Chapter One

Chapter One

Six months earlier

“Idon’t know why you keep giving me that look.” Sabrina sat across from me on a leather egg chair, idly picking at the silicone protector attached to the corner of my office desk. “I’m not saying anything that you wouldn’t say to me if the situation was reversed.”

Probably not, but admitting that out loud would only encourage her. Besides … “I’ve told you I’ll handle it just fine, and I will.”

“I don’t doubt that you can handle it, I just don’t want you to have to.”

“Which is sweet, and I adore you for it, but you have to understand why I didn’t do as you suggested.” I set my almost-empty coffee cup on my cute fox coaster. “I’m a professional. I do not let people down.”

“The couple would have understood.”

I frowned, closing my laptop. “Understood that I’d decided to pull out of organizing their wedding just because my ex is on their guest list? Not likely.”

“There’s no ‘just because.’ You two were super serious about each other. You loved him, Addie. And that dufus loved you—probably still does. What he did hurt you big time.”

“Yeah, half a year ago. It’s not like I’m hung up on him or anything.”

“You were when I first suggested you pull out of the wedding,” she reminded me.

“He and I had only just broken up then.”

“Yeah, and I get why you chose to still forge on ahead with organizing this event. But I reserve the right to be annoyed by it, because I know it’s going to sting for you to see him and Felicity together, even though you’re over him. And she’ll sit there looking all smug because she managed to lure him back to her. If she has the opportunity to throw verbal barbs at you, she will.”

Such was the life of a shrew.

I’d read countless romance books where the female main character got involved with a dude who had a bitch of an ex. In many of those novels, said ex strived to win the guy back. But he’d resist, he’d choose the female lead character, and they’d live happily ever after.

In real life, though, it didn’t always work out that way. Sometimes, the man chose his ex-wife, even when he swore it broke a part of him to do it.

“You know I’m right,” Sabrina added.

“She might go ahead and act like a tool,” I conceded. It honestly seemed like Felicity couldn’t help herself in that regard. “But I would never let something like that stop me from doing my job, nor would I let down my clients. Period.”

I’d started my company, Sapphire Glade Events, six years ago. While there were plenty of highs and lows to running your own business, I loved it.

A whole lot of time and effort went into designing and managing events. The work could sometimes be complicated, and the hours could be long—particularly since we were often planning several events at once.

No two were the same—each had different needs and stages, so the process of bringing one to life would vary. This also meant that, although there were some things we commonly did each day, we had no real daily routine.

So, yeah, the job could be challenging and unpredictable. Even stressful at times. But it was also highly rewarding.

I cocked my head at a sulky-looking Sabrina. “Knowing me as well as you do, did you honestly think I’d agree to pull out at any point?”

She blew out a breath and fussed with her spectacles. “No. Neither did Alicia,” she added, referring to one of my younger sisters. “But we figured there was no harm in me taking a shot at convincing you.” She sulkily slid her gaze to the large window of the multi-office building.

In my opinion, it was one of the swankiest buildings here in Redwater City, Florida. Like many company directors, I rented an entire floor. There was therefore an office for each employee, a break room, a conference room, and also restrooms.

Sabrina had handled our floor’s interior design, including that of my office. Bright and airy, it was very chic. Aside from the wall behind me—which was pure white covered in black, decorative swirls and lined with shelves and cubbies—the walls were a striking royal-purple.

The company logo in a moss design hung on one wall—a gift from my mom. A bonsai potted plant sat in the far corner. There were a few other pieces of wall-mounted artwork, including a black, metal tree.

There was a lounge area at the rear of the office. It had a gray-velvet sofa, a glass coffee table, two cushioned swivel chairs, and a coffee machine.

The entire space was clean and tidy. But there was nothing neat about the dry-erase board. It sported haphazard scribbles in various colors, along with an endless amount of sticky notes for a number of upcoming events. This particular summer was proving to be busy for us so far. We were only in the third week of June and already—

“At least let me handle the wedding,” implored Sabrina, her blue eyes pleading. “You don’t need to be there. I’d make sure it all runs smoothly.”

