A Carolina Valentine

by Michelle Major

  Aimee bit back a groan. Stupid complexion.

  “Are you planning to bid?” Avery leaned forward in her chair with a smile. “I do enjoy a good start to a love story.”

  “No love story for me.” Aimee put the envelope on the desk. “Been there, done that. I have the scars to prove it.”

  Avery’s gaze softened. “Don’t we all. I thought the same thing a few months ago, but don’t give up on love. It can find you when and where you least expect it, especially since it’s Valentine’s Day.”

  “Fake holiday,” Aimee muttered, then cringed. “Sorry. You’re happy and that’s great. Ignore me and my bad attitude.”

  “Yours doesn’t come anywhere near to how bad mine was before Gray. You never know what might happen.”

  “I guess,” Aimee agreed, because she knew that’s what Avery wanted. But Aimee did know. She knew the issue that had led to the end of her marriage was hers, and there wasn’t a thing she could do to change it. She was, quite literally, broken. And she wasn’t about to take a chance on allowing another man to remind her of what she couldn’t have.

  “Have a good weekend, Avery,” she said as she stood.

  “Happy heart’s day.” Avery grinned. “Watch out for Cupid and his arrow. I’m telling you that guy has a wicked sense of humor.”

  Aimee chuckled. “I’ll keep my guard up.” She walked out of town hall, wistful after Avery’s words but knowing she didn’t have anything to worry about. Aimee’s heart was impenetrable to arrows.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “I THOUGHT MAYBE you weren’t going to go through with this.”

  Aimee smoothed a hand across her seat belt as she glanced toward Paul. “Have a little faith, Bachelor Paul. We made a deal, and I always keep my word.”

  “Good to know,” he murmured, and something about the timbre of his voice sent a shiver through her.

  She adjusted her purse on the floor and sat back against the plush leather interior of the Audi sedan. Her ex-husband had liked fancy cars, so this should be a strike against Paul, but as he maneuvered the vehicle onto the highway that led west through the state, she appreciated the smooth ride.

  “The town’s marketing director is putting up flyers about the event this weekend. We’re going to draw a big crowd.” She lifted a hand, her fingers fluttering between them. “You’re going to draw a crowd.”

  He laughed softly. “What a letdown for some unsuspecting woman. Since when does Magnolia have a marketing director?”

  “Since people are interested in breathing new life into the community. It’s a great place to live.”

  “Agreed.”

  “By the way,” she said before she lost her nerve. “I doubt you’ll be a letdown to anyone.”

  His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “Don’t be so sure. Doctors are notoriously bad partners. We work too much and neglect our personal lives for our professions. We thrive on stress and are known to be selfish. Not traits that make great partners.”

  She couldn’t help the snort that escaped her mouth. “You might actually be describing my ex-husband.”

  “You were married to a doctor?” Paul slanted a glance in her direction, and she regretted sharing that tidbit of information.

  “We met in college and got married just before he started his residency. Turns out we wanted different things in life.”

  She crossed one leg over the other. “The decision to separate was mutual. I’m not trying to paint him as the bad guy. He wasn’t, and I wish him lots of happiness with his new wife.”

  “He’s remarried already?”

  She shrugged. “He was ready to start a family so didn’t waste any time. The last I heard they’ve got one baby and are trying for another.”

  “Why didn’t it work out with the two of you?” He held up a hand when she would have answered. “Different things doesn’t tell me much.”

  Aimee couldn’t explain why she wanted to tell him anything about the breakup of her marriage. Very few people in Magnolia even knew she had an ex-husband, let alone the heartbreaking, humiliating reason things hadn’t worked out. It had nothing to do with her current life or who she was now. Who she’d become after two years of trying—and failing—to conceive.

  Maybe it was her visceral reaction to Paul Thorpe that made her willing to share the details. She needed to remind herself that there was nowhere to go with her attraction.

  “Do you see yourself with a family someday, Dr. Thorpe?” she asked instead of answering the question.

