by Rachel Hanna
But Katie was having the time of her life, and that was all that mattered.
“Woo!” Katie howled as she danced on one of the big wooden boxes strewn around the edges of the dance floor. She might’ve had one too many glasses of wine. Katie never drank. She was way too petite and a lightweight. But here she was, dancing away with the biggest grin on her face.
Samantha watched her sister from the red fake leather bar stool where she’d perched as soon as the other bridesmaids had climbed up to dance too. She felt like a stick in the mud, but she just wasn’t the type to climb up on furniture to “shake her groove thang”.
“Not enjoying the party?” she heard someone say from the stool beside her. She turned around and was shocked to see Tucker sitting there with a smile on his face. Man, he was looking extra hot this evening with his plaid shirt and distressed jeans. And were those actual cowboy boots?
“What are you doing here?”
“Believe it or not, this is one of my favorite places to come on a Friday night. Am I to assume this is the bachelorette party Katie was talking about?”
“This is it,” Samantha said, taking a drink of her water. She wasn’t much of a drinker. It took the control away, and she definitely didn’t like that feeling.
“Looks… raucous,” he said with a laugh.
She smiled. “They’re a little tipsy on wine and love, I think.”
“And you’re drinking…”
“Water. On the rocks. With lemon.”
Tucker chuckled. “Designated driver?”
“That and I really don’t drink much. Not my thing.”
He eyed her for a moment. “What is your thing, Samantha?”
“Don’t start an argument.”
“I’m not trying to. I really want to know what you like. What gets your motor running?”
She rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine. I don’t have anything better to do so I’ll play along. I like to research. I like to argue in court. I like to win.”
“I mean aside from work. What makes you happy? I think I already know it doesn’t involve dogs.”
She sighed. “Again, I told you I actually like dogs.”
“Right. Anyway, what are your hobbies?”
“I don’t have hobbies. Those are what I call time wasters.”
“Wow.” He shook his head and took a long draw of his beer.
“Wow?”
“It’s sad.” He actually did look stunned. And a little sad.
“Why is that sad? I love my career.”
“There’s more to life than work, Sam,” he said. That was the first time he’d shortened her name. She liked it more than she cared to admit.
“Maybe so, but right now work comes first.”
“And when do you come first?”
“I don’t understand?”
He turned slightly in his seat. “I’ve learned that if you don’t do things that bring you joy, you’ll never be truly happy.” He was so serious that she almost didn’t breathe for a moment.
“So what brings you joy?”
He turned back toward the bar and smiled. “Animals, of course. But I also like kayaking. Fishing. Hiking.”
“Ah, you’re an outdoorsy guy.”
“Somewhat. But I also love art museums, classical music and… don’t tell anyone this… cooking.”
“Cooking? Really? What do you cook really well?”
He thought for a moment. “I make an amazing pineapple chicken with this rosemary balsamic sauce on the side.”
“That sounds great right about now. All we’ve had tonight were what I think were chicken fingers and very greasy french fries,” she said, looking back at her sister who was still dancing up a storm. “But look at her. She’s so happy.”
Tucker watched her for a moment. “And you just smiled.”
Samantha turned back to him. “You didn’t know I could smile?”
“I’ve never seen it, but it looks nice. You should find more things that make you do that.”
Suddenly, she felt the strange sensation of butterflies in her stomach. Why was he affecting her this way? She didn’t want to like him, but there was something about their banter that made her want to stay and talk to him all night.
“So, the wedding is tomorrow night, huh?” he finally said after an awkward silence on her end.
“Yes. It’s going to be lovely. Katie and Rick deserve a big, beautiful wedding and a great life together.”
“What about you?” he asked. Man, this guy had a lot of questions.
“What about me?”
“You never wanted that married, domesticated lifestyle?”
She hesitated for a moment. “Nope. Not me.”
“You’re lying.”
“Now, see? You were being so nice for a second. A literal second.” She turned back to her water and took a long swig, hoping he’d change the subject. No such luck.
“Come on, we’re forging this new friendship so tell me your deepest, darkest secrets and dreams,” he said with a laugh.
“Fine. Yes, at one time I did want the whole white picket fence thing. But that changed.”
“Why’d it change?”
“Well…” she started to say, but then she turned to see Monica grinning from ear to ear and running across the dance floor. And then there he was again. Clark. “Ugh.”
Tucker turned slightly and seemed to notice the commotion. “Who’s that?”
“My ex-fiance and his new bride to be,” she said, putting her finger down her throat and gagging.
“And the plot thickens…”
“Long story short, he dumped me because I wasn’t good enough for him, apparently. That was three years ago. Had no idea he was here or that his girlfriend was one of the bridesmaids. And then I panicked at the shower and lied about having a fiancé of my own. I’m an idiot,” she said, putting her head in her hands.
“Wait, what?”
“Hey, Sam.” How Clark had made it across the club in such a short time period was a mystery to her. But there he stood, a smug look on his face with Monica hanging on his arm. She was obviously tipsy.
