by Joanna Blake
It didn’t matter what she had to say about it.
Or her disgusting fiance.
Just watch me.
Carolina
“Oooohhh…”
I put my hand over my eyes to block the sun coming in through the windows. A thin sliver of light was coming in- right across my eyes. For a minute I couldn’t remember getting into bed. Or how I had gotten home.
I just knew that I felt horrible.
I sat up slowly.
There was a glass of water by the bed and two aspirins. Someone had closed the curtains. My phone sat on the bedside table.
It was on silent.
Chan.
He had done this. Along with a lot of other things. Like kiss me. Or the things he’d done on stage. Even as I started to remember the night before in excruciating detail, I could not deny his consideration.
He’d looked after me. Even when I’d told him not to.
I’d been pretty rude about it too to tell the truth.
My cheeks warmed up when I remembered how he’d looked on stage. He’d been… so…
Sexy.
I moaned, covering my face. If Max knew he would… well, he would not be amused.
My mild mannered fiancé was a dreamboat in every way. Kind, considerate, well mannered.
Nothing like Chan.
Then why was it Chan who set my heart to racing?
I knew the answer to that question. There was just something about him. About the way he looked at me. It was magical.
But it was not going to interfere with my happy ever after. No matter how he made me feel. I’d just have to forget all about Mr. Chandler Jacobs.
I’d done it before and I could do it again.
I glanced on my phone as the screen flashed.
Morning Princess
I moaned and sunk back under the covers, afraid to look at my messages. I reached out and grabbed the phone, peeking at it.
There were two texts from Max and three from Chan.
Max asked how I was and if I had fun with the girls. So he’d known. I guess he didn’t care if I’d been out drinking and letting strange men grind on me.
Only in this case the ‘strange man’ turned out to be someone I’d known all my life.
My stupid school girl crush.
Some girls might think that was fate. Or the perfect farewell to her single days. It was almost funny how the guy I’d always wanted was the one to give me my last kiss. But I doubted Max would find it amusing.
The next text was from Chan. First he said good morning. Then he sent a picture. The picture was of me, on the couch, looking like I wanted him to kiss me. Or more. Much, much more.
Actually I looked like I’d been rolling around with him, And enjoying it. My lips were swollen, my hair mussed. Even my clothes were very slightly awry.
Oh no.
The next text was just one word.
Insurance.
I had barely a minute to absorb this before the doorbell rang. I groaned and grabbed the aspirin, downing them with small sips as Chan had instructed me.
“Be right there!”
I barely recognized my voice. It was scratchy and sounded like a frog was in there. Or a duck.
Not too far from the truth unfortunately.
Shari and Katey stood there holding up a few bags of supplies. I smelled breakfast. It made me want to keel over.
“Blood Mary time!”
I groaned and stood back, letting them in.
Shari seemed to be utterly unaffected by last night. She bustled around the kitchen while Katey and I watched her, saying nothing. I had a sudden vision of her with Bear… I was too tired to be curious about what she’d gotten up to last night though.
She appeared in the kitchen doorway with a tray of big, red cocktails.
“Shall we go out on the terrace?”
I nodded meekly. Katey put her arm around me. We followed Shari out to my terrace. It wasn’t big but there was room for a small table and chairs and a few pots of flowers. I did love my flowers.
“How do you feel?”
I shook my head, grimacing in the bright midday sun. Katey handed me her sunglasses.
“Where are you staying? I didn’t think you would be here until Friday for the rehearsal dinner.”
“At a hotel. Shari got me a deal. Though last night…”
I gave her the side eye.
“Last night what?”
“I didn’t get back until dawn!”
I laughed.
“Bad girl. Did you get into any trouble?”
“Me? No. You on the other hand.”
“Tell me about it.”
“So… Chandler huh?”
Shari was leaning forward, eager to catch my answer.
“I cannot believe you two knew that gorgeous hunk of man meat! How did you not grab him way back in high school?”
I glanced at Katey.
“It’s complicated… and he’s really not the settling down sort.”
“And you are.”
“Yes. I am.”
“Still though, he seemed to be pretty into you girl. Nothing against Max but…”
Katey interrupted thankfully. The last thing I wanted to do was answer that. But what she said took me by surprise.
“Chan’s always had a thing for Caro. She just never noticed.”
“No, he has not.”
“Caro. He has.”
I stared at my friend. She pushed my drink towards me.
“Drink. You’ll go to bed early and tomorrow it will be like this hangover never happened.”
I dutifully took a sip. I winced at the strong taste.
“What is this?”
“A Bloody Maria!”
“Excuse me?”
“Tomato juice and tequila. Delish right?”
Shari went into the kitchen to get brunch going and I looked at Katey.
