The Wedding Planner Read online

  “This was the easiest tenner I’ve made betting on you. I lose most of the time,” I tell him, putting the money on the bar. “Next round is on Marc,” I tell Derek as he picks up the money and takes our order.

  “So do you have a game plan to get this girl, or do I need to put a bet on you failing?” Blake takes his beer and looks at me.

  "No bets. I think Miss Cox is going to meet her Prince Charming very soon," I tell him. I heard a little of her conversation about not meeting her prince, and never having the fairytale. Well, she hasn't met Ocean Rivers, and I plan on showing her the fairytale is still alive.

  I smile to myself because a girl with so much fight and attitude has me wanting to know her more, and I plan on getting to know her fast.

  Chapter 3

  Emma

  I’m getting ready to meet Cassie and Neil for our first meeting. It should be interesting to see what ideas they have. I’ve been a wedding planner so long, I have a good idea of what certain people want. Most couples have a million ideas they want incorporated into their wedding, most won’t work together. My job is to show them how good I can make their wedding look. Once they see my ideas, ninety-nine percent of couples change their minds and leave the entire process up to me.

  "Here is your planner for the wedding and coffee." Jess, my receptionist, says, passing me a Costa Coffee cup as she walks with me to my office. She has worked with me since I started here and as soon as my own business is running, I'm taking her with me. She knows how I work and what I like. Why train someone new to do the job she knows so well?

  “Thanks. When are they coming?” I ask, taking my brand new planner from her. Every couple gets a new planner just for them. I find it helps me connect with the couple better. I will write down the ideas they want, and this way I won’t get them confused with any other couple.

  A wedding is a personal event and brings out the couple's personality. I love the couples that have fun with it. I have had couples who are so stressed about the wedding it makes it no fun to plan.

  “They should be here in ten minutes,” she says.

  “Great.” I walk over to the table and look at the box. “Jess!” I yell out her name.

  “Hey,” she stands by the door.

  “Who brought this?” I ask pointing to the box on my table.

  “It was delivered five minutes ago, so I put it on your table,” she says looking over at the door as someone walks in.

  "Thanks," I say to her as she walks over to whoever came in.

  Pulling the note out of the ribbon, I start reading it.

  Dear Little Miss Rambo,

  I got your card from the bar.

  Romance is not dead. You just have to find your prince.

  Who knows he might be in front of you.

  I hope you like the cake.

  From, Pretty Boy.

  Taking the lid off the box, I look down at the most stunning cake a blue cushion and a glass slipper on the top. I take a closer look. It looks so beautiful and the amount of time the baker had to put into it is amazing. No one knows I like Cinderella, this is Amie and Tanya messing with me. It’s not something they would normally do but I have been on a Cinderella marathon the last two weeks.

  “Emma, they’re here.” Jess glances at me as she stands by the door. Giving her a nod, I get ready to plan a wedding which will take me an entire year to plan. I have no other couples booked until this wedding is done.

  It was my idea. The couple is bringing in a lot of money and I don't want to mess anything up. Betty, the owner, agreed with me. The only thing she sees is pound signs. She’s already said, mess up and you’re out. I want to get out anyway, but I need this wedding to generate more clients.

  "I will be right out," I say putting the lid back on the box and leaving it on the table behind my desk. Straightening out my dress, I walk out to Barbie and Ken.

  "Hello, I'm Emma," I say shaking their hands. I have already met Cassie, but not her fiance.

  “Emma, thank you for being our wedding planner, this is my fiancé Neil,” she says waving her hand to him.

  “Yes, Emma, thank you. Cassie says you do an amazing job. We are looking forward to this long journey with you.”

  I give him a smile. "Shall we go to my office and start things off?" I ask, looking at them both. They really do look like they are in love.

  "Yes," Cassie says.

  Walking into the office, I close the door behind me. I offer them a seat on the red cushioned chairs as I take a seat at my desk.

  "I have been thinking about what we want." Cassie looks over at me, looking very excited about starting.

  I give her a smile. I can already see she has not thought about anything but the wedding day. "That's brilliant but before we talk about the wedding day, we have so much to do before the wedding. I think it is best to start there," I say as I open my planner.

  "You know what is best. What should we do first?" Neil asks.

  I look at them both and back at my planner. “Are you two thinking about an engagement notice to be printed in the papers?”

  They look at each other, and I can see they’ve never spoken about it. I suppose that is what they’re paying me for.

  “Or you can just send out save the date cards to family and friends you want to invite.” As I watch them, I realize they’ve not thought about any of this.

  "I like the save the date idea." Cassie looks over at Neil nodding with a smile.

  "Okay. Do you have a story of how you met? We can do a photo shoot around that. Have you set a date?" I grab a pen from my pen holder.

  "We were thinking summer but no date. We know getting venues can be challenging," he says to me.

  “What venues are you thinking?” I ask looking back up at them.

  “We want it outside by the sea. Not on the beach, but by the sea,” she gives me a smile as I start looking through my wedding venues book of the contacts I have made over the years.

