Cress knew a lot about romance as she had tried to learn everything there was to know about everything that could be considered even remotely romantic. And Cress had already decided that Carswell Thorne must be the most romantic guy in the world. How could he not be? He was a wedding planner and for Cress, that was the most romantic profession - it was all about love and epic romances being celebrated on the most special of days. And she was also certain that he felt the same way. He obviously hadn't told her so but she could tell ... and maybe she had researched him a bit, too. But really, just a bit.

Carswell, or Thorne as he preferred it, wasn't shy about doing features for popular wedding magazines. The Veil, Brides & Bouquets, Something Blue, Bride Up! - the major bridal magazines on the West Coast -were smitten by the handsome wedding planner. And since Kai had told her that she would work with his friend, Cress had read through almost all of the articles featuring him. She had sighed her way through every glossy photo showing his weddings but more than the beautiful venues and tasteful arrangements, she had swooned over his interviews. She might even have memorized her favorite lines and stories.

For Thorne, planning a wedding wasn't just a job. It was his life - and he tried to make every wedding special. A wedding was the biggest event there wasand should be celebrated accordingly. The dreams came first, only then did the budget follow, was his motto.

But the personal relationship was of utmost importance to Thorne. He saw himself as a "captain" whom the couple trusted to steer their ship into the right direction. He was always helping out where he could, whether it be lending one of the brides his beloved grandma's diamond necklace because he thought "every bride deserved to sparkle on her special day" or giving advice to the grooms-to-be on how to romance their ladies and win over their future in-laws. It was no wonder his weddings were always such a huge success.

But more than anything, Thorne's own wish to give the couples something he didn't have resonated with Cress. Just like her, Thorne was still dreaming of deep soul connections (okay, maybe Cress paraphrased it a bit but the idea was just the same) and hoping to cross the path of just the right woman. He never tired in mentioning that he knew she was out there and he wouldn't stop looking for her. Maybe, just maybe, he would find her at one of the weddings he had planned. Cress was sure that many bridesmaids had been trying to catch Thorne's eyes. She wasn't concerned, though - no one understood Thorne like she did.

Cress had been so excited to meet such a successful wedding planner and couldn't wait to work with him. She just wished she had made a better first impression. She had, for the longest part while she waited, looked like the epitome of professionalism. But then the long flights had caught up with her. She had dozed off and woken up looking like a clumsy, flustered mess.

Hopefully she hadn't snored.

Thorne, on the other hand, turned out to be exactly the gentleman she had expected him to be. He had brought her coffee and was now carrying her suitcase to his car.

Which was not at all the vehicle she had imagined.

Instead of the cool, fast convertibles she had assumed were popular in Los Angeles, a huge, banged-up Jeep was waiting for her, looking even bigger in the almost empty parking lot.

"This is your car?"

She had thought that maybe he had just borrowed it from a friend, but now there was no mistaking the proud look in Thorne's eyes. He practically glowed when he stroked a most prominent dent on the door and scraped at the paint around a particularly deep scratch. "Yes. The Rampion 11.3 model." Whatever that meant - car models had little meaning for Cress. If Cress hadn't known better she could have sworn he was cooing at the car.

It wasn't quite what she had expected but Cress just shrugged. Thorne opened the door for her and helped her in, which was necessary - Cress almost had to climb into her seat.

"You certainly are tiny. No more than five feet, I guess?" He chuckled. "The last time I was five feet, I must have been thirteen. Didn't hurt my chances with the ladies, though," he added with a wink.

Cress blushed - from embarrassment or indignation about the comment on her size, she didn't know - but took a sharp breath when he suddenly leaned over her. He fumbled carelessly around (and dangerously close to her thigh) until he found the handle to adjust her seat. Thorne had propped himself up, so he didn't touch her directly, but the way he so casually invaded her space made her squirm a bit uncomfortably.

But when Thorne had adjusted the seat according to her height and went to store her suitcase and travel bag, Cress actually enjoyed the ample space the car afforded her. After being cramped in airplanes for so many hours, she appreciated that she could stretch her.

She watched him enter the car and start the motor, but then looked quickly away before he could think she was staring at him. The tires screeched loudly over the asphalt, and the car bumped and spluttered until Thorne found the right gear. The driving was still more erratic than Cress was comfortable with, especially when she noted the check engine light.

