Only You (6 page)

H
olly was glad when Nicole left early for the day, even though Nicole hadn't said another word about losing the Johansen wedding. In fact, she'd been in an exceptionally good mood after she'd come back from her appointment with Bethany this morning, and Holly figured she was in the clear. Then she said she was leaving early to meet her son and she'd see Holly in the morning.

Holly had spent another hour working on a menu proposal for a client's wedding when her phone rang.

“Distinctive Events, Holly speaking.”

“Holly, this is Miranda Johansen.”

Her breath stuck in her chest and she sounded slightly wheezy when she said, “Miranda. How was your meeting with Tender Moments?”

“It was wonderful. The two planners catered to Coraline's every whim.”

Was she calling to jab the knife of losing the job in deeper? “How wonderful for you.”

“No, it's not wonderful at all. In fact, it's far from wonderful.”

Holly blinked in confusion. “I'm sorry?”

“Catering to Coraline's every whim is exactly why we're in our current situation—three and a half weeks away from a wedding that has nothing but a venue, the photographer, and a dress.”

“I'm not sure—”

“I want you to plan the wedding.”

Holly leaned back in her chair. “What?”

“I need someone to stand up to my daughter and tell her no.”

“With all due respect, Miranda, isn't that your job?” The words were out before Holly could reel them back in. “I'm sorry. That was inappropriate.”

“No,” the woman said quietly. “You're right. But you have to understand, I've spent too much time neglecting my daughter for my career and now that we're close again, I don't want to destroy that. Our reconciliation is too fragile.”

“So you need someone to be the bad guy.”

“Yes.”

Holly released a short laugh as she rubbed her forehead. “I'm not sure why you think I can perform that role. I assure you that I make a terrible bad guy.”

“No, you set Coraline straight this morning and you were absolutely right. Then you stated your opinion moments ago.”

“Moments ago, I spoke without thinking. It was incredibly rude.”

“Yet it was absolutely correct.”

“Miranda, your daughter made it clear she didn't want me. And if Tender Moments wowed her, there's not a chance this will work.”

“It's my money paying for the wedding. It's my decision.”

“But my job is to wow the bride, even when the mother is paying for it. I need to know that Coraline is happy with me.”

“She will be once you present your plans to her. She loved every wedding photo she saw in your portfolio.”

“What if she fires me?”

“She can't. I'll draw up a contract that states once I sign on the dotted line, termination is impossible.”

Holly paused, actually considering it. Maybe her grandmother's dementia was contagious.

“But termination will be impossible on both sides.”

So there
was
a catch. She was stuck with them until the end. “I understand how this could benefit
you
, but how would this be in
my
best interest?”

“I'm willing to pay more than Nicole had mentioned when we first spoke.”

“Miranda, I'm going to be honest, which is probably incredibly stupid in this situation, but I have no idea what figure Nicole mentioned. She's been very guarded about everything regarding your meeting.”

“But you said you knew about her ideas.”

“I had no idea what she had planned, but I knew she'd walk in prepared. She wants your wedding. She'll be furious if you offer it to me. So if I accept, I'll be dealing with an angry boss, an ungrateful, demanding bride, and ulcer-inducing time constraints to pull off a three-hundred-guest wedding that is worthy of the
New York Times
. What could possibly entice me to say yes?”

“A ten-page spread in
Modern Bride
magazine.”

That could do it.

Miranda lowered her voice. “Between you and me,
I
fired the last planner. She'd catered to every one of Coraline's crazy ideas. I found out about the spread last week and I knew her Victorian cowboy theme would sink my career. I need someone who can not only pull this off, but make it the wedding of the year.”

A spread in
Modern Bride
? The talk shows often pulled planners who had been featured in the magazine to host segments. The more exposure Distinctive Events got, the better chance they had to get higher-profile clients. Nicole would be thrilled.

Who was she kidding? Nicole would be furious, but she wouldn't dare fire her over this. She couldn't afford to, but that still wouldn't stop her from making Holly miserable. “What kind of budget am I looking at? I'll need to pay extra to make things happen this close to the wedding.”

“An obscene amount. I need this spread for my own business. They'll be featuring Coraline's dress as well as the bridesmaids' gowns.”

“I thought the bridal party didn't have dresses.”

“They don't, but once we lock down a theme, I'll make the dresses accordingly. So what do you say?”