  A muscle ticked in his jaw, and he didn’t take his eyes off the road. “Paul. You have to call me Paul. No one is going to believe that I’m the kind of prick who would make a date refer to me so formally.”

  She nodded. “Right. What about that family, Paul?”

  “I guess.” He shrugged. “Someday. Maybe. Once I get over the selfish and self-centered bits.”

  “I don’t believe that about you,” she told him.

  “That I want a family?”

  “That you’re selfish.”

  “Talk to my ex-fiancée.”

  His voice held a combination of pain and bitterness that cut across her chest. He might make the claim of being selfish, but she’d bet her last dime that this man’s heart had been broken. “My ex wanted kids and I can’t have them,” she said on a rush of breath. Nothing like revealing her deepest secret to a man she barely knew to really get things rolling. Megan would have been horrified. Her friend would have taken the opportunity of being alone in a car with a handsome man for an hour’s drive to their resort destination to flirt and bat her eyelashes and generally set the mood for where the weekend might lead.

  Aimee’s revelation seemed to suck all the air out of the Audi’s rich interior.

  “Can’t,” he repeated, darting a questioning glance toward her.

  She pressed a hand to her stomach. “Endometriosis.”

  “There are medical options.”

  “My ex is an ob-gyn.” The irony of it made her gut clench. “We exhausted all the options.”

  “What about adoption?”

  The word sent a maelstrom of emotion pouring through her. “He wasn’t interested in adopting. That wasn’t part of the plan.”

  “Plans change,” Paul muttered, sounding disgusted.

  She appreciated his outrage on her behalf. So much so that tears pricked the back of her eyes. That was the problem with never sharing the personal details of her life. She’d shoved all the emotions from that awful time into a dark corner of her soul and then ignored them. Exposing that shadowed place to light made the pain fresh again, and it had almost killed her the first time around.

  “Christopher pivoted to a new path,” she explained, working to keep the hurt out of her voice. “Without me.”

  “Asshat,” Paul said after a few tense moments.

  “It’s not that simple,” she argued although once again she appreciated his support.

  “Yes, it is.”

  To her shock—and maybe his as well—he reached across the console and took her hand in his. His hand was so much bigger than hers, his skin warm and strangely comforting. He squeezed her fingers gently as his thumb traced circles on the center of her palm. “I don’t need to know your ex-husband to know he’s a complete son of a...” He released his hold on her. “I’ve been to enough weddings to know the ‘for better or worse’ part is pretty standard. The inability to conceive naturally isn’t anywhere near the worst thing a couple could face.”

  “Thanks.” She forced out a laugh. “I bet you’re regretting our little bargain at the moment. This can’t be the fun start to the weekend you imagined.”

  “You can’t know how grateful I am to have you with me, Aimee. Fun is the last word I’d use to describe how I imagine things going. By the end of this, I’m going to owe you far more than an auction.�
��

  “You should probably tell me more about your family. I know it’s your brother’s wedding. Older or younger?”

  “Younger by three years,” Paul said, but offered nothing more.

  Okay, then. They had approximately forty-five more minutes until they reached the hotel. She could play investigative reporter for a bit.

  “Just the two of you?”

  “I have an older sister. She turned forty last year.”

  “And how old are you? I should know that if we’re dating.”

  “Thirty-five.” He glanced at her. “You?”

  “Thirty-one. Are you close with your siblings?”

  Paul shrugged. “We’re all busy. Gretchen is a neurosurgeon in Boston. Mass General.”

  “Two doctors in the family.” Aimee whistled. “What about your brother?” She held up a hand. “No, let me guess. US Senator,” she said with a grin.

  “Congressman,” Paul corrected, one side of his mouth curving up.

  She burst out laughing. “I was joking. Holy buckets. Your parents must be so proud.”

  “The bar was set pretty high. My dad is the former governor.”

  Aimee felt her mouth drop open. “Of the state of North Carolina?”

