Her Montana Christmas Groom

by Southwick, Teresa

  “I didn’t have fun today,” she said automatically.

  “You’re lying.”

  “Yes, to save you from yourself. It’s very sweet of you to ask me. Really. And I do appreciate the offer, but… No.”

  “I don’t accept that.”

  “You have to.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong.”

  “What part of no don’t you understand?” she demanded.

  “Pretty much all of it. Never have.” Losing his mother when he was sixteen had made him want to give up and he had for a while. But folks in Thunder Canyon hadn’t given up on him and made him see that if a door closed you went around it. One foot in front of the other to get what you want. “If I did, I wouldn’t be an engineer at all, let alone doing a doctorate program in green energy or working for Traub Oil Montana.” He took a breath and met her gaze. “Therefore, I have an alternate suggestion.”

  “And that would be?”

  “You’re looking for a serious relationship, but I don’t meet your criteria. I’m only looking to have fun—at my sister’s wedding. Nothing permanent. You told me I was great company today. Did you mean it?”

  “Of course, or I wouldn’t have said it.”

  “Then it’s official. As my Thanksgiving volunteer partner you passed the Austin Anderson friendship test with flying colors. There’s no reason we can’t attend the Thunder Canyon social event of the year in that capacity.”

  “Friends?”

  “Yeah.” And if it turned into friends with benefits, who was he to complain?

  “You’re serious?”

  “Completely.”

  “We did have fun today. And I don’t want to go alone.” There was determination in her eyes even as the doubts refused to dissolve. “But if even one person makes a crack about robbing the cradle…”

  “You’ll just have to whip out your ID and prove you’re at least twenty-one so no one thinks I’m perving on you.”

  “Oh, please—” But she laughed, then pointed at him. “Okay, I’ll go with you, but only as friends. No strings attached.”

  He wouldn’t have it any other way.

  Rose walked into the three-story lobby of the Thunder Canyon Resort on the arm of Austin Anderson. People looked at them, but no one pointed and laughed, which was a relief. Still, when he’d taken her hand and slipped it into the bend of his elbow, it felt more than friendly. She’d opened her mouth to call him on it, but his disarming grin had taken all the bite out of her protest.

  This was like dieting with a box of doughnuts in her hand. One touch and all her willpower went out the window.

  “Wow,” he said. “Look at this place.”

  When she did, her breath caught. She’d been to the resort a few times, but this evening it was transformed into a romantic holiday wedding scene. Two groups of chairs with a white runner separating them were set up on the gleaming inlaid floor and facing the huge stone fireplace. The mantel was draped with lighted green garland and trimmed with red bows. Individual poinsettia plants were arranged in the shape of a tree on either side of a raised dais. Hanging crystals reflected firelight, candles and small twinkling white lights.

  Rose stared in wonder. “Just breathtaking.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  There was a huskiness in Austin’s voice that made Rose look up at him. He was staring at her and the gleam in his eyes made her heart skip.

  “I was talking about the decorations,” she clarified.

  “I wasn’t.”

  In that instant two days of fretting over an appropriate outfit dissolved as it passed a test she hadn’t realized existed. She’d chosen a long-sleeved black dress with velvet sleeves and bodice and a full skirt fashioned from lace. Her peep-toed pumps were velvet, too. Then there was the problem of what to do with her hair. It was a cold, damp evening which made the priority all about control.

  She’d done a soft side part, then pulled it sleekly back from her face and tucked the mass into a knot behind her right ear. The way Austin was looking at her, a hairstyle would be all she had any chance of controlling.

  People were moving past them and the room was quickly filling up.

  “I better go sit down.” The words came out a sort of husky whisper that she hoped he didn’t notice.

  “Right.”

  They moved to the chairs and Rose was about to take one in the back row.

  “Not here.” Austin walked around the outside formation as the aisle was blocked off for the ceremony. He led her to the front row on the bride’s side.

  “But this is reserved for family,” she protested.