She was insane to consider it. This was going to be a three-week-long nightmare. Still, it was an opportunity she couldn't pass up. “I'll do it. I'm up for a good challenge.”

“Perfect. I'll have my attorney draw up a contract and e-mail it to you tomorrow morning. You can bring it with you to my home tomorrow afternoon to discuss ideas with Coraline.”

“I look forward to it.”

Miranda laughed. “You might think so now, but you'll earn every penny I'm paying, and even then you'll probably wonder if it's worth it.”

Holly sighed as she hung up the phone. Had just made a deal with the devil?

###

By five thirty, Holly had finished working up her proposal. She locked up the office and headed to the retirement center, her stomach twisting into knots. Seeing her grandmother agitated and confused the day before had upset Holly more than she'd cared to admit. The doctors and nurses had warned her the day was coming when her grandmother wouldn't know her at all, but last night had been the first time Holly had seen it for herself. And it was only the beginning. But she had high hopes that today would be a good day, and she had brought her leatherbound scrapbook.

“Good evening, Holly,” one of the nurses greeted her, squatting next to an elderly man in a wheelchair.

“Hey, Betty. How's Grandma today?”

The silver-haired nurse offered her a warm smile. “Better today. She's been asking for you. You can find her in the dining room.”

“Thanks.”

“How's that that wedding coming?” Betty stood, moving behind the chair and grabbing the handles. “The one with the bride who'd been sick.”

“Oh. The Murphy wedding.” One of Holly's brides had had a cancer scare, but everything had worked out in the end. The couple had turned the ceremony and reception into a celebration of life as well as the beginning of their new life together. “The wedding is next weekend. Everything's coming along perfectly. She picked the strawberry cake.”

“Ooh! I want to see photos!”

Holly smiled. “I'll make sure to bring them.”

She found her grandmother at her usual table, sitting next to several of her friends. Grandma Barb looked up and smiled, her eyes lighting up with happiness. “There's my Sunshine!”

This was the woman who had mothered her. Who had been the rock she'd clung to almost her entire life. Tears filled Holly's eyes as it fully hit her all that she'd be losing when Grandma Barb would no longer recognize her.

But she blinked them back, offering her grandmother a bright smile as she sat in an empty chair at the six-person table. “Hey, Grandma. How's the Jell-O today?”

“They put oranges in it today. Delilah hates oranges, don't you, dear?” she asked the woman next to her.

The woman wrinkled her nose. “Can't stand them.” She patted Grandma Barb's arm. “Is this your granddaughter? She's lovely.”

Delilah must be new. The ever-changing resident roster was more depressing than usual today. Holly forced a smile. “Thank you. I've been told I look just like my grandma when she was young.”

Her grandmother laughed. “I had hair just as blonde and eyes just as bright green. But you should she her cousin, Melanie. She's the spitting image of her mother with her coal-black hair. No one ever mistook these two for sisters. They were as different as night and day in both looks and spirit.”

“I can't wait to meet her,” Delilah said. “When will she be by?”

Grandma looked down at her plate, so Holly jumped in. “Melanie has a new boyfriend and she had a date tonight.”

“You don't say,” her grandmother responded. “You hadn't told me that.”

Holly forced herself to stay calm. She'd told her grandmother several days ago.

“Maybe she'll bring him by,” Delilah volunteered. “Do
you
have a boyfriend…what was your name?”

“I'm Holly, and no, no boyfriend.” She set her leather binder on the table. “But I get to plan weddings, so I'm perfectly content living vicariously though other people's love lives.” She laughed. “Even if it makes me sound a bit like a stalker.”

“You brought your notebook,” her grandmother said.

Holly smiled. “You'd been asking and I hadn't brought it in in ages. There's quite a few more weddings in it now.”

Grandma Barb turned to Delilah. “She's been planning weddings since she was a little girl. She used to cut photos out of magazines and paste them into notebooks.” Her grandmother stroked the leather cover. “She's got a nicer cover now, but they're still just as lovingly planned.”

Holly's face flushed. “I have photos, too, but Grandma prefers the cutouts. I like to start out with them as I'm trying to put it all together.” Nicole wasn't a fan of Holly's pages of cutouts. She was surprisingly digitally advanced and preferred for Holly to show her clients digital images, saying Holly's scrapbook pages were too elementary-school looking. But the scrapbook pages were still Holly's favorite part of planning the wedding. And at least her grandmother appreciated them.

