Melissa McClone - His Band Of Gold

“February fourteenth.”

“I’m already booked for next year.”

“Not next year.” As he leaned toward her, she caught a whiff of him. Soap and water and something woodsy. Whatever cologne he wore, he smelled good, too good. Kelsey inched back in her chair until she could go no farther. She didn’t need a Ph.D. to know Will Addison was trouble. Big trouble. “This year.”

“But today’s the thirty-first of January. That’s only…”

“Two weeks away. It’s short notice, but—”

“Sorry, not possible.” With little regret, she closed the planner. It would be much better this way. Much better for her, that was.

“You have another wedding scheduled?”

Kelsey hesitated. This wasn’t her problem, her fault. Yet the intense look on his face… “I did, but it was canceled after the bride met someone else.”

The edges of his mouth turned up slightly. “So you can coordinate my sister’s wedding.”

She noticed he wasn’t asking her a question. “I can’t. Several clients offered to move their weddings up to Valentine’s Day, but I decided to take advantage of the cancellation and give my staff a well-deserved vacation. Everyone’s gone.”

Hope brightened his eyes, making them sparkle like emeralds. Not jewels, Kelsey told herself, but broccoli or AstroTurf or anything else that would be green and unromantic. Remember he’s married. And even if he wasn’t… “You’re here,” he said.

“Not for long. My flight leaves in three hours.” Kelsey reached for a nearby pad of paper and a pen. “I can give you some names of other wedding designers, but at this late date—”

“You don’t understand.” He brushed his hand through his hair, giving it an even more careless look than before. “It has to be you.”

“May I ask why?”

“Both my mother and my sister want it to be you.”

The desperation in Will’s voice almost made her believe it was true. He was a good actor, real good. “If it’s so important to them, why didn’t they come?”

His lips tightened, and he glanced at the pile of magazines. “It’s…complicated.”

It always was. “Mr. Addison, I’m about to leave the country for a much-needed vacation. I don’t have time for complications.”

He stared directly into her eyes, and Kelsey felt woozy. “My sister is Faith Starr.”

Of all the nerve…Kelsey’s blood pressure soared off the chart and perspiration wet the back of her neck. “Faith Starr?”

At least Kelsey now knew why Will Addison’s name sounded familiar—he was a blood relation, a brother no less, of the world’s worst client. It was all coming back to her. Will was the oldest of the siblings who traveled the globe running the family chain of Starr Properties—resorts, hotels and inns named for his mother—that catered to the rich, famous and not-so-famous. Just as Starr Addison’s husband, Bill, had used his wife’s name for the family’s real-estate venture, Faith had taken her mother’s name for her stage name. Not that it made a difference.

Nothing made a difference where Faith Starr was concerned.

Kelsey rose, barely able to contain the anger threatening to erupt worse than Mt. Vesuvius. She was an Armstrong and had been raised properly to follow etiquette and protocol, but one could only be polite for so long. “Get out of my office, Mr. Addison. Now.”

He stood. “I understand why you’re upset. Faith hasn’t been the most reliable—”

“Your sister is nothing more than a spoiled starlet, who strings fiancés along as if they were her personal puppets.” Faith Starr, actress extraordinaire and the world’s most famous runaway bride, had almost given Kelsey an ulcer—four times in the past three years. Faith was a perfectionist both in her craft and in planning her weddings. Never had Kelsey worked so hard with so little payoff in her life.

“I’ve already planned four weddings for her. Count them—four.” Kelsey raised four fingers. That was three too many. More business was one thing, but this… “I won’t be involved in number five.”

“Can’t we talk about this? Work something—”

“Out. I have nothing more to say on this matter so please leave.”

“If you only understood the circumstances—”

“Look,” Kelsey said, trying to keep her tone polite, yet firm. “I appreciate you came on behalf of your family. That’s very…noble of you considering my past with your sister. But nothing you say will change my mind.”

His assessing gaze made her self-conscious. It was all she could do not to smooth her skirt and check to see if a piece of spinach was caught between her teeth. “Are you always so stubborn?” he asked, his eyes twinkling.

“Out. Now.” At least the band of gold wasn’t the only negative thing about Will Addison. “Get out of my office before I call security and have you thrown out.”

Waiting for Kelsey to step out into the hallway was far from Will’s idea of a good time, but he wasn’t leaving until he had a chance to speak with her again.

The seconds turned into minutes; the minutes into an hour. How much longer before she left for the airport? He stared at the door to Kelsey’s office. No catchy name for her business, simply Kelsey Armstrong Waters, Wedding Consultant, in a script font. Too bad there was nothing simple about the woman herself.

He should have handled it better, but Kelsey had caught him off guard, and he wasn’t a man used to being caught off guard. He didn’t like the feeling one bit.

Damn Faith.

Will was going to kill her. He shouldn’t have promised to oversee her wedding planning while she finished filming her latest movie. Faith had said this would be easy. As easy as pushing an elephant into an elevator. And the wedding was the least of it.

Will was used to being around beautiful, wealthy, accomplished women and having them flirt, even pursue him. He was used to tolerating such women; he was an expert at fending off their advances unless he wanted a little company. But it never went further than that. No one intrigued him enough to make him want more.

Until today.

Something had happened when he’d seen Kelsey’s reflection in the mirror. He’d stood transfixed as if watching a piece of living art. Unguarded expressions had played on her face, and emotion clogged his throat. He’d felt as if he were trespassing, but he hadn’t been able to stop staring at her. Tall and willowy, with long chestnut hair that shone and sparkled as if each strand had been individually cleaned and polished, she looked so young, so soft, so sweet. The wistful smile on her face had touched his heart and he’d wanted to capture the moment. For the first time in a long while, he’d felt the racing of his pulse, the pounding of his heart. And he’d liked the way it felt. Liked it a lot.

When Kelsey had realized she wasn’t alone, the glowing bride-to-be had metamorphosed into the cool, distant professional. No flirting, no fawning. She’d even called him “Mr. Addison” and kept it strictly business.

Yet when she’d realized he was Faith Starr’s brother…Talk about passion boiling under a cool facade. Will couldn’t believe the change in the woman. Flames had danced within the violet depths of her eyes, raising his temperature enough to melt the ice in his veins. She’d shown restraint, yet her anger had been clear. No amount of charm would ever change her mind. Forget the sweet talk, even his never-fail smile hadn’t worked.

Will didn’t get it. He always got what he wanted from women. Even with Sara.

Sara.

Will’s gut tightened.

What the hell was he doing? Being attracted to Kelsey was one thing. He hadn’t spent the past eight years as a total hermit, but he had no right to be intrigued by her. She wasn’t simply a guest at one of his resorts; she was the woman he had to convince to plan his sister’s wedding. His family, most especially his mother, was counting on him to bring Kelsey to Lake Tahoe. He wouldn’t let his mother down. He couldn’t let her down.