The Beach Wedding (Married in Malibu Book 1) (3 page)

Jason turned to look straight into her eyes. “You always understood what I was trying to say, Liz. Even when no one else did.”

Her breath caught in her throat as she reeled from his sudden mention of the past. Especially because it was true that she had usually known what he was trying to say. In a lot of ways, she’d felt like she’d known him better than she knew herself. Until she discovered that he was giving up huge opportunities because of her. Walking away from him had been the hardest thing she’d ever done, but she’d truly believed it was the only way to make sure she didn’t stand in the way of his success and happiness.

“I think it will really help that you know Amber,” he added while she was still reeling.

“I haven’t seen her in ten years,” Liz said, not realizing until the words were out of her mouth that mentioning how long it had been since their breakup would open old wounds even further.

“True,” he conceded in a voice that sounded suddenly raw with the same emotion she was feeling, “but you two were close back then. She even used to talk with you about boys, as I recall.”

Amber had needed another woman to talk with about her budding feelings and obviously hadn’t felt comfortable speaking with her own mother about them. “You know how much I liked Amber, but knowing her as a kid and knowing her as an adult are two different things. It’s not like things just carry on where they left off.”

“You’re right, it’s been a very long time.” His gaze continued to pierce her, and she barely held back a shiver. “Of course, you and Amber would need to connect again. She’s in Prague, so we’d have to set it up over Skype.”

Oh God...she could barely breathe sitting this close to him. Could barely keep from blurting out how sorry she was for ever hurting him, even if things had all worked out for him in the end, the very way she’d hoped.

Carefully rising from the couch on legs that felt far too shaky and moving behind the relative safety of her desk, she said, “There’s no question that Married in Malibu can create a beautiful wedding for Amber.” She couldn’t throw away this chance when it was exactly the high-profile Hollywood wedding Married in Malibu so desperately needed. Not even if seeing Jason again made her feel as though she were splitting apart at the seams. “But you said there are three things you’re looking for.”

“The second one is simple. It has to be completely private.”

“I’ve already spoken to our staff about the fact that they’ll have to sign nondisclosure agreements for all of our weddings.”

“They signed contracts at the château. It’s not enough.” He stood and started pacing her office, wall to wall then back again, clearly agitated on his niece’s behalf. “The paparazzi still found out, and from there it’s been picture after picture, story after story.”

Thank God she had moved behind her desk. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to keep herself from putting her hands over his and telling him everything would work out fine. But how could she possibly say that when she wasn’t sure about anything anymore?

Not since the moment he’d stunned her senseless by walking through her office door.

“Travis Houston, our security expert, has a tremendous amount of experience maintaining the privacy and safety of well-known people. What’s more, the fact that Malibu is home for Amber means it won’t attract the attention that her traveling anywhere else likely would.”

“That all sounds good,” Jason said. “But I still need you to promise that you and your staff will do whatever it takes to keep this wedding a secret.”

“I’ll do better than promise, Jason. I’ll personally guarantee it.” Even if it meant guarding the gates twenty-four seven herself. “Now, what’s the third thing Amber needs?”

The way Jason looked at her told Liz he had saved the biggest request for last. “It has to be in two weeks.”

“Two weeks?” Liz couldn’t stop her eyebrows from shooting up. “We weren’t planning to open for another three weeks at the very earliest.”

“This is the perfect location for Amber’s wedding,” Jason reiterated, and she could see how determined he was to get her to say yes. Just as determined as he’d been ten years ago to marry her...

No. She couldn’t think of that now. She needed to focus on Married in Malibu and the fact that Amber’s wedding would be a great coup for Rose & RJ’s new business. The best possible way to start, if they could pull it off. Yet the question remained whether they could. Nothing would be better for Married in Malibu than a successful wedding for Amber. On the other side of the coin, nothing would be worse than failing.

“Two weeks is cutting it really, really close. I’ll have to talk to my staff to see what they think.”

“Don’t say no just because of what happened in the past between us, Liz. This is for Amber, not for me.”

Liz forced herself to take a deep breath before saying, in as calm a voice as she could manage, “Whether or not Married in Malibu agrees to put on this wedding will come down to whether we feel we’re able to do it, and do it extraordinarily well, in such a short time frame. It won’t have anything to do with the relationship you and I had in the past.”

Of course she had to try to convince both of them that she could be utterly professional, no matter what. Yet, it sounded false even to her own ears. Maybe because there was so much that had lain unresolved between them for ten years.

Or maybe it was simply because after fifteen minutes with Jason, she could no longer deny the fact that everything she’d once felt for him—and had forced herself to give up—was now bubbling right back up to the surface.

L
iz spent
a few minutes working to clear her head after Jason left. But the truth was that no amount of deep breathing was going to make her feel any less like a bomb had just exploded inside of her.

