by Maggie Way
We settle at the table with our plates piled high with spaghetti. "What's all this?" he asks me, indicating the wine and candle.
"Me trying to butter you up." I give him a mischievous grin.
"Uh oh," he teases me before turning serious and adding, "Anything for you. Just name it."
I like his open-ended acceptance of my mystery request, but I'm not sure if he'll feel as agreeable when he finds out what I want. I take a gulp of my white wine before telling him, "T.J. called me today."
His brow immediately furrows with distaste. "Ah, the jerkwad who tried to pay us not to be together."
"Yes, him," I smile at my fiancé. Deciding to start with flattery, I say, "It seems that the reality television world loves us and they want more of us."
Andrew drops his fork and looks at me like I have gone crazy. "I'm not doing some kind of newlyweds show where they follow us around and devise problems to try to split us up."
"Oh, no, I wouldn't do anything like that," I assure him.
"Are they sending us on another Cruise for Love?" he asks.
"We already found love," I remind him, but the enamored way he's looking at me makes it clear he already knows that. "Actually, they want us to get married in Las Vegas. They'll pay for the entire wedding AND give us $100,000!"
"What's the catch?" Andrew is very suspicious of anything related to Croc and his cohorts.
"They just want to film the wedding prep and our nuptials to stream for the world to see."
"A ready-made wedding video?" he smiles at me, and I sense that he is starting to warm to this idea, as I am...What is the harm? Why not? At my nod, he asks me, "Is this what you want?"
I consider the question. The show brought about major humiliation, heartache, and hurt feelings in me, but it also made it possible for me to reconnect with the man of my dreams. I shrug my shoulders, still not completely sure that this is a good idea, but excited about it nonetheless.
Making a snap decision, I say, "I'm in."
He studies me for a moment, his lids lowered. "If you're in, I'm in," he tells me. "Let's do this."
About the Author
Bios are generally rather dry, so I thought I'd shake up the format a little bit. Here are ten not-so-interesting tidbits about me:
I despise whipped cream. There, I admitted it in writing. Let the ridiculing begin.
Even though I have lived as far south as Key Largo, Florida and as far north as Maine, I landed in the middle.
If I don't make a conscious effort not to, I will drink nothing but tea morning, noon and night. Hot tea, sweet tea, green tea - I love it all.
There doesn't seem to be much in life that is better than coming home to a big dog who is overjoyed to see me. My other family members usually show significantly less enthusiasm about my return.
Singing in my bestest, loudest voice does not make my family put on their happy faces. This includes the big, loving dog referenced above.
Yes, I am aware that bestest is not a word.
Dorothy was right. There's no place like home.
All of the numerous bottles in my shower must be lined up with their labels facing out. It makes me feel a little like Julia Roberts' mean husband from the movie Sleeping with the Enemy, but I can't seem to control this particular quirk.
I love, love, love finding a great bargain.
Did I mention that I hate whipped cream? It makes my stomach churn to look at it, touch it, smell it, or even think about it. Great - now I'm thinking about it. Ick
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The Best Man
by Nicole Morgan
Chapter One
Avery Foster stepped onto the jetway and instantly felt the rush of cold air sweep through the tiny opening where it met with the plane. A shiver ran along her bare legs, reminding her that running late for her flight and not having time to change before getting on board was going to be something she greatly regretted.
Even with the enclosed wobbly hall that she rolled her carryon along, she could smell the winter in the air. Snow, if not already on the ground, would soon be making an appearance. Trying her best to ignore the rapidly dropping temperatures, she reminded herself that Stacy was her best friend and being her maid of honor was an honor she wouldn’t trade for anything. No matter how much she hated the harsh Colorado winters.
A warm rush of air hit her as she crossed the threshold into the terminal, offering a brief reprieve from the cold she would undoubtedly feel once she stepped back outside.
Her eyes followed the signs which led her to baggage claim. Even though she’d grown up in Denver, she’d never done much traveling through their airport. She always preferred long drives and scenic countryside to the noisy and unpredictable jet engines that carried people thirty thousand feet in the air.
The ride up the escalator was made longer by the tired toddlers screaming at their mother directly in front of her. The woman offered an apologetic glance, but Avery didn’t mind. She loved kids and always had. Even when she worked at the daycare center through high school, she always had the most patience out of any of their staff.
Now that she’d passed the hill into the last half of her twenties, she realized more than ever that she wanted to have a family. The trick would be finding the right man who would treat her right and be a good father.
She’d be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that she wasn’t at least a tiny bit jealous of what Stacy and Brad shared. Not just that they were getting married, but the real connection that they shared. They’d been together almost three years, and it was clear to anyone who knew them that they were hopelessly in love. Plus, one would have to be blind to not notice how much Brad adored his bride to be.
