Groaning, Lacey shook her head at the disastrous outcome. “It’s worse than I thought.” Why did she feel miserable she was right about weddings, in general, and marriages, specifically?
“That’s it. No more heartache.” Heather held out her hand and waited for the fist bump. They complied.
“Tell them that.” Ash nodded to half a dozen men across the way, being fussed over by Rico.
Lacey didn’t dare look; she could sense being stared at. “Is he there?” she whispered, her voice trembling almost as much as her hand.
“That guy who dropped you off the other night?”
“You know you didn’t have to yank open the door at that very moment.” Lacey shuddered, thinking about being caught with him by her two best friends.
“Adam’s cute—well, more than that,” Ash said, glancing around her to see. “He’s looking at you. Or rather, your back.”
Briskly, she pulled out a tinted moisturizer. “This will be perfect for your skin, Heather. It will bring out the pink undertones.” She went to work, dabbing and then sweeping the lotion over her friend’s smooth skin.
“Ah, Lace. He’s here.” Ash cringed, flicking her chin to the spot over her shoulder.
She twirled around and nearly banged into him. “Ad…Adam?”
“How have you been?” He reached out and held her upper arms, the heat of his touch sinking through the thin layer of her long-sleeved T-shirt and making her shiver.
God, he was a sight! His green eyes and tousled sandy-brown hair had nothing on the way his lips tugged up at one corner. Her knees wobbled. “Busy. You?” Don’t answer. I don’t want to know what girl you went to dinner with or what party you attended.
“Same.” But she swore his voice caught and the way he looked at her, that fleeting hope, made her wonder what he really wanted. He backed up a pace, dropping his hands. “I think Rico wants me now.”
“Of course he does. Who wouldn’t?” Did I just say that? Warmth crawled up her neck. She shrugged it off. “You know what I mean.”
Instead of retreating, he came to her, lightning quick. He reached up, holding her face in his hands. Before she realized what he was doing, he kissed her. Not hard. Not soft. Somewhere in between, filled with longing and intensity.
She moaned. His lips were sweet and drugging.
It was over before she knew it. Only cool air touched her lips now.
“Lace,” he whispered. “I’m not that guy. You deserve someone who can give you what you want. I can’t.”
“What do I want again?” Damn if she knew at the moment.
“That all-in guy.”
Her heart throbbed as he walked away.
***
“Everything all right here, girls?” Charlie stopped by, checking on them. “One full run-through and we’ll be all set.”
The owner of King’s seemed even more beautiful today. Pregnancy made her glow.
“We’re drawing a line in the sand,” Lacey joked. “Boys over there. Girls here. No crossing allowed.” Ever again, she thought, still rattled from Adam’s surprise appearance and kiss as she worked on Ashley now.
“Nothing but trouble.” Charlie rubbed her baby bump. “Look what it does.” She chuckled.
Lacey and her friends joined in. “It didn’t stop you.”
“Almost, though. I had no idea what love was until I almost lost it.”
A beat of silence strummed to life.
“Here, have a seat,” Heather said, standing and offering the expectant mother her chair.
“Thanks. Just for a second. Catch my breath.” She eased down and sighed. “Feels good.”
“About the love part,” Heather prompted. “What did you mean?”
“I was devoted to the store. I went to any lengths to get it, even marrying for it.”
Lacey gasped. “So, the press was right.”
“Marriage of convenience? Yes. What I didn’t realize is how much I loved him. Funny, huh? We both had an agenda and it went right out the window the moment we agreed to wed. Ah, Alex…”
Her eyes shone and her smile, soft and wispy, tugged at something in Lacey.
“We almost lost it all, too. Stubborn. Focused on the wrong thing.”
“And the right thing is?” Lacey asked, not certain if she wanted to hear the actual words as she halted in sweeping the mauve eye shadow on Ash’s left eyelid.
“A partner in life. Someone always there for you, even if you’re not strong enough to be there for yourself. Your champion. Someone to lean on and be able to lean on you when times are tough. Not a better half. Not even a half. Just the person who will hold your hand and let you change and grow and love you anyway.”
Heather grabbed for a nearby tissue. “Unconditionally.”
“The thing is, you have to be that for him, too.” Charlie patted her on the back. “Did I strike a nerve?”
“Oh, yeah,” Lacey, Ash, and Heather said in unison.
“Good thing or bad thing?” Charlie asked.
A fusion of shock raced through Lacey. Her past tumbled back and she realized how demanding—unspoken, though—she’d been. She’d done the opposite of her accommodating mother, who’d lost everything about herself, until now she had no idea who she was or what she wanted anymore.
The guys Lacey had dated had to do all the bending and fixing. They had to live up to her level of expectations, because she certainly wouldn’t grovel like her mom did.
My way or the highway. Oh, wait, I always hit the road first.
It failed.
And why wouldn’t it when she asked so much and gave so little?
Now when she’d met Adam, she’d assumed more from him. She practically begged him to jump to that high standard she’d unwittingly set for a nonexistent relationship. Chalk another one up to her theory that love didn’t last.
Glancing at him, she saw the truth. She’d tested him. Over and over again.
