The Tycoon and the Wedding Planner

CHAPTER THREE

KATE’S FACE FROZE in shock at his question. For a long moment she simply stared at him and Sam waited for her reply with increasing edginess.

‘Me and J...Jesse?’ she finally managed to stutter out.

Sam nodded. ‘You said you were just friends. Is that true?’

‘Yes. It is. Now.’

‘What do you mean “now”?’

‘You mean Jesse didn’t say anything?’

‘About you? Not a word.’

Kate looked down so her mass of wavy hair fell over her face, hiding it from him. She scuffed one sandal in the sand. Sam resisted the urge to reach out and push her hair into place. She did it herself, with fingers that trembled, and then looked back up at him. Even in the fading light he could see the indecision etched on her face. ‘Do you want to hear the whole story? It’s...it’s kind of embarrassing.’ Her husky voice was so low he had to dip his head to hear her.

Embarrassing? He nodded and tried to keep his face free of expression. He’d asked the question. He had to be prepared for whatever answer she might give him.

Kate clutched the purple folder tight to her chest. ‘Our mothers were very close and Jesse, Ben and I grew up together. The mums were always making jokes about Jesse and me getting married in the future. You should see the photos they posed of us as little babies, holding hands.’

Sam could imagine how cute those photos would be, but he felt uncomfortable at the thought of that kind of connection being established between Kate and Jesse at such a young age. He had a vague recollection of Jesse once mentioning a red-haired girl back home. What had he said? Something about an ongoing joke in the family that if he and the girl never found anyone else they could marry each other...

Sam had found it amusing at the time. He didn’t find it amusing right now. How difficult would it be to break such a long-standing bond?

‘So that’s the embarrassing bit?’ he asked.

Kate pulled a face. ‘It gets worse. When I was thirteen and he was fourteen we tried out our first ever kiss together. It was awkward and I ended up giggling so much it didn’t go far. But I guess in my childish heart that marked Jesse as someone special.’

Jealousy seared through Sam at the thought of Jesse kissing Kate, even if they had been only kids. He was aware it was irrational—after all he hardly knew Kate—but it was there. It was real.

He had to clear his throat to speak. ‘So you dated?’

She shook her head so vehemently her hair swung over her face. ‘Never. We both dated other people. As teenagers, we cried on each other’s shoulders when things went wrong. As adults, we lived our own lives. Until...’

Her brow creased as though she were puzzling out loud. ‘Until a few years ago—I don’t know why—I started to think Jesse might be the one for me. After all, everyone else thought so. I developed quite a crush on him.’

‘So what’s so embarrassing about that?’

She paused. ‘Three days ago we kissed—at my suggestion.’

Now that jealousy turned into something that seethed in his gut. He’d always prided himself on being laid-back, slow to anger. He felt anything but laid-back at the thought of her in another man’s arms, even one of his friends. Especially one of his friends.

‘And?’ His hands were fisted.

‘Crush completely over. It was an utter disaster. So wrong that words can’t describe it. And I speak for him as well as for me.’

Sam’s fists slowly uncurled.

‘So Jesse doesn’t want you as more than a friend?’

‘Heavens, no!’ Her voice had an undertone of almost hysterical relief. ‘We could hardly wait to make our getaways. And we succeeded in avoiding each other until we met in the restaurant earlier today.’

‘It seemed awkward between you. Tense.’

‘At first. But it’s okay now. We’ve been friends for so long, seems we can both laugh it off as a monumental mistake and move on.’

With no more kissing, if Sam had anything to do with it.

He stepped closer to her. This time he did reach out and smooth an auburn curl from falling over her cheek. She started but didn’t step away and he tucked it behind her ear before letting his hand drop back to his side. They stood as close as they could without actually touching.

‘So Jesse’s right out of the picture,’ he said. ‘Is there anyone else?’

Anyone else he had to fight for her?

Her face was half in shadow, half in the dim light coming from the boathouse. ‘No one,’ she said. ‘I...I haven’t dated for quite some time.’ She paused. ‘What about you? Question number three: is there any special lady in your life?’

‘I was engaged to a long-term girlfriend. But no one special since that ended.’