  “I know of an amazing venue by the sea.” As I show them a picture of the venue, I say, “I can call and see what dates they have available. I did a wedding there last year. I have some pictures," I say as I walk to the cabinet with all my old planners. Pulling out the planner, I head back over to my desk. I open the planner to the pictures of the venue and show them.

  "This is beautiful," she says as she looks at Neil with a smile.

  "The only problem is you’d have to either fly or get a boat to Jersey," I tell them. I happen to know her father has more money than he knows what to do with, so if they had to fly somewhere, they would do it.

  "We don't mind flying. If you think this would be a great place, we would love to see it," Neil tells me. I give him a nod as I write this place down as a maybe.

  "Would you prefer July or August?" I ask as I pick up the phone.

  “August,” they both say at the same time.

  As the phone rings, I smile at them. That was so cute. They might look like Barbie and Ken, but not the brains.

  "Jason, it's Emma," I say as I hear him shouting at his staff.

  “Emma, how are we?” He asks sounding not so happy.

  “Good as always. I need to know what dates you have free in August for a wedding,” I say grabbing my planner.

  "August, August," he says as I hear the clicks of the mouse. "I have two dates."

  I look at the couple and give them a thumbs up. “Okay, hold both dates for me till they can see the place.” I cover the receiver before asking, “When can you two go see it?”

  They look at each other. "We both go out of town in two days so is tomorrow good?" Neil asks.

  "Can they come tomorrow? And can it be an evening time so they can see how it will look at night?"

  "Emma, anything for you," Jason finishes.

  “Will you be coming as well?” Cassie asks, as I write all that down in my planner.

  “If you would like me to come, then sure, I can meet you there. Can I give you all the information tomorrow?” I ask.
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  "I can get us a flight booked," Neil turns to Cassie and they nod. I look online as they’re talking to see if I can get a flight late afternoon and return in the evening, but nothing. Looks like I'm spending the day in Jersey.

  "I have a meeting during the day so we can meet you there," Neil looks over at me. I write down a few things I need to ask Jason about before I forget.

  I get to spend all afternoon planning save the date photos and card themes for Cassie and Neil. Cassie wants me to have some ideas ready for when they’re back. With the budget they have, I can do whatever I want. It’s all coming together and I’m excited. I’ll work on the save the date ideas tomorrow.

  * * *

  Walking into the apartment, I look at Amie and Tanya on the sofa watching an episode of Sex in the City. I watch them, waiting for one of them to start laughing about the cake this morning. I get no reaction. If it’s them, they are not giving me anything.

  "You got us a cake?" Tanya asks . I watch her, but nothing, not even a smile.

  "You didn't send this to me?" I ask them in shock. They are both acting way too good, I thought Tanya would have broken by now.

  “No, why would we send you a cake?” Amie looks over at me.

  "I thought you sent it with the note, to wind me up," I say holding the note in my other hand so that they can see.

  Tanya grabs the note and starts reading. "Someone likes you," she says passing the note to Amie, so she can read it too.

  “It’s the guy that took you out of the bar. Remember you called him pretty boy,” they both follow me to the kitchen as she waves the note at me.

  Tanya opens the box to look at the cake. “Emma, he is your dream man.” She takes the cake out. “He gave you a shoe,” she says smiling at me.

  I watch them both looking at the cake. I have to say he is my type of man. He gave me a glass slipper. Now what girl in the world doesn’t want a glass slipper?

  “We have to see how it tastes.” Amie walks over to it with a knife.

  "I thought you had a date night with Pete?" I look over at her. Pete is her boyfriend of one year. I like him. He seems to keep her happy.

  "He had to cancel because he's got to sort out some delivery," she says plating up some cake for me. He works with trucks and has something to do with delivering.

  "You're stuck with us then. Hey, are you good to do the flowers for this wedding?" I ask. I always go to her for my flowers. Tanya is trying hard to get her business out there. So all the wedding that come my way, I go to her for all my flower arrangements. What else are friends for?

  “Yes!” she shouts at me as she gives me a hug.

  “How are Barbie and Ken?” Tanya asks as she takes a mouth full of cake. She holds her finger up to me to stop me from talking. “This is so good,” she licks the spoon for more icing.

  Taking some cake, I have a taste. This is so good. I need to know who made this cake so I can get some more. "This is amazing," I say, getting some more on my spoon.

  “You have to find out where this came from.” Amie looks at me.

  "They’re really nice but have no idea what they have to do before the wedding day. I suppose that is what they are paying me for." I take some more cake. I don't see this cake lasting long with us.

  "This cake and a man in bed would be heaven for me," Tanya says as she eats more cake.

  “Why ruin it for us?” Amie puts the plate down, then picks it back up. “It’s too good to put down, just keep your sex thought to yourself,” she says, making me laugh.

  “I’m going to have a shower.” I walk off to my room, as I read the note again. I smile to myself as I close the door behind me.

  * * *

  Sitting at the table, eating dinner, I want to say dinner, but it's more like finishing the cake off with some wine.

