The Lost Groom: Bachelor Billionaire Romance (A Park City Firefighter Companion)

by Taylor Hart

Again, little Lincoln smiled at him. Kathy had just pulled away, so the binky fell. Luke couldn’t help smiling as he picked up the binky, holding it just outside of the baby’s mouth. “Hey, Lincoln, how are you?” He didn’t even recognize his own voice. Warning signals were going off in his brain.

  Cancer. Cancer. Cancer.

  “Sometimes parents can’t handle it,” Kathy said quietly, tearing up. “I don’t understand it, but I’m glad we’ll get him the help he needs.”

  Luke didn’t understand how he felt so connected to this baby. He found himself making faces at the baby and talking to him.

  Kathy moved to the other babies, picking up a chart and filling out things as she checked each one of them. “Wow, Luke, I should have called you to volunteer a long time ago.”

  “Yeah.” Luke laughed awkwardly. “I, ah, this isn’t really my thing.” Even as he said the words, he felt the exact opposite. The warm little package felt solid and fragile and smelled like powder.

  A few minutes passed and after playing the binky in, binky out game for a bit, the baby closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

  “What have you been up to?” Kathy asked.

  “Oh, ya know.”

  “Becoming a billionaire.” Kathy winked at him. “Word gets around.”

  “Not yet.”

  Kathy grinned. “But I hear you have Sterling Pennington’s brother involved. That’s crazy.”

  “How’d you hear that?” Not many people knew the details.

  “Oh, you know Nick, he brags about you all the time to the guys.” She sputtered out a laugh. “Truthfully, it annoys the guys and they tease him about it.”

  This made Luke smile. Nick was proud of him. He focused on the baby. It was insane to Luke that he was sitting here, holding a baby. If someone would have told him yesterday that he would be doing this today, he would have laughed.

  “It’s good for Lincoln to sleep. His body needs the rest.”

  Luke pulled the baby closer, feeling strange at the fact he was even sitting here. “So he’s leaving today.”

  “Yes, but Primary Children’s is one of the best hospitals in the western United States.” She sighed. “I just hope they find the funding to keep him there for possible experimental treatments if he needs them.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know what the state will pay. He doesn’t have insurance, obviously. I mean, he’ll be on state help, but not for the medication they found in his blood. The stuff for the experimental treatment.”

  Luke was worried. “They have to have programs for this. What will happen to him?”

  Kathy shrugged. “People are working on it. I’m sure he’ll be taken care of.”

  Luke didn’t like the way he was feeling invested in this child. But who would help him?

  Kathy stopped in front of him. “Hey, you’re a natural.”

  He shrugged off the compliment, but couldn’t stop the gooeyness forming in his heart. He tried to focus on Kathy instead of worry about the baby. “Thanks.”

  Kathy went about her work, chattering about this and that with their old high school class, who was here and who was there. He wasn’t really paying close attention until she asked, “Luke, isn’t that great?”

  “What?” he asked. “Sorry.”

  She brushed the air with her hand absently and went back to filling out the paperwork. “Beth told me her mother is setting Savannah up with Clark Fable.”

  “What?” This turn in conversation took him completely off guard.

  Kathy grinned. “Ya know, that guy who moved here a couple of years ago and coaches football at the high school? He teaches math. Do you know who I’m talking about? He’s super cute.”

  He thought about sitting at a high school game last fall with his brothers and hazily remembered the coach.

  “And can you believe Savannah is a matchmaker now?” Kathy shook her head. “It’s so cool.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Kathy paused and stared at him for a minute, then broke into a huge smile. “Yeah, our Savannah is a matchmaker. I looked her up on the internet and she was on the cover of Texas Lifestyle two years ago.” Her grin widened. “It’s like Texas’s version of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. She helped marry off some of the richest old tycoons in Texas. Didn’t you know that?”

  Luke felt embarrassed. “I didn’t.”

  “Oh, yeah. I mean,” Kathy said, her lips turned down, “after, ya know, what happened last year, she quit taking clients for a time and Beth said it kinda burned through her money. She was kinda depressed and stuff. But I think it’s great her mom is setting her up. I mean, who sets up the matchmaker?” Kathy looked utterly pleased.

