Page 21 of Unpredictable
“She’s his daughter.”
I resumed pacing, warring with myself. “Oh my god. You’re right. She is young enough to be his daughter.”
“No, Jules.” He grabbed my biceps, forcing me to stop. To look at him. “OliviaisHarrison’s daughter.” He enunciated the words slowly, as if I didn’t understand English. Though at the moment, I wasn’t sure I understood anything.
I started laughing, the sound slightly hysterical.Daughter. Olivia was Harrison’s daughter.Nothis fiancée.
“Are you sure?” I finally asked, swiping away a tear.
“Completely. He used to play for the Hollywood Heatwaves, and he’s now a color commentator on the local network.”
“How do you know all this?” I asked.
“While you guys were discussing venues and flowers, I looked them up.” He settled his hip against my desk. “So…tell me more about you and Harrison.”
I shook my head. “There’s nothing to tell. It was one night. I wasn’t supposed to see him again. I didn’t even know his name until this morning.”
“Ooh. Kinky.” He smirked with a shimmy of his shoulders.
I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Not kinky. Reckless. Impulsive.”
The one time I’d thrown caution to the wind and had a one-night stand, it just had to come back and bite me in the ass.
“How was the sex?”
I squeezed my eyes shut before opening them once more. Landon and I were friends, good friends. But he was still my employee. And I didn’t want to talk about this, not with him, not with anyone. I was still grappling with my feelings about sleeping with a man who wasn’t Ryan. It didn’t matter how I tried to justify it to myself, I still felt bad about it. Like me sleeping with someone else meant I’d given up hope for his return.
“Okay.” I gripped the edge of my notepad. “Let’s get this conversation back on track. I can’t plan his daughter’s wedding.”
“You can, and you will. Besides, you probably won’t see much of him after the initial meeting.”
“True.” I pursed my lips. Maybe Landon was right. Maybe I was being rash. I straightened, annoyed that I’d allowed Harrison to ruffle my feathers—again.
“And if you do, would that really be such a bad thing?” He arched an eyebrow as if challenging me to disagree.
“No. Yes. I don’t know.” I covered my face with my hands. I couldn’t stand it when clients were indecisive, and now I was falling into that trap. I was Juliana Wright, and I was better than this.
I uncovered my face and straightened. I marched toward the door, head held high, shoulders back. I’d slept with the father of the bride—so what? I could be professional.
I marched down the hall with newfound confidence, at least until I opened the door to the conference room. The way Harrison’s eyes swept over me made me feel exposed, vulnerable. But it also made me feel alive. Made my body tingle and awaken in places that had long lay dormant. I faltered, poised on the threshold momentarily.
“Did you find it?” Olivia asked as I took a seat across from them, my mind still trying to reconcile everything.
“Hmm?” I shook my head to clear it. “Oh, um, no.” I’d completely forgotten about my fabricated excuse. There had never been anything to find. “I’ll email it to you when I do,” I said, hoping she’d forget all about it. “Now, where were we?”
I tried to ignore Harrison’s bemused smile, turning my attention to the checklist on my tablet. Olivia’s wedding. We were here to plan his daughter’s wedding.
Now that I knew Harrison wasn’t engaged to Olivia, I viewed him in a completely different light. He was no longer a sleazeball groom with a wandering eye. He wasn’t taken or off-limits. He was the sexy, mature, father of the bride.
Exactly how old was he? I hadn’t put him past his mid-forties, but he had a daughter—a daughter who was old enough to be getting married. I continued working my way through my list, gathering information—though not the answers to the questions I really wanted to ask.
While I could’ve just emailed them the paperwork and had them fill it out ahead of time like some of my competitors, that wasn’t how I did business. I strove to give my clients a hands-on experience. Plus, there were a number of benefits to meeting in person. It was easier to gauge their reactions, to understand the dynamics of the couple’s relationship, and to build rapport. My clients were entrusting me with one of the biggest days of their lives—not to mention a significant chunk of money. It wasn’t something I took lightly.
Finally, after we’d finished, Olivia said, “Thank you. That was a lot of really good information, and I feel like I have a clearer vision of what I want.”
“Good. I’m glad. I feel like I have a clearer vision of what you want too.” And I did. A timeless, elegant wedding. Preferably at a venue with a historic feel. I already had a few ideas for the location, but I needed to check availability.
“I really wish Connor could’ve come today,” Olivia said, referring to her fiancé. Harrison squeezed her shoulder. “Next time.”
