All You Need Is Love Read online

  ISBN: 9781483538983

  Mr. and Mrs. Robert McKinnon

  request the pleasure of your company

  at the marriage of their daughter

  Julia Elizabeth

  to

  Mr. Nathan Alexander Atwood

  at the Gregson Hotel, Pebble Beach, California

  on Saturday, the twenty-eighth of June

  at 3:00pm

  Reception immediately following ceremony

  Chapter One

  January, New York City

  Julia McKinnon stared in disbelief at the sheet of notepaper she held in her hand. The writing – quite a lot of it – was in her twin sister’s unmistakably bold script, and she could only shake her head as she continued to scan the list.

  “Really, Lauren?” she asked in exasperation. “You really had to make up an entire list of what you refuse to even consider wearing for your bridesmaid dress?”

  Lauren shrugged, pouring a healthy dollop of cream into her coffee and then adding a total of four packets of sugar. “I have my standards, Jules. I don’t think any of those items are unreasonable.”

  Julia frowned at her sister as she rather nonchalantly sipped her coffee. “Sorry, Lauren, but there is nothing reasonable about this list. You’ve pretty much eliminated almost every option I was thinking about.”

  Lauren grinned. “See how well I know you? I remember all the times you had those lavish Barbie doll weddings when you were little. And then as we got older how you’d buy bridal magazines and plan your own dream wedding.”

  Their mother – Natalie – smiled fondly from across the breakfast table. “I remember that, Julia. You even sketched your own wedding gown designs. Remember, Maddy?”

  Julia’s aunt Madelyn – Natalie’s own twin – nodded as she sipped her coffee. “Of course I do. Julia was – is – an incredibly talented fashion designer. I still say she missed her true calling. Darling, let me see your sister’s list of demands, hmm?”

  Julia glared at her twin while handing the sheet of paper across the table to their aunt. “Here, Aunt Maddy. Though I have zero idea of what Miss Fussypants thinks we’re going to be able to find that will please her extremely – fussy tastes.”

  The twins’ best friend Angela, who was seated to Lauren’s left, snickered as she drank a Bloody Mary. “Lauren’s turning into Bridesmaid-zilla. And it isn’t even her wedding.”

  Lauren stuck out her tongue at Angela. “Hey, you helped me make that list, Angie. As I recall, you added in numbers five and six.”

  Angela only shrugged and took another long drink of her breakfast cocktail. “I’m too tall and skinny to wear ruffles or a full skirt. Otherwise, I’m okay with most anything else. I trust Julia to pick out something appropriate. She does have a truly amazing fashion sense after all.”

  Madelyn couldn’t help grinning as she finished perusing Lauren’s list. “Lauren, dear, you have gone a bit overboard here. Let’s see what you’ve come up with – no pink, peach, or lilac; no sashes, lace or little bows; no tea-length gowns or whatever you call them; the aforementioned no ruffles or full skirts; no fussy floral prints; nothing in satin; and absolutely no hats or hairbows of any size, shape or fabric. And that’s just for starters.”

  Natalie frowned. “Lauren, that is a bit extreme, don’t you think? And Angela’s right – it’s your sister’s wedding, not yours. Don’t you think Julia ought to be able to pick out a bridesmaid dress that’s to her liking?”

  Lauren snorted. “Why? She’s not the one who’ll be wearing it.”

  Madelyn smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, girls. I’m sure we can find something that Julia will love but that Lauren will condescend to wear at the same time. We’re just lucky she’s even agreeing to wear a dress for once.”

  That brought snickers from everyone at the table, including Julia’s future mother-in-law Alexis, who looked from one twin to the other in amazement.

  “It’s hard to believe how different you girls are,” marveled Alexis. “Julia’s always in her pretty dresses and skirts and high heels, while Lauren seems to live in jeans and boots. Were they always like this?”

  Natalie and Madelyn both started talking simultaneously, finishing each other’s sentences as they’d been doing for over fifty years.

  “I made the mistake of trying to dress them alike for a time,” admitted Natalie. “I mean, that’s what you’re expected to do with twins, aren’t you? Especially when they’re adorable little girls.”

