Wrong Brother, Right Match (Anyone but You #3)

by Jennifer Shirk

  “You’ve been engaged for four months and you’ve never met his mom?”

  “We need to take a ferry to get to her house. It’s not like we can get together at the drop of a hat. And with Justin’s schedule…”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. He has a big important job.”

  Trent’s sarcastic tone set her on edge. “I can’t believe this. Are you actually jealous of Justin?”

  He regarded her stonily. “Hardly.”

  She planted a fist on her hip. “Then what is your problem with him?”

  “I don’t know!” Trent flopped down in a chair in front of her desk and raked his hands through his hair. “There’s no problem. That’s the problem. He’s friggin’ perfect.”

  She laughed out loud. Especially with the way Trent’s lips snarled when he choked out the word perfect. Little did he know his outburst was music to her ears. She’d been searching for that perfect person for so long. “You’re being ridiculous, you know that, right?”

  “Am I? It just doesn’t seem natural. You were matched by a computer.”

  “You mean Mabel.”

  Trent grunted in disgust. “See? You even named your computer. This whole thing gets weirder by the minute.”

  “Oh? And I suppose meeting your fiancée by posing as a fake escort and pretending to be her wedding date to fool her family is perfectly normal in your book?”

  Trent folded his arms. “As a matter of fact, in some states, yes.”

  Kennedy shook her head, far too amused at her cousin to stay annoyed with him. “Trent, dear, I appreciate your…concern. I really do. But you have to face two facts. One, Justin is perfect for me, and two, matchmaking is what I do. I bring people together by a sensible methodology for a long-term commitment. My software is going to make a lot of lonely people very happy. How can you find fault in that?”

  Trent blew out a defeated breath. “I can’t, really. It did a good job. You and Justin are two of a kind.”

  “Aha!” She grinned triumphantly. “I told you I’m a genius.”

  “I don’t think I uttered the word genius anywhere in that statement.”

  She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. It’s implied.”

  “Okay, genius,” Trent said with a chuckle. “I’ll miss you over Christmas, but I understand. Plus, if Justin can make you take a well-deserved break from work, then I’m even more for you and him being together.”

  “Riiiight. A break from work.” Kennedy’s grin froze as she nonchalantly kicked the home laptop she was planning on bringing with her under her desk and out of Trent’s sight. Yes, she was guilty of being just as much of a workaholic as Justin, but to be honest, she hadn’t really planned on working that much over the holiday. Just a little bit. After all, her company needed her, especially with all the new marketing rollouts happening in February. She still had to follow up with some potential investors, too. Plus, she loved Match Made Easy. It was bringing a lot of people true happiness, which was all she ever really wanted to do. She just wished she had developed it and her software a lot sooner. After seeing her mother go through five husbands and then five divorces, she realized that some people were not especially good at finding their soul mate and needed help.

  Sometimes…a lot of help.

  Kennedy decided to take it upon herself to do something about that, and her little business project in college eventually turned into an actual career. A career she’d do almost anything to protect from a flash-in-the-pan rival company.

  Trent cocked his head. “Everything okay, Ken?”

  She realized she was wringing her hands and suddenly dropped them. “I’m fine,” she blurted. “Why?”

  “I don’t know. Just checking. Call it family intuition, but you seem worried. Nervous about meeting Justin’s family?” He winked.

  “Worried about that?” She smiled. “No, not at all.”

  In fact, with all the things happening to her business, meeting the Ellis family was the one thing she was the least concerned about. Thank goodness something in her life was going right.

  …

  Matthew Ellis loved wine—almost as much as he loved women. That in and of itself said something, because when he first took over the family winery almost eight years ago, he had been strictly a beer drinker.

  After he set the bottle down, he picked up his glass and held the contents up to the light. This varietal was an experiment: his own unique blend of red zinfandel, syrah, and merlot. Inspecting it from the top and then from the side, he noted the color looked good. He held it under his nose. A nice aroma of cherry and mocha. He resisted the urge to high-five himself and instead gave it a few swirls in the glass. He tentatively took a sip, allowing air to seep through his teeth, adding to the flavors the grapes had created. His verdict: absolutely delicious.

