Tempting Kate

by Jennifer Snow

  “Well, there’s the problem right there. My venue doesn’t host these kinds of events. Maybe you need to reconsider the venue,” he said, folding his arms across his chest.

  “Scott...” his mother started.

  “Mom...” His mother was starting to irritate him, too.

  “Hey, just give me a second to talk to Scott,” Kate said, touching his mother’s shoulder.

  The familiar gesture, the easy way between the two women made him slightly uneasy. The only woman he’d ever even considered introducing to his family had been Amy, but things had gone too wrong, too quickly. This, seeing them together, all felt a little too personal, intimate. Of course, his mother didn’t know about him and Kate.

  “Why don’t we go see if the chair covers have arrived,” Liz said to his mother, breaking into Scott’s thoughts. “The venue does have chairs, right?” she asked, rolling her eyes as she passed him.

  He bit back a smart-ass reply, tempted to replace the rented wooden ones with plastic green lawn chairs.

  Kate touched his arm when they were alone in the hallway. “Hey, why are you being so difficult about this?” she asked.

  “Me? I’m the one being difficult? They want to live-stream the wedding!”

  “A lot of couples do. And most places are willing to accommodate.”

  “As I said, feel free to choose a different venue.”

  Her expression softened slightly as she took a step toward him. Her perfume reached him, and he remembered how great she smelled everywhere, how great she tasted...

  “Just cooperate for now, okay?” she asked, placing her arms around his neck.

  Man, she knew how to use her tempting-as-hell body to get her way. He gripped her hips and pulled her into him. “Where’ve you been?” he asked before he could stop himself.

  Her smile made him tighten his grip. “Did you miss me?”

  “I missed naked you,” he said, wishing it were the only version he’d missed. The truth was, he was starting to wonder if it really was just about the physical chemistry between them, and he was terrified of the answer. In the weeks since he’d seen her, the fun, flirty attraction he felt had changed to an eager longing to be near her again. He’d never missed a woman he’d had a fling with before. Not because they weren’t wonderful, fascinating women, but because he’d made sure he only hooked up with women he could forget.

  Kate was different. Somehow she’d crawled under his skin, penetrated to his core, the way no other woman had. Not even Amy. He didn’t like it, but there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

  She kissed his neck, her hands pressing into the muscles at his back. The feel of her fingers and lips against him made his pulse quicken as he felt the pressure from the moments before change to a new kind of tension. “The faster you get those cameras set up, the faster I can take my panties off,” she whispered.

  He felt himself harden instantly as he closed his eyes and willed himself not to give in to her.

  “Oh, wait, that’s right, I’m not wearing any,” she said with a grin, unwrapping her arms from around his neck.

  His hold on her tightened as she began to pull away. “This is becoming a dangerous game you’re playing, Ms. Hartley,” he said, his voice hoarse.

  She removed his hands from her and turned to walk away. “Dangerous for who, Scott? Me or you?”

  Fuck. Obviously not her.

  * * *

  AS KATE HEADED as far from Scott as she could get, her heart was in her throat.

  For weeks, she’d been desperate for any excuse to come to Big Bear. He’d been on her mind constantly, and it wasn’t just the insatiable desire to have sex with him again. She’d actually found herself missing him—his smile, his touch, his quick-witted banter that made her hot while also making her want to punch him. There was no denying that there was more than just a physical connection between them—at least on her end—but knowing things couldn’t actually go any further with him had been enough to keep her from reaching out.

  But dare she hope that he’d been feeling a similar turmoil?

  The look in his eyes and his words moments before gave a glimmer of hope...but hope for what she wasn’t sure. Since Cooper, her guard had been up, and her only focus had been her career. Another relationship right now would only complicate things. She had to keep that in mind.

  And they needed to get through this wedding before she could entertain any sort of relationship with him.

  That was, if he wanted one... God, the man was frustrating.

  Frustrating, but most definitely going to get laid that evening. She couldn’t help herself. Just his hands on her hips moments before left her wanting to feel them everywhere.

  Her cell phone rang as she reached the lobby, and she was surprised to see her book publicist’s name flashing on the caller ID. “Hello?”

  “Kate, it’s Alison. I’m just calling to go over the details for tomorrow’s event. Do you have a minute?”

  Tomorrow’s event? What the hell?

  Oh, no, the book signing. She’d completely forgotten in her focus on the wedding. “The Barnes & Noble meet the author event?”

  “Yes. They asked for you to be there at least twenty minutes early to get set up...”

  As Alison spoke, Kate tried to come up with a valid excuse to get out of it. There was still so much to oversee here...and the idea of heading back to LA right now to prepare—and leaving Scott—didn’t exactly appeal to her.

  “Kate, are you listening?”

  “Yes...but do you really think the signing is necessary?”

  “If you want to sell books and save your business, it is. Sales have been dropping steadily with lack of promotion the last few weeks.”

  Kate bit her lip. Alison was right. She was putting all of her company’s future success on this one wedding, but she needed another option if it went sideways. “Okay. Of course, you’re right. I’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning.”

  Which meant leaving Scott with a semi-hard-on.

