Jilted Groom (Romance Novel)

by Mia Carson

  Kris hopped up on the worktable, swinging her legs as she gazed across the street at the inn. She and Charlie had dated for a few months years ago, but unlike the other guys who’d dumped her because she wouldn’t put out, Charlie respected her decision. They broke up for normal reasons. They were better as friends than a couple, and lately, he was the only one she confided in about anything.

  “Maybe,” she admitted. “He’s got a nice body.”

  “Yeah? Please save the details,” Charlie muttered.

  “Hey, you opened this can of worms by asking.”

  “I just wanted to know if you’re going to be the good, small-town girl and show him around?”

  Kris shrugged. “Not much to see, is there? I’m sure I’ll see him some more. He’s going to be in town for a while.”

  “Then as your friend, I say you go for it,” he shrugged. “What have you got to lose?”

  “That's pretty much what I was thinking.” The decision made to at least go on one date with Edmund, she slipped from the table and grabbed another stool. “Want some help?”

  “I dunno, you did just hit your head. Probably not sound enough to help me.”

  She shoved him hard enough to knock him off his stool, and they cackled together.

  ***

  Edmund held his cell in his hand as he watched Kristen—Kris—walk back across the street and disappear into the garage. Jenny might’ve embarrassed the hell out of him yesterday, but it didn’t feel like it now that he had met a woman like Kris. Whether it was because he never had a chance to date or she had seduced him that easily, Edmund wanted to spend more time with her, and he wasn’t sure how long he could wait.

  He let the curtain slip back into place and paced around his room. His stomach growled, and he decided to grab some grub at some point, then crash in his room the rest of the night. His cell chirped in his hand, reminding him of the twenty or so missed calls from his mom. Not wanting her to send out a damn search party for him, he lounged on the bed and called her back. He debated hanging up before she answered and tracking down a bottle of booze first, but she answered quickly.

  “Edmund! Oh God, where are you? What happened?” she wailed. “I’ve been out of my mind here!”

  “I’m fine, Mom, still in the state,” he assured her.

  “Where are you?” she repeated.

  “Yeah, I’m not going to tell you that, not yet,” he told her. “I need some time to myself. I’m going to take a few weeks to clear my head and figure things out.”

  The pregnant pause told him Sarah Eastwood was most likely grinding her teeth and tracking down his dad to talk some sense into their son. “Please, just come home. We need you here. The businesses—”

  “I’m sure they’re fine.” He cut across her. “Dad can handle everything. You don’t need me.”

  “Fine, fine, but what are you planning on doing while you’re out gallivanting around Kentucky? I hope you’re not planning on finding yourself a few women to hang on your arm,” she warned, and Edmund frowned.

  “I can do what I damn well please after being stood up by your perfect woman for me,” he shot back. “God, Mom, I just need a break. Is that too much to ask?”

  She sputtered through the line, but a moment later, his dad was there. “Edmund, are you in a safe place?”

  Gritting his teeth, Edmund tried not to blow up at his father. “For the record your son is nearly thirty, so can you stop treating me like a teenager? I’m fine, Mom, promise.”

  He huffed, but ignored his words. “And you have your car and money and clearly, you still have your cell?” his dad asked, and he heard Sarah whine in the background, but Edward talked over her. “Will you please be quiet while I talk to our son? Edmund?”

  He grinned in surprise at his dad’s sudden support and was willing to forgive his moment of acting like Edmund was still a kid. “Yeah, I have everything I need.”

  “Good, then take your time. Do what you have to do.”

  Edmund rested his forehead in his hand. “Thanks, Dad.”

  “But when you return, we will be discussing your future endeavors without Jenny. I already have several prospects lined up for you, and I think they will do as a replacement,” Edward said sternly. “Understand?”

  Gripping the edge of the bed hard, Edmund grit his teeth again. “Sure, Dad, whatever you say.”