He walked away before she could do it first. Before she could get hurt again.
His score? He passed with flying colors.
Her heart ached; she failed miserably. She, Lacey Daniels, was the biggest loser in her very own life.
She’d quit on herself before she’d even got started.
Chapter 10
Adam’s lips still tingled. In fact, his whole body still did.
The rehearsal dragged by.
It didn’t help to see Lacey, ignoring him, in her element, caught up in the sheer enthusiasm of the event. She worked with concentration and skill, noting the lines and shading, as if each person were a piece of exquisite, delicate art, bringing their best features to light.
“Huh?” The realization blasted through his tumbling mind. “Works of art.” She appreciated the angles and contours as much as he did with the priceless pieces he searched for all over the world.
The images she created, captured on film, were in their own right art.
He recalled her intruding his inner sanctum. She’d gone to admire the works. That much he could bet on after seeing the photos on her cell phone her little brothers had shared with him as they waited for her and her stepmom to finish getting dinner ready the other night.
Her feelings were poured into each one as if she hid behind the picture and allowed others to view the masterpiece, evoking deep, lasting emotions.
Adam swallowed hard, shaking his head. No, he’d never met a woman who had that underlying connection with him. The others—they wanted the prestige, the rarified glimpse of a masterpiece. Never a devotion, not like his.
“She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” Rico asked, nudging his arm and watching Lacey. “Natural. Rare. You likee.” It wasn’t a question.
“I can’t do this.”
***
“What do you mean we’re headed to the Westbrooke Museum?” Lacey clung to the limo door as the driver raced through the streets. Her large makeup case, wedged on the seat beside her, dug into her side.
“Power outage at the hotel. Transformer blew,” Rico s
aid, hanging on to her. “I need a drink. He’s going to give me a heart attack!” His voice went up an octave as horns blared.
“But…you said Adam quit.” Her throat closed up. One moment she’d felt his stare, the next nothing. His absence pulsed around her from that second on. The emptiness had a life of its own.
After Rico’s announcement last evening, she’d barely had a thought that didn’t include Adam. Sleep eluded her.
“Backup plan. Peg and Claire have been texting and calling for hours now. Evelyn and her crew have been disassembling at the hotel since five this morning. They should be mostly set up at the museum by now.”
Her heart clutched. To have to be back there, to be so close to Adam again, left her shaken. “Heather and Ash? I have to tell them.”
“They know.”
“Not this.” It wasn’t about the change of venue. No, she had to confess she’d gone against their pact. She didn’t want to be single. Not after meeting Adam last week. Had it only been a week?
“You’ll have all day to catch up.” His phone rang. “I’m afraid to let go.” In the end, he still grabbed her with one hand while he answered the call. “Dream boy, at your service.”
Her smile came without thought as she half listened to his bantering with the person on the other end. But her mind screamed with anxiety.
Adam Westbrooke had made it perfectly clear he didn’t want her.
So why even go there or think there?
Would he even show up at the event when he turned his back on it last night?
Butterflies fluttered in her middle.
Did she have the nerve to go to him?
***
The bachelor? How had he let them get away with putting that in the program? Wait, the bachelor and the bride?!
Adam tossed the glossy pamphlet aside and groaned. Just as swiftly, he went for it, grabbing it from the edge of his bed. He flicked through until he found Lacey’s picture and bio. Hers, an award-winning makeup artist, was smaller and less prominent than some of the other models who were well-known, but he looked closely.
His heart hitched. The head shot wasn’t professional, by any means. He smiled, thinking she liked being behind the scenes rather than in front. But her beauty, natural and unique, spoke to him.
Unguarded!
“Just like with her family.”
Another thought popped into his head. Just like she was with him. “At the wedding behind the mask. And here.” He looked up at the empty bathroom doorway. “And later. Before she knew who I was. And the kisses…”
Something deep and wide strummed to life inside him.
Another sensation, closer to panic, rippled through his belly.
He should call his cousins. They’d know what this meant. They’d know that he should ignore it, right?
His grandfather’s loud laughter floated down on him.
Not again, Gramps!
***
“Holy Toledo! Can’t believe things are shaking out,” Peg said, coming up to Lacey. “You got fifteen minutes to have Rico slap on some goo on your face and shimmy shimmy shake into that gorg wedding dress.”
“Make my hand tremble even more, why don’t you?” She plastered on a forced grin at the funny lady in her own dreamy flowing wedding dress and clutching her infamous clipboard. The tiara on her head sat askew.
“My job to keep you all in line,” she muttered, pointing her hand to a sudden commotion in the corner. “See, like that.” She dashed off to clean up another mess.
“I heard.” Rico rolled his eyes at Lacey. “Powder her and she’s good to go.” He motioned to the petite redhead dozing in the chair. “Late night, I think. Or…” His hand went up to his mouth in the shape of holding a glass and he tossed back his head. “Booze.” He winked.
She giggled. “Rico, naughty man.”
“Someone’s got to be.” He looked around. “Didn’t show, huh?”
Disappointment echoed in her chest. “Nope. So, that means I’m off the hook, right? No bachelor for this bride.” It hurt to say the words.