  "As soon as he meets you, the first thing you have to ask is where this cake is from," Tanya says as she gets ready for her date with that guy from the club.

  "I will make sure to ask him," I say, as she answers the door.

  “Come in Ben.” She moves away from the door to let him in.

  “Ladies,” he says, making me and Amie laugh out loud. We already know how this date is going to go, and he has no idea what is about to happen to him. Tanya walks back over to him.

  “You are so mean.” Tanya throws a pillow at us.

  “Have fun, don’t do anything we wouldn’t,” Amie shouts at the door as Tanya closes it.

  “He has no idea what is going to happen tonight,” I look over at Amie still laughing, with a mouth full of cake.

  "The worst thing is we are the ones that have to listen to them tonight. I think now is the time you and I should move out," Amie jokes.

  Tanya and I have been friends since pre-school and Amie became friends with us in college when we got teamed up to work together. Since then we have been best friends and moved in together when we got to University. Once we finished, we all moved to London and got a place here.

  "You really think Tan won't find us. The worst thing is she will find us, and who knows, she might even kill us for leaving her," I start laughing. Everyone knows I can get crazy when I need to, but Tan is just a head full of crazy.

  “You’re right, I suppose headphones will be on tonight,” Amie hits play on Netflix. I grab my plate of cake and enjoy my evening.

  Chapter 4

  Ocean

  Sitting at home watching Monday football with the guys, I look over at the door and see my brother walking in. “What’s this?” I shout at him.

  “Get lost,” he shouts at me. He tosses the beers on the table, grabs a slice of pizza from the box and sits down. “You busy tomorrow?” He looks over at me.

  "I have an order to get done by one, then I'm free," I look at the screen as the match is about to start. "Why, what do you want?" I ask him. I love my brother, but I'm not jumping to help him after the last time. Last time I got stuck helping him move from his big ass house to his girlfriend's house, and that man has a lot of shit. It took us two days to empty the whole thing.

  “Want to go check out a venue with me in Jersey?”

  “Why the hell are you getting married there?” is the only question I have for him. I mean, what’s wrong with getting married in England?

  “The wedding planner said the hotel and beach there are really nice, and it’s worth a look.” Now he has my interest, I still wonder what she thought of the cake I sent her. I was thinking about writing my number on the card, but I thought this was better as I know I’m going to be seeing her soon anyway.

  “What time you leaving?”

  “I have a meeting, so about four or five,” he tells me as we all start cheering after our team scores. “So, you in?” he asks, and I look over at Marc and Blake watching me.

  "I'm in, just let me know what time we are leaving. Is the planner coming with us, or you meeting her there?" I need to work on a plan and how I'm going to play this.

  "She is meeting us there. She wanted to talk to the hotel manager about something, and said she was going early," he tells me, so no cake for her in the morning. I might need to work on this from a different angle now. I know Neil wants me to go to one of the meetings soon too. I might just meet her tomorrow at the hotel and not tell her that I'm Neil's brother until I meet her in the office.

  "Let me know what time you're leaving and I'll be over." I’m picturing her in her office as we watch the game. I bet she is completely different to the girl I saw at the club.

  I remember Cassie talking about this amazing wedding planner in London. How she thinks about every detail of her work, and how everything fits together. I remember nodding to agree with her because I really didn’t care, until now. Now I know they have this hot planner I want to know everything about. I still laugh to myself every time I think about her wanting to punch me in the face.

  "What are the chances the girl you want to get in your bed is planning your brothers' wedding?" Blake asks me and I feel Neil's eyes on me.r />
  "Don't you dare. If you are going to fuck her and it affects her planning the wedding, I will seriously kick your ass," Neil tells me in his big brother voice letting me know he means it, and not for one second did I think he was messing with me. There is no way he will let anything jeopardize him and Cassie getting married.

  Not even me hooking up with the planner.

  "I don't just want to fuck her. I would at least go on a date with her, who knows we might hate each other, and that could be the end of it." I'm not a player. I don't like to jump from one bed to the other. I would like to have a relationship but no one has ever really got my attention enough for me to keep them around. It's either we have nothing in common, never got along, or the sex is really bad. There's always something, so I'm always looking to see who can make me happy. Miss Emma might be the one to make me smile every morning.

  "I'm watching you little brother." He throws the TV control at me to make sure I'm listening to him, as I don't answer him back.

  ***

  I called Neil up to tell him I would meet him at the hotel. I got an earlier ticket. He knew the truth about why I was going early. I promised him I would stay away from her and just look at the hotel. He didn't believe me and told me he will not help me in any way. Not until the wedding is over anyway. I've never needed his help before, I don't need it now.

  I sit at the cafe in the restaurant and watch Emma talking to, who I think is, the manager as they have a lot of folders around them. Neil called me to say they have landed and on their way here. I lied and told him I was out walking on the beach. I liked the hotel and the view in the evening will look amazing, so I’m happy for them to get married here. I will meet him at the airport. I’m not ready for Emma to know who I am just yet. Neil will have me come to the office when he comes back in two days time. I have three days to send her cake and make her think I can be her prince charming.