  He grabbed a spit bucket and expelled what was in his mouth. As much as he would have loved to swallow, nine a.m. was a little early in the day for him. He’d only made a few cases as a trial run. He’d have to stash a bottle for himself and save it for a special occasion.

  “Oh, Matthew, there you are,” his mother said, smiling.

  Barbara Ellis looked a little shaky as she entered the winery. Matt grew concerned and placed his wine glass down to rush over to her. Ever since she’d suffered a stroke a few months ago, he’d been worried sick about her. The doctors seemed to be confident that with the medications they’d put her on the chance of having another one was fairly slim. But Matt didn’t like those odds. He’d already lost his dad to cancer. He wasn’t about to take any chances with his mother.

  He took hold of her arm, and she placed her hand over his. “Now, Matthew, you stop fussing with me. You’re too young to be such a worrywart.”

  He kissed her temple and winked. “Face it. I’m an old soul, Mom.”

  “Yes, I do believe you are,” she said, patting his cheek, “in some ways. Serious as a heart attack about wine and my health.” She lifted her chin and sniffed. “Wish that would trickle into other areas of your life…”

  “What’s wrong with the other areas of my life?”

  “The inside of your house looks like it belongs in a fraternity and don’t get me started on those…those…women you seem to find. I’ve seen Victoria’s Secret models wear more clothing,” she huffed.

  “Again, I have to ask what’s wrong with those areas of my life?” He grinned.

  “Matthew James Ellis, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Why can’t you find a nice young girl like Justin did?”

  Matt gritted his teeth at the mention of his brother. It seemed as if every time he and Justin were in the same room, they’d get into an argument over Justin’s neglect of the family—particularly their mother—so it never failed that when his mom brought his name up in conversation, Matt became annoyed. Because of Justin’s crazy work schedule, they hadn’t spoken in more than a year. “How do you know Justin’s girl is nice?”

  “I…uh…” His mom flushed. “Well, I’ve seen a picture of her, and she looks very nice. And she had plenty of clothes on, too.”

  He shrugged. “I’ll take your word for it.”

  “Well, you won’t have to, because she and Justin are coming for Christmas,” she said, clasping her hands in excitement.

  Matt had to sit down for that news. “Christmas? Seriously? Justin is finally coming home?”

  “Yes, isn’t it wonderful?”

  “Peachy.”

  “I don’t like your attitude,” his mother said, shaking a finger at him. “It’s Christmas. We should all be together and put past grievances behind us.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more, and I believe I’ve made similar statements to you over the past…oh, five years. But he’s always had some lame excuse. And it usually revolved around his work. He has his law degree on top of his business degree. He should find a way to sue the company he’s working for under some indentured-servant labor law. Poor Caitlyn doesn’t even know what her middle brother looks like anymore.�
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  His mom clucked her tongue. “Justin is hardly an indentured servant. He only works so much because he wants to get ahead.”

  Matt walked over to the wine bar to get some water to cleanse his palate. He grabbed a glass for his mom, too. “You mean he wants to get a Bentley. And probably a condo in France, if he hasn’t already gotten one of those.”

  “Oh, he’s not as materialistic as you make him out to be. Besides, I think he’s changed. Or at least, I feel someone is changing him,” she added happily.

  “Who, the girlfriend?” he said, taking a drink.

  “No, the fiancée.”

  Matt swallowed so hard he began coughing and couldn’t stop until his mom banged on his back a few times. “Justin…is…engaged?” he choked out, dabbing his watery eyes.

  His mom gave him a satisfied smile. “Yes, and that isn’t all.”

  Good grief, there’s more? “What else?”

  “Justin is bringing her to meet us when he comes home. Isn’t that wonderful?”

