Only You (26 page)

T
he day of the wedding, Holly woke up bright and early, worried about the million and three things that could go wrong. The rehearsal had been like a powder keg waiting to explode. Coraline had been paranoid and confrontational, and the groom had threatened to leave before the appetizers were even served.

Kevin was still asleep, and she watched him for nearly a minute, basking in the happiness of the past two weeks. She started to get out bed, but Kevin cracked his eyelids and snaked an arm around her waist, tugging her back so they were face-to-face.

“Where do you think you're going?”

She laughed. “I was going to take a shower. I have a busy day.”

“As your assistant, I have a busy day, too.”

She studied his face. “You seriously plan on helping me today?”

“Holly, I saw how hard you worked at Ken Douglas's wedding. If you won't ask my mother for an assistant, then let me be one.”

“And what if she finds out?” While Nicole had admitted that she appreciated Holly's work the day before, Holly wasn't sure how far that generosity would extend toward her relationship with her son.

He paused, then looked deep into her eyes. “She'll never know. But if she finds out somehow, I'll come up with a story that won't bite you in the ass.” When she didn't protest, he gave her a huge smile and then a kiss. “Just think. More bossing me around.”

She laughed, but he'd been more helpful the night before than she could have hoped. And if there was ever a wedding she needed help with, it was the Johansen nuptials. If anything, Holly was shocked that Nicole hadn't insisted on being on-site. “Okay. Deal.”

He cupped her face, his thumb tracing her jawline. “I have to run an errand before I head out there. Do you need me to do anything right away?”

She shook her head. “No. All the big stuff is taken care of, so I'll just go to keep an eye on things for a few hours before the bridal party starts arriving and help the people from the bridal magazine get set up. This wedding has to be perfect.”

He grinned as he kissed her. “I know. You've told me a million times.”

“I think I'm just reminding myself.”

“Trust in yourself. I do.”

She kissed him, then sat up. “Thank you. Keep saying things like that, and I just might keep you around.”

Kevin made Holly a pot of coffee and prepared a travel mug for her while she finished getting dressed. He'd just finished putting on the lid when he heard her heels on the stairs. He turned to face her, once again sucking in his breath at the sight of her. Today she was all business in her pale pink blouse, black pencil skirt, and shiny black pumps. She'd put her gorgeous hair up in a twist.

He pulled her into his arms as soon as she hit the bottom step.

She gave him a teasing look of reprimand. “You can't do that today at the vineyard, Kevin. You have to keep your hands to yourself.”

He dropped his hold, took a step back, and leaned over to kiss her. “I know how to keep my hands to myself.” His mouth skimmed to her neck.

“
And
your lips.”

“This will be very hard.” But he lifted his face and smiled as he saluted her. “I can handle the mission, Captain.”

She grinned and poked his chest with her finger. “You'd better or you'll be fired.” Then her grin fell away. “I'm nervous.”

“Babe, it's going to be stunning.”

“I'm more worried about the bride.”

He cringed. “She
did
seem a little temperamental.” She'd thrown a few fits the night before, making him wonder why the groom was marrying her. Especially when Kevin saw him and the maid of honor coming out of a dark room together. Kevin would have guessed he was marrying her for the money, but the groom's family seemed to be loaded, too.

Holly let out a sigh. “Understatement of the year.”

“If anyone can handle it, you can.”

She gave him another quick kiss. “And with that note of confidence, I'm off.”

As soon as she was out the door, he pulled out his phone and called his father. “Dad, did you get my text last night?”

“You want to meet for breakfast?”

“Yeah, but without Mom. She can't know. I need to ask your advice on something.”

“Tell me when and where.”

“Half an hour at the Big Biscuit?”

“See you there.”

Kevin hung up, then jumped when he heard a voice behind him.

“You really care about her, don't you?”

He spun around to face Melanie, who was sitting on the stairs in her pajamas.

He squared his shoulders. “Yeah, I do. I'm trying to make this right for her with my mom.”

“Why? So you're not caught in the middle?”

“No, because she deserves better than how my mother treats her. I'm going to see if my dad has a suggestion for how to handle this. I'd just confront my mother, but Holly has begged me not to, and I want to respect her wishes.”

She made a face. “I've tried to get her to stand up to your mother since she started working there, but Holly refuses. She just keeps saying she's grateful to Nicole for hiring her.” She paused. “I've told Holly she needs to figure out when people are using her and use them in return, but she won't listen. She says she won't stoop to their level, but she's only hurting herself.”