  The information made Luke feet even stranger about the whole Savannah situation. Which didn’t seem possible.

  “Maybe they’ll be at the wedding.” She sucked in a breath. “Wouldn’t it be cool if Savannah and Clark had their first date at Damon’s wedding? So romantic!” The glee coming off of her was too much.

  She was a matchmaker? He was still stuck on that little detail. But the detail about her dating didn’t sit well with him at all, either.

  “Luke …”

  He realized he’d been not paying attention to her talking. “Sorry.” He stood and took two steps toward her, gingerly holding out the baby for her. “I just realized I forgot something. I have to go.” He shrugged. “Ya know, lots to do for the wedding.”

  Kathy brightened. “I’ll be there with bells on.”

  Luke walked out of the hospital room and down the hall, the same hall he chased Savannah down last night. All he could wonder was, would Savannah be there? He was all keyed up.

  He moved through the hospital halls and then to the elevator to go back to Nick’s room, feeling jittery. He had to do something. Pulling out his phone, he called Damon.

  “Is everything okay with Nick?” Damon asked immediately.

  “It’s fine.” Luke shook his head. “But, I have a question for you.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Did you invite Savannah Loveless to the wedding?”

  Damon let out a sigh, then a curse word. “I don’t know.”

  The same crazy, stalker feeling washed over him. How come this woman kept showing up in his life?

  6

  “I shouldn’t have come.” Savannah said nervously as she inhaled deeply and held to her father’s arm.

  Her mother was on his other side as they walked up the steps to the Luke Freestone mansion. Well, not quite a mansion, but compared to the houses both of them had grown up in, it was.

  She marveled at the Tuscany feel of the architecture. It’d been done in rich yellows, tan, and beige, with a splash of red through the house in accent colors.

  “You’ll be glad you came.” Her mother let out a happy sigh.

  Savannah pushed away the irritation at her mother. She was only here to prove to Beth … and herself, the past didn’t matter. Everything between her and Luke was ancient history.

  Her father let out a light laugh. “Cindy, why did we want to come to this hoity toity affair?”

  Her mother waved a hand in dismissal. “You two stop it. I told you, I want to show her off. I deserve to. It’s been too long. You might have fun.” She said in her wicked, innocent way.

  “What have you done, mom?”

  “Cindy?” Her father asked.

  “Nothing.” She insisted, gesturing to the house. “Just enjoy the setting will you?”

  Savannah couldn’t help but think of the apartments and military housing she and Sean had lived in. Granted, they’d had the opportunity to travel. He’d been stationed in Germany, Paris, London, Alaska, Florida, and Alabama. A change of scenery every eighteen months. But they’d never lived in places like this. A twinge of jealousy shot through her. She’d never been a very good decorator. It’d kind of felt hopeless to her most of the time. So she’d been efficient about it. She’d do a wall of family portraits,
some cute sayings scattered through the house, a few plants. Most of the time the furniture was left or rented. It made her feel kind of hollow to think of the two trunks of “their” possessions that sat in her parents’ garage.

  “That was a nice ceremony, wasn’t it?” Her father leaned into her as he looked around, too.

  She nodded. “It was nice.” She thought of Damon at the front. He had looked grown-up. Dashing, truly. It had surprised her that Luke, who stood next to Damon, had averted his eyes from the ceremony and stared straight at her during part of the ceremony.

  Of course, she’d looked away. There was no way to hold his eyes. All that intensity.

  Nick had been a bit pale in a wheelchair next to Luke. Her mother had filled her in on the guy who shot him.

  The pit of her stomach hurt and she had to force herself to take deep, slow breaths. She really didn’t want to be at Luke’s house, but she didn’t want to feel like she had to avoid him, either. “Where is Beth? She’s supposed to meet us here.”

  Her father shrugged. “She’s supposed to, but you know Beth.”

  “What does that mean?” Irritation wove into her. Beth had promised she would meet them at Luke’s house.

