The Best Man's Bride

by Jamie Dallas

  He followed close behind her. His cock throbbed heavily inside her as he came. Jace clenched her tight against him and bit her shoulder. The sharp pain of his teeth was a bit of heaven, and she moaned her pleasure.

  She could have stayed there forever.

  Jace must have thought the same thing because even when it was over, he still held her close.

  His body was hot and sweaty, but she didn’t mind. She rolled over to press her cheek against his chest and inhaled the scent of him, trying to commit it to memory. The sound of their breaths mixed in the cool morning air.

  After a few minutes, Jace spoke. “When I saw you for the first time, six years ago, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.”

  She lifted her head to stare down at him. “Seriously?”

  He pulled her back down. “Umm hmm. How could I not? All that rich red hair and those dark soulful eyes. You kept telling me what to do and how to market my business.”

  “Wasn’t I right?” She swung her leg over his.

  Jace chuckled, the sound low and rich. “Keep this up, I’ll tell you whatever you want to hear.”

  “Is that so?” Hailey pushed up onto her elbow. “Then why did you turn me down all those years ago?”

  It had taken her weeks to build up the courage to ask him out for drinks. She could still remember the chest-crushing moment when he told her no, followed by the embarrassment of having to face him the next day.

  Jace cleared his throat and shifted. His eyes where half closed, and his lips pressed tight.

  That damn mask.

  She wanted to pry but stopped herself. They had agreed to no strings, not a relationship.

  “You don’t have to tell me.” She ran her fingers over the light springy curls on his chest. The silence weighed heavy around them.

  It was time to get out of here.

  She pushed to her hands and knees. Already she missed the warm comfort of Jace’s body next to hers.

  “I don’t believe in relationships.” His voice was soft. “They don’t last, you know.”

  She paused, her arms extended so that she hovered over him. He told her this before, but this time felt different. Like a confession.

  “I believe relationships can last.”

  “That’s not true. Everyone gets bored. One day they’ll decide they can’t stand you for a minute longer. Then they’ll walk out that front door, and there’s nothing you can do to stop them.” Jace stared at the opposite wall as he spoke, as though lost in another world that wasn’t in the here in now. The cords of his throat muscles were tense.

  He’s mourning.

  The realization left her speechless. Jace had loved and been left. Some gorgeous woman had held his heart and then tossed it aside.

  A flurry of emotions ripped through her. Anger at the other woman. Hurt for Jace.

  Jealousy.

  She hated that Jace was in love with someone who couldn’t see the amazing man before her.

  She ran her fingers through his dark hair, trying to comfort him in some way. Her action felt so small compared to a hurt so large.

  “Who left you?” she whispered.

  Jace didn’t answer. The room was so silent, she could hear the rattle of wind outside.

  After a long minute, Jace twisted toward her.

  He circled her arm with his fingers and kissed her wrist. Softly. A small gesture of a lover who needed to touch every part of her.

  He kept his lips pressed to the small bump of her wrist. She could feel his exhales on her arm. Long, slow breaths that brushed against her sensitive skin.

  “My mother.” His voice came out in a rusty whisper, as though the words had corroded from lack of use.

  His mother.

  Hailey felt like she had been kicked in the ribs.

  She imagined Jace, young and innocent, until his world was ripped apart when his mother walked out.

  All of Jace’s jagged edges. His mask, his lone-wolf act.

  His mother walked out.

  And left a little boy behind.

  Her heart stuck in a painful lump in her throat, and she moved her fingers through his hair.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  Jace wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down, holding her tight against him. Since Jace was normally so quiet about his past, she expected him to stop there. It turned out that a dam had broken, and he needed to keep going.

  “I was four. My toys were strewn all over my bedroom. I had an epic game of cops and robbers going, and I had every car I owned involved. My mom walked into my room and I knew, even then, that something was wrong. She wore her best coat and her favorite shoes.”

  Hailey wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed.

  “My mom took one look around my room and told me no one wants to live with messy people. She didn’t yell, but her voice was so intense that I was scared. Confused.”

  An image of a little Jace with a mop of dark curly hair, and wide sad eyes popped in her mind. She kissed his neck, his chest, his cheeks, trying to ease the pain in some way.

  “Then she went out. She didn’t say where, and she didn’t return. My dad was furious. Hurt. He found out later, from a friend, that she had moved to California. When he realized she was never going to return, he became depressed. And after a few months, he left me with my mom’s sister. My aunt.”

  She hesitated, not sure if she should ask the question, but for some reason, she couldn’t stop herself. “Do you know where your father is now?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. Somewhere out west is all my aunt knows. She didn’t have a reason to stay in touch, and I never bothered to find him. It worries me what I would find.”

  Both parents left him. And never came back.

  Jace’s gaze avoided hers. She curled her fingers against his chest to avoid screaming at the injustice of it all.

  “And your aunt?” she asked against his chest, muffling the waterlogged sound of her voice.

  “First rate. Raised me as her own.”

  “I’m so grateful for her.”

  Jace pressed a kiss to her hair. “Me too.”