Kevin disagreed, but kept it to himself. He loved that Holly lived by a moral compass. He'd dated too many women who didn't.

Melanie stood and walked down the steps toward him. “And if Holly broke it off right now, would you still help her?”

“I care about her. I only want her to be happy, whether she's with me or not. But there's a good chance this wedding is going to fall apart today. I need to make sure Holly's job is protected.”

Melanie broke out into a big smile and pulled Kevin into a hug. “Then welcome to the Greenwood family.”

Half an hour later, Kevin's father was waiting for him at the restaurant.

“Thanks for meeting me, Dad.” Kevin held out his hand, but his dad pulled him in for a hug.

“Of course. I'm just sorry it's taken us this long to see each other.”

“Yeah. I still can't figure out how you got out of Megan's shower. You need to teach me your tricks for saying no to the women in our family.” Kevin grinned, but he was dead serious.

The hostess led them to a table then left a pot of coffee with the menus. Once they placed their orders, his father gave him a wry smile. “This is obviously about your mother. What has she done now? You're not here on Megan's behalf, are you?”

“What? No. This is all me.” Kevin took a deep breath, hoping he wasn't breeching Holly's trust. “I love Mom, but you know she's not always the most fair and unbiased person. I need to protect someone I care about.”

His father hesitated. “
Who
are you trying to protect?”

Kevin had weighed the risks of what he was about to do, but it was still hard to spit out her name. “Holly. Her assistant.” He shook his head. “Her employee.”

His father groaned, leaning back in his seat. “What has that woman done this time?”

Kevin tried to contain his rage. “I have no idea what Mom tells you, but Holly is the sweetest, kindest woman I have ever met. She's brilliantly talented. Mom's threatened by that and treats her like crap.”

“I was talking about your mother.” His father released a soft laugh. “I had no idea you even knew Holly, let alone cared about her so much.”

“I love her.” He said the words without thinking, but he knew it was true. There was no way he could stand by and let his mother hurt her anymore. “If the wedding Holly's working on today crashes and burns like I suspect it might, Holly will have a hard enough time dealing with it without the added stress of worrying that Mom is going to fire her. Which means someone has to shake some sense and decency into Mom. The only person I know capable of such a feat is you.”

His father was silent for several long seconds. “Maybe you should start at the beginning. Like how you two even met.”

Kevin gave him a condensed version of Megan buying his house, his meeting Holly, then finding out at the shower how she was connected to his mother. “A lot hinges on this wedding today. Holly won't keep our relationship a secret from Mom after the wedding. It's killed her to hide it the last few weeks. We both know Mom will probably fire her. She wouldn't even let Megan go out to lunch with Holly.”

His father grimaced and shook his head. “So you know that if the wedding doesn't go well, Holly likely won't have a job?”

Kevin's mouth dropped open. “Mom admitted it? Even knowing how temperamental the bride is acting?”

“The threat is because of the bride's behavior, not your mother's.”

Kevin stared at his father in disbelief. “You know about this? And you condone it?”

His father picked up his coffee cup, looking confused. “How is your mother responsible for the spoiled woman's behavior?”

“Exactly!” Kevin said, his frustration mounting. “If Mom can't be held responsible, then how can Holly?”

“What are you talking about, son?” Bart Vandemeer shook his head. “I'm pretty sure we're talking about two very different things.”

“What are
you
talking about?” Kevin asked.

“
I'm
talking about how much is riding on this wedding for your mother's business. If this wedding crashes and burns, she's set to lose half her upcoming functions. No one wants the stink of the Johansen failed wedding attached to their event planner. And if that happens, your mother will be forced to lay Holly off, no matter how much it kills her.”

Kevin sat back in his seat as shock washed through him. “Why didn't Holly tell me?”

“For one thing, I suspect she doesn't know. Your mother was trying to keep it from her. She didn't want to give Holly any additional pressure. And, second, I can imagine if your mother told her, she swore her to secrecy.” He took a sip of coffee, then lowered the cup. “Your mother only confided in me last night.”

“But she's been so awful to Holly. …”

“Your mother is unbelievably stressed. You of all people should know she doesn't handle stress well.”

“Maybe so, but that doesn't make it right.”

