Chapter 14
Booker slidthe contracts into his briefcase and shut down his computer. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a vacation. Of course, this one was for a client, so it probably didn’t count.
His assistant passed by the office and did a double take. “Hey.” He came inside. “What’re you doing here?”
“Anita’s contract came in.” The pro golfer was a new client, and her number one priority was getting endorsements. She was fun, vibrant, and damn good at her sport, and he’d come up with a few angles for her. He’d already scored her a credit card commercial. “I’ll read it on the plane.”
“There’s only one flight a day to St. Lucia.” The older man checked his watch. “You’re not going to make it.”
“I’ll make it.” He might not. Wheeling his suitcase to the door, he said, “The car’s waiting.”
His assistant followed him to the elevator, stepping ahead to push the call button. “You want me to follow up with the Canadian kid?”
“No.” He needed to play it cool. Not come off frantic. “I’ll send another message when I get back. It’ll all work out.” Lies. It looked like he’d been ghosted, but he hadn’t come up with a game plan yet.
“What about the Canadian kid?” As if summoned by the biggest potential get of their boutique agency, George appeared out of nowhere.
“Still no response.” He’d been cultivating a relationship with the family for over a year, developing the kid’s natural ability. With the draft six months away, Booker had fully expected them to sign with him, but they’d suddenly gone silent. “Guys, it’s fine. I’m on it.”
“Go straight there from St. Lucia,” George suggested.
Good idea. “I can do that.”
“Great.” George checked the time. “I gotta go. My four o’clock’s here.” His colleague patted his shoulder. “Have a blast at the wedding. I’ll try to get there if I can.”
With a chin nod goodbye, Booker got on the elevator. All four agents were invited, of course, but as a boutique agency, they’d created strict rules to ensure they’d succeed. And they all agreed they couldn’t afford to shut down operations for a client’s wedding.
But, man, he wouldn’t mind the entourage.
Ever since Ginty had signed with the Renegades, Booker had been dealing with his childhood friends. One owned the team, another was the coach, and the third guy was the goalie. Typically, Booker handled business over the phone, but the few times he’d come to town, he’d had to meet them face-to-face.
He wouldn’t lie—it was tough to see their rapport hadn’t changed over the years. The three of them were still close. They’d all gotten married and had kids. The families hung out just the way he’d always imagined.
He dealt with them because of business, but this time, he’d have to hang out at a resort. They had a full schedule of diving, deep sea fishing, paragliding, and spa time. It would’ve helped to have George there.
Whatever.The focus was Ginty’s wedding. His client finally had all the happiness he deserved. A great career, and now, a fiancée who loved him for himself and not his money or fame.
As he headed out of the five-story Murray Hill brick building—a big change from his last job at Elite’s gleaming high rise on Park Avenue—the summer heat smacked him like a wet towel. As soon as he slid inside the town car, he was grateful for the blast of air-conditioning.
The driver took off the moment he closed the door. His grip on the wheel showed how anxious he was to get Booker to the airport on time. Nothing he could do about it now. He pulled out his phone to catch up on missed calls and messages and saw several from Ginty. He quickly called him back.
“Hey.” The hockey player hadn’t sounded that defeated in years.
“What’s up?” Booker tensed. “Everything all right?”
“It’s off. The wedding’s canceled.”
“What’re you talking about?” Whatever happened, Booker would fix it. Ginty had been seeing his fiancée for two years. A country music star, her career was even more high profile than his. She had plenty of money, so the fact that they were still together meant something to the hockey star. They were a damn perfect couple.
“My family sold the wedding details to the press. All the way down to Noa’s wedding dress.”
“How the hell did they find out?” They’d kept everything on the down-low. All the guests had to sign NDAs. “They’re not even invited.”
“Yeah, I’m on that. Believe me. I’m going to figure it out.”
Booker liked seeing this change in his client. In the past, he clung to his relationships with his parents and siblings, but after he moved to Wyoming to play for the Renegades, he slowly changed his perspective. He’d gone no-contact two years ago.
“Those fuckers.” They’d chosen July for a reason. Hockey season was approaching, and Noa was going on tour. Now was the only time they could do it.
“Yeah.”
“So, you’re rescheduling?” Booker asked. “Can you get your money back?”
“I don’t give a fuck about the money. I want to marry her. But no, there’re no refunds at this point.”
Ginty had paid for everything himself. The luxury hotel, the food, drinks, activities—no one had to give a thought to tips or extras.
“I’m sorry.” He meant it. Genuinely. “So, what’s the plan?”
