Can't Forget You

by Rachel Lacey

  Jess wasn’t his girlfriend, not even his friend.

  So he needed to put the whole thing out of his mind because the deed was done, the offer had been made. She might hate him a little bit more now, but she hadn’t liked him much to start with so this shouldn’t really change anything between them.

  And the fact that he still cared about her, still wanted her, the fact that he felt like an absolute tool for snatching this land out from underneath her? Well, it didn’t matter. He couldn’t let it. He was one-third owner of Off-the-Grid so his ultimate responsibility was to his partners and his business. Not Jess.

  Below him, the trees were getting bigger as he drifted toward them. The landing field stood out as a bright rectangle of green grass amid the darker trees with the stray stripe of the runway down one side. He pulled the left toggle, steering for the middle of the field, where he could see Ethan and Ryan engaged in some kind of mock fight.

  Fuckers. He felt himself grinning.

  He swooped in near them, pulled down on both toggles to slow his descent, and landed at a jog.

  “You don’t have to make that look so easy,” Ethan said as he walked over. “I landed flat on my ass both times.”

  Mark shrugged, hiding his smile.

  “It’s good for you to land on your ass every now and then,” Ryan told him. “Keeps you humble, bro.”

  “Fuck you,” Ethan shot back. He rammed into Ryan with his shoulder, and they both went down, still laughing.

  “Easy,” Mark said as he began unclipping himself from his harness and chute. “I promised your wife”—he pointed at Ryan—“and your future wife”—he pointed at Ethan—“that I’d bring you home from this gig in one piece.”

  Two hours later, they’d just finished devouring three large plates of ribs and were ready to move on to the next stop on their brewery tour of Boone. There were three in town, and they planned to hit them all. Ryan and Ethan hoped to be totally shit-faced by the time they called it a night.

  Mark would stay sober enough to drive their sorry asses home at the end of the night. He didn’t mind. He hadn’t been drunk since high school. Back then, he’d gotten hammered any chance he had and done a lot of stupid shit as a result. Since joining the Army, he preferred to stay in control of his body and his senses.

  So he’d have a couple of beers, but that was it.

  “You know, I keep waiting for those cold feet everyone talks about,” Ethan said. He drained his beer, looking thoughtful. “But the truth is, I can’t wait to marry Gabby on Saturday.”

  “That’s because she’s The One for you, man,” Ryan said. “When it’s right, you’ve got nothing to lose. I never got cold feet with Emma either.”

  “Might be because you had a shotgun wedding,” Mark commented, taking another drink of his beer.

  Ryan grinned. “Yo, I make no excuses for that. It all worked out how it was supposed to. We’d have gotten married sooner or later anyway, but I’m glad it happened sooner. Hey, did you guys know we find out the sex in a few weeks?”

  “You’re going to find out about sex?” Ethan said with a shit-eating grin on his face. “That ship has already sailed, hasn’t it?”

  Ryan elbowed him in the ribs. “The sex of the baby, dimwit.”

  “That’s great, man,” Ethan said, sobering.

  “Emma thinks it’s a girl. I’m kind of hoping for a boy, but it doesn’t really matter to me one way or the other. Our kid’s going to be outside climbing rocks and shit regardless.”

  Mark felt a strange pang as he thought about Ryan and Emma becoming parents. Ethan and Gabby tying the knot this weekend. He felt empty somehow. Hollow. Like the part of him that needed to create a family had shriveled up and died all those years he’d been bounced around foster care with no family of his own.

  What would it feel like to come home to a wife, a couple of kids? The idea was so foreign that he couldn’t even imagine it. A brief image of Jess flitted through his head. Jess in his arms, holding him tight. Jess beneath him in bed while he lost himself inside her the way he never had with any woman but her.

  “You guys ready?” Ethan said, standing from the table.

  “Brewery number two, here we come,” Ryan said, also standing.

  “Hang on a sec.” Mark reached for his phone, which was buzzing in his pocket. “Hello?”

  “Mark, so glad I caught you. Gordon McDermott here, and I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

  Jess had outbid them after all. Mark didn’t feel nearly as disappointed about that as he ought to. “That so?”

