Page 54 of The Business of Love Box Set 1: Books 1 - 4

KIMBERLY

W hen I opened my home office door on the morning of January fourth, I stopped in the doorway and wiggled my toes on the plush carpet.

It smelled like a room that had been closed up for nearly two weeks, so I padded over to the window and cracked it open two inches to let in some fresh, albeit cold, air.

I powered on my laptop and lit a eucalyptus-scented candle on my desk to kick me into work mode.

There was something about a burning candle and a blanket on my office chair that made settling down to work not so terrible, even if it was after a long two-week vacation that had been much needed.

I’d spent my days off with Vanessa and Rhys. It had given us the time to pin down all the final details for her baby shower, and I’d even managed to finalize everything on my end. Now all that was left was waiting for the day to arrive.

It felt good to have another thing checked off my list as I dove headfirst into work that morning.

I started with my emails, of which I had over a hundred and fifteen.

First, I sorted through spam. Most of them were deals and promotions from vendors I’d used in the past who had me on their mailing list. I cleared them out of my inbox and moved into the relevant emails from vendors for weddings that were currently in the works.

Most, naturally, were confirmations from Rick and Verity’s vendors.

It took me over an hour to respond to and sort through all of those.

Then I moved onto client emails. There weren’t many because my clients respected that it was the holidays.

Ones they had sent were all signed with nice little notes like, please don’t feel like you need to respond until you’re back from the holidays , which I appreciated.

But others, like the one from Verity with the word “URGENT” in the subject, did not hold the same level of understanding or well wishes.

Over the course of my vacation, she’d sent me six emails. None of them had been urgent. They were about flowers and decor and discounts.

“Such a diva,” I muttered as I sat back in my chair and eyed my cell phone. I wanted to call Rick.

I’d been thinking about it since I woke up that morning.

Then I thought about it some more while I showered.

Had Verity told him she called me on Christmas?

If she had, what did he say? Did it bother him?

Or did he shrug it off as just another one of those not so charming things his bride-to-be did?

Had she accused him of anything?

Had he come clean and told her what happened on the bridge?

“Not likely,” I muttered.

My phone dared me to pick it up and call him, so I bit the bullet and went for it. If I didn’t call him now, it would just be in the back of my mind all day, distracting me.

He answered on the third ring. “Kim,” he said. His voice sounded warm. “Long time no talk. I was going to call you later this afternoon.”

“Oh? Would you look at that. I’m so good at my job I’m anticipating your needs without you having to lift a finger.”

His deep chuckle filled the line and I could have sworn I felt it between my thighs like a little bullet vibrator.

“Does this mean I have to buy you two bottles of expensive red wine now as a thank-you gift?”

“I wouldn’t say no. You can afford it.”

He laughed in earnest this time, and for some reason, it made me a little anxious. Was Verity going to hear him laughing on the phone with me? Would it bother her?

Give your head a shake, girl. Who gives a shit what that psycho thinks?

“Do you have free time to grab a cup of coffee this afternoon?” Rick asked.

It caught me off guard. “Coffee?”

“Yeah. You know, the dark rich stuff everybody drinks when they need a pep in their step?”

“Ooohhh, coffee,” I mused. “Sure. What time?”

“Two? At that place we met up the first time we sat down together for a consultation?”

I remembered the place. It was close to my apartment, which was even better. “I’ll see you then.”

The Orchard was a trendy hot spot in downtown Nashville with an enclosed and heated glass patio.

There were still sparkly snowflakes stuck to the glass but the Christmas trees and depictions of Santa Claus had already been removed to make space for the streamers and New Year’s celebratory decor.

I suspected that too would be gone within the week.

Rick was already there when I arrived. He’d claimed a low fire-top table on the patio and he was leaning back in his seat with one leg crossed over the other.

His light gray bespoke suit fit him perfectly and accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist, which was obvious even though he was sitting down.

His white button-up hugged his chest and an expensive silver watch flashed on his left wrist.

He stood with a smile when he saw me coming and greeted me with a handshake. I supposed hugs were off the table now that we’d gotten a little too close for comfort on the aquarium bridge.

“It’s good to see you,” I said as I lowered myself down into my chair.

He passed me the drink menu and took his seat. “You too. How was your vacation?”

“Sublime.” I grinned as I flipped open the menu. “I ate entirely too much food and binge watched more shows than any adult has any right to do.”

“Sounds delightful.”

I settled on a fancy coffee and made myself comfortable in the deep cushioned chair. “It was. How about you? How was Chessie’s Christmas?”

Rick stroked his jaw. His beard was a lot darker and fuller than I’d ever seen it. He looked like a lumberjack poured into a ten-thousand-dollar, perfectly tailored suit. I hadn’t realized that was a thing for me.

Apparently, it was. My lady bits were tingling at the sight of him. Down girl.