"Uuh ... your check engine light is on," she said, pointing at the light, but it was unnecessary with the way it glared at them in bright red. Cress thought it looked a bit desperate and with Thorne swerving dangerously toward another car when he exited the parking lot, she couldn't help but feel the same way. Now she knew where the dents and scratches had come from.

He waved at her. "It's been doing that for a while. Cinder will check it soon, no worries." Thorne shot her a confident glance. "Not that I couldn't do it myself, but Cinder has a knack for it. She's doing it for free too. And so far, everything's been fine."

If everything were, in fact, "fine," surely the check engine light wouldn't be blinking at all, but Cress couldn't articulate that thought as she was forcefully yanked to the side as Thorne took a sharp turn. Thorne didn't seem fazed but for Cress, they couldn't reach the highway soon enough.

She tried to concentrate on the scenery around her rather than the erratic driving but Inyokern was unfortunately not the sight she had been hoping for. Cress was excited about Los Angeles and the ocean but Inyokern was a poor comparison. At least the weather was great.

Actually, with the sun tickling her nose, making her eyes squint, it was easy to slowly doze off again. She stole a glance at Thorne but he was still focused on the street (which Cress was immensely grateful for), while muttering under his breath. She thought it would be alright to catch up on some sleep. It didn't seem like he wanted to talk, and even though Cress had planned to ask him a million questions, she didn't want to distract him from driving. And there would be time to get to know each other during the next few weeks.

She leaned over to the window and tried to catch up on some sleep. The short nap in the airport hadn't been rocking motion of the car lulled her into a comfortable state of drowsiness but it didn't last for long.

"Hey, no sleeping." For the second time that day, Thorne shook her shoulder roughly. She blinked at him, and when he was sure she was looking at him, he gave her arm a small, apologetic squeeze before he let go. "You'll have bad jetlag if you sleep now and stay awake all night. Better to push through until we arrive and then get back into a normal sleeping rhythm."

That certainly made sense but was easier said than done. Cress knew it would be hours until they reached L.A. But Thorne was considerate and thoughtful to suggest it, so she nodded, thinking of ways to stay awake.

"Also, I could use the company. So, if I can't sleep, neither can you," he told her with a mischievous grin that highlighted his dimples. "The ride over here was already—woah, that was close!" He quickly swerved the car toward the exit ramp they almost missed, pushing Cress once more into her seat. A choir of angry honks followed them until they finally reached the highway. Cress was relieved. No more sharp turns, exits or traffic for a long time.

"So ... that went well, don't you think?" Thorne told her with a proud smile like he had just won a medal for not killing them.

Cress didn't know how to answer. This was not the romantic wedding planner she had expected. She couldn't put her finger on it - he certainly had been very gentlemanly before and he wasn't impolite - but he was ... different. Reckless certainly. A bit cocky too. And he didn't seem to have any sense of personal space.

Cress could adjust to just about anything. In fact, that was part of her job. But the image she had of Thorne and the way the bridal magazines had described him were at odds with the man beside her. The Thorne she had imagined had been a safe driver and not a rough-shoulder shaker. He wouldn't have commented on her small stature either. She wondered how many more surprises Thorne had in store for her, or if he, like her, was out of his element when he was not immersed in his job.

Maybe that was it. Perhaps Thorne was only quite himself while he was working to make the perfect wedding come true? Cress certainly could relate to that. Some wedding talk could be very well just what they needed.

"For someone who should be keeping me company, you're not talking a lot," Thorne remarked with a pointed glance, taking a sip from his water bottle.

"Oh," was all Cress could say and regretted it instantly. She probably sounded like an idiot. She had been painfully aware that, so far, she hadn't really said much during their drive together. She wasn't really sure what to talk about, though, and it didn't help that she was generally shy and a bit out of her depth. Honestly, she had assumed that by now they would have been gushing over their favorite weddings and exchanging a few helpful suggestions on the newest trends in flower arrangements. She had plenty to say about that. But Thorne hadn't brought up anything wedding-related - not that his tumultuous driving style had given them much room to talk thus far. "I guess I'm still a bit tired?" It sounded more like a question that an explanation but Thorne nodded.

"That makes sense. But since you have to keep awake for a few more hours, talking might help." He wiped his mouth and placed the bottle in a cup holder. "Is this your first time in California?"

Cress nodded excitedly. "Yes. I haven't traveled a lot but I've always wanted to visit California. I mean, Kai is here and I haven't seen him for years, so coming here has always been an obvious choice." She looked wistfully out the window. The landscape hadn't changed much: sand and dusty hills with patches of green scattered throughout. No, this wasn't what she had come here for.

