Wedding Promises. Jennifer Faye

than her own father and stepmother, despite Melissa’s insistence on stylists for them both for the week.

      ‘This is the worst Meet the Parents evening ever,’ she murmured back, and Dan flashed her a quick smile.

      ‘And we’re only halfway there.’

      Halfway. That was something. She’d survived her own parents—with Dan at her side had done more than just survive. She’d left on her own terms and with the upper hand—something she wasn’t sure had ever happened before in the history of her relationship with them.

      Now she owed Dan the same.

      ‘Mother. Father.’ Dan gave Laurel the slightest push so she stood half in front of him. ‘I’d like you to meet my girlfriend—Laurel.’

      There was no hesitation in his speech, no hitching of his voice over the lie. He seemed perfectly comfortable introducing an almost total stranger to his parents as his one and only love. Maybe she should be a little more concerned about sharing a bedroom—and a fake relationship—with such a consummate liar.

      But Dan’s parents’ attention was entirely on her, and there was no more time to worry about it. It was time to put on the show.

      ‘Laurel, these are my parents—Wendell and Linda Black.’

      ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you both at last,’ Laurel said, pasting on her prettiest smile. ‘Dan’s told me so much about you, and of course we’ve been in touch over the wedding planning.’ She just hoped they didn’t ask exactly what he’d said about them, since the sum total of her knowledge of them was their names and what she’d scribbled down in her notebook when Melissa had been running through the guest list.

      ‘You’re the organiser woman,’ Wendell said, clicking his fingers. ‘Of course! All those detailed schedules and flight plan options. Well, Dan, I have to say, she’s not your usual type!’

      ‘Which can only be an advantage, I suppose,’ Linda added drily.

      She scrutinised Laurel so closely that she felt almost as if she were on a doctor’s examination table.

      ‘So. You’re a wedding planner.’

      ‘She owns the business organising Riley and Melissa’s wedding,’ Dan corrected her, before Laurel could answer. ‘The biggest celebrity wedding of the year. Quite the coup, I’m sure you’ll agree.’

      ‘Unless your sister is the bride,’ Linda said, and Laurel gritted her teeth.

      Melissa being her sister had only made this job harder, not easier, and the truth was she’d done an amazing job in difficult circumstances. Somehow, she didn’t think Dan’s parents were the sort of people to appreciate that.

      ‘So, you purposely set out to build a business that...organises people’s weddings for them?’ Wendell was frowning, as if he couldn’t quite make sense of the idea. ‘Why? I mean, you’re obviously a bright young woman. You’d have to be good with details and planning to pull off this sort of affair. Why not use your talents somewhere they could really matter?’

      ‘Maybe you were wrong, Wendell,’ Linda put it. ‘Seems like she’s just like Dan after all.’

      Beside her Laurel felt Dan stiffen, and wondered how many times they’d said the same thing to him. That he was wasting his time doing what he loved, running the company he’d built from the ground up all by himself. That his success didn’t matter because he wasn’t doing something they approved of. That he was wasting his time on something unimportant.

      Did they feel the same way about Riley? Or was his celebrity status enough of an achievement to avoid their censure?

      Dan hadn’t spoken, and when she glanced up at him his expression was stone-like, flat and hard and unyielding. She hoped the glass stem of his champagne flute was strong, given the tight grip he seemed to have on it.

      Time for her to return the parental put-down for him.

      ‘You’re both doctors, aren’t you?’ she asked, still smiling sweetly. ‘Very successful and famous ones, by all accounts.’

      ‘That’s right,’ Wendell said, puffed up with his own pride.

      Linda nodded a little more cautiously.

      ‘I think that’s marvellous,’ Laurel said honestly. ‘I think it’s wonderful that your natural talents have led you to a field where you can make such a difference in the world. I think it’s so important for everyone to follow their natural talents, wherever they lead, don’t you?’

      ‘I suppose so,’ Wendell agreed, but he was frowning as he spoke.

      ‘Some talents are obviously more valuable than others, though,’ Linda added.

      Laurel tilted her head to the side. ‘Do you really think so? I’ve always believed that every talent is equally valid and valuable. I mean, imagine if everyone in the world only possessed the same sort of talent! If we were all doctors there’d be no one left to do anything else. You’d suddenly find yourselves spending your whole days learning how to design a car, or having to clean your own home, or write your own books to read—and have no time left for medicine at all.’

      ‘Well, I hardly think that’s going to happen.’

      Linda folded her arms over her chest, and for a moment Laurel wondered if she was simply going to walk away from her. But she didn’t. Whether it was politeness or morbid curiosity, she was going to wait and see where Laurel was going with this.

      Good.

      ‘Of course not,’ Laurel agreed. ‘Not everyone is going to be a doctor. Or a wedding planner, for that matter. But the thing is, the people I organise weddings for...quite often they’re not good at the same things as me. They’re not good at the details, or the inspiration, or the planning. I can take that off their shoulders so they can get on with what they are good at—whether that’s saving lives, educating children, or starring in movies. And at the same time I get to do what I love—and make a decent living out of it, thank you. So it works for everyone.’

      ‘Not to mention the fact that a wedding can be the most important, memorable day in a person’s life,’ Dan put in. ‘Laurel makes sure that it is perfect for them. She literally makes their memories. I think that’s pretty important, don’t you?’

      He reached out to rest a hand at the small of her back and Laurel froze at the contact, feeling the warmth of his touch snake all the way up her spine. Why on earth had she chosen this dress? Couldn’t she have picked something with a little more fabric? Something that didn’t make her feel as if she was naked in front of his parents?

      Of course when she’d packed it she hadn’t expected to be spending the evening as someone’s girlfriend.

      ‘And the same goes for Dan’s business, of course,’ Laurel added, smiling dotingly up at him. ‘He’s made a hugely successful career out of doing what other people can’t—what they wouldn’t dare to try. I imagine Riley’s career in blockbuster action movies would have been a lot less successful without people like Dan stepping in to do the really wild stuff. Don’t you agree?’

      Even if they did, Laurel was sure Wendell and Linda wouldn’t say so. But sometimes, as she’d found with her parents, just letting them know that their opinion wasn’t the only one was enough. Enough to make her feel a little better about never being quite good enough for them.

      And, from the way Dan’s fingers caressed her spine, she suspected he felt the same.

      Leaning in against his side, she let herself imagine for a moment that this wasn’t an act. That he really was there to support her.

      Wait. That part was true. They might not be a couple, might not be in love, but they were both there to help the other through the week from hell. And suddenly Laurel realised that that might be all she needed after all.

      ‘Linda! Wendell!’