  “I’m family and you’re my— You’re with me.” He winked, then glanced at his watch. “I have to go do a thing. The wedding planner has us on a tight schedule.”

  “What happens if you’re late?”

  “I don’t want to find out.” He shuddered, then touched her arm. “I’ll be back in a little while. Don’t run away.”

  Rose nodded, sat and blew out a breath. Her face was hot, but that had nothing to do with the flames snapping and popping in the fireplace and everything to do with Austin.

  She should have turned down his invitation, but he’d caught her in a weak moment, when she was feeling sorry for herself about attending this high-profile event all alone after being a high-profile dater since relocating here. It would be a lie to say that she wasn’t really glad he’d walked her in, but everyone was bound to talk. No doubt tomorrow it would be all over town that she was officially desperate enough to poach from a younger dating pool.

  So be it. The damage was done, but there wouldn’t be more fuel for the fire because she and Austin weren’t an item. This was a one-shot deal. Just friends.

  In the row of chairs just behind her people took their places. Then someone touched her shoulder and she turned. Her brothers Ethan and Corey bookended Liz Landry, Ethan’s fiancée. All three smiled at her.

  “Hey, little sister.” Ethan took Liz’s hand and linked his fingers with hers.

  “You look beautiful, Rose,” Liz said. “I love your dress.”

  Corey leaned forward and said, “How did you score the best seat in the house?”

  It really wasn’t. She was several seats from the aisle where the brides would pass. Those empty chairs were probably reserved for family. She was just a… What did she call herself? Not a date. “My friend Austin, brother of the bride, asked me to go with him. He sat me here.”

  Rose could see that all of them had questions, but a quartet started to play chamber music and she was saved by the strings. The sweet notes of the musical instruments soothed her nerves. Not that it mattered. This event was about two brides and two grooms who’d found true love and soon would pledge their lives to each other. She truly envied them.

  When Frank and Edie Cates, parents of the twin grooms, took their seats on the opposite side, it was clear that the time line was progressing. A few minutes later, Betty and Jack Castro came down the aisle. They were Elise’s biological parents but hadn’t raised her. Last year she’d learned that she and Erin Castro were switched at birth and taken home by the wrong families. It had been a shock to both women, one that Rose couldn’t imagine. But Rose’s brother Corey had helped Erin come to terms with the past and now they were happily married.

  Next down the aisle was Helen Clifton who’d raised Elise, the woman she would always call “Mom.” Once the parents were in place the pace picked up. The music stopped and a gray-haired man stepped to the middle of the dais with a Bible in his hands. A clue that he’d be administering the vows. Then the twin grooms appeared beside him with their best men, Marshall and Mitchell Cates. The unmistakable dark hair, eyes and similar features marked them all as brothers.

  The minister said, “If you’ll all please rise.”

  The guests did as asked and the musicians played a processional. First down the aisle was Erin Castro Traub. Rose stole a look at her brother Corey who was smiling proudly at his wife, the love o
f his life. Next was maid of honor Angie Anderson, stunning in a simple red silk strapless dress and carrying a bouquet of white orchids.

  When the two attendants were in place, the traditional wedding music cued Elise Clifton. She came down the aisle on the arm of her brother, Grant. Her long dark blond hair was a cascade of curls held in place by a diamond head band. She looked like a Greek goddess in a one-shouldered satin beaded gown. Matt beamed at his bride, eagerly taking her hand.

  It was time for bride number two and Rose looked back just in time to see Haley kiss Austin’s lean cheek, then put her hand in the bend of his elbow. She looked like a princess in her strapless, full-skirted organza gown. Her floor-length veil flowed from a diamond tiara that held her upswept brown hair in place. Rose glanced at Marlon Cates who couldn’t take his eyes off the woman who would shortly be his wife.

  As he placed his sister’s hand into her groom’s, Austin said, “She’s always taken care of Angie and me. Now my sister finally has someone to take care of her. Don’t let her down, Marlon.”

