Nicole Vandemeer expected punctuality, something that consistently challenged Holly. She had no trouble showing up on time for client appointments, but the mornings she came in knowing she had a desk full of paperwork to tackle, she often arrived five to ten minutes late. While there was no doubt that the paperwork and the estimates were important, Holly loved the planning—coming up with the colors, and the flowers, and the themes. She poured a great deal of her heart into her work, and she was proud of what she did. The paperwork and accounting were just a necessary evil. So Holly was proud of herself for showing up on time—on a Thursday, no less—only to discover that her boss hadn’t even come in yet.
For the millionth time, she considered quitting, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not only was she gaining invaluable experience, but her salary had also increased. Which meant Holly was good and stuck, especially since she was now making enough money to pay for her grandmother’s private room at Happy Dale Retirement Community. If she quit, her grandmother would have to go back to sharing a room—something that would be difficult for her since her dementia had worsened.
She’d just have to try harder to be on time and make her boss happy. At least until she’d built up her reputation enough to support herself and her grandmother. But the thought was more depressing than she cared to admit.
She got busy working up a cost proposal for a potential wedding client, but by nine forty-five Nicole still hadn’t come into the office. Holly was worried, especially since Nicole had a ten o’clock appointment. Nicole liked to give herself plenty of time to prepare before a meeting, and she’d hinted that this one was more important than usual. Nicole was meeting with a mother and daughter who were unhappy with their current wedding planner. The problem was that the wedding was less than a month away. Nicole had casually mentioned that they wanted to change everything, which sounded like a nightmare. But Nicole insisted it would be a coup d’état in the Kansas City event-planning world.
Holly might understand the appeal of this wedding if Nicole had shared the clients’ names. But she’d kept them under lock and key, as though Holly would steal them from her, which was utterly ridiculous.
Nicole’s paranoia was just one more reason for Holly to get her experience and run.
All Holly knew was that Nicole had insisted that this meeting had to go perfectly, and now she hadn’t even shown up yet.
To expel some nervous energy, Holly straightened up the small office, made a pot of coffee, and finally called Nicole at nine fifty-two.
“Nicole, is everything okay? Did the meeting get canceled?”
“No!” Her boss sounded panicked. “I was on my way to pick up some pastries, and on my way back, I was in a minor accident.”
“Oh, my God. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, and my Navigator only has a small dent in the fender, but this police officer insists that I have to stay and fill out a report.”
“Do you want to cancel the meeting?”
“No!” Nicole shouted. “It’s too late to cancel. Just stall them until I get there.”
Then she said, her voice fainter, “Yes, Officer. I am taking this very seriously.” But Holly suspected she meant the meeting and not the accident report.
Holly cast her glance toward the front door, her breath catching when she saw a middle-aged woman at the office door. “Nicole, they’re already here.”
“What? They’re early! Tell them I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Holly hung up and placed the phone on her desk, then smoothed the wrinkles from the lap of her pale-pink skirt. The woman walked through the door, a younger version of herself following behind her.
“Good morning,” Holly said, using her most cheerful voice. “Welcome to Distinctive Events. Nicole has been delayed, but I’m Holly, and I’m more than happy to get you some coffee or tea while you wait.”
The younger woman’s full lips pursed into a pretty pout. “Does she know how rude it is to keep her clients waiting?”
Holly clasped her hands together so the younger woman wouldn’t see them shaking. Nicole had been so irritated with her lately that Holly wouldn’t put it past Nicole to fire her if she screwed this up. “Yes, of course. Your meeting is very important to Nicole, but the truth of the matter is that Nicole was just involved in an auto accident.”
The older woman’s eyes flew open. “Oh, dear. Is she all right?”
“Yes, she insisted it was minor and that she’s fine, but she’s been detained giving the police report. She’s quite upset about the delay and hopes to be here very soon.”
The older woman waved her hand. “Of course. The important thing is that she wasn’t hurt.”
The glint in the younger woman’s eyes suggested she didn’t necessarily share the same opinion.
But the mother didn’t seem to notice. She offered her hand to Holly. “I’m Miranda Johansen and this is my daughter Coraline.”
Holly took her hand, appreciating the woman’s firm shake while trying not to fawn over the woman. She recognized her name. Miranda Johansen was one of the hottest up-and-coming wedding-dress designers. Her collection in New York the previous spring had been the talk of the wedding design world. And since Holly had spent two-thirds of her life poring over bridal magazines, she knew the names of all the top designers. “Ms. Johansen, I’m honored to meet you. Your spring collection was amazing.”
The woman’s eyes lifted. “You attended the show?”
“No, but I saw the photos of the impressive gowns. I love the way you’ve updated classic styles with a contemporary edge. Pure genius.” Holly turned to Coraline. “You’re so lucky your mother is designing your gown.” Then she paused and glanced back at the bride’s mother. “I’m presuming you’re designing your daughter’s dress.”