The women spent the next ten minutes flipping the pages of Holly's binder. When they finished, Delilah begged Holly to bring in her photos next time.

“You should see the photos of the glass chapel,” her grandmother gushed. “With the snow and the red flowers. She even had sleighs.”

“Oh!” Delilah exclaimed. “It sounds lovely.”

An aide took the women's trays and Holly walked her grandmother back to her room.

Grandma Barb sat in a wingback chair and leaned over and patted the chair next to hers. “Sunshine, have a seat.”

Holly sat down, her stomach twisting into a pretzel again. Her grandmother sounded serious, and she rarely sounded so grave.

Her grandmother grabbed her hand and held on. “I don't remember what happened yesterday when you came to see me.”

Holly shrugged, forcing a smile. “I don't remember what I had for lunch today. It's not that big of a deal.”

“Yes, Holly. It is.”

Her grandmother sounded so earnest that a lump clogged Holly's throat. She nodded.

“I worry about you,” she said. “You lose yourself in everyone else's love. When are you going to have your own?”

Holly forced out a sigh. “Grandma, I'm happy. Other than my sometimes difficult boss, I love what I do. I give couples the weddings of their dreams. Why can't that be enough? Why do I need a man?”

“I never said it
can't
be enough. I spent the last twenty-five years without a man.”

“Because of me and Melanie?” Why had that never occurred to her?

“No!” her grandmother protested. “Because the love I had with your grandfather ran so deep it was enough to fill me, even after he passed. Besides, I had you girls and I would have never given up a single moment of my time with you for something that would have paled in comparison to what I had with your grandfather.”

“But I have you. And I have Melanie. I'm full up on love, Gran.”

Her grandmother slowly shook her head. “No, Holly. You're afraid of love.”

If Holly hadn't known better, she would have suggested her grandmother had been talking to Melanie. “I'm not afraid of love. Look how much I love
you
.”

“But you've never been
in
love.”

Holly stared at her in surprise. “I've had boyfriends.”

“It's not the same thing.” She squeezed Holly's hand. “I've watched you your entire life, Holly. I know you, girl. You keep your heart locked up in a tower like Rapunzel. If you want your fairy tale, maybe you should come down from the tower instead of waiting for your prince to find you.”

Either scenario was ridiculous. She wasn't looking for love, and she saw no reason why she should. She had enough on her plate with her job and trying to keep her boss happy. But she wanted to appease her grandmother, so she said, “Okay, Gran. I'll think about what you said.”

Now if she could only ignore the image of her sexy next-door neighbor that had suddenly popped into her head.

K
evin was more than ready for a beer when he arrived the bar and grill in downtown Kansas City. He'd spent the last hour at the hardware store making a list of all the things his kitchen was going to need.

Make that two beers.

Both of his friends were already at a table and his friend Tyler stood to greet him, pulling him into a gruff hug before setting him loose. “Good to see you, Kev. Glad you're back.”

Kevin grimaced as he scrubbed the top of his head. “Well, the jury's still out on that one.”

Tyler sat back down and Kevin sat next to a worried-looking Matt. “I know things are probably a mess—”

“Not your books,” Kevin said, shaking his head. “Let's just say I'm never letting my sister make a real estate investment for me ever again.”

Matt burst out laughing. “From everything you've told me, it sounds like a great investment. That neighborhood is up and coming. Just let me come over and take a look. It's probably not as bad is it looks.”

“I suspect it's worse.” Time to change the subject. He looked across the table at his friend. “So, Tyler…I hear you're a lawyer now in a big fancy office downtown.”

“He won a big case to get him that big fancy office,” Matt said, flagging down a waitress.

“That big case paid for my condo in the Plaza.” He grinned. “Which impresses my dates.” Kevin was pretty sure Tyler didn't need help impressing women. He never had. He'd been the player of the three of them. His dark hair, dark eyes, and dark complexion had always grabbed the attention of all the girls in high school and college.

“I thought you decided to give up dating for a while,” Matt countered. “After Sheila.”

Tyler's brow lowered and he took a drag of his beer, obviously wishing to change the subject.

Kevin wanted to ask more about Sheila, but Tyler looked like he needed another beer or three before he'd talk. The waitress came over, and Kevin ordered a beer before turning to Matt. “What about you? How's it going with your girlfriend? Aren't you living together?”

