The Bridesmaid and the Billionaire

by Shirley Jump

  “So, are you a friend of Paul’s?” the bartender asked.

  Kane nodded. “In town for the wedding.”

  “He’s a good guy. Him and Jackie both.” The bartender put the glass he was drying on the shelf, then stuck out his hand. “Name’s Larry.”

  “Kane.” The two men shook. “I’m staying out at one of the lake cabins.”

  “Good fishing out there.”

  “So I hear.”

  Larry put a foot onto the stool beside him, his face drawing pensive. Behind him on the wall-mounted television, a sports commentator was droning on about spring training. “Yeah, I used to get out there all the time with my son. I miss it.”

  “Paul told me about him. I’m sorry to hear about all you’ve been through.”

  Larry shrugged. “It’s been hard, but you know, living here makes it easier. Knock small towns all you want, but me and my wife, we got plenty of friends around here. Friends and family, they make ’bout anything easier to bear, don’t you agree?”

  “Yeah.”

  Though Kane’s experience with either was slim, at least until he’d arrived in Chapel Ridge. Odd, in a matter of days, he felt closer to the residents of this town than he did to most of the executives at Lennox Gem Corporation.

  “Anyway,” Larry said, waving off the discussion, “you didn’t come here to hear all about my problems. What can I get you?”

  Kane was about to order a beer when he saw Susannah come out of her shop with three leashes in her hand—and three equally large dogs attached to the end of those leashes. “Uh, nothing, thanks. I just saw what I wanted outside.”

  Then he left, hurrying to his rental car to get Rover before heading over to Susannah.

  “I thought you were going home,” she said.

  “And I thought you were going to do paperwork.”

  “This is one of the other parts of my job.” She held up the leashes. “Walking the shelter dogs three times a day.”

  “Alone? At this time of night?”

  Susannah laughed. “This is Chapel Ridge, Kane. Not the crime capital of the world. I’ll be fine.”

  “If I promise not to tell you what to do with your life, how about you let me help you walk the dogs?”

  She shouldn’t let him. After all, “Just Kane” had this wall up she couldn’t seem to see over. She understood him wanting a little privacy while he was on vacation, but she also had a nagging sense that he was hiding something—something big. And those red flags were becoming increasingly hard to ignore. “I have this under control.”

  “I’m sure you do. I’m simply sharing the burden.” He reached over and took one of the leashes from her, brushing off her protests just as her heart did the same thing with her better judgment.

  “You couldn’t even walk a dog the other day.”

  “I’m a fast learner. Watch.” He put a leash in each hand and strode forward. Except his plan didn’t go the way he expected. Rover took one look at his new walking companion and let out a growl. The second dog answered with a growl of his own, and before Kane could say “stop,” the two of them were circling each other with angry barks.

  “I’ll trade you.” Susannah reached across him, took the leash of the black dog, walked that dog forward and away from Rover, then gave Kane the lead to a small white pooch instead. “You picked Dexter. He’s a male, and when you put two males together—”

  “They spend more time jockeying for position than getting any work done.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, that’s pretty much it. So try this little girl.” She handed him a terrier mix. “This is Sonya. She should get along fine with Rover. Just walk Rover on the far left, and I’ll walk Dexter on my far right. And we’ll all be one big happy family.”

  As soon as those words left her mouth, Susannah wanted to take them back. She barely knew this man. “One big happy family” did not describe them at all.

  But Kane, if he’d noticed the phrase, didn’t say anything. “The only problem is, we’re outnumbered two to one, with the animals at a decided advantage.”

  Susannah grinned. “Do those odds scare you?”

  “Nothing scares me.”

  “Oh, I bet some things do.” She studied him, keeping her grip on the leashes firm, as they rounded a corner. She’d spent more time with Kane in the last couple of days than almost anyone besides Jackie, and yet, there were times when she felt as if she barely knew him. “Everyone is scared of something. What is it for you?”

