Chapter 5
RYAN
By eleven the next morning, I’d had already lied to three journalists, redirected two photographers, and considered giving myself an honorary degree in damage control from the University of Bullshitting Your Way Out Of It.
It was the day of the big wedding, and while the coordinator was handling the bride and groom, I was handling everyone else.
How I’d ended up playing bodyguard in addition to everything else, I honestly didn’t know.
All I remembered was my mother asking me to talk to a reporter to see if I could get her to feature the wedding on the front page of some magazine, and the next thing I knew, I’d physically put myself between Maggie’s door and Annie from Bride.
“Absolutely. Of course, you’ll get access to her,” I said, smiling as I tried to lean back against the door and crossed my arms. “You’ll get plenty of it later, but for now, the bride needs some space.”
“We would really love some shots of her getting ready, Mr. Thayer,” Annie tried again. “I was hoping for a quick interview as well.”
“You’ll get that too, but later.”
She frowned. “I need Maggie before the ceremony.”
“And you’ll have her.” I stepped forward, right toward her, which forced her to take a few steps back. “Just not right now.”
“When?” she asked.
“Later.”
Her expression hardened, her eyes narrowing to slits, but I didn’t care. Clearly, I’d ticked her off, but she’d live, and there was no way I could let her into that room right now, so I gave her a friendly smile and steered her—as well as the pack of reporters behind her—away from the bridal suite.
“Have you guys seen the flower arrangement by the entrance? It’s wonderful,” I said. “Also, the groomsmen are probably waiting for you, a whole herd of Hawthorne and Pembroke boys.”
Annie huffed out a breath and muttered something I couldn’t hear, but then shook her head and stormed off. One by one, the other journalists followed, all grumbling, but none were quite as upset as her.
The ceremony was an hour away now, and guests were arriving in waves. Luxury vehicles rolled through the gates, several billion dollars’ worth already filling the numerous parking lots scattered around the grounds.
Security checked invitations before each car was waved through. Staff hurried around with clipboards and earpieces. I ventured out toward the beach where the wedding would actually be taking place, sighing when I saw the crowd gathering beyond the barriers.
Why are so many people hoping to catch a glimpse of the wedding?
My best guess was that trying to keep the whole thing private had made every passerby more interested. Fucking fantastic.
“Ryan,” Cliff Pembroke said warmly as he joined me by the window overlooking the beach. “How’s it all going?”
I glanced at Maggie’s father, wondering if he truly believed this match was so great that he would ignore his only daughter’s obvious misery.
On the other hand, if he didn’t think it was great enough to warrant her unhappiness, he would have put a stop to it by now, and since he hadn’t, I just gave him a tight smile.
“So far, so good,” I said. “As far as I know, at least, but my main contribution today has been trying to keep the media out of everyone’s hair. I don’t know much about anything else.”
He chuckled. “Well, the media is a force to be reckoned with. If you’ve managed to keep them at bay, you’ve done us all a massive service. I understand it’s their jobs to cover these kinds of events, and obviously, we’re honored they’re here, but no amount of access is ever enough, is it?”
“No, sir.” I nodded toward the group I was keeping an eye on to make sure they stayed away from Maggie’s room. “Every last person over there was just trying to get into the bridal suite so they could take some pictures of her getting dressed. It’s like they don’t understand the concept of privacy.”
“I suspect they understand it,” he said. “I simply think they don’t always respect it. How did you get roped into this, anyway?”
I gave him my best customer-service smile. “It’s just a favor for my mother. I’ll have hell to pay for it at the office when I get back to New York, but I’d do anything for her.”
He laughed. “If anyone deserves some help on occasion, it’s Nora Thayer. After everything she’s been through…”
When he trailed off, I bristled a little, but I tended to have that reaction when everything we’d been through came up. I fucking hated the stigma attached to our name nowadays, but thankfully, Cliff didn’t continue down that road.
“I think I heard you were in financial acquisitions now, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “I’ve been working under Colin.”
“Ah.” He smiled, looking at the impatient group of reporters who were slowly inching back to the hotel. “So you’ve become a man of many talents, with your skills in media management and wedding planning, and your experience in finance.”
I shrugged. “I’m just trying to help.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll do well in acquisitions. Finance is in your blood.”
