Poor Mrs. Marshall was barely containing her emotions. But leave it to Zander to lighten up the moment. He knocked on the door. “I’m coming in and I hope you all aren’t decent.” The Nanettes giggled and ran to the door to greet the man I adored.
He walked in looking as handsome as I had ever seen him in his suit and tie. He took my breath away. He caught my eye first and gave me a smirk as always. But he headed to Kenadie, as he should have. I watched him take her in and love filled his eyes and hers. The best friends embraced and he whispered something in her ear. At first she smiled, then she laughed, then she smacked him and called him a butthead. We all laughed. He kissed her cheek and let her go.
He turned from her and found me. He took my hand and led me out of the room to the oohing and aahing of the Nanettes. Oh, those women.
I found myself in his arms as soon as we were out the door and out of sight.
“It’s not fair to the bride that you look so good.” He spoke softly into my ear.
“Do you still love her?” I was okay if he did, but I wanted to know.
His hands fell around my waist and his eyes met mine. “I never kissed her first.” He smiled before he kissed me.
That was a good enough answer for me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and made sure I was going to have to reapply the deep wine lipstick Mrs. Marshall insisted I wear.
He pulled away, leaving me breathless. “See you later, darlin’.” He swaggered away.
I took a moment to catch my breath. How did he do that? Before I could head back in, all the women came filing out. Mrs. Marshall was a smart woman and handed me a tube of lipstick without saying a word.
Kenadie looked as calm as I had ever seen a bride. She knew she had made the right choice, and Jason wouldn’t be turning her away at the altar. In fact, he was so anxious to have her that he met her practically halfway up the aisle as both of her brothers, Dylan and Rick, escorted her down. It was the sweetest thing I had ever seen. Even Mrs. Marshall didn’t get upset that he didn’t play it by the book, or how it had been practiced the night before.
I watched Zander watch his best friends get married. If ever two people were in love, it was Kenadie and Jason. Jason barely got out the words, he was so choked up looking at his bride. It had me tearing up. Even Zander looked impressed. But I could tell he was doing some deep thinking as he watched the two become one. I wondered what he thought. I knew what he was thinking when Jason deeply kissed his new wife at the end. I could see Zander wanting to high-five him.
There was a loud cheer that rang in the hall. Kenadie had finally gotten married.
To Mrs. Marshall’s chagrin and delight, Zander escorted me instead of Lana out of the ceremony. And through the night, he hardly let me go.
Together we watched as people ate and danced. The Nanettes were buzzing around making sure everything was in order. The banquet hall was more than in order, it was perfection. The sprays of blush and cream roses and hundreds of candles along with thousands of twinkle lights made the room feel magical. Poor Ellen stayed out of the way and let the Nanettes do their thing.
One of the sweetest moments came when Jason serenaded his bride. I had no idea he could sing and play the guitar. I looked at Zander, who obviously knew his friend possessed the talent. I was wiping the corners of my eyes, it was so beautiful.
Zander whispered in my ear, “You don’t want a Jason.”
Unfortunately, there were not so sweet moments, too. Zander’s mother was putting on a show with any young man willing to take a spin with her. His dad sat in a corner and stared at his phone. I felt bad for Zander. He did his best not to pay attention to it.
I did my best to occupy his time. “Dance with me.”
He didn’t hesitate. He led me onto the dance floor and held me tight. I watched the couples around us, Rick and Renee, Kenadie and Jason, even Kate was dancing with Kenadie’s oldest brother, Dylan, from Boston. Kate didn’t look all that interested, but Dylan couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Jason’s parents, brother-in-law and sister also danced nearby us. There was a lot of love on the dance floor. It filled me with hope—not necessarily for Zander and me, only time would tell how our story would play out—but it was good to see that love endured.
For the moment, I loved being in his arms. I felt like I belonged there.
“Let’s get out of here,” he whispered for my ears only.
I met his serious eyes. He wasn’t kidding. “They haven’t cut the cake yet, or thrown the bouquet.”
His eyes said, what’s your point?
“We are going to have to be covert.”
“I like the way you think.”
We slipped out when it looked like we were headed to the open bar. We thought we had made it, but Kenadie and Jason left at the same time, through a different set of doors.
“Hell.” Zander sighed.
But all wasn’t as it seemed. The newlyweds rushed to our sides. Kenadie handed me her throw away bouquet and Jason handed Zander a black garter. “Take these and good luck. We’re out of here.” Jason was on a mission.
Kenadie gave me a quick hug, then she gave Zander a longer one. “Thank you.” She held him tight.
Jason was eager to leave and picked up his bride to rush out with her. Kenadie giggled and wrapped her hands around his neck.
I couldn’t quit smiling at the scene. It was perfect, but I worried. “We better get out of here before Mrs. Marshall finds out.”
Zander agreed. He took my hand and we were off. To where, I wasn’t sure.
We headed to his car, but all he did was pop the trunk. “You might want to lose those heels.”
I played along. I slipped out of the gorgeous shoes and threw them in his trunk along with the bouquet.
