ALSO BY NANCY HERKNESS
The Consultants series
The Money Man
The Hacker
Second Glances series
Second to None: A Novella
Second Time Around
Second Act
Wager of Hearts series
The CEO Buys In
The All-Star Antes Up
The VIP Doubles Down
The Irishman’s Christmas Gamble: A Novella
Whisper Horse novels
Take Me Home
Country Roads
The Place I Belong
A Down-Home Country Christmas: A Novella
Stand-Alone novels
A Bridge to Love
Shower of Stars
Music of the Night
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2021 by Nancy Herkness
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Montlake, Seattle
www.apub.com
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
ISBN-13: 9781542018616
ISBN-10: 1542018617
Cover design by Eileen Carey
To Mary McElroy, with gratitude
for sharing her extraordinary wisdom
and warm empathy
throughout our many years of friendship.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter 1
Natalie Hart took a sip of champagne and ignored the bride’s attempts at matchmaking from across the wedding party’s table. Alice had seated Natalie next to the best man, Tully Gibson, and kept flicking hopeful glances between them. Since Alice was one of Natalie’s best friends, she knew that Natalie had no intention of ever marrying again. Natalie had also told her friend that Tully wasn’t her type. But she and Tully were the only two singles in the wedding party, and romantic Alice believed love conquered all. So she’d done her best to throw them together during all the wedding festivities.
The bandleader spoke into the microphone. “Let’s get the best man up here for a toast!”
“That’s my cue.” Tully pushed his chair back and rose to his considerable height.
Natalie watched him make his way across the dance floor, his short brown hair and vast shoulders outlined by the golden light of the crystal chandeliers, his custom-tailored tux enlivened by his signature cowboy boots—this pair, a subdued polished black.
He was too big, too confident, and too physical for her. Which was why she did her best to quell the thrill that ran through her body every damn time he put his hand on the small of her back to politely guide her through a doorway. Or when she’d tucked her arm through the crook of his elbow to walk down the aisle and could feel the steel of his muscle against her palm.
Those were nothing more than simple physical reactions.
Tully took the microphone with the practiced ease of a man used to giving business presentations to CEOs, since he was one of the three founding partners of KRG, a multinational consulting firm. The groom, Derek Killion, was the firm’s financial wizard. Leland Rockwell, KRG’s computer genius and the co–best man, sat across from Natalie, looking relieved that he didn’t have to make a toast.
Tully’s area of expertise was corporate and personal security for their clients. Which was why, at the rehearsal dinner, she had almost asked him about the strange, creepy emails she’d been getting. However, she had decided not to impose on him professionally at a celebratory social occasion.
Tully’s voice boomed out in the measured cadence that reminded her of a cowboy. “It’s a great honor to toast the joining of my good friend and partner, Derek, with the beautiful and brilliant Alice. I’m proud to say that they found each other because of a program Derek himself started at KRG, the Small Business Initiative, which offers free assistance to small business owners. How fitting is it that because my partner wanted to give back, he himself received a gift in return? The gift of Alice’s love.”
The audience sighed.
“You know the joke about the accountant with insomnia? When the doctor suggests counting sheep, the accountant says, ‘That’s the problem—I make a mistake and then spend three hours trying to find it.’” Laughter from the audience made him pause a moment. “Well, Alice and Derek are numbers people, so they had to find other”—Tully waggled his eyebrows—“ways to fall asleep.”
More laughter rippled through the room as he turned to look toward the newlyweds. Alice was blushing right down to the low square neckline of her Regency-inspired wedding gown. Natalie noted with pride that the cascading curls she’d created for Alice at her hair salon that morning still draped gracefully over the bride’s shoulders.
“Who knew that a passion for numbers could generate another kind of passion?” Tully continued. “A passion that blossomed into the profound love surrounding these two with a slightly nauseating but radiant glow.” More laughter as Tully pivoted back to speak to the room at large. “For Derek’s bachelor party, Leland and I dragged him on a white-water rafting trip. We encountered death-defying rapids, majestic bald eagles, and scenery that took our breath away. But the sight that really socked me in the gut was when we paddled up to the riverbank for our last night on the river. As a surprise, I flew Alice out to meet us. The look on Derek’s face—and hers—when they saw each other got me all choked up.”
Another sigh ran through the crowd. Natalie wouldn’t have expected the tough ex–FBI agent to get choked up about anything, but his sentiment sounded genuine. It even made her feel a little teary eyed.
“So let’s raise our glasses to the best partner and friend a guy could ask for and the woman who makes him even better.” Tully lifted his champagne flute. “To Derek and Alice!”
Applause filled the large ballroom.
“That was a very Tully toast. Down to earth but heartfelt,” Leland said before he turned to smile at his fiancée, Dawn, the light flashing off his tortoiseshell glasses. “However, yours was equally eloquent.”
