Temptation on Ocean Drive - Jennifer Probst Page 0,16

asked, his hands clenching involuntarily into fists.

“Oh. My. God,” Avery breathed, blinking furiously. She shook her head and stared at Bella. “We’re in trouble. Big-ass trouble.”

“Would you stop being cryptic and tell us?” Taylor demanded with her usual impatience. “Spill.”

“Did you tell Adele Butterstein that we would handle her wedding?” Avery asked, glancing back and forth between Gabe and Bella.

“Who’s that?” he asked. His mind spun to grasp the name the same time his gut lurched with impending disaster.

Avery narrowed her gaze. “The famous New York City heiress. The one who inherited the City Skyline publishing empire and only wanted to run the children’s arm of the company, so she gifted her shares to close friends and family to run it instead? The one who’s worth billions and has a bigger social media following than Taylor Swift?”

Bella gasped. “Wait—and she’s marrying that big executive over at Tesla?”

“Whose name is . . . Edward,” he said, meeting Bella’s stare. The implication of that innocent conversation at the Royal brunch washed over him like doomsday. “Oh, shit.”

“Bella. Gabe. Is this the woman who wanted you to plan her wedding this March? With the theme of Dr. Seuss?” Avery turned the screen around, and right there, in Technicolor, was Adele, the one they’d spoken to at the Royals’ wedding.

Dead quiet blanketed the room.

Then Taylor burst out laughing, her fist helplessly hitting the sleek conference table with glee. “You guys are so fucked!”

Oh, they were.

They really, really were.

After coffee refills and bumping some appointments so they could extend the morning meeting, Bella sat with Gabe and Avery, discussing the options. Taylor had left the room, still laughing.

Within minutes of the story breaking, Eloise Royal had sent a long text about her famous second cousin and how happy she was that the wedding was finally in good hands. Then Adele’s assistant reached out, warning Bella of the massive amount of spreadsheets, pictures, and contact lists she’d gathered to send over so they could start working on the wedding ASAP. The reception venue left a message, asking for direction on setup, catering, and a thousand other details. Immediately, they were trapped in a nightmare situation and had no idea how to get out of it.

“If we take on this wedding and fail, our reputation will be ruined,” Bella said. They’d worked so hard to build up a successful business; she hated the idea that one impulsive heiress could slander them while the world watched. “We need to decline and say it was a misunderstanding. I’ll talk to Eloise about it and explain.”

Avery shook her head. “It’s too late. Even if we didn’t sign a contract, Adele believes we verbally took on the gig, so if we try and back out, it will look worse. Our best bet is to clear all decks and make sure this wedding is perfect.”

“Is this even a possibility with our current schedule?” she asked. “We’d need to be in New York and deal with new vendors. It’s a huge undertaking, not to mention the pressure of the press. I think this is a mistake.”

“It’s definitely a gamble,” Avery said, biting her lip. “But her assistant got the go-ahead to accept any late-planning fee we billed. She said price is no object, so we can double our normal charges for the inconvenience. The profit we’d make will give us a huge cushion for when Taylor leaves.”

Dammit, she knew how important financial security was to all of them in this business. But when she thought of the risk, it still seemed better to say no.

Avery stared at Gabe. “What do you think?”

Bella studied him, waiting for him to agree with her since he’d met Adele personally, but then the glint of challenge sparked in his dark eyes.

A small smile rested on his lips, as if he’d just decided to take on Goliath and was looking forward to the battle. “We can do it. I’d have to move the Silverman wedding to you or Taylor, and Bella would need to rework her entire schedule. It’d mean overtime for all of us and a hard quarter, but I’m willing to tackle it. How can we pass up an opportunity like this? To finally show the world what Sunshine Bridal can offer?”

Avery grinned and high-fived Gabe. Bella watched them with a growing uncomfortable emotion she rarely experienced.

Panic.

“Wait, are you serious? You really think we can do this?” she asked, her voice a bit too high. She preferred working alone. Plus, she’d never taken on a last-minute