“You aren’t serious are you? About Chan?”
She shrugged.
“Everyone loved Chan. But he always had his eye on you. I thought you knew that.”
I shook my head slowly. I really hadn’t.
“You had your eye on him too, didn’t you?”
“He’s hard to ignore. But he’s not…”
“Good enough?”
There was a trace of bitterness in Katey’s voice.
“No. Not exactly. Just… too wild. Besides, he never took anything seriously in his life.”
“I guess.”
“Don’t tell me you liked him too Katey.”
“I think having a crush on Chandler Jacobs was a right of passage.”
I laughed. She was right. It had been.
It was making my head spin to think that maybe it had been more than just a bet for him.
Or that I’d been so obviously fascinated.
Maybe I’d been wrong to run away…
“Who’s ready for waffles?”
I groaned and held up my drink.
“Not yet. Please, have mercy.”
For once, I was actually glad for a stiff drink in my hand.
Chapter Six
Chandler
I rubbed my hands over my face, wiping away the ten minutes of sleep I’d gotten. I was sitting on a bench after my morning jog, watching the sun come up. I needed a plan. I’d spent most of the night coming up with one.
I’d even watched the sun come up.
In the blink of an eye, everything had changed.
I had changed.
Because of her.
I sipped the coffee I’d gotten from a street vendor and went through the facts:
1.Caro was in trouble
2.She didn’t know it
3.I wanted her for myself
4.She had no idea how bad
There were a few major problems with this list. For one thing, she was getting married. For another, she had taken a chastity pledge at our church with almost every other girl in town. Most of them had broken their’s right quick.<
br />
A couple of them with me.
But not Caro.
So not only did I have to convince her not to get married, I also had to convince her to break her vow.
This was not going to be easy.
But it was worth it.
She was worth it.
As soon as the clock rolled over to 8 am I called Joss. He’d been the security at The Show when I first started. He had the looks to dance, but not the inclination. He had his own security firm now but we were still tight.
Even though he made fun of me for wearing a G-string.
“Candy Man.”
“Hey Joss.”
“You need another ride Butt Floss?”
I laughed, despite my current situation. I had to. Joss was a man of few words. Most people had no idea how funny he could be. With his stone face, cold gray eyes and huge stature, most people were afraid to even talk to him, let alone crack jokes.
I was the only idiot who dared.
I took a deep breath.
“There’s this girl.”
“There always is.”
“This is different.”
I heard him pause.
“Tell me.”
That was it. Joss was in. He would help me figure this mess out. I knew everything would be alright.
Half an hour later, I was less sure.
Joss was shaking his head as he shoveled a massive omelet into his mouth. We were at our favorite diner in Miami Beach. He had listened to my brief breakdown of the situation with raised eyebrows.
Now he looked concerned. Hell, he looked worried. Which was not a good sign, considering he’d been in the Marines.
Nobody was tougher than Joss.
“This is not a good idea Chan.”
I leaned back, staring at my friend.
“I don’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
“Not this time.”
He put his fork down and stared at me.
“You have no clue what you are getting yourself into here. This guy is dangerous. He’s not just your average scumbag out for a profit. He likes hurting people.”
I shrugged.
“I can’t let him hurt Caro.”
“Who is this girl exactly?”
I smiled for the first time.
“She’s from my home town. We grew up together.”
“So is she crazy, like you?”
I shook my head.
“No Joss. She’s perfect.”
“Nobody is perfect.”
“She is. She’s beautiful, smart, kind. She used to bring her Gran over to visit mine. She used to feed stray animals. And she brought dinner to a lot of the old folks who ere alone. Each and every Sunday.”
“A paragon.”
I grimaced.
“Yeah. Unfortunately, she was a little too good for me.”
“Sounds like the last person on Earth for you Chan.”
“Yeah. It doesn’t matter though. I can’t let her get hurt.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“I need to show her that he’s the wrong guy for her.”
“And you’re the right one?”
I nodded.
“That’s going to be tricky.”
“All I need to do is tell her what kind of shit he’s been up to. If she doesn’t believe me, I have to provoke him.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“It’s a good thing I have you to back me up then.”
He shook his head slowly. But I could tell he was already making a plan.
I grinned at my friend and ate my home fries.
“I have an idea of where to start.”
Carolina
“That’s all for today.”
I felt a little sad as the kids filed out of my class room.
Just two more days of class. Four more days of freedom.
Four more days until I gave myself to him.
Max.
Handsome. Kind. Smart. Successful.
So why was I thinking about someone else?
I shouldn’t be. It was wrong. And I knew it.
But I was.
On my life, I was.
I cleaned the classroom, feeling listless. Then I packed up and headed outside. All the excitement leading up to my wedding was gone. I’d been trying to deny it all weekend but there it was.