“Yes.” Miranda sighed. “Although it’s taken multiple designs to make Coraline happy.”
“I can’t help it if you don’t get me, Mother,” the daughter said through gritted teeth. While she looked like a younger version of her mother—dark hair, pale skin, bright green eyes—it was clear the two had completely different personalities.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Holly asked, hoping to defuse the situation. Nicole wouldn’t be pleased if her clients were bickering when she arrived. “Coffee, tea, water?”
“I’ll take a nonfat latte,” Coraline said, her gaze on the photos on the walls. “With extra foam.”
“I’m so sorry. While we have an espresso machine, we don’t have a milk frother.” Holly braced herself for Coraline’s reaction.
The woman shot her a look of disbelief.
“Regular coffee will be fine for both of us,” Miranda said, giving her daughter a warning look. “With cream and sugar.”
Holly nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
She grabbed her phone off her desk and hurried to the small back kitchen, sending her boss a text.
They’re here and I’m serving them coffee.
Good. I hope to be there in ten minutes.
Oh, please God, let that be true. She poured both cups, placing them on saucers on a silver tray, along with a bowl of sugar cubes and a small pitcher of cream. Presentation was everything with their more prestigious clients. With that in mind, Holly placed several chocolate biscotti on a small plate, then carried the tray out to the small client table in the corner where Miranda was sitting, her legs crossed and tucked to the side of the chair. She reeked of sophistication and class, and Holly felt way out of her league. She couldn’t even fathom having as much money as half her clients had, but she was really good at faking it.
Coraline was prowling the perimeter of the small office, although there wasn’t much for her to look at. She stopped, her attention drawn to a photo of the first wedding Holly had planned.
“This is quite lovely,” the bride-to-be murmured, leaning closer. “Was this one of Nicole’s weddings?”
Coraline was staring intently at the gorgeous photo, the sunlight catching on the fresh-fallen snow making it look like the field outside the botanical gardens’ chapel was strewn with tiny crystals. The red roses in the bouquets of the bride and her two bridesmaids were deep and rich. But it was the look on the bride and groom’s faces that always made Holly pause—so full of love and devotion. For a brief moment, Holly considered saying yes, but her pride wouldn’t let her. “No, that was a wedding I planned. It was a lovely day, which was a relief since I had less than two weeks to pull it together.”
Miranda turned to look at her with new interest. “Oh, really?”
Oh, crap. There was no way she wanted Coraline as a client. Not to mention Nicole would make her life a living hell. “Nicole and I planned it together, of course,” she amended.
Miranda stood and moved closer to the photo. “I saw this in the KC Weddings magazine. I don’t remember Nicole being listed as the planner.” She turned her attention to Holly. “What part of this wedding did you work on?”
It was difficult to deny something she was so proud of. “Almost all of it.”
“And you put this together in less than two weeks?” Miranda asked.
“Some of it was already done.”
“Which part?”
“The couple had set the date.”
Her carefully groomed eyebrows lifted. “And that’s it?”
Holly pressed her lips together, then said reluctantly, “Yes.”
“Do you have more photos?” Coraline asked, now interested. “A portfolio?”
She had one online, which was how she had acquired some of her wedding clients since she’d begun working for Nicole, and she handed Coraline her tablet so she could view the photos. “Nicole really is amazing. Her events have been featured in both HERLIFE and 435 magazine.”
“How many weddings has she done?” Coraline asked, sliding her finger across the screen as she whizzed through the photos. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe she hated what she saw.
“Distinctive Events has only been open since last November, so we’ve only seen a few weddings to completion at this point, although we have over a dozen in progress.”
“We?” Coraline asked, lifting her gaze to Holly’s. “You share the work equally?”
“Well, no.”
“How many weddings are you overseeing and how many is Nicole?”
Holly clasped her hands in front of her, trying to keep from fidgeting. “I’m overseeing them all, but Nicole—”
Coraline turned to her mother. “I want her.” She pointed her finger at Holly.
Miranda sighed, but she cast Holly a curious glance. “Coraline, darling. We’re here to see Nicole.”
Coraline tapped her three-inch-heeled wedged sandal. “Well, Nicole’s not here, is she?” she asked in a snotty tone.
“She’ll be back any moment, I promise,” Holly said, taking a step forward. She had to turn this around quickly or Nicole was going to kill her. “Why don’t I pour you a cup of coffee while you wait?”
“That’s a good idea,” Miranda said, grabbing the silver pot and pouring it into a cup. “And while we wait, tell us how you reserved the Powell Gardens chapel in less than two weeks. They are notorious for being booked out months in advance.”
