All Your Loving (Bachelors & Bridesmaids)

by Freethy, Barbara

  Picking up her phone again, she texted her friend Liz to see if she wanted to grab dinner. Liz sent back an immediate yes. She was looking at wedding venues with Kate so they'd both meet her in thirty minutes.

  She sighed again. Liz's words reminded her that Liz was her third friend to get engaged in the last year, and soon she would be adding another bridesmaid's dress to her closet. Liz hadn't set a date for her wedding yet, but Julie had a feeling it would be soon. Liz's father was sick, and while he was holding his own at the moment, Liz very much wanted her dad to walk her down the aisle, so she would not go for a long engagement. Hopefully, her dad's health would remain stable and he would be by Liz's side on her wedding day. Liz's relationship with her father had always been so close, and Julie had sometimes been a little jealous of that.

  She would have loved to have her father in her life. But even before the divorce, he'd rarely been around and afterward he'd disappeared. He'd moved on, and she doubted he'd ever looked back. Her father surrounded himself with people who adored him—people like Matt Kingsley. She'd seen Matt's face when she mentioned her father was the infamous Jack Michaels, and Matt had sat up a little straighter, obviously impressed. And it wasn't just that Matt knew of Jack but they'd played together. Jack had been Matt's mentor, so of course, Matt idolized her father. Jack Michaels was everyone's hero—but hers.

  She needed to get Matt out of her life as fast as possible, because he was already bringing up way too many memories. Ten days, she told herself. Ten days and then she would never have to see him again. But she had a feeling those ten days were going to prove to be more than a little interesting and challenging.

  Chapter Three

  Liz Palmer was a brown-eyed blonde who'd been friends with Julie since middle school and Kate Marlowe was a pretty brunette Julie had met her first week in college. They'd been friends ever since. Liz worked in public relations and had just changed firms while Kate ran her own wedding planning business, which was actually picking up steam with so many of their friends getting married.

  Drinks were followed by dinner at an Asian fusion restaurant in the Ferry Building where Julie listened to lots of wedding talk: cake-toppers, music, flowers, and invitations… the list seemed to go on and on. Thankfully, she didn't have to say much. Kate had a million ideas, and Liz was caught up in the giddy delight of being a bride. It was actually kind of funny to see Liz acting so dreamy. Until she'd fallen in love with Michael, Liz had been one of the more cynical members of their group of friends.

  "Sorry," Liz said finally, giving her an apologetic smile. "I can't believe I've turned into one of those brides who talks only about her wedding."

  "I can't either," Julie said dryly. "But don't apologize. I love seeing you happy and excited. I still haven't heard a wedding date though."

  "That's dependent on the venue," Liz replied. "Kate showed me a couple of places in the city today, but I think I want an outdoor wedding."

  "I'm going to check with Maggie," Kate continued. "I want to see if we can possibly book the garden at the Stratton up in Napa."

  Maggie was another one of their college friends. She was a desk clerk at a very upscale hotel in the wine country.

  "That would be really nice," she said.

  "But maybe too expensive unless Maggie can get us a deal," Liz said. "I'm also thinking about doing it down on the Peninsula, closer to my parents' house. The Delfina Inn on Skyline has a nice room and a beautiful view. It's kind of small, but it could work. And they said they might have a cancellation for June 20th."

  "This June?" she asked in surprise. "That's only three months from now."

  "Michael and I don't want a long engagement," Liz said. "Even though we only reconnected a few months ago, we feel like we've been in love since we were teenagers."

  Julie nodded. She'd been around when the sparks had first flown between the teenaged Liz and Michael. "I get it. I think a June garden wedding would be perfect."

  "We should know within the next few days about both places," Kate said. "Once we get the venue settled, everything else will fall into place." She smiled at Julie. "We'll have to start looking at bridesmaid's dresses again."

  She groaned. "I'm beginning to think that pact we made at college graduation was a bad idea." Their group of eight girlfriends had made a vow that no matter how much time passed and how far they drifted apart, they would always be each other's bridesmaids.

