"I don't know and don't care. Make it a contest. Put it in your magazine. Whatever floats your boat. I don't care if you marry the family dog. I just want your daughter to plan the wedding."
"I see."
"I just have one condition."
"It seems you have many conditions. What else can you possibly want?"
"I want to be your best man."
A shrewd smile crossed Stijn's face. "Now, I am starting to understand."
"I thought you might."
Chapter 4
G-Force: Guess who I saw at my father's party last night?
Tay: Who???
G-Force: Asher!
Tay: OMG NO, GREER. JUST NO.
G-Force: Yes. That jerk.
Tay: Did he look like hell? Did you want to slap the shit out of him?
G-Force: No, he looked good. He always looks good, Taylor. Always. The man can't possibly look bad. It sucks. And as for slapping the shit out of him, I did.
Tay: You did what???
G-Force: He figured out I was pregnant. Guess I'm showing? And then he asked if it was his.
Tay: Oh my god. There are not enough emojis in the world for the expression on my face.
G-Force: Right? And then he kept rambling about how it was such a huge mistake to sleep with me. I wanted to kick him in the nuts. I hate him.
Tay: I'm glad you slapped him because I would have flown in just to do it for you!
G-Force: Thanks, Taylor.
Tay: You should tell Gretchen she needs to kick his skeezy ass out of the wedding.
G-Force: I can't. She's stressing out as it is, and with Levi dropping out, there's been enough scrambling. Forcing her & Hunter to pick another groomsman goes against everything in me as a wedding planner. I'll just suck it up.
Tay: Hugs. Gotta go. Raid soon!!
Greer clicked off the messages with a sigh, and then put her phone down. Taylor's idea of asking Gretchen to boot Asher from the wedding was a good one, but she wasn't brave enough to go through with it. Gretchen had warned her that she planned on being a bridezilla, and so far, well, she hadn't been far off the mark. She'd wept a storm of anxious tears when Levi had bailed on the wedding, and Greer couldn't imagine putting her friend through anything like that again just because Greer was too stupid to not sleep with Asher.
It was just going to be Greer's burden to bear. She could do it, though. She'd see Asher at a few social events between now and the wedding, the rehearsal, and that was about it. She could handle it like an adult. No problem. After all that, she'd never have to see him again.
Her hand smoothed down her stomach. It was slightly rounded despite her only being three months along. She was going to be one of those lucky, lucky people that did everything early, it seemed. Early to have morning sickness, early to show, and maybe she'd even have the baby early.
Is it mine?
Her teeth clenched and she wanted to punch something. How many people did he think she was freaking sleeping with? The nerve. If she hadn't hated him after that night, that little question had cinched it. She felt nothing but loathing for Asher Sutton.
Good riddance. Even as she thought the words, it hurt. It hurt that he thought so little of her that he even had to question it. It hurt that he'd rambled on and on about what a mistake it was to sleep with her. Being around Asher was like pouring salt into an open wound.
She needed to give it time. Six months from now, Gretchen would be getting married, and Greer would be practically ready to give birth. A lot could happen in six months, and by the time she had to see Asher again, months would have passed. She'd be completely over him by then. Maybe then it'd even stop hurting.
Knock, knock. "Miss Greer? Your father wants to talk to you downstairs in his study."
Greer sat up on her narrow bed. "He does?"
"Yes, ma'am. Says it's very important. Can you come down?"
"I'll be right there." Odd that he'd send someone to come find her. Normally he sent her an email-even when she was living under his roof. Perturbed, she found her shoes and then headed downstairs.
The big house was curiously quiet. Normally someone had the television going, and the endless stream of girlfriends had their friends over, or there was staff running around. It seemed like at the Dutchman castle, there was always someone present. Tonight, it was spookily silent. Ominous.
Now she was just being ridiculous.
Her father's study door was closed, and she knocked to let him know she was there.
"Come in."
Well, he didn't sound upset. Then again, Stijn never sounded upset. Greer entered, the nervous feeling remaining in the pit of her belly. It turned to confusion when she entered and saw that Bunni, Kiki, and Tiffi, dressed in their usual Easter egg colors, were seated next to the empty chair waiting for her. All eyes turned to her, and everyone was smiling.
What on earth was going on? "You asked me to come downstairs, Vader?"
"I did," Stijn clasped his hands and leaned forward on his desk. "I have some very exciting news to go over with you. Please, sit." He gestured at the empty chair. "I think you'll be pleased."
She would? Greer sat, mystified. This wouldn't be business, not with the triplets at hand. But what was so important about his personal life? Was he getting another award? If so, why have a meeting? Why not just send her another email?
Stijn relaxed back in his chair. "I'm afraid this is a bit unprecedented for a man such as myself, but the time has come." He paused dramatically, and then continued. "I hope your schedule is free for the next month-"
"Actually," Greer interrupted, fighting the urge to raise her hand and ask permission. "I'm in the process of planning two weddings back in New York, and I really don't think . . ." Her voice died at the stern look he gave her. "What is it?"
"I'm getting married."
Her jaw dropped.
Stijn gave her a smug smile, clearly pleased by her shock. "I have surprised you."
"I, well, yes." Flustered, Greer twisted her hands in her lap. "I mean, not that it's not a great thing. I suppose everyone wants to get married at some point in their life. It's just that you've never indicated and well . . ." She looked over at the triplets, all three of which were beaming at her. And well, this was awkward.
Which girlfriend was it? In the last few days, she'd gotten to know the triplets a little more. Kiki was the most normal one, Bunni was a bit of a dreamer and very into new age stuff, and Tiffi, well . . . Tiffi might have been dropped on her head as a small child. The less said about her, the better. But she didn't know which one her father was going to marry, and wasn't that strange? Then again, she'd never been able to figure out her father's motives. She suppressed a pang of hurt that he'd been with her mother for several years and had opted to dump her when she got pregnant instead of marrying her, but one of these blondes would get a ring? What did they have that Lakshmi didn't?
But that wasn't fair. Lakshmi was long dead and the past was past. Greer put a smile on her face, because the triplets had been nice to her. Well, nice enough. "Which one of you should I congratulate?"
Tiffi squealed, and Bunni wiggled in her seat. Kiki just smiled. Greer noticed they all three had their hands clasped together in solidarity. Surely . . . this wasn't going to be a three-for-one deal all the way to the altar, was it?
"I haven't decided yet," Stijn said, dragging Greer's attention back to him.
Her jaw dropped. Again. "Haven't . . . decided?"
The smile that lit up her father's face was more than a little devious. "We're going to publicize the mystery wedding and make it a grand event. I'll decide when I get to the altar which of my three girlfriends will be my bride."
Tiffi squealed again.
Greer looked at the three women, then back at her father. They . . . they were serious? Her father was going to have a stunt wedding? And the women were going to go along with it? She didn't know which one was more ridiculous.
"Congratulations," Greer managed to choke out. She had a lot of feelings about this, but her father wouldn't want to hear them. Stijn always did what Stijn wanted, and what anyone else thought didn't matter one bit to him. It was what made him a successful businessman. It also made him a bit of a prick, she admitted to herself. And she could only imagine how the two "unchosen" sisters were going to handle being rejected at the altar.
"I want you to handle the wedding preparations," Stijn said abruptly. "I've no time to deal with such foolery myself, but since this will be a media event, someone will need to coordinate everything. I've chosen you, since you did an acceptable job with my most recent party."
Acceptable? The praise was just too much. "Thank you. I would love to, Vader, but like I said, I'm planning two other weddings at the moment, and I really need to check my schedule-"
"You'll do this for me. I'd hate to have my daughter disappoint her father so severely." His voice turned cold.