The First Kiss of Spring

by Emily March

  “Be right back.”

  While Caitlin surreptitiously kicked off her shoes and massaged her instep, Josh made his way to the bar station and ordered champagne for her and a club soda with lime for himself.

  On the return trip to the table, the sight of Caitlin’s bare leg revealed to the thigh by the side slit in her dress distracted him. He only vaguely noticed the stir in the crowd of wedding guests, the hoots, the catcalls, the wolf whistles.

  So Josh was totally unprepared when a black satin garter came sailing over the heads of the crowd—and landed in his lowball glass.

  Soda splashed. The crowd gasped.

  Still seated at their table, Caitlin’s laughter rang out over the room like wedding bells.

  Danger. Danger. Danger.

  Disaster.

  His stomach sank. His hopes evaporated. There goes my plan to seduce her into bed tonight.

  Hooking up with Caitlin Timberlake in the wake of this double wedding–tradition whammy would be begging for a visit by bad karma.

  Josh admitted to being superstitious. He was the king of snakebit, as they called in it Oklahoma. Extremely unlucky. Maybe even cursed. He’d been born with a target tattooed on his back. How else could you explain taking a tornado hit four times?

  His cursed luck was one of the reasons that the bride’s garter currently swimming in his club soda gave him the heebie-jeebies.

  Once years ago, he’d planned to get married. Never again. He’d intended to be a father. Never, ever again. How did that old saying go? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me? He’d challenged fate once and it had bitten him in the ass. Not only did he have genetics working against him, but destiny appeared to be his own personal bitch.

  Pasting a good-sport smile upon his face, he fished the garter out of his drink and held it up like the prize it was meant to be, not the omen he considered it. The photographer snapped his picture. The groom threw his arm around Josh and camera shutters clicked.

  The bride and Caitlin arrived laughing at how the groom overshot his groomsmen. The photographer took a series of photos with the bride and groom, Caitlin and Josh, and the bouquet and garter.

  “I can’t believe this,” his date said to him. “You weren’t even trying to catch it. What are the chances that we’d both end up with the prize?”

  “What are the chances?” Josh repeated, a wave of unease rippling through him.

  “After all the dancing and standing and leaping, I really need to change my shoes. I forgot to bring my flats to the bridal suite, so I’m going to run up to my room. I’ll just be a few minutes.”

  “I’ll walk with you.”

  “Are you sure? They’re about to cut the cake. I’ve noticed how you’ve been eyeing the chocolate groom’s cake.”

  “I do have a sweet tooth that doesn’t stop,” Josh admitted, setting his soda and the garter on their table. “But I can wait until after you change your shoes. It’s a big cake.”

  Caitlin laughed, set the bouquet down next to the garter, and looped her arm through his. They walked out of the ballroom and into the hallway. There, she surprised Josh by pulling on his arm to stop him. “This has been fun. I’m so glad you’re here. Getting trapped in that gondola was the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. Thank you.”

  Then she went up on her toes and kissed him.

  Josh kissed her right back. The touch of her lips torched his bad-karma spidey-sense to ashes and left in its place the need to get her into bed as soon as possible.

  Why she finally broke the kiss, he croaked out, “Thank you.”

  She grinned up into his eyes, then turned toward the elevators. That’s when the hairs at the back of Josh’s neck rose. He glanced around until a pair of glaring eyes froze him in his tracks.

  If looks could kill.

  In his mid-fifties, the man had silver at his temples, piercing blue-gray eyes, and a distinguished manner of carrying himself that suited a former federal judge and Eternity Springs’ only resident attorney. His wife owned the Yellow Kitchen, Eternity Springs’ best restaurant. She was classy, poised, and had a smile that lit up the room. She was looking the opposite way.

  Their last name was Timberlake.

  The same as the woman at his side whose lips were still swollen from his kiss.

  No. No. It couldn’t be. She’s from New York!

  She lives in New York. She never said she was from New York. Josh slowly released his hold on Caitlin’s arm.

  Oh holy hell.

