Page 27 of Unpredictable
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“Good news or bad?”Olivia asked a few weeks later.
We’d arrived early for our appointment with Juliana and were currently seated in the conference room. Though I’d attended several appointments, I mostly left the wedding planning to Olivia. But for some reason, she’d insisted I attend again today, and I wasn’t going to complain. I’d leaped at the chance to see Juliana. She’d been nothing but professional since the first meeting, never giving me a chance to be alone with her. She seemed intent on maintaining that distance, and we were always so busy touring venues, meeting with vendors to talk about anything but the wedding.
I frowned. “Um. Bad news, I guess.”
“Wrong answer. Let’s go with the good.” Her tone was matter-of-fact, and I would’ve laughed at the serious expression on her face were I not concerned.
“Uh oh. The bad must really be bad, then,” I said, trying to make light of it.
She grimaced but quickly covered it with a bright smile. “I got a promotion.”
“Another one?” I teased. She’d only been with the company a few months and had already been promoted once before.
“Yeah. Well, the perks of working for a small start-up. Long hours but fast-track to promotion.”
“That’s great, honey.” My chest filled with pride and happiness for my daughter. “And so well deserved. You work your ass off, and I’m glad they recognized that.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“So, what’s the bad news?”
She let out a short huff. “They want to send me to one of the other offices for training.”
“New York?” I asked, tracking Juliana’s fantastic legs as she crossed the office to speak with Landon. She was alluring, as always. Her floral-patterned dress was a tailored style that nipped in at her waist and ended before her knee. It showed off her slim figure, full breasts, and—my favorite part—long, smooth legs.
“London,” Livie said, the word landing like an anvil and bringing me back to the matter at hand.
My eyes went wide. “London? As in London, England?”
“The one and only.” She looked nervous, fidgeting with a pen on the table. But she also seemed excited, like she was holding back a smile. She’d always wanted to travel.
“For how long?” I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like her answer.
“Three months.”
“Three.” I swallowed. “Three months? What about the wedding?” Forget the wedding, how the hell was I going to handle the distance for three months? When she went off to college, she was still a quick flight or relatively short drive away. Not…a continent, an ocean, apart.
“Well…I was kind of hoping maybe you’d plan it?” She scrunched up her nose and squeezed one eye shut as if bracing for a negative reaction. As if I could ever say no to her. But still…
“Me?” I scoffed. “I don’t know the first thing about planning a wedding.”
“But Juliana does. Just think of yourself as a project manager, with some seriously good perks—like cake testing.”
Too bad I’d rather sample the wedding planner.I shook my head, my gut telling me this was a bad idea. How could Olivia expect me to plan her wedding?
“What about Connor? Why can’t he do it?” I asked, thinking he was the more obvious solution. He was the groom after all.
“He’s crazy busy at work. He has several trips coming up as well.”
“Well, then maybe we should postpone the wedding, considering how busy the two of you are.”
If they couldn’t make time to plan their wedding, how would they make time for each other? I knew better than anyone how ambitions could get in the way of a healthy, loving relationship. I didn’t want that for my daughter. I wanted someone who was one-hundred-percent devoted to her.
Besides, we were two months into planning. Despite the relatively short timeline, I had a feeling we could still get back most of our deposits. And even if we couldn’t, if Olivia wasn’t ready, the money wasn’t as important to me as her happiness. I’d hate for her to feel like she was being rushed into something.
“Dad,” she huffed, and I could tell she was genuinely upset. She’d never been good at hiding her emotions, especially from me. “I thought we’d moved past this.”
