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The kind of wedding he wanted and the expectations he had implied that the next year would be full of planning. Literally months and months of planning. Maybe I just had to pace myself and take things one day at a time. We had plenty of time and even though Hale would undoubtedly get pulled away, we would always reconvene before any major decisions were made.
“Baby, you have to learn to count on me.”
“I know. I’m just used to only counting on myself. Whenever I rely too much on people, they tend to get…” Tired? Annoyed? Irritated? All of the above? “You have a lot on your plate.”
“I’m not people. I’m going to be your husband. You’re my number one priority. You and Elara.”
I sighed. He was saying all the right things, but my trust issues were deep seated and tied up with the first man I loved who inevitably abandoned me when I was only a kid. “I’m sorry I get so overwhelmed so easily. I’m working on it.”
Hale was literally one of the most responsible men I’d ever met. Hell, he even adopted a child that wasn’t his just to make sure that she had a good dad, and he was an incredible father to Elara. One would never know she wasn’t his biological daughter.
He kissed the tip of my nose. “Lucky for you, I find your frazzled side very sexy.”
I bashfully hid a smirk against the hard wall of his chest. “Remember the night on the yacht, when that hurricane was coming and I was freaking out?”
A low chuckle rumbled against my ear. “How could I forget?”
“You distracted me real nice that night.”
His hands lowered to my ass and squeezed. “I’ll always distract you when you need distracting.”
At the end of the day, I didn’t give a furry rat’s ass about the actual wedding. But I wanted Hale. And I wanted to make Hale proud. If a big New York wedding would make him happy, I would do whatever was necessary to make that happen. Then, as planned, Hale would be irrevocably mine. This was basically a capture mission.
I looked up at him—my beautiful fiancé—and I smiled, certain he was more than I deserved and positive I would never let him go either. We were the oddest couple in this history of human mating, but for some reason, we worked. “In the eternal words of Luke Danes, I’m all in.”
“Good, because I sort of have my heart set on spending the rest of my life with you.” He kissed me and I softened, my nerves settling back into the manageable ball of chaos I was used to. “Now, who is this Luke Danes and do I need to kill him?”
“He’s just a guy who owns a diner.”
“Fictitious?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll let it slide.” His hands rubbed soothingly down my back. “We better get back to our meeting. I left Quinn with Elara.”
“Oh, boy.” I grabbed my coffee and a bottle of water then Hale’s phone rang.
He cursed under his breath as he looked at the screen. “I’m sorry…”
I sighed. “Try not to take too long.”
“I’ll do my best.”
On my own again, I returned to the dining room and traded the bottle of water for Elara. “Hale’s on another call. He said to continue without him.”
“Your future husband’s a busy man.”
I nodded, accepting that Hale would always be busier than most. Inheriting one third of the Davenport legacy wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to make his own wealth, not simply live off trusts earned from his father’s success.
Beyond capitalizing in property management across the country, he’d spent years investing in hydropower and developing plans for water turbines off the coast of California. His plans were finally taking shape in actual infrastructure around the world. Getting his monstrous enterprise up and running required a lot from him. His presence was in high demand but at the end of the day, he always made me feel like his number one.
“Since it’s just us ladies,” Quinn said, flipping to a different section of the binder. “Let’s talk themes. I usually recommend staying close to your natural style. That way you achieve something flattering and organic.”
My natural aesthetic could be loosely defined with a lump of wool. But I didn’t think anxious ball of yarn qualified as a wedding theme.
The wedding wasn’t about me anyway. It was for Hale and he had a very specific vision in his head.
“I think Hale likes sophistication and luxury.” Those words pretty much defined the groom’s family, especially Hale who was the most cultured and refined Davenport of the bunch in my opinion.