  He stopped walking and pivoted toward her. Beneath the streetlight, his every feature was outlined, his eyes seemed darker, more mysterious. “You want to know what scares me?”

  Susannah nodded, mute. Her heart thudded in her chest.

  Kane transferred both leashes to one hand, and reached up with the other to cup her jaw. Even as she told herself to hold back, to stay away, Susannah leaned into the touch, the warmth, the tenderness. “A woman who deserves so much more than I can give.”

  “I don’t want anything, though.”

  Kane leaned in closer, his lips now a breath away. “Wanting and deserving are two different things. And what you deserve, Susannah Wilson, is the world. On a platter.” Then he winnowed the gap, and kissed her again.

  Her head spun, her pulse raced. She reached for him, but the dogs, impatient for their walk, tangled the leashes around Kane’s and Susannah’s legs and began vocalizing their desire to keep moving. She broke away from Kane. Saved by the bark. “I think we better get going before our chaperones get too antsy.”

  “We probably should.” He trailed a finger along her jaw. “But first, tell me, is there anything wrong with a little of that?”

  “No,” Susannah breathed.

  “Then who says we can’t do it again?” And he brushed his lips across hers before the dogs pulled him away.

  And again, and again, a part of her demanded. But thankfully work—in the form of a bunch of canines—kept her on track.

  Kane and Susannah headed down the sidewalk toward the town park. “We can have that,” he said, referencing the kiss, “without a deep relationship. I’m only here for a few days, and so are you. I don’t want to get into some big discussion about my life. Or my job. I just want to enjoy my time here, and my time with you. Is that so bad?”

  Though it stung a little that Kane kept shutting the door every time Susannah knocked, she had to admit that he had a point. No getting too close, no ties in the end. “No, it’s not.”

  Wasn’t that what she wanted anyway? Nothing to bind her to this town, to her old life? So she could leave without remorse, begin a new life as soon as Jackie’s wedding was over. It was exactly the type of relationship she told herself she should pursue, yet a part of herself kept rebelling, like a child who had spied the cookie jar and was now throwing a tantrum every time the treats came into view.

  “Good. Because I need to ask you a favor.”

  “A favor?”

  “I’m not quite getting what I need on this vacation and I think you’re the only one who can provide what I want.” He stopped walking and turned to face her. “So I have a deal to offer you, Susannah. If you accept it, maybe we can both get what we want. What do you say?”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “YOU want me to do what?” Susannah stared at him. Around them, Chapel Ridge maintained its veil of silence, everyone asleep for the night, the businesses shut up, the residents tucked in their beds. As far as this corner of the world was concerned, the only people who existed were Susannah and Kane. They had waited to finish the conversation until the dogs were done with their walks and back in their kennels. Now, Susannah, Kane and Rover stood in the quiet night air outside the closed grooming salon.

  “I want you to show me how to live like a normal person.”

  “Uh…is there a reason you don’t know how?”

  “I’m a…typical bachelor. Never really functioned on my own.” He shifted from foot to foot, avoiding her gaze. “I want to experience life. But I’m not v
ery good at it.”

  “As in…doing what?”

  “Starting a fire, for one. So I don’t freeze to death in that cabin. Last night was no fun, let me tell you. I’d make a really bad Eskimo.” He smiled. “I want you to show me things like skipping stones. Maybe even cooking over an open flame.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “No, I’m not. And, I’m willing to pay you.”

  “Pay me?” The words rolled in her mind. Five minutes ago Kane had been talking about kissing her and, she’d thought, had been doing a very good job of trying to romance her.

  Now he’d switched gears, and was offering to pay her to enhance his vacation experience. The contradictions in Kane Lennox ran deeper every second. Susannah had no doubts about his interest in her, but about his reasons for being in Chapel Ridge—beyond the wedding—she had several. About what he wanted beyond a few kisses, she had plenty more.

