Wedding Date Rescue

by Sonya Weiss

  Grayson stopped chewing. “I’m trying to eat.” As he cut into the omelet, his pager went off. Grimacing, he checked the number, then excused himself and reached for his phone. Grayson was a pediatric emergency physician and getting notified meant a child or teenager was ill or injured. As soon as he ended the call, he said, “I’ve got to run.” Grabbing the rest of his toast, he rushed out the door.

  Casey finished her breakfast in the sudden silence, hoping whichever patient her brother was on his way to see would be okay. When she was done, she dumped the remains of Grayson’s uneaten breakfast in the trash, then rinsed the dishes and stacked them in the dishwasher.

  Leaning over the sink, she raised the window to let in the breeze and fresh air. She thought about Kent again. If a real-life kiss from him was anything like the one in her dream…or the other things they’d—

  She straightened up quickly, nearly smacking her head into a hanging basket. She needed to stop thinking about Kent and all that other stuff she’d dreamed he was good at. Nothing was going to happen between the two of them, much to her disappointment.

  No…whoa…not disappointment. Relief. Much to her relief.

  …

  Ever since Casey had stopped by, all Kent wanted to do was see her again and that was bad news. He’d learned that when a man couldn’t wait to see a woman again, it meant he was either hoping to get lucky or he was falling for her. Either one spelled trouble for him.

  Kent rushed through washing down the rig and put the cleaning supplies away, then met with the crew and captain for the shift exchange. Once the meeting was through and he was relieved of duty, he headed out to check on Kevin, the rookie firefighter who’d been struggling with learning the ropes. After giving him a few words of encouragement, he waited around for Rafferty to finish up, then headed out with him.

  In his truck, he switched on the radio, only to have Rafferty immediately turn it off. When he glanced at his friend and saw the set jaw, he knew something serious was up. He could guess what the topic of conversation was going to be. He’d already heard from Grayson about dating Casey. That had been an awkward conversation, as her brother had reiterated being careful and not taking chances with his sister in any way. Especially that way. It had been a polite “hands off” talk.

  He’d bluffed some bullshit that his relationship with Casey was on a deeper, more intellectual level than the physical, and from the way Grayson had gone silent, he could only imagine what thoughts were running through his friend’s mind.

  “Is this about your sister?” he asked, not wanting to listen to Rafferty give him the same lecture that Grayson had.

  Rafferty adjusted his ball cap and drummed his fingers against his thigh. “You already talked to the others?”

  “Lincoln is fine with it.” Of course his best friend was okay with it. He knew the relationship was fake, but he’d sworn he’d keep his mouth shut, and Kent trusted him. “Grayson already gave me the lecture.”

  Rafferty shook his head, glanced out the window at a group of children waiting for the school bus, then said, “In that case, I won’t add to it.”

  “Good.”

  “Other than to say if you hurt her in any way, there’s no place you can run where I won’t find you.”

  “I’m not going to hurt her.” Once they each got what they wanted, they would part ways, and their lives would return to normal. No one would get hurt. The lecture from Grayson and the warning from Rafferty were unnecessary.

  “How’d you two get together, anyway?” Rafferty asked.

  “It just sort of happened,” Kent said.

  “Out of the blue you suddenly looked at my sister and decided she was dateable, or what?”

  “I noticed she’d changed,” Kent said. When Rafferty’s gaze narrowed, he added, “Her hair is longer.”

  “Oh. Yeah. Guess it is.” Rafferty was quiet the rest of the way until they reached his condo. “See you later.” He hopped out and closed the door.

  Kent headed home, and when he pulled into the driveway of the white farmhouse that had once belonged to his great-grandmother, he started to relax. He’d always loved this place. She’d left it to him in her will along with the instructions to fill it with children, and he might have, but that was his life before. Now, he seriously doubted that would ever happen.

  When he got out of the truck, he was surprised to see his mom rocking gently back and forth on the porch swing. He checked his phone to make sure he hadn’t missed any calls.

