Insert Groom Here

by K. M. Jackson

  Over the past three weeks, Aidan had successfully extricated himself from her segment and thrilled his father in the process by delving into the larger-picture projects at the network. He’d even planted seeds about projects that were top on his list. On the surface, his plan was working out well. All he had to do was stay focused, and soon he’d have the best of both worlds. He’d have a seat at the table when it came to decision making at the network and the freedom to go on the road whenever the story needed him.

  The road. It was supposedly just what he wanted, and now the thought of it made his mouth so dry it seemed filled with sawdust. He couldn’t imagine being on the road without her by his side or here, waiting for him when he came back home. How ridiculous a thought was that? The man who thrived on having no attachments, the lone wolf, was now howling for a place—no, a person—to call home. It was ridiculous, and he should—no, he needed—to just push the thought aside, to block it out and be the man he was meant to be. Life was perfect, and it was high time he started acting like it. Aidan paused to study his reflection in the window. So what was he doing at the moment, pacing around his office like a caged lion, the television trained on the damned Morning Show and him hanging on every word spoken by that annoying Jim and the overly animated Diane?

  He stopped mid-pace when it was announced that coming up was the montage of Eva and Kevin’s journey. His stomach twisted at the use of the overused term, and he leaned back against the edge of his desk and watched as Eva’s image came on the screen.

  Journey. What the hell did they know about such a thing?

  He didn’t know why he was surprised at the lump that formed in his throat with that first glimpse of her image. Maybe he was going soft. That’s what he got for hanging out so long stateside and getting comfortable in one place. But looking at her in the first stills of the too-sappy montage and seeing her in her little matching sweater set and those damned pearls brought it all back. First, that surprising kiss in the greenroom and the searing ball pain that came along shortly thereafter. Then the surprising pleasure that somehow took over his being. He never wanted to let go of that pleasure, but knew he must for both their sakes.

  Shit. Who would have thought he’d be in even more pain today?

  He wanted to turn away, perhaps prepare for this afternoon’s meeting, but instead he rubbed his jaw and stayed rooted where he was, watching and feeling the twisting in his gut as the montage weaved a web, painting Eva and Kevin as a picture-perfect couple. By the time the morning was over and done, they would again be the golden couple, at least for the time being. And she would be the standard of the modern working woman, no longer pitied but now looked up to; she’d have all she wanted. And wasn’t that all that mattered?

  The camera cut to a more recent image of the two of them on their last date. They were on the top of the Empire State Building, with violins playing, and Kevin asked Eva to marry him once again, pulling out the ring she’d stopped wearing eight weeks before. Aidan closed his eyes and ran his hands across his face before looking at the screen again. Eva nodded and smiled, and once again went into Kevin’s arms. The camera edged in, doing a close-up on the ring. To the untrained eye, it all looked like a modern fairy tale. Only a person who knew Eva could see the pain behind that smile.

  * * *

  “Can I please have a moment alone with your friend?” Carter asked, this time coming at Cori with all the cordiality Eva knew she felt was her due. Still, she raised a brow and deferred to Eva, who let out a sigh and nodded, letting her friend know it was fine to leave her alone with the slick producer. “It’s okay. Why don’t you go and please check on my mother. I’m sure she’s out there driving the crew mad and can use a little reining in.”

  “So what is it?” Eva asked once Cori left the room. “Do you want me to cartwheel down the aisle, or would juggling make you happier?”

  Carter shook his head. “Do I really come off as that evil? Should I twirl my dastardly mustache now and complete your picture of me?”

  Eva let out a long sigh and leaned back. “No, you really don’t. I’m sorry, I don’t blame you. You’re just doing your job. I understand that.” She got up and went to the mirror to check her makeup and smooth her chignon. “Don’t worry. I’ll be ready to walk down the aisle, and things will go off without a hitch.”

  “What if I told you I don’t want you to walk down the aisle?”

  Eva whipped around too quickly and got a little woozy once again. She had to have heard him wrong. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me right. What if I don’t want you to walk down the aisle?”

  Eva waved a disbelieving hand in front of her face. “And what, I don’t walk down the aisle, and you sue me for breach of contract? Or what, you continue these farce dates and torture me forever? What’s your angle now, Mr. Bain?”

  “Neither, and no angle. You don’t walk down the aisle, and you walk away and go on with your life. Free, not saddled to a man who doesn’t care for you.”

  “What would you know about how Kevin feels about me? This conversation is over. Shouldn’t you be out there giving orders to minions or something?”

  “You’re right, I don’t know how Kevin feels about you, but I do know how Aidan feels. And he really cares for you. I’ve known him for years, and I’ve never seen him like this.”

  Eva closed her eyes against the words. When she opened them again, they were full of hatred for the man in front of her. “I think you need to go. I’m not having this conversation with you.”

  But Carter didn’t move. Instead he flipped open a small tablet. “You have a good friend there who would go to bat for you, and Aidan has always been that kind of friend for me, whether I was being a jerk, which was most of the time, or not. But it’s time I stood up for him. I’ve never seen him as twisted up about anyone as he is about you. With him, it was always the story first. Mission first. He didn’t have to stay here or on your project. It was never about your story, but always about you.”