  Could she put those doubts aside and trust him over the next few days? Without falling into the depths she saw in his eyes? Or would she be making the biggest mistake of her life by letting go of those tight reins she had on her emotions?

  “I’ll pay you more than enough money to make it worth your while, of course,” Kane went on. “I realize this will interfere with your current job.” He paused, seeming to run a mental calculator. “What do you make as a dog groomer? A hundred dollars an hour?”

  “Maybe.”

  “I’ll triple that. In exchange, you take the day off and show me what I want to see, teach me what I want to know.”

  Susannah nearly choked. Three hundred dollars an hour? More than two thousand dollars a day? Kane had to be joking…or insane. “Do you mean like a paid escort?”

  “Well, not that kind, but yes.”

  “That’s a ridiculous amount of money. No one pays that much for—” She stopped. “Are you rich or something?”

  “I’m…I…I saved up a lot for this vacation.”

  “You saved up a lot for a vacation to Chapel Ridge, Indiana? And now you want to spend it on me? Specifically me teaching you how to do what ordinary people do every day for free?”

  He didn’t answer that question. “Are you turning me down?”

  “No, but I’m assessing the wisdom of your offer. Not to mention your sanity in making it.” And her sanity in agreeing. Every moment she spent with Kane wrapped her tighter in a spell she couldn’t seem to break.

  What did she have to worry about? This was all temporary. Saturday morning she’d be on a plane to the other side of the world. Surely that would be enough distance to forget him.

  “Well, don’t think so much. Just accept it.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. “I assume cash is okay?”

  Oh, my goodness. Kane was actually serious. When he handed Susannah a pile of hundred-dollar bills, her eyes widened. If she was frugal, she could envision these dollars becoming a jaunt over to London, maybe a quick side trip to Italy. The kernel of a savings account toward a trip to Germany or Mexico. “You carry around that much cash?”

  “I’m not a fan of traveler’s checks.”

  “Ever hear of credit cards?”

  “Don’t like those much, either. Cash is my way of doing business, at least on a personal level.”

  “Well, your ATM card must get a lot of wear.” She stared at the bills in his hand, until he took her palm and placed them in hers, then she stared even more. “This is…this is way too much. You’re insane.”

  “I only have a limited amount of time. I want my vacation to be the best it can be. And so far, all I’ve done is starve, freeze and find a dog I didn’t want.” He grinned. “The best time I had was with you. Every time I’ve been with you, Susannah, all I wanted to do was spend even more time with you. It didn’t matter if we were washing a dog or throwing a fishing pole out the window.” He took a step closer and tipped her jaw until her gaze met his. “Imagine how it would be if we had actual, planned fun together? If all I had to worry about, and all you had to worry about, was us being together? That, to me, would be a perfect vacation.”

  He saw Susannah’s breath catch. When she looked at him like that, Kane could barely resist her. Every bone in his body longed to kiss her again, but he was afraid if he did, she really would think this offer was only for one thing—when it wasn’t. Although, if he could kiss her a dozen more times over the next few days, he wouldn’t complain.

  “I suppose—” she fingered the hundreds “—I could have Tess take on a few extra appointments for me.”

  “And what about your sister’s wedding plans?”

  A smile crossed Susannah’s face, a smile so wide it could have rivaled the sun’s. And for the first time since Kane had made the crazy offer, he knew he had done the right thing.

  “I think Jackie can handle her own wedding just fine, at least for a few hours a day. Apparently I have a new job.”

  Susannah had done some oddball things to fund her dream, but this took the cake. “You really want to do this?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Okay. It’s your money.” She handed him the shovel. “About here should be good.”

  He grinned, then pushed on the metal edge with his boot. The spade sank into the earth, turning up a chunk of dark brown sod. When it did, a trio of earthworms came squirming out of the ground. Rover took one look at them, let out a yelp and darted off. “Success!”

