The bad-boy grin and teasing light were absent from his expression, and Kelsey felt a flicker of unease tumbling helplessly through her stomach. Did Connor know something about Todd that would stop the wedding? Something that would tear apart all Kelsey’s dreams for success and her chance to prove herself in her family’s eyes?
“Emily invited me because her parents are pushing her into this marriage. She’s pushing back the only way she knows how. She wants me to stop the wedding.”
“That’s crazy! Do you realize Emily is having her dress fitting right now? And we’re going to the hotel tomorrow evening to make final arrangements for the reception? She loves Todd and wants to spend the rest of her life with him.”
Leaning forward, he challenged, “If you’re right, if Emily’s so crazy about this guy, then why are you worried I’m here?”
A knowing light glowed in his green eyes, and history told Kelsey she had every reason to worry. After all, on the night of her senior prom, after spending the day having her hair artfully styled and her makeup expertly applied, and wearing the perfect dress, Emily had stood up her parents’ handpicked date…to ride off with Connor on the back of his motorcycle.
Having met Connor, Kelsey could see how easily he must have seduced her cousin. With his looks, charm, his flat-out masculine appeal, how was a woman supposed to resist?
And Kelsey wondered if maybe Emily wasn’t the only one she should be worried about.
Chapter Two
“Honestly, Kelsey, why are you ringing the doorbell like some stranger?” Aileen Wilson-Kirkland demanded as she opened the front door. She latched on to Kelsey’s arm and nearly dragged her inside her aunt and uncle’s travertine-tiled foyer.
“Well, it’s not like I still live here,” Kelsey reminded her cousin.
Aileen rolled her eyes. “You probably rang the doorbell even when this was your home.”
“I did not,” Kelsey protested, even as heat bloomed in her cheeks. Her cousin might have been teasing, but the comment wasn’t far off. She’d never felt comfortable living in her aunt and uncle’s gorgeous Scottsdale house, with its country-club lifestyle and golf-course views. Before moving in with her relatives, home had been a series of low-rent apartments. And, oh, how she’d missed those small, cozy places she’d shared with her mother.
“I didn’t want to barge in,” she added.
“You’re kidding, right? Like I haven’t been dying to hear how things went! Did you pick up Connor? Does he look the same? Do you think—”
Ignoring the rapid-fire questions, Kelsey asked, “Where are Emily and Aunt Charlene?”
“Emily’s still having her dress fitted.”
“Oh, I’d love to see it.” A designer friend of Kelsey’s had made the dress for her cousin, but so far Kelsey had seen only drawings and fabric swatches.
For such a gorgeous woman, Aileen gave a decidedly inelegant snort as they walked down the hall. “Nice try. Do you really think you can escape without going over every detail from the first second you saw Connor right up to when you left him—” Emily’s older sister frowned. “Where did you leave him?”
“At a restaurant.”
“By himself?”
“What else could I do, Aileen? Follow him to his hotel and ask for an invitation inside?”
“Well, that would make it easier to keep an eye on him.”
“Aileen!”
Waving aside Kelsey’s indignation, Aileen said, “I’m just kidding. Besides, he doesn’t have a car, right?”
“Like that’s going to slow him down! Don’t you remember the time Connor got busted for joyriding in a ‘borrowed’ car?” She hadn’t been around then, but her aunt had remarked on Connor’s misdeeds long after he’d left town. In fact, Connor’s name had come up any time Emily threatened to disobey her parents. Like some kind of bogeyman Aunt Charlene evoked to keep her younger daughter in line.
Her cousin’s perfectly shaped brows rose. “You don’t think he’s still involved in illegal activities, do you?”
“I have no idea,” Kelsey said, ignoring the internal voice yelling no. Her automatic desire to rush to Connor’s defense worried her. She was supposed to stop him, not champion him.
“You should find out,” Aileen said as she led the way into the study. The bookshelf-lined room, with its leather and mahogany furniture, was her uncle’s masculine domain, but even this room had been taken over by wedding preparations. Stacks of photo albums cluttered the coffee table.
