Tempting Kate

by Jennifer Snow

  And now he was supposed to just stand there and watch his brother make a huge mistake. No doubt he’d have a front-row seat if Derek asked him to be the best man. He suspected that was the reason his brother had been calling him all day—the same reason he hadn’t answered. Leaning forward, he hit Reply on the email.

  Dear Ms. Hartley,

  As much as I would love to remove myself from the guest list, I think my brother would be annoyed to lose his best man—don’t you?

  Hitting Send, he sat back and waited.

  Her reply was once again instantaneous. You’re not the best man.

  * * *

  “MORE COFFEE?” HAYLEY ASKED, standing from where she’d sprawled on the floor by the coffee table in Kate’s office. What had been intended as a quick late-afternoon meeting to decide on wedding invitations, a guest list and a venue had drifted into hours of planning. So far they’d finalized the guest list...though Hayley was still on the fence about inviting her father’s latest girlfriend and had narrowed the invites down to three options. All so similar in design, Kate was ready to tear her hair out. She hadn’t expected Ms. Noncommitment to be this fussy.

  She started to say no to the caffeine, knowing she didn’t need any more help feeling jittery and on edge, but as her landlord’s number flashed on her screen for the third time that day, she nodded toward the minifridge under the coffeemaker. “Forget coffee, it’s after three—there’s wine in there and it has to be happy hour somewhere.” She’d sent a check to cover one of the delinquent months, but she was still behind by two. She wouldn’t be able to catch up without securing at least three new weddings and collecting deposits.

  Hayley and Chase’s wedding didn’t count. She didn’t charge family.

  Hayley’s quick eyes darted to her ringing cell phone before she could send the call away. “Kelsey Properties? Are you avoiding your landlord?”

  Kate shrugged, waving her hand. “Nah, it’s nothing...” She knew her brother and his fiancée were worried about her since the failed wedding, and suspected her lack of clients. She tried to reassure everyone that things were fine, but they saw right through her.

  “Kate, if you need...anything, Chase and I are here to help,” Hayley said, opening the wine.

  “Everything is fine, really.” Or at least she hoped it would be once the Sheffield-Dillon wedding hit the pages of lifestyle magazines. Liz had told her that she had several friends interested in Kate’s services, and despite the already crunched deadline for this wedding, Kate was wishing it was sooner. The faster she could prove to Liz’s friends that she was still the best wedding planner for their special day, the better.

  “I want to pay you for your services.”

  Kate shook her head. “No way. This is my wedding gift to you both.” Chase had raised Kate and their other two brothers after their parents had died in a car fire when the four of them were just teenagers. She owed Chase so much more than planning his wedding.

  “Okay, well, don’t hesitate to ask if you do need anything,” Hayley said, handing her the glass of merlot.

  “You’re not drinking?” Kate said.

  “I have court early tomorrow morning,” she said.

  Kate hesitated before taking a sip. She had an early morning as well, but when her cell rang again and she glanced at the caller ID, she took a big gulp.

  “Kate, why is Cooper calling you?” Hayley asked, seeing the number on the display.

  “I don’t know,” she said, exasperated, sending the call away. It was true. She had no idea why he hadn’t yet taken the hint that she didn’t want to speak to him. Avoiding his calls and texts and emails for ten days should have said it quite clearly.

  “Have you spoken to him since...Maui?” Hayley asked, pouring more coffee for herself.

  Kate looked away, focusing her attention on the invitations. She fingered the filigree design on one of them. “Um...” Her shrug was noncommittal. Just lie and say no. It wasn’t like she was ever going to see him again, but Hayley’s penetrating lawyer gaze would see through the lie. “He picked up some stuff from the garage.”

  Hayley sat next to her on the floor. “Were you home?”

  Home. Drunk. And lonely. “Yeah...it wasn’t a big deal,” she said, taking a sip of her wine.

  “Oh, shit, Kate—you slept with him.”

  Kate sighed. “It was nothing. I made a stupid judgment call.” In fact, she’d made several over the last week, and damned if she didn’t find herself wishing that it was Scott calling and texting for a repeat...not her ex. “He won’t stop calling and texting me,” she said, shaking the phone as a message appeared. She deleted it without reading it.

  “What do you expect? You totally gave him false hope,” Hayley said, tucking her legs under her. “And after I got a criminal record for kneeing a police officer.”

  Cooper had made the mistake of pulling Hayley over after the called-off wedding. “Can we stop talking about this?”

  “Yes, but try not to forget that this guy left you at the altar, almost ruined your business and now has the nerve to try to get you back. And honestly, the fact that he’s still harassing you worries me a little. Chase said he’s been an ass at work lately, too...” She looked worried.

  Chase worked on the same police force as Cooper, and at one time the two had been partners. Chase had never really liked Kate’s ex, and after the failed wedding, things at work hadn’t exactly been smooth between the two. Cooper had been transferred to a different division, but that didn’t alleviate the awkwardness between the two men. Kate knew her brother would have something to say if he thought Cooper was still bothering her. “Let’s not mention any of this to Chase.”