  He hung up before either parent could say anything else, and with a growl of annoyance, chucked his cell at the bed as he paced angrily around the room. He was close to thirty, and they still believed they had full control over his life and where that life would go. His family had dealt in horses and whiskey since they’d settled in Kentucky, and that was what they wanted him to do—carry on the family businesses without question. That he could handle, but the meddling in his love-life, never giving him a choice on who he dated or saw in public—hell, they’d even been planning when he and Jenny would have their first kid!

  Maybe he wouldn’t go back. Once his car was fixed, he’d hop in and keep on driving until he hit the end of the country, then find a boat and leave the continent behind. He loved his parents, but after so many years of putting up with their controlling bullshit, he needed to find out who he was without them, be reckless for a change.

  Like seducing and sleeping with a beautiful woman who smelled of honeysuckle and motor oil.

  Shoving his dad’s words of warning to the side, he marched across the room and pulled back the curtain again to stare at the garage. It was early in the evening still, but maybe later, if the light was on, he’d pay her a visit. He had two weeks to fall into bed with this woman who was nothing like Jenny or the other women in his circle. He’d barely spent an afternoon with her, and already, he knew she was blunt and sarcastic and damned gorgeous, jumpsuit and all.

  Edmund grabbed his room key and locked it before he headed left out of the inn and strolled down the sidewalk to the diner. Several people stopped and stared, but at least he wasn’t wearing tux pants anymore. He stepped inside to the happy jingle of a bell, and a waitress behind the counter told him to take a seat anywhere. He glanced over the menu quickly, and when the bouncy waitress swung by his table to take his order, he grinned up at her and swore she was going to swoon.

  “Just a burger and fries, please,” he said. “And maybe a milkshake.”

  “Sure thing, doll,” the waitress said with a wink. “I’ll put that in right away.”

  He thanked her and stared out the window, watching the few random cars driving by. Most were old and rundown, and though the people were all a bit rough around the edges, they smiled and waved at each other with that small-town charm he had never been around. The door opened again, and Edmund watched as a woman caught his eye and rushed to the counter to whisper with the waitress.

  When she glanced at him again, he tried to hide his laughter, but she sidled over to his table and tucked her hair nervously behind her ears. “Hi,” she said and held out her hand. “Heard you were new in town.”

  “Yes, I am, just for a few weeks. Edmund Eastwood,” he said politely.

  “Molly Garrison,” she giggled. “I work at the retail store down the way.”

  He squinted at her and recalled her red hair amongst the racks of clothes. “I think I remember you,” he said, and the gentleman in him took over. “Care to join me?”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude,” she said, the hint of desperation in her voice plain.

  Edmund motioned to the opposite booth. “I insist. I hate eating all alone.”

  With a loud laugh, she sat down quickly and rested her elbows on the table, gazing into his eyes. Edmund rubbed a hand over his mouth, wondering what he’d just got himself into. This was not the woman he wanted to have dinner with, but maybe she could tell him a bit more about the town and about Kris.

  The waitress returned and took Molly’s order, too, before she bombarded him with questions, so fast he barely had a chance to answer before she was onto the next one. While she inte
rrogated him, she twirled a strand of hair around her finger and watched his mouth intently when he did manage to get a word in edgewise. At one point during their dinner, her toes found his calf and slithered up higher and higher until he shifted his legs and coughed at the same time so she would stop.

  “You should really come to Louisville some time,” he told her as their empty plates were taken away and he paid the bill. “I’d love to show you the horses we race.”

  “I would love that! I’ve never really been too far out of Green Valley. None of us get out of here.”

  “I’m sure you could if you wanted to.”

  She shrugged and sighed, leaning back in the booth. “Strapped for cash, like most of the people in this town, but it ain’t all bad. Every now and then, we get the random stranger who passes through and livens everything up.” She licked her lips and leaned over the table. “You know, it’s still pretty early.”

  Edmund spotted the lust in her eyes, and he quickly yawned and stretched his arms over his head. “I’ve been driving all night, otherwise I would love to. I’m afraid I won’t be much fun for too much longer.”