I was no longer thrilled to be a bride.
If anything, I wanted more time. Time to figure out what was wrong with me. I wanted to postpone the wedding.
Indefinitely.
I walked into the parking lot and stopped short.
Chan was waiting outside. Right next to my car. Standing guard.
Almost like he’d been afraid I’d try to sneak past him.
He was wearing his tight jeans and sunglasses. The black t-shirt he wore hugged his shoulders and his trim waist. He looked like a movie star.
I couldn’t lie. My heart leapt at the sight of him.
Slowly I walked toward him. His face lit up at the sight of me. I had a sudden crazy thought.
He really does care for me.
Then he spoiled it by letting his eyes wander up and down my body. His grin got wider and more predatory. He looked like he wanted one thing, and one thing only.
Me. In his bed. For today anyway. By tomorrow I was sure there would be someone else.
There he was. The Chandler we all knew and loved.
I stopped a few feet from where he stood, grinning at me like a horny goat.
No. A shark. He looked like a shark.
“How did you find me Chan?”
He grinned, leaning against my car.
“I have my resources.”
“What do you want?”
“Dinner.”
I sighed.
“No, I can’t.”
“Why? Seeing Prince Charming tonight?”
I bit my lip. I didn’t want to lie to him. It was against my faith and my nature.
“No. I have stuff to do. Wedding stuff.”
“Let me guess… seat cards?”
I stared at him, about to laugh. How did he know?
“Yes. And centerpieces.”
“Perfect. I’ll help you.”
“You’ll… what?”
He wiggled his fingers at me.
“I have excellent penmanship.”
I couldn’t help it. I started giggling. It was like the sun came out. I felt alive and almost as if… everything was going to be okay.
Chan made me feel that way.
“If I let you help, will you behave yourself?”
He nodded seriously, contradicting his words.
“Probably not.”
I laughed again. He was too much. So funny and naughty and sexy. I knew why women threw themselves at him and it wasn’t just his looks.
“Chan…”
He raised his hands in surrender.
“I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.”
I eyed him suspiciously. I had a feeling there was some sort of loophole in that statement. I shrugged. I didn’t want to fight.
Besides, I couldn’t resist the urge to bask in his glow a little while longer.
While I still could.
“Alright. But I’m holding you to that.”
He smiled at me innocently, opening the door for me. I was about to call him a gentleman when he crawled in and over to the passenger seat.
“Just in case.”
I got in, shaking my head at his antics.
He was never boring, that was for sure.
“In case what Chan?”
He leaned over me, grabbing my seatbelt and pulling it over me. He was staring into my eyes as he clicked it into place.
“In case you changed your mind and made a run for it.”
My jaw opened as I watched him lean back and put his arms behind his head.
“You won’t get away from me that easily, Princess.”
Chapter Seven
/> Chandler
I opened two beers and handed one to Caro. She made that face I’d seen so many times before. Disapproving.
But oh so cute.
She shook her head and I set the beer down. I knew she didn’t drink. But I figured she was going to need it.
Besides, anything that made her even marginally more pliable was good. Not that I was going to take advantage of her. I would be a perfect gentleman.
Fuck, who was I kidding?
I would love to take advantage of her.
She took off her prim little jacket and pulled out a box full of neatly arranged supplies.
“Here’s the list. You fold the cards and I will write the names. Then we can check them off.”
“I think I can handle that. What else?”
“I wanted to make my own centerpiece’s, Max says it’s silly and we can pay but…”
“That’s not your style.”
She smiled at me, sending a shot of lust right to my groin. Talking about centerpieces for her wedding to another man should be the least sexy thing in the world. But it wasn’t.
She had no idea what she was doing to me. Just by being there.
Just by smiling at me.
“Exactly!”
We settled into a routine. I folded the place cards and sipped my beer. Then I drank hers. She painstakingly wrote each name. I was careful not to interrupt her when the pen was on the heavy parchment.
Eventually I had folded all the cards and moved onto assembling the centerpieces. Well, not assembling exactly. There were fake fruits and flowers, all covered in some sort of glitter. I decided it was a good idea to juggle them.
Caro was laughing at me while she scolded me. Eventually I stopped and got down to business making centerpieces for a wedding I was praying would never happen. She showed me how to make the base with a pre-made basket and a piece of thick green foam. Then she started adding the glitter fruit and dried flowers. We went back to working in silence.
She was blissfully unaware that I was about to rock her world.
And not in the good way.
Not yet, anyway.
I wasn’t sure how to ease into this. I knew she might kick me out once I opened this door and started telling her the truth about her fiancé. And I just wanted to be there with her, a while longer.