Zander tossed the garter in as well before he grabbed a blanket and a bottle of sparkling cider. He had a plan. I liked it.
Before we walked to our destination, he slipped out of his suit coat and wrapped it around my shoulders. “This will have to keep you warm for now.”
This was getting good, I could tell.
We walked hand in hand, with the cool grass beneath my bare feet, across the golf course to a little spot on a hill where you could see the entire grounds of the country club. It was beautiful, all lit up at night.
We got cozy on the blanket and I was warm in no time. It was the best New Year’s Eve ever.
“Do you think Mrs. Marshall has called Kenadie back?”
“Believe me, they aren’t answering any phones.” Zander pulled me on his lap. He brushed his hands through my hair. His eyes went through me. “Where do you think this is all going?”
My hands rested on his face. “I’m not sure, but I heard that whoever you kiss on New Year’s Eve is who you will spend the New Year with.”
“Is that a scientific fact?”
“We could test it out.” My lips played above his.
“I think for the sake of science we should try and prove it one way or the other.” His lips took control of mine.
By the way he kissed me, I would say, statistically speaking, we had a high probability of proving the theory right.
Epilogue
For a moment, I thought I was dreaming, but it felt too good and real to be a dream. I woke up enough to feel his hand glide against my bare abdomen where my tank top must have come up in my sleep. “Why are you in my bed?”
He laughed against my ear. “Darlin’, after all these months of my pent-up energy keeping my hands off you, you still don’t trust me?”
“Should I?”
“Probably not.”
I turned into his bare chest and snuggled in, knowing I probably shouldn’t—especially not here in his parents’ guest bedroom—but did it ever feel amazing. “So, why are you here?”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“I’m sorry.”
He ran his hand down my back, naturally bringing me closer. “You should be, since it’s your fault.”
“My fault?” I spo
ke into his well-defined, smooth chest that I had been enjoying the last couple of days as we played on the beach. He always spent Memorial Day weekend at his parents’ house on Pensacola Beach. Kenadie used to come with him. She and Jason were here, but they were staying in a nearby hotel, enjoying the newlywed life still.
“It’s killing me being next door knowing you’re in here. And have you ever slept on a bunkbed?”
I smiled. “Not since I was twelve. Do you want to switch? You can have this bed and I’ll take the bunk beds.”
“That defeats the purpose.”
“So, there’s a purpose to this?”
“I’ve been thinking that I’m tired as hell going to bed alone every night.”
“Do you have a solution to that problem?”
I felt the deep breath in his chest and as he slowly let it out. “I love you, Meg.”
I had to stop myself from crying. I had been waiting to hear those words. I kissed his chest. “I know.”
He pulled back. “How did you know?”
I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair. Even in the dim light I saw his eyes close from the touch. “I know you love me because you pulled down my tank top as soon as you felt my bare skin, and you’ve never pushed me to sleep with you, even though I know you’ve wanted to. And you let me hold the remote and you play with my cat.”
“I do not.”
“Liar. Jasper curled right up on your lap the last time you were over.”
“Don’t tell anyone.”
“Your secrets are safe with me.”
His lips barely glided over mine.
“That’s another thing. When you kiss me, I feel like you want me to be part of you.”
His eyes burned in the night. “I want you to share every part of yourself with me.”
“I want that too. I love you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was waiting for you to say it first. I didn’t want to scare you.”
“Meg Dawson, you will always scare the hell out of me.”
“I’m happy to hear that.”
He took another deep breath. “How do you feel about eloping?”
I felt like we were screaming down that hill again. A huge whoosh ran through my body. I had felt that way many times the past several months together. It had been the best time of my life. I had known for a while now that he was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. And despite our improbability, I found that we were more than compatible. He obviously felt the same way. “Can we do it in Wyoming with my family?”
“I was thinking more of catching a flight to Vegas today, but if Wyoming makes you happy, let’s go there. There are some things I’d like to do to you on that bearskin rug.”
I smiled, thinking of all the possibilities. “You make me happy.”
He leaned his forehead against mine. “Marry me?”
“Yes.”
Sneak Peek
Narcissistic Tendencies
I looked between the profile on my screen and the man who sat in my office, twisting the gold band around his finger. There were several similarities between the two hotshot playboys, except the one in front of me had surprised me.
“How’s Meg?” I asked.
I missed her in the office. But it made sense for her to focus on finishing school and finding another job now that she and Zander were married. Even though the client dates in our office were professional and platonic in nature, I didn’t think it was a good idea for a married person to go on them. Why open the door? It looked like Meg and Zander agreed. Zander, too, was no longer playing the role of relationship manager. He now filled the position of executive vice president. He took over several of Kenadie’s duties, including running the connection meetings and assigning clients to their respective relationship managers.
Zander looked up from his phone. He had been staring at it while playing with his ring. He seemed anxious. “She hasn’t been feeling well since we got back from Punta Cana last month.”
“Oh. Is she okay?”
He looked down at his phone again. “I’m sure she’s fine; she’s at the doctor right now.”
