Page 1 of A Happy Endings Wedding
Chapter One
Destination wedding to die for? Check.
Top bridal magazinesLuxury WeddingsandBride Specialcovering the event of the century? Check. Eep!
Tying the knot with the gorgeous romantic love of her life? Triple check.
Hailey Adams dabbed at the joyful tears leaking from her eyes, careful not to ruin her eye makeup. Geez, she’d been so emotional lately. Thank goodness it was nearly the end of her workday on a Friday. It wouldn’t do to meet a client while looking a mess.
She supposed her emotional state was to be expected now thatshewas finally the bride. She was a wedding planner and wanted her wedding to be the shining example, the wedding to top all weddings. She’d put heart and soul and so-o-o much time—a whole year—into planning it, and now it was almost here. In three weeks she’d be married on Villroy Island, a royal kingdom off the coast of France. Their wedding would be the inaugural wedding to launch Villroy as a premiere destination-wedding locale, saving the struggling island’s economy and preserving their long proud history. No pressure.
She let out a shuddering breath and then laughed a little as her dog Rose, a white terrier-Chihuahua mix, went up on her hind legs from Hailey’s lap, rested her paws on Hailey’s shoulders and licked her tears. Max, a black shih tzu-Chihuahua mix, dropped his chew toy and ran over, standing on Hailey’s leg, wanting in on the action. She scooped him up and cuddled them both close. Rose and Max loved each other and her. And they were crazy for Josh, who always had some special treat or toy for them.
She arranged them both on her lap and sighed. Her business partner, Ally, was out shopping for some items for an unusual Halloween wedding, so it was just Hailey in their shared office. She and Ally were now equal partners in Clover Park’s premier wedding planning service, Love Junkies. They attracted die-hard romantics looking for a traditional wedding (Hailey’s specialty) and unconventional brides looking for something a little different (Ally’s specialty). Ally also pitched a special add-on, a sologamy ceremony (women committing to themselves) as a female bonding and empowerment event. It was a tremendously satisfying joint venture. And now Hailey had more free time to enjoy being engaged to the most wonderful man in the world.
The phone rang. She shifted to get both dogs off her lap, and then she smiled as she picked up the phone, because people could hear a smile in your voice. “Love Junkies, Hailey Adams speaking.”
“Hi, Hailey. It’s Camille from JH Bridal.” Camille was one of the top wedding gown designers in New York City. The one-of-a-kind gown had been a gift from Hailey’s friend, movie star Claire Jordan.
“Yes, hi, Camille! How’re you?” She had an appointment to pick up her gown tomorrow. Maybe they had some last-minute fabulous detail they wanted to add. The gown was already incredible from the satin and lace bodice to the hand-sewn seed pearls to the beautiful long train. Camille had gone beyond Hailey’s wildest fantasies, which said a lot because Hailey was intimately familiar with gorgeous wedding gowns in her line of work.
“Not so good. Hailey, I’m so sorry to bring you this news, but there was a fire, and I’m afraid your dress is ruined.”
She froze, gripping the phone tighter. “A fire,” she echoed. “Is everyone okay?”
“Yes, thank you. We put it out quickly, but I’m afraid the smoke has damaged your gown beyond repair.”
She stared blankly in complete shock. No gown! But she was leaving in only two weeks! She and Josh had planned to arrive a week before their wedding to visit Paris. She stood and paced the office. This couldnotbe happening. No gown for the inaugural wedding to be featured inLuxury WeddingsandBride Special? She couldn’t just pick up something off the rack! It had to be spectacular. It had to be perfect. She’d been planning for a year so that every single thing was perfect. She’d never considered a fire. Why hadn’t she considered it? She should’ve planned for every eventuality.
Major fail. She halted abruptly, pressing a hand to her forehead and closing her eyes.
“Hailey, did you hear what I said? You’re welcome to come in tomorrow and look at the remaining inventory. It won’t be an original design, but I’m sure we can find something you’ll like. We’ll get it fitted for you on an expedited basis.”
“Thank you, Camille. I appreciate that. Good night.”
She hung up and burst into tears. The dogs rushed her legs, their little paws lifting to be picked up. She looked down at them, the black fur of Max and the white fur of Rose swimming in front of her eyes. She needed Josh. He was her rock—steady and stable and strong. It was what she loved most about him. She craved that kind of stability after her unstable childhood with her single flaky mom unexpectedly left them homeless. Twice.
She clipped the leashes on the dogs and locked up for the night, walking briskly out the door, across the street, and down the sidewalk to the Happy Endings bar. Josh owned the bar and had named it for her, based on her Happy Endings Book Club and her own obsession with finding everyone a happy ending. And now what kind of happy ending was this wedding going to be without the dress of her dreams?
She scooped up both dogs in her arms before entering the busy bar and restaurant. Her fur babies were both certified as therapy dogs, which meant they could go just about anywhere, but she was mindful not to let them run loose. The dining area to her right was filled with families enjoying dinner, the bar straight ahead filled with chatting people blowing off steam after the long work week. Friday night was the busiest time for the bar, along with Saturday night, especially now that Josh had built an addition on the back with a dance floor, an old-fashioned jukebox, and two pool tables. She’d spent many a happy time here with him and her friends. Hot tears stung her eyes again.
Stop that. You are a warrior. You will move forward with a solution, and this will still be the wedding of the century.
Josh always called her his warrior princess, which meant a lot because he was an actual warrior. He’d spent years as a paratrooper in the army, engaged in hand-to-hand combat. He loved her fighting spirit, and she fully claimed her badassery now.
She pushed through the crowd at the bar and called to Josh, who was working as bartender. He turned, a slow smile lighting up his gorgeous face, his brown eyes crinkling at the corners. His dark brown hair was close-cropped on the sides, longer on top and sexily rumpled. He was wearing the new black T-shirt she’d bought him. He lived in T-shirts and jeans, but some of them were so old they were falling apart.
“Do you have a minute?” she asked, her voice cracking under the strain of being a warrior princess with a serious wedding gown problem.
He stopped smiling, nodded once, and pulled out his phone. He was calling for backup. A moment later, Brian came out of the kitchen and took over for Josh.
She met Josh at the end of the bar, where he set a warm hand on the small of her back and led her through the kitchen to his back office. As soon as he shut the door behind them, she put the dogs down, and they immediately rushed to a box of dog toys Josh left in the corner for them.
He smoothed a lock of her hair behind her ear. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
Her throat closed at the sweet term of endearment. Her gruff and tough former soldier used sweet words very sparingly, though she never doubted his love. “I just wanted to let you know…” Her voice broke. She took in a shuddering breath. “There’s been a small hiccup.” Tears leaked out, and she dashed at them with her fist. “Sorry, I’ve been so emotional lately with the wedding coming up so soon.”
He pulled her into his arms. “Yeah, I’ve noticed. I’m not sure it’s the wedding.”
