Buch lesen: «A Camden Family Wedding»

Chapter One

“See? The gifts for the attendants are wrapped, I’ve confirmed your hairdresser, the caterer and the florist, and we have a guarantee that the cake will be ready and delivered on time. I’m working on the place cards tonight. I promise you, absolutely everything is under control and it will be a truly amazing wedding!”

Vonni Hunter made sure there wasn’t the slightest hint of haste in her voice as she spoke to her client. It wasn’t uncommon for one of her brides to panic as the wedding date approached. But this bride had shown up unannounced at Burke’s Weddings’ offices twenty minutes before closing time, and Vonni was in a hurry to get to an after-hours appointment. Not giving that away in her tone, she asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Yes. You can make me look like you in the next four days. I need to get rid of the extra six pounds I’ve gained from stress eating!” the other woman wailed.

It was Monday. This particular wedding was being held on Saturday. The bride was the daughter of one of Denver’s most prominent men, and while she’d been a pleasure to work with, she was a large and not particularly attractive woman on whom six more pounds was not easy to see.

But, as luck would have it, she’d stopped by the dress designer for a surprise visit today to try on her gown. Although the final fitting had been done weeks ago, the dress no longer fit and would have to be altered again. That had induced the panic that had brought her here to Vonni.

Vonni looped her arm through the bride’s and tugged her closer. “Melanie, you are the woman Douglas fell in love with,” she reminded her. “He got down on one knee and asked you to be his wife—do not forget that—”

“But you’re blonde and beautiful....” the bride lamented.

“And someone who can’t get a man to propose if my life depended on it!” Vonni confided with a laugh. “Not once. Not one man. Ever. No matter how much I’ve wanted it or how hard I’ve tried—and believe me, I’ve tried! I’m the wedding planner who can’t find herself a husband. But you, Melanie Danforth-Hayes, in four more short days, are going to walk down the aisle to the man who loves you like nobody’s business, and become Mrs. Douglas Barnes. And then the two of you are going to party your little hearts out to celebrate that. It’s me who’s jealous of you!”

The round-faced bride broke into a slow smile and blinked back the tears that had been threatening to fall. “He does love me. Just the way I am,” she conceded. “And he’s gained ten pounds—we have to have more alterations done on his tux. That’s what got me to thinking that maybe I should try the dress again.”

“And you did because fate is smiling down on you and now the dress won’t be a problem. Everything will be just perfect,” Vonni assured her again, thinking that she was glad two last-minute disasters had been avoided because it was much easier for her to make a few nips and tucks with her emergency sewing kit than to get a bride and groom into clothes that were too small.

“You always make me feel so much better,” her bride said, obviously beginning to relax.

“I just want you to have a fabulous wedding and a long and happy life with Douglas,” Vonni said honestly. “You deserve it.”

“So do you. Well, not with Douglas, but you know, with someone else.”

Vonni laughed again. “From your lips to God’s ears,” she said. As they’d been talking, she’d slowly moved her client to the front door, which she now opened. “And as always, if there’s anything you need or get worried about—”

“I know I can count on you. I’m sorry for this meltdown—of course you have everything under control. You’ve done every wedding I’ve been to in the past few years and they’ve all been fantastic.”

“And yours will make those pale in comparison. You’ve made some of the best choices I’ve ever seen and it’s going to be just wonderful.”

“I think so, too,” the client confided. “I know at least three people who are going to be green with envy.”

Vonni laughed again. “We’ll make sure of it.”

And she had her out the door.

They exchanged goodbyes on the sidewalk in front of the shop—located in the heart of Cherry Creek North among the more elite boutiques—and Vonni went back inside alone.

It was already past closing time, so she locked the door behind her, and then rushed to her office.

It wasn’t unusual for her to be asked to accommodate clients by going to them rather than having them come to her. The lion’s share of clientele for Burke’s Weddings was Denver’s rich, and they were accustomed to being catered to. But being asked to go to the Camden Building to see Dane Camden was a unique situation.

First of all, although there had been several engagement announcements for members of the Camden family in recent months, Dane Camden’s wasn’t among them.

Second, as a rule, Vonni met with the bride, the bride and her family or the bride and groom together. She’d never met with a groom alone. At least not for the initial appointment.

And third, when Dane Camden had called to make the appointment, he’d said that not only did he want to talk to her about a wedding, he also had a proposition for her that was better discussed away from the shop.

Being propositioned by a groom was definitely not the norm.

Although he had amended his description to a business proposition with a deep, surprisingly appealing chuckle.

There was that Dane Camden charisma she’d heard about.