“Fat chance, sweetie. I’ll go if I have to. You can’t let that gorg you,” he swept a hand in front of her, “go to waste.”
“Why not? You know, some of us will never be a real bride anyway.”
“Bite your tongue! I, for one, am looking forward to the day I meet my Prince Charming. Let me have my dream. Don’t spoil it for me.”
There was a seriousness to him for once.
That brought her up short. A pang of loneliness bounced behind her ribs.
Did everyone just want to be loved?
***
Adam prowled the perimeter of the packed tables surrounding the makeshift stage and walkway in the museum’s grand room, created by his grandfather for large gatherings.
His pride for his staff, dozens called in at the last minute, switching gears to help with the near disaster for King’s Department Store, beamed bright.
Scheduled events were one thing, but this charity showcase falling in their laps proved they could handle anything.
So why was he here again? The cousins! Conference calls and Skyping from the family Wyoming ranch caused him to be bombarded with advice and suggestions, even from his parents while his father propped up his broken ankle and his mother sat with a silly grin on her face.
He smiled now, thinking how excited his cousins had been. Their giggles, chattering, and occasional shrieks tugged at him.
But could he go through with it?
In theory, it was shaky at best, like his hands were now.
That calm air usually around him had disappeared the moment Lacey turned him down at the bar over there a week ago.
Intrigued was too mild a word. Attracted, now that brought it closer. Not far enough, though.
She’d plucked at his heartstrings.
Adam groaned, thinking how ridiculous that sounded in his head. However, there was no better way to describe it at the moment.
“That’s what I get for asking the girls.” His cousins had sighed and nearly swooned when he tried to explain his feelings.
She makes my heart smile, all right?
The crowd clapped and he nearly jumped, his mind too cluttered to focus on the affair.
By the cursory look at the remainder of the program, Adam realized there were only a few more brides to go. He headed for the back room, hoping to catch up with Lacey.
What he’d say to her, he couldn’t even guess. He rehearsed nothing. He’d just raced to get ready and out of his house before getting by his own heightened security team at the door.
Thanks to Lacey.
Employees of King’s, it looked like, guarded the room and were standing nearly two feet deep, making way for the next couple. He dodged a few, but got stuck on the outskirts and tried to look around the backs of their heads.
Rico waved his hand to fend off someone as Adam swore he got a glimpse of Lacey. “Coming through…”
Murmurs rose.
“Oh la la!” Peg cried, following close behind.
Too late. They were headed to the stage now.
Giving up that avenue, Adam backtracked and found a side door. He got within an arm’s length of Rico, reached out and tapped the man on his shoulder.
“Hey, you, don’t mess with the suit!” He looked over his shoulder and his mouth went round. “Ad—”
He shook his head, stopping Rico from saying anything else, which was a huge feat in itself.
“Go on, Lace, I’m right behind you,” Rico called, but stepped aside. “Where, may I ask, have you been?” He brushed Adam’s lapel. “God, you handsome devil!”
“Here? Now? I’ve got a charity event to be in.”
All he could see was the back of Lacey, curvy and sexy and showing off a lot of bare skin, in the clingy creamy-white wedding dress. He groaned.
She whipped around. “Adam?! What are you doing here?”
By the look on her shocked face, he’d made a drastic mistake.
<
br /> ***
Lacey stumbled backward, trying to escape.
Reaching out, he caught her.
The bouquet in her hands shook so much white petals dropped. “You? Here? But? You’re not that guy.” Maybe I’m not even that girl. Or maybe I was just waiting for Adam all this time.
Charlie’s words to Lacey and her friends yesterday replayed in her head. “A partner in life. Someone always there for you, even if you’re not strong enough to be there for yourself. Your champion. Someone to lean on and be able to lean on you when times are tough. Not a better half. Not even a half. Just the person who will hold your hand and let you change and grow and love you anyway.”
She gasped, the advice plucking a chord deep inside her. That’s what I want! A life partner. Someone to love and to love me back no matter what. Adam, that’s you! Is wanting to love you for a lifetime too much to ask?
The announcer began his introduction. “Ladies and gentlemen.” His voice carried and a hush came over the room. “We have…wait, I have just received some news.” He paused. The sound of paper crinkled over the mic.
“I couldn’t stay away.” Adam said.
“You’ll be happy to know, friends,” the announcer continued, “the real bachelor, Adam Westbrooke, has indeed been able to join us after all.”
Several attendees gasped and then a roar of applause resounded.
“We want the bachelor! We want the bachelor!”
“They’re chanting for you,” she said, hearing the calls for him. The Bachelor! Of course, he didn’t want any attachments. How could she have forgotten? She didn’t belong here or with him. A sinking sensation dropped in her belly. A muscle in her cheek pulled at her attempt at a smile. “Your world, Adam.” She sucked in a sharp, painful breath. “By the way, I’ll have Rico get your robe to you. After we’re done.” The last word echoed in her mind.
A sadness descended as her heart ached. Slowly, she picked up the dress so she could walk up the stairs. Rico rushed up, helping her.
“Traitor,” she whispered, wanting to blame anyone but herself at the way she’d derailed her own life.
very charming wedding 01 - bachelor and the bride Page 6
