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“I said no.” Some of his strength had come off that cloth after all. “A bride wants something special, something romantic. She doesn’t want the groom’s assistant to choose something so intimate.”
The corners of his kissable mouth tilted. “You already know this after meeting with Mona for an hour?”
Exasperated, she rolled her eyes. “No, I know this because I’m a woman and I’ve worked with hundreds of brides. We all want romance. If we wanted something impersonal, we wouldn’t hire a wedding planner. We’d go to the county courthouse.
“You’re due to go to Jamaica to look at some property. Why don’t you bump up your trip and check out the surrounding resorts. Call it a business trip if that makes you feel better.”
The muscle in his jaw ticked and Abby held her breath. Had she pushed too far? She’d never spoken to Cade in such a harsh manner. Then again, before she’d heard of the engagement, she’d never gotten drunk and ridden a mechanical bull, either. Why was she suddenly getting so courageous? Probably because she had nothing to lose at this point. The man she’d once thought was her very own knight was going to ride off into the sunset with the princess…not the hired hand.
Even so, why was she pushing so hard for him to add romance into the mix? Both Mona and Cade were up-front about this arrangement. Neither was in love and they weren’t looking for it. Though, Abby admitted, a part of her was thrilled he didn’t love Mona.
But was everything in the man’s life about business? Was moving into other countries that important to Cade and Brady?
And as a woman, how could Mona settle for something other than true love? Yet again, this was none of her business, no matter how much she wanted it to be.
“Fine,” he conceded. “I’ll leave Friday. Change my schedule for two weeks and contact my pilot. While I’m out, I’ll fly into Cancún, Cozumel and Jamaica. I have some unsettled business to attend to.”
She should’ve known he’d take his “research” and run with it. Cade never did anything halfway. Perhaps that was one of the reasons she’d fallen for him months ago.
So why wasn’t she fighting for him?
Because she knew she didn’t stand a chance against perfection and Cade had handpicked the perfect wife. After all, they were both more focused on their careers and the getting ahead than the wedding and the living happily ever after.
“Consider it done.”
“Don’t forget to pack your sunscreen this time,” he told her.
“What?”
“Sunscreen. Last time we were in Florida you got scorched during the afternoon meeting we had on the patio.”
She recalled the painful experience due to her strapless sundress. She also recalled the way Cade kept insisting she see the resort doctor, and that was after he’d personally applied aloe lotion to her crispy shoulders and back—when she recalled feeling a different kind of burn.
Just the thought of those strong hands gliding over her bare skin sent a ripple through her entire body, hitting every major nerve in the process.
“I’m not going,” she informed him with a definite tilt of her chin.
“You most certainly are.” He straightened his shoulders and propped his hands on his hips. “This is no different from any other business trip.”
Because she knew he wouldn’t back down, Abby turned, took her seat and pulled up Cade’s schedule on her computer.
When she heard his office door close a moment later, she shut her eyes, bowed her head and sighed. How could he be the one, the man of her dreams and wildest fantasies, when he never once showed her he was interested? If Cade Stone was truly the man fate had chosen for Abby, wouldn’t he at least acknowledge her as something other than an assistant?
But, even more, would he really be marrying someone else for the sake of business? Absolutely not.
Well, that was fine. Strumming up every ounce of power and courage, Abby vowed to make this the best, biggest and most glamorous wedding the country had ever seen. If they wanted to get ahead in their businesses, well, she’d just boost their image by making their wedding the talk of the century.
She’d go out of this job with a bang…even if it damaged her soul and heart for the rest of her life.
Cade couldn’t concentrate. How the hell could he when Abby’s scent surrounded him? Literally. Oh, the aroma was subtle—much like the woman and her single teardrop that nearly had him on his knees—but it still consumed him as if she were embracing him in her delicate arms.
Something jasmine and soft kept filtering up from the handkerchief, wreaking havoc on his thought process.