  Her father sighed. “Beth can be relied on for her job, but all other social engagements are categorized into two things: fun and more fun. If more fun comes along, she’s off.”

  Savannah kind of started to panic. “No, she has to come.” The thought of navigating this party by herself felt overwhelming.

  As they walked into a huge living room adjacent to the kitchen, which was done in stone that corresponded with the Tuscan look, she saw a crew of caterers holding out trays.

  Her mother turned to her. “It’s marvelous, isn’t it?” She reached out and squeezed Savannah’s forearm. “But remember to stay away from Luke tonight, okay?”

  Annoyed her mother would even feel like she had to say anything, she shook her head. “Mom, stop.” She was distracted by the view from Luke’s house of the slopes of the ski resorts. Huge glass floor-to-ceiling windows gleamed in the kitchen.

  “Okay, I have a confession.” Her mother’s voice was sly.

  She turned to inspect her mother’s repentant face. “What?”

  Folding her hands together, she looked worried. “I told Clark you were a matchmaker and he said he wanted to meet you, so I told him you would be here tonight.”

  From the look on her father’s face, he knew about it. “I’m sorry, honey,” he said.

  “Ohmygosh.” She shook her head and felt the dander rising inside of her. “Did Beth know about this?”

  Her mother lifted and lowered a shoulder. “Maybe.”

  Now she was ticked.

  “Honey, just let yourself have fun tonight.” Her mother pleaded.

  “I’m leaving.” Savannah’s eyes scanned the crowd pouring in behind them. Then she realized she’d left her phone in her parent’s car. “Dad, I need the keys.”

  Her dad lowered his gaze at her. “Savannah, please … just stay. You’re leaving at the end of the summer anyway, right?”

  It was hard for Savannah to say no to her father. Not to mention the fact he was right, she was leaving at the end of the summer. She let out a breath. “Fine.”

  Her mother put her hands together in delight. “You won’t regret this, Savannah.”

  She rolled her eyes and focused on her mother. “Mom, you know I don’t like to meet clients in person until I vet them through some services on the internet.” She always did a background check, financial check, and general Facebook check.

  “Honey, he’s a personal friend to your father and I and I told him you weren’t interested in dating, but I thought you might take him on as a client.” She shrugged. “He can’t pay what your oil tycoons pay, but it’d be so great for him. Please, just meet him? You want clients anyway.”

  For obvious reasons, she didn’t want to cause a scene, which she knew her mother knew. She sighed and looked away. “You totally set me up.”

  “Sweetheart, he’s such a nice young man,” her father added. “Please.”

  She gazed down at a hangnail on her pinky, not wanting to meet her mother’s eyes.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a line that had formed to shake hands with Damon and Samantha. Samantha was pretty. Thin, blonde. They looked so happy. Nick sat and Luke stood by them. Good. It made her feel safe to know where Luke was and the fact that he was occupied. She could stay for a few minutes to prove she wasn’t afraid, then leave.

  As if on cue, her mother took her arm and began shuffling toward a tall, dark-haired man. Her mother put on her Loveless perfect family smile. “Clark. Finally.”

  Savannah pasted on her own smile as her mother introduced them, more inner rage building up inside of her. Her mother had no right to do this.

  “Savannah, Clark; Clark, Savannah.”

  Deep brown eyes regarded her. He did indeed look like a Clark, the one who was Superman’s alter ego. Dark brown hair, a strong jaw. Tall. Not as tall as Sean had been, but about Luke’s height, she figured, and then hated herself for using Luke as a benchmark in analyzing men. “Hello.” She grasped his outstretched hand, hating the fact he was cute and her rage was subsiding.

  An eyebrow cocked up and he held her gaze. “Well, hello.” He grinned. “The famous matchmaker.”

  Savannah’s mother looked extremely pleased with herself, like a Cheshire cat. “Clark, finally you meet my daughter.”

  Savannah suspected Clark hadn’t asked for a matchmaker.