  "Actually, you won't need a bridesmaid's dress, Julie," Liz said, a sparkle in her brown eyes.

  "Why not? Are you not having bridesmaids?" she asked in surprise. "Or have you decided to drop me from the group?"

  Liz made a face at her. "I'm having bridesmaids, but I want you to be my maid of honor, Julie. You and I go way back, and you've always been my best friend."

  She felt a rush of emotion at Liz's words and her eyes blurred with unexpected tears. "I would love to be your maid of honor."

  "Well, don't cry about it," Liz teased.

  She gave her a smile. "I was just thinking about all those long talks we'd have late into the night about boys and our future. I'm so glad you're happy, and I can't wait to stand by your side. Thanks, Lizzie." She got up and gave Liz a hug. "I won't let you down."

  "You never have," Liz returned, giving her a warm smile.

  "So does Michael have his groomsmen lined up?" Julie asked as she sat back down.

  "He's still figuring that out. He wasn't happy when I told him he needed seven guys to match my bridesmaids," Liz added with a laugh. "But I'm sure he can easily find that many men. He was on a football team after all."

  She nodded. Michael Stafford had been a star quarterback up until a year ago when he'd blown out his knee and had to change his entire life around. "How's he doing in PR? Does he still have yearnings to go back to football?" she asked.

  "As you know, he did some assistant coaching last season, and he's now getting offers from other teams to join their coaching staff on a permanent basis. I'm not sure what he's going to do. But whatever he decides, we'll make it work."

  "What if that means moving somewhere else?" she asked.

  Liz shrugged. "I love him. If he has to move, I'll move with him. And since we both work for Michael's sister, I'm pretty sure she'll allow us to work remotely. If that doesn't work, I'll figure something else out."

  "You've always been so committed to having your own career," Julie said slowly, thinking how strange it was to hear Liz speak so cavalierly about her job. "Could you really just walk away from it so easily? Put it on the back burner so Michael can do what he wants?"

  Liz smiled back at her with not a speck of doubt in her eyes. "I know it seems strange for me to say that I would give up everything I've worked to achieve for Michael, but the truth is that Michael is giving me the life and the love I've always wanted. I've realized since I met him that I was fighting a long time for the wrong thing, for someone else's dream and not mine. I'm going to work. I'll have my own career, and I will be damn good at it, but it's going to have to work with what Michael wants and needs, too. I really feel like we're partners now. We make compromises for each other."

  "Do you think he'd make the same compromise for you?" she couldn't help asking.

  "I'm sure he would," Liz said, giving her a speculative look. "Are we still talking about Michael?"

  Liz had always been incredibly perceptive. "Maybe not," she admitted. "I don't have the best view of love, marriage and compromise, so just ignore me."

  "You'll change your mind when you meet the right man," Kate interjected.

  "You're such a romantic, Kate."

  "Romance is my business."

  Liz frowned, her gaze still on Julie. "What's going on with you? You've been a little moody since you got here?"

  "I'm just tired."

  "I don't think that's it, Jules. Come on, talk to us. We're your friends," Liz said.

  She hesitated, then shrugged. "Fine, I've just been thinking a lot about my father today."

 
"Why? Did you hear from him?" Liz asked.

  "No, but I had to go to the baseball park earlier today to try to sign Matt Kingsley up for the Celebrity Cook-Off, and the trip brought back a lot of memories."

  "Is Matt going to participate?" Kate asked, an excited light in her eyes. "Because I'm definitely getting a ticket if he is. The guy is super hot and single."

  "He is going to help us out. He wasn't going to at first, but somehow I convinced him."

  "How did you do that?" Liz asked curiously.

  She found herself giving them a helpless smile. "I kissed him."

  "What?" Liz demanded, her question echoed immediately by Kate.

  "We've been together for an hour," Kate said. "And you're just mentioning this now?"

  "Well, he actually kissed me. He thought I was a groupie." She waved a hand in the air. "It was all a big misunderstanding. In the end, I got an apology and an agreement for him to participate in the fundraiser. So I guess it was worth it."

