The Best Man

by Ana Blaze

  She laughed. “That’s sweet, but I honestly don’t want to bother you.”

  “You’re not bothering me, love. I was just thinking about you.”

  “You’re not fooling anyone. You were just sleeping.”

  “Mmhmm.”

  Her stomach fluttered at the insinuation in his tone. “Okay then. I’ll just let you get back to sleep.”

  “Come see me. You can tell me about the wedding, and I’ll tell you about the dream I was having.”

  “That’s silly. Just go to sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Sorry, love. I’m quite desperate to hear about this wedding now. Can’t sleep until I do.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure that’s exactly what you’re hoping for.”

  “Come see me.”

  “It’s two-thirty in the morning.”

  “Come see me.”

  “Fine. Where?”

  “Omni. Room four-nineteen.”

  When she arrived, the staff at the front desk greeted her with a smile. “Ms. Chase?”

  “Yes.”

  “Mr. Pratt is expecting you.”

  A bellman showed her to the room, knocking only once before Colin answered. Beth’s mouth went dry instantly. His shirt was unbuttoned, his hair was a mess, and he was wearing his glasses instead of his contacts. No one should look that good rumpled. It just wasn’t fair.

  Colin gave her a smile as he tipped the bellman. “I’m glad you decided to come for a visit.”

  “Well, I had no idea you were so interested in weddings.”

  “I never mentioned that? I must’ve been distracted.” He walked across the room and lifted a bottle of champagne from a silver ice bucket. “I thought we should celebrate your success.” He paused for a moment. “Unless you’re ready to celebrate something else.”

  Beth shook her head. “You ordered champagne.”

  Colin nodded and untwisted the wire that held the cap on. He jumped when it popped, and laughed as he poured two glasses. “I also had them send up strawberries and a cheese plate. I wasn’t sure you’d have eaten anything more than a granola bar today.”

  “You’re right. That was thoughtful of you.”

  “You sound surprised.”

  “I’m not. I guess I’m just not used to people … umm … I’m not used to someone...”

  “You’re usually the one in charge and you’re not used to someone taking care of you.” He handed her a strawberry.

  She took it and nodded. “I suppose you’re right. I usually take care of other people — that’s my job.”

  Colin pulled out a chair at the small table. “I’d like to take care of you.” He smiled. “Not because I think you are unable to take care of yourself, but because I’d like to take care of you.”

  She sat. “Thank you.”

  Colin sat down across from her and smiled when she selected a piece of cheese and a cracker. “Tell me about the wedding. It went well, yes?”

  “They wanted A Midsummer Night’s Dream fantasy world and they got it: dancing fairies, wandering acrobats, jugglers, and mead brewed specifically for them. It was incredible. The bride is a dancer. Her whole troop performed a routine she’d choreographed as a gift to the groom. We released fireflies and all the flower girls, a dozen of them wearing fairy wings, chased them around the field. It was unlike anything I’ve ever done before.” She flushed, realizing that she’d gotten carried away, and ate another piece of cheese.

  “And you planned all of that?”

  She nodded.

  “You’re a storyteller.”

  Her brow furrowed.

  “What you do, it’s storytelling, isn’t it?”

  She smiled and chewed while considering his thought. “I suppose it is. I mean, I try to tell the story of the couple getting married. This couple met on stage. They’re young, artistic, and still a little caught up in the fantasy of love.”

  “Did you cry?”

  “Hmm?” She took a sip of champagne and closed her eyes in delight. “This is delicious, like fireworks you get to drink.”

  “It is good, but that’s not the question I asked. Do you cry at the weddings you plan?”

  “Not typically.”

  “But today?”

  “I was a little misty.”

  Colin placed a slice of cheese on a cracker and handed it to her. “I’m glad it went well. I hope you’ll have pictures to show me soon. It sounds charming.”

  “You’d really like to see pictures?”

  “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Most men don’t seem particularly interested in their own wedding pictures, much less someone else’s.”