  He knew that Mac and Ali Timberlake had a son. Chase lived in Eternity Springs and was a good friend of Josh’s foster brother, Brick Callahan. Chase was married to Lori, the town’s pretty veterinarian whom Josh had come to know quite well since he’d decided to adopt Penny.

  Josh hadn’t known that Chase had a sister.

  Yippee.

  He tried to tell himself that he was jumping to conclusions. “Timberlake” might not be as common as “Smith” or “Jones,” but this could be a coincidence. Maybe Mac Timberlake wasn’t shooting daggers at him because he’d just caught Josh with his tongue down his daughter’s throat. Maybe that look was nothing more than a bad case of indigestion. Or hemorrhoids.

  Even as the seed of hope sprouted, reality smiled and finger-waved. Reality in the guise of Celeste Blessing and her impishly twinkling blue eyes.

  Josh swallowed a groan.

  Celeste’s presence put whole new spin on the moment. Since the day he moved to Eternity Springs, Josh had heard tales of Celeste’s “coincidences.” People said she was wise beyond measure and that if she happened to give you a bit of advice, you’d be darned smart to listen to her. Celeste claimed that the valley that was home to Eternity Springs had a special healing magic to it, and Josh would be lying if he said the idea hadn’t played a role in his decision to move there permanently. He fought the battle to stay healthy every darn day.

  Well, he wasn’t in the valley now, was he? He’d left the safety of Eternity Springs to play tourist, and now the bridal bouquet and garter were hanging over his head. It appeared that he might be about to get the boutonnière beat out of him—and he hadn’t even gotten laid!

  Am I lucky or what?

  Journal Entry

  Funny how certain memories from childhood stick with you. I think I was eight or maybe nine … it was after the divorce … and we were working in Austin. A crew member’s wife taught fourth grade and she invited us to speak at their career day.

  I remember it was sometime in the fall and it was hot. I didn’t want to go. It was a day off, and I wanted to stay at the hotel and swim, but my mother insisted we go. I’ll never forget walking into the building. It smelled like someone had opened a thousand crayon tins at once. Man, I loved that smell. Still do.

  My mother and people in the office started talking and quit paying attention to me. I wandered away. Walked down a hall. My sneakers squeaked.

  I remember looking into a classroom. They were kids my age. Twenty of them. Maybe thirty. Some of them had their hands raised, waving them around. It was a history class. The teacher asked a question and I knew the answer. I stood there in the hall and raised my hand. I wanted to answer the question. I so badly wanted to answer the question.

  Then my mother called me and we went to the classroom and she did our presentation. Afterward, the kids asked me questions. I told them this was the first time I’d ever been to an actual school. I could tell that most of the kids thought that was the greatest thing ever. One of them said, “You’re the luckiest kid in the world.”

  But there was this one little girl … I’ll never forget her. She had blonde hair and freckles and she said, “I’d be lonely.”

  My eyes watered up. I remember I was so afraid I’d start bawling right there.

  After that whenever I needed to cry and couldn’t, I mentally put myself back in that classroom.

  Worked like a charm.

  Chapter Three

  My parents?


  My parents are here?

  Caitlin stared at Mac and Ali in shock. What in the world were her parents doing here?

  They hadn’t come for the wedding. They hadn’t been invited. They had never even met Stephanie.

  They hadn’t come to Telluride to see Caitlin, either, because she hadn’t told them she was coming to Colorado. This was an in-and-out trip because her boss had denied her request for an extra day’s vacation. She didn’t have time to visit Eternity Springs, and she hadn’t asked them to drive to see her because she hadn’t known how much free time she’d have for them.

  But here they were.

  She couldn’t believe it. They were here and they’d seen her. Even now, they moved up the hallway toward her.

  My parents are here and there goes my hope to seduce Josh Tarkington tonight.

  “Sunshine!” Mackenzie Timberlake threw his arms around Caitlin and pulled her close for a hug. “What a great surprise. I had no clue we were coming here to visit you. Whose idea was it, yours or your mom’s? You sure had me fooled. I didn’t suspect a thing.”

  Yes, well, neither had she.

  Her father had some suspicions now, though, didn’t he? His words might be friendly and mild, but his eyes shot daggers at Josh.