She was giddy at the thought of seeing Kai again and meeting the woman he was in love with. Kai - getting married!

Her face must have shown her excitement because Thorne gave her a weird look. But there was no way she could even attempt to explain what it meant for her to see Kai again and that he had asked her if she would help with his wedding. Cress knew that she was only starting out, and while she was well-connected back home, a wedding of this size and scope (not even talking about the budget she could spend, which was much higher than anything she had worked with before) would usually require a better résumé than her own.

She wanted to make absolutely sure that she would give it her all. Cress didn't have any concepts so far; she would try to come up with ideas after meeting with both Kai and Cinder and listened to what they wanted. Every wedding was and should be unique, and Cress always needed some time to find a way to connect to the couple and find the details of their life and love that would make their own wedding special. And this time with Thorne at her side, who also knew the couple, they would surely be able to come up with quite a few personal twists to add.

"Well, someone seems excited."

Cress looked over to Thorne. He looked at her a bit strangely. "Of course."

"Seeing an old friend after so many years. Has it been years? I mean I haven't actually heard about you all that much before but here you are, being not only invited but planning the wedding, too." Thorne let out a slow whistle. "You'll also get to spend a lot of time with Kai. Might stir up some old feelings too, who knows?"

"Old ... feelings?" What was he talking about?

Thorne pointed a finger in her direction. "Let's get this straight. You're not pulling a My Best Friend's Wedding-stunt? You're not trying to ruin everything just so you can snag Kai for yourself, right? Because let me tell you, that won't work." He took his eyes from the road to gauge her reaction.

Mouth wide open, Cress could only stare at Thorne. "No ... I would never ... Kai and I—" she sputtered, speechless. She couldn't believe he would even suggest such a thing. Cress took a deep breath and started again. "Kai is my friend. Always has been and nothing more. I'm happy that he's getting married and that I'm invited and can meet his future wife. I'm not trying to snag him for myself," she said, throwing the word back at him.

She held his fierce glance, forcing herself not so squirm in her seat - and not only because he wasn't keeping his eyes on the road like he should. The car was veering dangerously close to the edge of the road. Finally, he nodded and looked away and steered them back on the road and Cress swore she heard a relieved stutter from the engine.

"Just making sure." He then broke out into a carefree grin, looking for the world as if he hadn't just suggested that she would seduce her friend away from the altar. "So, where are you from?"

"Wait." Cress fumbled with the seat belt before turning her body towards Thorne. "You can't just accuse me of running away with Kai and continue as if it never happened. That's not something you just spring on people."

"Hey, you can't blame me for asking. I have to make sure this wedding goes through. I can't risk some old flame ruining it. Short of an intergalactic war, nothing will stop this wedding. It's too important to me."

Cress had to admit that this was actually very sweet - he cared for his friends. Even though Cress didn't have many friends, she could get behind being protective of them. She also had been part of two weddings where exes had created drama between the couple, so she tended to double-check if the bride or groom really wanted to invite an ex on their wedding day. Cress knew that seating the guests was always of the utmost importance.

"I mean, imagine the wedding getting canceled. All that time wasted for nothing, declining so many other lucrative offers and what would that do to my reputation? I have a spotless record so far. Nope, this wedding has to be successful."

That was what he was interested in? His spotless record? Cress was starting to have some doubts about this wedding planner. She mentally checked if she was actually sitting next to Carswell Thorne, but this was indeed the guy who had posed for the bridal magazines she had read.

"Okay, now, so where you from?" Thorne asked again, interrupting her thoughts.

Cress glared at him suspiciously but he seemed genuinely interested. "Burlington."

She didn't expect his laugh. "Vermont? The Naked State? That's something. But it fits your type of business."

"What do you mean?" Cress asked before adding, "And it's the Maple State, not the Naked State."

Thorne just shrugged. "Could have fooled me. Tons of places are associated with maple stuff. But as far as I know, in no other state is public nudity legal. I should visit you sometime. "Hey"—he turned to her excitedly—"you ever done one of those naked weddings?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

"No!"

It was clear that he was disappointed. "Too bad. Always wanted to see one of those close up. Especially the bridesmaids." He did another suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

Once again, Cress wasn't sure how to respond, so she made a noncommittal sound instead.

"But Vermont seems like the right fit for your kind of weddings."

Now Cress was genuinely surprised - and flattered. "You know my weddings? You looked them up?"

