Chapter 3

As I'd expected, the meeting with Serenity had already been set and I had gotten roped into it. Parking in front of my mother's house, I jogged up to the front door. She walked out just as I arrived, and I offered her my arm.

"Good morning, Mother," I said, leaning in to brush a kiss against her cheek.

"Good morning, honey." She slid her hand into the crook of my elbow and followed me back down the stairs toward my car.

I'd parked right in front of the sweeping staircase leading from the wide, double front doors, and I helped her into the passenger seat, then waited until she buckled up before walking around the car. She'd raised me to be a gentleman, and when it came to her, that was exactly what I was, but this morning, I also just needed as much time as I could buy myself not to have to talk about the wedding.

Inside, I was still fuming, still pissed at her for springing this on us and then not even wanting to do it on the grounds she and my father had developed for this specific type of event. As it turned out, the few moments extra I'd given myself meant nothing.

We'd barely reached the intricate metal gates at the edge of her property before I glanced at her. "Why couldn't you just do it at the estate? I know everything there is to know about that place already and it's beautiful out there. Why choose a different venue?"

My mother wasn't the type of person who angered quickly, having left that particular gene for Zach and me, but a slight flush spread on her cheeks now. Her gray-blonde hair was twisted into an elegant chignon and her makeup was as perfectly applied as always, but the calm exterior couldn't hide the flash of disappoint and hurt in her eyes.

"I married your father in that building, Dash. I know it's beautiful. That's why I had my first wedding there, but excuse me for not wanting to marry another man at the same place."

Well, shit. I guess that's as good a reason as I could've asked for. I even kind of got it. Not saying anything about it after that, I pulled off their property once the gates had swung open and tried to focus my mind on the task ahead.

Understanding didn't mean I was a fan of the idea. While I knew now why she'd chosen a different venue, it wouldn't make it easier to coordinate a wedding like this with a company whose CEO was completely green.

"Do you want to tell me what you had in mind?" I asked as we got onto the freeway. "It might help if we know exactly what to discuss with them when we arrive."

"Of course," she said, glancing at me and finally perking up a bit again. "We don't want anything too big. Two hundred guests at most."

My jaw slackened, a frown mashing my eyebrows together. "Two hundred? You realize that's only one hundred couples, right?"

"Right." I felt her steady, unwavering gaze on the side of my face. "We'll revisit that number if we have to, but ideally, we'd like to keep it as close to that as possible. Fifty couples each."

We were definitely going to have to revisit that number, but I knew better than to argue with a bride at this stage of the planning process. Even if the bride was my very own mother.

At a relatively early age, I'd discovered that I was pretty damn good at organization. I liked things to be ordered. Precise. It was just the way my mind worked. As a result, I never missed a detail. My brain refused to let me. I didn't care about the type of flower chosen or the exact shade of pink required for a napkin, but once I'd been told, I never forgot and I couldn't stop until it was all exactly the way it was supposed to be.

I also wasn't easily rattled. In fact, I wasn't sure I'd ever been rattled and I worked best under extreme pressure. Because of all that, I'd organized my first event at the estate at age sixteen. It'd been Zachary's eighteen birthday party and it'd been a hit.

The very next day, I'd started working for my father as an event planner. Informally, of course, but I'd officially taken over that arm of St. Clair Enterprises when I'd turned twenty-one. Twelve years was a long time learning to deal with people who were constantly stressed about what they perceived to be the biggest day of their lives.

So I wouldn't argue with my mother about anything. Instead, I'd gradually lead her to the light and help her see it for herself. I didn't have much of a sense of humor, but what I lacked in that department, I made up for in quiet determination and patience.

"Alright, Mom. Fifty couples each. What else?"

"I don't want to see a white flower," she said suddenly, sniffing once as her voice became softer. "We only had white roses at the funeral. Absolutely no white flowers."

"You got it," I agreed. "You are going to have to send me lists of all of this, though. I won't forget, but I do like to have it on paper for everyone else."

Stress made other people forget. Not me, but others? Absolutely. "Oh, I know, baby. We're just talking about it."

The rest of the way to Serenity's offices, we spoke about it. I listened intently to what she was saying, making mental notes of all the things I was going to have to discuss with her at some point. Not today, but that was only because today was about getting the broad strokes—and a feel for the woman I would be planning the wedding with.

I quietly sighed as I parked in the VIP spot outside the building. It was a gaudy glass-fronted monstrosity with absolutely no character, completely unable to compare to the estate, but it was modern and I supposed the view from the top would probably be decent.

Keeping my mouth shut, I climbed out of the car. Pulling my sunglasses off my eyes, I glanced at the venue my mother had chosen. As I turned to open the door for her, I ran into Serenity Halverson.

Literally.

She and I collided next to my car and she fell into my chest, sending her bag to the ground. At least I caught her before she followed. I recognized her as soon as she looked up at me, and instantly, I noticed that she was a lot more beautiful in person than she was onscreen.

