If only Marcel wasn’t so old-fashioned as to think Claire needed a man to help her “handle the business.” But his stipulations had always been clear, and even with his encroaching dementia—which he was far too proud to admit to—he’d never consent to their marriage if he thought Claire planned to divorce after a year or two.
That wasn’t their plan, of course. Much as he might not believe in lasting love, Derek had every intention of honoring his marriage vows.
He scrubbed a hand across his face. “You can count on me.”
Claire placed a hand on his cheek and smiled. “And that is why I’m prepared to tie my life to yours. You are the most trustworthy man I know. I am confident you will not fail us.”
Derek’s chest may not swell with love at Claire’s words, but they filled him with some sort of peace all the same.
Until his eyes swung toward Ashley, who wrote something on her clipboard. The light from the sun setting outside the window framed her, making her hair glow like some ethereal being.
He forced down the acid clawing at his throat and gripped the binder until his fingers hurt. Leaning over, he kissed Claire on the temple. “Do you need me to drive you to the airport?”
“Non. You are needed here. I will ask one of your sisters or call a taxi. But is it all right if I drive the car back to the vineyard? You can find a ride back?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Merci.” She stepped toward Ashley and cleared her throat.
Ash looked up from her notes. “Everything okay?”
“Unfortunately, I need to leave town for a while. I’m not sure when I will return. Derek will handle the planning while I am gone. I trust this will not be a problem?”
“N-no. Of course not.” Ashley sounded about as sure as Derek.
“Wonderful. Please do not hesitate to call me if you do need something.” Claire tapped her nails together. “I have purchased a wedding dress at the boutique in town, and they’ve assured me it will be ready for alterations in three to four weeks. Other than that, I will trust you both to do wonders in the short time.”
“Of course.” Ashley stood and held out her hand, which Claire shook. “Derek and I will make sure you both have the best wedding in the world.”
Yes, they would. Working with the woman he used to love to plan a wedding with the woman he pretended to love was a small price to pay for a secure future for his entire family.
It would be simple. Derek just had to keep his eyes on the prize.
And off of Ashley Baker.
This was a disaster.
Thirty minutes into planning Derek’s wedding without Claire there to assist, and his one-word answers were about to drive Ashley batty.
She ran her tongue over her teeth and exhaled slowly as she studied her checklist. “Do you have the guest list finalized yet? We really need to send the invites out ASAP.”
At Derek’s blank look, she sighed. “Remember when we met last week? You guys picked out the invitations you wanted, and the printer did a rush order. But I need to forward the guest list so we can get them addressed.”
“I’m not sure if it’s finalized yet.” Derek checked his watch for the millionth time and shifted in his seat.
Did the man really want to be out of her presence so badly? Why?
One thing was certain. Their friendship had clearly meant more to her than it had to him.
“Use that anger to make him sorry.” Aunt Jules’s words from last weekend ran through her mind. Ashley had every right to be angry, and in some ways, she was. But mostly, there was a yawning emptiness where their friendship had once taken up space in her heart—and oh, if she could only fill it again.
A sound stirred from Kyle’s office in the back. He’d yet to emerge from his own client meeting. When he did, she didn’t want him to see how stressed this whole thing was making her. She just needed to stay focused on what she wanted—and that was a phenomenal event that would prove to him she should get the business.
All she had to do was forget who the event was for and everything would be hunky-dory.
Ashley reached for the binder sitting open in front of Derek. “May I?”
Without a word, he slid it across the table. “Be my guest. I have no idea what that thing holds or how it’s organized.”
“I gathered as much.” Shooting him a wry grin, she started to flip through the hundreds of sheet-protected magazine pages and printed lists. Finally, her eyes stopped on what she needed. “Here’s the list. Can you text or call Claire and make sure it’s the final one? And get her to send it digitally?”
“Sure.” He didn’t move to write it down.
Oh brother. Ashley picked up her phone and shot off a text reminder.
Derek’s phone buzzed on the table and he glanced down at it, quirking a brow when he saw her message. “Thanks.”
“Nice to know your phone works after all.” Ooo, she should not have said that. Before she could gauge his reaction, Ashley hurried on. “Next, let’s talk flowers.”
“I’m sorry, but is there any way I can just … I don’t know, leave that with you, and then you can call or text if you have specific questions?” Derek ran a hand along the back of his neck. “You’ll probably get way more information from that binder than from me. I have no idea what Claire wants.” He grimaced. “For the wedding, I mean.”
“Didn’t you guys talk about this?”
“I can’t be the only groom in the world who doesn’t care about the wedding details.”
“No, but usually the bride has talked the groom’s ear off about them enough that he has some clue.” What was their story, anyway? It hadn’t escaped her notice that when she’d asked Claire