  "How was the kiss?" Kate asked with interest.

  She thought about the question for probably longer than she should have. "It was really good. Obviously, the man has had a lot of practice."

  Liz grinned. "You like him."

  "Not even a little bit," she denied. "He's a baseball player."

  "Just because he has the same job as your father doesn't mean he's the same man," Liz pointed out.

  "I know that. But why would I choose to get involved with a baseball player? They're on the road half the year. They're idolized by hundreds of thousands of people, so what does one woman matter? Not that I would even have that choice," she hastily added. "Matt Kingsley is just a celebrity participating in one of my fundraisers. He's like every other famous person I deal with."

  "Is he really?" Kate prodded.

  Judging by the looks on her friends' faces, she wasn't doing a very good job of convincing them that she felt nothing for the man.

  But she did feel nothing, didn't she? So what if her lips still tingled from his kiss? One good kiss wasn't going to change anything.

  "Let's talk about something else."

  "Fine," Liz agreed. "But I have to say just one thing first."

  "What's that?" she asked warily.

  "Nobody is just one thing. Matt Kingsley may be a baseball player, but he's more than that. Before you count him out, maybe you should find out who he is as a man and not just what he does for his job."

  "He's not interested in me," she protested. "This whole conversation is pointless. I told you it was a misunderstanding. That's all."

  "We'll see," Kate said.

  "What does that mean?" she asked in frustration.

  "I'm just thinking if that one kiss has gotten you all worked up, Julie, maybe it did something to him, too."

  * * *

  Matt sat on his couch late Thursday night with a bag of ice strapped to his right shoulder and a laptop resting on his thighs as he waited for his brother to call. At twenty-five, Connor was a lieutenant in the Marine Corps and was currently stationed somewhere in the Middle East. While they didn't talk often, they did try to catch up every few months. Connor had emailed earlier that he wanted to talk tonight. Hopefully, he'd be able to make that happen, but he couldn't always get to the computer when he wanted to.

  A moment later, the connection came through and Connor's face with his familiar grin filled the screen.

  Matt couldn't help but smile back. No matter what Connor was doing, he always seemed able to find a reason to be happy, and considering the state of his life, Matt found that an even more amazing trait now than he ever had before. Connor had joined the Marines when he was nineteen, and he was six years into his eight-year contract. He'd been all over the world and while he'd had some minor injuries, he'd managed to make it this far without getting badly hurt or worse.

  "What's with your arm?" Connor asked immediately.

  "Nothing. Just icing."

  "The season hasn't even started yet, and you're already hurting?"

  "I'm fine. It was just the first day I've thrown in a while. I'm taking precautions."

  "Well, you're not getting any younger," Connor reminded him. "Next year is the big 3-0."

  "Thanks for the reminder. What's going on with you?"

  "A lot actually. That's why I wanted to talk. I'm engaged, Matt."

  His gut tightened at Connor's shocking news. "What? Who? I didn't even know you were seeing anyone."

  "Her name is Ellen. She's a medic stationed over here. We've been going out about three months. She is beautiful and funny and brave, and has a body that is smoking hot. She's everything—"

  "That's great, but three months?" he interrupted, his mind grabbing onto the piece of information that made the least sense. "Why so fast?"

  "It feels right, Matt."

  "Yeah, because it's only been three months. Tell me you're having a long engagement at least."

  "Sorry to disappoint you. We're planning to get married as soon as we can get leave together. Hopefully that will be within the next two months."

  "What's the rush, Connor?"

  "I'm in love."

  "You fall in love all the time," he couldn't help pointing out. His brother had been breaking hearts since he was fifteen.

  "This time is different." Connor's expression sobered. "I want you to be my best man, Matt. I know your schedule gets crazy during the season, but I need you to stand by my side. It will probably happen sometime in May. I'm going to do everything I can to plan it on an off-day for you or do it at night or something, because you have to there."