“Clark. Barbie.”
“You know her name is Monica.”
“Sorry. Seems like maybe she needs a ride home,” Samantha said as she watched Monica slide into a nearby chair and lay her head on the table.
“Yeah, she’s had a little too much fun tonight. So, who’s this?” he asked, pointing at Tucker.
“Dr. Tucker Ellison. And you are?” Tucker said with an authority she hadn’t seen before. He stood up and towered above Clark’s skinny frame, sticking out his hand.
“Clark. Are you, uh, Samantha’s fiancé?”
Time stood still as Samantha opened her mouth to say no. Instead, Tucker’s voice overshadowed her own.
“Yes, I am.”
What? Samantha’s eyes popped open as she struggled to get air. Instead, she choked and had to grab her glass of water.
“Samantha didn’t tell me she was dating a doctor,” Clark said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
“Well, she didn’t tell me a darn thing about you at all,” Tucker said with a wry smile. “Were you her tax accountant or something?”
Clark straightened. “I was her fiancé. Three years ago, anyway.”
Tucker slid closer to Samantha and put his arm around her, causing her face to push into his lower chest as he stood. “Sorry you let a beautiful woman like this go, but I guess that’s just my good fortune, huh?”
Clark looked dumbfounded, his mouth almost hanging open. With no other options, he woke Monica up and ushered her to the door, quickly saying “goodbye” and “nice to meet you” as he almost sprinted out of the place.
When he was gone, Samantha faced Tucker.
“Have you lost your ever loving mind?”
Tucker smiled like he was proud of himself. “I was in high school theater. I think my performance was top notch.”
“Now what are we going to do?”
&nb
sp; “Well, it looks like I now have a date for your sister’s wedding?”
“I really don’t like you right now, Tucker.”
He smiled down and tilted her chin up. “See you tomorrow night.”
Katie stirred in the bed, a groan escaping her lips as her sister leaned over and pressed a cold cloth to her forehead.
“What time is it?” she whispered, her voice sounding two octaves lower than normal.
“It’s six in the morning,” Samantha responded.
“Oh no! It’s my wedding day, and I feel terrible!”
Samantha rubbed her sister’s arm. “Don’t worry. I’m going to pump you full of water and aspirin, and you’ll be good as new by tonight.”
“I can’t believe I drank that much wine. What was I thinking?” she asked as she slid upright onto her pillow and leaned her head back. Samantha sat next to her, their heads atop each other.
“I believe you said ‘woo hoo’, so I’m assuming that’s what you were thinking most of the time.”
Katie laughed and then groaned again. “It was a very memorable evening. I think. I can’t really remember a lot of it. Was I dancing on a box?”
“Quite a bit, yes.”
She put her hand over her eyes. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be. It was your last night of freedom, and you made the most of it.”
Katie looked up at her sister. “Well, you look fine so how did you manage that?”
“I steered clear of wine bottles and big wooden boxes.”
“Designated driver. I remember now.”
“Plus you know I’m not a big drinker anyway.”
“So what did you do with all those hours? Just sit and watch us be idiots?”
Samantha swallowed hard. “Sort of.”
Katie looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Well… Long story short… Clark showed up to pick up his very tipsy fiancee, and Tucker was there too…”
“Tucker? Why was he there?”
“Don’t know, but he landed smack dab next to me at the bar.”
“And?”
“When Clark started prodding me about my fiancé, Tucker suddenly stood up and said he was my fiancé.”
“What?” Katie said, sitting up so fast that she had to grab her head to stop it from swimming. “Why would he do that?”
Samantha smiled slightly. “Honestly, I still don’t know. All I know is he said he was my date for the wedding and he’d see me tonight.”
Katie grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Ooohhh… I think he likes you…”
Samantha stood up and walked across the room for a bottle of water. “Um, no. He can’t stand me. And I feel similarly.”
“Right. So why would he save you like that?”
“Who said he saved me?”
“Come on, Sammy. You know that you wanted to save face with Clark, and Tucker rode in on a white horse and helped you do just that.”
Samantha handed the water to her sister. “Drink. We’ve got to flush your system out.” Katie obliged and took a long sip. “Either way, I need to go talk to Tucker today and explain that I don’t need his help.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No. Why?”
“This is perfect. Just let Clark think that you’re engaged to a handsome doctor. That way you can enjoy the wedding without worrying about him finding out about your big fat lie.”
“You’re funny. Do you honestly think I can spend a whole evening with Tucker Ellison? I mean, without trying to strangle him with your veil?”
Katie smiled. “Come on, sis. It’s one night. You might actually have fun.”
“Doubtful. He’s arrogant and critical and…”
“I get it. You’re not a fan. But this will all be over soon, and you can go back to Atlanta with your pride in tact.”
“And what happens a few months from now when Clark asks about my future husband and our wedding plans?”
“What do you care? You’ll be back home enjoying the fancy life, right?”
Samantha thought for a moment. “I guess so. But still, I need to go see Tucker and make sure he wasn’t a little tipsy too when he agreed to this whole thing.”
