Wedding Planner Rule Number 9

Always keep all parties happy.

The office was mostly in darkness.

Everyone else had gone home and I was in my office, making the notes that were fresh in my mind from the meeting I had had earlier that day with the loveliest couple.

A sound near the door made me raise my head.

There was a figure that was moving towards me in the darkness.

I felt vulnerable.

They could see me, but I couldn't see them.

I got up and picked up the lamp on my table to use as a weapon.

Before I could think of moving, the figure had made its way to my door. I raised the lamp ready to fling it.

"Rosalie, no! It's just me."

I dropped my shoulders.

"Ian! What the hell are you doing here? You scared the life out of me," I said, putting the lamp back, "God!"

"Sorry," he said, coming into my office.

I looked at him. He was dressed in his work clothes, looking completely put together, as he always did.

"What brings you here?" I asked, when he was quiet for a while.

He looked at me.

"I think I'm dying," he said.

My eyes widened. "What? What's wrong?" I asked, taking a step towards him.

"I've been coughing up blood," Ian told me, his shoulders hunched.

My heart twisted in pain. It was true that Ian and I weren't good for each other, but I had loved him for a very long time.

"Did you go to the doctor?" I asked and he shook his head. "Why is it happening?"

He shrugged. "The smoking," he ventured a guess.

I sighed. "You've been smoking again?" I asked.

Ian had a problem with smoking. He would smoke even though I despised it, but it was controlled for the past two years and now that I had no control, he had fallen back to his usual ways.

Ian shrugged, dismissively, like it wasn't his fault that he had been smoking.

"Why are you smoking?" I asked him, almost pleading, "You know it's bad for you. Please, just stop smoking, Ian."

He looked at me with a frown. "I don't need to listen to you anymore," he told me, coldly.

I inhaled sharply, a lump forming in my throat. Ian always became so cold and unfeeling when he was angry.

"You don't have to listen to me," I tried to reason with him, leaning against my table, "But listen to a doctor, Ian. You should go to the hospital."

"You don't have to worry about me," he said, dismissively.

I sighed. "What do you want me to do, Ian?" I asked, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.

"You've done enough already," he said, emotionlessly.

I could feel the tears form in my eyes. Looking at Ian, I couldn't fathom what was happening. How had he gone from loving me to hating me so easily?

"Did you come here to tell me that?" I asked him, my voice coming out shaky because of the tears that were forming.

He just looked at me.

"Please, go to the doctor, Ian," I told him, "I know you have a problem, but I don't know about it to tell you what to do."

"Yeah, it's not like you care about me, anyway," he said, setting his jaw.

The tears that had collected in my eyes strained slowly down my face. I couldn't tell him anything without him making it out to be something that it wasn't.

"Ian, what did I do that was so terrible?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "You just did," he shrugged, offering me no explanation.

"Will you tell me?" I asked him, biting down on the inside of my cheeks to stop myself crying.

"I don't want to," Ian stated, flatly.

"Ian, I care –"

"No, you don't!" he snapped, raising his voice.

My breath caught in my throat. As confident as I may have been generally, Ian scared me immensely when he was angry. I know he wouldn't physically hurt me, but when Ian was angry, he inflicted emotional scars that were hard to heal.

There was a silence after Ian snapped at me.

"Rosalie," a deep voice said.

It was then that another figure emerged from the darkness of the office.

Aiden Carlisle stepped into the light of my office behind Ian, as the latter turned to look at the newcomer.

He looked suspicious as he walked in, looking from Ian to me.

"I came to discuss something with you," he said, "Are you alright?"

There was power in the way he spoke and I could see Ian faltering before him.

"I'm fine," I said, quickly wiping my face from the heel of my palm.

"Mr. Jeffries," Aiden addressed Ian, "Had I known you were coming here, I might have offered you a ride."

Ian was many things, but he would never defy a higher-up when his job depended on it.

"Mr. Carlisle, I came to see Rosalie," Ian said, facing Aiden and taking a step back towards me.