  “Pity. Maybe another time, then.” She slid a napkin across the table. “Call me.”

  “I’m sure I will. Thanks for the company.” He tucked his card back in his wallet. “Well, good night, then, Molly.”

  He took her hand and kissed the back of it as he had been taught to do since he was a teenager. She blushed and pressed a hand to her chest with a sigh. He walked out before she had a chance to follow him and corner him inside the inn–or worse, manage to find her way into his room.

  “Certainly a lot of interesting characters in this town,” he mused as he meandered down the street. Most of the shops were closed because it was a Sunday night, but the bar across the way had its doors thrown open and country music blared out the doors, accompanied by laughter and yelling. He considered heading there for a drink, but he saw Molly and the waitress darting across the street and ducking straight into the bar. Laughing, he resolved to turn in for the night when he realized the garage’s doors were open and lights were on inside. What are you doing? he wondered, and his feet took a turn, heading across the street to the gravel lot outside the garage.

  Music that was not country flowed out of a radio and echoed off the metal building. Edmund knocked, but when he saw the hunched over frame of Kris, his hand froze and all he could do was stare. She worked under the hood of another old car. The jumpsuit was gone, and all she wore were her work boots, shortie shorts that barely covered her ass, and the tank top from earlier. Her hair was slung in a messy ponytail, dangling down her back. There was the hint of a tattoo on her lower back he saw more of each time she leaned over further. Her legs were as well-toned as her arms, and an imaginary flash of her wrapping those legs around his waist shot white-hot arousal straight to his groin. He envisioned his hands tangled in her hair, tugging it back as he kissed her neck and made love to that curvy body, listening to her moan in his ear as she clenched him tighter.

  Kris turned around, and his hand slipped off the wall where it’d been resting and he nearly fell flat on his face. Laughing and holding a wrench in her hand, Kris cocked her hip to the side. “Something I can help you with, Ed?”

  Praying she didn’t notice his erection, he shook his head and smoothed his hair back, his face flushed with embarrassment and want. “Edmund, and no. Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  She nibbled on her tongue as her gaze drifted down to his jeans. “Looks like I might’ve startled you,” she said huskily. She turned back around and leaned under the hood. “You don’t have to stand there. Come on in, I don’t bite… hard.”

  Swallowing a groan of sudden want, Edmund walked further into the garage. His car was parked on the far side, the hood up and engine already removed. He promised his baby quietly she’d be alright and reached Kris’s side. “Whose car is this?”

  She straightened and grinned. The body of the car was solid, but under the hood was a mess. When he took a gander at the interior, it was missing several components—like seats and a steering wheel.

  “This… this is my baby,” she said proudly.

  “Are you building her from parts?” he asked, amazed.

  “Yes, I am,” she said and reached over to snag a beer. “It’s taken me several years to get this much going, but one day, she’ll be finished.”

  “What is she?” he asked, running his hand over the top.

  Kris’s eyes widened, and her beer rested against her bottom lip. “You’re kidding me, right? You drive that beast, but you have no idea what this one is?”

  “The family business is whiskey and horses,” he said with a shrug.

  She set her beer down and rested her hands on the car. “This right here is a 1970 Pontiac GTO, also known as ‘the Judge.’ I managed to track down a Ram Air III with 366 horsepower at 4.300 RPM. This baby is going to take me places when she’s finished.”

  Edmund nodded in appreciation of the beast before him. “Good old American muscle. D-port head?”

  She shot him a look and burst out laughing. “So you do know your cars.”

  “I had to see if you did. Make sure my mechanic knows what she’s talking about.”

  “Testing me, is that it?” she said, but she grinned as she said it and sipped on her beer. “There’s more in the fridge over there. Help yourself.”

  He walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of beer, using the opener attached to the wall to pop the top. “Using a manual transmission, right?”

  “Are you kidding me? It’d be an atrocity to put an automatic in this.”

