Page 48 of Promised Love

“Lukas, I’m so—” I try to whisper an apology, but Lukas flattens his hand at the small of my back. The heat from his palm sears my skin through the soft cashmere and sends shivers down my spine.

“Everything’s going to be fine.” His thick voice brushes against my earlobe.

There’s already a fire burning in the sitting area of my office, but I’m blazing inside like an inferno all on my own. I knew I’d be nervous during this meeting, but I never expected I’d feel so much, watching a newly engaged couple with Lukas by my side.

I take another deep breath and try to focus on my presentation instead. We’ve set up a projector screen to discuss some of our ideas. As soon as our guests take a seat on one of the couches, I sit on the opposite one and Lukas perches next to me.

“How did you two meet?” Maya asks.

God, we need to start talking about their wedding.

I suppress the low growl ready to erupt, and thankfully, Lukas turns to Maya. “As you’ll be leaving this afternoon, I guess we should try to focus on the wedding preparations, Ms. Castellanos.”

Maya tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and says, “Please call me Maya, and you’re absolutely right. But I can’t stop my curiosity of what seems like an amazingly beautiful love story.”

My roaring heartbeat thrums in my ears, and for a second, I can’t hear anything else. Amazingly beautiful love story?

The expression on Maya’s face is of pure joy, as if she’s already imagining scenarios of how Lukas and I would have possibly met. And because I’m a true fan of hers and hate to disappoint her, I answer, “We started exchanging letters and emails when I was sixteen.”

“So you were like pen pals?” Her smile widens.

“S-something like that.” My voice breaks.

“Wow!” The dreamy look on Maya’s face has me believing for a second in the fairy tale she’s probably casting inside her head. “Your love story sounds so special. We can write a song about it.” She finally rests back in her seat.

“Ours wasn’t bad either, babe.” Andy pulls Maya’s attention away from us, giving me a chance to take a breath and calm my racing heart.

“Of course. I can never forget the image of you on that stage, waiting for me to say yes,” Maya whispers.

I take the opportunity to turn on the projector. Meanwhile, Chiara has placed a delicious spread of coffee, cookies, and cakes on the table.

“None of your fans can forget that scene.” I point toward the image of said moment. “I think it would be an amazing idea to include this in the wedding decor somehow.” I show them the next slide, with ideas on using that image on the invitation cards, table setting, and gift packaging.

I move to the next slides, which have images of previous weddings we’ve had at the inn and my proposals on what we can change for their celebration. An hour passes, and Andy and Maya ask numerous questions while sipping their coffee. Every time I tell them how we can personalize it to them, there’s a shine in Maya’s eyes that boosts my confidence.

God! They’re seriously considering the inn.

“What do you think?” I place the laser pointer on the table.

“This is all so impressive, Autumn. We weren’t expecting you to be so thorough on the first meeting.” Maya’s excitement is contagious. “Looking at all your plans, I can’t wait to get married.” She glances back at Andy, and when he gives her a subtle nod, she smiles. “We’d like to book the inn.”

I almost gasp. “You…don’t want to discuss…amongst yourselves?”

Is this really happening so easily?

Maya shakes her head. “You understood my plan for the wedding better than any other wedding planner possibly could. I want small but memorable. That’s it.”

“The only issue is to ensure that we don’t have unwanted media at your doorstep.” Andy looks between Lukas and me. There’s a seriousness on his face I’ve never seen on stage. “From what I hear, small towns are notorious for not being able to keep a secret.”

“You’ve heard perfectly right,” Chiara chirps. “Plus, there are already rumors that you’re interested in a small-town wedding. I won’t be surprised if our mayor has been working on some secret project to lure Maddy into Cherrywood.”

“Really?” Maya giggles, not realizing that Chiara is probably right. Mayor Harlow Cole is usually a woman on a mission, especially when it comes to our town’s gaining popularity.

“Are you bringing your own security?” Lukas asks.

Security? I hadn’t even considered it.

“We’ll bring some of our security, but we’re also in talks with a company in the area. They usually work in high-risk cases, but for us, they’re making an exception,” Andy comments, and in that same moment, Lukas’ phone vibrates on the table.

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