“Uh…a lucky fluke.” Holly’s pulse picked up. They weren’t going to let this go. “And I had a friend who knows the director of the gardens.”
“How did you deal with shuttling the guests from the parking lot to the chapel?”
Oh, shit. “Horse-drawn sleigh.”
Coraline’s eyes widened. “What?”
Holly waved a hand as she released a nervous chuckle. “I had a friend who brought his horses. The gardens couldn’t guarantee that they’d have the path clear, especially since it was still snowing, so I got permission for Dillon to bring his horses and sleigh.” Holly had simplified the process and had glossed over the multiple phone calls and pleading required to make it happen.
“Did the sleigh have bells?” Coraline asked.
Holly fought the urge to cringe. “Yes, but you said the wedding is in a month, correct? You couldn’t have anything like that, of course, and, given the fact that we don’t typically have snowfall here in the Kansas City area, we could never plan on something like that. The entire wedding was kismet.”
Miranda turned to her, resting her hand on her knees. “Do you have photos of your other weddings?”
“Yes, but—”
Coraline handed the tablet to her mother. “They’re just as good.”
Miranda took her time scrolling through the album.
“Nicole would love to plan your wedding. In fact, I think she already has some ideas.”
Coraline tilted her head. “What are they?”
“I…uh…I’m not sure.”
“What would you do?”
Holly’s tongue lay at the bottom of her mouth.
Coraline’s eyes narrowed. “If you don’t start talking, we’ll walk out the door. We have an appointment at eleven thirty with Tender Moments, and they are taking us to lunch at the Plaza.”
Miranda’s silence confirmed everything her daughter said.
Shit, shit, shit. Holly had two options: try to keep them here and possibly accidentally steal Nicole’s client, or let them walk and lose them for certain. Which was bound to piss her boss off less?
She took a deep breath and grabbed her notebook and a pen, then perched on the edge of her desk. “I’m presuming you have the venue booked.”
A triumphant smile spread across Coraline’s face. “Yes, Stonehaus Vineyard in Lee’s Summit.”
“An outdoor wedding?” Holly asked in surprise. “In July?”
Coraline gave her a challenging look.
Holly wanted to tell her good luck with the ninety-degree heat and melting guests and push her out the door, but she also wanted to keep her job, which was in peril whichever path she took.
Where in God’s name was Nicole?
“And the reception?”
“The same place. Outdoors.”
Well, double shit.
“It’s an early-evening wedding,” Miranda added. “Five o’clock.”
Holly forced a smile. “Well, that helps with the heat a bit, doesn’t it? How many guests?”
“Three hundred.”
She wrote the information they’d given her in her notebook, trying to stall. “Do you have anything else planned?”
“I have my dress,” Coraline said.
“And the bridesmaids?”
“I’ve changed my mind about theirs.”
The blood in Holly’s veins turned to ice.
“I see.” And she did. All too well. Coraline was a spoiled brat who changed her mind at the drop of a dime. “How many wedding planners have you worked with?”
Coraline looked taken back by the question, but Holly gave her a direct gaze.
“Four,” Miranda finally said. “We just fired the last one this weekend.”
“And may I ask why?”
“Difference of opinion.”
What was Nicole thinking? This was a train wreck. It was just a matter of when the cars would all pile up over the course of the next month, not if.
“I’ll be honest,” Holly pushed out, sure that she was going to be writing her letter of resignation when Nicole finally returned. “I’m not sure I’m the planner for you.”
Both women’s eyes grew wide.
“My goal is to make sure that my brides have the best possible experience. I want them to have the most perfect wedding, no matter what their budget. So I need my brides to trust me, and, in turn, I need to trust them.”
Coraline’s nostrils flared. “Are you saying you don’t trust me?”
“No, I’m saying that you have to be certain you want to work with me, then you need to trust my judgment. You’ve seen my photos and you’re still here, so you liked what you saw, but I’ll be honest, planning a wedding of the quality you’re sure to be looking for with three hundred guests in less than a month is next to impossible.”
“But there’s a chance you can do it?”
“You have absolutely nothing else arranged?” Holly asked, trying to hide her dismay.
“We have a photographer,” Miranda said, watching Holly intently. “Coraline fired the rest.”
“See, here’s the thing,” Holly said, moving closer to her. “If you work with me, you can’t keep firing people. I will bring on the people I think will work best given what you want and the difficult time constraints.”
“You’re wanting me to give you full control of my wedding?” Coraline asked in a condescending tone. “Are you insane?”
“Probably, but that’s exactly what I’m saying. I’ll sit down with you and find out the tone and feel you’re looking for. I’ll show you what I have planned, and if you accept, I’ll give you the wedding of your dreams. But it all boils down to trusting me.”
