everything she’d been through growing up, Kelsey knew better. That should kill whatever attraction she felt for Mr. Romance.
She headed toward the storage room. “Would you give me a hand?”
Together they carried the leather trunk she took with her on out-of-town weddings into the office. From Telluride to Turkey, the contents of the trunk had saved the day more than once.
Will tapped the top of the trunk. “What’s this for?”
“Anything I might need to keep me from having to run around a town I’m not familiar with and waste time I don’t have to spare. You’d be amazed at what can happen the morning of a wedding.”
She opened the trunk, rummaged through it and made a mental list of what needed to be packed. “Does Faith have a wedding dress to wear?”
“Yes.”
“That’s right. I forgot,” Kelsey said. “She’s got four of them. Let’s hope she hasn’t had any alterations done yet, in case she’s a no-show again.”
Will laughed. At least he had a sense of humor. Not that it mattered, she reminded herself.
“Does she have a headpiece and veil?”
The smile faded from his face. “My mother planned to make one herself a` la Martha Stewart. She got hooked on crafting last summer, but the stroke…”
“I’ve got plenty to choose from.” Kelsey stared at her selection. “Do you know what style of gown Faith’s chosen?”
“No,” Will admitted. “That’s been the most highly guarded secret, next to her engagement itself.”
“Not a problem.” Kelsey packed a variety of head-pieces—halos, silk flower wreaths, beaded tiaras and different-length veils—in the trunk. If worse came to worst, she’d call in a few favors owed her. “We’ll bring several with us.”
“What about the one you were wearing?”
It would kill her to let Faith wear the vintage ensemble, but even Kelsey had to admit it would look lovely with the movie star’s long wavy locks. “I’ll pack it.”
“Do you need anything else in here?”
She gathered up a couple of garters and guest books in case Starr hadn’t gotten around to that, either. “Would you grab the lavender toolbox in the storage room?”
“A toolbox?”
“Tricks of the trade.” And right now she needed every trick she had up her sleeve to get through packing her gear with Will’s help. If it felt strange here in her own office, she didn’t want to think about what it would be like working with him in Lake Tahoe.
“What tricks would those be?”
“Sewing needles, thread, safety pins, first-aid kit, clear nail polish, hair spray, things like that.”
“You’re very prepared.”
“I have to be,” she admitted. “My clients expect nothing less. I do my best to make sure their wedding day is the most perfect, the happiest day of their lives.”
He stared at her with an odd look on his face. “A person’s wedding day is only the first of many happy days.”
Using all of her willpower, she managed not to roll her eyes. “Wasn’t your wedding day your happiest day ever?”
Her question seemed to catch him off guard, but only for a moment. The sweet smile on his face made Kelsey swallow hard and remind herself he was already taken. “Yes, it was the best day of my life.”
The dreamy tone of his voice touched a place deep within her heart. His wife was a lucky woman. Or would be until the marriage started unraveling and falling apart…No doubt they hadn’t been married long or faced any bumps in the matrimony road. “Told you so. Every bride and groom deserve a perfect wedding day, even your sister.”
Will stared at Kelsey. “You take what you do very seriously.”
“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing it.”
“So you’re a romantic at heart, too?”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” She smiled at the ridiculous notion. No one she knew would ever call her romantic. “I’m more of a…realist.”
A realist, she thought, who knew the truth—there was no such thing as “happily ever after.”
Sitting in the living room of Kelsey’s condo in Brentwood, Will tried to make sense of the woman who’d agreed to coordinate Faith’s wedding. Kelsey hadn’t said yes out of the goodness of her heart. She would be well paid and receive an exclusive contract to put on weddings at Starr Properties. But he’d seen her genuine concern over his mother’s condition. The tears in Kelsey ’s eyes, the slight quiver of her lower lip, the cracking of her voice.
From the doorway of what Will assumed was Kelsey’s bedroom, she leaned out, a toiletry bag in one hand, a cordless phone in the other. “I’m going to be a few more minutes. Would you like something to drink?”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
Watching her pack a trunk of wedding paraphernalia in her office had been like watching Tiger Woods play golf. Not one motion wasted, not one hit bunker. Here, she was no different and made multitasking look as effortless as a stroll through the park on a spring morning. “Do you need any help?”
“No, thanks.”
This didn’t surprise him. He’d never seen a more self-sufficient, organized woman before. No wonder his mother had been so adamant about his bringing her back with him. “Let me know if you do.”
“Okay.” With that she was gone.
Strictly business. Minimal exchanges. Polite manners. That’s how Kelsey had been for the past hour. He should be pleased. Yet, Will couldn’t forget the look of pure joy on her face when she’d tried on the veil or the flirtatious smile and the way she’d batted her eyelashes when she’d first seen him. She was a contradiction. That much he’d discovered in the short time they’d known each other.
Will settled back on the couch. Obviously there was more to Kelsey than met the eye. Professional and smooth on the outside, he could only wonder what was going on in the inside.
He was very good at reading people. Over the years he’d learned to anticipate the needs and wants of his guests as his mother had when she’d convinced his father to buy the Lake Inn so many years ago. That’s what made Starr Properties so successful. But Will was having trouble figuring out Kelsey. Dressed in her designer clothes with perfectly applied makeup and just the right amount of jewelry and accessories, she might look like one of his clients, she may have even been one. But she wasn’t the norm.
Not by a long shot.
And that’s what bothered him. He wanted her to be like the norm. He wanted her to look ordinary, not stand out. He didn’t want to notice her. He didn’t want her to be different or unique. He couldn’t afford the distraction
