Page 59 of The Business of Love Box Set 1: Books 1 - 4

RICK

“ D addy?”

I looked down at my little girl.

She wore a big grin as she reached for my hand and wrapped her fingers around my pinky, squeezing tightly.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

Was I ready? I gazed ahead.

Right in front of us at the toe of my shoes was the beginning of a white runner that ran the length of the gardens to the arch at the opposite end, where the officiant waited patiently for me and Chessie.

Behind him was a brilliant Hawaiian sky.

The blue cloudless sky met the ocean on the horizon in the distance and a gentle breeze tugged lazily at the pale pink flower petals of all the floral arrangements lining the aisles and the archway.

Kim had outdone herself.

The ceremony site was absolutely breathtaking. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Verity would love it as soon as she laid eyes on it. All her stress, worry, fussing, frustration, and anticipation would be worth it.

Hopefully.

“I’m ready,” I said to my daughter. “Are you?”

She nodded. “Yep.”

The music started and I knew Kim was conducting things from some secret place she couldn’t be seen. I stepped forward and Chessie walked with me. She smiled and giggled at family and friends in the crowd who waved at her. The swell of the music from the harp coursed through me.

This was it.

A year in the making.

And here I was, about to see my bride come down the aisle.

I hoped Verity felt steady and sure. I hoped she was as excited as I was. I hoped her mind wasn’t clouded with thoughts that didn’t matter.

Like how beautiful our wedding planner looked in her skin-tight gray dress and—

I took a deep breath.

Something is wrong with you.

We reached the end of the aisle and stepped up onto the platform. Chessie moved to stand slightly beside and behind me, and we both turned to face the aisle as the music picked up and rolled into a chorus of “Here Comes the Bride.”

Our guests shuffled in their seats and turned to look back the way I’d come.

My heart fluttered in my chest with wild anticipation. My palms were getting sweaty and I marveled at how nervous I actually was. I didn’t think I was capable of feeling like this anymore, like a thirteen-year-old boy at his first dance contemplating asking the girl he liked to dance.

And yet I did.

Chessie rocked back and forth on her heels and let out a giggle. The music doubled and the officiant gave me a side-eyed grin.

Verity would appear through the glass garden doors at the end of the aisle any minute now.

I wondered what her dress would look like. She’d kept it a secret from me for the last few months and the anticipation was killing me.

The harpist continued to play the same string as she waited for the bride to arrive.

Our guests began to look from the doors back up to me.

I frowned.

She was late.

Odd.

Then again, Verity had a bad habit of always arriving late so she could be seen by everyone who had already arrived and make her grand entrance.

That’s all this is, I told myself. Just Verity being Verity.

But the unease in the crowd began to seep into me. Something was amiss. The harpist continued to play the same chords over and over until the music sounded like it was mocking me.

Then Kim appeared at the end of the aisle with her hands clasped in front of herself. She and I immediately locked eyes. Her lips were pressed into a firm line.

Fuck me.

I turned to the officiant. “Give me a minute.”

He nodded and I stepped off the platform. I could feel every pair of eyes on me as I strode purposefully down the aisle and through the doors to meet Kim on the glossy marble floors of the foyer. She bit her bottom lip and searched my eyes.

“What is it?” I demanded.

She swallowed and glanced behind me at the crowd. Then she reached out, took my wrist, and pulled me off to the side and away from prying eyes. As she tried to find her voice, her eyes grew glassy. “Rick, I—ugh, God. I’m so sorry. She’s not coming. She’s gone.”

“What do you mean gone?”

“She left the hotel. Half an hour ago.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

Kim didn’t flinch. She held her ground and lifted her chin. “It means she doesn’t want to get married. She left her dress behind, got in a car with her maid of honor, and drove off. She didn’t tell anybody. I just found out she was gone.”

All the air came out of my lungs in a rush and I felt immediately lightheaded.

I took a step back and slumped against the wall. Then I tipped my head back and raked my fingers through my hair. “How could she do this to me?”

Kim didn’t say anything.

“I had no idea,” I breathed. “How could I have had no idea? Why didn’t she say something? Why didn’t she—”

“Rick.” Kim’s voice was firm but warm. She put a hand on my upper arm.

“Listen to me. This isn’t the kind of thing you can make sense of right now.

Neither can I. But I can handle this for you.

I’m going to get Chessie and send her here to you so you can go back up to your room and not have to deal with this. Then I’ll dismiss the guests.”

My throat was dry. My hands were shaking. I couldn’t tell if it was from nerves or fury.

Perhaps a healthy mix of both.

“No,” I said, shaking my head and pushing off the wall. “I’ll tell them. Verity put you through enough bullshit planning this wedding. I want them all to know why this fell apart and that they flew halfway around the world for a goddamn joke.”

Kim let her hand fall from my arm. “I’m so sorry. Tell me what I can do.”

“Nothing,” I said.

“There has to be something. Anything.”

My whole body felt heavy like lead. “Just have the staff tear it all down. Give them their tips. You still have the envelopes I set aside, right?”

She nodded.

“Okay,” I said. “Do that for me and then… I don’t know. Just relax. You’ve earned it.”

“Rick,” she said softly.

But I’d already turned from her and stepped out the door to make my way down the aisle. All the guests already knew I’d been stood up at the altar. I could hear it on their lips as they bowed their heads together and whispered in each other’s ears.

“What a shame.”

“I guess you never truly know a person.”

“How could she do that to Rick? Look at him.”

“How humiliating.”

“I thought this kind of thing only happened in the movies.”

I turned to face them and squared my shoulders. They fell into an eerie hush and they all stared up at me like I was some lost puppy dog that had been kicked to the curb.

Which I had.

“You can all go home,” I said. “The wedding is off.”

The whispers turned to murmurs, which turned to people calling my name as I took Chessie’s hand and led her off the platform. She called out to me, confused, but I didn’t stop. I led her across the grass and wove back up to the main building so I could get her upstairs and away from prying eyes.

I couldn’t stand the way they all looked at me.

“Daddy?” Chessie asked when we stepped onto the elevator.

“Yes?”

“Are you okay?”

I didn’t meet her eyes. “I will be, kiddo.”