“Sounds good.” Jenna’s words were tight. She grabbed the handle of her carry-on bag and walked away. She stopped after several feet, seemed to think something over, then turned back to Liam. “Don’t be a dick, brother mine.” Then she gave him her back and stalked across the expanse of tile floor to the elevator bank, where she jabbed the Up button several times.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Liam muttered.
“Good,” Mike said. “Donotruin this for her...or you’ll answer to me.”
The warning couldn’t have been any clearer.
Liam wanted to respond with his own warning, to tell this clown that he knew why the guy was marrying Jenna, but all Liam could do was stare and say nothing at all.
They wanted to see what was in store for their wedding. But what they were going to encounter over the next twenty-four hours would show Jenna exactly what type of man Mike was. Because watching Mike physically move Jenna aside, speak over her, tell her how they’d handle check-in followed by the suggestion that Ella could show them around, thus bypassing Liam?
No. To all of it, no.
Liam could only hope for two things. First? He hoped Jenna would understand what he’d done to make her see the truth about Mike’s character...or lack of.
And second, he had to hope Ella would forgive him and accept his efforts to make amends when the wedding went straight to hell in handbaskets she’d decorated.
CHAPTER TWELVE
ELLAWASUPto her elbows in fresh flowers. She loved floral arranging and had taken on some of those duties as a sort of indulgence. Designing was cathartic, forcing her to focus on the flowers and their shape and size and smell, the orientation of each bloom and the way they were placed for maximum impact.
Working beside her was a master baker who was applying fondant to the cake for tomorrow night’s rehearsal dinner. Both this cake and the wedding cake would be adorned with floral toppers made by Ella herself.
She’d just placed a water pick on a bird of paradise stem when her cell buzzed. Gently setting the flower down, she dug her phone out of her back pocket. The display showed a number she didn’t recognize. “Ella Montgomery.”
“Don’t panic.”
“Any time you tell someone not to panic, Liam, it’s the first thing they do. Hold on a second. I need to step outside.” She waved at the baker and mouthed, “Be right back.” Maneuvering around the work space, she made it to the side door and stepped into the sunshine. The air felt warm, especially after working in what was essentially a cooler. A bloom of sweat decorated her hairline, and she rubbed it off with the back of her forearm. “Go ahead. Tell me what I’m not supposed to panic over.”
When Liam spoke, the urge to scream welled up in her throat, choking off her air and, with it, any ability to respond.
“Did you hear me, Ella? Jenna and Mike are here.”
She nodded as she tried to force her lungs to work, her mouth to open, her lips to form words. “When you say ‘here,’ what exactly do you mean?”
“I’m not sure there’s another way to interpret ‘here.’ They’ve checked in to their rooms, are currently getting settled in and would like to do a walk-through of the event this afternoon,” Liam bit out.
“You know, if I’m not allowed to panic, you don’t get to be an ass,” she retorted.
“I’m not being... Never mind. The point is, they want you to take them through the rehearsal plans and ceremony setup. They’re calling me after they’ve unpacked their bags and want me to perform introductions.”
“I’m not ready! I was supposed to have another day! There are some key things I need to finish before I can do a proper walk-through with them!” She fought the suffocating panic that ballooned in her chest.
“What would you have me do, Ella?”
There was no good answer. “Buy me some time and I’ll find a stopping place here. Can you do that—entertain them, walk the resort, something? Just let me finish this bouquet and I’ll meet you in the lobby in—” she looked at her watch “—an hour. What have they asked to see today?”
“They want to see what you’ve put together. All of it. Jenna’s excited.”
The tone of his voice told her he was anything but.
Yanking at the tie that held her hair up in a loose topknot, Ella dropped her phone. A wide crack split the screen corner to corner. “Shit,” she snapped. Retrieving her phone, she looked it over. Hopefully, it would keep working until she could get home and replace it.
“What’s wrong?”
Hysterical laughter rose up the back of her throat and emerged as a croak. “Everything is wrong, Liam. If you’re asking what just happened? I broke my phone. It’s one more expense I don’t need, one more thing I’ll have to pay for because I can’t do without it. And you’re calling, asking me to do the walk-through when only half of what needs to be done is actuallydone.”
“Ella, I can’t do this for you.”