The One and Only: A Single Mom Second Chance Romance (Heart of Hope) Ajme Williams (books for new readers TXT) 📖

“Thank you,” I replied with conviction. Getting to spend time with Laura on this thing might be the best thing that had happened to me in ten years. Sure, it was bittersweet, but I’d rather have a little time with her than none at all.

“Would you like me to start making appointments with vendors?” she asked. “You’re on a rushed timeline, seeing as it’s already mid-May, but I can call in some favors.”

The rushed timeline was because Mom and Dad wanted me to be married before I could change my mind, and because a year-long planning schedule would distract me from their political ambitions for me. But I couldn’t tell Laura any of that.

“Ah, yes. We have busy schedules and so we felt it was best to get things moving along right away,” I replied, covering up the some of the truth. I hated lying to Laura like this, even if it was to protect her feelings.

“Well, we don’t have to worry about booking a venue, which takes the major worries off our plate,” Laura assured me. “I’ll do everything I can to make it happen.”

“Thank you, Laura. I really do appreciate you.” I meant to say it—I appreciate it—but the word just slipped out.

Laura’s cheeks flushed bright red and she dropped her gaze. I took out my business card and held it out, trying my best to ignore my blunder. “Here, please take this, and if you’ll give me yours, we can stay in touch.”

“Certainly.” Laura took my card, her face bare of any emotion, and handed me her card.

Our fingers touched lightly, and I felt a shudder run through me. The temptation to have her was so deep, it was almost impossible to resist. I wanted to beg for her forgiveness first and then remind her just how good I could make her feel. I wanted to lay her down on the conference table and make her scream my name….

“Excellent! I’ll be in touch,” Laura said, interrupting my thoughts.

We stood up, the meeting over. “Congratulations on your business, by the way,” I said. “It’s great to see your hard work and ambitions turn into a successful venture.”

Laura blinked in surprise. I don’t think she expected me to remember our past. “Oh, thank you. Umm…the years have been good to you. You look successful. I hope you are successful.”

“Thank you. The years have been amazing to you too, kitten. You look good.”

The old pet name slipped out before I could stop it and Laura’s eyes went wide with shock, the redness returning to her face. I used to call her that because she would make an almost purring noise close when I’d pet her hair, or we were bathing in the afterglow of sex.

Could I have been any more of a dumbass? I wanted to just smack myself.

“Thank you for coming in,” Laura said in a rush, grabbing the door and holding it open for me. “We’ll be in touch.”

“Of course,” I hurried out before I could act on my desperate desire to just kiss her, to get a taste of those sweet, supple lips.

On my way back to the lake house, I called Mom and told her about the meeting. “I’ve hired the planner you suggested. But I’ve decided that I’ll be the one who’s gonna be working with her, not you.”

“What?” Mom shouted in bewilderment. “You—”

“Mom, I’m not negotiating on this. I’m doing what you and Dad want regarding everything else. I’m literally marrying the woman you picked out for me.”

“Don’t make it sound so crass, darling, it’s not like that….”

“That’s exactly what it is, Mom. And that’s why you’re going to let me do this wedding the way I want it, okay? You picked out the bride, so let me be the one to pick the damn flower arrangements.” I paused, trying to be generous. “I’m sure Della would want a say, too.”

“Well, she needs to speak up then,” Mom sniffed.

I rolled my eyes though I knew that Mom couldn’t see me. As if making your voice and opinion heard around you is as easy as that, Mom.

“Besides, all she cares about is making other people happy. She’s an amiable girl, you know,” Mom continued.

I sighed and gripped the steering wheel hard. Della was a sweet girl, extremely quiet, but she had no fire in her. I had no idea how she felt about this whole thing. She seemed happy with the arrangement, but it was impossible to tell how Della really felt about me or the wedding.

Regardless, I tried to be nice to her. I knew she was being pressured by her parents just like how I was being pressured by mine. It was tough to break a lifetime of habit, especially when that habit was doing whatever your parents told you to do and letting them run your life. It wasn’t her fault that I didn’t love her.

“Look, I’m going to make the decision about this wedding, Mom, and that’s final. It’s that or I walk away from this entire marriage.”

Mom inhaled sharply. “You wouldn’t, Cade. You wouldn’t be so ungracious after all the work we’ve put into this relationship…this wedding. I raised you better than that.”

“I’ll do it, Mom. But is it so hard to let the person who’s getting married choose what the event should look like?”

Mom sighed, and I knew that I’d won. “Fine. But I won’t let it happen unsupervised. You men have no eye for such things. I’ll be around to lend a hand.”

I rolled my eyes again. Maybe Dad hadn’t cared about the details of his wedding, but I sure did, and I had an ‘eye’ for such things. I picked out my own suits and hosted my own parties, didn’t I? Mom’s ability to underestimate and dismiss me was always… so fun.

“Fine.” I didn’t want Mom ‘supervising’ me, but I knew that this was the best I was going to get, and I needed to quit while I was