by Sara Daniel
He waited until she placed it in a machine, then demanded, “Thanks for the fun night. Is that all you think we shared?”
She jumped then swiveled in his direction, her eyes guarded beneath her safety goggles, her expression wary. “Wasn’t it?”
All he had to do was agree with her and walk away. He would be free, exactly as he’d wanted to be. No responsibilities, no ties, no roots. Except being apart from Susie was the last thing he wanted.
“Not for me. I mean, yeah, I had a lot of fun. But it went beyond fun. It meant something. Here.” He smacked his fist on his chest.
She tugged off her latex gloves and shoved her goggles to the top of her head. If he hadn’t already lost his heart, her red-rimmed eyes would have clinched it. The cost of leaving him was still evident on her face, proving she hadn’t been unaffected by the night they’d shared.
Other than her shaking hands, though, she didn’t appear ruffled as she stepped toward him. “Alex, I like you a lot, but if you’re going to march in here and make a big, sweeping profession, you need to understand the consequences.”
“I can handle consequences.” His heart thundered. He had to do more than simply chase after her. He had to prove he had something to offer.
“Can you? If you’re asking for more than one night with me, then you’re asking to be a part of this.” She spread her arms.
He followed her gesture, studying the high ceiling of the renovated barn, the cows standing patiently in their respective stalls, and the students who’d given up any pretense of carrying on with their business to gawk at them.
The knee-jerk hatred that had festered in his preteen years and swelled throughout adolescence, then exploded with his father’s death, didn’t rear up and overwhelm him. He had no interest in diving into eighteen-hour days of farm work, but if she asked him to lend a hand occasionally, he’d step in without hesitation.
He returned his gaze to her. “I respect the work you’re doing here and the operation you’re running. I’m not going to interfere with it or ask you to give it up. You’re carrying on my father’s dream and my family’s legacy in a more fulfilling way than Luciana or I ever could have. Because of you, Dad can rest in peace.”
An inner calm settled over him. He’d come back to profess his love to Susie and ended up finding closure for his grief and guilt over his father.
She blinked at him, surprise and pleasure stamped across her features. “Thank you. I’m honored you think so, and I’m even more glad you’re not tortured by those demons anymore.”
“Enough about my family and the farm. I came for you because I’m crazy about you. I spent the past year telling myself I couldn’t stop thinking about you because I was so relieved you’d taken this burden away from my mother and sister. But I deluded myself. I couldn’t stop thinking about you because you’re you.”
“I thought about you this year too,” she whispered, infusing him with precious hope.
He took a deep breath, preparing for the biggest risk of his life. “Last night was more than sex. Every time I touched you, I did it because of how I feel in here.” He thumped his chest again. “I know it’s too soon and you’re going to think I’m crazy, but I love you, Susie, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“I do think you’re crazy,” she said.
The hope mushrooming inside him deflated.
“But I’m just as crazy because I feel the same way.” She sashayed over to him.
The hope ballooned again. He closed the remaining distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off her feet. “Say the words.”
“I love you, Alex. I don’t need you to be a farmer or to change anything about your life for me. I just need you to accept me and my work for what it is.”
He molded his lips to hers. Cheers and moos rang out from around them, but he didn’t care about their audience, only her sweet mouth and generous heart. “How long do I have to wait for you to finish your work so I can take you to the house and make love to you?”
“Given the circumstances, I think I could call in a favor for someone finish up for me.” She tipped her head at her students. “Extra credit for whoever finishes my recordings and cleans up my station.”
Every single kid jumped to do her bidding, extending congratulations and best wishes to both Susie and him.
He nodded his thanks to the group, but had eyes only for the woman who had captured his heart. Together, they sauntered across the yard. She tucked her hand in his back pocket, and he threaded his arm around her waist, his heart so swollen with love and happiness he feared it might explode.
But he was more than willing to accept the risk. With her at his side, the odds would always be stacked in his favor.
~A Note from Sara~
Dear Reader,
I’m so excited to bring you Alejandro’s story, the carefree, risk-taking brother first introduced in One Night With the Groom.
One Night With the Best Man takes place on an Iowa farm that I loosely based on my grandparents’ farm where I spent many summer vacations and holidays. After World War II, my grandparents purchased the farm from my great-grandparents. Owned by the same family for over a hundred years, the farm was designated a “Century Farm,” a source of great pride for my family. Although I’m not a farmer, I had a wonderful time exploring my deep farm roots to bring you Alejandro and Susan’s story.
I’d love to hear from you, whether you want to chat about farming, romance novels or something quirky like squirrels. Drop me an email at [email protected] and share whatever’s on your mind. Also, subscribe to my newsletter to stay up-to-date on my book releases and other author news: http://eepurl.com/rx_AL
Sara Daniel
Also from Decadent Publishing
www.decadentpublishing.com
One Night with the Groom
Chapter One
Luciana Cortez stared into the empty envelope, willing the cash to materialize. Of course, it didn’t. Rifling through her labeled manila envelopes in the scarred oak desk, she prayed the mortgage money had simply been misplaced.
