Last Groom Standing

by Kimberly Lang

  Dylan’s face was a combination of shock and anger, and as much as she wanted to kiss him goodbye, she held herself back. “Bye.”

  She kept her pace even and unrushed as she walked away. As she picked up her purse and saw Dylan’s key lying next to it, her heart cracked a little more at the reminder of how excited she’d been just a short while ago. Fool. Her eyes started to burn again, and this time she could feel the tears about to fall. Picking up the pace, she made it to the elevator before they did.

  She’d walked into this relationship with the expectation it would be casual. She’d never considered it would be something else. She shouldn’t be so hurt that it wasn’t going to be.

  She’d been right to try to keep her distance from Dylan—but for the wrong reasons.

  She was ten kinds of a fool, and she had no one to blame but herself.

  Damn it all to hell.

  NINE

  Working for the Brookes Foundation while trying to get over Dylan Brookes was going to kill her. Or drive her to drink. Possibly both.

  After a miserable weekend, putting on a happy face as she walked around a business named for the source of her misery, with pictures of her misery on the walls, and listening to people talk in glowing terms about the man making her miserable was just insult to injury and salt in the wound.

  Maybe I should have thought this through a little more. The minute she realized that Dylan was going to be an attraction, she should have pulled her résumé from consideration here.

  That’s the problem with wanting it all, the proof you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. Even in the best case scenario, you’d have lots of cake but many inches on the waistline.

  But the job was going to be her consolation prize. At least she didn’t have to see him at work and the job didn’t require her to interact with him. But knowing he was somewhere in the building had her holding her breath every time the elevator doors opened.

  She just had to hope that it would pass. And pass soon.

  It should. It had to.

  They’d only been together about a month, so it wasn’t like she was really in love with him. She had just started falling in love with him. She just needed to catch herself, get her feet back under her and go on.

  Why, then, did it feel like she’d already gone splat?

  She frowned at her computer, dreading the work that needed to be done. The press had covered the fund-raiser extensively, and part of this morning’s assignment was to review that press for both the archives and possible future opportunities to follow up with.

  There were plenty of pictures, of course, of Dylan and his parents, and Dylan looked magically delicious in each one. She’d resigned herself over the weekend to the facts of the situation, how difficult it might be, but seeing him at the event and knowing how happy she’d been at that moment... The pain was more raw than she’d expected.

  This was a special kind of torture.

  And it didn’t help that Analise was in many of the pictures, thanks to her near-surgical attachment to Dylan all evening.

  She wasn’t jealous of Analise. She really, really wasn’t. Analise wasn’t the “other woman.” Dylan didn’t want Analise—that much was clear—but when and if Dylan did decide to get serious with a woman, it would be with someone like her.

  The very cruel irony was that Marnie was someone like Analise. Her background wasn’t that different from Analise’s. She’d been raised to be Analise, only she’d rejected it.

  This was the first time she’d ever questioned that choice, and she hated the fact that she wanted Dylan enough to have the regret.

  And while she’d hoped there was a happy medium there, it didn’t matter. Dylan hadn’t changed his mind about her.

  She wasn’t what he wanted or needed. Now she just had to accept that.

  It was easier said than done. She gave herself a shake and tried to focus on what she was doing. A few minutes later, the intercom buzzed.

  “Marnie, your brother is here to see you.”

  Oh, damn. She hadn’t even known he was back in town, and Carter was the last thing she needed today. She couldn’t send him away, though, so she girded herself for the inevitable. He’d be going back to Savannah for good after Reese’s wedding, so she really had no excuse to keep avoiding him.

  And she was already miserable, so it wasn’t like he could ruin her day or anything.

  “Hi, Carter.”

  He closed the door behind him. “Nice office.”

  “It’s certainly a step up from my old cubicle.” She motioned for him to have a seat.

  Carter looked distinctly uncomfortable. Of course, their conversations were usually stilted and awkward, and she wasn’t feeling her best, either. “I’m back in town.”

  “So I see.”

  He leaned back in the chair, arms and legs crossed in a position reminiscent of Daddy. “I seem to be spending a lot of time in New York, but none of it with you.”

  “I understand. You’ve got Gina now, and that’s where your focus needs to be. My feelings aren’t hurt.”

  “But you’re my sister.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not an obligation, Carter.”

  “I never said you were. It’s not an obligation if you want to spend time with the person, sibling or not. But the way you’ve been avoiding me and my calls, I’m starting to think you find it an onerous obligation for you.”

  “I’ve been a little busy recently—new job, weddings... I’ve barely had time to catch my breath.”

  “So it’s not intentional avoidance.” His eyebrow cocked up as he spoke, and an amused challenge crept into his voice.”

  “Maybe a little.”

  “Well—” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of papers that he then smoothed out on her blotter “—avoiding me or not, I still need your signatures on these.”

  Carter was constantly needing her signature on things for the business—and it often irked him no end—but this didn’t look familiar at all. She scanned the first paragraphs, then looked up at him. “What is this?”