His father shrugged. “I never said it did.”

“And what about Holly and me? I love her. I know she's the woman for me and I don't want to hide it from Mom. I want to tell her, but I don't want to jeopardize Holly's job—presuming she still has one when this is over.”

His father chuckled and lifted his hands in surrender. “You don't have to try to convince me. I'm onboard. I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle this.”

“So you'll help?”

His father smiled, his eyes lighting up. “I've never heard you say you loved a woman. And I've met Holly, so I know how special she is. I'll help you make this right.”

“Dad. Thank you.”

“Don't thank me yet. I still have to figure out how to handle this. Experience has shown it usually works better when your mother thinks it was her idea to begin with.” His father winked. “The trick is in planting the seed.”

H
olly knew everything had been going too well. Everyone in the bridal party had arrived on time, even the maid of honor, who kept sneaking away, returning a couple of times with red eyes.

Coraline had refused to take photos before the wedding, saying it was bad luck for the groom to see her in her wedding dress. The dress that was still on its padded hanger on a hook on the wall in the changing room—even though the ceremony started in thirty minutes.

Holly gave Miranda a worried glance, and the older woman scowled.

Miranda approached her daughter as if approaching a skittish horse. “Coraline, darling, if you would just tell us what the problem is, then maybe we can fix it.”

The bride paced, her white satin dressing gown billowing behind her. “And I told you, I
don't know
what's wrong. But there's something wrong. I just
feel
it.”

The maid of honor bolted from the room again, muttering “Bathroom issues” as she ran out the door.

“Eww…” one of the bridesmaids sneered. “TMI.”

Coraline glanced at the door and took off into the hall.

“Coraline!” Holly called after her. “The guests will see you!” But as soon as she started after the bride, the flower girl tripped and fell flat on her face, letting out a shrill cry of pain as blood started pouring from her nose.

“Oh no!” Holly exclaimed as she scooped up the child, and then she had her lean her head back while Holly pinched her nose. “Someone get me a towel!”

One of the bridesmaids held out a small hand towel between her thumb and forefinger, as though the blood from the child's face would jump off and land on her dress.

Holly swiped at the blood while trying to comfort the four-year-old. “Can someone find her mother?”

Everyone stared at her like she'd asked them to run outside naked.

“I want my mommy,” the girl wailed.

Holly's phone vibrated against her thigh, but she ignored it. “You!” She pointed to one of the bridesmaids who she'd seen talking to the little girl's mother earlier. “Go get her mommy.”

The woman sighed and grabbed her phone from her purse and sent a text.

Holly's phone stopped buzzing, then began to buzz again, but the flower girl was still crying, and now one of the bridesmaids looked close to fainting as she stared at the bloody towel in Holly's hand.

“Someone get some wet paper towels.” When no one moved, Holly pointed to the pale woman. “
You
. Go get some towels.”

“Her mom won't answer.” The bridesmaid with the phone said, sounding aggravated.

“Then go find her yourself.”

“But someone might see me!”

Holly fought the urge to roll her eyes. “No one cares if they see you. They're here to see the bride. Now go get her mother!”

“The wedding planner's kind of cranky,” the third bridesmaid grumbled to the woman leaving the room.

Ordinarily the snide remark would have stung, but at the moment Holly had bigger issues to deal with.

Her phone began to vibrate again. Holly reached into her pocket to pull it out, but her hand caught on the edge of the seam. Once she had it free, she answered without looking at the name on the screen. “This better be an emergency.”

“I think this counts as one,” Kevin said. “You need to get in here right away.”

“Oh, crap.” Holly stood, balancing the phone on her shoulder and handing the little girl to Bridesmaid Number Three. “Where are you? What happened?”

“Groom's room.” Kevin's voice sounded strained and Holly heard yelling in the background. “Now.”

She took off sprinting down the hall, running into the flower girl's worried mother. Her eyes widened as she stared at the blood smeared across Holly's left breast.

“What happened to my baby? Is she okay?” her mother cried out. “Tonya said she was bleeding out.”

Holly gave the mother a comforting pat on the arm. “Oh, no, I promise she's fine. She fell and got a bloody nose. It's almost stopped now, but she's scared and wants her mommy.”

A loud bang shook the hall wall, followed by a woman's unintelligible shouting coming from the groom's room.

Oh, crap.