She remembered the night they’d met as clearly as if it had only just happened. She’d been at a Hollywood party passing out pigs in blankets for a catering company, and when their eyes had met as he’d brushed her fingertips with his, their connection was instantaneous. Truly the most powerful thing she had ever felt in her life. More powerful than she’d even known things could be between a man and woman.

They’d fallen head over heels in love over the next few weeks. She would just look at him and be completely lost. As though there was no one else in the entire world but the two of them. As though nothing else mattered but being swept away in each other’s arms.

But that hadn’t been true, had it?

A bird chirping outside her window brought her back to the present. One where the only thing that could make matters worse was if she blew Married in Malibu’s chance at a major wedding.

Pulling her shoulders back, she headed out of her office to discuss the wedding with her staff. She found Travis first, wiring up a security camera. “If we had a really great chance at a wedding in two weeks, do you think we could handle security for it?”

Liz actually found it comforting that he didn’t say yes automatically. She wanted the truth from the people working for her, not just whatever they thought she wanted to hear.

“Yes,” Travis said at last. “I’d have to coordinate with the client’s and guests’ security teams, and there are still a lot of holes to patch on site, but we could do it.”

“Okay, then let’s meet in the main hall in about ten minutes.”

She went to find Kate next, who was clearing away weeds on one of the paths through the gardens. “Kate, if we were to book an important wedding here in two weeks, could you manage it?”

“We would have to use brought-in flowers for the displays,” Kate said. “But that might have been the case anyway. I wouldn’t say that we could hold the wedding out in the garden in two weeks, but if I used mostly annuals, I could make it look lush and beautiful through the windows.”

“That would work well. They are talking about an indoor wedding anyway.”

“Who is?”

“I’ll tell you inside in ten minutes.”

Next, she found Nate and Daniel in Nate’s office, making changes to photographs on the website. “An important client wants to hold a wedding in two weeks. I know it’s a week earlier than we planned to open, but you two can do it, right?”

Nate started checking things off on his fingers. “In addition to getting the rest of the computer systems coordinated with security, there’s the routing out to the cove so that we can get full wireless coverage, and a dozen small repair jobs to finish. But with enough coffee, anything is possible.”

“I was hoping you would say that.” She looked over to Daniel in silent question.

“I’m game for whatever we need to do, boss.”

Liz asked them to meet her in the events hall, which left Jenn and Margaret. Jenn was taking a tray of bonbons out of the freezer when Liz arrived. “It looks like we have our first client, and the wedding needs to be in two weeks. Is that enough time?”

Jenn looked mildly shocked for a moment, but quickly recovered. “I’d need to discuss menus as soon as possible and find some wait staff…”

“Let me handle the wait staff,” Liz said. “You just concentrate on the food. We’re all meeting in the hall to discuss it.”

Margaret was last. Liz found her in the room they were transforming into a bridal dressing area. “Can you come down to the hall to meet with the others?” She got right to the point. “We have a wedding. It’s in two weeks.”

“Two weeks? To plan so much?”

“You’ve planned parties quicker than that before, right? And this time it’s not just you.”

Margaret took a breath. “Yes, you’re right. I’ll be right there.”

Liz stopped by her office, grabbing a stack of nondisclosure agreements. She headed down to the main hall, where the others had pulled a few chairs to the edge of the stage in order to use it as a table. Liz passed around the forms, and as she waited for them to sign, it gave her a moment to think about how important this wedding could be for Married in Malibu. She knew that this was the right thing to do, regardless of everything that had happened between her and Jason. She would just have to hold the reins on her self-control very tightly around him...even if she’d never had a lick of self-control while they were dating.

When they had all finished signing, she told them, “The wedding is for Amber Blakely and Robert Wakefield.”

Their murmurs of surprise—and excitement—made it clear that they understood exactly what a big deal it was.

“Amber Blakely is huge,” Jenn said.

“I thought she was getting married in France,” Nate put in. When he got looks from the others, he added, “What? My job is being on the Internet all day, where Hollywood gossip comes to life.”

“I think it’s more the part where you’re keeping up with it moment to moment that we’re reacting to,” Travis said with a smile.

“I didn’t hear anything about them thinking of changing their plans,” Margaret interjected. The assumption that she would have heard wasn’t at all arrogant when Margaret and her family were about as plugged into the LA social scene as it was possible to get.

Liz wanted to keep them all in the loop, but she also felt that she needed to be careful about how much to explain just yet. They were her team and she trusted them, but that didn’t mean divulging every difficult detail of her past.

“Amber’s uncle came to see me earlier. He explained that Amber feels her current wedding plans are getting out of control, so he’s trying to put together a new wedding for her as quickly and locally as possible while keeping everything top secret. If you haven’t heard anything, Margaret, it means that he’s managed to keep it a secret so far.”