  Susannah laughed. Kane Lennox made the oddest study in contradictions in his perfect jeans and second, new, casual shirt, along with a pair of new boots Susannah had insisted he buy at the local hunter supply shop, coupled with his cocktail party mannerisms. All of them forgotten when he’d dug up a pile of worms. “You look as happy as a man who struck oil.”

  “I feel that happy, as crazy as that sounds.” Kane grabbed the coffee can she’d brought with her that morning, then bent down and, using the lid, scooped the worms into the container. “Let’s go fishing. For real this time.”

  Susannah watched him grab their poles, the same shiny new tackle box from the night before, and they marched on down the wooded path to the lake, Kane gleeful. She trailed along, not nearly as excited as Kane by the prospect of sitting on the dock and casting a hook into the water. She zipped her sweatshirt up, against the morning chill in the air, but Kane seemed oblivious to the low spring temperature. “You’re really into this.”

  “Never done it before. I’ve heard it’s fun. Relaxing.”

  “You’ve never fished?”

  “I told you, I work a lot. Downtime isn’t even in my vocabulary.” He let out a deep breath, just as his cell phone started up again, for the fourth time that morning. Susannah had never known anyone whose cell phone rang as often as his did—and who answered as infrequently as Kane did. This time, Kane let out a curse, withdrew the cell from his jacket pocket, glanced at the number, shook his head, then tucked the phone away again. “What’s first?”

  “Bait your hook.” She reached into the can, pulled out a worm and held up the slimy creature. “You’ve got to get this little guy on that tiny silver hook.” She demonstrated, with a few quick nimble movements.

  He arched a brow. “Not one ounce of squeamishness? I’m impressed. I don’t think any of the women I know would ever handle a worm, must less do what you just did.”

  “I grew up fishing. My dad loved coming here, and we used to fish together a lot.” Her gaze drifted to the deep, green water, and she could swear her father’s spirit still lingered here. His presence hung heavy in the budding maple trees, the rich earth, the soft whispers of the breeze. She closed her eyes and inhaled the sweet fresh air, and for a moment Susannah was ten again, spending a lazy summer afternoon with her father after his work was done for the day, learning more about life than about fishing.

  Susannah opened her eyes and drank in the view again. She would miss this place. The memories that it held, the comfort she found here, like curling under a thick blanket on a cold winter’s night. “Anyway,” she f
inished, brushing off the memories before they worked their way into tears, “the main reason I’m not squeamish around this stuff is because I was the one hanging out at the lake after school. I’m not a girly-girl.”

  “Then you’re perfect for me.” He cleared his throat, as if he realized what he’d just said. “I meant for this week, of course.”

  “Of course.”

  He couldn’t mean anything else, she decided. She didn’t want him to. Did she?

  No. She had plans, and those plans did not include being tied to anyone else, even a man with deep blue eyes and a teasing grin.

  Kane wrestled with the wriggly worm, but after a couple of tries had it on his hook. Susannah rose and cast her line into the water, explaining her actions as she did it. “Now you try.”

  He leaned back, flipped the rod forward, but the hook fell short.

  “Like this,” Susannah said, slipping in behind him, intending only to show him, as she had been shown a thousand times before. She placed her right hand on his, her left arm on his waist. He glanced over his shoulder, bringing their cheeks together, and then, as natural as two blades of grass touching in the breeze, their lips. Had she kissed him, or had he kissed her?

  She stopped keeping track because the feel of Kane’s mouth against hers was agonizingly wonderful. Even as Susannah broke away and tried to get back to business, tried to ignore the dark desire lingering in Kane’s gaze and his smile, a roaring zing of awareness ran through her. She knew this wasn’t going to be an ordinary lesson in casting a hook into the water—because she was hooking herself, too.

  If she was smart, she’d step away. Go back to show and tell. None of this hands-on instruction. Except every time her brain told her to do that, her hormones reminded her of that first kiss. And the second. And the third. Of the way Kane looked without a shirt. And then back to those kisses again. “Um, to cast a hook, you put your arm back like this,” she said.