by Hart, Taylor
Finally, the initial surprise was wearing off. Tom’s thoughts were how she’d always worn her blonde hair long. This morning she’d had it back in a ponytail that extended clear down her back. Even though they were ten years older, she looked even better. Well, not better, just more like a woman. Her round face now had more pronounced cheekbones, and all her curves were somehow more pronounced too.
He shook his head. What was he doing, daydreaming about how it felt to hold her? It had felt so good to have her in his arms again. Especially since she’d only been wearing a tank top, and he’d been shirtless. She’d smelled differently than she had in high school. High school had been a strawberry shampoo. This scent wasn’t fruity per se, but not perfumey. Like fresh-squeezed orange juice. Wait, had he really thought that?
“Dude! Talk!” Will slapped a hand down on the handrail to get his attention.
Tom laughed awkwardly. So what if they’d just had words? The woman obviously still had feelings for him. “I was running on the beach, and she was just there. She’s here for her boss’s wedding, and she just broke up with her boyfriend.”
“What?” Will let out a whoop and smacked the handrail. “Oh. My. Gosh. This is insane!”
Tom couldn’t help but be infused by Will’s enthusiasm. “It is insane.” Then the morose feeling came back. “She told me she regretted things that happened between us.”
“What?” The anger on Will’s face faded as understanding washed over him. “Oh, that kind of thing.” He poked Tom in the shoulder. “What are you gonna do?”
“Nothing. There’s nothing to do.” Tom grunted and pushed past his brother back into the hotel room.
“What do you mean? The defense is wide open, and you got the ball, dude! You’ve been waiting for this ball for ten years.”
Tom flung back to him. “What do you mean? I proposed, genius, remember? She called it off. And she … regrets stuff.”
Will sputtered and rolled his eyes. “You did one play, man. One play, and you got shut down.”
“It’s been ten years, and did you hear? She just broke up with her boyfriend. The woman looked like she was about to cry her eyes out.”
“Even better.”
“What? Did you hear me?”
Will pushed a hand through his hair and then rubbed it down his face, deep in that thinking mode Tom often teased him about. “She’s vulnerable. It’s the perfect time to move in.”
“What?” No, this was not Tom’s play. Ever. “No.”
“Dude, you’ve loved this woman for ten years, and I knew you both, remember? Emmy Schmemmy was my friend too. She was at our house all of the time with you, following you around like a stray puppy.”
Even though it was flattering, Tom didn’t like the way Will compared her to a puppy. “Stop.”
Will tapped him on the shoulder. “She loved you. Sure, she had things she was running from. A father who left and a crazy mother she and her sister have tried to protect.”
“Don’t call her mom crazy,” Tom insisted, feeling protective.
Will suddenly snapped his fingers, then ran to his room.
“Where are you going, dude?”
“I have Trina’s phone number. I’m texting her.”
This didn’t sit well with Tom. “What?”
Will was back, his finger swiping. He laughed. “We swapped numbers at the game, and she actually texted me. She is like freaking out that we’re here.”
Tom grabbed for Will’s phone. “Quit it!”
But Will was faster, juking him and doing a spin move, trotting to the balcony. “Trina says she hated Emily’s boyfriend. Her words: ‘He’s a nitwit.’” Will blocked his phone from Tom’s grappling, sticking his butt at him to give himself the space to text. “Stay back. Do you remember the way Emily used to look at you? Bro, she loved you. Why do you think I was always hanging around, looking for my shot with her? Believe me, I tried to move in after Tara dumped me, but she would never have any of it.”
This was new information. Without thinking, Tom threw a punch at him.
Will was too fast, sidestepping him and pushing his shoulder as he brushed past. Will roared out another laugh and pushed him again. “See, you do still like her.”
Tom didn’t fall all the way to the ground; he stumbled and recovered, glaring at his brother, putting up his hands in fight mode. He’d done his fair share of training for MMA. He seethed, not sure if Will was just saying that he tried to hit on Emily to tick him off and prove a point or because it was true.
