Chapter
EIGHTEEN
It took her half an hour to stop shaking and to suppress the tears. Mia closed herself up in the upstairs bridesmaids’ room, knowing Gavin wouldn’t come after her while he was still on duty. Even if he wanted to. She gulped down a few breaths and gathered the remnants of her composure.
Though she hated that her memory of Polly’s wedding would be stained with both Danny’s assault and a break-up with Gavin, Mia took some consolation in the knowledge that she—and Gavin—had been the only ones affected.
As far as she knew, thanks to the unobtrusiveness of Knight Security, no one else was even aware that there had been an “incident.” Gavin would have to give an explanation to the Stones and Danny’s date, but Mia knew he’d come up with something plausible. The rest of the wedding party and guests had had a lovely evening and would only rave about the eldest Stone brother’s nuptials.
And sooner or later, Mia would have had to face the reality of her and Gavin’s relationship. Maybe it was better that it happened here, in the midst of a pure celebration of love, where she could see the futility of Mia & Gavin with painfully sharp clarity.
After taking a few moments to fix her hair and makeup, she retrieved her chiffon scarf from the reception hall to conceal the thin knife line at the base of her throat. Then she forced a smile on her face and returned to the garden, where the party was winding down after the fireworks show.
“There you are.” Polly came toward her, as radiant as she’d been at the beginning of the day. “That was incredible. I can’t believe you and Hannah kept it a secret from us.”
She linked her arm through Mia’s and started back inside to the reception hall. The security team patrolled both the perimeter of the gardens and the foyer, but she knew Gavin wouldn’t have allowed the guests back inside unless he’d personally declared the entire place safe.
The guests bustled around, still exclaiming over the fireworks as they finished up leftover cake. Gavin was nowhere to be seen, though several of his men hovered around the perimeter of the room, like shadows in their black suits.
As the party wound down, Mia went upstairs to fetch Polly’s overnight travel bag. The newlyweds were heading to San Francisco to stay at the Four Seasons hotel for the night before leaving for their honeymoon the following morning. They made the rounds, saying goodbye and thanking all their friends, before Luke’s brother Tyler ushered everyone onto the villa steps for the couples’ final departure.
A shiny, classic Mustang, personally restored by Tyler as a wedding present to the happy couple, waited at the base of the steps. Hand-in-hand, Luke and Polly made their way out amidst cheers and a rain shower of dried flower petals.
Mia applauded and cheered along with everyone else, resolutely setting aside her own dismay in favor of happiness for her friend and genuine delight that the whole event had been such a success. Most of other guests began leaving, collecting wraps and wedding favors from the reception hall before making their way to the parking lot.
The bridesmaids, groomsmen, and other family members lingered in the hall, finishing their drinks and talking. The band was still playing, the musicians having been treated to plenty of food and drinks as well. Hannah and Evan were on the dance floor, their arms wrapped around each other as they moved to the strains of Wild Horses. Everyone looked happy, tired, and utterly content.
Mia sank into a chair, fatigue washing over her. Soon the trauma of the night’s events would hit her, but for now she tried to hold on to the feeling of pleasure that everything had gone well for Polly, Luke, and the other guests.
“Mia.”
She looked up. Julia Bennett walked toward her, magnificently elegant in a beaded Oscar de la Renta dress that made her look like a classic movie star. An older woman with steel-gray hair, also exquisitely dressed and coiffed, was at her side.
Mia got to her feet instinctively, like she was in the presence of royalty. “Hello, Julia. I hope everything went well from your perspective?”
“That’s why I want to talk to you, actually.” Julia waved for Mia to sit back down, as she and the other woman pulled out chairs at the table. “This is my dear friend Priscilla. She and her husband own the Hundred Acre Vineyards down in Temecula, and they’re celebrating their fortieth anniversary this October.”
“That’s wonderful. Congratulations.”
