Victoria Pade - A Camden Family Wedding

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.”