Will rolled his eyes. “Man, stop. I was barely nineteen by the time you graduated, all sorts of hormones. When I would come home from the Naval Academy on break, of course I tried to take a shot at her.” He frowned. “Tara broke my heart, man.”
Tom sized up his brother and thought about his lost love, Tara Lighthouse. “Yeah,” he said, and his temper cooled off. “She did break your heart.”
Will snorted. “Anyway, Emily was all class, and you know that. She would treat me like a pet, as she always treated me—pat me on the head and send me on my way.”
Now, as Tom’s mind cleared, he saw the ridiculousness of this whole fight, of this whole conversation. He sighed and let his hands drop, thinking of Emily’s vulnerable face.
“Trina said her boss made her come, but she needs someone to go to the wedding with.” A grin spread across Will’s face. “You should ask her if she wants a date.”
“What?” The idea surged through him and every part of him wanted to say yes, but it wasn’t possible. Was it? “No.”
“Yeah, dog!” Will patted him gruffly on the shoulder. “Be her date.”
“No!” Tom paced circles in the room, already tortured by Emily Times. It hadn’t even been a half hour since he’d really known if she was here or not. “That’s … like she would even want that.”
“You don’t know.” Will cocked his head to the side. “I think if it was me, and I was Emily, and I realized the guy who once proposed, probably the best thing that had been in her life, was here …”
It was flattering to hear Will say this, but Tom rolled his eyes. “No way.”
“I would dig it. I mean, you guys were friends before you were boyfriend/girlfriend. You were seven when we moved to Greeley, right? I think I was, like, eight.”
“Almost seven,” Tom said, thinking of Mrs. Wilson’s first-grade class when he’d been assigned to sit by Emily. She’d taken him around and introduced him to all her friends at lunch, making sure he’d felt welcome.
“Do it.”
“Why would I do that? No. I mean—” He ran a hand through his hair. “—dude, there is, like, no way I would ask her out. I would rather show up to work with pink fingernail polish on than ask her on a date.” His mind spun. She’d regretted their relationship? It put a bad taste in his mouth, and he was getting angrier every time he thought of it. “I would rather dress up like Legend James and prance around the Storm locker room than ask her out.”
“You wouldn’t.” Will gaped at him. The Kents knew that Tom hated Legend James, quarterback for the Dallas Destroyers, worse than anything.
Before the conversation could continue, there was a knock at the door, startling both of them. Tom’s mind whirled with possibilities.
Will’s lip turned up and he gestured for Tom to get the door. “It’s for you, bro. You know it is. She can’t stay away from you.”
Tom’s heart hammered inside his chest, and he glared at his brother as he went for the door. No. It couldn’t be. When he pulled the door back, he almost laughed in disbelief.
Emily Times stared back at him. “Tom, hey,” she said, glancing around awkwardly, still in her running clothes. “Um, so … would you want to be my date for that wedding I was telling you about?”
Chapter 8
Emily stared at two shirtless Kent brothers. Panic pounded in the lower pit of her gut, just like how she felt at the beginning of a trial. Granted, she was good by the end, maybe even great. The beginning w
as the hardest, the most unsure.
Noting the confusion on Tom’s face, she kept talking. “I don’t want to be that person, ya know. The pathetic loser everyone gives sad looks to and feels bad for. The one who makes excuses as to why she’s the only one there by herself.”
The lines around Tom’s eyes creased, but he didn’t say anything. That was Tom’s way. He had to think before he spoke. The exact opposite of her.
Even after ten years, she realized, she knew Tom’s ways. After all, they’d known each other since they were seven. They’d been thick as thieves, and she’d memorized every part and expression of his face.
The thing she’d hated about Tom was—well, hate was a strong word—the thing that annoyed her most about Tom was that he didn’t commit to things lightly. Naturally, he would want to think about it.