“No plan. She’s leaving soon, and training starts next month.”
The couple had planned the wedding themselves. It had taken a year to get every detail in place. “Well, that’s bullshit.” No way would Booker let them give up. “We’re going to make it happen.”
“I’m not doing a courthouse wedding. Noa deserves to be treated like a queen. I want to watch her sashay her fine ass down the aisle. I want to kiss her in front of everyone and let the world know she’s mine.”
After all his family had put him through, Ginty deserved it. “I’ve got this. Let me plan something.”
“What do you mean?” his client asked.
“I’ll put something together for you. It won’t be as elaborate, but it’ll be good.”
“You know how long it took to put this wedding together?” Ginty asked.
“I do. But I can make something good happen.”
“It’s too late to swerve,” Ginty said. “A lot of people are on their way to the island right now.”
“Okay, maybe we can’t have all hundred and fifty people there, but we can have the people who matter most to you.”
“That would be my teammates and her sisters.”
“Then, it should probably be in Calamity.” His stomach tightened, and that familiar sense of dread washed through him. If he did this, he’d be responsible for contacting all three of his old friends. But he shoved all that nonsense aside. “Come on. Let’s do this.”
His client chuckled.
“What?” Booker asked.
“The maid of honor said the same thing.”
The bride’s friend was an even more famous musician. “Are you serious? Lorelei Calloway’s going to plan your wedding? You should’ve led with that.”
“She’s offered her place, but I didn’t take her up on it.”
“How many people can she accommodate?” Booker asked.
“It’s a huge property. Used to be a camp for, like, scientific study or some shit. Outdoor adventures. It sat on the market for years because it’s in the middle of a national forest, but I guess the remoteness was what she was looking for.”
“By camp, do you mean it has cabins?”
“Yeah, exactly. A lot of them. It’s got everything. Archery and skeet shooting ranges, a fly-fishing river, a spa, and a bonfire pit. This place is wild.”
“You’ve been there?” Booker needed to see this place for himself.
“Sure.”
“Well, what do you think? Will it work for a wedding?” A remote spread in the Tetons was a far cry from St. Lucia. “Does she have staff to help us pull this off?”
“She’s got people, yeah.”
If they had a venue, he was pretty sure they could pull it off. “So, are we doing this? Is this what you want?”
“I don’t know.”
“What’s stopping you?” Booker asked.
“Probably the fact that I’m so pissed at my family I can’t see straight.”
“That’s fair. So, it comes down to this. Do you want to put your wedding off and go through the planning process all over again?”
“Hell, no,” Ginty said.
“We can’t give you St. Lucia, but we can get you married. You down to do this?”
“When you put it that way? Yeah, I am.”
“Then, we’ll make it happen. Text me Lorelei’s number.”
“You’re fuckin’ amazing,” Ginty said. “Thank you.”
As soon as they disconnected, Booker switched his flight from St. Lucia to Calamity, Wyoming. And then he replied to Ginty’s text message.
Booker: Make sure you let her know I’m calling.
Ginty: Will do.
With stop-and-go traffic, it was almost a relief to switch venues. He never would’ve made that flight. He dialed the singer’s number.
It rang three times before a woman gave a breathless, “Hello?”
“Hey. This is Booker Hayes. Ginty’s agent.”
“Funny, he called you a friend, but okay, Booker Hayes. Are we doing this?”
The sound of her voice plucked a chord inside him, but he didn’t know why. Maybe it was the familiarity of her voice. He didn’t listen to pop music, but he’d certainly heard her songs. You’d have to live under a rock not to. “If you’re up for hosting it, then, yeah, we are.”
“I’m up for it, but it’s going to take a lot of work to get it set up in such a short amount of time. We’ve got the space and the beds, though, and I think that’s the important thing.”
“Cool.” He was curious to see this property. “What can I do to help?”
“I’ll let you know when you get here.”
Damn. He liked that. So many people wasted time pretending they didn’t want to bother you. Oh, nothing. It’s fine. I’ve got it. He liked people who didn’t fuck around.
“Right now, I’m in delegating mode,” she said. “I’ve been doing nonstop construction since I moved here, so I’ve just reassigned the guys. The guest cabin bathrooms haven’t been touched since the nineties. My dad and stepmom are heading to Idaho Springs to buy linens and toiletries and all the adult toys?—”
“Whoa. Hang on. Are we talking about the same event? I’m talking about Ginty and Noa’s wedding.”
She burst into laughter. Of course, he knew what she meant. He’d only been joking, but her response made him smile.