  Madelyn smiled fondly. “And, God, were they ever adorable. Even at two years old you could tell they were going to be knockouts. When I would take them out in their stroller, I’d tell people they were mine, just so everyone would envy me.”

  “You’ve never had any children of your own, Maddy?” inquired Alexis innocently.

  Julia didn’t miss the way her beloved aunt’s smile faded rapidly and how her mouth tightened at the question that very few people had ever dared to ask.

  “No. No, I didn’t,” Madelyn replied quietly. “It – ah – wasn’t in the cards for me, I suppose.” But then her smile returned as she patted Julia on the arm. “Fortunately, I had my two beautiful nieces, and I couldn’t be more proud of both of them. Even if one of them is proving to be as difficult to dress as she was when she was four years old.”

  Natalie shook her head in dismay. “Once they got a little older and started thinking for themselves, the practice of trying to dress them alike flew out the window. Julia insisted on wearing frilly little dresses and Mary Janes, while Lauren was always in jeans and sneakers. So, to answer your original question, Alexis – yes, they’ve pretty much dressed in their own particular styles since the age of two.”

  Julia sent her twin a stern look. “But Lauren has graciously agreed to wear a dress for the wedding – haven’t you, sis? A dress that I’m supposed to pick out.”

  Lauren was chewing a huge forkful of blueberry pancakes dripping with melted butter and warm maple syrup, but still managed to grunt out, “Hey, I never agreed to the second part of that statement. You are not going to make me and Angie look like we just stepped out of one of your Barbie doll weddings.”

  Julia was about to deliver a scathing retort to her stubborn twin when Maddy intervened.

  “Julia, darling, trust me, this will all work out. I admit it’s going to take a bit of extra work on my part given all of your sister’s – er, criteria – but I’m confident that I’ll find something to please – ah, what did you call her? Oh, yes, Miss Fussypants.”

  Natalie tactfully steered the subject away from the matter of bridesmaid dresses, and instead began discussing ideas for the wedding venue. She’d been bubbling over with plans for Julia’s nuptials to Nathan Atwood ever since they had called from Paris on New Year’s Day to share the news of their official engagement. Of course, Natalie had already known that Nathan was going to pop the question, even before the bride-to-be did. Her future son-in-law had done the proper thing by asking for Julia’s hand, and since Natalie’s husband Robert always consulted her on everything, she had been brought into the loop at the same time.

  Julia shook her head at her mother’s suggestion of holding the wedding at a family friend’s seaside estate. “The Kavanagh’s place isn’t big enough, Mom. Plus, it’s sort of remote so getting all the guests, caterers, flowers, and everything else there would be tricky. Nathan and I were actually hoping to hold the wedding at the Gregson resort in Pebble Beach.”

  A collective gasp went up around the table at this news, and Julia could tell her announcement had been met with approval from all five women present.

  “That’s a marvelous idea, Julia,” agreed Natalie enthusiastically. “But is it even possible that you could get in there with barely six months’ notice? The Gregson is the most sought after hotel on the entire Monterey peninsula for weddings and such.”

  Lauren grinned as she speared off another huge forkful of pancakes. “But Jules has an in, don’t you, sis? She and Nathan do design work for the very charming Mr. Gregson. Have you already talked to Ian about it?”

  Julia nodded. “Well, Nathan has, at least. And Ian’s thrilled for us, told Nathan we could just pick a date and he’ll make sure we get it.”

  “Geez, must be nice to have that sort of power, isn’t it?” asked Lauren mockingly. “Not that Mr. Hot and Hunky is my type – as we’ve discussed – but I still don’t get why he’s stayed single all this time.”

  Julia grinned at her sister. “I actually made Nathan a bet about that the other night. See, I’m convinced that Ian has the hots for this girl who works for him. A girl who coincidentally is going through a divorce at the moment. I bet Nathan it’s just a matter of time before Ian makes a move.”

  Alexis laughed. “Nathan is a terrible gambler, dear. I hope the stakes aren’t too high.”