  “Exactly what it looks like. I’ve removed myself from all of your accounts. Your money—dividends, trust, all of it—now goes directly to you. No more channeling through me.”

  Wow. This battle was so old, she’d all but given up. Daddy’s will had Carter as a signatory on her accounts until she turned thirty-five, and she’d just resigned herself to that fact. For Carter to let that go... Gina was exercising a lot of influence over him these days. She’d won the war without even firing a new shot. She kept reading, looking for the catch. “This is unexpected.”

  “You’re plenty able to handle your own affairs.”

  Marnie nearly swallowed her tongue in shock. “Are you feeling all right?”

  “You never come home anymore and I barely see you when I come up here. The only way I’ve been able to keep in contact with you at all is by controlling your money. I know it’s wrong, but I was willing to take what I could get.”

  Much more of this and Marnie would fall off her chair. “Thank you for admitting that.”

  He cleared his throat. “I hope Gina might be a big enough incentive for you to come visit more often. She’ll miss you. And I’d like to see more of you, too.”

  And the hits just keep coming. “Maybe we could work something out.”

  “I hope so.” She could tell this was very hard for Carter, but the words were still sincere.

  “I’m really proud of you.”

  Her head reeled, leaving her dizzy and confused. “Excuse me?”

  “I’m proud of you, Marnie. Impressed, too. You’ve made a brand-new life for yourself—without help from anyone and far away from home. And you’ve been successful with it. Impressed is the very least I can say about it.”

  Really? “You could have told me that before.”

  “In a way, I thought you knew.” He smirked. “And if you’d taken my calls recently, you’d know it already.”

  Her
eyes were still burning, but that brought a smile to her face. “If I’d known you weren’t going to yell at me about something, I might have taken your calls.”

  “I tell you what, take my calls from now on, and I promise not to yell at you anymore.”

  “That’s a deal.” This was a much-needed high point in an otherwise horrible week. Carter stood as she came out from behind her desk. Then, because it felt right for the first time in nearly ten years, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. A surprised second later, Carter hugged her back.

  “Can I take you to lunch?” he asked carefully.

  “I’d like that. Just let me get my purse.” Also for the first time in longer than she could remember, she didn’t feel all tense and cautious and angry around Carter. She was learning to accept her own past and forgive; she owed Carter the same courtesy. After all, she wouldn’t be who she was today, either, if Carter hadn’t done the things he’d done, and the wisdom of age brought with it the understanding that he hadn’t intentionally tried to hurt her. There was a lot she needed to just let go of if she wanted happiness in her future. “What are you hungry for?”

  “You pick.” He followed her through the offices and into the elevators. His eyes narrowed and looked at her closely. “Is something else bothering you, Marnie? You still have that look... It usually means you’re upset with me, but I’m not sure what I did now.”

  Mercy. She was so miserable-looking that even her brother noticed. “It’s not you this time. I’ve just got a little problem I don’t quite know how to solve.”

  “Can I help?”

  The offer, made so quickly and without hesitation, warmed her. “Thanks, but no. I need to figure it out on my own.” They exited through the lobby, right past the large portrait of Dylan that made her heart lurch a little each time.

  “If you change your mind or think of something I can do, let me know— But not because I think you need my help,” he quickly clarified. “I know you can handle it. You’ve succeeded at everything you’ve ever put your mind to, and always on your terms.”

  The pride and support, especially coming from Carter, buoyed her. And she really needed it right now.

  But it was all she could do to keep the smile on her face.

  * * *

  Once was bad luck. Twice meant there was something wrong with him. Twice in less than four months probably meant he needed therapy to find out what it was about him that made women choose another man over him.

  Oh, there were probably plenty of women who would choose him—he had money, fell within the common accepted standards of good looks, was generally considered a nice guy—and there were probably even a few out there who would choose him over someone else.

  That knowledge was just enough to keep him from developing a full-blown complex of some sort, but it was cold comfort in the harsh light of day.

  At least Marnie hadn’t strung him along. It was over and done with as quickly as it had begun, the bandage ripped off quick instead of bit by painful bit. Why was it, then, that the day after his fiancée had chosen another man over him, he’d been absolutely fine, but Marnie was still haunting him painfully almost a week later?

  It shouldn’t be like this, because it wasn’t supposed to be like this.

  He and Marnie had agreed to just kill time until someone else came along. He could wish that Marnie’s someone else hadn’t come along quite so quickly, but all things considered, it was probably for the best.

  He’d been getting too used to her, because it was just so easy. There were no games, no unreasonable expectations, no pressure. It had been the perfect relationship, and against all the earlier expectations, he’d been beginning to believe it meant something more. And he’d been unwilling to see it end because he wanted to see where it could go.

  Unfortunately, that knowledge had come a little too late for him to tell her before she found someone else.

  But he’d nearly told her so—even after she’d told him there was a someone else. His pride, thankfully, had held his tongue and not made the situation worse than it had to be.

  If nothing else, Marnie still worked for him. Anything he might have said Friday night would have made the professional situation awkward and unsustainable.