  9

  ENTERING THE BOOKSTORE, Kate stopped short. The lineup near her signing table extended along the far wall, beyond the reference books and past the stationery section, disappearing into the children’s play area. At least two hundred women were already there, holding copies of her book, waiting for her signature.

  Nerves made her want to vomit. Each one of these women obviously knew her story, and each one of them was clutching what they hoped could keep them from a similar fate. She felt like a fraud as she made her way to the table—outwardly confident, inwardly trembling.

  “Hi, Kate. Welcome,” the Barnes & Noble representative greeted her. “You’re just in time. Quite an amazing turnout already,” she said, beaming at the customers in line.

  Kate had been dreading the event all evening the night before as she’d prepared her giveaway items, having seen countless authors sitting behind the same table in bookstores for hours with no one approaching. She thought now that having too many readers was worse. Seeing the hopeful faces of the women buying her book, putting their faith in her to reveal a magic formula to happy-ever-after, made her feel as though she were deceiving them all. “Yeah, this is wonderful,” she said, forcing enthusiasm into her tone.

  “You can have a seat here,” the girl, whose name tag read Jamee, said. “There’s water, coffee, pens on the table...if you need anything else, please let me know. I’ll come back to check on you every little while, but I’m going to spend most of my time walking the line with coffee and tea and snacks.”

  Kate nodded. “That sounds great.” She placed her purse beneath the table and sat, her gaze scanning the long line of smiling faces.

  This was a nightmare.

  * * *

  SCOTT TOLD HIMSELF that the only reason he was going to K
ate’s office was to give her a heads-up that he was going to see Derek filming on set in LA that day. But he knew it was lie. In fact, he probably wouldn’t have the conversation with her at all... He liked his balls and preferred not to have them ripped off.

  The real reason was once he spoke to his brother, he was fairly certain he’d never see Kate again, and he wanted...what? A final glimpse of a woman who was already off-limits and driving him crazy? A last fling before he set her carefully detailed event ablaze?

  The truth was, he’d been disappointed the day before when Kate had said she had to head back to the city right away, and not just because he’d been looking forward to getting laid. The woman was constantly on his mind. He found himself smiling for no reason whenever he thought about her quick-witted, smart-ass comments and getting instantly hot when he remembered the other things she could do with that sexy mouth.

  He hesitated at the entrance of her office building and nearly collided with her receptionist as she swung the door open and hurried outside, struggling with an oversize box that looked heavier than she was. “Hi,” he said.

  “Oh, hey...Mr.?”

  “Dillon,” he said. “Scott. Is Kate inside? Here, let me help.” He took the box, his own arms dropping slightly with the unexpected weight.

  What the hell was in it? Bricks?

  “Thank you,” Janet said, shaking her head. “No, she’s not in today. My car is just over there.” She pointed and led the way to a Kia Sportage in the parking lot.

  “What’s in here?” he asked as she unlocked the trunk and he saw four other similar boxes already inside. Thank God he hadn’t arrived four boxes sooner, though how this hundred-pound, five-foot-nothing woman had done it, he didn’t know.

  “Copies of Kate’s books. The store ran out, and there’s still about a hundred women in line,” Janet said, rushing to the driver’s side door. “Thank you.”

  “Hey, wait! Kate’s book?”

  She nodded, glancing at her watch. “Her wedding planning book. She’s doing a signing at B&N today.”

  Impressive. “Can I see one?” he asked.

  “You can hop in and open a box on the way. I’m late, and Kate’s already texted twice to say the crowd is starting to riot.”

  Scott laughed as he climbed into the passenger side. “Those crazy bridezillas, huh?”

  “You have no idea,” Janet said, rolling her eyes as she started her car.

  He reached for his seat belt. “I bet you could write a book about some of Kate’s clients.” He didn’t understand women and weddings. They made such a big deal about an elaborate party.

  “It would be a bestseller, but I’m sworn to secrecy, I’m afraid,” she said, jerking the car out of the space and into traffic, cutting off a semitruck in the inside lane.

  The horn blared behind them.

  Scott’s eyes widened at the near-death experience Janet hadn’t even noticed. Maybe getting in this car was a bad idea. He should have insisted on following her in the safety of his own Jeep. She hit the gas and switched lanes abruptly, and he held on tight, forgetting about trying to reach for a copy of the book. He’d rather be facing forward for his impending death.

  But miraculously, ten minutes later, he was alive and unloading the boxes from her car. When he set them inside the bookstore doors, several Barnes & Noble employees immediately rushed over to bring them to Kate’s table. Before they could steal the last box, he took his keys from his pocket, opened it and took out a copy.

  A clerk whose name tag read Jamee glared at him and looked ready to tackle him to the ground to get it back, but he clutched it tight. “I’m going to buy it. I promise.”

  She nodded. “If you want it autographed, you’d better hurry. Signing ends in twenty minutes,” she said, rushing off with the remaining copies.

  He glanced at the coveted book. How to Get Him Down the Aisle. He turned it over, and at the sight of the author photo of Kate, in a long, flowy, light blue dress, his heart echoed in his ears. Beautiful, smart and famous. Funny, she’d never mentioned the book to him.

