by Fiona Roarke
And if Trey did fancy himself in lust with her, she knew any relationship wouldn’t last. She just had to keep putting him off and hope he found someone else to grab his fancy or a different employee to suck up to and pretend to emulate to appease his father.
Trey breathing down her neck at Robin’s wedding was troublesome, but manageable. She hoped he’d leave her be later on.
Robin promised not to seat Samantha next to Trey at the reception. She was eternally grateful for that, although he’d certainly found her easily enough in the church. He’d probably hound her at the reception, too.
Samantha hadn’t been able to acquire a plus one to help fend him off. Trey likely hadn’t brought anyone on purpose, so he could try for the millionth time to sway her about any friend relationship between them.
Even so, he’d be difficult to escape once he cornered her at the reception. If he asked her to dance—and he would—she planned to use the excuse of uncomfortable shoes to beg off. She wished she had a hot date with a special guy to keep Friendy McFrienderson at bay.
When the wedding march began and Trey hadn’t arrived, Samantha thought she’d escaped him.
No such luck. There was nothing she could do about that now without disrupting everything. This was Robin’s day, so she vowed to behave herself.
The phrase suck it up, buttercup flashed in her brain.
She knew a couple of the groomsmen had been alerted to the possible situation with Trey, and would step in if they noticed him hanging on her, but she couldn’t count on a rescue.
She sent a glance over one shoulder, casually trying to locate the gorgeous man she’d noticed seated alone when she entered the church. She’d only seen his profile while racing by and, wow, he was attractive.
His chiseled bad boy features were so different from anyone she knew, especially Trey, that her mind and body took immediate notice. She’d be willing to bet he had working man’s hands, a personal bet she determined to discover the truth of herself.
Best of all, he was seated on the bride’s side of the church. That meant he knew Robin. She made a mental note to ask her friend about the delectable stranger. Hopefully, she’d see him at the reception. Also, hoping that the gorgeous man didn’t already have a plus one meeting him later on after the wedding.
If he was alone tonight and one of the guys her friend was perpetually trying to set her up with, perhaps she’d relax and enjoy some very attractive bad boy flavored company for a change.
Chapter Two
JD joined the applause as the newly married Robin strolled joyously down the aisle with her hubby, Derek, after being announced to the assembled crowd as Mr. and Mrs. Graff. Then he caught the eye of the woman in the jade dress as she exited her row to walk past and slightly ahead of him out of the chapel.
She stared quite thoroughly at him before she moved by, a slight smile of interest registering on her lips.
His heart clenched. Her eyes, as arresting as her figure, were a beautiful pale gray-green that went perfectly with her fairytale blonde hair and jade dress. Or the jade fabric was reflected in her eyes.
Maybe the reception wouldn’t be so bad. Perhaps he’d seek her out. Perhaps she would consider pretending they were together to thwart the romantic advances of anyone looking to hook up with him at this shindig. JD certainly hadn’t been looking to meet anyone when he’d arrived. Until he saw her.
She didn’t seem thrilled by the presence of the rumpled man dogging her heels, but he remained so close it was hard to tell if they were together or not. Did JD want to find out? If she wasn’t attached, maybe JD would relax and try dating seriously again.
He got in his car and made it to the hotel hosting the reception in record time. There were advantages to knowing every shortcut in town. Certain he was the first to arrive, he remained in his car and watched as other guests arrived and entered the front doors.
Wondering how many women he’d have to fight off in order to get a chance with the only one he was interested in kept JD in his vehicle for a few minutes longer as he weighed the option of simply heading home and sending his regrets to Robin. He’d already dodged several intense feminine gazes placed solely in his direction while at the church.
Robin would kill him for missing the reception, but he considered carefully which was worse—disappointing a friend or spending the night fending off a multitude of women he wasn’t interested in. He was at the age where single women treated any single man like fair game. And many of them were damn aggressive. If the woman in jade had the rumpled guy in the expensive suit as her plus one, this evening was truly going to suck.
He was about to start his car and drive away when he saw a flash of that lovely jade dress through a car window as another vehicle entered the hotel parking lot.
To his relief, she was alone in her car, signifying that at least she hadn’t brought her plus one with her. Given her frown when the rumpled guy arrived and the way she moved away from him, perhaps he was an unwanted pain in her life. If that was the case, JD wanted to help her. He took a deep breath, pushed it out, and decided to stay.
JD got out of his vehicle quickly, so he could already be inside when Miss Jade Dress made her entrance. He could spot where she sat for dinner and make a beeline for her the moment the dancing started.
Although he typically avoided dating, thanks to the bad experience with his ex, JD wanted to settle down eventually.
He knew he couldn’t have it both ways, but the sting of betrayal had taken longer to get past than he’d anticipated. While he’d been out a few times in the last year, he hadn’t found anyone who excited him enough to request a second date. He hoped his next relationship was less challenging to his soul.
A couple of years back, the realization he wasn’t a spring chicken anymore had spurred him to make more of a concerted effort to find The One, or at least someone special he could settle down with.