  Hayley nodded, looking reluctant. “Okay, but forget him, Kate. You deserve a lot better than Cooper Jennings.”

  She knew that, and it wasn’t Cooper on her mind. It was another sexy guy with chiseled abs and strong, muscular arms who had her tossing and turning at night. “It won’t happen again, I promise. It was stupid, but I’m only human. I’m allowed to make mistakes.”

  Hayley stared at her. “Mistakes? As in it happened more than once?”

  Sigh. “Not more than once with Cooper.” There was no point backtracking. Hayley was like a dog with a bone; she wouldn’t let up on this until Kate spilled everything.

  Hayley shut the invitation design book and leaned closer. “Who else have you slept with? Are you seeing someone?”

  She took another gulp of wine and shook her head. “Not exactly. He’s the owner of the venue for the wedding I told you about in Big Bear—the groom’s brother.”

  Hayley’s eyes widened. “A stranger? Family of a client and someone who could ultimately interfere with your career?”

  Kate pointed a finger at her. “You can’t judge.” Hayley had practically sacrificed her own career by following her heart with Chase.

  Not that Kate’s situation was even close. She wasn’t falling for Scott.

  Her friend nodded slowly. “You’re right. I’m not. I’m just surprised.” She eyed her. “Is it going to happen again—with this Big Bear guy, I mean?”

  Kate shook her head a little too fast. “No. It was definitely a onetime, impulsive thing. Believe me, this guy is much more trouble than he’s worth.”

  “Aren’t they all?” Hayley said. “But especially Cooper. Kate, whatever you do, just stay away from him. There’s something about him that totally freaks me out,” she said, the worried expression back.

  “You have nothing to worry about.” Cooper Jennings was the last man on her mind.

  6

  LATER THAT EVENING, Scott paced his living room, cell phone in hand.

  How could he not be the best man? He was the brother of the groom—didn’t that automatically put him in that position? Not that he wanted the cu
stomary duties and responsibilities that went along with it...except maybe planning the bachelor party... He shook his head. What the hell was wrong with him? There wasn’t going to be a bachelor party if he could help it. He planned to stop this wedding long before that.

  Like now.

  He dialed his brother’s number. Three rings, then his brother’s curt tone said, “Scott, I’ll have to call you back. I’m in the middle of directing a scene.” Silence.

  Scott tossed the phone onto the sofa and went to the fridge. Grabbing a beer, he stepped out onto his deck, breathing in the cold mountain air. He loved the mountains, loved living in Big Bear, away from the craziness of big-city life. That stressful, fast-paced, bright-lights lifestyle might suit his brother, but he preferred things at a relaxed speed. They’d always been so different.

  Growing up, Derek was the overachiever, graduating high school two years early because he’d skipped two grades. Scott had graduated a year late, having failed the ninth grade and barely gotten by with teachers who preferred to push children through the system, ready or not.

  “Why can’t you try harder, like Derek?” was the clichéd, after-school-special-type lecture he’d receive from his dad each time a failed test was found weeks later hidden in his backpack or a desk drawer.

  But he hadn’t cared about school, not the way Derek had, and after a while, he’d also stopped caring about trying to impress his dad. He could never live up to the standard his brother had put in place, so he hadn’t bothered to try.

  Their differences went further than just academic success. Derek liked to golf and play tennis, while Scott preferred football and hockey. Derek enjoyed chart-topping hip-hop, where Scott preferred country. Derek wore Armani suits and drove a Jaguar convertible, while Scott liked his jeans and truck just fine.

  So how had two men so completely opposite to each other fallen into bed with the same woman?

  Fate was a cruel mistress, that was how.

  Derek’s ringtone sounded from inside, and Scott went back in. “Hey, Mr. Big Shot. That only took ten minutes—must be some kind of record.” Usually when his brother said, “I’ll call you back,” he’d have at least a week to wait by the phone. With the confession he had to make, he almost wished there had been the usual delay.

  “Hold for Mr. Dillon,” a female voice said.

  His brother had someone dialing numbers for him now? No wonder they’d hired someone to plan their wedding. Derek and Liz were brilliant in their respective careers, but their focus was so narrow that anything else—like everyday living—was beyond their scope of capability. He was fairly certain his brother hadn’t cooked a meal or ironed a shirt...ever. Their mother had babied them both when they lived at home, and Derek had hired a housekeeper before his first movie was a success. Scott could never be that dependent on others.

  “Hey, Scott,” Derek said a moment later.

  “Your assistant sounded hot,” he said, taking a swig of beer, delaying the reason for the call while summoning liquid courage.

  “That was my assistant’s assistant,” he said.

  “Right. Of course.” How many people did it take to make a phone call in Hollywood?

  “What’s this I hear about you giving the wedding planner a hard time?”

  At the mention of Kate, his mouth felt like chalk. She’d been on his mind far too much for comfort. Every time a call came into the resort for him, he’d found himself hoping it was her. Which was more than a little stupid. This insane attraction to her had to stop. “You spoke to her?”

  “No. I spoke to Mom.”

