Page 97 of Unwillingly His

All of this was coming together so beautifully.

I wanted this party to be a success, to prove to not only Lucian that I was up to the task, but to myself too. I hadn’t even hired a party planner, just a caterer, and everything else was up to me.

“We do need to figure out where the DJ will be set up, and I also want to have a pedestal, somewhere Charlotte can play.”

“What does she play?”

“Charlotte Manwarring. She is a cellist. She is going to play a few bar songs but edge them up a bit. It will be her and one other cellist. I also want to set up a place for Amelia Manwarring’s students to auction off some of their work. We are going to make this party a full Manwarring event. Even Olivia is sending her best photographers to cover everything.”

“That can be arranged. I will work with your contractor directly.” The manager shook my hand. “We will make sure this is perfect. Now, why don’t you follow me, and we will head to the tasting room. Your mixologist got a full tour earlier and is now working on a few signature cocktails for the event.”

We walked to the back of the building, where there was a gorgeous, private tasting room.

This was going to be perfect for the VIP party, where the music would be softer, and those who wanted to talk would order bottle service with the more expensive bottles.

It was all just perfect.

I was going to make Lucian so proud of me.

We were walking down the long hallways when I heard some shouting, and the site manager excused himself to deal with whatever was happening.

I made a mental note to be sure we had plenty of security, not only because the liquor was flowing, but also because I really wanted to make sure we left the distillery in perfect shape.

The last thing I needed was a few football players to get into it with a couple of drunk rock stars.

“Miss Deiderich.” Aiden, the mixologist I’d hired, gave me a warm smile. “Thank you so much for arranging the tour and tasting. I thought I knew a lot about whiskey, but I clearly needed more of an education. I learned so much.”

“Please, call me Stella. And that’s great. Did you get any ideas for the signature cocktails?”

“Yes, in fact, I have a few for you to try. I figured we would want three cocktails: something sweet, something more classic, and something really light and refreshing.”

“That sounds perfect.” I smiled and sat on the polished wooden bar stool in front of Aiden.

“First up, we have our refreshing, charred cherry whiskey lemonade.”

He handed me the glass, and it looked amazing, perfectly presented with an artful garnish. It was delicious. The lemonade was tart, and the cherries were sweet and smoky but not overly heavy. This would absolutely quench my thirst after a long night on the dance floor.

“Next is the sweet. Give me one moment to make a fresh one.” Aiden smiled as I sipped the lemonade.

Alison, my assistant, walked in as quickly as possible with several clipboards in her one hand and her phone held between her shoulder and ear.

I took the clipboards while she finished the call and sat down.

“Sorry it took me a moment to get back here. Some guy at the front didn’t want to let me in. I had to threaten to call the police just so he would move.” She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Who was that on the phone?”

“That was the contractor. He was confirming he received the blueprints. He is also working with the lighting guy and wanted me to run something by you.”

“Okay.”

“What do you think of having a spotlight on the cellists, but have it be an icy blue color, only while they’re playing, giving a kind of cool vibe.”

“Oh, I like that, actually. Reach out to Charlotte and let her know. Her friend also plays in a metal band. She might have lighting ideas that she knows work best, and find out what kind of outlets they need.”

“Outlets?” Her brows furrowed.

“They are playing electric cellos, and her drummer is going to come too.”

---