Tyler spit out his beer in a burst of laughter.

Kevin gave him his full attention. “So there's a story there?”

Matt cringed. “I think we need a few more rounds before I'm ready to spill
that
story. I'd rather talk about your house.”

“I think I'll just take some gasoline and a match to my house. Put it out of its misery.”

“You going to live with your mom?” Tyler asked. “Is she just as scary as she was when we were in high school? How are you going to bring your dates home?”

“Easy. I
won't
be bringing home any dates. I'm taking a break from women.”

“You're kidding.”

“No. I'm like a magnet that attracts crazy women.” All the more reason for Kevin to stay away from his next-door neighbor. She definitely hadn't acted normal. Based on several of his previous girlfriends, Kevin's crazy meter was very broken. He'd been blindsided in his last three relationships. So if Kevin could spot
her
brand of crazy, that was definitely a bad sign. So why had he thought about her half a dozen times today?

His two friends chuckled while the waitress set down Kevin's glass. “You boys ready to order?”

Tyler flashed her a grin. “I want a burger and fries, and get one for my friend over here.” He motioned toward Kevin.

“Same for me,” Matt said, handing her the menus.

Kevin laughed. “I confessed to having terrible taste in women, not terrible taste in food.”

“You haven't had a burger until you've had one here. And as for the women…” A grin spread across Tyler's face.

“What?” Kevin asked. “You don't believe me?”

“Oh, we believe you,” Matt said. “But I suspect you're on the farm team when it comes to crazy ex-girlfriends. Tyler and I are in the big leagues.”

A smug grin plastered Kevin's face. “I've got the story to top all stories.”

Matt leaned back, wearing a smirk. “Okay, Vandemeer. Give it a go. Tell us your crazy-ex story.”

“You want the short and dirty version or gory details?” Kevin asked.

“What are we? Middle-school girls?” Tyler asked.

Matt's eyes lit up. “All the gory details.”

Kevin sighed. “Wrong answer. Here's what I
will
tell you—we moved in together after Christmas and that was the first time I realized her obsession with the circus.”

“Cirque du Soleil?” Tyler asked.

“No. Barnum and Bailey.”

“Oh, shit.” Matt groaned. “You and clowns…”

“Yeah, I about flipped my shit when she moved in and unpacked a box of clown dolls.”

“Dude,” Matt said. “You let her stay?”

“I was trying to be mature about it.”

Tyler laughed. “Because having a clown-doll collection is so mature.”

“Touché.” Matt chuckled.

Kevin narrowed his eyes. “Since when did you start staying things like touché?”

Matt leveled his gaze, the corners of his lips twitching as he tried to look serious. “I'm trying to be mature. Like you with the clown dolls.”

Releasing a loud groan, Kevin picked up his beer. “Never mind. There's no fucking way I'm telling you why we broke up.”

“Fine,” Tyler said, leaning forward. “Don't tell him, but don't think you're getting out of telling me.”

Kevin took a long gulp of his beer. “I found her with a clown.”

Tyler's eyes bugged out. “When you say found her with a clown…”

Kevin took another drink. “I mean in the biblical sense.”

His friends burst out into laughter.

“Yeah, laugh it up. I was traumatized.”

Matt wiped the tears from his eyes. “No wonder you've sworn off women. It's a wonder you didn't become a monk.”

Tyler laughed. “Okay, I'll admit you're in the big leagues of crazy exes, but you're still a rookie.”

“There's no way in hell you can top that.”

“Want to bet money on it?” Tyler asked.

“It's too subjective,” Matt said. “All our stories are bad.”

“I'll go next,” Tyler volunteered. “You know that I'm not a believer in relationships. But then I met a woman who intrigued me enough for me to ask her out several times. But then I noticed things started going missing in my condo. Little things. My comb. A tie. You know how socks disappear in the wash? My underwear went missing. But I still wasn't putting things together. She never wanted me to go to her place, but one day I stopped by to surprise her. I knocked and the door was cracked open. At first I was worried someone had broken in or she was in danger, so I walked in to make sure she was okay. But then I found her home office…or, rather, her stalker room.”

“What?”

“Every wall surface was covered in photos of me. Her computer screen was frozen on an image of me getting out of the shower. Naked. Then I found all my missing things scattered around something that resembled a shrine in her closet.”

Kevin shook his head. “What a nut job.”

