presence. Which, now she thought about it, was quite a trick. Maybe that was what you had to do as a stuntman—be mostly invisible or at least easily mistaken for the person you were standing in for. But since Dan had to be over six foot, and solid with it, disappearing in the pale sunlight of an English winter day was a real achievement.

Now he squeezed her fingers back, as if asking, Are you sure?

She wasn’t. Not at all. But it seemed she was doing it anyway.

‘Dan...’ Benjamin echoed, holding out a hand, suspicion already in his gaze.

Laurel resisted the urge to roll her eyes as Dan dropped her fingers to grip Benjamin’s hand hard enough that he winced slightly.

‘That’s right. I’m Laurel’s new boyfriend,’ Dan explained, with a sharp smile.

Laurel bit back her own grin as Benjamin’s expression froze. Yeah, that was why she’d changed her mind about this crazy scheme. That look, right there. That look that said, Really? Are you sure?

Because of course Benjamin wouldn’t expect her to have a new man already, given how crushed she’d been by their break-up. And even if she had he wouldn’t expect it to be someone like Dan—someone big and muscly and gorgeous and just a little bit rough compared to Benjamin’s urbane polish.

Sometimes it was nice to surprise a person. Besides, knowing that Dan was clearly not her type—and that she was almost certainly not his either—helped to keep it clear to both of them that this was just a game. A game that they’d need to discuss the rules of, she supposed, but how hard could that be? The charade would be over the minute the wedding guests departed anyway.

But until then...it would be kind of fun.

Coral was looking at Dan with far more interest than her fiancé, and Benjamin retrieved his hand and quickly took Coral’s instead. Staking his claim, Laurel realised, just as he’d always done with her—holding her hand, or placing a proprietorial hand at her waist whenever she spoke to another man. Something else she really didn’t miss.

Benjamin’s gaze flipped from Dan back to Laurel, and she stopped reflecting on the past in order to concentrate on fooling her ex in the present. Dan slipped a hand around her waist, which helped. Somehow it felt totally different from the way Benjamin had used to touch her there. Less possessive, more a gentle reminder that she wasn’t alone.

She liked that, too.

‘Actually, Laurel, it’s handy we’ve bumped into you. Could you spare a moment? I have something I want to talk to you about...’

Laurel ran down her mental checklist of any outstanding Benjamin issues and came up with nothing. She’d already given back his ring—as evidenced by the fact that it was sparkling on Coral’s left hand right now. He had no stuff left at her flat—mostly because he’d never left anything there longer than overnight if he could help it anyway. He’d kept all their mutual friends in the break-up, since they’d all been his to start with, and she was sort of relieved to have more time for her old uni friends instead of having to hang out with his society people.

What else could there possibly be for them to talk about?

‘I should really get back to work,’ she said, wishing she could sound more definite, more confident in her denial. Why couldn’t she just say, There is nothing left I want you to say to me?

‘It’ll only take a moment,’ Benjamin pressed, moving a step towards her.

Laurel stepped back and found herself pressed up against Dan’s side. He really was very solid. Warm and solid and reassuring.

She could get used to having that sort of certainty at her back.

‘Sorry, but the lady has a prior engagement,’ Dan said.

Laurel knew she should be cross with him for speaking for her, but given that she couldn’t say the words herself she was finding it hard to care. Besides, he was supposed to be her boyfriend. It was all just part of the act.

‘I’ve had a very long journey, and Laurel promised to show me to my room the moment we arrived. Didn’t you, honey?’

The warm look he gave her, the innuendo clear in his gaze, made her feel as if her blood was heating her up from the inside.

Just an act, she reminded herself. But, given the way Benjamin stepped back again, and Coral pulled him close, it was an act that was working.

‘Sorry,’ she lied, flashing the other couple a short, sharp smile. ‘Maybe later.’ Then she gave Dan a longer, warmer, more loving smile. ‘Come on, then, you. I can’t wait to give you a thorough tour of your room.’

Turning away, she led Dan up the stone steps and through the front door of Morwen Hall, victory humming through her body.

Maybe Melissa wasn’t the only actress in the family after all.

‘What an idiot,’ Dan whispered as they moved out of earshot, leaving Benjamin supervising the retrieval of his bags and handing his keys over to the valet. ‘What did you see in him?’

‘I have no idea,’ Laurel said, honestly.

‘So—we’re doing this, then? I thought it was a terrible idea.’

But he’d gone along with her lies the minute she’d told them, she realised. Even though she’d insisted not half an hour ago that they couldn’t do it. A person who could keep up with her whims was a very useful friend to have, she decided.

‘It probably still is.’ Laurel flashed him a smile. ‘But...it could be fun, don’t you think?’

‘Oh, definitely,’ Dan replied, and the secret half-smile he gave her felt even warmer than the victory over Benjamin.