No doubt, Dane Camden had charisma to spare.

But not enough to make her forget the cautionary tale of the Hunter family’s past dealings with the well-known Camdens. Vonni was leery of any business proposition he had to offer.

With very few minutes to spare, she went into the office that technically belonged to Burke’s Weddings’ owner, Chrystal Burke. But since Chrystal was rarely there, Vonni considered it hers.

As she crossed the expansive space to the private bathroom, she thought about what it would mean to do a Camden wedding. It would be a feather in her cap. And lead to a lot more business. It would help pave her way to the promised partnership in Burke’s Weddings that had long been her goal.

So this was an appointment she intended to keep, as soon as she did a quick check of her appearance.

Today, she’d worn the sides of her blond hair pulled back into a clip, and it was still neat and tidy. But she ran a brush through what was left to fall loose to her shoulder blades.

Her mascara and eyeliner were still in place, accentuating her green eyes to good effect. She freshened her blush, reapplied her mauve lipstick and blotted away the slight end-of-the-day shine from her nose and chin with a piece of rice paper.

Like everyone, there were things about her appearance that she was self-conscious of. She thought she had too much forehead but she looked awful in bangs so couldn’t wear them to diminish it, and she knew that when full lips went out of style she’d be back to wearing pale lipsticks again to hide hers.

On the whole, she was okay with her appearance, though. Certainly she didn’t see anything awful enough in it to scare away men. But she hadn’t been lying to her client when she’d said she’d had no luck finding a husband of her own despite her every attempt. And she had made every attempt.

Early in college something had clicked in Vonni and she’d realized that what she really wanted in life was to get married and have a family. That while a career was nice and she’d fully intended to get her degree and find one, in her heart of hearts, it was the traditional route that called to her—becoming a wife and mother. Picturing herself without that had seemed empty and sad and unfulfilling.

That was when she’d launched what she called her husband hunt.

And she’d been devoted to it ever since. It had been a mission, a passion, her main goal.

But going after something—no matter how keenly—and getting it had proved to be two different things.

“So you really do have one up on me, Melanie Danforth-Hayes. A very, very big one....” she said out loud.

But there was no time for thinking about something she’d already dedicated more years and energy and thought to than she wanted to admit—something she had now put on the back burner. Something she needed a break from. So Vonni tucked her tan shirt firmly into the waistband of her brown slacks and put on the short jacket that matched the pants.

She looked businesslike. That was what she’d set out for and what she’d accomplished.

She swiped a tissue across the toes of her three-inch-heel pumps to make sure they were clean, and hurried out of the bathroom to the oversize antique desk in the office.

She kept everything she needed for an initial appointment in a leather binder. She took it out of the top desk drawer, took her purse from the bottom drawer and went back through the shop and out the front door again.

The Camden Building was three blocks down the street from her and it was a lovely June day, so it was silly to drive. But she walked at a fast clip to not be late.

When she reached the twelve-story yellow brick office building and went in, she headed straight for the reception desk and told the security guard there that she had an appointment with Dane Camden.

“Top floor.”

Of course....

The Camdens owned the building; where else would they be?

After several people exited the elevator, Vonni got on alone and pressed the button for her floor. On the way up, she thought about the man she was about to meet.

She had no doubt she would recognize Dane Camden even though they’d never met. She’d seen him in the occasional photograph accompanying the newspaper and magazine articles about the Camden family. They owned the worldwide chain of Camden Superstores and any number of businesses and manufacturers that supplied them, so they tended to be high profile.

And Dane Camden himself got around. So much so that she’d seen him in the background of several snapshots her brides had shown her—incidental to copying his date’s hairstyle or something else they liked and wanted to use for their own weddings.

Certainly his name had been dropped numerous times between brides and their bridesmaids. Being with him seemed to be some sort of rite-of-passage among the wealthy socialites who formed the majority of Burke’s Weddings’ clients and the entire circle of Chrystal’s friends. Vonni had even overheard one bride laughing with her bridesmaids about how she’d had her turn with Dane Camden so she thought she might as well get married.

Despite the fact that he was a player, though, Vonni had never heard a single complaint about him. No one seemed to have thought there was any chance of getting him to the altar; there were only accolades for any time spent with him, and fondness and affection for the man himself.

“If anyone can show you that men and dating aren’t all bad, it’s him,” one bride had said to her sister, telling her she needed a “hit” of Dane Camden to remind her how good it could be to be with a man again after a bad divorce.

So he was a bit of a legend. At least that was how Vonni had come to think of him.