Aiden nodded, his expression unfathomable. "I can see that. You must be just about finished," Aiden pretty much suggested that Ian leaves.

He looked at me face, and I tried to make sure that I had a neutral expression on my face. Aiden seemed to know that I was upset.

Ian, hearing Aiden's words, nodded. "I'll be going," he said more to Aiden than to me. He threw me a glance over his shoulder and then, walked out of my office.

Aiden's eyes followed him out the door. It was only after Ian had left that Aiden turned to me.

I looked in the direction that Ian had gone, the last tears that had gathered in my eyes, falling. Hearing footsteps against the hardwood, I turned to see that Aiden had come close to me, and was looking at me intently.

I cleared my throat and ran my hand under my chin to wipe away the tears that had gathered there and turned to look at Aiden. "You needed something, Aiden?" I asked, looking down at my desk and closing the open notebooks so that he wouldn't see my tear stained face.

"Rosalie," he breathed in the softest voice I had ever heard him use.

I practically stopped breathing because the way he spoke calmed me and I just wanted to burst out crying. My whole body came to a halt.

I didn't answer him.

"Rosalie," Aiden said again, "Look at me."

My breathing deepened as Aiden stood closer to me than he had ever been before. I didn't raise my eyes from the table top, unsure of what I would do if I looked at Aiden.

Since he wasn't getting his way, Aiden bent his head, leaned down and looked at me as I tried to avoid his gaze.

"Are you alright, Rosalie?" he asked, gently, "Did Ian do anything to you?"

I shook my head and swallowed.

Slowly, I turned my head sideways and locked my eyes on Aiden's hazel ones.

"Rosalie," Aiden comfortingly touched my arm, "What did he do?"

I shook my head again. "Nothing," I told Aiden.

Aiden angled his head. "Then why are there tears in your eyes?" he asked, making me inhale a shaky breath.

Never in my life had I had someone who pressed exactly right to get to know what I was feeling. And here was Aiden, an almost stranger, doing just that.

"I'm fine, Aiden," I said, trying to smooth out my brow.

Aiden gave me a small smile. "You don't have to lie to me," he said, "But you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

I nodded.

"Can I take you home, Rosalie? I don't think you should go home alone," he said, searching my eyes for answers to the questions he had.

I nodded again. "Yeah, sure. Thanks."

I closed my books and took just my day planner in my hand, knowing I wouldn't be getting any work done that day. Aiden waited patiently for me to gather my things and then helped me to lock up the office.

He walked me to his car and opened the door for me. I looked at him over the door and offered him a small smile.

"Thank you," I said, quietly and he smiled.

Even after Aiden got into the car and put on to the road, we were silent for a while, until he spoke.

"I came to apologize," he said.

I looked over at him. "Why?" I asked.

He glanced at me, quickly and then smiled. "For yesterday," he admitted, "I flew off the handle because of what my father's reaction would be. I should have never accused you of such a thing and I'm sorry."

"It's fine," I said, shaking my head.

"You don't have to take it, Rosalie," he told me as he drove, "You can fire back. I shouldn't have said that to you."

I cleared my throat. "You were angry. I understand," I replied, "It's alright. Really. Did you manage to find out who did tell the press?"

Aiden sighed. "It was Caroline," he said, surprising me, "Apparently she was a bit drunk and the guy ambushed her."

I asked, "Is she alright?" and Aiden made a motion with his hand to indicate that he didn't know.

"What did you tell your father?" I asked.

"That we had an argument and nothing more," Aiden said, shrugging.

"Did he buy it?" I asked.

"For now," Aiden sighed and then was silent for a while. "Are you going to demand a trip McDonald's again?" he teased, nodding to the outlet we were passing.

I could feel myself blush, as I smiled and a giggle escaped me. Aiden looked over at me as we approached a red light.

"What did Ian do?" he asked, softly, using the voice he had used earlier in my office.

"Nothing," I replied, shaking my head, "He was being Ian."

"You don't expect me to believe that you actually stayed in a relationship with a man who was making you cry, do you?" Aiden asked, giving me an unconvinced look.

