The Best Man's Bride

by Jamie Dallas

  “Your phone and wallet are in there as well. Evan dropped them off last night.”

  Her stomach twisted. “Probably trying to see if I was with you.”

  Her mom grimaced. “Probably.”

  She ran her fingers over the strap webbing. “How did he look?”

  Honestly, she wanted him to be devastated. Hurt. Like he had just lost the love of his life. And it was because he was being stupid.

  “Pretty well, all things considered,” Jane admitted begrudgingly.

  That hurt.

  Not because she wanted to go back to Evan, but because she had mattered that little to him. Two years of dating, and all she had to speak of was a ruined dress and a bunch of tainted memories.

  The corners of her mouth started to pull down.

  “I’m going to change.” She grabbed the bag and headed to the bathroom before she cried in public. Again.

  She carefully pulled on the leggings and soft green tunic and folded Jace’s clothes into the bag. By the time she got back to their table, her mom had pastries and coffee waiting for them.

  She peeled a big flake of the butter croissant from her roll and took a long sip of black coffee. Her favorite breakfast.

  Her mom sipped at her own coffee. “So, what are you going to do now?”

  “I’m quitting Sun Tech and going home.” Home was relative. While her parents lived in San Francisco, she had given up her apartment when she moved to Houston with Evan. “I’ll need to find a new apartment.”

  “You can live on our couch until you find a place.”

  The pastry suddenly felt dry in her mouth. In the whirlwind of events yesterday, she hadn’t even thought of where she would live until she did find a place. Or how she’d get her stuff back from Evan.

  “Rents have gone up since you’ve been gone, so it may take a bit to find a place that suits you,” her mom added. “You know our place is open to you. And I’m sure your father can help drum up a bit of business if you need the help.”

  The coffee turned acidic in her stomach.

  Her parents had sold their house to buy a smaller one-bedroom flat in San Francisco. They said they always wanted to live in the city, and they loved their little place.

  Which was great, when she wasn’t thinking of sleeping on her parents’ couch and living out of her suitcase.

  The coffee churned in her stomach, and the croissant no longer looked appealing. She pushed the plate away.

  There was one more thing she hadn’t thought of when she quit Sun Tech. One major detail that hadn’t crossed her mind because Evan had told her not to worry about it.

  Evan had wanted their wedding to be an event, something to which he could invite clients and the who’s who in the Houston real estate world. Their wedding had been one more way to market the company, and she should have taken that as a warning sign.

  “Honey, are you all right? You look pale. Are you going to be sick?” Her mom pressed her palm against her forehead.

  Her face and chest burned as she began a mental tally of the wedding costs. The flowers, the food, the venue, the dress, the wedding favors… The room began to spin as the number ballooned. Hailey braced herself against the little wood table.

  “I have tens of thousands of dollars charged to my credit cards.” She swallowed before saying the last part. “Evan promised to pay it off once his money became ‘our money.’” She made weak air-quotes.

  “That snake.” Her mom’s face pinched tight. “Honey, what are you going to do?”

  “I just quit Sun Tech. I walked away without a second thought.”

  Jace’s offer repeated in her head. Over and over. Double. Triple. Just double would put a significant dent in her newly acquired debt.

  “I didn’t even want a giant wedding. I wanted something small on a beach in California.” Her voice sounded distant.

  Her mom reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “We’ll figure something out.”

  She loved that her mom was there, willing to support her, but she couldn’t drag her parents through her debt issues. It was her fault she agreed to marry Evan, her fault she ignored the warning signs, and her fault she didn’t put her foot down on the giant wedding. Her parents just bought a new place; she couldn’t put another financial strain on them.

  Suddenly Sun Tech sounded like a golden opportunity.

  She set her jaw.

  Her mother’s eyes narrowed. “You’re going to go through with the Sun Tech contract, aren’t you?”

  She nodded, and with more calmness than she felt, she picked up her coffee and sipped it. She had no other choice.