  “A third party has come into play,” Gordon said.

  Mark snapped to attention. “A third party?”

  “A developer out of Asheville toured the property this morning. They’re looking to build vacation condos, and their offer was more than competitive.” He rattled off a number so high that Mark knew he and the guys had no hope of matching it.

  And to think he’d worried about crushing Jess’s dreams. Now he, Ryan, and Ethan had lost the land too.

  * * *

  Jessica massaged the muscles in Emma’s neck, trying to ignore the shooting pain snaking down her right arm all the way into her fingers. If it had been her left, she might have thought she was having a heart attack, but no…this felt more like a pinched nerve or something. And it was annoying as hell.

  After getting the all clear from her doctor that she was no longer contagious, she’d returned to work yesterday, but truly, she still felt like crap. She was so exhausted she could barely make it through the whole day on her feet. Her left knee was still sore and a little bit swollen. And now she had this nerve pain in her arm.

  It was all she could do not to scream in frustration.

  Because she did not have time for this. It was eleven thirty Saturday morning, and she was midway through the wedding party’s spa treatment. Stifling a groan, she focused on Emma’s massage, making sure her friend achieved complete relaxation here on Jessica’s table.

  When she’d finished, Emma let out a happy sigh. “It’s a bummer I can’t soak in the hot tubs with everyone else because I’m pregnant, but I think this was just as great. Thanks, Jess.”

  “Absolutely,” Jessica said with a smile. “I’ll leave you to get dressed, and then we’ll get you guys all set up for your manis and pedis.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Jessica left the room while Emma got dressed, forcing herself not to limp. She walked to the larger of their treatment rooms, where they often hosted bridal parties and other groups to make sure everything was in place for Gabby and her guests. Four pedicure chairs were ready for the bride-to-be, her mother, and her two bridesmaids, each adorned with a pink satin goodie bag containing essential oils, lotion, and other gifts for the women to take with them, compliments of the spa.

  After making sure everything was ready, Jessica went down the hall to the staff room. She grabbed a bottle of ibuprofen from the cabinet and shook two pills onto her palm. Usually, she preferred holistic remedies to medicinal, but right now, her whole body ached, and she had work to do, dammit. Screw you, flu. I don’t have time for this shit.

  Dana poked her head in the room. “You all right?”

  “Fine,” Jessica answered automatically.

  “I just wanted to let you know we had a cancellation at two. Tourists decided to head home a day early. So you could totally clear out of here after we finish with the bridal party.”

  Oh, thank goodness. “Thanks, Dana. I think I’ll do that. That way I won’t be cutting it so close to get ready for the wedding myself.”

  “We got your back, Jess.”

  “You’re the best.”

  With a wave, her assistant manager left her alone in the break room. Jessica washed the ibuprofen down with a glass of mineral water, bolstered by the knowledge that she got to go home soon. Hopefully a quick nap would revitalize her enough to have fun at Gabby and Ethan’s wedding.

  Since slowing down for a few minutes seemed to have only mad
e her more aware of her aches and pains, she put down her glass and headed out to greet the bridal party as they made their way into the treatment room for their manis and pedis.

  “Is it selfish of me to claim you for myself, Jessica?” Gabby asked with a wide smile. “But I have to assume you’re the best, and I am the bride after all.”

  “She’s all yours,” Emma told her. “You’re the only one having close-up photos of your hands taken today.” In her yellow knit dress, only the slightest hint of a baby bump showed.

  “Besides, you called dibs on me on your own wedding day, if I remember correctly.” Jessica gave Emma a friendly nudge, and her friend beamed.

  “I sure did, and my hands have never looked prettier.”

  Jessica ushered Emma, Gabby, Gabby’s mom, and her friend Chloe into the treatment room and got them all seated. Three of Jessica’s employees followed them in to do the other women’s treatments.

  The bridal party spent a few minutes picking out polishes. Gabby was the first to make her selection. She took her seat and handed Jessica a glittery silver polish. “That’s for my toes,” she said. “They’ll match my shoes. I want a French manicure for my hands.”

  “You got it.”