She was sure that he was an amazing firefighter because of the same thing. He was good in a crisis, knew just what to do when the building was burning or blood was gushing, but he had to process things that mattered. Tom hadn’t been a great debater. She’d often teased him when they’d done verbal sparring that he paused too long. He weighed the facts carefully before attacking. Of course, she wouldn’t mention it; she wouldn’t tease him or point it out. After all, he wasn’t still her Tom. She had no right to assume anything.
Will opened his arms. “Emmy Schmemmy?”
It was a stupid nickname that she’d found endlessly annoying, but seeing him made her smile. All the tension drained out of her. “Hey, Will.”
Before she knew it, picked her up in a bear hug and bounced her around. “Emmy Schmemmy!”
Laughing, she slugged him in the shoulder when he put her down. “I hate you!”
He laughed too, and she noticed Tom was grinning.
The endearing thing about Will was that even when her family had sought him out after the game last Christmas, he’d acted the same way, bear hugging her and her sister and even little Elliot. That was just how Will was.
Pulling back, Will gave her a mildly accusing look. “You see Tom this morning, and you rushed right over to see me?” He winked at her.
She flushed because she was sure he’d heard her ask the question she’d just asked Tom, and from the coy look on his face—no, not coy, the smug look on his face—she was sure Tom had told him why she was alone at this wedding.
Will winked at her and put his hand out. “I’m sorry to hear about everything, Em.” It was kind and sincere, and if she wasn’t careful, she would cry. Man, being around Tom and Will was like being around family.
She took his hand briefly and then pulled it back. “Thanks.”
He flexed for her. “I know the real story, though. You just couldn’t stay away from the guns, huh?”
She laughed again. Glancing at Tom, she saw the side of his lip was turned up, and he gave his brother a pointed look.
Will pushed his shoulders back and bumped Tom’s shoulder as he headed into the hotel room. “Come on in. I’m glad you’re here, because it turns out I have to go back to Denver right now.”
Once Emily had walked in, Tom demanded Will “What do you mean, you have to go back?”
Will gave a mock sad look and moved into one of the rooms, hollering, “Turns out my coach wants me back for some charity thing.” Pulling out of the room for a sec, he winked at Emily. “It’s for a good cause. The children’s hospital in Denver. Coach needs a couple of players to fill some seats. Bosses suck, but what can you do?”
“Hey!” Tom followed Will to the door. “Are you kidding me?”
“Wish I was, bro. But them are the biscuits you’re given sometimes.”
Emily’s heart pounded. She knew Will was doing this so Tom would be on his own.
Tom flashed her a fake smile. “Sorry, just a sec.” He followed Will in and shut the door behind him.
What was she doing? She couldn’t hear what Tom and Will were saying, but she knew they were fighting. Dang. It hadn’t been her intention to wreck their trip. Tom’s trip.
Doubt wove through her. Why had she listened to Trina? Trina had called her and insisted she go ask Tom. But why would he want to be her date? That was stupid, right? Just stupid. Dang it. Unable to stand there another minute, she rushed out the door and jetted down the hallway. This was a horrible idea.
She skipped the elevator and opted for the stairs, booking it up to the fifth floor, and cursed herself. She’d just told Tom how much she regretted everything, told him she was mad at him for not coming after her. And then she asked him out? Man! How could she have done that? Pushing her card into her room slot, she rushed in and closed the door behind her. Stupid, stupid idea. Why had she listened to her sister? Ack!
She paced the room for a few moments, then rushed to go shower. As the hot water assaulted her, she decided she would just face facts. She would go stag to the wedding, and she would forget she had run into Tom Kent.
Chapter 9
When Tom came out of this brother’s room and saw she was missing, he cursed. “She’s gone!”
“Where did she go?” Will pulled up his phone. “Trina said she agreed to ask you. That’s why I gave Trina our room number in the first place.”
Tom ran to the door and opened it, but no one was there. Angry that Emily had left, angry that he’d been so unprepared for her to show up, and triple angry that his brother was orchestrating all of this, he pushed his brother hard as he walked back into the room. “I don’t know, idiot. Maybe if you would have prepped me to see her, I wouldn’t have left her waiting.”