“I know you would.” I hadn’t made the brunette my event coordinator because she was my best friend—one I’d known since childhood, since our moms were close; I’d assigned her the role because it fit her like a glove. “But I always attend such huge events to oversee everything. If I wasn’t there, people would guess why. And their respect for me would dwindle at the idea that I’d allowed my personal shit to get in the way. There’s no chance in hell I’ll let Grayden or Felicity have any impact on Sapphire Glade.”

With the help of my team, I’d built it up through sheer hard work. A lot of blood and sweat and soul had gone into it. I would never do anything that would trample on the company’s success and reputation.

Her shoulders drooping, Sabrina let out a resigned huff. “I don’t know what he sees in her. I mean, okay, she isn’t evil or anything. In fact, she’s apparently a total dear to all the elderly people in the nursing home where she works. But she’s so damn cattyand sly. I’ve never heard her say a kind word about anyone. All she does is bitch about others—including people who think she’s their friend. Why he chose her over you, I’ll never know.”

“You can’t really blame him.”

“Oh, I can, and I do,” she insisted.

“Okay, you can’t rationally blame him.”

“Rationality isn’t required here.” She shifted in her seat. “You’re my BFF, I love you, and I don’t like that he hurt you. That means I don’t have to be understanding—you can’t make me.”

My lips twitched. “Fair enough.” I took in a deep, cleansing breath, pulling in the intoxicating scent of the candle my mom had bought me. It smelled like old books, bringing to mind my parents’ home library. I’d practically lived in it growing up.

Thinking about them made my eyes fall to the framed family portrait on my desk. Alicia and I stood on one side of our parents while our younger siblings, Oliver and Harriet—or Harri, as we called the baby of the family—flanked their other side.

“You’re seriously not in the least bit mad at Grayden?” asked Sabrina, tucking a brown curl behind her ear.

“A little, but I do understand why he walked away. What else could he have realistically done? Felicity would have moved to Denver with their kids if he hadn’t agreed to make another go of things.”

Sabrina scoffed. “She was bluffing. She didn’t like that he was serious about someone, so she made a play to reel him back.”

“Maybe.” My desk chair squeaked as I leaned back in the exceedingly comfortable leather monstrosity that my dad had recommended. According to him, it was the best office chair in the world. I could agree. “It doesn’t really matter either way, does it? What’s done is done.”

Honestly, what bummed me out more than losing him was that I’d wasted time out of my life on him. Time I could have spent with someone who I could possibly have a future with.

I knew the whole “marriage and kids” thing wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Alicia, for instance, loved children but wasn’t so certain she wanted any of her own. I’d wanted to be a mom as far back as I could remember.

I’d been one of those little girls who’d mothered her younger siblings and had a passel of dolls she’d bottle-fed, rocked to sleep, and all that jazz. I’d even chosen my future children’s names. According to my maternal grandfather, Simon, my mom had been the same when young.

Sabrina heaved a sigh. “Love sucks sometimes, huh?”

Oh, indeed. Society encouraged you to seek it; essentially told you that everything else would fall into place once you found it. Only that wasn’t always how it worked.

I honestly wasn’t as enamored with love these days. It had never brought me hearts and rainbows. Aside from the short period I’d had with my college boyfriend, my dating history was sad as shit. I’d always envisioned that I’d be married with kids at this point in my life. But here I was, a week away from turning thirty, still single and childless.

Meanwhile, many of my friends had moved onto the next stage of their lives, including Sabrina. She and her partner, Tamara, were talking of having children. And my brother was engaged to be married to a total sweetheart who happened to be Sabrina’s younger sister, Marleigh.

As part of my job, I often organized weddings. Each time I watched yet another couple say their vows while I remained single, I felt a pinch of envy. And each time one of my relationships failed, I felt further away from the future I sought.