My smile faltered even though I knew he hadn’t meant anything by it. It was such a harmless sentence, but I felt it anyway, the proverbial gut punch that came with those words.
My father was in my blood. Half of me came from him, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be proud of that. My father had betrayed his own family on every possible level. He’d taken everything he could from the people who’d trusted him and left the rest of us to live with the consequences.
“Thank you,” I said finally, spotting Alex and Jane near the entrance. “I should go say hi to my sister, but if you see any of those reporters sniffing around, just give me a shout.”
Cliff chuckled and checked his watch. “They should be starting to clamor for seats with the best view any minute now. I think we’re good.”
“Probably,” I agreed, then gave him one last smile before I headed toward my sister and her husband.
They were surrounded by faces I recognized from family dinners in my younger years, boardrooms now that we were clawing our way back to the top, charity events we used to attend, and the society pages that had been staring up at me from newsstands and magazine racks my whole life.
The guest list for this shindig was insane. There was old money and new money, CEOs, politicians, and socialites. Mom had been right on that front. This really was shaping up to be the wedding of the century.
After greeting Jane and Alex, I should’ve gone to find a decent spot to sit with them. Being photographed at this thing was as good as getting an engraved invitation back to the inner circles of power, but instead, I went looking for my mom.
It felt like I had red ants in my veins, urging me to keep moving. There was no way I’d be able to sit still, so I figured I’d check in with her and find something else to do to keep myself busy once she went to sit down.
As I weaved my way around groups who were still being ushered in and those talking in clusters around the grand lobby, I spotted Nora with Daniel and his parents near the hotel bar.
Our family and the Hawthornes had run in the same circles once, before everything had fallen apart, but this was the first time I’d seen Daniel more than just nursing a glass of whiskey.
The guy had always been the calm, in-control type, but right now, he was holding that glass like it was the only thing standing between him and a nervous breakdown. I gave his parents polite nods and quick, firm handshakes but then turned my attention to him.
“How are you doing?”
He laughed. “This is a lot, but I’m dealing.”
I glanced at the whiskey. “Yeah, I can’t blame you.”
“There’s a ton of people here.” He took another sip of his drink, his movements becoming more rigid by the second. “I don’t know at least eighty-five percent of them.”
“That’s how these things go, right?” I clapped his shoulder. “You’re going to be great.”
He gave me a tense nod. “Yeah, of course. Yes.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“No. Yes. I’m fine.” He sighed, immediately following it up with another sip of his drink. Then he looked around, winced, and brought his gaze back to mine. “Hey, if you want in on this whole marriage scheme thing, you should talk to my dad and Maggie’s. They’re pretty efficient about it.”
I chuckled. “Thanks, man, but I’m good.”
Before he could respond, the wedding coordinator appeared and tapped him on the shoulder. “Daniel, we’re ready for you.”
He tossed back his whiskey and straightened his sleeves before glancing back at me. “Wish me luck.”
“I thought you were fine.”
He winked. “Maybe I lied, but I’ll see you out there.”
“See you.” I watched him go, left with the distinct feeling that something was off. I didn’t know what, but I really didn’t like it. A long time ago, I’d learned to trust my gut, and right now, it was screaming.
The guests were all settling into their seats though, so I went and found my place too, watching for the moment she would appear. When the music started, Cathy Cavendash practically sprinted down the aisle, followed shortly by the rest of the bridesmaids.
One by one, they made their way toward Daniel and the guys. At least he looked calm now. Maybe even a little bit bored. I guessed the whiskey had mellowed him out a bit.
When the last bridesmaid reached the end of the aisle, the music changed and we all rose for the bride. Daniel looked toward the entrance, but nothing happened. I twisted in my seat too, that nagging in my gut so bad now that it felt like it was setting the red ants in my blood on fire.
Her music kept playing, but when the song finally ended, she still hadn’t arrived. Daniel didn’t look particularly surprised, but hundreds of people were waiting in utter silence, staring at the empty doorway where Maggie Pembroke was supposed to appear, but she wasn’t there.
That bad feeling I’d been trying to ignore finally became a fact. Maggie had pulled the same stunt she had on her thirteenth birthday. I knew it all the way down to the marrow of my bones.
Instead of making her grand entrance like she was supposed to, the little princess had run.