Will crossed his arms and eyed him calmly. “You’re hulking out right now. Calm down.”
“Why? Just because I take my brother on a vacation, and he repays me by telling my ex my room number and then leaving!” He was shouting, feeling out of control.
“You only brought me because you didn’t have a woman—and now,” Will said, as if he just thought of it, “now you’re going to have to face all those tour pictures by yourself. You’re going to be the Kent brother who can’t get a woman to come with him to Hawaii.” He jerked a thumb to his chest. “And I won’t be there to distract everyone with my good looks.” Will huffed and turned back to his room. “I got a plane ticket for this evening, bro, so you’re going to have to deal with all of this.”
“Oh, shut up, Will.” Tom huffed, pacing the room. The truth was that Tom couldn’t care less about those stupid pictures. But the more he paced the room, the more he thought about Emily standing there asking him to be her date. Man, the woman had guts; he would give her that.
Now, he thought about doing all the excursions without Will, and yes, he thought about being in those stupid pictures by himself. In Hawaii. Ugh. All these insecurities, all these regrets, all this confused happiness at seeing Emily coursed through him. “Man.” He went to the patio again, holding onto the handrail, and let out another breath. “Man.”
Tom thought about the way she’d looked just now, playing with her grandmother’s ring on her right index finger. She’d loved her grandmother. Her grandmother had been born in December, and her birthstone a blue topaz. He’d been there the Christmas her grandmother had given it to her. His mind raced. How many times had he thought of Emily? Missed her? Wanted her?
Tom could tell that his brother was hovering by the door behind him. He faced Will, making a decision. “Fine. Go.”
“I am going. Flying out on another red-eye. Kill me now.” He sighed.
Tom brushed past him, heading for the shower.
“So what are you going to do, bro?” Will asked, tagging along.
“I can’t believe you did this.”
Will laughed, then crossed his heart. “She chose to come ask you all on her own. That should mean something to you.”
Tom shook his head. “Go,” he snapped, retreating into the bathroom.
“Wait. Wait.” Will caught the bathroom door before Tom closed it. “So what’s the deal, bro?”
“I’m going to give her what she wants,” he
said, his voice controlled now. All his years in the Army and as a firefighter had prepared him for a crisis like this.
“What does that mean?”
“I’m going to be her date, but I’m going to ask for something in return.”
Chapter 10
After Emily showered and got dressed, not in her rehearsal dinner dress, just a yellow sundress, she prepped to go sightseeing by herself for the afternoon. After all, it was going to drive her crazy to just sit around waiting for her friends to show up. Yesterday, the road to Hana had been a perfect distraction. She would just have to find another one today.
The look on Tom’s face suddenly hit her. When she’d shown up at his room, he’d looked … what? She no longer knew what all of his looks meant. Inwardly, she winced. What the heck had she been doing? It was horrible. She was an idiot. Why would she ever ask Tom?
Ugh! That was the last time she listened to Trina. She took her suitcase and swung it open, looking for her white hat that was longer on the edges. She and the sun were not the greatest of friends; she liked it well enough, but she had to be careful to stay protected. She ripped into her bag with a vengeance, trying to find the hat.
It wasn’t under her main clothes. It wasn’t in the side pocket. She distinctly remembered packing it, but she’d been arguing with Brett over the phone at the time, and she couldn’t remember where she had put it. Ugh! Men!
She was done. She would be that pathetic loser. No—wait! She would just be a hater! Heck, if she had to make a choice, anger suited her better. At least she could get things done when she was angry.
Finally, she pulled open the bottom zipper and found the hat. She fished out her purse and sunglasses, took the key off of the dresser, and was about to yank back the door when there was a loud knock.
Her hand paused only milliseconds from throwing the door open. Tom’s face went through her mind. Actually, his bare chest and six-pack abs went through her mind. Not to mention his fabulous blond hair, which was longer on top and shaved on the sides. When he was younger, his hair had been more auburn. He’d been teased by his brothers sometimes for being an angry redhead, but his hair had turned into a beautiful blond.