The elevator stopped two floors from the top for a mail boy to get on pushing a cart. After that brief delay the doors closed again to finish the ascent.

What would it mean to the single women in Dane Camden’s circle if he’d thrown in the towel and actually was getting married, she wondered then.

Not to mention who might have reeled in such a big—and elusive—fish....

When the elevator reached the top floor and the doors opened again, the mail boy charged through them, nearly knocking someone out of the way.

Someone who happened to be her potential client.

Dane Camden.

Who was remarkably better looking in person than in any of the pictures she’d seen of him....

“Vonni Hunter?”

“Yes,” she admitted, wondering if she should let him know she knew who he was or wait for him to introduce himself.

But there was no wait.

“I’m Dane. Our receptionist for this floor left for the day so I thought I’d meet you out here and save you having to figure out which office is mine.”

“Thank you,” she said, surprised that someone with this guy’s clout would be that considerate.

“Let’s go on back,” he suggested. “Can I get you something? We have coffee, tea, soda, water....”

“No, nothing, thank you.”

“I really appreciate you coming to me,” he said as he ushered her into a plush corner office and motioned to the sofa against one wall instead of the chairs that faced his huge mahogany desk. “As I mentioned in our phone call, one of the things I want to talk to you about shouldn’t be discussed at your place of business.”

Vonni sat down on the edge of the couch, hugging the arm, as Dane Camden took the matching chair across the small coffee table from her.

Almost immediately, there was a knock on his office door and a woman who resembled him poked her head in. “Hey, sorry for interrupting, but you have to take a look at this before I can go home,” she said.

“Vonni, this is my cousin January—we call her Jani. Jani, this is Vonni Hunter.”

“Nice to meet you,” January Camden said.

“You, too.”

“And, oh, do you have the most beautiful green eyes in the world!”

“Thank you,” Vonni answered, a bit taken aback by the compliment that was not at all businesslike.

“You’re the wedding planner. I got married on the spur of the moment in a judge’s office or I would have begged you to do a wedding for me. Maybe you could branch out into baby showers....”

Vonni merely laughed, unsure by the look of the other woman in the loose-fitting sundress if she was in the market for that.

“But, Dane, I really do need you to—”

“I know,” he said to his cousin before pivoting back to Vonni and aiming some pretty incredible blue eyes at her. “You’ll have to excuse her. Jani is pregnant and using it against us to get her way,” he said good-naturedly, obviously teasing Jani and confirming that a baby shower was likely on the horizon.

“Doctor’s orders,” Jani said with a beaming smile.

“This will just take a minute.” Dane went over to his cousin, who was still standing in the doorway, and looked over the papers with her.

The two were engrossed in whatever it was they were dealing with, which gave Vonni the perfect opportunity to study the infamous Dane Camden and try to figure out why he was sooo much better looking in person.

There was no denying that in every picture she’d seen of him he was an attractive enough man. But the real thing? Wow! So much better....

His brown hair was a tad lighter than his cousin’s—dark brown but the rich color of chocolate rather than espresso. He wore it short on the sides but a touch longer on top where it had just the right amount of wave to make him look sporty and casual but not unkempt.

She’d already noted the remarkable Camden blue eyes—and they were remarkable. It was another thing her brides and attendants swooned over when they were discussing him, and now she could see why.

Blueberry blue—that was what they were, Vonni decided. And penetrating and intelligent and warm and kind and surprisingly open for a person in his position.

But after more study, Vonni concluded it was his nose that made the difference between the way he looked in pictures and in person. He had a thin, longish nose with a bit of a bump in the bridge before it narrowed and slid down to a slightly squarish tip. It didn’t photograph well, but was somehow very sexy in real life.

Overall, his face was lean and angular and very masculine, complete with lips that weren’t at all full but were still so sensual they alone could chase fuller ones out of fashion at any moment.

He wasn’t a refined kind of handsome, Vonni decided. He was more a rugged, outdoorsy, approachable kind of handsome.

The kind that got to Vonni.

And it didn’t help that the face and hair weren’t all he had going for him. He was also tall and trim, but with enough muscle to fill out both the sleeves of his gray suit coat and the thighs of the matching pants. Plus his shoulders were wide, his back was straight and he looked strong and healthy and virile and...

And altogether terrific.

There was just no denying it, even though Vonni wished she could because she should never be looking at someone else’s groom and thinking how very, very hot he was....

“Nice to meet you, Vonni,” Jani said then as she turned to go.

Vonni jolted slightly out of staring at Dane Camden, unaware until that moment that the two had finished with their business.