“Chessie had a great Christmas,” Rick said. “Lots of laughs and fun and quality time at home.”

“That’s what it’s all about.”

How could they have quality time at home with a dark force like Verity hanging around all the time? I truly wondered what she was like behind closed doors with her soon-to-be-official family. Was she sweet as sugar?

Doubtful.

Rick tugged at the collar of his shirt and cleared his throat. “I think I owe you another apology.”

I felt one of my eyebrows rise. “Oh?”

Rick was about to explain when we were interrupted by a young woman in a burgundy apron.

She smelled like cotton-candy body spray, probably a Christmas gift from a boyfriend or something.

I remembered being eighteen and obsessed with smelling like food.

Now I preferred more sophisticated scents, like soft florals.

We put in an order for our coffees and then I gave Rick my full attention. “What were you going to say?”

He licked his lips and I tried not to stare.

His lower lip was much fuller than the top and his beard only made his mouth more distracting.

“Verity and I had an argument on Christmas night. A lot of things were said and it came to my attention that she had called you earlier in the evening to ask you about non-wedding-related things. I’m sorry.

That was incredibly insensitive of her.”

“Rick.” I tried to think of the right thing to say.

I wasn’t a relationship counselor. In fact, I didn’t like talking about the personal lives of my clients.

It was a fine line that was easy to cross, and once that happened, there was no going back.

“I appreciate the apology but it means nothing coming from you. Verity crossed a boundary. Not you. It will not affect my ability to do my job, regardless of whether I get an apology from her or not.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded. “It bothers me.”

I gave him a sympathetic smile. He was a kinder person than her—by far. “Forget about it. You have enough on your plate. I’m more than used to dealing with particular clients. I can handle Verity. I promise.”

“Sometimes, I wonder if I can.”

I blinked. What did that mean?

Rick shook his head dismissively. “Forget I said that.”

How could I forget that? I’d been pining over this man for over a year and then he goes and says something like that when his guard is down?

“Bad fight, huh?” I prompted.

“It certainly left a bad taste in my mouth.”

Our server returned with our coffees and set them down on the table. I picked mine up and sipped caramel-flavored foam off the top. It clung to my upper lip and I caught Rick staring before I hurried to lick it away.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

“I don’t really feel like getting into it.”

“Are there wedding-related things you’d like to discuss instead?”

He shook his head.

So he’d invited me out for coffee just to apologize on Verity’s behalf? That didn’t add up. In my mind, the truth was obvious. He did want to talk. Maybe he just wasn’t sure where to start.

“You know,” I started carefully, “it’s perfectly normal for couples to experience strain when they’re only a month out from the wedding.

Christmas only adds stress on top of that and destination weddings certainly don’t make it any easier.

Maybe you and Verity just need to have a follow-up conversation to make sure you’re both on the same page so you can enjoy the last month of being an engaged couple before you take the next step and say ‘I do.’”

“That’s the problem,” he said, not meeting my eye.

“What is?”

His gaze flicked to me. “I’m starting to wonder if that’s even what I want.”

My eyes widened with surprise. I tried to pull it together and not let my shock show, but apparently, I was doing a terrible job because Rick started chuckling.

“I know,” he said. “It’s a lot. I just… I don’t know what to do. The fight wasn’t pretty. I haven’t seen that side of her before and I’m starting to wonder if it’s because I didn’t want to see it.”

I swallowed. Shit’s getting real. “Are you in love with her, Rick?”

That was the most straightforward question to ask a bride or groom. If the answer was no, then the solution was simple. Walk away. If it was yes, you proceeded forward with more questions. More pros and cons.

He stared into the depths of his coffee. “I don’t know.”

I certainly hadn’t expected this turn of events when I returned to work this morning.

This was what I’d been hoping for over the course of the previous year and now that it was finally happening, I couldn’t help but feel skeptical.

Most likely, this was just a case of cold feet and he’d be over it in a couple of days.

He’d get sucked back in by her banging body and beautiful smile and wonder why he ever doubted marrying her in the first place.

Or…

I gave my head a shake. I should not be wishing for my clients’ wedding to fall apart. That was bad karma waiting to happen.

I shifted in my seat and leaned forward to rest my elbows on my knees. “This isn’t my area of expertise, but could I give you some advice?”

Rick nodded.

I smiled reassuringly. “I can’t tell you what to do here.

But I can tell you that it’s never too late to change your mind.

If you think this is a bad idea and you want to change course, then you should.

And this is coming from your wedding planner who stands to lose a lot of money if this wedding doesn’t happen.

This advice comes at the expense of my own interests. ”

He gave me a lopsided grin. “I guess I’d have to make it up to you in wine.”

“I accept yachts as well.”

His laughter caught me off guard. He slapped his knee and threw his head back and I found myself thinking that in the course of this entire year I’d never seen Verity make him laugh like that.