“Why me?” Kelsey groaned.
“You want to help Emily, don’t you?”
“Of course I do!” she insisted, even if she had to admit her motives weren’t completely altruistic.
“And you want the wedding to be perfect, right?” Her cousin already knew the answer and didn’t wait for Kelsey’s response.
“I know Mother exaggerates, but not when it comes to Connor McClane. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried kidnapping Emily again,” Aileen added.
Kelsey fought to keep from rolling her eyes. “She took off with Connor on prom night and didn’t come back until the next day. I think your parents overreacted.”
“Maybe, but I guarantee he’ll try to stop the wedding somehow.” Aileen pointed an older-therefore-wiser finger in Kelsey’s direction. “But don’t let him fool you.”
He hadn’t bothered to try to fool her. Was Connor so confident he could stop the wedding that he didn’t care who knew about his plan?
Walking over to the coffee table, Aileen picked up a stack of photos. “Here are the pictures Mother wants to show during the reception.”
“Thanks.” Kelsey flipped through images of her cousin’s life. Not a bad-hair day or an acne breakout in the bunch. Even in pigtails and braces Emily had been adorable. As Kelsey tucked them into her purse, she noticed a stray photo had fallen to the Oriental area rug. “Did you want to include this one?”
Her voice trailed off as she had a better look at the picture. At first glance, the young woman could have been Emily, but the feathered hair and ruffled prom dress were wrong. “Oh, wow.”
From the time Kelsey had come to live with her aunt and uncle, she’d heard how much Emily looked like Kelsey’s mother, Olivia. Kelsey had seen similarities in the blond hair and blue eyes, but from this picture of a teenage Olivia dressed for a high school dance, she and Emily could have passed for sisters.
Reading her thoughts, Aileen said, “Amazing, isn’t it?”
“It is. Everyone always said—” Kelsey shook her head. “I never noticed.”
“Really? But they look so much alike!”
“My mother, she didn’t—” Laugh? Smile? Ever look as alive as she looked in that photo? Uncertain what to say, Kelsey weakly finished, “I don’t remember her looking like this.”
“Oh, Kelse. I’m sorry.” Concern darkened Aileen’s eyes. “I should have realized with your mother being so sick and having to go through chemo. Of course, she didn’t look the same.”
Accepting her cousin’s condolences with a touch of guilt, Kelsey silently admitted Olivia Wilson had lost any resemblance to the girl in the picture long before being diagnosed with cancer. What would it have been like had her mother retained some of that carefree, joyful spirit? Kelsey immediately thrust the disloyal thought aside.
Olivia had given up everything—including the wealth and family that now surrounded Kelsey—to raise her daughter. Emily’s wedding was Kelsey’s chance to live up to her promise. To hold her head high and finally show the Wilsons how amazing she could be.
With a final look at the picture, Kelsey slid the photo of her mother back into one of the albums. “It’s okay,” she told Aileen. “Let’s go see if Emily’s done with the fitting.”
“All right. But be warned,” Aileen said as she led the way down the hall toward Emily’s bedroom. “The photographer’s in there.”
“Really?” Kelsey frowned. “I don’t remember pictures of the fitting being included. Was that something Emily request
ed?”
She had long accepted that her ideas and her cousins’ differed greatly, but a seamstress fretting over her measurements would have been a nightmare for Kelsey, not a photo op.
Aileen shrugged and opened the door just a crack. “The photographer said it was all part of the package.”
A quick glance inside, and Kelsey immediately saw what “package” the photographer was interested in. Emily stood in the middle of the bedroom, with its girlish four-poster bed and French provincial furniture. Her sheer, lace-covered arms were held out straight at her sides while the seamstress pinned the beaded bodice to fit her willowy curves. Dewy makeup highlighted her wide blue eyes, flawless cheekbones and smiling lips.
“What do you think, Mother? Will Todd like it?” Emily leaned forward to examine the skirt, testing the limits of a dozen stickpins.
