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"Your showpieces will, of course, be your own wedding. You can give it any twist you like; make it the kind of wedding you’ve always imagined for yourself."
"For myself?"
"You must have thought about how you’d like to get married." He glances at his watch and straightens. "Well, this is your chance to execute it. Use it to show the world and all the headline seekers exactly how it should be done."
"S-o-o-o, I can do anything I want for my wedding ceremony?" I pluck at the rubber band around my wrist.
"Yes."
"The budget?"
"Unlimited. I’ll need to sign off on the bills, but nothing is too good for my bride. Whatever you want, you can have it."
I squeeze my fingers together. Surely, I’m not considering this. I’m not actually thinking of going through with this insane proposal of his. On the other hand, if I do, I’ll have everything I want. The wedding of my dreams, the chance to prove a point to all the naysayers who thought I’d never make it, and a resounding ‘fuck you’ to all my competition. Hell, there won’t be competition. I’ll wipe them off the map with this showpiece of a wedding. No one will ever question my competency again. And I’ll have enough clients to keep me going for years. Even after I divorce him, it won’t make a dent in my reputation.
"Well?" He scowls. "What’s it gonna be?"
I pluck at the rubber band with more intensity. "So, I can transform it into the wedding of my dreams, the kind that'll make every media outlet, gossip magazine, and wedding blog sit up and take notice?"
"Do you not understand English? Or have you not been listening to me?"
I straighten in my seat. "I heard you the first time," I say in a low voice.
"Good, so what’s your answer?"
5
Liam
"You what?" Declan Beauchamp gapes at me. We struck up a friendship at Oxford and have been close ever since. We’re seated at a table at the 7A Club, an elite new establishment owned by JJ Kane and Sinclair Sterling. All new applicants to the club must be recommended by one of the existing members and ratified by the board, to which I belong. It’s prime space in the heart of the city, and while the amenities are top-notch, it’s the connections I’ve made here already, including investing in the hottest start-up to come out of Silicon Valley, which promise to make the club a resource to be reckoned with. Now, I straighten in my seat and fix Declan with a glare, "I asked her to marry me."
"Didn’t you propose to Lila a few months ago? And aren’t you getting married in less than two days?" Hunter Whittington, my classmate from Oxford, slides into the seat between me and Declan.
"He’s not talking about Lila," Declan murmurs.
"Who’re we talking about, then?" Adrian Sovrano, the only one among us four whose day-to-day job involves close connections with the other side of the law, stalks over to us.
"Aren’t you needed in Sicily for whatever it is theCosa Nostra’splanning next?" I scowl.
"Turns out, CN Enterprises has considerable interests in London, and with the rest of my brothers taking a back seat to focus on their families, I’ve been chosen to stay on here and manage things."
"CN Enterprises, huh? Could the legal face of theCosa Nostrabusinesses have a more obvious name?" Declan smirks.
"Obvious only if you know the connection." Adrian reaches for the snifter of Macallan and pours himself a healthy tumblerful. "And if you do, you know better than to talk about it."
I glance between Adrian and Hunter. "Speaking of, should the two of you risk being seen in each other’s company?"
"This is the only place where someone like Hunter can relax and not worry about the media getting wind of who he’s socializing with." JJ Kane walks over to stand next to Declan. "Everything about 7A Club is a secret, including who the board consists of or, for that matter, who the members are." He raises a cigar to his lips and puffs.
"You do have a propensity to pop up like a bad rash. "I roll my shoulders. "Shouldn’t you be planning your own wedding instead?"
JJ laughs. "I’d take offense to your digging into my personal life, only—"
"You’re in too good a mood to do so." I survey his features. "In fact, contentment wafts off you in waves, old man. So much so, you’re positively glowing." I wrinkle my nose.
"I’d say you’re jealous, but considering your own nuptials are but a few days away, I’m sure you’ll soon be basking in the afterglow of marital bliss yourself." JJ smiles expansively.
I wince, then catch myself, but not before Declan narrows his gaze on me. Bastard may be the current most in-demand heart-throb in LA, but he’s always had the sharpest of observational skills. He’s a few years younger than me and Hunter, but his IQ, as well as his emotional intelligence, have always exceeded his years. Combine that with his handsome looks, and it’s no wonder he’s so quickly climbed the ranks of tinsel town.