He’d smarted for months at the way the engagement had been terminated, the wedding cancelled. In fact, he’d been so gutted he’d taken off to India to get away from the fallout. With perspective, he could see ending the engagement had been the right decision. But, while the wounds had healed, he had been wary of getting involved with anyone. Now he was ready. His ex had moved on, but he hadn’t met a woman who had interested him. Until now.

‘Oh,’ she said. ‘Would it count as question number four if I asked about what happened—or would that be part of question number three?’

He grinned. ‘I’ll allow it as part two of question three—but it might have to wait until I have more time to answer it.’

‘I’m okay with that,’ she said with a return of her dimples.

The last thing he wanted to do was scare Kate off. He had never before experienced this instant attraction to a woman. He had to work through how he handled it.

Kate was so obviously not the kind of woman for a no-strings fling. It wasn’t what he wanted either. But his previous relationships had started off slowly with attraction growing. He understood how that worked, not this immediate flaming that might just burn itself out in a matter of days. The kind of flaming that had seen his parents trapped in an unhappy marriage, the consequences of which he had been forced to endure.

That aside, he realised Kate might not feel the same way as he did. If he wanted to get to know her, he knew he had to take things carefully.

‘Before Jesse came into the restaurant, I was about to ask you out on a date,’ he said. ‘What would you have said?’

‘I...I... You’ve taken me by surprise. I would have said—’

Just then the door of the boathouse opened, flooding them with further light. Ben peered through the door and called out. ‘Hey, Kate, what are you doing out there? You warned us all to be on time or suffer dire consequences and now you’re running late.’

Kate immediately stepped back from Sam so fast she nearly tripped. ‘I’m coming!’ she called in Ben’s direction.

Sam cursed under his breath at the interruption. He wanted to shout at Ben to get lost.

Kate looked back up at Sam. ‘Sam, I...’

But Ben was now heading towards them. He caught sight of Sam. ‘Sam. Mate. I didn’t see you there. Come on in.’

Sam groaned. Kate looked up at him in mute appeal. He shrugged wordlessly in a gesture of frustration. But not defeat; he would get Kate’s reply sooner rather than later.

Then he was swept along into the boathouse with Kate, Ben walking between them like an old-fashioned chaperone.

* * *

An hour later, Kate was pleased at how well the meeting had gone. Everyone who needed to be there had been there—except for Sandy’s sister who lived in Sydney, and her five-year-old daughter who was to be the flower girl. Plans had been finalised, timetables tweaked. Now the bridal party had been joined by a few other friends. Snack platters from the hotel kitchen had arrived and the barbecue was being fired up. There wasn’t much more she could do to ensure the wedding went to plan on Saturday.

If only she hadn’t been so darned conscious of Sam the entire time. It had been more than a tad distracting. She’d found herself struggling to remember important facts, her mind too occupied with Sam. But no one seemed to have noticed the lapse from her usual efficiency.

She just hoped they hadn’t noticed the way she’d found herself compelled to check on him every few minutes. He’d met her glances with a smile, even a wink that had made her smother a laugh. It was only too obvious he was bored by the details of the wedding meeting. He’d crossed his long legs and uncrossed them. He’d not-so-subtly checked his mobile phone. He’d even nodded off for a few minutes until Ben had shoved him awake.

But she hadn’t had a moment alone with him since they’d been interrupted on the beach.

She’d been just about to say yes to Sam’s suggestion of a date. But would it really be a good idea?

Her fears screamed no. Just the light touch of his fingers on her cheek had practically sent her hurtling to the stars. She’d never felt such strong attraction so quickly. She was terrified that it might lead her into the kind of obsession that had nearly destroyed her in the past. It would be wisest to keep Sam at a distance.

But her loneliness urged yes to seeing Sam. Why shouldn’t she go out with him on an uncomplicated, everyday date, with no other agenda than to share a meal, enjoy a movie, find out something about what made the other tick? Flirt a little. Laugh a lot. It didn’t have to go further than that.

For so long she’d been on her own. Surely she deserved some masculine excitement in her life—even if only temporary? Sam would only be around for a week and then he’d be gone. Where was the harm in enjoying his company?