Out of the two best friends growing up, Stacy had always been the wilder one. Having nearly two dozen boyfriends throughout her high school career, all of who pretty much worshipped the ground that she walked on, sometimes left Avery feeling like the wallflower. Perhaps due to her introvert personality, or the wallflower persona that she felt whenever she stood in the larger than life shadow of her best friend, Avery often found herself standing in the background, taking whatever attention was thrown her way despite her being the shy one in their group of friends.
Looking through the crowd of people as she made her way to the carousel which held her flight’s luggage, she scanned the never ending sea of faces, expecting to hear Stacy’s familiar high pitched screech and howl before too long. For looking like a cover girl, the girl could sure hoot and holler with the best of them.
She checked her watch a few times, wondering if she’d landed much earlier than she had thought. Instead it showed that they’d arrived probably a good ten minutes or more behind schedule. Knowing that Stacy was nothing if not obsessive compulsive over details, especially ones pertaining to her wedding, Avery was beginning to get a little concerned that she wasn’t there to pick her up like they had discussed earlier that day.
“Avery?”
A man’s voice caught her attention just as she saw her suitcase with the neon green ID tag slide down the metal shoot.
She turned and saw a man walking toward her. His jet black hair and chiseled jaw were the first of his many attributes to catch her eye.
“Avery Foster?” He asked her.
“That’s me.” She eyed his suspiciously. “Do I know you?”
He smiled. “No. Well no
t yet anyway. I’m Jackson.” He held out his hand to her and waited for her to take it. “Jackson Parks.”
She was utterly startled by his presence, so much so that it took her a moment to place who he was.
“Oh. You’re Brad’s friend. The best man.”
He nodded and winked. “The absolute best.”
She couldn’t help but blush a little by his casual, yet flirtatious gesture. Keeping busy with work she didn’t get much attention from men. Especially not men who looked like him. He was tall, dark and devastatingly handsome.
Regaining her composure, she pulled her hand remembering that her best friend since childhood was nowhere to be seen. “So, where is Stacy? Is everything okay?”
He shrugged. “That depends on your definition of okay.”
His vague response worried her that much more. “Why? What happened?”
“I don’t know exactly. All I do know is that Brad texted me about an hour ago and told me to high tail it to the airport and pick you up. So I did.”
“But that’s not like Stacy to change plans without so much as a word. I just talked to her this morning and she said she’d be here to pick me up. Did he say why? Is she okay?”
He held up his cell phone and pressed a button, showing her the text he’d received earlier. “This is my extent of my knowledge on the situation.”
She pursed her lips together, concerned as to what might have happened. They’d been planning this reunion for weeks ever since Avery had booked her flight.
“We were supposed to go out to dinner after she picked me up.” She added.
He raised his brows and placed his hands in his pockets. “Again, pick up Avery. That’s all I was told. I’m just doing my due diligence as the best man.”
“How’d you know what I looked like?” she hated being suspicious, but her natural affliction toward paranoia always seemed to get the better of her.
“Cabo.”
“Huh?” She asked, growing more confused by the minute.
“There’s a picture in their living room of you two in Cabo San Lucas. It was taken last year I think? Some sort of girls weekend?”
“Oh. Yeah.” She felt a little bit better hearing his explanation, but she was still a tad nervous. While he was a gorgeous looking man, and he didn’t appear to be a homicidal maniac, she had to remind herself that she had no idea what a homicidal maniac may look like. After all, Colorado had once been the stomping grounds of the attractive and well known Romeo Killer, Ted Bundy.
“Maybe I should just call her and make sure everything’s alright.”
“Look, that’s fine with me. But maybe we could get your bag and head to the car first.” He motioned toward the wall of glass which showed a thick layer of snow quickly covering the ground.
“Oh no.” She knew she’d sensed that God awful twinkle of her nose that told her it was going to be a very cold week.
“Yep. Welcome to Colorado. You know what they say, if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.”
“Oh believe me, I know. I grew up in Littleton. Not too far from the mountains. We used to get hammered.”
“That’s right. I’m from New York myself. So, Colorado weather doesn’t bother me too much.”
Her suitcase was making another round on the carousel and inching closer. “Well I guess I better get my bag.”
Just as she was about to pick it up, his hand covers hers and gently brushed hers aside. “Please, allow me.”
“That’s really not necessary.”
“Perhaps not to you, but my mama raised me to live by three rules. Respect my elders, and always know how to treat a lady.”
She cocked her brow up in question. “Isn’t that only two rules?”
“Those are the only two I’m telling you about. There’s a third one.”
“And what’s that.”
He hoisted her suitcase up and motioned for her to come with him. “Don’t you go worrying your pretty little head about that. That rule is between me and mama.”
His devilish grin and handsome good looks would be enough to cause any woman to blush, but she didn’t feel like she was merely being blushing though. She felt flushed and very aware of his strong and imposing presence. And as they stepped outside into the cold, she didn’t feel the slightest shiver.