  “Where will you stay?” her mother asked.

  “I’ll figure it out,” she said. Her voice felt robotic—like she was answering automatically, but her mind was elsewhere, working on a plan.

  Her mom tilted her head to the side. “Is it the same place you stayed last night?”

  “Maybe.” Her brain was working overtime. And a little golden bubble, so small she barely noticed it among the acid in her stomach, bloomed.

  “Do I even want to know where you stayed?”

  She shook her head. There was no way she was going to drag her mom into this mess. Maybe after the launch was over, she’d tell her mom everything. For now, she just needed to sort a piece of her life out.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was that Jace Hartman,” her mom said softly. She pulled a flake of croissant and ate it casually, as though she were talking about the weather.

  Hailey froze and eyed her mom carefully. “What makes you think that?”

  “That man is always looking at you. In fact, when you went missing yesterday, he told me not to worry. He’d find you.”

  “Jace Hartman?” Her mind raced back to a moment last night. The look in his eyes after he undid her zipper, and just before he fled from the room like he couldn’t get away from her fast enough.

  “There’s no way on this living planet Jace would ever be interested in me.”

  Her mom shrugged. “You heard nothing from me.”

  Speechless, Hailey opened her mouth and closed it. Then standing from the table, she pulled the tote over her shoulder. “I need to make a call.”

  *

  Jace paced back and forth in front of his living room bay windows, hands on his hips. Was it too early to start in on the whiskey?

  Hailey departure was a blow to Sun Tech. He needed to rethink their strategy, stat. If Sun Tech didn’t succeed, it left him with…nothing.

  Some people had families and significant others. He had his company. He should call Hailey and explain why this was so important to him. Maybe that would convince her to stay.

  He stopped in front of a window and leaned against the pane. The glass felt cold against his forehead as he contemplated the glass and steel buildings rising up to kiss the sky.

  How many years had he dreamed of expanding his company until he had a national reach? He was so close, and his chance was crumbling before his eyes.

  Jace clenched his fists. He had to figure something out. Any shadow on his success was not acceptable. People regret abandoning someone who became wildly successful. No one regrets leaving a failure.

  It was time to find a new marketing and events coordinator. Stat.

  Jace threw on a pair of dark jeans and a white button-down, grabbed his bag and threw it over his shoulder. He would need to talk to Evan eventually—after he found a person to replace Hailey.

  He was just about to his front door when his buzzer sounded, echoing in the hall.

  Someone was downstairs.

  He ignored it, pulling his front door open.

  The buzzer sounded again.

  He paused, one foot out the door.

  What if that was Hailey?

  Leaving the door open, he moved to the chrome video screen intercom. The tech contractor was still setting up cameras, so he couldn’t see people through the intercom yet, but he could still talk.

  He pressed his fi
nger against the intercom button. “Hello?”

  “It’s Evan.”

  Not Hailey.

  He tried to ignore the sinking disappointment in his chest as he cursed under his breath.

  “Bro, can you let me up?”

  He hesitated. While he was relieved Hailey hadn’t married the man, he was still pissed Evan ruined the launch. Why Evan had to set the wedding date right before the damn event was beyond him.

  “Are you there?”

  He couldn’t ignore Evan. Unfortunately, Evan was the man with the money funding Sun Tech. He didn’t dare piss the other man off more, especially if it made Sun Tech even rockier.

  They may as well hash this out now.

  “Come on up.” He dropped his bag at his feet.

  A few minutes later, Evan stood on the other side of the double doors with a hat pulled so low, it was impossible to see his face.

  “Evan,” Jace said, his tone dry. “What’s up? Fun evening last night?”

  Evan’s jaw clenched. “Last night was a damn nightmare. Hailey embarrassed me in front of friends, family, and business contacts. I was left standing there like a damn fool.”

  “Sounds like a living hell,” Jace said. Though from his perspective, Evan deserved it.