"He didn't make me cry," I said, "He's just not the nicest when he's angry."

"Why did it end between you two?" Aiden asked.

I shrugged. "We weren't a good fit," I explained, "I guess we didn't really crave each other's company. He hated that I had to work late so much and that I couldn't make time for him."

"And he never listened to you," Aiden added.

I turned to him. "Sometimes."

"Rosalie," Aiden chuckled, "You don't have to try and talk Ian up to me. I'm not going to date him. Honestly, I'm glad you two broke up. He doesn't deserve you."

"How would you know that?" I asked, as he pulled into the visitor's parking lot of my apartment complex.

Aiden turned the engine off and looked at me. "I pride myself on being good at reading people and I don't really trust Ian. I've watched him over the past few weeks and I don't really think he's someone you should be with."

"Why not me?" I asked, turning in my seat to see him better.

Aiden rested his left hand over the steering wheel and smiled at me. "You just deserve better, Rosalie." He looked at me for another moment and then got out of the car.

I could feel my heart racing and the heat rising from my neck to my cheeks. My door opened for me and Aiden took my hand for me to step out.

He walked me up to my apartment in silence, a small smile playing at his lips the whole time, as my mind mulled over his words and what they had made me feel.

As I opened the door and let Aiden in, I was suddenly acutely aware that he was in my house. It's not like he hadn't been there before, but after what had happened, maybe it was the butterflies in my stomach, but I felt almost on edge.

I flicked on lights and put my bag and notebook down on the dining table.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" I asked Aiden, "My neighbour made me a lasagna and it's fantastic."

As I asked the question, I wasn't sure whether I wanted him to accept or decline.

Aiden looked at me and shrugged. "Sure."

"Great. Well, make yourself at home. I'll be right back," I said gesturing to the couch and quickly ducked into my room and closed the door. I relaxed against the door wondering what in the world was happening.

I quickly took off my shoes, necklace and earrings and went back outside to see Aiden inspecting my bookshelves.

"Can I get you something to drink?" I asked.

He looked up. "Sure."

"Wine or a soda?" I asked and looking at his face I added, "Sorry, I don't have any hard liquor."

He laughed. "Just some cold water is fine. Can I help you with the lasagna?"

I gestured him over as I took the dish out of the refrigerator. Aiden wordlessly passed me a baking tray that stood on the counter. I cut two pieces of lasagna and put it on the tray and Aiden turned to preheat the oven.

I got out two glasses and poured us two glasses of water and I handed one to Aiden. We stood in the kitchen, waiting for the oven to preheat and Aiden tipped his glass to me.

"We would appear to make a great team," he commented, making me laugh.

I took a sip of water. "Thank you for this, Aiden," I told him, "You really didn't have to do this."

"You were not okay, Rosalie. It wouldn't have been right for me to leave you alone," Aiden said.

I leaned against the counter. "Why did you say you didn't trust Ian?"

Aiden shrugged. "He rubs me the wrong way. I'm sure he's very good at his job, but investment bankers can be quite ruthless," he explained, "I don't really have facts and figures for this, unfortunately."

"You don't really know me to tell if he and I shouldn't be together," I said, "I could be a serial killer for all you know."

Aiden laughed. "You're a killer alright," he laughed and then slowly stopped. "I can read people, Rosalie. And it's pretty easy to tell that you and he are on two different planes of existence."

"We weren't always like that," I told him, "When we first started going out, it was almost as if it was out of a movie. We were good friends and we talked a lot and he was thoughtful and romantic. He used to make a lot of time for me and apologize when he made a mistake and everything was good. He wasn't the most thoughtful person or anything. I mean, he didn't make any grand gestures, but I guess I disregarded that. It was only after things actually started happening that I learned about his temper. Well, it's not like that, but when he gets angry, there's just no getting through to him. I used to be so scared that he would get mad and tell me that even I didn't matter and that even I wasn't worth it."

Aiden had straightened himself and took a few slow steps towards me. "No one should be telling you that, Rosalie. No man should have you doubting whether you're worth it or not. You should know that you deserve all the grand gestures. And there is no way in hell you should ever believe that you don't matter."