“You, too,” Vonni said, as if she hadn’t been lost in the unwelcome stirrings aroused by cataloging every square inch of the woman’s cousin.

“Say hey to Gideon,” Dane Camden said to January Camden before he shut the door behind her and headed back to Vonni. “Sorry about that.”

“No problem. And congratulations, by the way—I should have said that right off.”

“For what?” he asked, his high, boxy brow wrinkling with confusion.

Vonni laughed, thinking that he must be new to his situation. “Congratulations on your engagement.”

It was his turn to laugh. “Oh, I’m not getting married. Not me. Not now. Not ever. Never!”

He seemed very determined.

“But of course you’d think I called you to talk about my own wedding,” he concluded.

“Well...people don’t usually call me about other people’s weddings....”

He laughed again—it was a deep, genuine, sexy sound that resonated through Vonni in a way it had no business doing.

Because even if he wasn’t the groom, it didn’t make any difference to her. Great looking or not, she was on hiatus from her too-long husband hunt. Plus, she’d learned the hard way not to waste time with commitment-shy men—and Dane Camden had just confirmed his reputation on that score. Quite resolutely.

“No, I’m sure they don’t,” he said then. “But this time that’s what’s happening. It’s my grandmother who’s getting married. And she wants it done in two weeks. That’s why she called me—I’m the guy around here who gets the impossible done.”

It took a moment for what he’d said to sink in.

His grandmother was getting married. Not any of the other Camdens whose engagements had recently been announced.

“You want me to do a wedding in two weeks?” Not just a Camden wedding, but one for the matriarch of the entire Camden family....

“Yep,” he confirmed. Then he grinned. It went slightly lopsided and put lines at the corners of his eyes and brackets alongside his mouth, and it just sucked her right in....

“Jani is right, you do have the most beautiful green eyes and they just got so big....” he said as if it delighted him. “They’re the color of jade. Dark jade-green....”

And he was staring into them so keenly. So closely. So thoroughly....

But just as Vonni was getting uncomfortable he went back to what they’d been talking about.

“The wedding in two weeks,” he said, more as if he was dragging himself back into the moment than as if he was reminding her. “Don’t run scared. I think between the two of us it’s doable because we aren’t talking a spectacular production. GiGi—that’s what everyone calls our grandmother—only wants a small wedding at home.”

“How small?” Vonni asked cautiously.

“Maybe a hundred guests. Including family, which... I haven’t done a recent head count and it’s growing, but I’d say we’re about a quarter of that number. And GiGi doesn’t want anything too fancy or elaborate. Low-key, tasteful. She and her fiancé are seventy-five and neither of them wants a lot of hoopla. They just want something nice. And you won’t have to worry about the ceremony—that will be in the den with only family looking on—so that cuts down on the preparations, too.”

“But it’s you I’ll be working with?” Vonni asked, unsure if she liked that idea, since the man seemed to have a strange effect on her.

“GiGi is in Montana taking care of a friend who had surgery. She can’t get back until just before the wedding but this is the date they want—it’s when they started going steady in high school. I’ll be texting her and sending her pictures of everything, but yeah, you’ll be working with me because it goes hand in hand with the other part of what I wanted to talk to you about today, which is my special project....”

“The business proposition?”

“Really slick how I got that in there, wasn’t it?” he joked, laughing at himself. “Anyway, let’s talk about that. We’ve decided that we want Camden Superstores to offer wedding packages. It’s always been our goal to be a one-stop shop and now we’d like to introduce wedding departments to each of our stores to add that—”

“Wedding departments?” Vonni parroted, unclear about what this had to do with her. Then she became alarmed—did he want to learn from what she did for his grandmother’s wedding and use it for his own special project? Camdens was notorious for undercutting and driving other companies out of business.

“Are you talking about selling wedding gowns? Bridesmaids’ dresses? Tuxedos?” Things that she could recommend clients use Camdens for but that wouldn’t take any of her business away....

“I’m talking about everything,” he answered. “Clothes, yes, but the whole deal. Everything you do, too.”

Oh, wonderful. And then she could be up against all of Camden Superstores....

“We want to offer packages that range from inexpensive to very elaborate,” he continued. “From soup to nuts, including venues we can either contract with or that we might buy outright for rehearsal dinners and receptions. We’ll provide decorations, tables, chairs, plates and silverware, linens—whatever’s necessary. We can offer catering through our food departments. Cakes through our bakeries. Liquor through our liquor department. Flowers through our in-store florists—”

“Everything,” Vonni summed up.

“And because you’re known to be the best at what you do, we’d like to hire you to spearhead the whole thing.”