“They were both terrific,” Natalie agreed, as relieved as Leland that she had avoided having to speak in front of the assembled guests, since they included quite a few prominent and intimidating clients of KRG.
Natalie glanced around to see that Tully had been buttonholed by an older silver-haired man in a well-cut suit. He stood with his head tilted down attentively as the gentleman talked.
Tully puzzled her. She’d pegged him as a player because he made no secret of the fact that he had no intention of getting married and settling down. Yet so far she’d seen him skillfully shake off at least two women who had clearly shown their interest in him. She’d also discovered that he was an enthusiastic and conscientious Big Brother to an eleven-year-old kid in New York City. When he talked about the boy, his gunmetal-gray eyes lit up with genui
ne affection. Not quite the playboy she’d expected.
Alice had gotten up from her seat across the table and plunked down beside Natalie in Tully’s empty chair, her silk skirt floating around her. “Is my mascara smeared? Because the toasts made me get all weepy.”
Natalie examined her friend’s face. “You look perfect. And glowing with happiness, as Tully said.”
Alice chuckled. “You forgot the ‘nauseating’ part.”
“I was being tactful.”
Alice’s gaze sought her new husband, who had gotten up to chat with the guests at another table now that the toasts were over. Her face softened while her radiance grew even brighter. “I still can’t believe we’re married. I mean, look at him!”
Derek did, indeed, have the looks of a movie star, a fact that caused him more annoyance than pleasure. He glanced up and smiled at his bride, making his already-perfect face almost blindingly handsome.
“He’s a married man, so I’m not allowed to stare at him anymore,” Natalie said.
“As long as you don’t touch, it’s fine.” Alice grinned, then turned serious. “Are you having a good time? I want everyone to have a wonderful time at my wedding.”
“Honestly, it’s the most amazing wedding I’ve ever been to,” Natalie said, looking around at the champagne fountain, the towering flower arrangements, and the twenty-piece band.
Alice followed her gaze. “I don’t mean all that stuff. The wedding planner did that. I mean is it fun?”
“It’s not only fun, it’s full of love and that makes it special,” Natalie assured her friend.
Nowadays Natalie looked at weddings with double vision because her marriage had ended in terrible failure. She hoped and even believed that Alice and Derek would be blissful and in love for the rest of their lives. But she had believed the same thing on her own wedding day. It had never occurred to her then—or even for the next ten years of her marriage—that she would find herself fleeing from her husband with nothing more than a hastily packed suitcase and fifty dollars.
She banished that ugliness from her mind. Tonight was for celebrating, so she polished off the rest of her champagne and prepared to enjoy herself.
A couple of hours later, she ran into Tully leaning against a column on the edge of the dance floor while he sipped a beer and watched the dancers gyrate in a kaleidoscope of swirling skirts, glittering sequins, and flashing light-up party favors. “Taking a break from the social whirl?” she asked, surprised to find him alone.
“Replacing my electrolytes,” he said, holding up the half-empty glass. “That reminds me that I haven’t had the pleasure of a dance with you since that first stuffy waltz.”
Probably because she’d been avoiding that just like she’d avoided the bouquet that had been tossed straight at her. Why give Alice any more ideas?
Just then the high-energy pop number ended, and the band segued into a twangy country tune.
“Now we’re talkin’.” Tully tilted back his head and finished his beer in one long swallow. Plunking the glass down on a nearby table, he held out his hand. “They’re playing our song.”
“I don’t know how to dance to this kind of music,” she said, even as she automatically put her hand in his big, enveloping grip. It would have been rude to do anything else.
“But I do, so just follow my lead.” He tugged her onto the dance floor and then spun her into his arms. “It’s a two-step. Quick, quick, slow, slow.” He adjusted her left hand so it rested on his shoulder while his right hand rested on her shoulder blade, allowing him to support the entire length of her arm. “Here we go. Right foot behind you first.”
She felt his weight shift a second before he pressed her backward while he stepped forward. She moved her right foot as though it was the natural thing to do. Because that was how it felt when he was leading. The first time around the dance floor, she concentrated on the steps and finding the rhythm of the music.
The second time she began to notice things she didn’t want to. How warm Tully’s hand was as it wrapped around hers. The coiled energy that radiated from him as he moved in perfect time with the music. The way his arm provided a rock-solid support for her so she never stumbled.
“Tully! My man! Show us how it’s done!” someone called out.
And suddenly the center of the dance floor cleared, leaving the two of them alone on the expanse of parquet while the other dancers stood in a wide circle, clapping to the beat.
“Let’s give ’em a show.” Tully’s grin flashed in the low light of the dimmed chandeliers.