  “Tell me about it. I thought I had the damn thing straightened out after she called yesterday morning whining about cold feet.” Evan tugged at the brim of his ball cap and marched in like he owned the place. His expensive leather shoes tapped against the hardwood floors.

  Jace blinked. The tone in Evan’s voice was downright icy.

  “She must have found out about the cheating,” Evan muttered.

  “I’m sure she had an inkling,” Jace said dryly.

  “She could have at least followed through for the sake of appearance. My parents are pissed. They think I’m to blame.” Evan stopped in the middle of the living room, hands on his hips. He stood in the exact same spot Hailey stood when she first entered the room.

  “Have you heard from Hailey?” Evan asked. “I tried to find her, but she somehow disappeared for the entire night. Not sure how that was possible without her wallet.”

  “I have. She quit the contract.” He didn’t bother to soften the blow. He was in a dark mood, and Evan was pissing him off. He had enough on his plate already thanks to Evan’s wandering eyes and hands. “We need to hire a new marketing and events coordinator.”

  “Shit.” Evan whipped the cap off his head, revealing his blond hair and dark circles under both eyes. His pale blue eyes were hard and cold as diamonds. “What is she thinking? She knows how important this launch is.” Evan kicked at the leather couch as a string of curses spewed at his lips. “I’m going to—”

  “Do nothing,” Jace interrupted. The protective note in his tone surprised him.

  “No.” Evan smacked the black cap against his leg. “She doesn’t get to embarrass me first then ditch out on a contract second. Hailey will not make a fool of me twice.”

  Jace eyed the other man warily. Evan was normally a smooth-talking, charismatic man. Clients and perspective buyers loved to negotiate with him, and there was no doubt that client relations at Sun Tech went well because of Evan. While he knew there was a dark side to the man, Evan normally kept that under tight wraps.

  “I don’t think you two will be talking any time soon,” Jace said carefully. “She’s determined to not see you. Which was why she quit.”

  “We had a contract,” Evan muttered. “I’ll take her to court if we have to.”

  “Apparently the contract had a cancellation clause.”

  He’d be lying if he said he didn’t get a tiny bit of satisfaction out of Evan’s pale expression.

  “I verified it this morning,” he added. “She gave verbal notice and will follow up in writing.”

  “I didn’t think she’d use that,” Evan sputtered. “We were supposed to be getting married. We need to figure something out or delay the launch.”

  Jace began to pace. “We can’t delay the launch. Our investors will be pissed and could demand their money back.”

  He ran his hand over his face and tried to ignore the acid churning in his stomach.

  “Then we get Hailey back on board. If I could just talk with her, I could get her on the same page,” Evan said.

  Jace grimaced. If he couldn’t get her to stay on with a giant salary, there was no way Evan would change her mind. She looked ready to spit nails last night at the mere thought of working with Evan. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  Evan clenched his fists. “I think it’s a great idea. She’s causing too much turmoil.”

  “Probably for a good reason,” Jace pointed out. “You did cheat on her.”

  “Not important,” Evan snapped. “The important thing is we get Hailey to finish this job. We had a contract, and she needs to follow through.”

  Those were the very words he had said this morning to Hailey, but when Evan said it, every muscle in Jace’s body tensed.

  The other man was angry and embarrassed, he reminded himself. Evan must have been completely caught off guard by Hailey’s disappearing act. There was no doubt Evan was embarrassed. And angry. He should have thought of that before cheating on his wedding day with the wedding planner.

  “You agreed to a contract with a cancellation clause,” Jace ground out through his clenched teeth. “As far as I’m aware, everything she’s doing is kosher.”

  “A minor thing I think we can get past.” Evan rubbed his hands together. “I’m going to find her, shower her with affection, and apologize profusely. I’ll tell her it was a mistake I regretted instantly.”

