Page 14 of An Inconvenient Plan
Hailey wrote that down. “We’ll often have the ceremony in the front foyer with the bride walking down the grand staircase to her groom. There’s room for seating up front and extra seating in the adjacent parlor. Would you like to take a look?”
“Absolutely!” Silvia stood, all smiles.
Everything went smoothly from there despite Hailey being a little flustered. She could swear Phillip was sending her heated glances, but every time she checked, he looked to his sister. Silvia loved absolutely everything. It wasn’t hard for Hailey to guide her to the dreamy romantic options for her wedding. It was nearly identical to what Hailey would’ve chosen for herself.
Finally, they’d worked their way through the binder options for catering, flowers, cake, all the little details that made a wedding special, and Hailey circled back to the most important thing she needed to know and the most difficult to accommodate. “Now we just need a date,” she said brightly. “I understand it needs to be before July first. My Saturday and Sunday daytime weddings are fully booked through August. How would you feel about a Friday night or Sunday night wedding?” She held her breath, hoping Silvia was invested enough in the possibility of a wedding here that she’d be agreeable.
“I’d like a Friday night,” Silvia said. “Then we’ll have the weekend for a mini-honeymoon.”
Hailey beamed. “Wonderful!”
“After finals,” her brother put in sternly.
“No kidding,” Silvia snapped. “Careful, you’re starting to sound like Gabriel.”
Phillip winced. “Duly noted.”
Hailey and Silvia checked their calendars on their phones and thankfully found a date that worked, the last Friday in May. Hailey was especially happy it was after Carrie and Zach’s wedding, which would be featured inBride Special.
Silvia offered her hand to Hailey, and Hailey shook it. “Thank you so much for this, Hailey. You’ve exceeded my expectations. My wedding in Villroy is dictated mostly by tradition. This one is just for me.”
“I’m thrilled to be a part of it. Oh, one last thing. Will you need me to add extra security, or will you be using your people?”
“Our people are fine,” Phillip answered for her. “A total of twelve for outside and inside. And I cannot stress this enough, no paparazzi, no pictures leaked, no advance notice anywhere of the event.”
“No problem,” Hailey said. “We’ve had similar circumstances when Claire Jordan attended weddings here, and there’s never been an issue.”
Silvia stood and the security guards moved toward her. Hailey stood and called over to Rose, who was happily trotting behind one of the guards.
Phillip appeared by her side. “Would you like to have a cup of coffee? We passed a café that looked promising on our ride in. I have my own car back to the city since we knew Silvia was meeting her fiancé.”
Hailey sucked in air. “Sure, that would be lovely.” Her voice squeaked a bit, and she prayed he didn’t notice.
Silvia went up on tiptoe and kissed Phillip’s cheek. “Thanks for your help and for running interference with you-know-who. You’re a saint for sitting through all this wedding talk.”
Phillip winked. “Anything for my little sister.”
Silvia smiled and patted his cheek before sailing out of the room, two security guards in tow.
The moment Silvia left the room, Phillip leaned down to confide, “Keeping her stateside wedding in line with royal expectations is half the reason for my visit. Shh, don’t tell her. She hates to feel like we’re babysitting her.”
Hailey smiled. “I think she’s lucky to have family looking out for her.”
“Agreed.” He bent his arm and offered it to Hailey in a gentlemanly gesture. “Shall we?”
6
Josh waited in the shadows of the church rectory across the street from Ludbury House on a reconnaissance mission. He knew Hailey was meeting at five o’clock with the playboy prince, thanks to Mad. He hadn’t told Mad of his new strategic plan regarding Hailey, but his sister had always wanted him to make a move on Hailey and gave him ample information to make that possible. Not like he was going to barge in on them. He was gathering intel. Would Hailey walk the prince out after their meeting, all smiles and flirty body language? Would they get into one of those black Mercedes with the tinted windows parked behind Ludbury House and drive off together? Was the playboy prince a rival or a nonstarter?
The answer arrived a few minutes later when a large man in a black blazer stepped through the front door of Ludbury House and scanned his surroundings. Security. Josh shrank back against the wall. A moment later, he looked again. The security guy stood to the side. Hailey appeared first in a light green dress with white straps over her bare shoulders. The dress emphasized her narrow waist. High heels, of course. She looked fresh, young, and as glamorous as his movie star sister-in-law, Claire Jordan. Clearly Hailey was swinging for the fences with the prince. She had her pink dog purse over one shoulder and he didn’t hear a peep out of Rose when the prince appeared at Hailey’s side. The prince took Hailey’s hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm, a gentlemanly move. Damn, this guy played hardball. Another security guard appeared, and the group left the porch, walked down the sidewalk, and headed down Main Street.
He waited. They went into Something’s Brewing Café. Okay, he’d gotten the intel. Conclusive evidence the playboy prince was a rival. Hailey wasn’t just walking him out, she was spending time with the guy, which she would never do unless she was interested. Now what? He needed to prove he was a better option than a goddamn prince.
But was he?
Sure, he could pull out the gentleman manners, but the prince had that too. There was no way Josh could ever offer the kind of glamorous jet-setting lifestyle that Prince Phillip could. The kind of lifestyle Hailey would probably love. She’d even told him how much she’d love to travel to exotic places when they’d had that switcheroo date way back when. All he could offer was a life rooted in Clover Park, a suburban community where not much exciting happened. He liked that about Clover Park. It was steady and safe—filled with families and a few colorful characters like that kooky grandmother Maggie O’Hare, who looked out for him and everybody in town, it seemed—but it wasn’t glamorous.
His shoulders drooped. Maybe he’d missed his chance with Hailey.