  “For two terms.” Paul flashed a smile. “I wish I wouldn’t have told you. It would kill my dad to meet a resident not aware of his legacy.”

  “I’d look like an idiot.” She wagged a finger at him. “Not good for you to be dating a fool.”

  “I should warn you, I’m the black sheep.”

  “I don’t think a doctor can be the black sheep,” she argued.

  “They had bigger plans for me. As the oldest son, I was supposed to go into politics. If not elected, then at least some high-ranking medical position. An ER doctor at a small community hospital is a disappointment.”

  “You’re the chief of staff.”

  “Magnolia’s barely a dot on the state map. It doesn’t count.”

  She sat up straighter, upset by the resignation in his voice. Did Paul actually believe he hadn’t achieved enough in his life because of some arbitrary standards set by his family? She didn’t know him well, but they’d worked together for over a year, so she could say without question he was a talented physician. He cared about his patients, the hospital staff and the community. She wanted to reach for his hand again but kept hers in her lap. Suddenly, she was glad that she’d come with him.

  Aimee knew what it was like to be judged for something that couldn’t be controlled. No way would anyone at the wedding make the man sitting next to her feel less. Not on her watch.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  BY THE TIME they pulled up to the elegant hotel, Paul wasn’t sure what he needed more—a drink or a cold shower. When he’d made the impulsive bargain with Aimee to be his date at the wedding, he’d only been thinking about having someone at his side during the actual ceremony and reception. A distraction and excuse for avoiding his family, particularly his ex-fiancée.

  He hadn’t thought about the fact that he’d be spending so much time with a woman who intrigued him more than he cared to admit. It would have been easier if she’d been obnoxious or had some kind of strange hyena laugh.

  But no. She was sweet, funny and gently persistent, coaxing details from him that he hadn’t shared with anyone in years. His sadness about the strained relationship he had with his brother and sister since their father remarried two years ago and memories of happier times when Paul’s mom was alive and managed to make even the little moments of life seem special.

  In turn, Aimee had told him about growing up on a dairy farm in central Tennessee, the first of her family to attend college. She’d explained that after her divorce, she’d wanted to get away and had applied for the nursing position at Magnolia Memorial on a whim.

  “I’d never seen the Atlantic Ocean,” she’d explained with a smile. He could tell she appreciated the small town and all of its quaint charm as much as he did.

  They’d discussed lists of favorite things and details a significant other would know—from preferred drink to favorite food to a story of how they started dating. In the span of an hour, much of his curiosity about Aimee had been satisfied, except he wanted more.

  He would have liked to continue driving past the exit, maybe head to Nashville or Gatlinburg. They could spend the weekend exploring the kitschy town nestled in the heart of the Smokies. Saltwater taffy and mountain slides seemed like a lot more fun than what they were about to face.

  Paul hadn’t told her everything about his family. There was one particular detail he’d omitted. As the valet took his keys and a bellman pulled their luggage from the trunk, he turned toward the hotel and realized that detail was walking straight toward him.

  “Paul.” Kimberly Thorpe held out her arms, gold bracelets jangling on her wrist. “Your father has been asking when you were going to arrive. You didn’t respond to his texts.”

  “No texting while driving,” Paul answered, instinctively stepping closer to Aimee as he avoided Kim’s proffered cheek. “State law.”

  Kim’s laugh tinkled in the reserved quiet of the hotel portico. “Always a rule follower.” Her impeccably made-up hazel eyes narrowed on Aimee. “Who do we have here?”

  “My girlfriend,” Paul said without hesitation. “I told Peter I was bringing a date.”

  “Last minute,” Kim said, giving Aimee a not-so-subtle once-over that made Paul want to bustle her back into the car. They could make it to the state line in a few hours and he’d buy Dollywood tickets for tomorrow. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”

  “I’m Aimee Baker.” Aimee held out a hand toward Kim even as she wrapped her other arm around Paul’s waist, her fingers curling into his side in a gesture that felt oddly proprietary.