Chapter Two
Jackson slid behind the wheel after placing Avery’s suitcase in the back. He’d tried to remain cordial and polite with her on the way to the car, but it proved harder than he’d expected. He’d seen photos of her before, heard stories about the years she’d spent growing up with Stacy, but neither those stories, nor the photographs he’d seen had done her any amount of justice.
While she was definitely a looker, he hadn’t been prepared for her overall appeal. The oversized beach cover she wore in the photo from Cabo, and the mild and meek persona that Stacy had always described left him with not much of an impression. When he’d gotten the text from Brad to pick Avery up after her flight, he’d half expected to meet a mousy librarian in prim and proper attire, and not the stunning woman he ended up finding. From her exposed legs to her luscious round hips, he wasn’t sure which had more curves, the Rocky Mountains or the sex pot sitting beside him.
“Sorry.” He started the car and turned the heat on. “It shouldn’t take that long to warm up.”
“No, it’s fine. I should’ve dressed better. I was just running late from work and… well, you know how things can go sometimes.”
“Best laid plans, right?”
She laughed. “Something like that. Although with my boss I should never assume that I’ll ever get out of the office on time. He could give any woman a run for her money in the high maintenance department.”
He grinned, liking her sense of humor. “Yeah well, we don’t like to admit it, but us men can be real pains in the asses sometimes. We just like to blame it on women.”
“Is that so? Well, you’d probably be the first man I’ve ever known to admit it. Though the men in my office are sort of known for their pompous and arrogant ways.”
Jackson pulled out of the parking garage and merged onto the main road. “That’s right. You’re some sort of a corporate big wig aren’t you?”
Laughing, she replied. “Hardly! Did Stacy tell you that?”
“Not exactly. I just remember her saying something about you working for a Fortune 500 company. And how you had a great job.”
“That sounds like Stacy. Always talking me up to sound like more than I am. The truth is though that it’s not all that great.”
He clenched his fingers on the steering wheel, ignoring the urge to correct her for speaking so negatively about herself, but knowing that only having just met her he’d better mind his p’s and q’s.
He opted for a more subtle approach. “So, what is it that you do then?”
“Well I’m not a big wig that’s for sure. I’m an assistant. An executive assistant to the CEO.”
“An executive assistant? That sounds pretty important to me. Last I heard they don’t just give out those kinds of jobs.”
She pointed outside. “I can’t believe how much this place has changed. Half of this stuff wasn’t even here last time I came to town.”
“Yeah, Denver’s been blowing up lately. The economy is great, but the cost of living has gone up exponentially since I moved here. Which really sucks too, because that was one of the reasons I left New York.”
“Oh I can imagine.”
“How long have you been away?”
“Three, almost four years now I think. I don’t know. Time just seems to fly by anymore.”
“Isn’t that what they call being an adult?”
Her sweet laugh made him happy. He wasn’t sure why, but he like it much better than the nervous stares she had been giving him when they first met.
“Oh, I should call Stacy. Make sure everything’s okay.”
She no sooner made the suggestion when his phone rang. The display on his dashboard
told him that Brad was calling, so he clicked on the hands free button to answer. “Hey, man.”
“Jackson, man, tell me you picked up Avery.”
“Hi Brad.” She answered for him. “I’m here.”
“Oh, thank God.”
“I said I’d pick her up, didn’t I? You gotta have more faith in me.”
“Did you?”
“Yeah. I texted you right after I got your text. Everything alright? You sound a little frazzled.”
“Yeah, Brad. Is Stacy okay?” Avery asked.
“Sorry, the past couple hours have been kind of a blur.”
“Okay, now you’re really starting to worry me. Is Stacy okay?”
“Yes. She’s fine. At least now she’s fine.”
“What happened?” Jackson asked.
“Let’s just say that when you’re getting married and you’re tired and you want nothing more than to just relax and watch the game on cable that it’s a very bad idea to snap at your fiancé and tell her the wedding is just one day out of their whole lives and to stop making it such a big deal about it.”
Jackson laughed. “Dude! You said that? You said that to Stacy?”
Brad sighed. “Yes.”
“So…” Jackson looked to Avery. “Are you stupid… or… do you just have a death wish or something?”
“Seriously, Brad. Have you not met Stacy?” Avery added with a giggle.
“I know! I know! It’s just been such a hectic few days. I mean she’s been like way more obsessive than usual with this wedding. I know she is all about attention to detail, but good God almighty it’s like she’s been on overdrive. Plus, I’ve been working extra hours to get things done at work before the wedding. Then add her mom to it, and hell, add my mom into the mix as well and I was just on… fuck, I don’t know! Overload I guess. I just wasn’t thinking and lost my head.”