  “It’s a surprise to me too, Mac,” Ali Timberlake said. “Caitlin, don’t you look gorgeous. I think I’ve figured this out. You look like you’re dressed for a wedding, and didn’t you have a college friend getting married this month? A destination wedding? I didn’t know it was in Telluride.”

  “I never told you,” Caitlin admitted.

  Ali gave her daughter a hug. “Because you wanted to surprise us and you arranged for Celeste to get us here.”

  Celeste? Caitlin looked beyond her parents and spied their family friend. Celeste Blessing was dressed for upscale restaurant dining in a flowing teal skirt and matching jacket. She smiled and finger-waved hello.

  Well, good, Caitlin thought. I won’t be alone with them. Dad wouldn’t give her the guilt full-court press in front of someone else.

  She returned Celeste’s wave and confessed, “Yes, it’s my friend Stephanie’s wedding. She got married here tonight. But I’m afraid I didn’t arrange anything. Running into you is as big a surprise for me as it is for you.”

  Mac’s brow dipped in a frown as he shifted his gaze from her to Josh. “Did your car break down?”

  He totally lost her on that one. “My car? What car? Daddy, I flew in from New York.”

  “Then why were you giving Celeste’s mechanic a thank-you kiss?”

  Caitlin gaped at her father. A thank-you kiss? Dad. Seriously? That had been a take-me-upstairs-and-have-your-way-with-me kiss. Was he blind?

  No, not at all. Hence the arrow eyes.

  With that, Caitlin grew annoyed. What was with the overprotective-father act? He had no business acting that way.

  “Josh isn’t just my mechanic, Mac,” Celeste said, stepping forward. “He’s the newest member of the Eternity Springs Chamber of Commerce and a mechanical magician. I’d had two other mechanics tell me my Gold Wing needed to be sent to the motorcycle graveyard, but after Josh had it a week, it purrs like an angel.”

  “I didn’t know angels purred,” Josh mumbled.

  Caitlin shifted her gaze from her father to Celeste, and finally, to her date. “Wait a minute. You live in Eternity Springs?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you’re from Oklahoma. You said you’d lived in Oklahoma and California. You never mentioned Colorado.”

  “I’ve lived a lot of places, but I consider Oklahoma my home. You didn’t mention Eternity Springs, either.”

  It’s true. She hadn’t. All she’d told him was that she lived in New York.

  “So you’re a guest at the wedding too, Tarkington?” Mac asked.

  “Yes.”

  Caitlin didn’t like the note of challenge in her father’s voice and she’d had enough. Annoyance sharpened to anger. She didn’t lose her temper often, but when she did, she made it count.

  It didn’t help any that her feet were killing her. Thus fueled by fury and foot pain, she slipped her arm through Josh’s, lifted her chin, and said, “I invited him, Daddy. I picked him up in a gondola cabin yesterday, and we’ve been having wild monkey sex ever since.”

  “Oh geez, Caitlin.” Josh grimaced, dropped his chin to his chest, and murmured, “I might as well put the garage up for sale now. Mr. Timberlake, that’s not what happened.”

  Caitlin gave her hair a toss and showed a pugnacious chin. “Josh, it’s none of his business. This is ridiculous. I’m almost thirty years old. He’s acting like he just caught us naked and going at it like rabbits in the middle of—”

  “Sweetheart.” Ali Timberlake raised her voice, interrupting her daughter before turning a friendly smile toward Josh. “Hello, Josh. We met last summer at one of the Callahan parties, I believe.”

  “Yes, Mrs. Timberlake, we did.”

  “Call me Ali, please. Mac and I did so much traveling this past year that we’re a bit out of touch with events in Eternity Springs. The automotive center that opened recently is yours?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “Well, you did a fabulous job renovating your place. It’s so great to see the old buildings in town come alive again.”

  “Thank you.”

  Caitlin stood silently fuming while her mother made small talk with Josh, using good manners to smooth the choppy emotional waters. Ali was a pro at that sort of thing. Traditionally, she’d played the peacemaker in the Timberlake family.

  But at the moment, Caitlin didn’t want peace. She was embarrassed and angry and, well, sexually frustrated. She wanted to tell her father to climb down off his high horse, but the longer her mother talked, the less likely Caitlin was to do it.