  “Kimberly Thorpe.” Kim took Aimee’s hand like someone would grasp a dead fish. “Paul’s stepmother.”

  “Stop it, Kim.” Paul stiffened but Aimee only snuggled closer. He realized he’d made a huge tactical error in not telling her about this critical piece of his past. No one could deny Kim was beautiful, in the glamorous way of Southern beauty pageant contestants. Her dark hair hung in glossy waves over her shoulders and her skin had the sun-kissed glow of an impeccably applied spray tan. In comparison, Aimee looked natural and real and so appealing it made Paul wonder how he’d ever thought Kim would be a good match.

  “Your ex-fiancée seems inappropriate under the circumstances,” Kim countered, crossing her arms over her chest. The five-carat diamond ring his father had given her sparkled in the afternoon sunlight. “Water under the bridge and all that.”

  Interesting that she made the reference to water because at the moment Paul felt like he was drowning.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Kim,” Aimee said without missing a beat. She went up on tiptoe to brush a kiss against Paul’s jaw. In an instant, he surfaced from the murky water threatening to pull him under. “I don’t really give a rat’s backside about your history with Paul or your current role in the family.” She wagged a finger in Kim’s direction. “But if you ask him to call you ‘mommy,’ we’re going to have an issue.”

  Kim’s glossy mouth opened and shut several times. “I prefer to be called Kimberly,” she said after an awkward moment.

  “Good for you.” Aimee linked her fingers with Paul’s. “Let’s check in, sweetie. I’d love a bit of a rest—” she gave him an exaggerated wink “—before dinner tonight.”

  Mind reeling at her audacity, Paul allowed himself to be tugged up the steps of the hotel and into the elegant lobby. Next to him, Aimee blew out a breath. “She’s a real piece of work.”

  He could only nod.

  “Any other pertinent family dynamic details you forgot to mention?” she asked, annoyance clear in her tone. He couldn’t decide whether she was annoyed with him or his ex-girlfriend at this point. �
��Tell me you didn’t date the bride, as well.”

  “No.”

  Paul glanced up as a familiar voice called out his name.

  “You made it,” his brother said as he approached with a relieved smile.

  Aimee laughed under her breath, probably greatly entertained by the fact that even the groom doubted whether he’d show.

  “I wouldn’t miss your big day, Congressman.” Paul enveloped Peter in a tight hug. It had been too long, and he immediately regretted letting bitterness affect the relationship he had with his siblings.

  “That’s good to hear.” Peter patted him on the back. “Because I couldn’t imagine waiting at the altar without my big brother at my side.”

  Before Paul could answer, Peter turned to Aimee, giving her his thousand-watt politician smile. “You must be Paul’s mystery woman. I’m so glad you could join him.”

  “Aimee,” she said, and shook Peter’s hand with considerably more warmth than she’d shown Kim. No one could resist Peter’s easygoing charm. “Congratulations. Paul has told me so many great things about you and your bride-to-be. He’s thrilled for you, and we’re both excited to be a part of your celebration.”

  Paul breathed out a relieved sigh. Truly, she really was the most amazing woman.

  “I’m the luckiest guy on the planet.” Peter cleared his throat when his voice cracked on the last word. Somehow, Paul knew that hadn’t been a staged show of emotion. Peter really was that happy to be marrying his longtime girlfriend, Grace. He glanced at a spot over Aimee’s shoulder and his smile dimmed. “Have you already talked to Kim?”

  “Kimberly,” Aimee corrected him with a teasing smile. Once again, she’d defused any potential tension before it could even take hold. “We did have the pleasure.”

  “You’re the first person this weekend who’s used pleasure to describe an interaction with our father’s wife,” Peter told her.

  “This weekend is about you,” she answered gently.

  Gratitude filled Peter’s dark gaze, and Paul realized he hadn’t been the only one affected by their dad’s whirlwind courtship and marriage to Paul’s ex.