Her pleas went unanswered.
Heart pounding, she gazed out the front window at the windblown pastures and cornfields. Only the meager funds she’d scraped together for her meeting with the hospital billing department in two days remained. She needed a miracle before then, or she’d be forced to choose between saving the farm and her mother’s health.
A maroon pickup raised a cloud of dust as it turned from the gravel road into the rutted drive.
Mama would tell her to say a rosary to find the missing funds. If Papa were alive, he would have told her to work harder to make up for it. And her brother, Alejandro, borrowing her ancient Chevy Silverado while on leave from the Marines, would concoct a ridiculous moneymaking scheme.
She shoved her chair back and slammed out of the house to confront him. Bracing her hands on her hips in the middle of the driveway, she waited for the vehicle to stop.
The rusted bumper coasted inches from her legs, but she refused to flinch.
“You’d make a hell of a Marine,” he called through the open window. “Most soldiers would have dived for cover.” He shifted into park and ran his fingers through his military-short haircut. Guilty.
Luciana stormed to the door and yanked it open. “God damn it, Alejandro. What’d you do with the money?”
“Don’t get mad. I can explain.”
“Did you use it to pay the mortgage?” She clung to her last hope everything would turn out all right.
“No.”
A lump swelled in her throat, but she ignored it along with the tears filling her eyes. “How could you? I trusted you.”
“Since we weren’t going to have enough this month, just like we didn’t last month or the one before, I came up with another plan.”
“The bank knows I’m making a good faith effort. Paying something is better than nothing.”
“The threatening letters t
hey’re sending make it clear they’re not going to settle for ‘something’ and ‘good faith.’ Not to mention, the bank president enjoys being an ass rather than cutting anyone any slack. Every penny I have is tied up in a new investment that hasn’t paid out yet. Since I don’t have anything to loan you, I used the mortgage money to buy you a one-night stand.”
Her jaw dropped, and her stomach plummeted. “You did what?”
“I found this company called 1Night Stand. The proprietor, Madame Eve, will match you up. I explained our goal is for you to meet someone with too much cash who’s looking for a place to unload it so our troubles will be over.”
Mama didn’t have to worry about her baby boy dying in a war zone because Luciana would kill him with her bare hands. He didn’t even have the decency to squander her hard-earned money on a get-rich scheme with a conceivable chance of paying off. “You want me to sell my body to save the farm?”
“Of course not. Madame Eve isn’t sleazy. I have some buddies who met their wives through her. Hang on. I brought a brochure that explains the service.” He reached across the seat to the glove box.
She grabbed his ear and twisted, yanking him out of the vehicle.
“Ow.” He pulled his head free of her grip and blinked, rubbing his ear. “Stop using torture techniques that violate the Geneva Convention.”
“Then don’t start a family war. I don’t want a brochure. I don’t want a sleazy one-night stand, or an upscale one for that matter, regardless of what’s been promised in return. I want my mortgage money back. All of it.”
He jutted his chin. “Madame Eve takes into account more than just sexual needs when she matches people. The guy she finds will be our best chance.”
“How can you think a matchmaker, or whatever you call someone who hooks people up for one night, is the answer to our money problems? She took all our money.”
“Listen, if it doesn’t work out, then I’ll call and ask for a refund. No problemo.” He shrugged.
Oh yeah, no problemo getting cash back from a scammer. “Damn it, Alejandro. What were you thinking?”
“I thought you were so worried about the farm you didn’t have time for a date, so this could kill two birds with one stone.”
She gritted her teeth. She wouldn’t really commit violence against her brother, just hit him hard enough to knock some sense into him. “Not interested. I don’t need a man to fix my life.”
“I also figured if it works out, you can gift me with a 1Night Stand when I’m best man at your wedding.”
She swung her arm to smack him. He chuckled and ducked back into the truck, avoiding her, then shifted into reverse and gunned down the driveway. If she’d had Papa’s shotgun handy, she would have shot out the tires.
Most of the time, she treasured Alejandro’s presence, his antics brightening her routine of drudgery and responsibility. Papa’s life goal had been to be an organic dairy farmer. Her own dreams of love and family had died years ago, leaving her no other purpose but to take over his plans and attempt to honor him and provide for her mother.
She pulled her hair back as the wind whipped it around her face then watched the Silverado turn the corner, vanishing behind a hill. At least her brother had been smart enough to cut his losses and drive away, instead of attempting to drag her to the ridiculous one-night stand.
Chores and the evening milking awaited her, so she marched to the barn to tackle the never-ending workload. At the end of the day, she didn’t have the energy to pick up her vibrator, let alone find a man. Despite her frustration, a tiny part of her filled with disappointment that the night ahead held the same tedium and exhaustion as every other one.