  As it was now, all he had to do was let time do its thing.

  He sighed as he went back to work. Here was solid proof that maybe this was for the best. He was way far behind on a dozen different things, and while he couldn’t blame Marnie for it, she was certainly the cause. He’d been letting things slide, leaving the office at normal times instead of staying late to work, turning his phone off over the weekend.

  She was a distraction, an excuse to neglect anything less interesting—and everything was less interesting than Marnie.

  Yep, definitely for the best.

  Maybe you could get Marnie to give you another chance.

  She’d made her choice.

  But you didn’t even try to change her mind. You just let her go. You didn’t even put up a fight.

  I shouldn’t have given up so easily.

  Damn it, he wasn’t going to give up so easily. He knew Marnie cared about him; they were friends as well as lovers. He just needed to convince her that her feelings for him could be stronger than those feelings she had for the other guy.

  He wasn’t going to let her go without a fight.

  It would be totally out of character, but then he hadn’t really been himself since the moment Marnie kissed him for the first time.

  She’d wanted him to find his passion. And now he had.

  It was Marnie.

  * * *

  It was impossible not to love The Plaza. Sitting in one of their suites overlooking Fifth Avenue with her best friends, drinking champagne and nibbling on appetizers had to be one step away from heaven on earth. Reese bounced from phone to computer, obsessing over last-minute details, despite their instructions to sit and relax. Gina stood behind Cassie, curling iron in hand, adding soft waves to Cassie’s hair over her protestations. Amber, who had arrived about fifteen minutes ago with Reese’s wedding dress, was carefully arranging the yards of fabric and eyeing them critically for even the tiniest wrinkle. This was girlfriend time, as the men would meet them at the restaurant, and Marnie was determined to enjoy it. She kept a small smile on her face while she sipped at her champagne.

  It was difficult, though, because while she was happy, having fun with her friends, and excited for Reese, there was a little dark spot on her heart that she just couldn’t ignore. It put a damper on things, but she tried to hide it as best she could for the sake of her friends.

  They had another half hour before they had to be at the rehearsal dinner, and while she would go and do her very best to be the perfect bridesmaid and guest and have a good time, she was headed out as soon as dessert was served.

  Gina kept giving her odd looks and trying to get her alone, so Marnie was staying as close to Reese as possible—and definitely in a crowd when Reese wasn’t around—to prevent that from happening. Gina wanted to talk about Dylan, and Marnie didn’t know how much longer she could keep Gina and her questions at bay.

  Because even after a week of moping and thinking, she didn’t have any good answers for those questions. The truth sounded just too pitiful—and she didn’t want pity—and somehow Gina was always able to tell when she was lying. Avoidance was her best option right now.

  And anyway, she was trying to keep the stuff that hurt out of her mind before it really put a damper on her enjoyment of Reese’s wedding. Talking about it would only reopen wounds that were scarcely closed as it was.

  Reese dropped next to her on the couch, eyes on her phone. “What do you think of Andrew?”

  “Who?”

  “One of the groomsmen. Tall, blond hair, wide shoulders...”

  Reese could have been describing any of Mason’s groomsmen and most of his friends, as every last one of them seemed to be current or former Marines with the physique to prove it. As a group, t
hey looked much like a swimsuit calendar come to life. “He’s okay, I guess. Why?”

  “Mason says he’s asking for intel on you, so I thought I’d rearrange the seating chart and put you two together at the reception.”

  “No,” Gina snapped, brandishing the curling iron like a weapon in Reese’s direction. “You are not messing with the seating charts again.”

  Marnie grabbed the excuse. “Gina’s right. Those things have caused enough drama and we shouldn’t mess with them at the eleventh hour.”

  “It’s not that big of a deal, and you never know, you two might really hit it off. Then the four of us could do couples’ dates.”

  Marnie drained her glass in one big gulp.

  “Maybe Marnie doesn’t want to be set up with her own hunky Marine,” Gina said sweetly in spite of the killing look Marnie sent her way.

  “I can’t imagine a woman who wouldn’t.” Amber laughed, joining them in the sitting area, seemingly satisfied with the condition of Reese’s dress. “I mean, have you seen those guys? Talk about a few good men... Whew. I keep hoping that if we put on the right kind of music tonight, they might secretly turn out to be a group of male strippers.”

  Reese snorted. “And you claim to be in love with my brother.”

  “I am. That doesn’t mean I’ve lost my ability to appreciate good man candy when I see it.”

  Pouring herself another glass of champagne, Reese winked at her. “So what do you think, Marnie? Feeling patriotic? I’m sure Andrew would love to show you a little ‘uncommon valor.’”

  She shook her head. “I’m an army of one. Thanks, though.”

  Reese gave her an odd look and opened her mouth like she was going to say something else, but Amber saved Marnie without even realizing it. “It’s almost time, ladies.”

  That threw Reese back into a flurry, as she found her shoes and looked for lipstick all the while encouraging the rest of them to move quicker, too. Ten minutes later, she was herding them out the door.