  The Hailey who was drinking whiskey in his kitchen last night wouldn’t go for that plan. She’d laugh at the pure stupidity of it. “She’s not going to fall for that.”

  But Evan was warming up to the idea. He clapped his hands together, a grin on his face. “It’s genius. Hailey never could say no to me. She’ll fall in line.”

  He thought of Hailey saying she wanted to do something for herself for once, and suddenly he understood.

  “She doesn’t need to fall in line. Leave her alone, and I’ll deal with it.”

  The smile faded from Evan’s face. “You will deal with this? Trust me, man, Hailey doesn’t think much of you as it is. If anyone gets her back, it won’t be you.”

  Jace crossed his arms and leaned against his white-painted wall. “Says the man who cheated on her. I don’t think she wants to see you.”

  Evan turned a downright ugly shade of purple. “I know how Hailey operates, and you don’t have the right approach for her. You have to guide her along into making a decision.”

  “She’s not a child. Hailey can handle herself, and she’s not going to fall for this bull.”

  Evan squared his shoulders and tucked his chin. “I don’t—”

  Jace cut him off. “Trust me on this one.”

  Evan didn’t even try to hide the snarl on his face. “This is a huge mistake.”

  Enough was enough. “You keep your head low and leave Hailey to me.”

  “You’ll put the company at risk,” Evan snapped.

  “You already have. And if you care about the company, you’ll leave Hailey alone.”

  That shut the other man up, but it didn’t stop Evan from glowering at him. Evan crammed the hat back on his head, pulling the brim down so low it would be a miracle if the man could see anything beyond his own feet. “Fine. But if your way doesn’t work, don’t say I didn’t tell you so.”

  “Fair deal,” Jace said, then quickly changed the subject. Evan loved to be a source of information and contacts, and he was going to use that to his advantage. “Do you have any contacts for a marketing coordinator?”

  Evan glowered at the floor, hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched up to his ears.

  “Yes,” he relented after a long minute. His shoulders eased down. “Though it’ll be pointless if we get Hailey back.”

  Jace’s phone buzzed
in his pocket. He spoke as he pulled it out. “Hailey is not—”

  He stopped short as he read the name on the screen. His heart began to hammer. Hailey was calling him.

  “One minute.” He moved into the kitchen before answering.

  “What’s up?” He purposely left out her name in case Evan was listening from the living room.

  “Jace? Do you have a minute to talk?” Hailey sounded defeated.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, it’s fine,” she sighed. “Can we talk about the contract?”

  He glanced over his shoulder at Evan, who hovered outside the kitchen. Evan’s eyes were narrowed with a hawk-like intensity.

  Jace cleared his throat. “Sure.”

  Hailey cut right to the chase. “Is your last offer on the table?”

  “Excuse me?”

  Surely, he hadn’t heard right. Something must have happened if she was asking about the offer.

  “Is your offer still on the table?” she repeated.

  He couldn’t miss the shake in her voice. Still, the businessman in him kicked into gear. “Yes. For double.”

  His heart pounded as he waited for her to say something. If Hailey came back, that would be great news for Sun Tech, and a messy situation with Evan. The other man was embarrassed and angry about the drama from last night, and since Evan was the pockets that helped fund the company, he really didn’t want to piss the other man off.

  “I’ll accept the offer,” she said after a long pause. “Under one condition.”

  He had a feeling he knew what that condition was. Keep Evan away from her. Still, he asked, “What’s your condition?”

  “I need a place to stay while I’m in Houston.” She cleared her throat. “Can I sleep on your futon?”

  What? That was not what he was expecting.

  Jace pressed the phone harder to his ear. “Excuse me?”

  “I need a place to stay. I need to save on funds, and I don’t want to tie myself to Houston long enough to get a lease. Can I crash on your futon?”

  What was this woman thinking? Wasn’t last night difficult enough? He barely slept because he couldn’t stop thinking of her. He could still feel the soft skin of her back against his finger. Her back, of all things.