  “Never.”

  Rose felt a double dose of emotion lump in her throat and not only because it was a doubly happy moment. A wave of sorrow washed over her. Neither bride’s father was there and Rose didn’t know why. She only knew that someday when she got married, her father wouldn’t be there, either. No giving her away. No father-daughter dance. Charles Traub had died when she was only two and she had no memory of him. Her brothers had always talked about him as if he walked on water and she envied their recollections. She was sad for what was lost to her, for once-in-a-lifetime memories that could never be made.

  And then Austin was standing beside her. He leaned down to whisper, “My work here is done.”

  Suddenly there was no room in her head for anything but him. He was movie-star handsome. He smelled good and cleaned up pretty nice. But did any man look like a toad in a traditional black tux? She thought not.

  Still, a wicked grin and a nice suit didn’t make her any less too old for him. The magic of the wedding venue with lights, flowers and brides in beautiful dresses couldn’t erase the difference in their ages. More memories that could never be made. She forced herself to focus on the now, details swirling in her head for the mayor’s press release.

  The ceremony moved quickly in spite of double vows and rings, but there was twice the applause and cheers when the twins kissed their new wives. Rose was sure the four of them were relieved. In their shoes she would be. But when this part of the evening was over, she would have the reception to worry about.

  It was being held in the Gallatin Room, the fine-dining restaurant at the resort. She would breathe easier when it was okay to mingle on her own. That didn’t mean she wasn’t grateful to Austin for walking her in, but the less time they spent together the better. No point in needlessly firing up Thunder Canyon gossip.

  But after the two newly married couples led the recessional down the aisle, Austin grabbed her hand before she could strike out on her own.

  “The formal part is over, now it’s time to have some fun. Stick with me and I’ll show you a good time.”

  That’s just what Rose was afraid of.

  Chapter Two

  Austin nodded to his boss, Ethan Traub, as he led Rose back the way he’d come from walking his sister to her groom. He envied Haley. Marlon was a great guy and the two were deeply in love. Now they had their whole lives ahead of them. It was everything Austin had once badly wanted.

  The Andersons had been a traditional family before his father walked out. Austin still remembered being a little boy and blaming himself because he’d done something bad. His mom made him see it wasn’t his fault and they moved on. Then she died and Haley took over, missing out on her chance to go away to college. There was nothing conventional about that, but his sister did a great job with all the responsibility.

  Still, he had vivid memories of that short time when he’d had a father and mother. And he’d wanted to have a family of his own, but the dream died when Rachel ran out on him. Now he just wanted to have fun.

  With Rose.

  Her hand was tucked in the bend of his elbow and he put his fingers over hers, then glanced down. She was eyeing the people filling the chairs they passed as if they were going to accuse her of something bad. Rose didn’t know it yet, but he was the one with increasingly dishonorable intentions. Did she really not know how badly he wanted to kiss her?

  She was so beautiful. The other day he hadn’t noticed the dimples in her cheeks when she smiled. Or the way her eyes turned down slightly and crinkled at the corners when she laughed. Don’t even get him started on the way she filled out her dress. The velvet bodice clung to her curves and the lacy skirt was all sugar and spice and everything nice, equal parts sweet and sultry.

  But she was hung up on the age difference. While he appreciated her honesty, to him it was just a number and numbers held no mystery. She, on the other hand, was a puzzle he couldn’t wait to solve.

  He bent down and whispered in her ear, “Have I told you how beautiful you are tonight?”

  The look she gave him was sassy, saucy and sexy. “Are you taking that line out for a spin to see how well it works?”

  “Actually, no. I’ve used it often without a microgram of sincerity. But this time I really mean it.”

  “So you’re not practicing on me hoping to reap the benefits of my vast experience?”

  “For a mature woman,” he teased, “your manners could use some fine-tuning. It’s customary when a man pays you an honest compliment to simply say thank you.”