“Oh, my God. I meant bows and arrows. Skeet guns. Floaties for the pool. That kind of thing. Although now that you mention it, we could put together some goody bags for the guests. Not a bad idea. I like the way you think.”
“Yeah, that’s a pass on the goody bags. The guests can provide their own after-hours entertainment. It’s probably too soon to ask, but do we know how many guests we can expect?”
“Let me tell you something, Noa works fast. She’s canceled everything and reinvited the must-have people on their list. She’s thinking forty to fifty at the most.”
“Is she as upset as Ginty?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah. For sure. But mostly, she’s just protective of him and hates that his family would screw him over like this.”
“I like that. She’s just what he needs. How do you and Noa know each other?”
“I started out in country music, so I moved to Nashville when I was twelve. She and I were in the same music program together in high school. We drifted apart—hey,”—her voice got muffled as she talked to someone else—“you’re going to break it. Stevie, honey, no. Go see Grampa.” She came back on the line. “Sorry about that. It’s mayhem over here. Anyhow, we drifted apart because I went in a different direction, but we reconnected when I moved to Calamity and she started dating Ginty. I don’t have many people I can trust, but she’s one of the good ones.”
“Yeah, I get that. Once you hit a certain level of fame, you never know who wants you for yourself or your access.”
“Or money. But you can tell, you know? People think they’re so slick, but if you watch their expressions, you can tell.”
Slick. He hadn’t heard that word in a long time. Even after two and a half years, he still had a visceral reaction to it. It sent him back to the cabin. To Hellcat writhing beneath him. Her laughing. Dancing and whisper-singing. Fuck. He forced himself to snap out of it and return to the conversation. “What do you mean?” When the car finally hit Grand Central Parkway, traffic was at a crawl. But that was okay. He had plenty of time for the new flight. And he liked talking to her.
“I’ve learned to pay attention. People come on strong, and you think, wow, we’re really connecting. But it’s in the moments when they think you’re not watching that you see who they are. When they’re bitchy to the waitstaff, or when you look away and their smile disappears.”
“I know what you mean.” He wouldn’t tell her, but that was one of the ways he determined whether a potential client was a good fit. Everyone was friendly and on their best behavior when they wanted to sign with him, but it was how they behaved when they thought he wasn’t watching that mattered.
“And I want to give her a dream wedding. She deserves it. I don’t know how I’ll pull it off, but I’m going to.”
“Don’t forget I’m in this with you. I’m on my way to the airport right now, so as soon as I get to your place, we’ll divide and conquer.”
“I love that. Thank you. That makes me feel like we can really pull this off. We just have to make sure nothing gets leaked. The most important thing for this wedding is keeping it under wraps. Which is why I offered my place. Other than a deserted island, you can’t get more private.”
“That becomes dicey when we start hiring caterers, staff, and landscapers. Once we let the outside world in, the privacy’s over.”
“And that’s exactly why we’re doing everything ourselves. That’s why my dad and stepmom are on their way to Idaho Springs. They’re picking up tablecloths, sheets, blankets, soap dispensers…all the stuff. We’re not going to have any outsiders.”
“We’re cooking meals for forty people?” That didn’t sound feasible.
“I mean, if we have to. But I haven’t figured out all the details yet. I don’t know how well you know Calamity?—”
“I grew up there. I know it well.”
“Yeah, so, you know the locals couldn’t care less about celebrities,” she said.
“You just don’t want the paparazzi camping out in the woods with drones and flying over in helicopters.”
“That’s exactly right. It’s no secret I live here, and people are very respectful. Of course, it helps that I’ve retired and haven’t performed in three years, but still. I try to keep a low profile.”
“I got you. We’ll handle as much as we can ourselves. It’s just a wedding. A few nights. How hard can it be?”
“Well, we’re starting with nothing. Noa can’t wear her wedding dress because the designer shipped it directly to the resort.”
Okay, that was a problem. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“As soon as I get off the phone with you, I’m calling a well-known designer who lives in town. She makes dresses to die for. It’ll have to be off the rack, but hopefully, she can make quick alterations and turn it into Noa’s dream dress.”
“When you have a minute, make a list. That way, I can take some things off your hands.”
“Let’s forever remember this as the moment I fell madly in love with you. Thank you for that. Hey.” Again, she lowered the phone. “And this is why we can’t have nice things.” Her voice was muffled as she spoke to someone else. “Here, can you take this? Thanks.” She came back to him with an exaggerated sigh. “You sure you want to join my circus?”
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
And strangely, he meant it.