I had never heard him sound worried. I was happy I was wrong about him. I mean, he was still conceited, but Meg had gotten to him somehow, and it was apparent how much he cared for her. We were all shocked when they showed up married last month after eloping over Memorial Day weekend and an impromptu honeymoon. Not all of us, exactly. Kenadie, who we were waiting on to start our meeting, had attended the spur of the moment wedding in Wyoming where Meg’s family lived.
“I hope she feels better soon,” I offered.
He ran his fingers through his hair. “Me too.”
Kenadie appeared. “Sorry I’m late.” She shut the door behind her. “I just got off the phone with the marketing firm to finalize our campaign. They’re reaching out to Nicholas today to schedule filming for the first commercial. And they are sending over the pictures from his photo shoot. I can’t wait to get those up on our website. This is going to be big for us.”
I cringed internally. This wasn’t a good idea. I got that it was going to be huge for Binary Search and why Kenadie, the CEO and owner, would agree to such an idea, but Nicholas, or Nick, as he’d asked to be called, was the wrong man.
In my evaluation of him, it had been clear he had narcissistic tendencies. He seemed unable to handle criticism, like when we met yesterday and I politely suggested he put away his phone he was obsessed with, he only glared at me and kept right on checking it. He was obviously self-absorbed and had no regard for others’ feelings. Not unlike Zander, but at a more pronounced level. His Hollywood lifestyle, I’m sure, had contributed to it. He was used to constant admiration.
Not only that, the answers on the questionnaire we had each potential client fill out were unbalanced. His values and preferences were all over the place. On one hand, he checked that he was not looking for a long-term relationship, yet the traits he wished for in a partner had everything to do with wanting that person to be loyal to him in every regard, as if they were in a lasting relationship.
If only that were the most off-putting piece of information. He clearly thought highly of himself and wrote down more achievements than any client I had ever seen. Perhaps I could excuse the Emmy and People’s Choice Award, but he mentioned three times that he had been People’s Sexiest Man Alive. And there were a dozen other awards listed. I swore half of them sounded made up, like Most Overlooked Actor. Self-importance was a huge red flag.
I had to voice my concern. “Kenadie, I asked to speak to you and Zander so we could discuss Nick’s evaluation.”
She was now seated next to Zander. She looked at me, surprised, I’m sure, by my tone. Zander looked mildly interested as well, but his phone stayed his main point of focus. He must really be worried about Meg, which worried me too, but first I needed to deal with the Nick situation.
Kenadie’s pretty brown eyes narrowed. “Is there a problem?”
I straightened in my seat. How did I put this after only meeting with him once? Well, once in my capacity here. “I’m concerned about his . . .attitude . . . and how he will come across to any of the women he may date using our service. It might bring in more bad publicity than good.”
“Any women we choose for him will have to sign a non-disclosure agreement before they can go out with him. Nick’s lawyers made that a stipulation in the agreement,” Kenadie was quick to answer.
“Unfortunately, I can see why.”
Kenadie now had a slight look of panic on her face. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I’ve never met a man more egocentric than him.” That wasn’t exactly true. There was a bigger ego maniac in my past, but no one here knew about him and I liked to keep it that way. Both Kenadie and I looked at Zander.
Zander looked up. “Why are you looking at me?”
Kenadie and I both turned away from him and faced each other.
“As I was say
ing, as far as I can tell, he cares about no one but himself. At least Zander usually places Meg’s feelings above his own.”
Zander’s head popped up. “Why do I keep being brought into this? I told you both he was a player. And I’m happily married now, thank you.”
“He’s more than a player. He doesn’t seem to have an emotional attachment to anyone—maybe he’s incapable of it, I don’t know. I would have to spend more time evaluating him to know for sure.”
Kenadie sighed and bit her lip. “Kate, this is a done deal. We’ve signed. I’ve hired several more relationship managers to handle what I’m sure will be a huge increase in business when people find out that Nicholas Wells is using our service. Can you fix him?”
“People aren’t like cars; you don’t take them to a repair shop and ‘fix’ them. It takes a willingness on the patient’s part and a desire to change.”
Kenadie looked at Zander for support. They were more than business partners. They had been best friends since high school.
Zander shrugged his shoulders. “Kenz, this is your call.”
“Kate.” She faced me, desperate. “I need you to work your magic on him.”
“I’m a psychologist, not a magician.”
“Please. Maybe he was having an off day. I’ll tell his people that you need to spend some more time with him.”
“Don’t you think that will sound a little strange? We don’t offer therapy here.”
She slumped in her chair. Despair was etched in her features while she thought.
“What if Kate became his relationship manager?” Zander suggested.
Kenadie’s eyes lit up and she perked up a bit. “Yes, yes. We can say we are giving him specialized attention since you evaluate each of our clients. And this way it would reduce the amount of people here that would have to sign an NDA. He was worried about people having access to personal information about him, so this could actually play in our favor.”
“Oh no, no, no. I don’t do narcissists outside my office.” I had gone that route before. All I’m saying is annulment is an ugly word.
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