That was probably why he’d pursued Caleigh more than the other way around, seeking a future he thought she also wanted, including a family. Once she’d left Atlanta for her promotion and they stopped seeing each other day to day, JD hadn’t missed her as much as he thought he should have.
That had prompted the surprise visit he both regretted and thanked his lucky stars for.
He’d never admitted to anyone that another reason he’d gone to surprise Caleigh in Chicago was because he’d been entertaining the idea of breaking up with her, especially if she didn’t see a future for them with kids in it.
Or if she never planned to return to Atlanta, where he was based. His business aside, he’d been here for a decade and was loathe to leave.
He wanted to be sure of her. He wasn’t ready to give up on being a dad, and he only planned to marry once.
Before her promotion, they’d never discussed having kids. When she’d told him of her upcoming out-of-state move, she’d casually mentioned she didn’t really care if she ever had children. Her career was very important to her. But then she’d suggested they continue their relationship, despite the distance.
It hadn’t seemed appropriate to discuss his feelings on the topic of family and future. Later, he’d thought perhaps he should have told her about his family goals. Maybe it would have saved him the humiliation of what he’d discovered on his surprise visit to her new apartment.
Next time he was in a relationship, he would be very clear about his intentions. And he fully expected there would be a next time. Maybe today was that day. But he’d never again entertain the idea of a long-distance relationship.
JD found his assigned six-person table with the help of the host, and located his seat in front of a small name card with artful script atop the place setting.
To his left, the next two chairs belonged to either a married couple or maybe a brother and sister with the same last name. Beside them, the seats had been designated for two other people who shared a last name. To his immediate right, the card read “Samantha Duke.” Her name seemed familiar, but he couldn
’t place it. Then again, Duke was a popular name in the area.
JD figured Robin had managed to set him up on a blind date after all. He’d bet money the four other guests were two married couples ready to spout tales of love and the joys of wedded bliss. Possibly unwitting pawns in the new bride’s desire to help their surprise blind date along through the wedding reception setup.
Perhaps that was why he remembered Miss Duke’s last name. She was likely one of the “perfect” girls Robin often tried to set him up with. Perhaps Samantha had already been offered up and he’d turned her down as a sacrifice to his waning prospects, as Robin had joked more than once.
He headed in the direction of the bar in search of something soothing to drink, planning to be a good sport about whatever happened next. It was only a single event. He could tolerate a few matrimonially minded women friends trying to set him up with what they considered their perfect girl.
Perhaps the woman in the figure-hugging jade dress would occupy at least a part of his evening. At the very least for one dance, so he could touch the fabric of that jade confection and discover if it was as soft as it looked.
The bartender handed him his drink as several people dressed in their Sunday best burst into the reception hall seemingly all at once, chattering and laughing as they found their seats across the vast room set very nicely with artful grace.
He moved a couple of steps away from the bar and leaned against the wall, eyes scanning the room for either Miss Jade Dress or the mystery woman seated to his right.
The wedding hadn’t been what he considered huge, but he suspected a hundred or so people were about to descend on the gathering, perhaps more if some hadn’t attended the wedding ceremony.
A flash of jade paired with a determined stride caught his eye. He forgot about watching for the mystery blind date at his table and focused on her. She was frowning, clearly unhappy about something. Then he noticed the rumpled guy still dogging her steps. He must have glommed on to her in the parking lot.
To JD’s pleased surprise, she headed toward the table where his chair was and bent over the seat next to his to look at the place card. Was Miss Jade Dress Samantha Duke? JD started moving in her direction, watching her carefully with each step he took. The man in the messy suit, who was saying something that she seemed to be ignoring, appeared to be a problem. JD was about to hopefully take care of that problem for her.
Miss Jade Dress shook her head as Rumpled Dude picked up JD’s name card and waved it in the air. As he approached, he heard the guy say, “No one cares where you sit at these things, Sam.”
“I care,” JD said, moving between the two of them. “This is my seat.” He placed his drink on the table in front his place setting and yanked his name card out of the man’s grasp, dropping it back on the table where it had been. He turned to the object of his recent thoughts.
“Hi, Samantha,” he said, pretending they’d already met. He leaned close to kiss her cheek like they were old friends and grabbed one of her hands, hoping against hope that she’d go along with his impromptu rescue and not lurch away and slap his face.
Her palm felt warm and delicate in his. Just as he was about to brush her cheek with his lips, she tilted her face and turned slightly toward him.
Damned if he didn’t kiss her mouth instead.
Chapter Three
Samantha went from one extreme to another so fast she barely had time to hold on for the ride. The kiss with the delectable stranger from the church was as delicious and exciting as it was unexpected.
Well, in truth, she had seen him move closer and perhaps she did align herself in the perfect place for what ultimately happened—the amazing kiss—but she wasn’t sorry. Not to mention that his fingers gripped her palm the moment their lips met. He did have working man’s hands, exactly as she’d hoped. Her heart skipped a beat.