  Finally, Ali’s exchange with Josh ended. Caitlin narrowed her gaze toward her father and framed the perfect subtle-but-effective jab, but even as she opened her mouth to let it fly, her mother smiled at her and continued, “Caitlin, your father, Celeste, and I have been meeting with the management here at the hotel, and I’ve been on my feet all afternoon. These heels are killing me. We were just going upstairs to change. Would you and Josh like to meet us for a drink in half an hour?”

  Caitlin briefly closed her eyes and admitted defeat. “The wedding won’t be over until midnight, Mom. In fact, I’d better be getting back there. I am a bridesmaid, after all.”

  “Oh. Yes, of course. You need to get back to the wedding. Why don’t we meet for breakfast? Say, eight o’clock in the main restaurant?”

  “We can wait until midnight,” Mac protested.

  “No, we can’t.” Ali crossed to the elevator and pushed the button. “Good night, sweetheart. See you in the morning. Good night, Josh.”

  The elevator doors opened and Ali dragged Mac inside.

  Celeste gave Caitlin a quick hug, looked up at Josh and smiled. “I can’t wait to hear all about how you two met. I’ve always heard that Telluride was a great place for romance.”

  Mac held the elevator doors for Celeste until she darted into the car.

  Once the doors finally shut, Caitlin closed her eyes. “Are you going to tell me I had one too many glasses of champagne and I’m really passed out and dreaming?”

  “No,” Josh said, his tone flat. “I’m afraid this was all too real.”

  Caitlin buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders started to shake. Finally, she couldn’t hold back her hysteria-tinged laughter. “I can’t believe this. I seriously cannot believe this.”

  “I can. That’s the way my luck always runs.” Josh gestured toward the elevator. “Still want to go change your shoes?”

  “More than just about anything, but I don’t dare. The way my luck is running, my parents are liable to be in the room across the hall from mine. No way I’m gonna risk running into them again tonight.” Especially not with you in tow, she added silently. “I’ll just go barefoot. Won’t be the first time I’ve danced b
arefoot at a wedding. Let’s go back into the ballroom.”

  He visibly hesitated and Caitlin got the impression that he was about to beg off. If that happened she just might cry. She had plans for Josh Tarkington. She wasn’t going to let her parents or his current place of residence ruin them.

  Caitlin caught his hand and pulled him toward the ballroom. “We’d better hurry or the cake will be gone. Your sweet tooth will never forgive you.”

  She wasn’t certain he wouldn’t decamp until the hostess handed him a piece of cake. Despite the fact that he didn’t seem the type to eat and run, she nevertheless kept watch on his progress with the dessert and coaxed him back onto the dance floor as soon as he finished.

  “I thought your feet hurt,” he protested as she reached up and linked her hands behind his neck.

  “They do.” She put some smolder into her eyes and licked her lips as she smiled up at him. “I’m hoping you’ll do that lift-me-off-the-ground thing again.”

  He sighed audibly. His gaze fastened on her mouth. “You are dangerous, Caitlin Timberlake.”

  His hands gripped her hips and he lifted her, twirling her in a slow circle once … twice … three times. On the third rotation he lifted her a little higher and his lips brushed hers, a soft, swift kiss, but one that made her lips tingle.

  “You must be a fabulous mechanic,” she murmured when her feet touched the ground.

  “Hmmm?” His hand skimmed up and down her spine. “Why’s that?”

  A little embarrassed by the corny truth of what she was about to say, she peered up at him from beneath her eyelashes and confessed, “You have my engine humming.”

  He chuckled softly then moved his thumb to the pulse point on her wrist. “Might be skipping a little. Professional pride makes me want to hear it purr.”

  “In that case, maybe you should take me out for spin.”

  “Maybe I should,” he murmured. “Maybe I will.”

  Caitlin thought her pulse really did skip a beat then. But instead of whisking her off the dance floor and to the elevator and up to his room, Josh tightened his hold and led her into a spin worthy of Fred Astaire. When the song ended he led her back to their table and said he was going for seconds on wedding cake and did she want a piece?