  Going farther inside, he saw the reason for the mad rush. At least a hundred women were in line waiting for her signature. A Barnes & Noble employee was handing out copies along the line, and Kate’s readers all looked eager and relieved to have the book in their hands.

  If Kate’s book was this popular, why had she said her business wasn’t doing so well? If even half of these women were getting married in the next year, and a quarter of them enlisted Kate’s services, she’d be rolling in clients.

  Had she been lying? To get him to sympathize with her enough not to interfere with the wedding?

  Slowly, he walked toward the line and followed it to the front, pretending to be scanning a row of sports magazines. Kate was seated behind a table, a stack of books in front of her, signing each copy quickly and smiling as she handed the book to a young woman who leaned across the table with her phone outstretched. Kate smiled for the selfie, and the girl thanked her as she walked away.

  Dressed in a light pink tank top and tight black pencil skirt, visible beneath the desk, her hair tied in a low ponytail slung over one shoulder, she looked amazing. Relaxed and professional, yet warm and welcoming.

  He watched her sign a few more copies, and while her smile was friendly, it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Anyone who didn’t know her certainly wouldn’t pick up on it, but he could sense she wasn’t enjoying herself—nervous, perhaps? The way she licked the corner of her mouth as she waited for the next person in line was her tell. He’d noticed her doing it the day they’d run into her ex...and the other day in the hallway of the resort.

  It was cute and more than just a little bit of a turn-on.

  He tore his eyes away from her and looked at the book in his hands again, opening it to the dedication.

  To all the women who have found their Mr. Right...put a ring on it!

  He laughed. Ring or ball and chain—always sounded like the same thing to him.

  As he flipped through the pages, he frowned. A chapter on enablers, getting cold feet, convincing him this is what he wants...? What? This wasn’t a wedding planning book—this was an effort to brainwash women into manipulating their boyfriends.

  Kate wrote this?

  Flipping to the foreword, he read quickly.

  After my own failed relationship, after being left at the altar, I wanted to help others avoid a similar fate. Your fairy-tale day doesn’t need to end in disaster. Let my company, Belle Affairs, help by making sure nothing is left to chance. Not even his love.

  Her own wedding had failed, so this book was Kate’s attempt to rebuild confidence in her and her services? She was trying to turn her heartbreak into something positive. But at what expense?

  His brother’s future happiness.

  Her persistence and determination made even more sense now. But Scott couldn’t shake his growing irritation at the thought that Derek was being used as exhibit A. She obviously believed what she’d written in her book—that she could get any groom down the aisle, no matter the circumstances—and maybe that was why she couldn’t understand how important it was for him to make sure his brother knew the truth.

  He stared at her, feeling torn between wanting to march out of the store and wanting to grab her and shake her and make her realize that one asshole groom who did the despicable on his wedding day didn’t give her the right to encourage women to try any of the suggestions between these pages. Distancing their boyfriends from their friends or forcing them to attend couples’ retreats sponsored by kickback companies wasn’t right.

  He sighed.

  The problem was, his brother wasn’t unknowingly walking into a trap. He wanted to get married. He was ready to walk down the aisle. Kate hadn’t needed to convince this groom to go through with the wedding by using any of these questi
onable tactics.

  This one was a valid wedding, one she was working her butt off to make happen. She really was as good a wedding planner as she claimed, and he knew this high-profile wedding would do wonders to restore the public’s faith in her abilities. The live-streaming furthered her reach to potential clients, and her company would no doubt bounce back.

  He felt sick. She needed this wedding more than he’d realized. And giving her something she needed was suddenly more important to him than he’d have expected. When had making Kate Hartley happy surpassed his desire to save his brother from making a mistake?

  So much for going to see Derek.

  10

  “WE HAVE A PROBLEM,” Kate said, appearing in Scott’s office a week later. Slipping inside, she shut the door behind her.

  After leaving the bookstore without talking to her, he’d gone back and forth in his mind all evening about what to do. No matter which way he spun things, he always ended up at a standstill. His gut told him he had to tell Derek the truth, but another part of him—his heart, maybe—was telling him something different. Before he knew the woman in front of him, it hadn’t mattered. But now, the idea that he could potentially destroy her career made his brain hurt with indecision.

  Click, click, click, turn on sexy superhigh heels, click, click, click the other way. “Did you hear me?” she asked, licking the corner of her mouth.

  He held up a hand to stop her. “You’re making me dizzy.”

  “The flowers didn’t arrive.”

  He blinked. That was the “end of the world” fiasco? “Did you call the company?”

  “Yes, I called Studio Bloom. They said they delivered the flowers yesterday...to a hotel in Big Valley.”

  He frowned. “Why would they do that?”

  Her eyes narrowed.

  “Why are you glaring at me?”

  “You rerouted my flowers, admit it.”

  “If I’d been that clever, believe me, I’d take the credit. But this one is not on me.” Though he couldn’t help the tiniest feeling of joy at the thought of the wedding imploding on its own, without him having to be the asshole.