“If you'll excuse me…” Holly hurried past the woman and took a deep breath before she opened the door—just in time to see Coraline throw a chair across the room.

“
How dare you?
” the bride shrieked, stalking toward the cowering groom. “How dare you sleep with my best friend!”

Holly put a hand on her chest, suddenly feeling light-headed. “Oh, shit.”

Kevin was beside her in an instant. “I'm sorry. I had no idea what you wanted me to do.”

The groom held up an arm in defense. “My little Cora-bean. It's not what you think.”

“How can finding your tongue halfway down her throat be not what I think?” He started to say something, and she jabbed him with her long, pointy nail. “And if you give me an excuse like you did in Spain last month about giving that woman mouth to mouth, I will
kill you
.”

“You were kissing someone in
Spain
?” the maid of honor asked in dismay from the other side of the room, hiding behind two of the groomsmen.

The groom grimaced as he glanced over at the maid of honor. “I was saving her life. I'm certified in CPR!”

“
She was standing up!
” Coraline shouted.

The groom held out his hands and gave her a cocky grin. “I'm just that good.”

Coraline screamed in frustration, then picked up the first thing she found—a duffel bag—and began swinging it at the groom's head.

That sparked Holly into action. “Coraline, I know you're upset, but this won't help anything.” She tried to reach for the bag, but the bride turned her attention on Holly. “This is all your fault!”

“How is your cheating, asshole fiancé
Holly's
fault?” Kevin demanded, stepping between them.

Holly pushed him to the side. “Kevin, I've got this.”

Coraline burst into tears, covering her face with her hands. “How could he do this to me?”

Holly grabbed the strap of the bag and tugged it away from the crying woman, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Let's get you back to the changing room.”

The groom tried to reach for her, but Kevin held him back. “I still love you, Cora-bean!” he called after her. “This was a huge misunderstanding!”

“
I hate you!
”

Holly glanced over her shoulder at Kevin. “Don't let him leave.”

“I've got it covered,” he said, pushing the groom backward into a chair.

Holly led the now hysterically crying bride back to the changing room. Unfortunately, the hall was now full of guests who had heard the commotion and had come to investigate. They watched Coraline's walk of shame with looks of horror and amusement, snickering to each other, a few taking photos with their phones.

Some friends.

“
Where's security?
” Holly asked no one in particular, pulling out her phone and calling the man in charge of the guards. “I need you to clear the hallway to the bridal party and groom's room.
Now.
”

“Go back to your seats,” Holly said, trying to hide Coraline with her body as she motioned for the guests to leave the hallway. She cracked open the changing-room door and pushed the bride inside. Everyone in the room stared at Coraline with wide eyes and open mouths. To be fair, she was a sight, with a bright red nose and snot dripping over her upper lip.

Holly led her to the sofa, then snatched a box of tissues, grabbing a handful and mopping up the mess on the bride's face as best she could. Coraline's makeup was a lost cause, although that was probably the least of their worries.

“Where's Piper?” Miranda asked, glancing around the room for the missing maid of honor.

“She's with that lying, cheating bastard!” Coraline threw herself down on the sofa, her chest heaving with sobs.

Miranda gasped and looked up at Holly. “What on earth is going on here?”

“Your daughter just caught her fiancé kissing the maid of honor. Apparently they've been sleeping together.”

“I see.” Miranda's face paled, and Holly knew she was thinking the same thing she was. There would be no wedding. There would be no magazine spread. Everything Miranda had been striving for had come to a grinding halt. But, to her credit, Miranda sat on the sofa by her daughter and pulled her into her arms. “There, there, Cora. Everything will be okay.”

“How can you say that?” Coraline asked as she pulled away and looked into her mother's eyes. “He cheated on me.”

“Better to find out now than after your ceremony.”

“I can't marry him, Mom.”

Miranda pulled her daughter's head to her shoulder. “Of course you can't. I wouldn't let you even if you still wanted to.”

“But your magazine photos…” Coraline's voice trailed off and she started crying again. “I'm sorry.”

Holly nearly fell over from shock.

Miranda stroked her daughter's head. “You're much more important than a magazine spread, darling.” But Miranda had a gleam in her eyes as she looked Holly over.

She knew she was a sight—covered in blood, snot, and tears—but Miranda's look wasn't one of disgust. She looked…hopeful.

“Never fear, darling. There's going to be a wedding. Just not yours.”