  “Ah. Once again I’ve failed to live up to your expectations of machismo. I don’t suppose I can blame this on my artistic nature? I’m a storyteller, and I’d enjoy seeing the work of another.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that. I was just surprised.” Beth lifted her champagne glass, stood up and walked around the small table. She slipped off her shoes and sat down on his knee. “Now, why don’t you tell me about that dream?”

  His Adam’s apple bobbed, and a deep sound came up from his throat. “First, tell me why you came to see me tonight.”

  “You asked me to.”

  “You called me. You had to know I wouldn’t give up after that.” Colin gathered her hair to the side and pressed his lips, warm and soft, against her neck.

  Her eyelids fluttered shut. “You’re giving me credit for way more forethought than I have at two in the morning.”

  “I see. It was simply exhaustion.”

  “Exactly.”

  Colin hugged her closer. “Best stay here then,” he whispered close to her ear, “not safe to drive when you’re tired.”

  “Mmm … good point.”

  His fingertips slid down her thigh. “Give me a chance. You’ll see I have lots of good points.”

  Beth tried to hold back her giggle, but her shoulders still shook from silent laughter. She was past tired, running on adrenaline and lust. A case of the sillies was inevitable.

  “What?” He squeezed her side.

  “I know of one very good point that you currently have.”

  His eyebrows came together for a moment. He chuckled. “Brat.”

  “Me? No way.” She slid her hands under his shirt and pushed it down his arms.

  Colin shook his hand free and trailed a fingertip down her cheek before pulling her close. “Beth?”

  “I had a good night and I wanted to tell you about it. That’s why I came.”

  “Thank you.”

  She smiled. “Ooh! I almost forgot. Tonight, while I was managing one of the biggest events of my career, I caught my assistant kissing our newest planner.” She laughed. “I should’ve chewed them out for their lack of professionalism.”

  “But?”

  “They’re kind of cute together.”

  “I think we are.”

  “Maybe.” She pressed her palm against his chest and stroked him with her fingertips. “You’re cute. Hot cute.” She ducked her head to whisper by his ear. “I’ve wanted you all day.”

  His jaw clenched and his eyes darkened. “Good. That’s … good.”

  “See, I hear you saying that but with the whole just-sitting-there-thing a girl has to wonder.” Steadying herself with a hand on his shoulder, Beth moved until she had one knee on either side of his hips. She licked her lips. “Why no action, mister?”

  “I take you to bed — you need to promise not to sneak out before I wake up in the morning.” Colin settled his large hands on her thighs, just beneath the hem of her dress, and squeezed.

  “I wouldn’t do that.”

  “Then it’s an easy promise.”

  Beth pressed her forehead to his. “I promise to wake you up before I sneak out in the morning.”

  “Brilliant.”

  She traced his lips and touched the dimple in his cheek. “So …”

  “So …” He slid his hands up her thighs and
around to cup her ass. “Let’s get you naked so I can tell you about that dream.”

  “Help with the zipper.” She yanked her dress over her head and laid it across the chair beside them before Colin stood and lifted her into his arms. “Oh!” She giggled. “This is …”

  He set her on the bed and shucked his pants.

  Beth groaned. “Did you really just toss Brooks Brothers on the floor?”

  He laughed as he climbed in beside her. “I told you I’m a slob. I suppose that is just one of the habits you intend to break me of.”

  She shook her head. “And how would I do that?”

  “I don’t know, but there seems to be a long tradition of woman shaping men into what pleases them. I don’t imagine I’m any less malleable than the next man.”

  “Shouldn’t you just find a girl who wouldn’t want to change you?” Beth tried to keep a playful tone as the conversation took a more serious turn. She reached up to brush her fingers through his rumpled hair.

  “Ah, and does she spend her days with the Loch Ness Monster?”

  “What?”