It didn’t help that I had to always be on my guard when it came to dating. The thing with having a rich family and a hefty trust fund was that you could easily find yourself being pursued by guys for the wrong reasons. Especially if they were also people in the same business as your father who thought that being with you could grant them an “in” with him.

Hell, one of my dates had actually brought his resume when I’d introduced him to my parents.

There had been guys who’d wanted me for me, but we’d often run across other issues. Most commonly, they’d felt intimidated by my family’s status or had begrudged that, because I had money, I didn’t need a guy to financially support me. The latter had made some feel unmanned.

“I’m starting to think I’m destined for spinsterhood.”

Sabrina’s brows knitted. “No way.”

“I think my chance of having all I wanted died along with Lake.” My college boyfriend had been everything I could have ever wanted in a guy.

Her eyes glistening with sympathy, Sabrina leaned forward. “Don’t say that.”

“I never used to put any stock in the concept of everybody having a certain someone meant for them. I thought it a nice, fuzzy idea. Not realistic, though. But these days, I’m not so sure.”

“Look, I know that since losing your prince you’ve found yourself kissing a whole lot of frogs—”

“Lovely metaphor.”

“—but that doesn’t mean there’s no one else out there who’d fit you.” She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. “Is it possible that you compare guys to Lake? If so, that could be part of the issue. I mean, he set the bar high.”

“I did when I first started dating again, but I think that was partly because I felt guilty for moving on.” I hooked my hand around the back of my neck. “I’d thought that maybe things would be different with Grayden. He gave me hope that I’d have another chance at something good.” And then he’d taken it away.

“Do not allow that shithead to put you off trying again with someone else. He loved you, but not as deeply as you deserve to be loved. That doesn’t mean no one else will.”

I sighed. “I’d like to think so—”

“Then think so. You’ll find someone eventually, Addie. You’re a triple threat.”

“A what?”

“You’re smart, successful, and beautiful. A triple threat. Tamara’s a picky bitch, but even she agrees you’ve got a great ass and a real nice rack. In our fine opinion, you missed your calling as an underwear model.”

I blinked. “Uh, thank you?”

“Genuinely, I have serious boob-envy around you. And eye-envy, actually. Mine are sewage-green. Yours are like liquid-dark chocolate. To be blunt, I would in fact do you if we weren’t such close friends it would feel like incest.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t bat for your team, sweetie, but I’d make an exception for you.”

She flashed me a grin. “Who wouldn’t?”

“Now, are you done objectifying me? Because we need to go check out those venues we talked about.” Several times a week, she and I would spend our afternoons scouting or touring venues—sometimes with clients, sometimes without.

She straightened in her seat. “I’m ready to leave whenever you are.”

I’d already taken a look at the locations on the internet, but I never chose a place purely based on online research. “I just need to email the Palmers a status update, and then we can leave.” I opened my laptop and tapped the spacebar to snap it out of sleep mode. As my list of emails appeared on the screen, I froze. “Oh.”

“Oh, what?”

My stomach doing roll after roll, I clicked on the new email I’d received and then quickly skimmed over it. “We have another potential client,” I said, the words a little strained.

“And?”

“And it’s Dax Mercier.”

Sabrina’s brows winged up, her eyes sparkling with avid interest. “Really?”

“Yes. He hasn’t said what kind of event he’s looking to throw, only that he’d like me to meet him at his office tomorrow morning for a consultation.”

“Hmm.” Leaning forward again, she planted her elbows on my desk. “Some very delicious memories must be flowing around your head right now.”

They weren’t merely flowing, they were thrashing.

“I might not be into guys, but I can objectively say he’s the definition of male hotness.”

Fucking A. The man was indecently sexual. No lie, he could tempt a nun—I was certain of it.

There was something so very magnetic about Dax. He gave off charisma like pixie dust. He was just so smooth, so personable, so incomparable. He dragged people into his orbit easily—particularly women.