  Chapter Ten

  The early morning hours were for sleeping, planning, or overthinking. Jace was overthinking. It had been over forty-eight hours since the networking event had ended, and he still hadn’t heard from Evan.

  Giving up on his fight with sleep, Jace straightened in bed and pushed a pillow behind his back.

  Hailey was curled up next to him, her long hair fanned out behind her. Her legs tangled with his, keeping a connection between them even while they slept.

  With any other woman, he’d have left. He avoided all relationships. They were complicated and emotional and not worth his time. He liked things easy. Simple. A straight line from a night of fun to a quick escape.

  But this was his condo, and Hailey was getting under his skin, and the more time he spent with her, the more he found he didn’t want easy with her.

  Which made him want to run and stay put at the same time.

  At least there was an end date to their fun. It had to end at some point, and he’d eventually have to figure out the best time to walk away. Because he wasn’t going to be the one left. He didn’t want to be the one picking up the broken fragments of a relationship and trying to piece a semblance of his life back together. Once was enough.

  Hailey rolled to her side and snuggled against him, warm and trusting.

  It was moments like these that raged war inside him. Because it was these moments that he didn’t want to end.

  “Jace?” Her voice was thick with sleep.

  “Hmm?” He pushed her long hair back from her face. He could just make out her lashes against her cheeks in the dim light.

  “Go back to sleep,” she murmured, wrapping an arm around him.

  “In a minute.” After he figured out the mess he had gotten himself into.

  Hailey muttered something about “stubborn men” and
fell back asleep. She was so innocent while sleeping, and so strong when she was awake.

  He trusted her. Somehow, at some point, he had decided she was safe. And maybe that was why he told her about his parents.

  Pale sunlight peeked through the crack in the curtains, offering a glimpse of early morning. Easing out of bed, he tucked the blanket carefully around Hailey before he tiptoed out of the room.

  The rich smell of coffee greeted him in the kitchen. Technology rarely let you down, and his timed coffeemaker was proof of that. He pushed aside a white mug to pull a flowery one down from the cabinet. The sound of coffee pouring into the cup was music to his ears, and he settled himself down at the kitchen island.

  The irises Hailey left on the island were reaching the last few days of their beauty as the purple blooms started to sag under their own weight. Yesterday’s newspaper, yet to be recycled, sat in a neat stack, and one of Hailey’s hair ties sat on top of the pile.

  The space felt comfortable. Cozy. Even the cold granite countertop no longer felt sterile. Somehow, with Hailey’s little touches, his space was beginning to feel more like a home than a display.

  What happened when that all disappeared?

  He swallowed against the tightness in his throat. He needed a voice of reason, a reminder he wasn’t alone.

  He grabbed his phone and called his aunt.

  “Jace, honey, I was planning to call today,” she greeted him.

  “Why’s that?”

  “I haven’t seen you in a while, and I thought I’d meet you in the city for dinner tomorrow. I can stay in your spare room if it gets too late.”

  Since he had moved back to Houston, his aunt would come over on occasion to meet him for dinner and stay the night. Normally he was happy to have her over. It was the best part of moving back to Houston. Except this time…

  “I have someone staying in the spare room.”

  A long pause followed this announcement.

  Either his aunt hung up or he had stunned her into silence—a rare feat with Aunt Mia.

  “A friend,” he added.

  Who he was sleeping with.

  “A lady friend or a guy friend?” his aunt Mia inquired innocently.

  “Does it matter?” He couldn’t keep the bite out of his voice.

  “That answers my question. Why don’t you invite her over to my place? I can make dinner.”

  “I don’t think—”

  “Then don’t think. Bring your friend. I’d love to meet someone that isn’t your business partner.”

  Jace dropped his head into his hand. He knew better than to call his aunt before his second cup of coffee. Once she got an idea in her head, there was no talking her out of it.

  “I think she’s busy.”

  Aunt Mia was not deterred. Not in the least. “Don’t you think she’d like to see where you grew up? The autumn leaves are dropping, and it looks so pretty.”

  He stared at his white kitchen wall in a daze. He could actually see bringing Hailey to his childhood home, showing her another piece of himself.

  Which was why this was such a terrible idea. He was supposed to keep her at a distance, not drag her deeper into his life.

  “She’s honestly busy.”

  “Why don’t you want to bring her? Are you embarrassed by your upbringing?”

  “Of course not,” he said, not bothering to hide the exasperation in his voice.

  “Then promise me you’ll extend the invitation. A woman who is staying in your spare bedroom is a woman I have to meet.”

  A dull ache started between his eyes. He rubbed at the spot with two fingers. Why did he have to mention Hailey?

  “You’re reading far too much into this. She’s the planning coordinator for Sun Tech. She needed a place to stay, and so I offered my futon.”

  “Mmm hmm. Considering she isn’t a girlfriend, you are making a pretty big deal about not inviting her. Is something going on?”

  Of course there was. “No.”

  “Then what’s the harm in a homecooked meal? If she’s staying with you, she probably misses a good, hearty dinner.”

  His aunt had a point. He barely had time to cook, and Hailey couldn’t make toast without burning it to a brittle crisp.

  His stomach was already growling at the thought of his aunt’s lemon chicken.