After the first couple of seconds of what was completely and utterly the most arousing connection she’d had in forever, he could have disengaged. He didn’t. She liked that when their lips met accidentally he didn’t back away or apologize. In fact, he kissed her with a bit more gusto, as if the fates had smiled down on him and he planned to take full advantage.
Mr. Delicious pressed closer. From her perspective, the kiss could have gone on for hours, but they were at a wedding reception, so she didn’t cling to him or reconnect when he finally pulled his mouth from hers.
She tipped her head back to look into his eyes. She saw amusement—did he know she’d done it on purpose?—a little bit of surprise and a lot of desire. Her heart kicked up the rhythm of its beat and she felt her cheeks warm under his intense regard.
“So good to see you, Samantha,” he whispered.
“Likewise, JD,” she responded, glad she’d noticed at least his first name on the card before Trey had swiped it with the intention of dumping poor JD at whatever table Robin had decided Trey would cause the least trouble at. Perhaps the kids’ table.
She also appreciated the fact her mystery kisser called her Samantha instead of Sam. Trey probably couldn’t fathom the concept of not wanting a nickname, and endeavored to make their relationship even more cool and casual by insisting on calling her Sam. Or maybe he did it because she’d told him a hundred times not to call her Sam. It annoyed her that he didn’t seem to care enough to pay attention to what she wanted.
Trey had been a huge pain in the ass at the church. Having him try to horn in on her table, picking up the card of the man she was supposed to sit next to so he could annoy her for the rest of the evening, was the last straw. He needed to go away and stay away.
A glance at the devastatingly handsome man she was supposed to be seated next to made her glad she’d come after all. JD was tall and muscular, with dark hair and engaging sage-green eyes that watched her with the kind of intense gaze a girl could get lost in.
JD was the gorgeous lifeline she planned to cling to this evening. Since the reception seating arrangement was just that, arranged, Samantha figured Robin had placed her next to a single man looking for a wife. At least Robin had chosen a total bad boy, super-fine hottie and amazing kisser, regardless of what else he was looking for in an arranged seating plan date for a wedding reception.
She was probably asking quite a lot from this stranger, but she’d love it if Trey thought they were together for the entire evening or even the entire next year.
“Do you know this man?” Trey asked, using that superior tone that implied he was royalty and everyone should bow down to his loftier station.
Samantha had been about to raise her voice and tell Trey to fuck off when the attractive stranger she’d seen at the church strolled up like a knight in shining armor to rescue her and kiss her sheer stockings off. And he didn’t disappoint now, either.
“She’s my date,” JD said smoothly. Yes! Samantha couldn’t wait to spend the evening with this gorgeous man.
Trey frowned. “Why didn’t you sit together at the wedding ceremony, then?”
Samantha rolled her eyes, trying to come up with a feasible lie as to why they hadn’t sat together, but didn’t have to her because her “date” spoke up.
JD tilted his head and abruptly looked taller than the few inches he had on Trey as he said in a low, dangerous tone, “I wasn’t certain I’d make it to the wedding, so we planned to meet at the reception. What’s it to you?”
They were interrupted as a voice over the speakers reminded the guests to sign the register at the front table by the entrance, so the happy couple would have a record of who attended.
“Let’s go do that before we dance the night away and forget, okay, Samantha?” JD asked, abandoning his aggressive stance over a wide-eyed Trey. He took her hand, entwined their fingers, and led her back the way she’d come.
“Thank you,” she leaned in to whisper as soon as they got far enough from her odious pursuer.
“My pleasure. I hope I’m not presuming.”
“Not at all. He’s my boss’s son, but doesn’t see
m to understand I don’t want to be his friend.”
“Is that because he wants benefits along with a friendship?”
She shrugged as they stopped in front of the guest register. “Not sure. He hasn’t brought it up, but I also don’t know exactly what’s on his agenda. He seems to want to be friends and ask me inane business questions. Just in case, I avoid any discussion of dating. Still, I haven’t been able to get off his radar.”
“I admit you are definitely on my radar,” he said, signing his name and then handing her the pen. “So fair warning.”
Samantha smiled. “The thing is, I already like being on your radar. Now if I could just get out of Trey’s line of fire.”
“I can promise you I won’t let him near you tonight,” he said, making Samantha want to kiss him again. “I will also request you do the same for me.”
“Why? Is someone after you, too?”
“Well, it is a wedding reception. I got quite a few interested looks at the wedding chapel. And I am a single male. I feel like a fox after the hounds have been let loose. Isn’t a wedding reception supposed to be the perfect place to snag a guy?”
“I don’t know about that, but I’m happy to help you fend off any unwanted attention you might receive.”
“Thank you. Much appreciated.”
She bent over and signed her name beneath his strong signature.
“What does JD stand for?” she asked, relishing the idea they would be right next to each other forever in Robin’s wedding guest register. Well, their signatures would be, anyway. Maybe they’d have a good story to tell one day about meeting here today.
“That’s a secret,” he said, amusement coating every word.
She popped back up to see if he was joking. There was a glint in his beautiful eyes, but also a challenge.
“A secret, huh? What would I have to do to earn your faith enough to trust me with your secret?”