He was also a superhero in the bedroom.

“You know, he’s the only one of your exes I don’t dislike,” said Sabrina as she lifted my nameplate and began idly twirling it. “He was good to you. Protective.”

“I don’t know if ‘ex’ would be the right word. We weren’t actually dating.” Though our families were acquainted, he and I hadn’t officially met until a mutual friend had introduced us when I was eighteen. Dax was twenty-three back then. We’d had a casual fling during the gap year I’d taken between graduating from high school and going to college.

He hadn’t sweet-talked his way into my pants, he’d dirty-talked his way there. I hadn’t told him I was a virgin until the moment we were both naked on his bed, ready to roll. He’d been shocked, but not put-off. And when he’d thrust inside me the first time, there’d been a pinch of possessive triumph in his eyes.

Due to us having a mutual friend, Dax and I had come across each other often over the years. But we hadn’t become friends ourselves. We had too much zing between us to have a platonic relationship. But we were friendly. Polite. Civil. Also a little distant, though.

Neither of us had acted on the aforementioned zing at any point throughout that time. We’d learned during our fling that we didn’t want the same things from life—more specifically, parenthood didn’t appeal to him.

“He might not have been your boyfriend,” began Sabrina, “but he treated you with more respect than some of your actual boyfriends did.”

Sad as it might be, it was totally true.

“I suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’d seek to hire Sapphire Glade, given how well we’re doing. And you two are neighbors now, so—”

“I wouldn’t call us neighbors. He lives at the opposite end of Oakengrove from me.” He’d only moved into the little man-made village a month ago. A village he’d purchased in that exact same month. In addition to running several businesses, Dax owned a lot of real estate. “It’s like a twenty-minute walk away.”

It seemed inevitable that we’d bump into each other at Oakengrove, but it hadn’t happened thus far. I’d caught glimpses of him from a distance now and then, though—usually when he was talking with the people who ran the various businesses in the village, since they now technically worked for him.

In terms of how he treated people, he was nothing like the business tycoons I’d come across over the years. One of said tycoons was my father. Dane Davenport was a content man, but his smiles were as rare as rocking horse shit. Also, he didn’t make much of an effort to be social, likeable, or approachable. He tended to look through people and very rarely greeted them unless he was networking. Many of his business associates could be described the same way.

Dax, however, was different. His lips often settled into charismatic smiles. He spoke to every one of his employees, from cleaners to PAs, treating them all equally. More, he addressed them by name and asked after their families.

I knew from speaking to these people that they loved having that recognition and respect. But it also made them nervous, because it meant they weren’t mere cogs in his machine who could hide behind teams and managers if they fucked up. No, if a mistake was made, he’d know exactly who was responsible, and he’d know where to find them.

I would bet it was all very deliberate on his part; that he knew exactly what effect his behavior had on them. It was a very devious, albeit effective, way to keep people in line.

“Well, whatever his reason for seeking out Sapphire Glade, I’m glad for it—handling an event for him would be real good for business,” Sabrina said, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “Any kind he threw would involve a guestlist of wealthy or, at the very least, influential people.”

“It would,” I allowed. Dax was a true powerhouse. Not merely in the business world, but in general. He wielded so much social power it was nuts. He also had connections everywhere, some of which were the definition of unsavory.

Not all his dealings were legal. Everyone knew it, but no one could prove it. He wasn’t knee-deep in organized crime or anything, but he was not a guy who had an issue with subverting the system or bending and breaking rules. He lived life by his own code. In that, he was his father’s son.

Given all that, people generally strived to stay on Dax’s good side. They didn’t merely fear him, though; they respected him. He might have his hands in some illegal pies, but he’d done a lot for the community—organizing fundraisers, donating to charities, arranging holiday food drives, and sponsoring small businesses and youth sports’ teams.

“Also, he’s hardly likely to want a low-budget event,” said Sabrina. “Our rates would be chump-change to him, which would allow us to be seriously creative and go butt-wild.”