  “Your meals are the best,” he allowed.

  “Perfect. I can’t wait to meet her,” Aunt Mia sang into the phone.

  “I haven’t—”

  “Sounds great, honey. I’ll see you Sunday,” his aunt said before hanging up.

  Jace closed his eyes and set his phone down.

  That did not go as planned. Aunt Mia was supposed to talk him back to earth.

  Truth was, he’d love for Hailey to meet his aunt. Having Hailey around had brought a little more color into his life, and he knew that would make Mia happy. Bringing Hailey home almost felt natural.

  And there lay the problem. He enjoyed having Hailey around too much. If he brought her to all his favorite places, her memory would haunt every corner when she was gone.

  And he wasn’t prepared for that.

  *

  “Is something wrong?” Sometimes Hailey wished she could crack Jace’s head open and see what was really going on inside that brain of his.

  “Nothing’s wrong.” Jace stared blankly at his stack of papers. “Now what is this again?”

  They were in a coffee shop—her idea—and she’d been going over the itinerary of the launch. It was nice to get out of that giant empty condo building and into the energetic buzz of Houston.

  She leaned against the bright oak table. “I don’t believe you. You’ve been distracted all morning.”

  Jace leaned forward and squeezed her knee under the table.

  “I’m fine. Just a little distracted, babe.” He shot her a devilish grin that left her flustered. “Now what were we talking about?”

  Babe? She didn’t know if she wanted to smack him or smile at him.

  Smack him. Less than twelve hours ago, they were in the middle of amazing, mind-blowing sex.

  Now she could feel Jace’s walls slowly coming up, and once again she was left out in the cold. Except for that “babe” part. She could almost see their friendship after they parted ways. Nothing but walls, polite yet distracted conversation, and the occasional endearment to make it seem ok. She shivered despite the cafe’s warm air.

  “We were talking about the itinerary—” she tapped the pages in front of him “—remember? The launch for Sun Tech? The one thing more important to you than life itself?”

  Jace’s leaned forward and grabbed her fingers. “I’m learning that there are things more important than Sun Tech.” His lips grazed the back of her knuckles, sending lusty shivers through her whole body.

  Soft indie music played overhead, reminding her they were still in public.

  “Not for you, there isn’t.” Hailey pulled her fingers out of Jace’s grasp, but his move had worked. Her anger had simmered. “Now let’s focus.”

  “I’m focused, I’m focused.” Jace picked up the pages and chewed his lower lip as he scanned through them. Picking up a pen, he made a few scratches before he flipped through the rest of the stack.

  “Looks good.” He shuffled the papers around and pushed them back to her.

  Hailey laughed. “You’re joking, right? You hardly looked at it.”

  “I trust you.”

  She tried to not let those words warm her heart and failed miserably. She gave up trying to fight the smile spreading across her face. “Jace, this is Sun Tech. It’s the air you breathe, and you don’t have any comments?”

  Jace scowled and picked up his dainty espresso mug. It took all her restraint to not laugh as he sipped from the tiny cup. “You’ve done this twice before. You’ve got this covered. Actually, you’ve got this more than covered. The video invitations were over-the-top.”

  “They were a great way to show off Sun Tech’s property. It fits
Sun Tech’s vibe and the clientele you want to market to.” She gathered the papers into one pile. There it was—the schedule, contracts, and plans for the entire launch. The one day she’d been thinking about nonstop for the past few months. And after this week, it would be over. Done with.

  Then she’d go back to San Francisco and settle back into a life without Jace.

  While she missed her laid-back San Francisco life, the thought of going home left her feeling hollow.

  She cleared her throat and went into business mode. “I’ll call the vendors on Monday to confirm count and numbers.” Her cheery voice sounded false even to her ears.

  “Perfect,” Jace echoed.

  He felt so far away. A complete one-eighty from the sexy, attentive man she’d slept with.

  If it was Evan, she’d have tried to win him over while he pouted and moped. But with Jace, she didn’t feel like putting on a face.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  Jace tilted his head, as though carefully weighing his words. “Sure.”

  He reached for her hand, but she pulled it back and grabbed her mug. The tea had cooled to lukewarm. Not exactly calming.

  “I know you don’t—”

  Jace’s cell vibrated against the coffee table. She jumped as the vibration rattled the cups in their saucers.

  Pulling the phone close, Jace scowled at the name on the screen.

  It didn’t take a genius to figure out who was calling.

  Her throat went tight. “Evan?”

  It had been two days since the cocktail party, and Evan had been eerily silent. That silence made her nervous.

  Evan was stewing.

  Jace chewed on his lower lip. “I’ll call him back later.”

  “I think you should answer now. It’s been how long since the networking event, and he’s finally calling back?” If there was one thing her relationship with Evan taught her, the man hated to be ignored.

  Jace must have been counting the hours as well. Relief crossed his face but was quickly followed by a look of tight-lipped resolve.

  “Give me a minute.”

  Prickly dread wound its way through her stomach as Jace left the shop. It twisted through her gut into a snare of anxiety. She had embarrassed the man twice, and even though she’d had good cause, Evan never faulted himself and didn’t deal with those situations well.