The photographer, a man in his midtwenties, started snapping shots as fast as his index finger could fly. It wasn’t the first time Kelsey had seen slack-jawed amazement on a man’s face. Too bad she saw the expression only when her cousin was around.
“Of course he will. Audra is an amazing designer, and she created that dress just for you. It’s perfect,” Aunt Charlene insisted, keeping a narrow-eyed glare on the photographer.
Charlene Wilson didn’t share her daughters’ beauty, but she was a tall, striking woman. She could instantly command a room with her timeless sense of style and demand for perfection from herself and those around her. Today she wore a beige silk suit that wouldn’t dare wrinkle and her brown hair in an elegant twist at the nape of her neck.
Glancing down at her own clothes, a map of creases that spelled fashion disaster, Kelsey knew her aunt would be horrified by the sight. Fortunately, Charlene was far too busy to notice. Kelsey slid the door shut and walked back down the hallway with Aileen.
“I know all brides are supposed to be beautiful,” Aileen said with a mixture of sisterly affection and envy, “but that’s ridiculous.”
“Please, I’ve seen pictures of your wedding. You were just as gorgeous.”
Aileen gave a theatrical sigh. “True. Of course, I wasn’t lucky enough to have you to plan everything. I ran myself ragged, and you make it look so easy.”
Kelsey laughed even as her cheeks heated with embarrassed pleasure. “That’s because I’m only planning the wedding. It’s far more stressful to be the bride.”
“Still, you’re doing an amazing job. Mother thinks so, too, even if she hasn’t told you. This wedding will make your company.”
That was just what she was counting on, Kelsey thought, excitement filling her once again. “I know.” Taking a deep breath, she confessed, “I put down first and last month’s rent on that shop in Glendale.”
Aileen made a sound of delight and threw her arms around Kelsey in a hug that ended before she could lift her stiff arms in response. After eight years, Kelsey should have anticipated the enthusiastic embrace, but somehow, both her cousins’ easy affection always caught her off guard.
“That is so exciting, and it’s about time! You should have opened a shop a long time ago instead of working out of your home.”
“I couldn’t afford it until now.”
“You could have if you’d taken my father up on his loan,” Aileen said.
Kelsey swallowed. “I couldn’t,” she said, knowing Aileen wouldn’t understand any more than her uncle Gordon had. Starting her business was something she had to do for herself and for her mother’s memory.
Wilson women against the world… Her mother’s voice rang in her head. Opening the shop wouldn’t have the same meaning with her uncle’s money behind the success.
Aileen shook her head. “Honestly, Kelsey, you are so stubborn.” A slight frown pulled her eyebrows together. “But something tells me you’re going to need every bit of that determination—”
Kelsey jumped in. “To keep Connor McClane away from Emily. I know, Aileen. But if Emily’s so crazy about Todd, what difference does it make that Connor’s in town?”
Ever since he’d posed that question, Kelsey couldn’t get his words out of her mind. Okay, so in her opinion, Todd Dunworthy didn’t hold even a teeny, tiny, flickering match to Connor McClane. But if her cousin truly loved Todd, shouldn’t he outshine every other man—including an old flame like Connor?
“Kelsey, we’re talking about Connor McClane. I know you’ve sworn off men since Matt, but please tell me that idiot didn’t rob you of every female hormone in your body!”
Even after two years, the thought of her ex-boyfriend made Kelsey cringe. Not because of the heartbreak but because of the humiliation. Still, she argued, “I’m not discounting Connor’s appeal.” If anything, she’d been mentally recounting every attractive feature, from his quick wit to his sexy smile and killer bod. “But if I were a week away from getting married and madly in love with my fiancé, none of that would matter.”
Aileen sighed and slanted Kelsey a look filled with worldly wisdom. “It’s cold feet. Every engaged woman goes through it. I called things off with Tom three times before we finally made it to the altar. You’ll see what I mean when you get engaged.”
The idea of Kelsey getting engaged was in serious question, but if that time ever did come, she was sure she’d be so in love she’d never harbor any doubts. “Okay, so you called off your engagement. Did you run off with another man?”