  “Everything okay?” he asked as he mounted the steps leading up to the wraparound porch.

  “Everything’s fine.” Her voice didn’t sound like it was. She patted a space beside her and continued to swing silently.

  He didn’t speak, knowing that she’d eventually get around to telling him the purpose of the visit.

  Finally, she drew in a breath. “How are you doing with Rebecca in town?”

  Though his gut still clenched at the memories associated with his ex-girlfriend, he said, “She’s ancient history, Mom.”

  “I know that, and if you weren’t dating Casey now, I’d be worried. I just wanted to check on you.”

  Guilt at lying to her knotted his gut. “Thanks.”

  “I’ve always loved Casey.”

  “I know.” His entire family had a soft spot for her.

  “The two of you were inseparable in preschool. I knew the day of your accident that Casey was in love with you.”

  “Is that right?” Kent wiped a hand down his face. His mother, like Casey’s, saw only what they wanted to see. Casey hadn’t been in love with him then any more than she was now.

  “Oh yes. If you could have seen the expression on her face when she heard the news.”

  Kent was saved from answering by the sound of a car pulling into the driveway behind his truck. His father stepped out and waved at both of them. Eugene Wakefield was still as fit as he’d been before he’d retired from the fire station. He walked briskly to the porch and joined them, sending Kent a conspiratorial look.

  “Is your mother planning your wedding already?”

  “I think she’s headed that way.” Kent rose and hugged his dad.

  “Don’t talk about me like I’m not here. You know that irritates me.” She stood in a huff.

  “Lynn, honey, our son just finished a shift. Give him some peace and quiet to go eat breakfast before you try to drag him down the aisle.”

  “I didn’t come to talk about a wedding. Well, I didn’t,” Lynn said hotly. “I came to see how he was doing with Rebecca in town.”

  Eugene winced and shot Kent a pained glance. His father knew better than his mother did the toll the accident had taken on him, because he was part of the brotherhood of firefighters. He took his wife by the hand. “I finished up the errands quicker than I thought I would. Why don’t you and I check out that new antique store over in Cherry Creek and let the boy get some rest, hmm?”

  Over his mom’s head, Kent mouthed “thank you” at his dad. He was tired and didn’t feel like sifting through the fragments of his history.

  “That sounds wonderful. We’ll be back by later to pick up my car. I love you, son,” Lynn said as she leaned up to kiss Kent on the cheek. They’d always been a close, loving family, but ever since he’d been injured, his mother had made it more of a habit to check up on him. If she wasn’t inquiring about his social life and pushing him to find someone to date, she was pushing casseroles on him.

  She held up a finger. “Hang on a second. Eugene, there’s a ham casserole in the backseat. Will you get that?”

  Kent sighed, knowing arguing was futile. He understood his mother’s need to hover was a way of reassuring herself that he was fine. She’d spent as much time at the side of the hospital bed while he’d recovered as Casey had. He accepted the dish his father retrieved and held out to him.

  “There’s plenty to eat for two if you want to invite Casey over for dinner.”

  “Great idea, Mom, and while she’s he
re, we can go ahead and pick out the names of our future children.”

  His mother smacked his arm. “I’ll see you later.”

  Kent watched his parents walk away arm in arm, and the image of the two of them together made him think of Casey. Of where she’d be when she was their age. Like most of the townspeople, he’d thought she’d be married to Dominic by now. When she’d told him she was getting married, he’d taken a horse kick to the gut. Some other guy had horned in and had, for a time, anyway, been the white knight she’d always searched for. That white knight wasn’t Kent and never would be. A guy who failed to save Aiden like he had in the accident couldn’t possibly keep someone who mattered safe. And Casey mattered. God, she mattered.

  Chapter Six

  Casey handed the middle-aged woman seated in the chair in front of her desk a printed sheet of paper that included her match’s name, a photo, and the time and place of their first date. The woman, a teacher at the local community college, took the information, thanked her, and walked out smiling. Exhaling contentedly, Casey leaned back in her chair with a smile of her own. She had a good feeling about that one.