“Indeed.”

Her brows pulled together. “Then why don’t you look excited?” She lowered my nameplate to the desk.

I rubbed at my temple. “Maybe because my hormones never fail to fall at his goddamn feet.” Back when we’d had our little fling, I hadn’t realized that that type of insane chemistry was rare. It was something I hadn’t experienced with anyone else before or since. “My libido snaps awake so fast it’s dizzying.”

Sabrina unsuccessfully tried to stifle a smile. “Does this mean you’re planning to not take the job?”

I dropped my hand to my lap. “No, I’ll always do what’s best for Sapphire Glade and, as you said, throwing an event for Dax means big money and lots of exposure. I’m just not looking forward to seeing him again, since I know my hormones will react like idiots.”

“Dax seems to have that effect on most women, if it makes you feel any better.”

It didn’t. “Hmm, I’ve noticed.” He tended to have tall, slim blondes hanging off his arm. Also the occasional redhead. Female specimens who were, in fact, very much dissimilar to me. I had dark hair, a curvy figure, and was average height. “I’ve realized over the years that, though we had major chemistry, I’m not actually his type.”

“In terms of physical traits, maybe not. But you’re a person who stands out in a whole other way—and without even trying. You look so calm, collected, and put-together that it makes guys want to get under your skin and see if they have what it takes to ruffle your feathers. The more dominant they are, the more challenged they seem to feel by you. Dax probably wasn’t an exception to that.” She paused. “You seem really surprised that he contacted you.”

I sat back in my chair. “I am. I mean, I wouldn’t have expected him to consider hiring Sapphire Glade.”

Sabrina frowned. “Why not? We have a shit-hot reputation and are known for going the extra mile.”

“Yes, but he’s Felicity’s cousin.”

“So?”

“So he’ll know that hiring our company is something she won’t like,” I said with a sweep of my hand, almost knocking over my typewriter-penholder. Idiot.

Sabrina’s frown deepened. “Given his general nature, I really don’t see him letting something like that sway his actions. I certainly can’t see him letting it get in the way of a business decision. Typically, you wouldn’t allow personal stuff to do that either.”

“And I don’t intend to do it now. But I have the distinct feeling Felicity won’t like if I take the job. Not that I care. I just mean it’s possible she’ll ask Dax to hire another company. Especially since Grayden and I agreed to stay out of each other’s orbit when we split—they move in similar circles. They were even friends back when they were in their teens.”

Sabrina shrugged. “Grayden associates with Kaelie and Theo as well. I haven’t been able to convince you to sit out their wedding, despite my best efforts.”

“I made it clear to Grayden when we separated that I wouldn’t do that—he said he understood.”

“Well, he’ll just have to understand this, too. That asshole doesn’t have a say in what you do, and he certainly doesn’t have a say in what Sapphire Glade does. Neither does Felicity. Hopefully, Dax will also feel that this has nothing to do with them, because I’ll be bummed if we don’t get this job.”

“I’m not saying I think he’ll care that they won’t like it. I just know he loathes drama. Few people are better at causing drama than Felicity.”

“Pure fact. Unfortunately. But she’ll probably be leery of pissing him off and ending up in his bad books. That’s a place no one wants to be.”

Sabrina was not wrong. Dax wasn’t a man to be trifled with. Those who dared? Well, he had a way of making them regret it.

“I doubt being his cousin would make a person an exception to a rule when it comes to someone like Dax,” Sabrina added, “so we’re likely fretting over nothing.” She rose to her feet. “Can you squeeze in a meeting with him tomorrow morning?”

“Yes. I only have afternoon meetings scheduled for tomorrow.”

“Then email Dax back and confirm that you’ll be at his office in the morning as requested. For now, you and I have venues to go see.”

“Fine. Just note that if my hormones have another nervous breakdown around him, you’re not allowed to find it amusing.”

“So noted.”