It was time to say yes to that date.

She’d lost sight of him—difficult in the space of the boathouse, which was basically just one large room converted into luxury living. He must have escaped outside to the barbecue. She’d go find him.

Before she could make the move, the bride-to-be, Sandy, sidled up beside her. ‘Sooo,’ she said in a teasing tone. ‘You and that gorgeous hunk, Sam Lancaster...’

Kate couldn’t help it; she flushed again and Sandy noticed. That was the problem with being a fair-skinned redhead: even the slightest blush flamed. ‘What about me and Sam?’ she said, knowing she sounded unnecessarily defensive.

‘You’ve hardly kept your eyes off him all evening. And he you. I reckon he’s smitten. And maybe you are too.’

‘Of course he’s not. Of course I’m not.’

‘Oh, really?’ said Sandy in an overly knowing tone.

Kate narrowed her eyes. ‘Are you by any chance paying me back for the way I poked my nose in with you and Ben when you first came back to Dolphin Bay?’

Kate had been overprotective of her friend Ben when Sandy had showed up out of the blue after twelve years of no contact. But she’d very soon warmed to Sandy and they’d become good friends.

‘Don’t be silly,’ said Sandy. ‘I’m so deliriously happy with Ben, I want you to be happy too. Sam is really nice, as well as being a hunk. I got the lowdown on him.’

‘I only met him today. Nothing is happening there, I can assure you.’

Nothing except her heart starting to race every time she caught a glimpse of him towering over the other guests.

‘But it might. You know what they say about what happens at weddings.’ Sandy smiled. ‘The bridesmaid and the groomsman...’

Kate frowned. ‘I don’t know what you mean. I’m your bridesmaid. But Sam isn’t Ben’s groomsman. I should know, as your wedding planner.’

‘Uh, think again. Right now, Ben’s asking Sam to be just that.’

‘What? I thought he only wanted a best man?’

‘He’s changed his mind. My sister Lizzie, as chief bridesmaid, will be partnered by the best man, Jesse. That means you’d be coming up that beach aisle by yourself. We thought why not even things up by partnering you with Sam? You’ll easily be able to readjust your ceremony schedules. That is, if Sam agrees to it.’

Kate tried to tell herself she was being oversensitive but she could sense that echo again: poor Kate.

‘Sandy, it’s so sweet of you, but is this about what happened with Jesse and me three days ago? If so, I—’

Sandy’s hazel eyes were kind. ‘Kate, I’m so sorry it didn’t work out with Jesse. I know how much you’ve always wanted him.’

Kate swallowed hard. It was so difficult to talk about it. ‘Did I really, though, Sandy? I think maybe I dreamed of a kind, handsome man—so different from the men I’d dated—and Jesse was there. I...I fixated on him. It wasn’t real.’

‘You could be right. To tell you the truth, I didn’t ever see any chemistry between you.’

Kate giggled. ‘There was no chemistry whatsoever. I can’t tell you how much I regretted it. I couldn’t run away fast enough.’

‘I bet you wouldn’t run too far if you were alone with Sam Lancaster. Doesn’t he fit the bill? He’s handsome, all right—and he must be kind, or he wouldn’t have been off volunteering in India, would he?’

Kate sobered. ‘All that. But, Sandy, don’t try to matchmake, will you? I don’t want a pity party. I’m not desperate for a man.’

Sandy put her hand reassuringly on Kate’s arm. ‘Of course you’re not. But is it a bad thing for your friends to look out for you? And for you to let them? You’ve got to admit, it’s more fun being a bridesmaid if you have a handsome groomsman in tow.’

‘Of course it is. And you’re right; you don’t get more handsome than Sam Lancaster. And he’s interesting, too.’ She found herself looking over her shoulder to watch out for him, only to see him coming back into the room with Ben. ‘Here he is. I hope he didn’t hear me twittering on about how handsome he is,’ she whispered to Sandy.

She watched as Sam and Ben approached. Funny; she’d always found Ben so imposing, Jesse so good-looking. But Sam outshone any man she’d ever met in terms of pure, masculine appeal.

