Marion Lennox - A Bride For Christmas

2006

Tell me again why Ive bought this wedding salon. Guy Carver was approaching Sandpiper Bay with dismay. You didnt say this place was a hundred miles from nowhere.

You want to expand. On the line from Manhattan, Guys partner sounded unperturbed. Sandpiper Bay makes more sense than any other place in Australia. I told you

You told me what?

It has the worlds best surf, Malcolm said patiently. Its surrounded by arguably the worlds loveliest National Park, and half Hollywood owns property at Sandpiper Bay. Where are you now?

On the outskirts. It looks

Dont judge until you see the town. Even my wife thinks Sandpiper Bay is great. Shes furious youre doing the planning and not me.

As if you could plan a Carver Salon.

Whats there to plan? Malcolm demanded. Order a lake of ice-grey paint, give the widow a paintbrush and take a few days off.

I dont have time for a few days off, Guy snapped, irritated by his partners cheerfulness. I need to be back in New York on the twenty-sixth for the Film Conglomerate do.

We can handle Conglomerate with our hands tied. Spend Christmas on the beach.

Or not. Christmas was a wasted day as far as Guy was concerned, and he had better things to do than surf. This year hed timed this trip deliberately so hed be flying home on Christmas Day. Christmas mid-air would get him as far away as was possible from useless sentiment.

Hed joined the coast road now, and he had to admit the place did look spectacular. Sandpiper Bay appeared to be a tiny coastal village bordering a shimmering sapphire sea, with rolling mountains beyond.

So what am I looking for? he demanded of Malcolm.

A shopfront on the beachfront shopping strip. Its called Bridal Fluff.

Bridal Fluff? He didnt explode. His voice just grew very calm. Did I hear right?

Sure did. The ex-owners one Jenny Westmere. Widow. Apart from her dubious taste in naming her salon, she sounds competent. Weve offered her twelve months salary to make the transition easier.

There cant be a transition from Fluff to a Carver Bridal Salon, he said grimly. Ill gut the place.

He was turning into the main street now, and what he saw made him blanch. Bridal Fluff was indeedfluff. The shopfront was pastel pink. The curtains in the windows looked like billowing white clouds, held back with pink and silver tassels. A Christmas tree stood in the window, festooned with pink and silver baubles, and a white fluffy angel smiling seraphically down on passers-by. The name of the shop was picked out in deeper pink, gold and silver. What the?

Dont judge a book by its cover, Malcolm said hastily, guessing what he was seeing. We dont need to give this woman any organisational role. Were just keeping her on the payroll to keep the locals happy. Every other salon weve acquired, the previous owner has been so chuffed to be associated with the Carver salon that the takeovers been a piece of cake. The bottom line is money. Ive checked the books. I said it was a good buy and I meant it.

And if its not?

If its not well just have to wear it.

Malcolm had worked with Guy for years. Guys reputation for dazzling event management left everyone he worked with stunned, but his personal reputation was for being aloof. Malcolms cheerful nature, combined with a brash business acumen that matched Guys, made them a formidable team. Together theyd built the Carver empire into the most lucrative events management chain in the world.

No need to fret, Malcolm was saying now, all breezy certainty. You and Mrs Westmere will get on like a house on fire.

Mrs Westmere?

Jennifer Westmere. I told you. The widow.

Great, Guy muttered, pulling into a parking lot by the pink door. Middle-aged, frumpy and dressed in pink?

Nah, Malcolm said, though he was starting to sound uneasy. The reports I have say shes young. Twenty-eight.

And Im stuck with her?

The contract stipulates twelve months employment.

Ill buy her out, Guy said grimly. I should have stuck to Manhattan and Paris and London. I understand weddings there.

Then wed miss out. Malcolm cheered up again. Now youre expanding the Carver Salons worldwide, its time we moved into Australia. Sandpiper Bays more hip than Sydney or Melbourne. Theres a huge buzz about the Carver Salons expanding. So go meet the lady with the pink fuzz. Make friends.

Not even close, Guy muttered as pulled his car to a halt and finished the conversation. Friends? As if.

Jenny was kneeling on the floor and tackling about a hundred yards of hemline when he walked in. It was the fourth time shed been around this hem. The dressmaker had thrown her hands up in horror, and now Jenny was left holding the baby. So to speak.

I know its not right, the brides mother was saying. We practised last night, and as she swept up the aisle I was sure the left side was longer than the right. Or was it the right longer than the left? Anyway, I knew youd want to check. It has to be perfect.

Mmphf, Jenny mumbled through pins, and then the door swung open.

Guy Carver.

This mans weddings were known throughout the world. He was known throughout the world. The phone call to Jenny offering to buy her premises had left her poleaxed.

But why? shed stammered, and the man handling the deal for Guy had given her an honest answer.

Eight of the ten most prestigious weddings in Australia have been held within ten miles of Sandpiper Bay in the last two years, Malcolm had told her bluntly. Theres a caveat on new businesses in whats essentially a historic commercial district. Setting up a business from scratch would be complex. Our people have checked your premises. Your building is big enough for us, and you already have a reputation for providing service. Well do the rest. If youre at all interested, then we just need to settle on a price.

Shed named a figure that had seemed crazy. Ten minutes later the deal had been sealed.

Jenny had replaced the receiver, stunned.

Its more money than I ever dreamed possible, shed told her mother-in-law, and when Lorna had heard how much shed gasped.

Thats wonderful. Youll be able to buy Henry whatever he needs.

I will. Jenny smiled her delight. Even Lorna didnt know the depths of her despair at not being able to provide Henry with optimal medical treatment.

But what will you do with yourself?

Thats just it. Theyre offering me a job, doing what Im doing now, only on a salary. Twelve months paid work, with the possibility of extending it. Holidays, she said dreamily. Sick pay. Regular income with no bad debts.

And Guy Carver as your boss? Working with someone the glossies describe as one of the worlds sexiest men?

Theyd grinned at each other like fools at that-a twenty-eight-year-old widow and her sixty-year-old mother-in-law letting their hormones have their head for one wonderful moment-and then theyd put their hormones away and thought seriously about what it entailed.

Does he have any idea what hes letting himself in for? Lorna had demanded. A country wedding salon

It wont be a country salon for long. Currently the international jet-setters and the rich locals bring their own planners. Carver wants that business. Im guessing most locals will stop being able to afford him.

Just like the rest of the businesses in this town, Lorna said, grimacing.

Sandpiper Bays changing.

Its being taken over by the jet-set, Lorna agreed. Every property within a twenty-mile radius is being snapped up at extraordinary prices by millionaires who spend two weeks of every year here.