  An hour later, Jessica was finishing Gabby’s French manicure while the girls chatted excitedly about the wedding. Gabby’s hands, she noticed, were shaking. “Nervous?” she asked.

  “Terrified,” Gabby admitted. “Not about marrying Ethan…but the ceremony, the wedding itself. It’s all so nerve-wracking.”

  “You’ll be fine,” Emma said. “The worst part is walking down the aisle because everyone’s looking at you, and you just know you’re going to trip or puke or something.”

  “I’m not sure you’re helping,” Gabby said, her eyes going wide.

  “But really, who cares if you trip?” Emma said with a giggle. “We’ll laugh with you, not at you. And I was two months’ pregnant at my wedding so the puking thing was probably just me.”

  “She’s got a good point,” Jessica said as she applied the clear, sealing coat of polish to Gabby’s left hand. Despite the intermittent shooting pains in her right hand, she’d managed to apply the polish perfectly.

  Gabby looked down at her polished fingers with a dreamy smile. “I can’t believe it’s really happening today.”

  “I still remember having my nails done the morning I married your father,” Gabby’s mother said. “I’m so happy for you, sweetie.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” Gabby’s eyes had gotten glossy.

  Jessica finished up and stood. “You ladies take all the time you need in here and feel free to help yourself to more drinks and snacks in the lounge before you leave. There’s no one booked in this room until later this afternoon.”

  “Thanks so much, Jessica,” Gabby said.

  “My pleasure. Good luck with the rest of your preparations, Gabby. I can’t wait to watch you walk down that aisle in a few hours.” Jessica gave her shoulder a squeeze, as both of Gabby’s hands were currently resting under the dryer.

  Jessica headed for the front desk, where Maritza was on the phone booking an appointment. Dana came up behind them. “Go. We’ve got everything covered for the rest of the day. Go on. Rest up and get ready for the wedding.”

  Ordinarily, she’d never bail on them like this, but she’d looked at the schedule, and it was true. They were covered. And she was dead on her feet. “Okay. Thanks, Dana. Just call if anything comes up, okay?”

  “Will do, but we’re fine. Go on. I can’t wait to hear all about the wedding tomorrow.” Dana grinned. “Never thought I’d see the day Ethan Hunter got hitched.”

  Jessica smiled too. Yes, Ethan had been one of Haven’s most notorious bachelors. “I’ll take pictures.”

  She said good-bye to Dana and headed to the break room to get her things. Then she was finally, blissfully, on her way home. The exhaustion she’d been fighting all morning rose up and swallowed her the moment she stepped inside. She limped to her bedroom, flopped onto her bed, and was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.

  When she woke up, the clock read two thirty-three, and she felt like a whole new woman. Maybe she’d jumped back into work too quickly after kicking the flu, but she hadn’t exactly had a choice. And she hated sitting home doing nothing.

  After a long, hot shower, she stepped into the blue satin dress she was wearing to the wedding. She’d originally picked out a pair of strappy heels to go with it, but her knee was still bothering her so she went with simple black flats instead. She added a few chunky necklaces and a pair of matching earrings, and she was ready to go.

  The wedding was at a beautiful estate on the outskirts of Haven. Jessica parked in the gravel lot behind the estate house with the other party guests and made her way to the area on the back lawn that had been set up with rows of white chairs facing a flower-draped arbor. The Smoky Mountains smudged the horizon beyond, and a vineyard to the east added to the beautiful scenery with its rolling hills lined with grapevines.

  Here and there, couples walked around, laughing and talking before taking their seats. Jessica clutched her bag and looked around for someone she knew. Attending weddings by herself was such a drag. She needed a boyfriend, like yesterday.

  Dammit, she was so tired of being serially single, but where were all the eligible bachelors? Because she’d done the online dating thing all summer, and it had yielded nothing but a series of duds and a few seriously cringe-worthy moments.

  With some relief, she spotted her friend Carly Taylor and her boyfriend, Sam Weiss, seated about halfway back on the aisle and made her way toward them.

  “Hey, you guys,” she said, sliding into the empty seat beside Carly.

  “Hi.” Carly turned to her with a wide smile. “Isn’t this place absolutely breathtaking?”

