Page 146 of Mr. Wicked

I shook my head. “Get over here,” I said to Jovana. When she reached me, my arm went across her back, and I pulled her against my side.

I knew what she was doing.

Because I’d done the same when I’d met her parents.

I’d watched their faces while I’d talked about their daughter, the empathy growing in my fucking chest.

And when my dad said, “There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t think I’m the luckiest man alive to have a son like him,” she clutched my side.

She gazed up at me and whispered, “What a moment.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Jovana

“How do you feel about everything we’ve accomplished so far today?” Jade asked Grayson and me while we sat across from her at her conference room table.

The black side hairs of her blunt bob had threatened to fall into her eyes during the whole two hours we’d been here. But even now, as she lifted her arms off the table and leaned back in her seat, the movement didn’t cause a single strand to slide toward her eyes.

Jade Tucker even had full control of her hair.

Not that I should be surprised. What I’d learned since we’d arrived at her office was that she exceeded her reputation in every aspect. If you were having a function in New England with a hefty budget and a desire for the best, Jade was who you hired.

Event planner extraordinaire, with a name that stretched as far as Florida and a reputation for being poignant, creative, and inventive.

Once we’d chosen our date, there was no question about who Grayson and Laura wanted to hire to plan our wedding.

I had just never thought I’d be sitting in Jade’s downtown office, listening to her ideas on the intimate, personal, lavish affair she was going to plan for us.

Of course I’d had fantasies about my wedding day.

But Jade had never fit within that mental budget.

I glanced at Grayson, wanting him to answer first, something I’d been doing since we’d arrived.

I wanted him as involved as me.

I wanted our wedding to be a combination of both of our tastes.

I wanted him to stand at the base of the aisle and to walk into our reception and be proud of what we had designed together.

He glanced at me before he responded, “I’m impressed as hell that on such short notice you’ll be able to book the space we want. I really thought that was going to be nearly impossible.”

A space we’d discussed over dinner the last few nights was a hotel we both loved. The ceremony would take place outside in their gardens, so while we exchanged our vows in the thick, green landscape and gorgeous botanicals, we would be surrounded by the city we were both so tied to. Once we went inside for the reception, we would have full views of its skyline.

Jade tapped her pen on the notebook she’d been writing on. “Nothing is impossible, Grayson.”

The man sitting next to me had expressed his feelings for me.

He’d shown them.

She was right.

“I happen to have the right connections to pull off just about anything.” She smiled as though extremely proud that she was able to make that statement. “My team will be able to pull off your requirements without a problem. Within the next week, I’m going to be sending you some mock-ups of the ceremony and reception designs. They’ll include everything from chairs to charger plates to lighting, foliage, flowers to drapery—you’ll be able to see the entire picture from the moment you spot your groom to the second you leave for the newlywed suite.” She paused. “Once you have the visual, then we can change whatever you don’t like, we can add more, take things away—you get my drift.” She adjusted the arms of the sweater that hung over her shoulders, knotted in the center of her chest. “Given such a tight timeline, we’ll have to make the adjustments fairly fast. I’ll send you new mock-ups, we’ll tweak again, and we’ll continue that process until everyone is happy.” She glanced down at the paper. “You’ll have the next six weeks to finalize everything. Keep that in mind. Because after that date, there won’t be room to make any edits. What exists is what you’ll have to live with.”

I stole another glance at Grayson.

His expression was aloof. It had been the entire meeting.

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