  “Good. I was worried I’d have to take my car somewhere else,” he teased.

  “I’m the best mechanic in a hundred miles,” she told him. “You’d be screwed if you went anywhere else.”

  The beer was cold, and it cooled his body but not the growing hunger of watching her move in those damn shorts. “That’s too bad,” he whispered and sipped on his beer again as Kris nibbled her tongue until he wanted to rush across the garage and smash her to his body, claiming her mouth as they tore at each other’s clothes.

  Damn, Jenny really screwed you up. Get ahold of yourself, he grumbled to himself.

  Kris’s lips curled into a sly smile. “Shit happens,” she said simply. “You got two weeks.”

  “Yes. Yes, I do.” He dragged over a stool to sit close by as she went back to work.

  They didn’t talk for a while, but the silence wasn’t awkward. It was strangely comforting after so long spent surrounded by people who never shut up about their lives or their money, their portfolios, and stocks. He enjoyed the quiet music playing on the radio, bands he wasn’t used to hearing. The clank of tools as Kris worked on her precious baby. She lifted her right leg to scratch her left, enticing him with every little movement.

  “You going to tell me more about your wedding?” she asked after she grabbed another beer for them both.

  “Maybe one day, with more beer involved—or whiskey,” he said. They clinked the necks of their bottles together. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”

  Kris took a long gulp of her beer. “Not sure yet. Hanging out at the bar, like normal. Monday night is darts. I have to defend my title.”

  “As reigning champion?”

  “Ha. God, no,” she burst out. “As worst shot in the town.” She peeled at the label on her beer bottle and shifted. “Care to join me?”

  “It’s a date,” he announced. “I’ll see you then.”

  “Turning in already?” she asked, disappointed.

  He shrugged one shoulder and loved the way her eyes followed the movement. “Early riser.”

  “Then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow night,” she said. “Night, Ed.”

  He rolled his eyes but didn’t correct her. “Night, Kristen.” She scowled, but he chuckled and walked to the inn.

  Chapter 6

  Kris groaned when her alarm rang shrilly in her bedroom,
and she fumbled to turn it off. The sun wasn’t up yet, but summer in Kentucky did not make great running conditions. She never missed a run. As Dennis snored in the other bedroom, she tiptoed to the bathroom and changed into her running shorts, tank, and tennis shoes. The air was muggy when she stepped out onto the rickety front porch, but if she waited for the sun to come up, it’d be even worse, and after work, she had a date.

  A date. The idea of spending more time with Edmund pumped her up for her run, and she took off down the gravel road that led into town. About a hundred yards down sat the house she and Dennis grew up in with their grandmother. The lights were on, but she knew Grams wasn’t home. She worked the early shift at the inn and was probably figuring out ways to harass her only occupant. Kris plodded on until she reached the blacktop road. She ran all the way to the outer reaches of town where the road curved up into the mountains before she stopped to stretch her legs and take a breather. Light crested along the ridgeline, and she smiled at the sight of it until her cell chirped. She pulled it from the strap attached to her arm.

  “Grams?” she asked out of breath. “What’s wrong?”

  “Where the hell are you?” she yelled.

  “On my morning run, why?” she asked, heart leaping into her throat.

  “That damn man’s on the roof! He’s just standing up on the roof and I keep yelling and it’s like he’s gone deaf, and I swear, if he jumps—”

  “Who’s on the roof?” she asked trying to catch up. “Edmund?”

  “Yes!” Grams screamed, and Kris hung up and took off back towards town. He definitely didn’t seem like the type of guy to jump off a roof, but if Grams was screaming about it, it was only a matter of time before she called the cops or the paramedics.

  By the time she reached the inn, she was out of breath and hunched over from cramps in her sides. Grams rushed out the front door, pointing frantically up to the roof.

  “There, he’s right there!”

  “I see him,” she said, gasping for air. “Why… didn’t you just walk… up there?”

  “It’s four flights of stairs,” she explained it away. “Go talk to him.”