‘So did Sam say yes to being groomsman, Ben?’ asked Sandy.

‘Of course he did,’ said tall, blond Ben.

Sam stood shoulder-nudging distance from Kate. She could feel his warmth, smell the hint of bourbon on his breath. ‘As if I had a choice, when I heard who would be the bridesmaid I was escorting,’ he said with a smile that was just for her. She smiled back, glad beyond reason to have him by her side.

She would ask him on a date. ASAP.

Now the planning part of the evening was over and her duties done, she could get the heck out of there and take Sam with her, so they could talk in private away from too-interested eyes.

But Ben had other ideas. He turned to Kate. ‘I was going to introduce you to Sam tonight, but as you’ve already met I’ll cut straight to the chase.’

Kate sighed inwardly. All she could think of was being alone with Sam. But she was aware that, while Ben was a long-time friend, he was also her boss. He had his boss voice on now; she almost felt she should be taking notes.

‘Yes, sir,’ she said flippantly, at the same time wondering how a work thing could possibly involve Sam.

‘We’ve finally got planning approval for the new resort,’ said Ben with a whoop of triumph.

‘Really?’ she said, scarcely able to let herself believe the news. ‘Really and truly?’

‘Really,’ said Ben with a huge grin.

‘Congratulations, Kate,’ said Sandy, hugging her. ‘I know how hard you worked with Ben on the submission.’

Momentarily lost for words, Kate hugged Sandy back. Then she looked from Sam to Ben to Sam again. ‘That’s amazing. After all the hours we put in, I can hardly believe it’s actually happening,’ she said.

She grabbed hold of Sam’s arms and did a little jig of excitement—then realised what she’d done and dropped her hands. She pulled a face. ‘Sorry. I got carried away.’

‘Don’t be sorry,’ he said. ‘I can see this means a lot to you.’

Ben put up his hand. ‘Wait. There’s more. Sam’s company is going to build the resort. Lancaster & Son Construction is one of the biggest and the best in the country. We’re fortunate to have him on board.’

Kate stared, too astounded to say anything. Why hadn’t she known this?

When she finally got her breath back, Kate turned to Sam. ‘So that was the hush-hush business.’

And she’d thought he was a carpenter.

‘Not so hush-hush now,’ he said.

‘I can’t tell you how thrilled I am about this project,’ she said. ‘A luxury, boutique spa resort nestled in the bush on that beautiful spot. It’s on land overlooking Big Ray Beach—that’s our surf beach—with incredible views. The resort’s a big deal for Dolphin Bay.’

‘And a triumph for Kate. It was initially her idea,’ Ben explained to Sam. ‘As her reward for kick-starting it, she has equity.’

Her ownership was only measured in the tiniest of percentages—a token, really—but Kate intended to be a hands-on manager once the resort was up and running. It would be her dream job, something she wanted so much it hurt.

‘Congratulations,’ said Sam. ‘It’s great to hear you’re such an entrepreneur.’

Kate basked in the admiration she saw in his eyes. At age twenty-eight, she’d had a few false starts to her career; now she was exactly where she wanted to be. ‘I’m still a bit dazed that it’s actually going to happen,’ she said.

Ben turned to Kate. ‘I want you to be our liaison person with Sam—starting from now. I’ll be away on my honeymoon after next week and this week too caught up with work at the hotel.’

She blinked at Ben. ‘Th..that’s a surprise.’

‘But it makes sense,’ said Ben. ‘You know more about the project than anyone else but me. You can start by taking Sam to the site for him to take a look at it. That okay with you, Sam?’

‘Of course,’ said Sam, though Kate thought he looked perturbed.

‘I’ll leave you to two to discuss the details,’ said Ben, ushering Sandy away.

Finally Kate was left alone with Sam, exactly what she’d longed for all evening. She’d never been more aware of his big, broad-shouldered body, his unconventionally handsome face.

Only now she would value a few minutes on her own to think over what had just happened.

Ten minutes ago she’d been ready to drag him outside and arrange a date. Or two. Except now things were very different. She would have to put all such thoughts on hold. Sam was no longer a stranger blown into town for a week, never to be seen again. He was someone with ongoing links to Dolphin Bay. She’d be working with him as a professional in a business capacity.