  He frowned. “Really? When?”

  “This morning. I talk to Mom and Dad every morning.”

  He did? That was a bit much. Scott lived in the same town as their parents and he called once a week, twice at most. Then again, Derek had always been more of a mama’s boy. “You talk to them every morning, yet you and I talk every six months?” He wished he were closer to his brother, but since the crash, he felt uncomfortable around him, keeping such a huge secret. He hated that it was a wedge between them.

  “I know you’re not returning my call so that I can crap on you about the wedding planner, so what do you need, Scott?”

  Scott set the half-finished beer on the table and collapsed onto his sofa, his eagerness to come clean evaporating slowly. “Who says I need something? You called me. I’m calling you back.” But his brother was right. If it was a lecture he wanted to give him, he could shove it. Had his brother even met Kate? If he had, he’d realize that she didn’t need anyone coming to her defense.

  “Is it money?”

  “I haven’t needed money from you in a long time, Derek.” He rested his head against the cushions, regretting the call. He couldn’t do this by phone. Hell, he’d had plenty of chances over the last two years to tell him face-to-face and he’d chickened out, falling back on his excuse that Liz was the real one at fault, therefore she should be the one to tell Derek. But time was running out, and his brother deserved to know the truth.

  If only he could shake the nagging feeling that somehow he’d be blamed for what happened. His reputation as the playboy in the family would be enough to incriminate him. When he’d confessed to his family about Amy, he’d seen the looks on their faces. No one believed he’d been the innocent one, unaware that she’d been cheating on her husband. And they wouldn’t believe it now. Liz would be off the hook and he’d be the asshole who tried to hurt his brother, tried to ruin his perfect relationship.

  “Are Mom and Dad okay?” Derek asked when he was silent.

  “Why are you asking me? You would know better than I would, seeing as how you talk every day.”

  “Scott, I have three minutes before I’m needed back on set—what’s up?” His brother might have given him three minutes, but his distracted tone suggested he’d already stopped listening. He heard him cover the phone and say something to someone on set.

  He hesitated, then, remembering Kate’s email, he said, “I was just wondering if there was something I could do...with the wedding stuff? If you needed me to take care of anything...” What the hell was wrong with him? Offering to help plan a wedding he was intent on sabotaging?

  “Actually, there is.”

  “Really?” He sat forward. Kate must have been mistaken, and he hated the sense of relief he felt. The two brothers might not be close in the traditional sense, but of course Derek would want him next to him on his wedding day...not that he was going to let the wedding happen. True, his feelings had been hurt at the thought of not being best man, but the real reason he wanted the role was to get close enough to Derek to talk some sense into him before the big day. “Name it.”

  “Stop harassing the wedding planner and let her do her job.”

  Right. “You got it,” he said with absolutely no intent on delivering on the promise. As he disconnected the call, he reached into his pocket and retrieved the note Kate had left as her only goodbye. He’d been carrying the brief yet loaded message around all day. Reading it again, he grinned.

  I’d rate your hotel four-and-a-half stars, but unfortunately you’re undiscoverable online.

  Four-and-a-half stars. That just wouldn’t do.

  * * *

  TO HER SURPRISE, the rest of the week passed with relative ease, but instead of feeling relief, Kate felt a heavy feeling of doom like a storm cloud above her head ready to break open. Whenever things were going well, she couldn’t help but expect the bottom to drop out of tha
t dark metaphorical cloud, drowning her plans.

  Scott Dillon had suddenly become cooperative, sending her the catering menu and staff roster. Going above and beyond, he’d also provided her a list of local florists, bakeries and limo services and offered his assistance wherever else she might need it.

  Of course she’d already contacted the resort’s restaurant directly for the menu and roster the week before. And she’d already ordered the flowers from Studio Bloom, a high-end boutique florist in LA that promised to deliver them to Big Bear the day before the ceremony. The cake was a wedding gift from an industry friend who’d enlisted the culinary skills of the best pastry chef in LA. Liz simply had to decide on the flavor. And the lucky bride and groom required something a little more impressive than a limo. A helicopter had been chartered to bring them back to LA, where they were catching a red-eye flight to Fiji for a quick honeymoon before Derek was scheduled to start filming his next movie.

  But still, Scott’s resolve was a good sign. She took it to mean that he was on board with the wedding, and she didn’t care what had caused the change of heart, as long as he wasn’t going to prevent her from doing her job.

  She kicked her feet free of her stilettos and tucked one leg under her on her chair as she opened her email. Only six new ones from Cooper that day—better than yesterday’s eight. Selecting each of them, she hit Delete and watched with satisfaction and not the least bit of curiosity as they all disappeared into her trash folder.

  “Kate, I have a Mr. Dillon here to see you.” Janet’s voice made her jump, and she quickly minimized her email.

  “Mr. Dillon?” Derek had been very clear that he was leaving all of the wedding planning in his fiancée’s capable hands. He said all he wanted to know was where to stand the day of the wedding. That had been fine with Kate. Very few couples were one the same page when it came to discussing details, and the bride always won anyway.