He stood right in front of me, staring down at me convincingly, making my heartbeat race again. I felt like a deer caught in headlights and I couldn't even move. I just stared back at him.

"Aiden," was the only thing that managed to escape my lips.

He leaned down to me.

He was so close.

Closer and more intimate than any man other than Ian had been to me in years.

"Can I get the baking tray?" he asked, softly, staring right at me.

"What?"

"The oven is preheated. Can I get the tray?" Aiden asked, motioning to the oven with his head.

Realization dawned on me and my cheeks felt hot. "Yeah," I said quickly, turning around because the tray was on the counter behind me. I picked it up and turned around so fast that I bumped into Aiden.

He laughed.

"Calm down," he said, soothingly and took the tray out of my hands. I watched as he opened the oven, put the tray in and even set a timer for ten minutes.

I picked up my glass of cold water and downed the whole thing. I walked to the sink to wash it and I could almost feel Aiden's eyes on me.

I couldn't deny he was an attractive man; probably the most attractive man I had ever met. But I was technically in his life to plan his wedding and despite the fact that said wedding may not happen, was it really right for me to have feelings for him?

I looked at him as I dried my hands and there was not even a hint of what I was feeling on his face as he smiled at me, placidly. I put the napkin down.

"Why are you so scared of telling your father that you and Caroline aren't together anymore?" I asked, leaning with my hipbone on the counter.

Aiden put his glass down and mirrored my stance with a sigh. "It's complicated, Rosalie," he said, "There are things he expects of me and I want to live up to them."

"Things like what?" I asked.

Aiden chuckled. "Things like Caroline, I guess."

"You mean your Dad expects you to marry Caroline?" I questioned.

Aiden looked away.

"Come on, Aiden," I pressed, "You have to know I won't tell anyone. It's not really fair that he expects you to marry someone if you don't want to get married."

"It's not the getting married part," he explained, "I just don't want to marry Caroline, really."

"Why not?"

"I barely know her, Rosalie," he said, "She barely knows me. She thinks that just because she knows the name of my company, she knows me, but she doesn't. Not even close."

"Did you try getting to know her?" I asked.

"Believe me, I tried a lot, but it was never good enough," Aiden said, almost sadly.

"Don't let other people think that you're not good enough," I said.

Aiden raised his glass and smiled. "Likewise," he said, "Maybe it'll stop you from going out with no good losers like Ian."

"You seem very concerned with who I date," I commented with a smirk, as the oven timer went off.

I walked over to the over and took the tray out.

Aiden came over to me, carrying the two plates I had set out.

"Maybe I'm just sick of bailing you out of situations," he teased, making me laugh.

"I'll try to make sure you don't ever have to come save me again," I promised, passing him a fork.

"I don't mind, really," he said.

We sat down and had dinner, discussing business, books and the most light-hearted topics we could think of. Once we were done, Aiden insisted that he wash up.

In the time that we were together, I didn't remember the last time Ian had insisted on doing that. In fact, I could barely remember a time that Ian did half the things that Aiden was doing completely unprompted, as just a friend.

"I think I'll get going," Aiden said, when he was done, "Another long day of work tomorrow. That is if you are okay."

I smiled. "I'm completely fine, Aiden, really," I assured him, "Thank you for bringing me home and everything. I really appreciate it."

"Any time," Aiden said, as I walked him to the door.

"Let me get your coat," I told him, opening the hall closet and taking his coat off the rack.

As I turned, I walked right into Aiden who was standing just behind me. At the angle my head was at, I immediately focused on his lips, slightly parted, almost inviting. I quickly raised my eyes to meet his.

"Here you go," I said, quickly, handing him his coat.

Our hands touched and my heartbeat raced again.

"Thanks for dinner," Aiden told me, softly.

"Any time," I replied, quietly.

He took his coat in one hand, but didn't let go of my other hand. He raised it slowly to his mouth and placed a kiss on my hand.

"Goodnight, Rosalie," he smiled, stepping out.

"Goodnight," I replied and