Tucker peered into the German Shepherd’s ear. “It’s definitely irritated. Looks like an allergy of some kind. I recommend diphenhydramine for a few days, and I’ll give you some cream you can rub into it every night to get it to heal.”
“Thank you, Doctor Ellison. Poor Mavis has been scratching her brains out for days now,” the older woman said.
“Just follow Amy up front, and she’ll get you all squared away,” he said, smiling as he gave the dog another quick scratch on her head. She followed his vet tech to the front desk as he slipped into the back room. This was the only place to really get away for a few minutes in his busy veterinary practice. He loved his work more than anything, but it did get lonely at times.
Since his divorce two years ago, Tucker had been more walled off than he’d ever been in his life. The breakup of his marriage was something he’d never expected, and sometimes he felt like he should never let anyone else into his heart again.
His ex wife, Susan, had been his perfect match when they’d met in college. He thought they’d spend their lives raising a family together, but when she’d changed her mind about having kids a few months into their marriage, he’d been devastated.
Tucker wanted a family. He wanted at least a couple of kids, and he wanted a stable home life. But Susan had decided she wanted to be child-free. Not only that, but she wanted to travel full-time and blog about it. While he wanted to support her dreams too, he couldn’t run his veterinary practice on the road.
Before long, their marriage was in shambles because they wanted such different things. And then Susan had decided she wanted another man. And then she was gone, globe trotting around the world with a guy she’d met in a local cooking class. She’d even requested the final divorce papers be sent to her current location in Vietnam where she was backpacking in some remote area and tasting the local cuisine.
Sometimes, in his lonelier moments, or when he was sticking a thermometer in the hind end of an unhappy canine, he wondered if he’d made the right decision. What if she had been the love of his life? The one he was meant to be with until he took his last breath?
He didn’t like to think about it, but sometimes his brain overtook him.
His parents had been married over forty years when his father passed away, and he wanted a love like that. He wanted a forever partner who would stand by him no matter what. So there were moments he wondered if he should have supported Susan’s free spirit and gone along for the ride.
Still, every time he saved a dog’s life or scratched a cat’s belly, he knew he was working in his calling. It was all so confusing.
Right now, he was wondering what on Earth made him stand up and pretend to be Samantha Ryan’s fiancé last night. It seemed like he was dreaming, or maybe having a nightmare.
There really hadn’t been a valid reason why he’d done it. Something inside of him just felt protective of her in that moment, although he’d never tell her that. She’d probably sock him between the eyes if she knew that he was trying to protect her.
Now, he had a date to a wedding with a woman who couldn’t stand him. And he had to pretend he loved her. What had he gotten himself into?
“Excuse me, Doctor Ellison, but there’s a woman here to see you.”
Chapter 6
Samantha sat in the wooden rocking chair, watching the animals come in and out of Tucker’s practice. He seemed pretty successful, from the looks of it.
“Ma’am? You can follow me,” the young woman said as she led Samantha through a swinging wooden door. “He’s right in there.”
She walked through another doorway and saw Tucker sitting in a plush arm chair, drinking a glass of sweet tea.
“Working hard I see,” she said wryly.
“Even I take a br
eak now and then,” he replied, setting his drink on the side table and smiling. “What can I do for you?”
Samantha smirked. “Really? Don’t you remember the mess you got me in last night?”
“Mess? As I recall, you lied to your ex and told him you were engaged. I had no part of that.”
Samantha sat down in the chair across from him. “True, but you didn’t have to identify yourself as my future husband.”
Tucker leaned back. “No, I didn’t, but I thought I was helping you.”
“Why would you want to help me anyway? You hate me, Tucker.”
He furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t hate anyone, Samantha. Even my ex wife.” Right after he said it, he seemed to regret it.
“You have an ex wife? This is new information.”
“Let’s not go there. Why are you here?” His voice was firmer than she’d heard it before, so she decided not to push.
“I’m giving you the option to back out.”
He looked surprised. “You’re afraid to go with me?” That smirk was both sexy and slap-inducing.
“I’m not afraid of anything, Doctor Ellison,” she said, in her best attorney voice. “I just wanted to give you an out.”
“I didn’t ask for an out.”
They seemed to be at an impasse.
“Well, then, I hope you’re a great actor,” she said as she stood up.
Tucker stood and closed the space between them. “I’m a fantastic thespian,” he said softly. Samantha felt a shiver she didn’t expect.
“Oh yeah?” was all she could muster, her heartbeat quickening.
“High school theater club president.”
“Nerd?” she said shakily.
Tucker smiled and stepped back a few inches. “I hope you can do this.”
“Why would you think I couldn’t?”
“Because I just got close to you, and you looked like you wanted to crawl out of your skin.”
“You have a way with women,” she said sarcastically. She wasn’t about to admit that the closer he got, the more she wanted to take a good nibble at his neck.
“Sam, if this is going to work, you have to make Clark believe you’re so in love with me that you are going to be my wife. Can you do that?”