  Clark nodded, but didn’t look at her mother. His lip twitched up. “Yes, finally.” Were they sharing some kind of inside joke? He cleared his throat and then looked down at their hands, which were still together. He quickly let go. “I’m sorry, I … I guess I didn’t realize you really would live up to how beautiful your mother said you were.”

  Savannah knew her cheeks were flushed and she found herself matching his grin. She tried to cover it by turning to see her parents’ reactions.

  Her mother had laced her arm through her father’s crooked elbow, and smiled at them both. “Well, I never disappoint. Savannah must have gotten her matchmaking abilities from me.” She winked at them.

  Savannah shook her head, wanting to escape being under her scrupulous eye.

  Clark, as if sensing her thoughts, reached his hand out, again. “Would you like to dance?”

  Briefly, she looked at his hand and hesitated. Truthfully, she hadn’t even considered dating in a long time and somehow it felt wrong.

  “I promise. Just one dance. If you decide I’m a hopeless cause for finding me a match, I’ll bow out quickly.”

  Hating that she was blushing even harder, she reached her hand out and took his.

  “Have fun.” Her father gave her a soft pat on her shoulder.

  Turning back, she frowned at both of them. Her mother just let out a soft laugh.

  The dance floor was on the ground level, beneath the grand deck. The pool and hot tub were on one side, with a large garden on the other. The place was gigantic. They walked down the steps and headed for the dance floor.

  She was actually nervous, which she hadn’t been for a long, long time. Well, strike that, Luke made her nervous. But it was more of a hyper, crazy, eat-you-up-spit-you-out kind of nervous. This was just more like a first date, she reflected. Like how many of the people she set up probably felt like. Yes, it was good to remind herself of how her clients would feel. Yes, that would be how she would look at this dance. As research.

  Clark didn’t waste any time pulling her into a waltz, holding her right hand in the air and putting his hand softly on her hip. His cologne had a spicy scent to it. “Thanks for dancing with me. I thought tonight might be boring, but I don’t think so anymore.” He had an easy way about him, a permanent smile on his face.

  She relaxed. “Well, don’t put too much pressure on a first date.”

  His eyes went intense. “Is this our first date?”


  Her heart raced. “That’s not …”

  He leaned back his head and laughed loudly. “Man, your mom likes to get her way, doesn’t she?”

  She found herself enjoying the dance, enjoying the conversation. “Yes, my mother’s relentless. I’m sorry you have been the object of her attention.” They fell into a nice, easy step.

  He blushed. “I like your parents, they’re good people.”

  Warmth filled her. “Well, I’m sorry for your trouble. I’m sure she’s driven you crazy.”

  He squeezed her hand. “No, don’t be sorry. I’m not. I think it might have been worth it.”

  Realizing he was flirting with her, she felt her eyes flutter. “Well…”

  He simply smiled.

  She decided to turn to polite chat. “So you’re a math teacher?”

  The side of his lip turned up. “I guess it doesn’t sound as cool as a matchmaking guru.”

  She smiled at the way he was trying to turn the conversation to her. “I think teaching is great. Mom and Dad did a good job of it. I never cared for math much.”

  Letting out a grunt, he took her into a turn, then pulled her back in tight. “I wouldn’t picture you for a math nerd.”

  “Oh? What would you picture me as?”

  Pulling his eyebrows together, he thought about it. “Hmm … cheerleader.”

  Reflexively, she rolled her eyes. “Right.” It bothered her he was right.

  “Well?” he pressed.

  She let out a light laugh. “Man, if I would have known what I know now, I never would have done it.”

  He smiled wider, and she saw his perfect white teeth. “Ah, c’mon, cheerleader isn’t bad.”

  Shaking her head, she felt herself relax. “It’s not so much being a cheerleader as the cliché that goes with it.”

  The song ended and he stopped dancing, but kept his hand on her hip, cocking an eyebrow. “So did I pass the test? Can I have another dance?”

  Strangely enough, she gave him a slight nod. “The test isn’t over.”

  Gathering her back into his arms, he laughed. The music segued into something faster, a country dance. “No, I suspect there’s a battery of tests.”