"Sure. And all those barns and meadows and cows and ducks. Charming, really."

Maybe it was meant to be a compliment but the way Thorne said it didn't sound like he was impressed. Cress wasn't sure which weddings he was talking about. She had arranged a variety of weddings and she doubted there had been ducks present at any of them. Okay, there probably had been a few cows roaming around but if the venue was a farm, what did one expect?

She felt the need to defend herself. "I just love weddings with a nature theme. Like, every season has so much to offer and it would be wrong not to take advantage of that." She smiled at the thought. "Summer weddings are perfect for outdoor weddings and Vermont is full of amazing outdoor places. I once planned a wedding during summer where the guest made a maze for the bride and groom and they had to find their way through it to the pavilion where they would wed. And last spring, I had a couple whose theme was butterflies, so the whole venue was full of butterfly orchids and butterfly-shaped balloons and cake, and then they released real butterflies in all shapes and forms. And I organized an autumn-themed wedding in a vineyard - autumn leaves and fruits and kites everywhere. Even during winter, I had a couple whose guests ice-skated on a frozen lake and later made a tour through town in horse-drawn carriages. Everything was sparkling...," she said, sighing at the memories before she looked over at Thorne. "Don't you just love it? There's almost no limit to what you can do with weddings."

"I guess," Thorne agreed, not looking excited in the least. "If you have the money, that is."

"That's not true. Even with a smaller budget, you can still have a great wedding, too. One just has to get creative, that's all."

"And do you get paid well for all that creative input?"

Cress blinked. "I guess. But it doesn't matter. The most important thing is that the couple is happy."

"Wrong. It's your job. They get married, you get paid. That's the deal."

"No, the couple is the most important part. It's their special day, after all. That's what wedding planners are for - to make their dreams come true. No one becomes a wedding planner just for the money." If she were only interested in money, Cress would have chosen a different profession. With her business degree and IT skills, she could have easily found her way into all kinds of work. Accounting, maybe or something just as boring.

But no, Cress always wanted something else. Something that was beautiful and romantic and creative. Something that would make people happy. And wedding planners did just that. And it's not as if her business and IT classes didn't serve her well for this job either. Wedding planning was a passion though and she would gladly pick an interesting job that paid a bit less to follow her dream.

"And that, my dear, is where you're wrong again." Thorne opened the collar of his shirt and relaxed some more into his seat. "Wedding planning is just another profession but you can make good money in it. Many people know it. And as long as you do your job ...," he finished with a shrug.

Cress's brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of what he'd said. She obviously knew that not everyone would choose a career for the same reason as her but so far, every wedding planner she had ever met was very excited about their work. Even on TV, the wedding planners with their own show always told their viewers how much they loved their jobs.

Thorne himself had said so in many interviews.

"I mean, look at me. It's not as if I'm in it for anything but the money." He nudged her playfully with his elbow, oblivious to her shocked expression.

Of all the things Thorne had surprised her with so far, Cress had not expected this. She felt a sting at his light-hearted statement."You're kidding?"

"What? No, not at all. It's good, steady money. If I play my cards right, I can expand my brand - you know, work with some magazines, market some products, whatever - and then leave the business to someone while I can retire. Maybe do a few events here and there but that's mostly to keep my name out there."

He had everything planned out but nothing Cress heard was in any way similar to the things he had said during his interviews. There he had talked about dream weddings and romance. That Thorne had never mentioned a brand or retirement.

Nothing made sense anymore.

Knotting her fingers together, Cress searched for the right words. "That's not what you said in your interviews."

"In my ... ?" Recognition flashed in Thorne's eyes. "You looked me up, too." He poked her with his finger, obviously pleased by this development. "Well, I obviously I can't say that in my interviews, now can I? That's not something anyone wants to read in a bridal magazine. 'If you want to waste exorbitant amounts of money on a day that will stress you for months just to impress people you don't even like, book me'. Tempting, but nah."

"You were lying."

"Lying? That's harsh. More like I advertised my product by any means necessary?" He cocked his head as if to see if his words worked the way he had wanted them to. "Yes, that sounds good, don't you think?"

Cress was done. And maybe she was also a bit tired but she crossed her arms and told him outright what she thought. "No."

"Hey. That's not very nice."

"Not nice? You're saying mean stuff about weddings. You don't care about weddings. You are just lying to the magazines and the couples to make money."

"Yes. Didn't Kai tell you that?"