“Isn’t Amber’s uncle famous in his own right?” Travis asked.

“Jason Lomax is a bestselling thriller writer,” Liz confirmed.

“His books are great,” both Daniel and Jenn said at the same time, then grinned at each other, more sparks flying between them.

“That could make it tricky,” Travis said with a frown. “He might think that he’s keeping a low profile by coming here to arrange everything for his niece, but his notoriety is still a potential security concern.”

“I agree that we’ll have to be careful,” Liz said. “But before I formally agree to put on Amber and Robert’s wedding, I want to confirm that you’re all on board.”

She was surprised by how much she wanted this wedding to work. Not just because it was the perfect wedding to put Married in Malibu on the map or because it was Amber’s wedding and Liz felt that if anyone could do it right for the girl she’d once been close to, they could. But also because she wanted to prove that she and Jason could work together without it being a problem. They were both adults. They’d both moved on. Even if there was still plenty of heat between them, she wanted to prove that they could do this. That she could do it.

When everyone nodded, she said, “Okay, then, I’ll get all the specific details as soon as I can. For now, keep working on getting the place ready to open. I know two weeks is a lot to ask, but if anyone can pull this off, we can. And with style.”

Liz headed to her office, already making a flurry of mental preparations. But before anything else, she needed to call Rose. And she needed to tell her boss everything.

Rose picked up immediately. “Hi, Liz. Everything going okay over there?”

Liz decided to start with the positive. “I have really exciting news—we’re about to book Amber Blakely and Robert Wakefield’s wedding! Her uncle came to see me this morning and asked us to arrange it for them two weeks from now. I just met with everyone on staff, and they all agree that we can pull it off.”

“Wow. That’s very impressive, Liz.” Rose sounded like she could barely believe something so big had landed in Married in Malibu’s lap so quickly. “How did they hear about us?”

Liz took a deep breath. “I know Amber’s uncle, Jason Lomax. And while I never thought my past would be an issue, with this particular wedding…”

“What is it?” Rose asked.

There was no easy way to put it, so Liz tried to give her the information as quickly as possible. Not the emotional details, just the facts. “Ten years ago, Jason and I were engaged to be married. We broke up—” No, she needed to fully disclose this part. “Actually, I left him a few weeks before our wedding, and I hadn’t spoken to him since.”

“That sounds pretty rough,” Rose said in a sympathetic voice. “Do you think you will be okay putting on his niece’s wedding?”

“Of course I do,” Liz immediately said. “Honestly, I was just waiting for you to fire me when I told you about my past.” She was only half joking. “I mean, given that I left my fiancé right before our wedding, I’m not exactly the best person to be going around planning other people’s weddings, am I?”

“I’m not going to fire you,” Rose assured her. “I’m sure you had good reasons for what you did.” It was amazing how hearing that lifted such a huge weight off Liz’s shoulders. “I am glad you told me, however, since I know firsthand how hard it can be to separate love and relationships from work.” She laughed. “Just look at me and RJ—we worked together for years before we finally gave in to what we felt for each other.”

It was good hearing Rose sound so relaxed about it all, because it made it easier to believe that everything might turn out okay.

“I’m sure everything will be fine between Jason and me,” Liz said again, more because she didn’t want Rose thinking that she couldn’t cope than because she was actually certain of it. “He really wants to hold Amber’s wedding at Married in Malibu, and I know he’ll do anything in his power to make sure she has the perfect day.”

“I think you’re very brave to take this on when working with an ex is likely going to be harder than working with a stranger,” Rose said in a gentle voice. “I told you before that I can get on a plane anytime to help out if you need me there. I’m serious, Liz. If this gets to be too much for you, or if it’s too difficult dealing with such a complicated situation, give me a call and I’ll be there.”

It was such a kind offer, but Liz wanted to prove to Rose that she could handle anything that came her way. She definitely couldn’t go running to her on their first wedding.

“I’ll be fine,” Liz said once more. “It’s all a long time in the past. I just wanted to let you know in the interest of full disclosure.”

After they said good-bye, Liz sat for a moment holding her phone in her hand. There would be no backing out now that she’d told Rose about it. Which meant there was only one thing she could possibly do next.

Liz punched a number into her phone. “Hi, Jason, it’s Liz.”

“Do you have good news for me?”

“Yes. My team says that they can manage the wedding in two weeks.” Liz was doing her very best to keep things completely professional, even though just hearing him speak a handful of words made her stomach flip. “I’ll need to meet with you as soon as possible to go over the contracts and to figure out exactly what Amber would like.”

“In that case,” Jason said, “why don’t you come straight over so that we can get started?”