  Julia gave a merry little giggle. “High enough. If I’m right, then he has to buy me a pair of Manolos. The black ones with the T-strap,” she clarified to Maddy.

  Madelyn nodded. “You’ve had your heart set on those, I know. Too bad we sold out of the small stock we got in.”

  “It’s okay.” Julia had a smug look on her face. “Alexis is right – Nathan’s kind of a lousy gambler so I’m pretty confident of winning this particular bet.”

  “Yeah, but what does Nathan get if he wins?” asked Lauren pointedly.

  Julia glanced around the table, conscious of the curious looks being directed her way by her mother, aunt, and future mother-in-law, and tried very hard not
to squirm as she thought of exactly what Nathan had demanded in return. “Uh, we haven’t, um, decided on that just yet.”

  Lauren grinned, clearly enjoying her sister’s discomfort. “Huh, not buying that one, sis. But we can discuss later.”

  “Yes, please, let’s do that.” Julia was very anxious to change the subject and began to quiz her aunt about some of the wedding gowns she’d be trying on over the next couple of days.

  It was something of a minor miracle that she’d actually been able to pull off this girl-getaway extended weekend on such short notice. Since Nathan had proposed to her barely a month ago – on New Year’s Eve in Paris in front of the Eiffel Tower (which was just about the most romantic scenario she could have ever possibly envisioned) – wedding plans had begun to take shape at an escalated pace. Julia still thought they were more than a little insane to think they could really pull everything off in less than six months, but Nathan remained cheerfully optimistic that they could do just that.

  Her boss – and Nathan’s business partner – Travis had joked that the real reason Nathan was in such a hurry to get married was because he was afraid Julia would change her mind otherwise. But Julia knew her fiancée’s real motivation was simply because they’d already spent too many months apart while quietly longing for each other, and didn’t want to waste even one additional week not being husband and wife. So the two of them had agreed to do whatever it took to pull off the wedding of their dreams in a rather ridiculously short amount of time.

  The near-desperation in her voice when she’d made her phone calls must have been obvious, because all of the women seated around the table this morning had agreed readily enough to meet up here in Manhattan for this extended weekend. Her mother, who was a renowned artist and also owned a world famous gallery in Carmel, California, hadn’t had any shows or exhibits scheduled and therefore had immediately committed to the trip. Aunt Maddy, of course, lived here in New York and this time of the year was a bit on the slow side at the store. Maddy was the head buyer at Bergdorf Goodman, and had been the one responsible for organizing all of the dresses that Julia and her two bridesmaids would be trying on over the next couple of days.

  Alexis had been overjoyed – and maybe even a little weepy – when Julia had invited her to join them. Her future mother-in-law didn’t have a daughter of her own, and had adored Julia from the very first time they’d met, a time when Julia and Nathan weren’t even together. Alexis had agreed to this trip without a moment’s hesitation, declaring that she would have gladly cancelled any other plans she might have had to join everyone in New York.

  Angela had been a little tougher to convince, given that she had become a serious workaholic these past couple of years, but Julia and Lauren had ganged up on her until she’d somewhat grudgingly agreed to take a couple of days off work.

  As for Lauren herself, she’d been due to arrive in New York for a staff meeting at National Geographic on Monday morning anyway, so it hadn’t taken much convincing for her to fly in a few days early. Convincing her to wear the sort of bridesmaid gown that Julia had in mind, however, was going to be another matter entirely.

  They had all agreed to meet up for breakfast at Norma’s, located in the Le Parker Meridien. When Julia had lived and worked in Manhattan, it had been one of her very favorite spots for brunch and she was happy to find that the food was better than ever. It was a busy, bustling place even on a Thursday morning.

  The waitress had just refilled everyone’s coffee cups when Julia happened to glance across the crowded room and noticed the man staring over at their table. She might have been a very happily engaged woman, with an insanely handsome fiancée who could get her hot with just a smile, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate an exceptionally fine specimen of pure male from time to time. Like the hottie who continued to gaze over at their table with an expression of mingled curiosity and bewilderment. Though he wasn’t her usual type, Julia could find little to nothing at fault with the man’s ruggedly handsome face covered in dark blond stubble.