“I don’t—”
But he was already spinning her away from him so the pale pink chiffon of her skirt swirled around her ankles. Then he reeled her back in and started the two-step rhythm again. Except he began to twirl her as they moved, his left hand holding hers high over her head, his right hand guiding her shoulder in the direction he wanted her to turn. Then he somehow wove their arms together so they danced shoulder to shoulder before spinning her into their face-to-face position again. Another shift in position and they were whirling side by side with their hands still joined.
Exhilaration fizzed through her as she gave herself over to the man and the music in a way she hadn’t in years. When she faced him again, she smiled straight up into his eyes, wanting to share the delight she was feeling. He missed the beat of the next step by a fraction of a second and his easy grin disappeared, replaced by something intense and focused. Something that sent a shiver of awareness through her. He kept her facing him for longer than usual, the two of them locked in each other’s gaze.
She lowered her chin to stare at the onyx-and-gold studs of his tux shirt. And then he was spinning her again, so she had no time to think about the heat sizzling between them.
Until the song reached its final bars, when he pulled her in against him from knee to chest—his body like a hot, living wall—before he lunged to the side, taking her with him in a dramatic dip.
Their faces were a mere inch apart for a long moment as the guests whistled, stomped, and applauded. She could feel the feathering of his warm breath on her cheek and see the sheen of perspiration on his forehead. A waft of some clean, sharp, woodsy scent drifted past her.
And then she was lifted upright in a whoosh before he draped his arm casually around her waist while he bowed in mocking acknowledgment of the applause. She followed his lead and gave a quick curtsy.
As they left the dance floor, Dawn and Leland approached them. “I didn’t know you could dance like that,” Dawn said.
“I didn’t either.” Natalie slanted a smile up at Tully. “My partner gets all the credit.”
“He wasn’t the one spinning like a top without falling over,” Leland said in his slow Georgia drawl.
“Natalie here is too modest,” Tully said. “She took to two-stepping like a duck to water. I wouldn’t have tried some of the more complicated moves if she hadn’t been so graceful and perfectly balanced.” He winked at Natalie. “I’m thinking another beer after all that hard work.”
“Natalie only drinks Manhattans,” Dawn said.
“Time for her to broaden her horizons and replace her electrolytes.” Tully strode off toward the bar, leaving Natalie still trying to catch her breath—whether from the exercise or the man, she wasn’t sure.
“Did you know Tully could dance like that?” Natalie asked Leland.
“Tully is a man of many surprises,” Leland said. “You never know what he’ll be able to do.”
Tully leaned his hip against the carved-stone baluster of the mansion’s terrace, where the three partners had retreated together before he pinned Derek with a glare. “If you even think about working while you’re on your honeymoon, Leland is going to put a block on your computer.”
“Oh, I already have,” Leland said, the flickering torchlight reflecting on his lenses. “He’ll have to go old school and use a pencil and a calculator if he needs a spreadsheet fix.”
Derek gave a snort, but there was an am
used glint in his eyes. “I’ve got far better things to do on my honeymoon than work.”
“Like stay in bed as much as possible.” Tully grinned.
“I meant sightseeing,” Derek said with a bland look. “For all the places I’ve traveled, I’ve barely seen more than the inside of office buildings and hotels.”
“You’ve earned the right to do whatever you want to . . . as long as it’s not related to your job,” Leland said. “But Alice might have some opinions too.”
Derek smiled in a secret inward way that meant he was thinking about his bride. Sadness twinged in Tully’s chest. Alice was one great lady, and Derek deserved the happiness he had found with her. But his marriage meant a change in the dynamic between the three of them.
Tully loved Derek and Leland like brothers. No, more than his shithead of a brother, because he had gotten to choose them. For all the years between their first meeting in business school through the challenges of founding and growing KRG until today, it had been just the three of them always having one another’s backs.
Now there was Alice in the mix. Not to mention Leland’s fiancée, Dawn, another terrific woman.
For a moment, loneliness wrapped a dark shroud around Tully, but he shook it off. He’d made his life choices for good reasons.
Tully clapped his hand on Derek’s shoulder. “You and Alice are real good together, partner. You’re going to be one of those couples who celebrates their fiftieth anniversary with the same stars in your eyes you have today.”
Alice flopped onto a blue velvet chaise longue in the bride’s room, her feet in their embroidered-satin french heels flexed in front of her. “I don’t really have to go to the bathroom,” she said. “I just wanted us three to have a little time alone.” She gave Natalie a sideways look. “And to say that you and Tully made a great couple on the dance floor.”
Natalie wasn’t going to argue with the bride. “He’s a good dancer,” she said as she perched on a gilded faux-bamboo chair.
Alice looked dissatisfied, but she didn’t push the subject any further. “I can’t believe we’re traveling for three whole weeks for our honeymoon.”
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