CHAPTER THREE

LAUREL LAUGHED SOFTLY as they entered Morwen Hall, and Dan congratulated himself on handling the situation with the ex well—and getting to play the game he’d wanted all along. It was hard enough judging how a woman wanted him to behave in such a situation when they really were dating, but trying to guess it on an hour or two’s acquaintance with no notice... Well, he was just glad he hadn’t got it wrong. If he had, he wouldn’t have got to hear Laurel’s giggle—and Laurel had a fantastic giggle. Low and dark and dirty, with just a hint of mischief. Totally at odds with her perfectionist organisational tendencies—and not what he’d expected.

If that giggle told the true story of who Laurel really was, underneath everything—well, then she was definitely someone he was looking forward to getting to know better.

She’d surprised him, though. When she’d dismissed his idea of a fake relationship in the car she’d seemed very certain. He hadn’t expected her sudden change of heart—and he couldn’t help but wonder what had caused it. Surely it couldn’t just have been seeing Benjamin in the flesh again, since she’d been expecting that. Unless she really was still hung up on him, and this was all an act to make her ex jealous. Dan hoped not. Revenge games weren’t the sort he liked to play at all.

He’d have to remember to ask her, later, he realised. Even if it was too late now to back out, having all the facts would make deciding how to play things a lot easier.

‘Hey. You’re back!’

A tall redhead strode towards them across the lobby, a clipboard in hand, looking every bit as professional and efficient as Laurel did when she wasn’t giggling.

He glanced down at Laurel, keeping his hand at her waist as she gave a forced smile. Dan applied just a little pressure to let her know he was still there while he tried to read the situation. Was this one of the people destined to make his week miserable? Or might she be on their side?

‘I am,’ Laurel said, sounding uncomfortable.

Was she changing her mind again? Dan hadn’t taken her for a fickle woman, but under the circumstances he might have to re-evaluate.

‘And you brought company.’

The redhead’s gaze flicked up to meet his, and Dan gave a non-committal half-smile. No point encouraging her until he knew which way Laurel was going to jump.

‘Eloise, this is Dan. Riley’s brother,’ Laurel explained. The redhead didn’t look particularly reassured by the information. ‘Dan, this is Eloise. She’s the manager of Morwen Hall.’

‘Pleased to meet you,’ Dan said, placing the shopping bag full of wedding favours that he’d lugged in from the car on the ground and holding out his hand.

‘Acting Manager,’ Eloise corrected, as if unable to stop herself, as she took it and shook. She had a good handshake, Dan decided. Firm and friendly. Much better than that idiot outside, who’d tried to crush the bones in his hands before realising, after a moment, that Dan hadn’t even begun to squeeze.

‘Not for long,’ Laurel said, and this time when Dan glanced down her smile seemed real. Friend, then. Good. They needed some of those.

He upgraded his expression from noncommittal to cautiously friendly. ‘So, what’s been happening here?’

‘Cassidy, the maid of honour, has taken a fall while skiing and broken her leg, so her husband is bringing his mistress to the wedding instead.’

Eloise’s words came out in a rush, and Dan had to run them through his brain twice to process them. Maid of honour. Broken leg. Mistress. None of that sounded good.

Laurel’s mouth fell open in an O shape, and her eyes were almost as wide. Apparently she’d reached the same conclusion. ‘So Melissa doesn’t have a maid of honour?’

Eloise winced. ‘Not exactly. She’s making me do it.’

Laurel’s eyes widened even further, into dark pools of amazement. ‘You poor, poor thing,’ she said, sounding genuinely sympathetic.

Under other circumstances Dan might have been surprised that Laurel wasn’t offended that she wasn’t even her sister’s second choice as maid of honour. But, given the phone call he’d heard in the car, he suspected she viewed it as a lucky escape.

‘Yeah. I’m thrilled, as you can imagine. And it means I’ll have to call in my deputy to cover for me at the hotel this week. He will not be thrilled. I can probably keep on top of the wedding events at least, so he only has to deal with the guests.’ Eloise sighed. ‘What about you? How did the favours go?’

She eyed Dan again, her gaze slipping down to where his hand rested at Laurel’s waist. They might have passed the ex test, but now their unexpected fake relationship faced an even tougher challenge—convincing a friend. Still, it would be good practice for facing his family later, he supposed. Oh, no, his family. Maybe he hadn’t thought this through properly either...

He reached down to pick up the bag of wedding favours again, just in case Laurel decided they should make a run for it.

‘Fine, they’re all sorted.’ Laurel waved her hand towards the large glossy shopping bag in his hand. ‘Then I got Dan’s car to pick me up on the way back.’

‘That was...convenient.’ Eloise’s stare intensified.

Dan glanced down at his fake girlfriend in time to watch her cheeks take on a rather rosy hue. Women didn’t usually blush over him. It was kind of cute.

‘Um, yes. Actually, I meant to tell you... Dan and I...’

Laurel stumbled over the lies and sympathy welled up inside him. She was right—she really wasn’t good at this. Maybe he’d have to give her lying lessons. Except that sounded really wrong.

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