“You know I didn’t.”
“Well, that’s my point. If Emily and Todd are right for each other, Connor’s presence shouldn’t matter.”
“It shouldn’t, but it does. You weren’t here when Emily and Connor were together. He’s the kind of man who makes a woman want to live for the moment and never think of tomorrow. When Emily was around him, she’d get completely caught up in the here and now of Connor McClane. But her relationship with Todd is something that can last.” Aileen flashed a bright smile. “Look, you’ve handled prewedding problems before. All you have to do is keep Connor away. You can do that, can’t you, Kelsey?”
What else could she do but say yes?
Connor scrolled through his laptop’s files, going over the information he’d compiled on Todd Dunworthy. He had to have missed something.
Swearing, he rolled away from the desk in his hotel suite and pushed out of the chair. He paced the length of the room, but even with the extra money he’d paid for a suite, he couldn’t go far. From the closet, past the bathroom, between the desk and footboard, to the window and back. He supposed he should consider himself lucky not to have Kelsey Wilson shadowing his every step. An unwanted smile tugged at his lips at the thought of the woman he’d met the day before.
He’d finally convinced her to leave him at the restaurant, telling her he had years to catch up with his friend, Javy. The words were true enough, but he’d seen the suspicion in her brown eyes. He chuckled at the thought of the atypical Wilson relative. She was nothing like Emily, that was for sure. Compared to Kelsey’s fiery red hair, deep brown eyes, and womanly curves, Emily suddenly seemed like a blond-haired, blue-eyed paper doll.
But no matter how much curiosity Kelsey Wilson provoked, Connor couldn’t let himself be distracted.
After his relationship with Emily ended, Connor had drifted around Southern California. Different state, but he’d hung out with the same crowd. Busting up a fight in a club had gotten him his first job as a bouncer. He’d worked security for several years before taking a chance and opening a P.I. business.
Up until three months ago, he would have said he was good at his job, one of the best. That he had a feel for people, an instinct that told him when someone was lying. Listening to his gut had saved his skin more than once. Not listening had nearly gotten a woman killed.
From the first moment he’d met Todd Dunworthy, Connor had that same hit-below-the-belt feeling. And this time he was damn sure gonna listen. So far, though, his background check had merely revealed Dunworthy was the youngest son of a wealthy Chicago family. Numerous newspaper photos showed him at the op
era, a benefit for the symphony, a gallery opening. And while the events and locales changed, he always had a different woman—tall, blond and beautiful—on his arm.
No doubt about it, Emily was definitely Todd’s type.
“You sure you don’t hate the guy just ’cause the Wilsons love him?” Javy had pressed on the ride from the restaurant to the hotel.
Connor couldn’t blame his friend for asking. And, okay, so maybe he would dislike anyone who met with the Wilsons’ approval, but that didn’t change his opinion. Todd Dunworthy was not the man they thought he was.
He’d spoken to several of the Dunworthy family employees and none of them were talking. It wasn’t that they wouldn’t say anything bad about their employers; Connor expected that. But these people refused to say a word, which told him one important thing. As well paid as they might be to do their jobs, they were even better compensated to keep quiet.
Most were lifers—employees who had been with the family for decades. But there was one woman he hadn’t been able to reach. A former maid named Sophia Pirelli. She’d worked for the family for two years before suddenly quitting or getting fired—no one would say—two months ago. The silence alone made Connor suspicious, and figuring an ex-employee might be willing to talk, Connor wanted to find her.
A few days ago he’d found a lead on Sophia’s whereabouts. As much as he longed to follow that trail and see where it ended, he couldn’t be in two places at once. He wanted to stay focused on Todd, so he’d asked his friend and fellow P.I., Jake Cameron, to see if the former maid was staying with friends in St. Louis.
Grabbing his cell phone, he dialed Jake’s number. His friend didn’t bother with pleasantries. “You were right. She’s here.”
Finally! A lead that might pan out. “Have you found anything?”
Once Upon a Wedding Page 3