  Eva watched as he pressed PLAY and she came on the small screen live, loud, and in screaming bright color, having a full-on fit. Carter hit pause. “I wanted to use this. I was all ready to go. Aidan told me he’d have me fired if I did, and, worse, he’d never speak to me again. That was when I knew. Aidan’s been my friend since our school days, and he never makes idle threats. He would have never said that if you didn’t mean something to him. Even then.”

  He hit PLAY again, and there she was coming at him, straight for the camera and then past it and out of sight for their first kiss before the camera went out of focus and headed south. Carter laughed. “I will admit I got a kick out of that part. Though I don’t know what happened when the camera fell, I have my suspicions.” Eva shot Carter a look that he brushed off with a grin before hitting PLAY again. This time the footage was of Aidan, and he looked so beautiful—all tall, dark, sexy strength—as he helped move a piece of equipment, and then in another shot he looked great as he gave directions to some riggers.

  Eva turned to Carter. “Why are you wasting my time with this?”

  “Patience, please.”

  She let out a frustrated huff, though she continued to look. The images changed, and there she was, getting ready as he watched solemnly from his back corner in her apartment. She was climbing the rock wall as he stood poised ready to run forward to catch her. Then it was her on the screen at the opera, in her red dress, and him watching once again, this time through the monitor, but intent on her every move and even more so on every move of her date. She watched as his face went through every possible emotion from ambivalence to irritation, and from there to anger and then undeniable pain. Then there were the odd times when he was simply looking at her and his eyes would get all dark and full of passion and something she couldn’t quite put her finger on—a soft, soulful look that Eva couldn’t dare to hope was love. And she was there too. Right back with the same chill, the same thrill she only got from him. Her eyes began to water. Crap, her makeup
.

  “Come on, don’t cry, please. Aidan would kick my ass if he knew I’d made you cry. Hell, he’d kick my ass if he knew I was here showing you this,” Carter said, surprising her by handing over a handkerchief. “I didn’t do this to make you cry. I only wanted to show you how much you mean to him.”

  Eva blew in the handkerchief and then looked up at Carter. “Well, I’m afraid you’re totally overestimating things. He’s a big boy and can speak for himself, and it speaks volumes that he’s not here. No matter what you say, he left me, and then he practically threw Kevin back at me. He’s not the hero you’re trying to portray with your little video and cute, emotionally manipulative editing.” She flipped the screen closed and looked up at the clock. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go and get married and be done with this nightmare once and for all.”

  Eva was about to walk past him on that note, but Carter stopped her with a hand to her elbow. “Well, about that. It may not have been his idea to bring Kevin back on the show.”

  Eva’s brows drew together as her heart begin to race. “Just how much of not his idea are we talking?”

  * * *

  Eva stood inside the makeshift, curtained-off tent and waited for her cue. She watched the scene outside the tent on the monitors and was once again overwhelmed by the spectacle of it all. She would be so relieved when this was all behind her and just a story of her distant past.

  The normally bustling concrete tourist center had been turned into a square-block, floral-fantasy film set with about every flower imaginable decorating the space. It was almost too much to take in, and Eva felt a twinge of guilt seeping into her melancholy over the spectacle of it all. It was sad, really. This could be a fairy-tale dream for someone, but not for her. She supposed for her it could be too, if she were marrying her true love or even if she were marrying Kevin, the one she thought she knew months ago before the curtain had been lifted and her world had been turned inside out. But now she couldn’t take in the tulle, the crystals, the flowers or the fantasy of it all. All she could see now was the artifice in the background, the little tech wizards behind it all, pulling the strings and making this spectacle happen.

  Eva let out a calming breath and told herself once more that focus was what was called for here as she waited for her cue to come from the assistant PA, letting her know it was time to walk down the aisle. Don’t think of the spectacle or the little wizard or the big wizard, Carter Bain, and what he had told her about Kevin and his part in bringing him back. She just had to play her part, and this would all be over soon. It was all timed out, and she had only thirty seconds to get down a rose-petaled aisle to Kevin, and they had three minutes and thirty seconds after that to say their vows before the next commercial break, or the show’s live timeline would be off.

  She took in a breath and inwardly shook off the conversation with Carter. There was no need to think of that now. Looking at the screen, she watched as the camera scanned the assembled guests and the wedding party. It reached Kevin and focused. She saw how he checked himself out in the monitor yet again and let out a sigh when the fool didn’t even hide checking out the ass of a young PA. Part of her almost laughed, but instead she just shook her head. Prince Charming he was not. The camera panned, and Eva saw her mother sitting rigid in her chair on the edge of the front row as the guest of honor. She wore a weary smile, and for the first time, Eva could see her as she was. Her mother had given up so much trying to prove herself to be something she wasn’t, all to cover for a man who didn’t love her as she should have been loved. Suddenly the waste of it all hit Eva like a kick to the gut, and instead of taking a step forward, getting in cue position, she took a step back. When she did, she hit something—or better yet, someone—solid. Eva stilled.