  Matt didn’t say anything. He was still trying to digest the part about Justin getting married. He found it highly unlikely he’d had the time to meet anyone, let alone cultivate a decent relationship with the hours he put in at his job. Unless he met someone just as ambitious and selfish as he was. And if that were the case, Matt had to talk him out of it. He had almost married someone like that himself.

  His mom placed a hand over his. “Matthew, I want this to be wonderful. Please say you’ll go out of your way to forgive Justin and help make it a nice, memorable Christmas for me—and for your sister as well. Since your dad’s passing and my health issues, it’s just made me realize how short life is and how precious family is to me. We haven’t all been together for so long. This is a chance to recapture some nice memories and maybe even make some new ones. What do you say?”

  Matt met his mom’s steady yet hopeful gaze and crumbled like a cookie. “You know when you put it that way, I damn well can’t refuse.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek.

  She chuckled. “I know. I can always count on you.”

  “Maybe I should have been a mailman.”

  “In your next life, dear. Right now, you make a very handsome and talented sommelier. Just like your father.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  His mom stood. “They’ll be here in a few days, so I’m going to call the butcher and order a nice prime roast for Christmas dinner.”

  “Okay, but don’t overdo it. After all, it’s just family.”

  “Nonsense. We have to make this holiday special for Kennedy.”

  Matt froze. He hadn’t heard that name since his trip out to Vegas almost six months ago. A rush of emotions generated through his system. “Did you say her name is Kennedy?”

  “Yes, why?”

  Yes, why, Matt? It’s not like that was the one name he couldn’t seem to forget after all these months. “What exactly does she do for a living?”

  His mom shrugged. “I’m not sure if Justin ever mentioned that. But to be honest, ever since the stroke, my memory hasn’t been what it was. What does it matter, dear? We’ll all find out about her soon enough.”

  Matt nodded then watched his mom leave the tasting room. Hell, how many Kennedys were out there in this country? He’d bet hundreds. Thousands. But something had sparked—almost like hope—when he’d heard that name. He never forgot the pretty little redhead with the wide blue eyes and kissable mouth. But it didn’t matter now anyway. She was long gone, and he was back in Massachusetts about to do what he always did: take care of the family. And that was about to include a potential new sister-in-law he hoped was not as selfish as his own ex-fiancée had turned out to be. He and his brother may have had their differences, but he still wanted Justin to be happy. Hell, someone in this family deserved to be.

  Matt ran his hand through his hair as he eyed his glass of wine, wishing it was five o’clock.

  Chapter Three

  Kennedy stared out at the panoramic view of Cape Fin Island with longing. The ferry ride was only thirty minutes, but she couldn’t wait to meet Justin’s family.

  Family.

  The word filled her with giddiness. She had never had much of a traditional family life growing up. Her mom went through husbands like most people went through underwear. That meant being uprooted from her school and friends every time they moved to a new town. Sometimes it only meant moving to a new house. But it always meant a new stepdad. Then when things didn’t work out, she and her mom would come back to Midship, Massachusetts.

  At least that part of her life was consistent.

  That and the relationship she had with her cousin, Trent. They had bonded over their miserable upbringings and remained close to this day. But still, it was no substitute for the stability of a real home. A real family. And now, finally, she was going to have it.

  Justin sat down next to her and handed her a steaming cup. “Here. I thought this would warm you up. The bay air can go right through you.”

  “Thank you, sweetie. You know how much I love hot chocolate.”

  He frowned. “You do? I’m sorry. I got you a hot apple cider. The same as me.”

  “My second favorite.” She grinned and gave him a peck on the cheek before carefully taking a sip. Justin’s thoughtfulness and the heated cider warmed her insides. She had been feeling a bit chilled ever since they boarded the ferry. The sky had a dull gray overcast, and the dark, giant ribbons of clouds looked as if they might open up and start snowing at any minute.