How could she possibly think she could have any kind of personal relationship with him?

CHAPTER FOUR

SAM HAD BEEN knocked sideways by the news that he’d be working with Kate on Ben’s new resort development. He’d always enforced a strict rule in the company—no dating clients. Without exception. Not for his employees, not for him. He’d amended a number of his father’s long-standing edicts when he’d taken over but not that one. It made good business sense.

How ironic that it now applied to Kate—and company protocol was too important to him to have one rule for the boss and another for the rest of the team.

He felt like thumping the wall with his clenched fist, right through the tastefully restored wooden boards. He clenched his jaw and uttered a string of curse words under his breath.

He had to get out of this room. On top of his frustration, he felt stifled by all the wedding talk buzzing around him. When it came to his turn to get hitched—his own derailed wedding hadn’t turned him off the idea of getting married one day—he thought elopement would be a great idea.

Then there were the overheard murmurs that had him gritting his teeth. They had all been along the lines of what a shame it was about Kate and Jesse—immediately hushed when he’d come near. Whether that was because they saw him as an interloper, or they could tell he was interested in Kate, he didn’t know. But he didn’t like it.

Everything he’d heard about the oppressive nature of small-town life was true.

He hated everyone knowing his business. How Kate could bear it was beyond his comprehension. Anything smaller than Sydney, with its population of more than four-and-a-half million, would never be for him.

A middle-aged woman was bearing down on them. No doubt she wanted Kate’s opinion on the colour of ribbons on a flower arrangement or some such waste-of-space frivolity.

‘I’m going outside for some air,’ he muttered to Kate and strode away before the woman reached them.

He realised his departure was being watched with interest by everyone else in the room. Tough. There’d be nothing for them to gossip about now. Kate was strictly out of bounds.

It was dark outside now but the moon was full, reflecting on the quietly rippling waters of the bay. He gulped in the cool evening air, then let out those curse words at full volume as he kicked at the solid base of a palm tree as hard as he could.

His first thought was that after the site inspection tomorrow he would get the hell out of Dolphin Bay. But he’d promised to be Ben’s groomsman. He cursed again. He was trapped here—with a woman he wanted but suddenly couldn’t have.

The door opened behind him, a shaft of light falling on the deck. He moved away. He was in no mood to talk. To Ben. To Jesse. To anyone.

‘Sam?’ Her voice was tentative but even without turning around he knew it was Kate.

He turned. There was enough moonlight so he could see the anxiety on her face. She was wringing her hands together. He ached to reach out to her but he kept his hands fisted by his sides.

‘Let’s walk out to the end of the dock,’ she said. ‘You feel like you’re on a boat out there. And no one can overhear us.’

He fell into step beside her. A row of low-voltage sensor lights switched on to light them to the dock. The builder in him admired the electrics. His male soul could only think of the beautiful woman beside him and regret about what might have been.

They reached the end of the dock without speaking. A light breeze coming off the water brought with it the tang of the sea and lifted and played with the soft curls around Kate’s face. She seemed subdued, as if the moonlight had sucked all that wonderful vivacity from her.

She turned to him. ‘I had no idea you were building the resort.’

‘I had to keep it confidential. I didn’t know you were involved in any way.’

‘It was the first time I heard I was to liaise with you. I hadn’t seen that coming.’ She looked up at him. Her face was pale in the weak, shimmering light, her eyes shadowed. ‘This...this changes things, doesn’t it?’

‘I’m afraid it does,’ he said, knowing from the regret in her eyes that she was closing the door on him before it got any more than halfway open.

‘It...it means I have to say no to that date,’ she said.

One part of him was plunged into dismay at the tolling finality of her words, the other was relieved that he hadn’t had to say them first.

‘It means I have to rescind the offer,’ he said gruffly. ‘I have an iron-clad no-dating-the-clients rule.’

Her short, mirthless laugh was totally unlike her usual throaty chime. ‘Me too. I’ve never thought it was a good idea. There can be too many consequences if the dating doesn’t work out but you still have to work together.’