That had not been what she’d thought he was going to say, and Vonni wasn’t sure she’d understood correctly.

“First you want me—through Burke’s Weddings—to do your grandmother’s wedding in two weeks—”

“Right.”

“And then you want me to spearhead the formation of wedding-planning departments in Camden Superstores to put you in direct competition with us?”

He shook his head. “Well, yes, there would be competition, but Camdens wouldn’t be competing against you. I’m asking you to leave Burke’s Weddings to come on board with Camden Superstores. You’d be the division director, responsible for completely designing and developing wedding departments with us that would be uniquely you.”

“I’d come to work for Camden Superstores?”

“Yes. With the kind of contract we give our highest executives, including one of the best golden-parachute clauses around.”

Vonni went from worry to disbelief in a nanosecond.

“You want me to quit Burke’s Weddings—where I’ve been promised a full partnership—to become an employee of Camdens?”

Apparently her tone had alerted him to how unlikely she was to consider that.

“You wouldn’t just be an employee. What we’re talking about is making your name a signature brand. And you’ll be in an executive position,” he repeated. Then more somberly he said, “I know there might be some bad blood here.”

The unsavory dealings between the Hunters and the Camdens went all the way back to 1953. Vonni hadn’t been sure coming here today whether or not this generation of Camdens would know what she knew. Apparently Dane Camden did.

“But try to keep in mind that it wasn’t a Camden who did the dirty deed—” he said.

“It was the Camdens who benefited from it.”

“So did—”

“Yes, I know,” Vonni cut him off.

“I’m just pointing out that we didn’t have a hand in what went on,” he insisted. “So couldn’t you put aside what happened all those years ago? Especially since what I’m offering you is an opportunity for something much bigger and better than a potential partnership at Burke’s Weddings. What I’m offering is a bird in the hand....”

As if her partnership wasn’t.

Now he was making her a little mad, and the involuntary cock of her head must have alerted him to that fact.

“We want the best here,” he said before she had a chance to comment. “And when it comes to wedding planners, you’re it. We’ve all seen your work in weddings we’ve gone to. We know your reputation. And we know that you are Burke’s Weddings. But it’s Burke’s Weddings getting the real credit.”

“And with you it would be Camdens getting the credit.”

He shook his head. “No. With us, you’ll be the draw. People will have to come to Camdens to get a Vonni Hunter wedding. From high-end to lower-end—even couples who couldn’t otherwise afford a Vonni Hunter wedding will be able to get more conservative packages designed by Vonni Hunter, with Vonni Hunter’s eye, with Vonni Hunter’s taste, with Vonni Hunter’s expertise. Brides who can afford you will get more personal attention—and with us that could be not only Denver brides, but celebrities and European royalty that we’ll send you off to do first-class. What we want is to bring you into the spotlight, give you credit. And all the perks that go with it.”

Okay, so it was flattering. And an intriguing idea. Enough to rid her of that small wave of anger.

“So you’re going to put all the world at my feet as a wedding planner if only I can pull off a wedding in two weeks for your grandmother?” Vonni asked.

“The job offer is on the table no matter what. And we’re figuring that if anyone can pull off a wedding in two weeks, it’ll be you and me working together. I told you, around here I’m the guy who gets things done, and from what I understand, when it comes to weddings, you do, too.”

Reminding herself that planning a Camden wedding would look very, very good for her, Vonni said, “Doing any kind of wedding for any number of people in two weeks is a push. But since I already have long-standing relationships with everyone it will take to accomplish it, it can probably be done. But as for the other—”

It was terrifying to think of what could become of her existing job if Camden Superstores did what he was proposing. But it was also completely unnerving to think about turning her back on Chrystal and Burke’s Weddings to sign on with the Camdens and then ending up with nothing the way her grandfather had....

“Don’t say anything about the business stuff for now,” Dane Camden advised, interrupting her spinning thoughts. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk about it. You can grill me, and negotiate, and tell me everything about it that might worry you, and shape it into exactly the kind of deal you’d feel most comfortable with. And if you need to yell at me or slap me around to feel better about what happened with your uncle and your grandfather and the way things turned out on that front, you can do that, too.”

Oh, but when the man grinned it made her knees weak....

“You’re not afraid that slapping you around might be pretty tempting?” she asked impudently.

“Just say the word. I’ll get the gloves and you can beat the hell out of me.”

She couldn’t not smile at him. Although she made sure it was reserved. There was just something about him, and she could see how he got away with being the player he was.

“But you’ll do GiGi’s wedding with me one way or another?” he asked.

“That I’ll do,” she conceded.