  Lauren was busily stirring more sugar into her fresh cup of coffee as she glanced over at her sister. “What are you staring at, Jules? Did you see someone you – ah, shit.”

  Julia frowned at the unmistakable sound of disgust she heard in Lauren’s voice, and looked away from the handsome stranger. Her sister’s face was set in a tight, angry expression and her green eyes, identical to Julia’s own, were blazing emerald fire.

  “What’s wrong now?” asked Julia in exasperation.

  Lauren swore softly beneath her breath. “Damn it, I can’t believe he’s actually got the balls to walk over here.”

  “Who?” Julia followed her sister’s narrowed gaze and spied the handsome stranger walking towards their table, a rather bemused expression on his face.

  “My boss,” muttered Lauren ungraciously. “God, you’d think I could sneak into town a few days early and not run into anyone from the office, wouldn’t you?”

  Angela, who’d overhead this last bit, stared at Lauren in surprise. “That’s your boss? The one you’re always bitching about?”

  “The infamous Ben the Bastard?” chimed in Julia.

  Lauren took a gulp of her coffee, swearing when it burned her tongue, and positively glowered. “That’s him. And don’t let his good looks fool you. Beneath all that phony charm, he is definitely a bastard.”

  “Shh,” urged Julia. “He’ll be here in a second.”

  Lauren’s boss sauntered leisurely over to their table, not seeming in a particular hurry. He was wearing a navy wool overcoat over his open-necked white shirt and dark gray slacks. Julia gauged him to be around the same height and build as Nathan, tall and leanly muscled, and he looked to be in his early to mid- thirties. Ben was definitely more on the rugged side than Nathan, his dark blond hair cut close against his head, and his eyes were a much darker shade of blue than Nathan’s. But there was no denying that Lauren’s boss was an extremely compelling man, and, thought Julia with an inward smirk, almost exactly the sort of guy her sister usually went for.

  Five pairs of female eyes gazed up at him with interest, while Lauren herself looked like she’d love nothing better than to fling her cup of steaming hot coffee into his arrestingly handsome face.

  “Lauren. This is something of a surprise. We weren’t expecting you here until Monday,” drawled Ben, one of his eyebrows arched inquisitively.

  Lauren tried unsuccessfully to mask the scowl on her face, and she gave a careless little shrug. “Free country last time I checked. I didn’t realize I needed to check in with you whenever I came to New York. And I’m obviously not here a few days early because of business.”

  There was a definite chill in the air between the two of them, and a rather uncomfortable silence. Natalie was the one to break the ice, giving Ben a polite smile and extending her hand in his direction.

  “I’m Lauren’s mother – Natalie Benoit,” she offered. “I take it you and Lauren work together at the magazine?”

  Ben bestowed a dazzling smile on Natalie and shook her hand. “A pleasure, Ms. Benoit. I confess to knowing very little about art, but I’m a great admirer of the few pieces of yours I’ve been fortunate enough to view. And since Lauren seems reluctant to introduce us, I’ll do the honors. I’m Ben Rafferty, Lauren’s – er, boss.”

  Aside from a slight widening of her eyes, Natalie didn’t betray any reaction at this revelation. She, like Julia and Angela, had heard Lauren rant and rave about her bastard of a boss on too many occasions to count.

  “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rafferty,” replied Natalie diplomatically. “Though I’m sure you’ve realized by now that no one really dares to boss Lauren around.”

  There were chuckles all around, including Ben’s but excluding Lauren who continued to look sulky and pissed off. And the expression on her face turned downright murderous when Ben answered in a clearly amused voice, “Oh, trust me. I realized that from the very first time I met her.”

  Impulsively, Julia extended her hand to the very compelling Ben. “Since Lauren is once again exhibiting atrocious manners, I’ll do the honors. I’m Julia, her twin sister.” Swiftly, she introduced Angela, Maddy, and Alexis.

  Ben nodded in sudden understanding as Alexis was introduced as Julia’s future mother-in-law. “So when is the big day?”