***
Denver held a lot of promise as an expansion site for Sunburst Hotels. Omaha, not so much. Anticipating the situation, Blake Wellington had sent the rest of his team straight from Denver to the next potential location in Des Moines while he’d made a quick side trip through Omaha, confirmed his analysis, and hopped on another flight. Exiting the plane and striding through the Des Moines airport, he texted his estimated time to rejoin the group.
Sidestepping a father trying to corral a toddler in full meltdown mode, he dialed his boss who’d elected to sit out the trip. “Mr. Sunburst, the team will arrive home late this evening. If you want to schedule a meeting for first thing in the morning, I’ll update you on everything before we make our recommendation to the board.”
“Tomorrow? Are you trying to keep me out of the loop, boy? My schedule is wide open tonight.”
Blake might be CEO of Sunburst Hotels, but Mr. Sunburst didn’t let him forget who owned the company. “Ten o’clock tonight is the earliest I can expect to be back.”
“Ten, it is. Don’t keep me waiting. And stay away from Caroline’s place. We’re not competing with my daughter.”
No way would he go near his ex-fiancée’s ranch resort in Montana. Mr. Sunburst had been easy to please when he’d been Blake’s future father-in-law. However, Caroline’s defection a week before their wedding had turned Blake’s dream job into a minefield. He constantly walked a tightrope of trying to satisfy his boss without stifling the innovations and changes he wanted to bring to the company.
He sank into the seat of the waiting limousine and began setting up the spreadsheets with the preliminary findings on the first two sites, so he could begin working on the presentation he’d thought he would have all night to perfect.
Keying information into his laptop, he phoned his assistant to glean what she’d already learned about the Des Moines location. He needed the distraction. Although he might be a tolerable distance from his ex-fiancée, anywhere in the state of Iowa put him way too close to the town where he’d grown up, where he’d left behind the girl who’d owned his heart.
“What did you say? You’re cutting in and out,” Marcia complained.
He frowned. “You’d think the biggest city in the state would have better cell service. Research their capabilities for me, please. I can’t invest in a hotel where my guests aren’t going to be able to use their phones and electronics to their satisfaction.”
“Speaking of which, where are you? We’ve been expecting you for the past half hour.”
“I’m on my way from the airport.”
“I know. That’s why I expected you to be here already.”
He lifted his head, surprised to see fields of corn and pastures instead of city streets. “Driver, where are we going?”
“Where my instructions said to take you, sir.” The man slowed and turned the vehicle down a gravel road.
In other words, he’d gotten lost and needed to turn around. Blake refocused on his notes and ran some projections through the spreadsheet. “Marcia, e-mail me all the Des Moines information.”
No response. Dammit.
He typed his analysis of the first two locations, not looking up until the driver opened the door. “We’re here, sir.”
Perfect. He’d get the figures he needed, and if a better communications infrastructure wasn’t coming down the pike, the location would be axed from consideration. Gathering his laptop and notes, he stepped out of the car. The wind rustled the loose papers, threatening to yank them from his grasp.
“Enjoy your evening, sir.” The driver closed the door, bowed, returned to his seat, and pulled away.
Before the wind left him scrambling like an idiot to retrieve his notes, Blake zipped everything in his laptop case. Straightening, he studied the landscape, familiar for all the wrong reasons.
Farmhouse, barn, silo, cows mooing in the distance.
His team wasn’t waiting for him. He’d never consider replacing the farm in front of him with a hotel. In fact, the last time he’d been on the property, Luciana’s father had shot out the taillights of his truck. Nobody would roll out a welcome mat if he knocked on the door.
Waving his arm, he attempted to hail the limo driver, but the car continued down the road, scattering dust across the fields.
The meeting with M
r. Sunburst looming, he needed to spend an hour or two at the potential Des Moines site before the flight home. He held up his phone to maximize any signal, so he could contact Marcia.
A buzz announced a text message. Enjoy your one-night stand. Madame Eve
“What one-night stand? Who are you? What are you talking about?” Before he could type any of those questions, no service lit the display. He pocketed the useless phone while down the road the limo disappeared from view.
Caroline had given him a breakup gift of a one-night stand. His brother then “helped” him fill out the application during a pathetic bachelor pity-party. Whether Madame Eve intended for his hookup to happen on a dilapidated farm or at his own hotel in San Diego, he had no idea. The text hadn’t given him details, but regardless of the impression from his drunken questionnaire, he would never engage in anything so crass on company time.
The scent of fresh hay mixed with a faint whiff of manure, and the moos of cattle in the distance blasted him both back to the present and deeper into the past. Another glance at the house sent his heart thundering. Luciana. Despite blocking her image for the past fifteen years, his heart ached at the crystal-clear memories.
He squared his shoulders and calculated the odds she still lived there. Slim, and the chances were even smaller that she’d let him borrow her landline before her father took another shot at him.