“I broke up with her, of course, right after I notified the police, but she refused to leave me alone. She kept turning up. At my office. At my house. At a ball game I went to with Matt. She sat down at my table in a restaurant when I was on a date. The last straw was when I woke up tied to my bed. I filed a restraining order.”

“Jesus.” Kevin groaned. “That's freaky.”

“She was harmless,” Tyler said. “Just annoying.”

Matt picked up his glass. “She tied you to your bed, dude!”

Tyler shrugged. “She wasn't going to hurt me.”

“Still, it freaked you out enough that you haven't dated since,” Matt said.

“How long ago was that?” Kevin asked.

“Three months.”

Kevin shook his head. “Have you ever gone
three days
without a woman?”

“No.” Matt chuckled. “Which explains his crankiness and his blue balls.”

“You're a fine one to talk,” Tyler said. “If we're awarding prizes, then you get first place.”

Matt's smile fell. “It's a prize I can do without.” He looked behind him. “Oh, look here comes our food.”

The waitress set down the plates and as soon as she walked away, Kevin turned to his friend. “Good stall, but I told my story so you're telling yours. Start talking.”

Matt's grin fell. “I thought Sylvia might be the one. She moved in and things seemed to be going well—even though it was weird she didn't have any friends or family. But then one night we were in bed—”

“And they weren't sleeping,” Tyler added with a grin.

“Let's just say I was preoccupied, when the bedroom door burst open and several members of the SWAT team came pouring through the door and the bedroom window. They arrested both of us and hauled me outside—”

“Naked as the day he was born, but with part of him still at full attention.” Tyler winked.

“Then they arrested us both on bank-robbery charges.”

“What?” Kevin gasped. “Was it the wrong apartment?”

“No.” Matt shook his head. “They had the right place and the right girl. Sylvia was really Paula and had robbed a string of banks in Iowa six months before. She figured she could hide out with me for a while, then start a new life—without me. Thankfully, I was cleared.”

“That sucks, man,” Kevin said.

Matt shrugged, but Kevin could see the pain in his eyes.

“So we've all sworn off women?” Kevin asked.

Both men studied him. “Looks like it,” Matt said. “We should start a club. The Losers.”

“Nah.” Kevin laughed. “It's like when we were kids. Remember the Knights' Brotherhood? Sixth-grade year. We swore to help damsels in distress.”

“We also swore to kill fire-breathing dragons,” Tyler said.

“Only now we're avoiding them,” Matt said.

“Turns out they're one and the same.” Tyler winked. “The dragons, not the damsels.”

“Maybe we're cursed,” Kevin said. “My sister and her friends believed their weddings were cursed. What if our entire lives are cursed when it comes to women?”

“We're not cursed,” Tyler scoffed.

“Maybe we are.” Matt said, looking unhappy with the idea. “All three of us have had extraordinarily bad experiences with women. Maybe this is our sign that we're destined to be bachelors.”

Tyler gave him a wry grin. “Hey, I've never wanted to get married. But now I'm not even sleeping with women.”

“So it's a Bachelor Brotherhood,” Kevin said, and for some weird reason the face of the woman next door's face popping onto his front porch sprang into his mind. No,
that
was never going to happen. The sooner he let that idea go, the better. “I always wanted kids, though.”

“Your sister's having a kid,” Tyler said. “Just borrow hers.”

Kevin lifted his eyebrows. “I don't think it works that way. I'm pretty sure Megan's the maternal type who won't let her kid out of her sight until it's twenty-five.”

Matt looked down at his plate. “I wanted kids, too.”

“Maybe we're wrong,” Kevin said. “Maybe we've just had a run of bad luck.”

“All three of us?” Matt asked. “When was the last time any of us have had a normal girlfriend?”

They all remained silent for several seconds.

“Tina Lebowsky,” Kevin said, pointing his finger at Matt. “She was normal.”

“You dated her for three weeks our junior year of high school. I don't think that counts. Especially since she joined a commune after she graduated.”

“I've dated plenty of normal woman,” Tyler said.

“How would you know if they were normal?” Matt countered. “Your crazy ex was the only woman in the last few years you even called your girlfriend.”

“Just goes to show you really can't trust
any
woman.”

The thought of spending his life alone was depressing, but Kevin had bigger things to worry about than his love life. And besides, there were worse things than being a bachelor the rest of his life.

Like not having a life at all.