In truth, Holly couldn’t see Coraline trusting anyone. Which meant this was a lost opportunity, but she could live with that. She wasn’t going to grovel at this spoiled brat’s feet. Even if she lost her job over it. She was certain she could get back her position as an assistant manager at the Marriott. Then if she got a second job, she might still be able to pay for her grandmother’s private room. She’d be exhausted, but it wasn’t like she had much of a social life anyway.
“I think I’ve heard enough,” Coraline said, lifting her chin. “I knew this hole in the wall would be a waste of time.”
Holly had to make some attempt to salvage this. “As I said before, Nicole already has some ideas in mind. If you’ll wait for her to get here, she would love to share them with you. I’m sure you’ll find her more…acquiescing than I am.”
Miranda’s eyes narrowed.
“No, I’ve heard enough. Come, Mother.” Coraline spun as though she were on a fashion-show runway and strutted toward the door.
Miranda stood and gave Holly one last look. “It was lovely to meet you, Holly. Do you have a card?”
“Yes.” Holly tried to hide her surprise at the request. Coraline had made her intentions clear. Nevertheless, she grabbed a card off her desk and handed it to her. “I wish you the best of luck with your search.”
The older woman grimaced. “Thank you. I think we’ll need it.”
Holly watched the two women walk out, Nicole walking in seconds later. She stood in the open doorway, looking out into the parking lot.
“Was that Miranda Johansen and her daughter?”
Holly’s back tensed. “Yes.”
“And they left?”
“I tried to keep them here.”
Nicole looked torn between coming into the office or chasing them down. Propriety won out and she shut the door behind her. “What happened?”
Holly sat in her office chair and took a deep breath. “Coraline saw the photo of the Ginsburg–Huffman wedding on the wall. She wanted to see what else we had done, so I gave her the tablet and showed her the photo gallery.”
“She didn’t like what she saw?”
“Oh, she liked it too well. I told her that you had come up with some lovely ideas, and if they would only wait, you would share them.”
Nicole bristled. “How did you know if I had any ideas or not?”
“Please, Nicole. When did you ever go into a meeting unprepared?” When her boss didn’t respond, she continued. “They wanted to know if I had any ideas to pitch them.”
“You stole my client?” Nicole demanded.
“No! I told them to wait, and when they insisted I do something or they would leave, I started asking questions about what they did have in place.” She gave her boss a pointed look. “Did you know they only have the venue, the photographer, and her wedding dress? And literally nothing else. An outdoor wedding and reception at Stonehaus Vineyard. For a big, fancy wedding—in less than one month—that’s insanity.”
“So you sent them away?”
“No, I told them that I wasn’t a good fit for them and they needed to wait for you. But Coraline threw a temper tantrum and left.”
Nicole sank into her office chair. “So we lost them.”
“Honestly, Nicole, I think they would have done us more harm than good. That wedding is a disaster waiting to happen.”
“That is my decision to make,” Nicole said in a chilly tone. “Not yours.”
“I did the best I could. I’m sorry.”
She sat still, waiting for Nicole to fire her, but the woman pushed out a sigh and reached for her phone. “Maybe I can save this.”
“They have a lunch date with Tender Moments at eleven thirty.”
Nicole scowled. “Well, then we can definitely kiss this wedding good-bye.”
“I hope you’re not kissing my wedding good-bye.” A tall, lanky blonde woman laughed as she walked in the door.
“Oh, Bethany!” Nicole gushed, clasping her hands together. “It’s so lovely to see you!”
Bethany smiled. “I was in the neighborhood so I thought I’d drop by for a visit.”
Nicole shot Holly a glare. “Now’s not a good time for an in-office chat. How about we go for coffee?”
Holly turned to her computer screen and rolled her eyes.
“Sounds wonderful.” Bethany’s attention was drawn to the photo that had captured Coraline’s attention minutes ago. “This is beautiful. Did you organize this, Nicole?”
Holly cringed, preparing for the backlash.
“No. That was Holly.” Her answer was clipped.
“I’ve always wanted a winter wedding.”
Nicole brightened at that. “If everything works out, we can plan the wedding of your dreams. But obviously, there are quite a few things to work out. Let’s go talk about it over coffee.”
Bethany beamed; her dazzling white teeth in her perfect smile nearly blinded Holly.
That’s exactly the kind of woman my neighbor would probably go for.
She’d tried her best to forget him and had succeeded while dealing with the potential wedding clients from hell. So where had that thought come from?
Nicole looped her purse over the crook of her arm. “Holly, I have no idea how long I’ll be out. Bethany and I have a lot to discuss. I need you to work on the Hicks estimate and then we’ll discuss the other predicament when I get back.”
Holly watched the two women walk out. But her humiliation from the night before was back in full force, mingling with her fear over her future.
Because she was fairly certain she might be out of a job by the end of the day.