“We’d like to have the party at the vineyard,” Priscilla explained, scrolling through her phone. “Perhaps two hundred people or so. Wine tasting, of course, and a dinner. We’ll have a professional photographer, and Wine magazine will be on hand to write an article about it.”
“Sounds lovely.” Though she was a little confused by the conversation, Mia accepted the phone Priscilla extended to her. Onscreen were several photos of a sprawling, gorgeous vineyard and Italian-style stone villa.
“I haven’t decided on the entertainment yet, but music and dancing is always well-received,” Priscilla continued.
Mia agreed, handing the phone back as she glanced at Julia. To her surprise, Julia was watching her with faint amusement, as if she knew a secret Mia didn’t.
“Priscilla is interested in hiring you to plan the anniversary party for her,” Julia finally explained.
Mia blinked. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Julia replied, the derisive undercurrent of her voice warning Mia not to sound like a teenager. “We’ve all been quite impressed with how well you planned the wedding. Everything was flawless, from the decorations to the ceremony itself and the timeline. I’ve heard nothing but compliments all evening, and I’m personally grateful to you for having done justice to my eldest nephew’s wedding. I’m sure you know I was wary when Polly refused to let me hire a wedding planner, but she made a hundred percent right decision. You did a beautiful job, Mia. Thank you.”
If Mia hadn’t been so stunned by the words, she would have started to cry all over again. Instead she just sat there, staring at Julia in disbelief. Just the thank you from Julia Bennett would have been more than she’d hoped for, but that combined with all the rest of it…
She bit her lip, which had started to tremble.
“I was happy to do it,” she managed to say. “I’m just glad it all turned out so well.”
“Priscilla asked me earlier this evening who’d done the event,” Julia continued. “And when I heard she was planning the anniversary party, I suggested that she talk to you about it. She knows that you’re starting out, but I assured her you were equal to the task. And of course, this wedding is an excellent referral in and of itself.”
“It most certainly is,” Priscilla agreed, opening her Prada handbag. “And I value Julia’s advice and opinion implicitly. Here’s my card. Give me a call next week, and we can get started.”
“I will.” Mia took the business card with a shaking hand. “I’d be honored to help with your anniversary party. Thank you so much for trusting me.”
“You clearly have a talent for creating beautiful events.” Priscilla stood, looping her handbag around her arm. “We’ll speak soon.”
She headed off toward a rotund, portly man who was lingering by the bar. Julia stood as well, eyeing Mia pointedly.
“I don’t make such recommendations lightly,” she said. “Don’t screw this up.”
“I promise I won’t.”
Julia gave a short nod before turning on her heel and striding away like a queen exiting court. Though Mia would never have the other woman’s sharp bite and haughtiness, she couldn’t help feeling that she kind of wanted to be like Julia Bennett when she grew up. Just a little.
Excitement broke through her shock and her earlier dismay. She glanced around the room, wishing she could tell someone about the jumpstarting of her business, but everyone was paired up, and she was reluctant to intrude.
Instead she walked back upstairs to retrieve her things from the bridesmaids’ room, grateful that the night had ended on a positive note. She changed into yoga pants and a T-shirt, packed up her dress and all the hair and makeup supplies she’d brought, and headed down to the parking lot.
As she loaded up her trunk, she caught sight of Gavin standing on the front steps, deep in conversation with his second-in-command. Garden lights illuminated his broad shoulders and glinted off his dark hair.
Longing seized her, the desperate instinct to run to him as fast as she could, leap into his arms, and share the good news with him. The opportunity that might never have happened if he hadn’t pushed her to recognize her strengths.
She wanted him to laugh and say he’d known all along that she was capable of such great things. She wanted him to hug her tightly and tell her how proud he was of her.
He turned in her direction, but from the distance Mia couldn’t tell if he saw her in the darkened lot. She did, however, feel the arc of heat and desire that crackled between them every time their eyes met.
She tore her gaze from him and got into her car, forcing herself not to look back as she drove away.