  She laid her head on his shoulder. “This is going to be so perfect. You, me, your family. Do you think we’ll make hot chocolate with tons of marshmallows and decorate the tree together?”

  Justin chuckled as he pulled out his cell phone and started scrolling through emails. “Babe, you know I hate chocolate. And for all I know my mom could have the tree up and decorated already.”

  Hate chocolate?

  Her head snapped upright. She studied Justin’s bent-over head and wondered if she had misheard him. Who on earth hated chocolate? She was sure she would have remembered something like that in the eight and a half months they’d been dating. How could something like that be? It was like hating sleeping babies or…Santa. She supposed in the grand scheme of things it didn’t matter. She was sure she could convert him with the special chocolate shortbread cookie recipe Maddie had given her.

  “So, uh, your mom decorates early, huh?” she asked, trying to hide her disappointment at the chocolate revelation.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. My dad always liked real trees, so he would take us a few days before Christmas to pick one out. Now I don’t know what she does.”

  “Don’t know what she does? What did she do last time you were home?”

  Justin still hadn’t looked up. He continued scrolling through his email, which was beginning to bug her. “I haven’t been home for Christmas in years. I just haven’t had the time. You know, with work and all.”

  Kennedy frowned. She couldn’t imagine not visiting family during the holidays even with work. Almost everybody got Christmas Day off—especially in his field, since the stock exchange wouldn’t even be open. She had always looked forward to spending the holidays with her cousin, especially after her mom passed away a few years ago.

  Justin finally looked up, sending her that sweet little-boy smile that always melted her insides. “Kennedy, you coming home with me after being gone so long is what’s going to make this Christmas so much more special.”

  Aww…he was so sweet when he wanted to be. And forgiving. After the elevator “incident” in Las Vegas, she’d confessed everything to Justin about the accidental kiss she’d had with a stranger. Much to her relief, Justin had laughed it off.

  “Babe, you were in Vegas. The place is crawling with creeps, so I bet that kind of stuff goes down all the time in elevators. The poor guy probably thought he had a shot with you, since you’d both had a few drinks and were alone. You were lucky that’s all he tried.”<
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  Kennedy hadn’t really thought of it that way, particularly since Matt didn’t seem like that type of guy. But what did she really know about him anyway? Besides the fact that he’d have a gold medal if kissing were a competitive sport. Not that she dwelled on the kiss much or anything. She didn’t need to when she had such a wonderful, understanding man like Justin in her life.

  How lucky could a girl get? She leaned in to kiss him, but he’d turned his head and attention back to his phone. Her lips landed on his ear.

  Cheeks flushed, she straightened and turned back to her cider. It had already cooled.

  “Hey, Justin, let’s stop off somewhere and get your mom some poinsettias. I feel bad coming empty-handed to dinner.”

  “Sure. I’ll text her and let her know we’ll be a little late.”

  Kennedy gazed back at the land as the ferry approached the dock and smiled to herself. She had a good feeling about these next few weeks. Christmas the way she’d always dreamed. She couldn’t wait to meet Justin’s family. Not only would his mom be there, but he had a sister and a brother as well—and she was going to make sure they absolutely loved her.

  …

  His mom checked the pot roast in the oven for the fourth time then set a hand on her hip. “Oh my goodness, I didn’t even ask Justin if Kennedy ate meat.”

  Matt crawled out from under the sink and stood. “I’m sure Justin would have told you something as important as that, knowing you were making dinner for them.”

  Come to think of it, Matt wouldn’t have bet the winery on a statement like that. Justin made snap decisions, and he often made them without thinking ahead, so, more often than not, they were wrong decisions. Not that Justin could be told that.

  His sister, Caitlyn, sprang into the kitchen, her long blond hair pulled up in a ponytail so high it looked like it had sprouted from the top of her head. Caitlyn was a senior in high school, great at cross-country and very studious. She also had the maturity level of a thirty-three-year-old.

  “Shouldn’t they be here by now?” she asked, stealing a carrot from the vegetable tray.