All Tied Up - Ali Parker Page 0,2

one of her morning outfits: a powder-pink robe down to her ankles trimmed in lace and feathers, matching slide-on slippers, and a silk hair wrap tied in a bow near her right ear to keep her long shiny dark hair off her face.

“Good morning, sweetheart.” I met my fiancée with a kiss and handed her a mug of piping hot coffee.

Verity took a sip and let out a soft moan of contentment. “Morning, handsome. Thank you for the coffee.”

We moved to the kitchen nook where Chessie waited patiently for us. We took our seats and began passing around the plate of bacon and then the pancakes, which we all buttered. Verity only took one pancake and two pieces of bacon. She’d been very mindful of her diet these past six months, insisting that she needed to stay trim to fit into her dress. But some things were harder for her to say no to than others.

Like pasta.

We hadn’t eaten pasta in months simply to spare her the torture of not being able to enjoy it with us. I wished she wouldn’t be so hard on herself. She was an incredibly beautiful woman and she would make an incredibly beautiful bride.

“Did you have a good sleep?” I asked.

Verity nodded as she poured a light drizzle of syrup over her small pancake. “I did. You?”

“Very good.”

Chessie crammed a giant bite into her mouth. Syrup dribbled down her chin.

“I’m going to be gone most of the day, Rick,” Verity said. “I have a lot of running around to do. I have to pick up some new outfits for our visit to Hawaii. I ordered some shoes as well. And jewelry. I probably won’t be home until around seven o’clock.”

“We can have dinner together,” I suggested.

“Sure. But no carbs. Please. This is already too much.”

“Your wish is my command.”

Verity took a dainty bite and licked her lips. She washed it down with a sip of coffee. “Have you talked to the wedding planner recently? She hasn’t responded to my last email. There are things I need to discuss with her. Important, time-sensitive things.”

“Kim will be meeting us in Honolulu. We’ll have a chance to speak with her in person.”

Verity nodded. “You know, I know she came highly recommended, but I must say it might have been wiser to opt for someone with a more worldly resume.”

“Worldly?” I asked.

“Yes. Someone who’s worked with bigger clientele. Like Jeffrey Baxter. That man is an absolute genius. He knows the trends in and out and he never would have made me wait forty-eight hours to respond to a message.”

“Kim has other clients,” I reminded my bride-to-be. “But she’s done great work for us. She’s very good at what she does.”

“If you say so,” Verity said.

I smiled at my daughter, who had made it halfway through her stack of pancakes. She had chocolate on her lips. “How is it, kiddo?”

Chessie nodded. “Good.”

“Rick,” Verity said. “Can you make sure they have real champagne on the flight this time? That stuff we had on our last flight wasn’t even drinkable.”

“Consider it done.”

“Thank you.” Verity slid her hand across the table and put it over mine, squeezing gently. “You take such good care of me.”

I rubbed Chessie’s shoulder with my other hand. “I’ll always take care of my girls.”

Chapter 2

Kimberly

The waves lapped gently at the sand beneath the patio where I sat. The sun was dipping low over the ocean, painting the Hawaiian sky pink, orange, and purple, and Christmas lights were strung overhead in elegant loops across the white-beamed ceiling. More lights were wrapped around the balcony railing and I was sure I’d never seen anything quite as beautiful as Christmas lights winking against the backdrop of a Hawaiian sunset.

Of course, it all would have felt a little more magical if my date had been on time and I hadn’t been sitting around like a fool for twenty-five minutes waiting for him to show up.

The servers were getting suspicious that I’d been stood up, so I’d already had to order two drinks so I didn’t feel guilty for hogging a table. This place was desirable and reservation only. If my date didn’t show up soon, I’d probably be asked to either order my meal or leave, and I didn’t need that kind of pressure or humiliation in my life.

I drummed my fingers on the white tablecloth and heaved a dramatic sigh.

How did I keep ending up on lackluster dates like this?

Jackson, I thought sourly. Why did I keep letting him set