Indeed, Kai had failed to mention that vital piece of information. Sure, they mostly talked about work and, more recently, about his relationship with Cinder, the engagement, and now the impending wedding. But whenever he mentioned Thorne, he mostly talked about this really busy event planner who was involved in all sorts of fancy events. That she had heard about. But him being a scam? Not at all. And now Cress was confronted with a guy she otherwise would never work with in a million years.

A guy who had no sense of romance.

"So, you really have no interest in wedding planning? It's just a job you do because...? Why are you actually doing this job? You could do a million other things. Why this?"

He sent her an incredulous look, as if she were crazy. "Because it's good money? I'm independent, can pick my jobs, negotiate my contracts - all for my own benefit. I would be stupid to do anything else. I wonder why anyone would do it and not make the best out of it. Seriously, Cress, you should try more to look after your own income. Otherwise, you'll do this job for the rest of your life."

"I fully intend to do this job for the rest of my life. It's my dream job."

Thorne clicked his tongue in disappointment but Cress noted that it was half-hearted and he was still in an exceptionally good mood - while she was fuming.

"So, you're one of those wedding planners? Figures. Well, if that's what you want, knock yourself out over chair covers or buttercreme flavors. But for every realistic person, the whole wedding business is one big scam and a huge waste of money. As if that would keep anyone from making the biggest mistake of their lives."

"Oh, so you hate not only weddings but marriage, too? Let me guess, you're going to cite the divorce rate now. Like weddings are a scam because whose marriage is actually going to last nowadays, right?"

"Oh please. People don't have to divorce and can still have a crappy marriage," Thorne told her with an edge to his voice that hadn't been there before. It only lasted a second though before he, once again, smiled broadly in her direction. "Anyway, what they do once they leave for their overpriced hotel room or honeymoon is none of my business. My job is done, I get my paycheck, and then I look for the next lucrative offer. And one day, I'll leave all of it behind, live off the money I made off of spoiled brides and grooms without a backbone and hope I'll never hear another wedding march ever again. And that would be my happily ever after."

"And Kai is fine with that? He picked you to plan his wedding?" She wanted to add "over me" but she caught the words before she would seem jealous. She hadn't been before because, after all, it made sense that Kai would choose Thorne, the renowned wedding planner with more experience, over her. But that was before she knew that he didn't care about anything but his paycheck. What was Kai thinking?

Instead of being offended, or anything, Thorne just laughed.

His mood was unwaveringly cheery and Cress didn't know what was worse: that everything she thought she knew about Thorne was just fabricated lies he told to naive readers like her or that he didn't even feel bad about it.

He seemed to sense her change of mood. "I can't help but seem to notice that we have a problem here."

"I don't have a problem."

"No?" Thorne raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "So, you are just sitting here, pouting—"

"I'm not pouting." Maybe she shouldn't be sitting there with crossed arms and a frown on her face then, but at this point she didn't care. "It's just, you said all those things about romance and dreams and none of it is true. I thought you were..."

He looked at her, and his face, for the first time, held a glint of sincerity. "You thought I was what, Cress?"

'Like me,' she wanted to tell him but she couldn't. He would think she was weird, more so than he probably already did. He wouldn't want to know about she had hoped to find someone like him. Someone she could connect with and who didn't think she was weird for putting all this effort into the weddings of other people. Not just as a job but as something that made her happy. But he wouldn't - didn't - understand, that much he had made clear.

She opted to finish with something more innocuous instead. "I thought you were different."

Thorne didn't say anything for a long time but he watched her as if trying to figure out how to answer. He opened his mouth but whatever he had intended to tell her was drowned by a deafening bang that shook the Rampion. Even though Thorne frantically stepped on the accelerator pedal, the car only responded with a few sad creaks and splutters and slowed down until it came to a shuddering halt at the side of the road.

Thorne let out a string of curses as he jumped out of the car. Cress was unsure if she should follow but then again, she had didn't know the first things about cars. What help could she be? Although, she had told him that the check engine line was on.

Maybe it wasn't that bad. Thorne had said that he also knew how to repair cars, and judging from the banged-up look of the car, it seemed like it had happened a few times already.

But before she could finish that thought, another bang shook the vehicle and this time, smoke erupted from under the hood. She lost sight of Thorne but his loud curses seemed to take on another level.

Cress could tell that it probably wasn't an easy fix now. But, all in all, she couldn't help but think that this was just the perfect way to sum things up about this trip.