Slightly over average height for a woman, she was very curvy with pronounced hips, a round butt, and mesmerizing cleavage. Her cute, heart-shaped face was framed by long, white-blonde hair and her huge blue eyes drew my attention right away. But she was also clumsy apparently—which did not impress me even if I wasn't at all turned off by her looks.

The fact of the matter was that I thrived on order, control, and purpose. This woman seemed scattered, not even able to control her own movements. My eyes narrowed at the realization.

I understood why my mother wanted to use a different venue, but I'd already been touchy about having to split the control of the planning with a different company.

Now that I'd gotten my first impression of the CEO of that company, I was downright antsy about it.

Serenity's lips dropped open. She stared up at me for what felt like a long time, much longer than was necessary to regain one's composure. Then she bent over and scrambled to gather her things, knocking her forehead into my thigh.

"I'm so sorry," she rushed out. "I didn't see you there. I was coming out to meet you and a weird car drove by. I guess I wasn't looking where I was going. How are you? I'm Serenity by the way."

"Halverson. I'm aware." I didn't bother introducing myself in return. Smiling politely, I knelt to help her gather her things—just in case she fell into the traffic while trying to do it herself. Then I handed over her bag and finally went to get my mother's door.

While I'd taken an instant dislike to my new colleague, Serenity and my mother hit it off immediately. Mom even hugged her hello, gushing about some of the ideas the woman had apparently already sent her.

"I loved the thoughts you had about grazing tables for the guests while we're having our pictures taken," she said as she squeezed Serenity. "Just because we're older doesn't mean we don't appreciate interesting canapes."

They released one another and started heading inside.

"We'll figure out what kind of snacks and apps you want," Serenity said excitedly. "I'll send you some lists of vendors with different menus. Mediterranean tends to be a crowd favorite but we have options."

"You can send those menus to me," I cut in.

Serenity glanced at me over her shoulder, her eyes lingering on mine. Again. God, is she always this awkward?

"Okay," she said as we approached another woman who was waiting by the doors. "This is Julie. She can take you on a tour of the various rooms we have on offer and?—"

"We'll take the entire place. Thank you, honey," my mom said decisively, and I smiled.

Perhaps this is going to be easy after all.

At least, that was what I thought until she took Julie's arm and waved me off. "I'll take the tour and leave the details up to you two. Dash has a basic idea of what I want. Have fun!"

She took off without saying anything else, her head already bent close to this Julie woman's. They strode down a characterless corridor beyond a characterless foyer. I turned to Serenity, needing her to know the ground rules.

"We'll get to specifics in a moment, but give me your general pricing for whatever your highest package is for two hundred guests. And don't try to bullshit me. I'm at the top of this game. It shouldn't come to a dollar more than five million."

Blinking slowly, she swept her tongue across her lips. Unfortunately, that drew my gaze to them and I found myself transfixed. For just a moment, I watched the way her lips moved and, out of the blue, imagined them wrapped around my cock.

Great. Now I'm a walking cliché.

"Sure. Five million is a good ballpark figure."

I drew in a deep breath and forced my eyes back up to hers. "Excellent. I'm glad we understand each other."

I still didn't like her, but shit. Those lips are something, alright. As is that cleavage.

Mentally shaking my head at myself, I listened to what she was saying as she showed me to her office, but I didn't give her much of anything in return. I wasn't rude, but I wasn't forthcoming either.

That part had nothing to do with my growing attraction to her, though. I simply didn't play well with others and I was beyond frustrated that my dick had decided to take an interest in her on top of everything else.

This is a nightmare. An absolute nightmare.

By the time we reached her obnoxious corner office on the penultimate floor of the building, I could sense her frustration growing with me in turn. Although I had a feeling my frustration and hers stemmed from different places, even if I had caught her staring a few more times.

While she printed out some paperwork which should have been prepared and ready when we'd arrived, she tried asking me more questions but I didn't answer a single one directly. She was the newbie between us. She was going to have to figure this stuff out for herself, not rely on my experience for it.

"Your mom mentioned something about yellow flowers. How many arrangements do you think we'll need?"

It's your venue. You should know this. In response, I shrugged. "That depends on so many different things."

Her eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second before she smiled again and fired off a whole host of other questions she should already have the answers to. It felt like forever and fourteen days had passed by the time my mother and Julie appeared in the doorway, saving us both from our frustrations with their wide smiles and bubbly chatter.

At least one of us was having a good time.

I tuned them out at first, my mind still wrestling with Serenity's whole vibe. The entire office smelled of a feminine, aquatic fragrance, and every time she moved, a different part of her body captured my attention. The curve of her full hips to her waist or the length of her hair brushing against the middle of her back.

"I love it," Mom said as she swept into the office, a completely different person to what she'd been in the car this morning. "I want it. Do you have availability on Mother's Day?"

My thoughts came to a grinding halt and I blinked myself back into the present. "As in this upcoming Mother's Day? That's only two months away."

"I know, honey, but like Richard and I told you before, why wait?"