  “It really is,” Jessica agreed.

  “Hey, Jessica,” Sam said in his smooth drawl. Despite the fact that he happened to be one of the hottest rock stars in America, Sam had managed to keep a fairly low profile here in Haven. Jessica had been skeptical of her friend’s whirlwind romance at first, but Sam seemed like an honest-to-God great guy, and he and Carly were obviously completely smitten with each other.

  In fact…

  Carly was waggling a blindingly gorgeous diamond solitaire ring in Jessica’s direction, her smile almost as dazzling as the ring. “Look what happened last weekend while we were in LA.”

  “Oh my God!” Jessica whisper-squealed. “That’s so exciting. Congrats, you guys.”

  “Thank you,” Carly and Sam said in unison.

  “That’s some ring. Way to go, Sam.” Jessica grinned at him. “So I guess we’ll be attending another wedding soon.”

  It was practically a wedding epidemic at this point, and Jessica was thrilled for her friends, but…ugh, she was twenty-eight years old. Almost twenty-nine. And so single she hadn’t had sex in almost a year. It was pathetic, really.

  “Would it be tacky if we had our wedding here too?” Carly said. “Because this place is so amazing. Oh, look, there are the guys!”

  Ethan, Ryan, and Mark had taken their places in front of the crowd, and damn, but they were a good-looking trio. Ethan with his tousled blond hair, blue eyes, and that charming grin that just wouldn’t quit. Ryan with his brown hair, plentiful tattoos (which were hidden today beneath his charcoal gray tux), and bad boy attitude in place.

  And Mark. Mark with his military-style close-cropped black hair, his dark eyes always so full of mystery, and the deep scar that creased his right cheek. His skin was a beautiful shade of bronze thanks to his father, who was African-American. Back in high school, Mark had shown her the faded, wrinkled photo in his wallet, the only photo he had of his parents. His mom, petite and blond, his father tall and handsome, much like Mark himself. Just teenagers when they had him. They’d died in a car crash when Mark was six, leaving him adrift in the foster care system.

  No doubt it was the reason he was so closed off now. Her heart
broke for that little boy, orphaned and all alone. She’d loved that boy when he was on the cusp of becoming a man, loved him with all her heart. And rather than loving her back, he’d walked away. And so, no matter how much she hated the things he’d had to go through, she couldn’t make the mistake of falling for him again.

  But damn, he was something to look at. So handsome in his tux. Somehow, the scar only added to his sexy intrigue. She wanted to trace her fingers over it, kiss it, kiss him. And seriously, what was the matter with her right now? She did not still want Mark. She didn’t even like him. She hated him for walking out on her the way he had.

  So what if he looked delicious enough to eat? She shifted in her seat and stared out at the vineyard to her left until the ceremony started. The bridal party came first, radiant in their lavender dresses. Then the music shifted, and beside her, Carly gasped.

  Gabby was the vision of beauty and happiness as she walked down the aisle with her father at her side. Her dress was simple but flowing, with lace edging the bodice and a full, lacy train. It was stunning, only slightly less stunning than her smile. She wore tiny white roses in her hair, and…yeah, Jessica felt herself getting teary-eyed.

  She dabbed at her eyes as Gabby and Ethan exchanged their vows. The love stamped all over both of their faces was just…wow. That’s what Jessica wanted. She wanted a man who looked at her the way Ethan looked at Gabby. She pressed a hand to her heart when they were pronounced husband and wife.

  Ethan pulled Gabby into his arms and gave her a kiss that made everyone in attendance whoop and cheer. Yep, Gabby was a lucky lady; that was for sure. After the ceremony, guests drifted to the patio for drinks and hors d’oeuvres while the bridal party had photos taken. Jessica walked around, making casual conversation while trying not to stare at a certain tall, handsome groomsman who was smiling—yes, smiling—for the camera on the other side of the lawn.

  Finally, the reception got under way, and Jessica was relieved to find herself at the table with Carly, Sam, and a few other people she’d gone to high school with. She made small talk while she ate (and shared a few giggles with Carly as several female guests came over to their table to fawn all over Sam).