  Over the course of her time on the job, she’d successfully matched many couples. After they’d tied the knot, one of them had given her a little wooden knickknack with the word “Cupid” written in calligraphy across the front of it. They’d recently celebrated their third anniversary and were expecting their first child.

  She was happy for that couple and all the rest she’d helped find a happily ever after, even though it hadn’t happened in her own life. If truth be told, she worried that it wouldn’t. Every relationship she’d had ended up fizzling. Maybe she was the problem. Casey chewed her lower lip thoughtfully.

  The alarm on her cell phone pinged, ending her self-reflection. She was excited at the idea of spending time with Kent, even though they were going to the diner for lunch solely for the purpose of giving David Roper and everyone else a chance to see them as a couple. Taking a small compact from her purse, she checked to make sure her hair looked presentable. Brushing a piece of lint from the top of the simple black dress she’d chosen to wear, she stood, then, remembering that it was often cold in the diner, she grabbed a light wrap her mother had knitted for her and draped it around her shoulders. The light color softened the starkness of the dress.

  She walked outside, waved to the barber, then turned the key in the lock. The second she was done, Kent’s truck pulled up, and he leaned across the passenger seat to swing the door open for her.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “I am. Remember that you have to gaze at me adoringly and agree with everything I say.”

  He laughed as she climbed into the passenger seat. “You couldn’t convince me of that when you were twelve, and you won’t convince me now.”

  “It was never about you. I was trying to make Sean Ingram jealous, but it went right over his head because he was blinded by Angie’s superhero collection.”

  “Such a tragedy.” Kent shook his head. “You probably lost the love of your life to Batman.”

  She grinned. “Tell me about it.” Her gaze shifted to his hands on the steering wheel as he pulled away from the curb and back onto Main Street. He had strong hands with long, lean fingers. She let her attention travel up the length of his arm and across the wide expanse of his chest. He wore a blue button-up dress shirt that made the color of his eyes stand out. Eyes that were currently sending her a puzzled look.

  Casey averted her gaze and toyed with the strap of her purse where it rested in her lap. Her skin flushed, and her heart thundered like it had when she’d run a marathon. Her mouth dried out, and she fanned herself with her hand. “It’s hot in here.”

  He reached over to turn on the air conditioner, and Casey wanted to press her face against the vent to cool her skin, but she refrained. She knew the issue. She was attracted to Kent. She’d rather have last year’s nasty winter virus again, because at least that ended well. Being attracted to Kent would not. Well, she was a big girl. She’d just squash that attraction and keep reminding herself that friends and romance were a terrible mix. All she had to do was think about how her relationship with Dominic had been and she could see the truth in that.

  The truck bumped slightly as Kent drove into the parking lot of the Peach Tree Diner. The diner was in a building that had once been used for the town’s jail, and the owners had kept some of the original design as they’d expanded. As usual at noon, the place was packed. After they parked, Casey unbuckled her seat belt and exited the truck.

  Kent walked around to her side and held his hand out.

  She slid her hand into his.

  They walked side by side up the sidewalk past the outdoor sign announcing the diner’s specials for the day. He reached for the door and held it open. She was acutely aware of him as she brushed by.

  They moved through the crowd, and Kent put his hand in the middle of Casey’s back. She sucked in such a hard breath, she was surprised she didn’t inhale her tonsils, but she managed to keep walking. She’d never felt this way when her ex-fiancé had touched her. Why now? Why Kent?

  Casey slid into the corner booth, aware that half the patrons were looking at them but trying to be discreet about it. Kent sat in the seat facing her and picked up a menu, even though, like her, he knew the choices by heart.

  “Do you think there’s something wrong with me?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Kent said without looking away from the menu.

  Beneath the table, she gave the inside of his knee a nudge with her foot.