  “Thank you,” she repeated automatically.

  They stopped in the crowd of people who were filling the open lobby area. “A reciprocal compliment would be nice, too.”

  She looked him up and down, then moved around him to, presumably, inspect the rear view. Completing the circle, she said, “You’ll do.”

  “Wow.” He whistled. “Praise like that could turn a guy’s head.”

  “Oh, please. Excluding my brothers, there might be one, maybe two men in this room better looking than you. I can’t believe your ego needs massaging.”

  “It’s just fine, thanks.” He put his arm around her waist and drew her to a protected corner as the guests waited to file into the dining room for the reception. It was with great reluctance that he removed his hand. “I’m surprised at you. With five older brothers you should recognize teasing when you see it.”

  Her expression turned thoughtful. “Did you tease your sisters?”

  “Still do. Every chance I get.”

  “And yet you were on your best behavior when you walked Haley down the aisle.”

  He could see the question in her eyes, why him and not Haley’s father. But Rose was too polite to ask. “My father abandoned the family when we were kids. Haven’t seen him since.”

  “Oh.”

  Austin saw the sparkle in her eyes fade to sadness and wished he could take back the words. Maybe put the sass back in her smile. “Sorry, didn’t mean to be a downer.”

  “You’re not.” She glanced past him. “Looks like they’re letting people in to the reception. I think I’ll get in line, too.”

  When she started to walk past him, Austin put a hand on her arm. “Not so fast. Are you trying to ditch me?”

  “Because we’re here as friends with no strings attached, ‘ditch’ seems harsh. I thought I’d just mosey on in and watch single guys swarm around now that I have the Austin Anderson stamp of approval and they don’t need to be afraid.”

  He’d set those parameters. It seemed the only way he could get her to go with him. But the idea of a bunch of guys hitting on her made him want to put his fist through a wall.

  “Tell you what,” he said. “There’s a receiving line. We’ll say hello to the bride and groom and the bride and groom and then I’ll buy you a drink.”

  “Done. Except I’ll buy my own.”

  “It’s an open bar.”

  “Big spender,” she teas
ed.

  Austin rested his hand at the small of her back, urging her to the end of the line. It didn’t take long to reach the couples of the hour standing just outside the double doors leading into the Gallatin Room.

  Rose hugged Matt Cates, then his new bride. “Congratulations. You look stunning.”

  “Thanks,” Matt answered.

  Elise smiled radiantly. “She meant me, although you do look fairly spectacular, husband.”

  Austin had been a couple years behind the twins in school, but they all knew each other well. He shook hands, then hugged Matt’s wife. “I suppose it’s too late to talk you into running away with me?”

  “Sorry.” The pretty blonde shrugged. “It was too late a long time ago.”

  “If you change your mind…”

  “Not a chance,” she said.

  Rose moved on and gave Marlon a hug. “Congrats. I wish you every happiness.”

  “Thanks, Rose. Hey, Austin— Or should I say ‘bro’?”

  “I answer to either.” And he truly meant that. The connection was legal now, but he felt as if he did have a brother. He met his sister’s gaze and didn’t miss the spark of interest in his “date.”

  “Haley, have you met Rose Traub?”

  “No.” The two women shook hands. “Marlon and I have been traveling and planning the wedding. But I heard you moved here from Texas.”

  “Yes.” Rose smiled. “When I was here for my brother Corey’s wedding I fell in love with Thunder Canyon.”

  “Who wouldn’t,” Haley said. “But I don’t understand what you’re doing here with my brother.”

  “What?” Rose looked like a kid who just got caught cheating on a test. “Why?”

  “Because he’s an obnoxious jerk.” Haley gave him a teasing smile. “But I love him anyway.”

  “Back at you, Hay.” Clearly his sister was joking, but Rose had gone directly to the bad place and he wasn’t sure how to get her out of it. He slid his arm around her waist. “Lets go find our table.”

  “With any luck it’s in a dark corner behind a plant.”