TrentI wasn’t the least bit nervous. I chalked it up to being an experienced groom. If other couples knew how much easier and how less stressful it was to have the wedding a couple of months after being married, everyone would do it. I didn’t have any wedding day jitters, and I wasn’t worried the family would hate me or the bride would be a wreck.It was easy-peasy. Sade and I had opted to stay apart last night just to make the day a little more special. Her mother had insisted on it, and I was happy to go along with the plan.I had yet to see Sade’s dress. She refused to give me any details about it and often teased it was a red dress. I told her to wear whatever she wanted, but I was secretly hoping for something traditional.I walked into position in front of the archway, which was actually a pergola covered in lush green ferns at the English Garden in Wolf Lakes Park. Sade and I had searched for the perfect place to hold the ceremony. It had taken Khloe’s very impressive negotiat
TrentKhloe approached us. “Too much?” she asked.Sade wiped a tear from her eye. “I love you. You are amazing. Thank you.”I nodded. “Yes, thank you. This is absolutely stunning. I could have never imagined it could look like this. Truly, thank you.”“The photographer was in earlier,” she said. “The one for the brochure.” “Perfect, thanks,” I said still in disbelief.“I think you two are supposed to be heading to the front for your little introduction,” she said, shooing us away.We spent the next two hours dancing and mingling with our guests. Justin approached me at one point and asked to talk with me in private. I was immediately on guard.“What’s going on?” I asked him in the hall outside the ballroom.“I wasn’t thrilled that the two of you ran off and got married without a word to anyone,” he started.“I’m really sorry about that.”“I know you are. I want to thank you for taking such good care of my little girl. I couldn’t have asked for a better son-in-law. Welcome to the fami
TrentI bounced my pencil up and down on the blank paper in front of me. I liked being old school. I liked jotting things down. My iPad was on the table as well, but my big, meaty fingers made it difficult to push the ridiculously small buttons. I jotted things down, and my secretary took care of making it into a document.I reached my hand up, tugging at the tie choking me. It wasn’t anything I would ever get used to. I liked the look, but damn, I hated the feeling. “Will you stop?” my friend and right-hand man, Richie, growled.I looked up at him and grinned. “Was I bugging you?”“You know you are,” he said. “Why in the hell do you insist on writing stuff down? Welcome to the twenty-first century. Grab that damn tablet and put it to use.”“Technically, I haven’t written anything down,” I retorted.“We need to get this figured out,” he said in a serious tone. “Shit is about to get real. If we beat last year’s occupancy levels like we’ve predicted, we need to be ready. We can’t affo
TrentI walked through the grand lobby of my hotel, smiling and nodding at the guests. The doorman opened the door for me, and my car was waiting. I got into the backseat, still smiling and looking like the well put together man I was supposed to be.“Home, sir?” Bentley asked from the driver’s seat.“Yes, please,” I murmured, rubbing my right knee. The damn thing had been acting up again. I hated letting anyone know I was in pain.“Doing those exercises?” Bentley asked, his eyes meeting mine in the mirror.I considered lying but knew he would know better. “No.”He shook his head. “Man, you know you need to do the exercises.”“I know. I will. It’s just been kind of a busy few weeks.”I hated complaining to someone like Bentley. I rubbed the knee again before leaning back against the headrest. I looked out the window, watching the tourists roll their luggage, wrangle kids, and take pictures, all at the same time. I liked living in a town where people loved to visit. It made me feel luc
SadeI walked across the wide expanse of floor between the front door and the reception desk of the hotel. It seemed like a ridiculous waste of space. It was all very grand and remarkably affordable. Expensive, but affordable. We’d been saving all year with this trip in mind. Now that it was finally happening, I couldn’t believe it.“Sade, come on,” Julia said, turning to look back at me.“I can’t help it,” I said with total amazement. “Look at this place.”“I know. It’s gorgeous, but we’re here to see the lake, not the lobby. Come on.” Julia stomped her foot, her sandals clicking against the hard floor.I picked up the pace, joining Julia and Khloe at the counter. I stared at the receptionist, smiling brightly until Julia elbowed me.“Oh, uh, we—I mean I—I have the suite reserved under Sade Jones,” I said, remembering Julia had used my name with only me on the reservation.The woman leaned forward. “We don’t charge extra for people in the suite,” she said in a low voice, winking and
Sade“Who’s coming?” Julia asked.“Him,” I whispered, glancing up to see if he’d changed course.He hadn’t. He was weaving around tables and shaking hands with guests as he made his way toward our table. I noticed he had a slight limp but didn’t get the chance to think much more about it. He stopped behind Julia and Khloe, a hand on the backs of each of their chairs and his eyes on me.I was melting. I was absolutely melting into a mushy pile of goo under the gaze of the prettiest eyes I had ever seen. He smiled, and the perfectly straight white teeth practically blinded me, looking whiter against his tanned skin.“Good afternoon, ladies,” he said in a voice as smooth as honey.Yep. Died. Melted and died.I couldn’t speak. I could only stare. I felt so ridiculous, but my brain and mouth had a total disconnect, and words failed me.“Hi,” Julia said in her typical upbeat voice. She really worked the blonde thing and was almost always perky.“Hello,” he said, his eyes still on mine.“Hi,
TrentI hadn’t been able to stop smiling since I’d first laid eyes on the beautiful young woman who’d been unable to stop staring at me. I had the same problem, except I had a little more self-awareness and realized I was openly staring at her, so I pulled my eyes away. Briefly, but away all the same.She was stunning. There was something about her that drew me in. It was like a magnetic pull that I was helpless to ignore.I found myself standing at her table, openly gazing at her before I remembered who I was and where I was. I couldn’t remember ever seeing a woman that I was that attracted to. Her friends were pretty in the traditional sense, but the woman who’d caught my eye was my kind of pretty.She had a natural beauty to her that matched the natural curves. She was radiant and glowing, and I wished like hell I could have seen her standing up. I was imagining round hips to go with the round breasts. I imagined she’d have the classic hourglass figure that men drooled over back in
TrentI held up my hand, stopping Richie’s boasting about his bedroom habits before he could get started. “Linens. Are they ordered?”“Yes.”“Good. Are we set for the happy hour tomorrow?”He nodded again. “Yes. We have extra servers on hand and a shitload of champagne. I hope this extra expense is worth it. You’ll see the invoice for the champagne in that stack. I suggest you be sitting down when you look at it.”“It’s okay,” I said. “You have to spend money to make money. I want people to feel like they are getting luxury treatment. I want them to feel like their hard-earned money is appreciated and we’re not only a reasonably priced hotel, but we also have all the little extras that the five-star places offer.”He didn’t look convinced. “We’re not exactly running a dive here. We’re right up there with the five-star places.”“Yes, but we’re not there. My goal is to be at the top. I want people waiting to get into this place. I want them settling for the others. Right now, we’re prob