  He jumped and lowered the menu.

  “I’m serious.”

  “Why would you think there’s something wrong with you?”

  “Because Dominic didn’t want to, you know…” She lowered her voice. “Sleep with me. All my relationships haven’t ended well, and I’m starting to wonder if it’s me. Maybe guys just don’t find me sexy. Or maybe I’m bad in bed and no one has the guts to tell me. Would you want to sleep with me?”

  “Jesus, Casey,” Kent muttered as the waitress, who’d clearly heard the last sentence, stopped at the table behind them.

  Great. Minnie was known for two things—her six children and her love of gossip. When Minnie slowly walked up to the end of their booth, Casey decided she needed to do some damage control. “I’m not sure what you overheard—”

  The waitress held her hand up. “Your business is your business, gal.”

  Kent reached across the table, took Casey’s hand in his, and stroked his thumb across the back of it. He flashed a dimpled smile at Minnie while he placed his order.

  “I’ll have the same, but with sweet tea,” Casey added.

  “Okay. Two Warden Delights coming right up.” Minnie scribbled their order down, then put her hand on Kent’s shoulder. “I’m glad you and Casey are dating, especially with that woman back in town.” She took the menus as they passed them over and walked away.

  That woman was how everyone referred to Kent’s ex—as if Rebecca had lost the right to be called by her name after what she’d done to one of their own. Kent’s jaw tightened, and he squeezed Casey’s hand. Though he’d never talked about his feelings over how his ex had treated him, Casey knew he’d struggled with it.

  When they were alone again, wanting to chase away the memory of hurt she read in his eyes, Casey said, “You didn’t answer my question. Would you want to sleep with me?”

  …

  At Casey’s question, Kent dragged his thoughts away from the past. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to make me feel better now that Rebecca is back.”

  “No, I’m trying to make me feel better,” she said with a light laugh as she ran her finger along the top of a water glass.

  Taking his time, Kent studied her appearance. She’d pulled her shoulder-length blond hair up into a loose bun on the top of her head. On any other woman, that would have looked messy, but Casey made it look sophisticated. She had some kind of knitted thing over her
shoulders, and her dress was snug enough for him to appreciate that she was a woman. Her eyes were wide and unflinching, though there was a trace of vulnerability there.

  “No, I wouldn’t sleep with you, but not because there’s anything wrong with you. But because that would make things complicated. It wasn’t you, okay?” How any guy could not want to sleep with Casey was something he didn’t understand. It wasn’t so much that she was hot, though she was that. She was the kind of woman who was beautiful all the way through. She was funny and interesting and—

  “I didn’t ask would you, I asked if you would want to.”

  “Yes,” he said, not meaning to say what he was thinking out loud. Now it stood there between them like he’d surprised a skunk in the woods. He was afraid to move or say anything for fear of the stink that would follow. But the way she was staring at him, he had to say something. He cleared his throat. “But I know better than to do that.”

  Casey nodded, then suddenly grabbed his other hand and held on tightly. With a wide smile, she said, “Don’t look now, but David Roper, my investor, is sitting two tables over to the right, and he’s definitely paying attention to us.” She got up from her seat and walked over to Kent’s side. “Either scoot over or get out and let me in.”

  Once she sat, he settled on the bench again, acutely aware of how small the booth had suddenly become. Her leg was pressed so firmly against his, he could swear he felt her blood pumping through her veins.

  She unwrapped the napkin around the silverware. “I should have thought about this sooner. We’re in the honeymoon phase of the relationship, so we should be getting as close to each other as we can. Besides, we used to share a booth all the time.”

  Yeah, but that was back when she didn’t have that body. He shifted, but there was no room to draw away from her.

  When Minnie arrived with their orders, she set the food on the table, then grinned and winked at both of them before walking away.

  To keep his mind off how Casey’s body against his made him feel, he said, “Tell me about your work. I know you find men for marriage-minded women, but is there more to it than that?”