  He wasn't as concerned about taking a day off during the season as he was about Connor's intention to get married so fast to a woman he barely knew. He didn't want to squelch his brother's enthusiasm but damn, how could he stand by and say nothing, do nothing, when Connor was making a huge mistake? "I really think you should take more time to get to know her."

  "I know her, Matt. It may seem fast to you. But out here, doing what we do, seeing what we see, every day feels like three years. Everything is intense, bigger than life. You learn not to waste time, not to take tomorrow for granted. I love her. She loves me. We're keeping it simple."

  His brother's words sent a shiver down his spine. While he never actually forgot that his brother put his life on the line every day, he tried not to think about it.

  "Just be happy for me," Connor added.

  "You're making a mistake." He couldn't stop the words from leaving his mouth. "This is a big decision. You can't rush into marriage."

  "Actually, I can. Look, I know you worry about me—about all of us—but I'm not a kid. I know what I'm doing."

  Matt let out a sigh, knowing he was getting nowhere. "There's nothing I can say, is there?"

  "No. If you want to worry about someone, focus on David. Last I heard, he's thinking of dropping out of college."

  "What?" he asked, straightening up. "I just sent off his next tuition check."

  Connor grinned. "I guess I just threw David under the bus. Tell him I'm sorry when you call to yell at him. Look, Matt, I have to go soon, so tell me how you're doing first."

  "I'm—fine," he said, frustrated that their conversation was almost over and he hadn't managed to convince Connor of anything. "Have you talked to Mom?"

  "Not yet, but I will. She's going to love Ellen. You all are."

  "I'm sure she's great, but—"

  "There is no but," Connor said, cutting him off. "When do you head down to Arizona for spring training?"

  "Two weeks."

  "How is your team shaping up?"

  "We have a new pitcher who looks promising. But we'll see how he does when it counts."

  "Anything else new with you? Met any good-looking women lately? Or is that a stupid question?"

  Julie's pretty face flashed through his mind. His pause must have given something away, because his brother immediately jumped on his hesitation.

  "There is someone," Connor said. "Tell me about her."


  "There's nothing to tell. I met someone earlier today, but she could barely stand the sight of me."

  "Sounds like a challenge to me," Connor said with a laugh. "What did you do to piss her off?"

  "I play baseball, and she doesn't care for professional athletes, especially baseball players."

  "So change her mind. You've got game."

  "I might give it a shot," he said.

  "When you give things a shot, you almost always win."

  "Almost always," he echoed.

  "My time is up, Matt," Connor said. "I'll email you about the wedding."

  "Wait. Have you told Claire?" Maybe his super smart sister could convince Connor he was out of his mind.

  "Not yet. We're going to talk this weekend. I'll tell her then."

  "Or you could not tell her and think about the whole idea a little more," he couldn't help suggesting one last time. "Love doesn't have to be so fast."

  Connor just laughed at him, the way he'd laughed at him so many other times in his life. But then Connor had had the luxury of not being the oldest, not being the man of the house, not having to worry about making sure everyone else was taken care of. Those concerns had fallen to Matt when his father passed away.

  "What would you know about love?" Connor asked. "You haven't had a relationship that lasted longer than three weeks. Try something serious sometime and then talk to me."

  "Goodbye Connor," he said. "Stay safe."

  "Talk soon," Connor replied, then ended the connection.

  Matt stared at the blank screen for a long minute, Connor's words ringing through his head. Unlike Connor, he hadn't fallen in love every other second, and as his younger brother had reminded him, his relationships tended to end before they got off the ground. That was mostly his fault. He shied away from women who wanted too much. He had his hands full with keeping his career going, a career that was supporting everyone in his family.

  Speaking of which…

  He started another program on his computer and opened a video taken at the most recent batting practice. At some point, he'd acquired a hitch in his swing, and he needed to get it fixed before the season started. He needed to have another good year. At twenty-nine, he was starting to hear the clock ticking. But he had at least another five to eight years he told himself—as long as he didn't get hurt, as long as he didn't get distracted and lose his focus, as long as he didn't let a beautiful blonde get under his skin.