“So we’re in the middle of eating in this massive dining room where the table could have easily fit fifty people and…”
“What did she serve?”
“Um…what?”
“The brunch?” Josie prompted. “What did she serve?”
“Oh, um…we had lobster eggs Benedict, fresh fruit, and chocolate croissants. Very yummy.”
“Nice. Okay, go on.”
“We were eating, and she was going on and on and on about how fabulous her life is when somewhere in the house, people start yelling. Like seriously arguing.”
Josie’s eyes went wide as she smiled. “Who was it?”
“Apparently, the groom has two older brothers. One is married and–according to Charlene–the nicest guy in the world. But the other brother…”
“Was the one arguing, right?” she asked excitedly.
Nodding, Leanna couldn’t help but laugh. “Yup. Things are supposedly so hostile, that he’s not part of the bridal party.”
“Yikes.”
Nodding again, she went on. “So they broke the news to him Sunday morning that he was out of the bridal party, but then the father chimed in that he was still expected to be at the wedding and all the wedding and pre-wedding festivities! And on top of that, he has to be on his best behavior or they’re going to fire him from the family business!”
“No!”
“Uh-huh!” Lea said, her heart beating a little faster just like it had at brunch. “I asked Charlene about it because…you know…we were overhearing everything, and she told me that she wanted five minutes alone with him to threaten him that if he did even the tiniest thing to ruin anything, that she’d personally lead the charge to have him thrown off the property!” Shaking her head, she sighed. “At that point, I kind of felt bad for the guy.”
“That’s because you never like to believe anyone is bad and believe me, sometimes, people are. It sounds like this guy sure is. If the entire family is ready to throw his ass away like this, then you know it’s serious.”
“Yeah, but…maybe he has his reasons! Maybe if someone just…”
Josie held up a hand to stop her. “Don’t. Just…don’t.”
“I’m just saying…sometimes people are misunderstood!”
“Don’t get involved, Lea! This whole weekend is going to be enough of a circus without you getting involved in their messed-up family dynamic. Go and do the cupcakes, and the goodie boxes, and whatever else, and steer clear of this brother person.”
“It’s not like I was going to actively seek him out or anything. And besides, I don’t even know what he looks like. There was a lot of yelling, but no one came near the dining room.” She shook her head and laughed softly again. “Seriously, the house is so big, I could have walked around it for hours and never found where the fighting was coming from.”
“Sounds like they’re going to need the room for this whole weekend party. Where’s the wedding going to be?”
“Their signature hotel–the very first one they built–is located just outside of Charlotte. It’s a massive hotel and golf resort and, according to my cousin, it’s the most magnificent place for a wedding.”
Rolling her eyes, Josie snorted. “Please. We hear that from every bride, don’t we? She just loves it because that’s where she’s getting married and I’m sure they’re bending over backwards for her.”
“Probably.”
“And you’re just doing the cake for that?”
“Unfortunately,” she murmured.
“Lea, it’s okay if you tell her you can’t do it. After all, it’s three hours away. That’s a lot to ask when you’re transporting a cake for five hundred people.”
“I know, but if I don’t do it, my family is going to throw a lot of guilt my way. As it is, I’m already hearing the usual remarks because I’m not bringing a date to the whole weekend thing.”
“Sadly, that’s nothing new either, and I’m sorry. The good news is you can hide out in the trailer and ignore them and pretend that you’ve got way too much work to be socializing at the party.”
“That was my plan,” she admitted and felt her cheeks heat. “I’m such a coward where my family is concerned.”
“I think we all are in our own way.”
They grew silent, but it didn’t last for long because Skylar came breezing into the room carrying two giant gift bags and smiling from ear to ear.
“I’m back!” she cried happily, arms in the air.
After that it was nothing but squeals of happiness and lots of hugs for several minutes and it was exactly what Leanna needed. Maybe listening to her best friend gush about how lucky she was to finally marry the man of her dreams was exactly what Lea needed to snap her out of her own funk.
And maybe if she was really lucky, this engagement party wouldn’t be the nightmare she was already envisioning it’d be.
The phone beside him chirped with yet another reminder that he was expected in hell in one hour.
Okay, technically he wasn’t going to hell–not yet anyway–but his brother’s marathon engagement party was pretty damn close.
Reaching for the phone, Brody King dismissed the reminder as he leaned back in his desk chair and groaned. There were a million other things he’d rather be doing than spending four days celebrating with his family and two hundred of their closest friends.
Hell would be preferable.
Raking a hand through his dark hair, he blew out a long breath. As much as he needed to get going, he knew he needed to get into the right mindset first. He’d already been warned numerous times that he had better be on his best behavior every second of every day of this ridiculous four-day engagement party.
“Why does anyone need that long of a celebration?” he murmured, even as he felt his blood pressure rising.
The whole thing was just beyond crazy to him. And to make matters worse, he was being attacked for simply being honest.
Well, his brother had called him a rude and callous jackass, but Brody preferred to call himself truthful.
For starters, no one needed a four-day engagement party.
And no one needed to create such a spectacle and waste so much money in the process.
But the straw that broke the camel’s back for him was the fact that this was all taking away from time that would be better spent at work. They ran a billion-dollar business and in order to keep it that way, someone actually needed to work.
Something his baby brother couldn’t seem to grasp.
Ever.
An extended weekend may not seem like much to most people, but to Brody, time was money, and four days of pointless celebrating was going to grate on his last nerve.
Sooner rather than later.
Brody knew he was the workaholic in the family. His grandfather started King Hospitality more than fifty years ago. Then his father joined him and they branched out into corporate convention centers and took their business across the U.S. Once Brody was old enough to join the team, he took them global.
Maybe it was middle-child syndrome, but he always felt the need to work as hard as he could to stand out–to make an impact. His family didn’t mind when he was making them millions, but as soon as he speaks up against something his brothers are doing, suddenly he’s the problem.