  “Getting cold feet, princess?”

  Aidan’s voice rumbled over her like a slow wave, and Eva felt she would have fallen if she hadn’t had his chest to lean on or her anger to hold her up. She turned around and looked him in the eye. “Absolutely not. I’m just waiting for my cue, and then I’m heading down the aisle. You better than anyone know how important timing is in this business.” She lowered her voice. “Now will you move so you’re not mistakenly in my shot?”

  “What if I won’t?”

  Instantly the white-hot anger bubbled up. “Are you freaking kidding me right now?” Her voice went high, and Aidan grinned.

  “There’s that fire, kitten. I told you I always finish my jobs.”

  Eva shook her head. “I so do not have time for this. Not today, I don’t.”

  Aidan leaned in closer to her ear, and his warm breath caressed her with each word. “If not today, then when? If not today, then I risk being too late, and I can’t wait another moment to ask you to forgive me.”

  Eva could not believe her ears. Thirty seconds. Thirty freaking seconds when he had had weeks, and now he came to her with this? She turned away and looked back at the monitors. So many people were waiting to watch her marry the not quite man of her dreams, and here he came with this, now. She found it hard to breathe as she imagined all the eyes focused and waiting for her to walk down the aisle. She felt Aidan’s expectant presence, a welcome but heavy being engulfing her. She closed her eyes briefly. This definitely was not as romantic as it was portrayed in the movies.

  The PA peeked his head around and announced fifteen seconds until she was up. Eva opened her eyes and looked at Aidan. “I don’t know why you’re saying this,” she said through clenched teeth and a churning stomach. “We had an arrangement but no attachment. You did nothing wrong. There is nothing to forgive.”

  She heard Aidan clear his throat before he spoke up again. “But there is, princess. You were right. I am a liar. I’m so sorry. I should have been honest with you from the beginning and told you I’m in love with you.”

  Eva sucked in a breath and closed her eyes again as the impact of his declaration hit her, cutting off her air and sending her world spinning.

  Just then the partition curtains opened wide, and the PA announced her cue to go. Eva forced herself to focus, then looked back, and her eyes locked with Aidan’s. His were dark and glassy and, for the first time, full of hope. She gave him a half smile and blinked back her threatening tears. “You know you’re a real jerk, Walker. Like I said, timing is everything.”

  The lights were so bright they were almost blinding, and the music of the piano and the violin had a shrill, almost screeching quality to it. But Eva blocked it all out and focused on the task at hand. She counted her seconds. All she had to do was watch her time, and this would all be over soon. She saw them. All the smiling faces looking at her with admiration. She was doing what had to be done. She passed her mother and saw something like acceptance reflected in her eyes, but still, lingering below the surface, there was that hint of sadness.

  Looking up at the end of the aisle, she got to Kevin, so tall, so perfect in his tuxedo; he would be a perfect match for her. Him and her, the two of them wearing well-worn masks of socially accepted love. They created a beautiful picture, or would if only Kevin were looking her way and not watching himself on the monitor off to the left. Eva smiled as she reached Kevin’s side and whispered in his ear.

  “You have got to be kidding me! But we’re supposed to get married. Here and now,” Kevin yelled, and the crowd gasped. “You can’t stand me up at the altar. Do you know how many women would kill to marry me?”

  “Yes, Kevin, I think I do. It’s just I’m no longer one of them,” Eva said with a grin as she shoved her bouquet into his empty arms. She turned, catching Cori’s wide grin and started back down the aisle with a newfound energy. She passed her mother and saw the shock and then the surprising smile that gave her the strength to take off into a run the rest of the way and into Aidan’s waiting arms. She hit him with the full force of her body, making him grunt.

  “So it seems your balls are in jeopardy once again, Mr. Walker.”

  His grin spread wide, and her insides went soft. “I�
��m not worried about my balls at all as long as you have my heart.” His brows came together then, and Eva looked at him, confused. “But will you make me one promise, princess?”

  “What’s that?”

  Aidan wrapped an arm tight around her waist as he lifted his other hand to her face. At first, he brushed his fingers across her bottom lip; then his hand went farther down to the pearls at her throat as he fingered them seductively. “When you finally let me take you out on a date, will you promise to keep your pearls on?”

  Eva let out a laugh as she caught the spark in his eyes and let it charge her from the inside out. She felt renewed as the rest of the spectators seemed to fade away. The idea of the millions of viewers from around the country judging her every action vanished to dust and she was left with nothing in her mind’s eye but she and Aidan as she leaned forward once again toward his irresistible lips. “For you, my love, always.”

  COLLECT THEM ALL

  The Unconventional Bride Series

  Insert Groom Here

  Eva Ward has won a lavish wedding on the nation’s

  hottest morning show and can’t wait to kick off her

  happily-ever-after in style. Too bad her fiancé backs

  out on the air. The only way Eva can save face and

  keep her perfect nuptial plans on track is to star in a

  new “find-a-groom” reality segment. But finding Mr.

  Right in eight weeks means ignoring Aidan Walker—

  her handsome new producer—and getting their

  instant, exasperating attraction out of her system . . .