‘I’m sure you are,’ Lorcan said smoothly, and I tried not to giggle as he purposely let me see him crossing his fingers behind his back. ‘But Peyton hired Miss Hart as her wedding planner in order to avoid more stress following their original plans falling through. As such, it’s Miss Hart’s job to tell you what to do, if needs be. Her requests are not to be taken personally, and, as such, it would be appropriate, and professional, if you showed her the respect she deserves.’ Lorcan’s words were delivered in his soft, lilting tones but there was a layer of unbending steel beneath them.

Vance had turned an interesting shade of purple, suggesting he clearly thought he was being unfairly attacked, but we were all beyond caring by then. Calum was staring down at his feet, but the tips of his ears were pink and I knew he was absolutely bursting with amusement. A thick atmosphere wrapped itself around our small group.

‘Right!’ I said, smiling brightly. ‘Vance, shall we have a walk-through and perhaps we could exchange some ideas and see how they tie in with what Patrick and Peyton want?’ Ideally, I’d have replaced this bloke in a heartbeat but Peyton was set on using him for some reason so right now it made my job easier if we could all get along. I didn’t trust him an inch but, to paraphrase the saying, I’d decided it would be safer to keep my enemy close.

He took a deep breath, threw a glare at Lorcan, which was like throwing a marshmallow at Mount Everest, and condescended to accompany me.

‘Let’s go,’ he said, smiling the fakest smile ever seen to man.

‘Great.’

* * *

‘You didn’t need to do that,’ I said as I returned to the little snug where Calum and Lorcan were sprawled, the open fire crackling enticingly. I’d just seen Vance off and had a short call with Peyton. I still had concerns about her choice of photographer but Peyton was so thrilled when I told her we’d done a walk-through that I didn’t have the heart to steer her towards the possibility of hiring someone else. I’d pulled in a massive favour from a photographer I’d worked with a lot who was taking some time off but had agreed, in case of emergency, to get herself over to the castle if it got to Wedding DEFCON 1.

‘Of course he did,’ Calum said, pouring me a cup of tea. ‘It was all terribly thrilling and ever so romantic!’ He laid a hand on his chest. ‘I loved it!’

‘You would,’ I said, plopping down next to Lorcan on the squashy sofa and toeing off my heels with the opposite foot. ‘You live for drama.’

‘This is true.’

‘Has he gone?’ Lorcan asked.

‘Yes. I think we’re more on the same page now though.’