  “I’m not sure such a woman exists. Besides, I meant no ill will toward the concept. My mother made my father a better man. I imagine you’ll convince me to wear nicer shirts or eat more vegetables or, God forbid, clean my dirty socks from the floor. I’ll fight it, but you’ve already changed me. Or perhaps love changed me. I told you, Beth, you’ve given me new purpose.”

  She frowned. “And you don’t intend to change me?”

  “It’s not about intent. It’ll simply happen.”

  “What if I don’t want to change? What if I like myself and my life as it is? What if I don’t want to play housewife a million miles from my friends and family?”

  “I never said we had to live in England. You’ve worked hard to build a career here, and I see how much joy it brings you. I wouldn’t ask you to give that up.”

  “You’re saying you’d move here?” He nodded. She was incredulous. “But you’re terrified of earthquakes and the traffic makes you sick and — and you’re so pale it looks like you might get sunburn just checking the mailbox.”

  He laughed. “Los Angeles has the one thing I most want.”

  She placed her hands on both sides of his face. “I don’t know what to say. You are … overwhelming.”

  Colin rubbed his nose against hers, then settled by her side. He toyed with the lacey edge of her bra, tapping the small bow in the center. “This is pretty, like a present waiting to be unwrapped.” He chuckled softly. “I was always careful not to tear the paper -- Hunter would mock me, but that would only make me more determined.” He glanced at her eyes. “I used to save it.” His hand slid under the strap and undid the bra’s hooked closure.

  She reached up and clasped his wrist as he pulled the strap from her shoulder. “I did that, too.”

  He smiled. “My favorite paper was orange and had small dinosaurs all scattered about.”

  “I was always partial to polka dots.”

  Colin continued peeling away her bra. “And do you have any of these with polka dots?” He held up her bra for a moment before tossing it on to a bedside table.

  “One or two.” She laughed with a yawn.

  He looked up at her, concerned. “Should I let you sleep?”

  “Not yet.” She pushed at his chest until he fell back, and then she slid on top. “I told you. I’ve wanted you all day.”

  He ran his hands down her back, under her lace panties, and squeezed. “In that case, it would be wretched of me to make you wait any longer, wouldn’t it? Only a bully would leave their lover in a state of painful yearning for days.”

  Beth moaned as she rubbed her lips against the muscles of his neck. “Okay, I’m a horrible woman.” She reached down, stroked his erection through the increasingly tight confines of his boxers, and left a trail of kisses from the center of his chest to the sexy indent near his hip. “But you want me anyway?”

  He flipped them both, so she rested on her back and pulled her lace panties down her legs before settling between her thighs. Colin met her gaze with lust-darkened eyes. “You know I do. Always.”

  Beth shuddered as his rough-spoken words washed over her. “Show me.” She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight.

  Chapter Fifteen

  HER SHOULDER WAS COLD. Without opening her eyes, Beth reached down in search of her blanket and found an arm slung across her lower back instead. It caused her only a moment of confusion before the memory of her spontaneous visit to Colin’s hotel room flitted back into view. She turned over and carefully removed both the arm and the leg he’d draped over her. She glanced at the alarm clock: 10:17 a.m. Colin was sleeping on his stomach with the side of his face smashed against the mattress and his limbs spread awkwardly. He looked so harmless — unlike the man who’d rung all her bells the night before. She almost giggled.

  Colin grabbed Beth’s wrist before her feet hit the floor. “You leaving?”

  “I’m just visiting the restroom. Go back to sleep.”

  Colin sat with his back resting against the headboard when she returned.

  “I … uh — I stole your robe.” She smiled at him and gave the sides of the oversized fluffy white robe a tug.

  He shrugged. “Hotel robe and it looks better on you.”

  “So … umm … I should —”

  Colin held out his hand, palm up for a moment. “Come here.”

  Beth hesitated. Curling up next to Colin was exactly what she wanted to do, but should she really risk getting in any deeper? She considered it for a moment before acquiescing.

  “Here.” He patted the bed, and Beth sat down beside him. “Thank you.” Colin pulled her into his lap. “Now, let’s have a chat, shall we?”

