Free Best Laid Plans (Dearly Beloved) by Silver James

Chapter 1
    Never, in twenty-plus years of wedding planning, had Claire Vitale considered advising the bride and groom to elope. Not once. Until now. She’d faced down her share of mothers-of-the-bride, but this time it was the bride’s father who had her chugging liquid antacid like champagne. Claire was pretty sure her expression mirrored the look of horror plastered on the bride-to-be’s face.
    “You want me to wear a what?” The bride’s voice rose two full octaves.
    “Now, Laurel.” Nicholas Grant looked ready to steamroll over his daughter’s protests.
    Claire stepped into the breach since Laurel didn’t have a mother to stand up for her. “Mr. Grant, I think you should consider your daughter’s wishes. This is her wedding.”
    Gray eyes pinned her to the spot and she was once again reminded why the name Nicholas Grant was feared in boardrooms across the country. Though he was a formidable opponent, she had only to glance at the tears pooling in Laurel’s eyes to straighten up to her full height—all five feet three inches of it—prepared to do battle.
    “This is a business decision, Ms. Vitale. As Mr. Yuzuki and his associates will be attending, it will be beneficial to present them with a traditional Japanese wedding.”
    Laurel burst into tears and fled the room while Claire simply stared at the man across the dining room table. Elopement sounded better and better. A destination wedding—for the bride, groom, and maybe their attendants. At this point, she was considering reimbursing her fee to Laurel to help pay for it. She was simply appalled at the man’s apparent lack of consideration. Claire’s cheeks radiated heat as her temper flared.
    “A business decision? A business decision?” She inhaled and clenched her hands into fists to help steady her voice. “No, Mr. Grant. This is most definitely not going to be a business decision. This is your daughter’s wedding. Her special day—the one little girls dream about their whole lives. You have meddled, pushed, and bullied Laurel to the point I wouldn’t be surprised if she called off the whole wretched affair.”
    Her dander was up now and she stalked around the table to confront him. “You have changed her plans five times now, Mr. Grant. You’ve changed the venue, the menu, the dress, and the bridesmaids. You didn’t like the band. You didn’t like any of the six caterers we previously contracted. Not once have you considered what Laurel wants.”
    “What Laurel wants is irrel—”
    “Do. Not. Go. There.” She bit off each word. Claire stabbed her index finger into his chest for emphasis, surprised it didn’t bounce off his stiffly starched Egyptian cotton dress shirt. “Laurel is your only child—your daughter. She’s a wonderful young woman who happens to want a fairy tale wedding, not a business merger.”
    Claire paused for breath, noting his eyes had gone battleship gray. Well, that was certainly fitting under the circumstances.
    “Who are you to presume to speak to me like this?”
    She poked him again. “ I am the wedding planner. I am the one—the only one apparently—concerned with ensuring Laurel has a wonderful wedding. Dealing with the groom’s mother has been a piece of cake compared to what I’ve put up with from you.”
    “I hired you. I can fire you.”
    “Really? You went there? Honestly, Mr. Grant, do you want to play that card?” She tilted her chin up almost daring him to carry through with his threat. She stared. He stared back. And blinked first.
    Claire resisted the urge to fist pump. “Your daughter hired me for my expertise, Mr. Grant. She is my client. You may ultimately sign the checks, but I work for her. I want to be very clear on that.”
    He opened his mouth but then snapped his jaw shut before any words spilled out.
    Claire inhaled and stepped back so she didn’t get a crick in her neck from glaring up at him. He was too tall for her own good. And handsome, if she’d let herself think