But he could tell she wasn’t. Damn. He’d never expected her to turn down his offer…Now he was in a real bind, which left him only one other option.
To tell her the truth. “Wait.”
She turned. “What is it now?”
“There’s something I haven’t told you about why we need you to plan Faith’s wedding.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
This was hard. Much harder than he thought it would be. Will tugged on his now-too-tight collar. “My mother was the one coordinating and making all the plans.”
“Then you don’t need me. Starr’s amazing. She could plan any event with her eyes closed.”
Kelsey was right on the mark about his mother. Starr Addison could do anything she put her mind to, except the one thing that had become her all-consuming goal—marry off her youngest daughter. “That was before,” he forced the words out.
“Before what?”
“My mother had a stroke, and she…” Swallowing hard, he pulled himself together. “She said the only one she trusted to pull off the wedding she’d planned for Faith is you.”
Chapter Two
Starr? A stroke?
It wasn’t possible. But the seriousness in Will’s gaze told Kelsey it was true. Tears stung her eyes and she blinked them away. “How is she doing?”
He shrugged, his features tight. “Things are progressing…slowly.”
A stroke. Kelsey didn’t know what to say. She remembered the helpless feeling that had engulfed her and her entire family when her grandmother Waters had suffered a stroke. The long days and endless nights until Grandmother had had another stroke and died. Kelsey fought the urge to offer comfort. He had a wife to do that. “I’m so sorry. I truly am.”
“Thanks.” His voice was deeper than she’d heard before, and he glanced at the ceiling. “It’s been a…difficult time for all of us. Faith wanted to postpone the wedding, but my mother insists it goes on as planned. Mom wanted to continue doing all the work herself, but it was too much for her.”
Too much for Starr Addison? Kelsey tried to imagine Starr as anything other than her vibrant and energetic self, a woman who’d even tried snowboarding last year just to see what it was like. A strong, confident woman who still had an Achilles’ heel—her daughter, Faith.
Each time Faith decided at the eleventh hour to cancel her wedding, Starr would break the news to Kelsey and hand her a generous check for the work she’d done as if money would wipe the slate clean. Starr apologized for the inconvenience, but not once had she apologized for her daughter’s actions. Neither had Faith, for that matter. Kelsey chalked it up to family loyalty. Still, a simple “I’m sorry” would have made such a difference, but none had come.
She’d kept waiting and hoping. Of course, she’d only contributed to the situation by continuing to plan Faith’s weddings, because Kelsey enjoyed working with Starr, but she wasn’t going to give in and do it again.
Kelsey really wanted—no, she needed to take a vacation. Just her reaction to Will told her she needed to get away from her daily routine. Designing wedding after wedding without time for herself or a little male diversion had taken a toll. A couple of weeks on the island paradise of San Montico with her cousin, Christina, was exactly what Kelsey needed. A little rest and relaxation. Maybe Prince Richard’s royal advisor, Didier Alois, had forgiven her for turning down his marriage proposal and they could spend some time together. If he hadn’t, making up would be a nice challenge. She did enjoy his company even if he’d gone a bit far by proposing after only knowing her for one week. And a casual flirtation might be fun. Yes, this vacation was what she needed, craved, deserved. “I’m really sorry, Will, but I have a plane to catch.”
“My mother’s only wish is to see Faith married. It’s more important to her than her own recovery.” He gazed straight at Kelsey, making her feel as if she needed to take a step—make that ten steps—back. “And you’re the only one she wants to help her.”
An invisible noose tightened around Kelsey’s neck, and she tried to resist caving in. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was to plan a fifth wedding for Faith. Kelsey had promised herself not to allow Starr to sweet-talk her into doing another wedding for her daughter. Now it wasn’t only Starr asking, but Will, too.
“What do you say?” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Will you help my mother make her dream come true?”
A grapefruit-size lump of guilt lodged in Kelsey’s throat. Closing her eyes, she thought about her grandmother and how important dreams had been to her. Dreams she’d had for and shared with each of her grandchildren. But the stroke had taken away those dreams, taken away everything. There had been little time to do anything but say goodbye. Kelsey had wanted to do more, so much more. And now Will was giving her the chance she hadn’t had before.
The ding of a bell announced the arrival of the elevator, and the doors opened.
“I know your staff is gone, but I’ll help you.” Will smiled. “Tell me what you need done and it’ll be done. I don’t know much about weddings, but I’m a fast learner.”
Her eyes sprang open and her heart leaped with pleasure at the thought of being near Will. It was totally illogical, downright ridiculous. Forget about not wanting to work on Faith’s wedding. The last thing in the world Kelsey wanted to do was to spend two weeks working with Will Addison. “Faith will want to work on her own wedding.”
“She’s on location and won’t be flying in until the day before the wedding. She made me promise to oversee things until she arrived.”
This didn’t sound like the Faith that Kelsey knew. The starlet wanted to be involved with everything. She’d even overseen the flower arrangements for the last wedding. Starr was always a big help, but even she demurred to her daughter’s wishes. “Faith trusts you to oversee her wedding preparations?”
“Yes.” A wry grin graced his lips. “Do you have a problem with this?”
Kelsey’s stomach twisted and turned and tumbled. She should have eaten more than a croissant for breakfast. “Of course not. I’ve worked with grooms—men—before.”
“Does this mean you’ll do it?”
“I…” Glancing at the closing elevator doors ahead of her, she watched her vacation disappear. And with it, her stress level inched upward.
“You can’t imagine what it would mean to my mother and my entire family.”
Damn him. Damn all the Addisons. She did not want to work on another wedding for Faith. Kelsey had promised herself she wouldn’t, yet for her grandmother and Starr… “Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“I’ll coordinate Faith’s wedding.” The gruffness of Kelsey’s voice should have bothered her, but it didn’t. She was doing this under duress. “I’m not saying it again.”
“I’m not asking you to.” Will grinned. He was practically dancing like a bride-to-be registering at Tiffany & Co.
At least one of them was getting some enjoyment out of this. She knew it wouldn’t be her. She wouldn’t be happy until February fifteenth—when Faith’s wedding was over and done with, and Kelsey was back home. “I want an exclusive contract to plan weddings at Starr Properties. As many weddings as I want.”
“Fine.”
“And my normal fee went up.” Money didn’t mean much to her, but she wanted to make them pay. This seemed as good a way as any. Unlocking the door to her office, Kelsey stepped inside. “Way up.”