  “I have a wedding this afternoon.” Something had changed last night. He was burrowing in too close to her heart.

  Colin sighed, pushing the robe off her shoulder and kissing her neck. “Could we start with good morning? I’m glad you came over. I loved seeing you all aflutter after your event.”

  “Good morning.” She kissed his cheek. “Me too, but I still have a —”

  “What time?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Your event. What time do you need to be there?”

  “I guess I have a few hours.”

  Colin nodded. “Tell me about today’s wedding.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Whatever you feel like sharing. What do you think of the couple? Do you expect trouble from the groomsmen or a drunken uncle? Is there anything you wish they’d have agreed to do differently?” He lifted one hand to brush her hair away from her face. “I want to be a part of your life.”

  “Don’t you think that has to happen on its own? I mean, won’t that happen naturally if it’s meant to?”

  “Perhaps, if we were neighbors or colleagues it would work that way. We’re not. Our lives don’t overlap.”

  “And don’t you think that means something, Colin? Really?” She softened her words by rubbing her hand against his chest.

  “I think it means that we were incredibly lucky to have ever met.”

  “Colin, I don’t want to be responsible for you throwing your life away.”

  He lifted her chin and kissed her as gently as he ever had. “It breaks my heart a little that you see it that way. When I think of starting a new life with you, I think of all that I would be getting, not the few things I’d be giving up.”

  “And I think it would end up hurting a lot more if you burned all your bridges at home, moved here and we discover a month or two down the road we shouldn’t be together.”

  “You think I’ll leave you? Is that it? You think I’ll change my mind and disappear if we ever have difficulties?”

  “You seem awfully ready to run away from your current life.”

  He nodded. “Who left you?”

  “This isn’t about someone else. This is — I am not crazy for seeing you not taking this
seriously enough.”

  “Aside from falling in love with you and asking you to marry me, what have I done to convince you that I’m so flighty and untrustworthy?”

  She sighed and, feeling the urge to pace, stood up.

  Colin followed. “Please.”

  “Nothing, I guess, but I’ve only known you for a week. It’s impossible to take your proposal seriously after such a short time.”

  “Oh, love, if only you knew how boring and responsible I am.”

  “I’m finding that very hard to believe.”

  “It’s true, though, you bring this out in me. It’s all you. I’ve never even considered proposing to a woman before.”

  Her brow furrowed. “You were engaged to Andrea, Colin.”

  “She proposed. I -- she’s a beautiful woman and I was lonely. I wanted a family and Andrea said she wanted that too, with me. It seemed simple. I thought that if she could love me I could love her back. I’d rather convinced myself that I did by the end.” He shrugged.

  “How do you know you’re not doing the same thing here? That you’re not just grabbing onto the idea?”

  Colin smiled. “Because this isn’t simple, love, and because when Andrea broke it off I was humiliated and I felt like a failure. But I never missed her — not really. I never wondered what she was doing and if she was happy. She never inspired me.”

  “That’s …”

  “I wrote it yesterday. I wrote for hours because you fill me with thoughts and words and hope.”

  “I’ve turned down your proposal twice.”

  “A muse needn’t be kind.”

  “Fine, but this muse needs to take a shower. Do me a favor?”

  “Want me to wash your back or maybe ...” He trailed off, glancing suggestively at her breasts.

  Beth shook her head. “Go down to my car and get the duffle bag from my trunk. I keep a couple of changes in there just in case something happens at an event.”

  Colin smiled broadly. “Of course you do. I’m surprised it’s not in that enormous bloody handbag of yours. I’ll run and fetch like a good boy.” He sighed. “You’re certain you don’t need any help in the shower?”

  “I’m the blue Civic near G-two. My keys are in the side pocket of my ‘bloody, enormous handbag.’ ”

  He chuckled and shouted after her as she walked into the bathroom. “Worst British accent ever, love. Truly dreadful. I’m ashamed, honestly.”