Something told her the weekend was going to be an epic disaster.
Kimberly looked up as her roommate Lisa tapped on the bedroom door. The pale, Goth girl resembled a ghost with glowing blue eyes, although ghosts with brilliant streaks of purple in their hair seemed kind of silly. Who could be afraid of a ghost like that?
“Are you ready?” Lisa asked her.
“Lay on, MacDuff.”
She rolled off of her bed with a sigh and scooped up her duffel and the garment bag with her bridesmaid’s gown. A good friend from high school was getting married that weekend, and since her friend also happened to be Lisa’s cousin they were driving down for the wedding together. It was just part of the joy of growing up in a small town where everyone either knew or was related to everyone else.
“You okay?” Lisa asked.
She shrugged. “I suppose.”
“Such enthusiasm.”
“I’m just thankful Angela is having the wedding at her grandmother’s. I don’t think I could have dealt with a weekend of my busybody sisters pestering me about my nonexistent love life on top of the wedding if she had decided to have it back home.”
The wedding was just one more indication of how her friends were moving on with their lives while she seemed to be mired in a perpetual rut of solitude. First there was her roommate Alyssa with her shiny new boyfriend Kyle, and now Angela was getting married after a whirlwind romance, all while Kimberly could barely even bring herself to talk to a member of the opposite sex.
She spent most of the car ride trying to psych herself into a better mood, with very limited success. While she truly was happy for both Alyssa and Angela, she was a little jealous, too, and frustrated with herself over her lack of progress in the relationships department. Alyssa kept telling her that it was just a matter of waiting for the right guy to come along, but how long was she going to have to wait? Too long, from the looks of it. When she wasn’t at the rehearsal or ceremony maybe she could hide out at the hotel and spend the weekend reading or something to take her mind off of how she was going to end up as an old maid with a hundred cats. On the bright side, at least she had found some good deals at the thrift stores around the campus so she wouldn’t have to spend the weekend looking like a rag picker in front of Lisa and Angela’s family.
Lisa’s grandmother’s house had an old Southern charm that made it obvious why Angela had chosen it as the venue for her wedding. A pair of tall mimosa trees spread a leafy canopy over the crushed shell driveway while dense rows of magnolias lined both sides of the house. White with yellow trim, the main body of the house stood a tall two stories high, with lower additions which sprawled off to either side. Rows of slender, white columns lined the long porch that stretched across the entire front of the house. The place somehow managed to look dainty despite its size, and the porch with its inviting array of swings and lazily turning ceiling fans looked like the perfect place to curl up with a book on a drowsy summer afternoon, although at the moment a dozen squealing, shouting children made it rather less appealing.
Lisa ignored the kids and led Kimberly through the front door and into the packed living room, where several people called out greetings as they wended her way through the crowd. While she waved back pleasantly enough Lisa didn’t stop, weaving on through the dining room and towards the kitchen.
The smells coming from the kitchen were enough to make Kimberly forget all about her bad mood as she fought to keep from drooling. A wisp of a woman wearing a flower print dress with her white hair up in a bun glanced up from the counter where she was rolling out long strips of dough on a sheet of wax paper. Sharp blue eyes the same color as Lisa’s crinkled in a smile.
“There you are. We were wondering when you were going to show up.”
“Hi, Gram.” Lisa hugged her tightly and planted a fond kiss on her cheek.
The old woman looked her over sharply then shook her head with a despairing sigh. “I do wish you’d wash that mess off of your face,” she grumbled. “It makes you look like you should be attending a funeral—your own—and not a wedding.”
“I know. Not happening, though. Gram, this is Kimberly.”
Lisa’s grandmother held out a wrinkled, flour-dusted hand. “I’m happy to finally meet you. The girls have told me so much about you. Just make yourself at home while you’re here. Are you two staying with me?”
“Are you kidding me?” Lisa asked. “This place is a madhouse. We’re staying at the hotel where we can get some sleep without having to listen to the kids bouncing off the walls all night. We checked in and dropped off our stuff before we came over.”
“I really don’t blame you,” Gram whispered conspiratorially. “Do you think they have any more rooms available?”
“As if. No one could get you out of this place if they used dynamite. So where’s the happy couple?”
“I think they’re back in the den with their parents going over some last minute arrangements for Sunday. Go say hello and then come back. I just pulled a batch of fresh peanut butter cookies out of the oven.”
When they walked into the den the conversation ceased abruptly. Had they interrupted an argument? Everyone paused to welcome them, but Kimberly could tell that Angela and the groom, a stocky redhead named Sean Evans, were on edge and Angela’s parents were uncharacteristically cool to her. Uneasy with the tension she quickly backed off to let them return to the planning, but when she looked around Lisa had disappeared somewhere leaving Kimberly to her own devices. Kimberly’s family consisted solely of her parents and three older sisters, and the sheer size of the family gathering in the big, old house was more than a little overwhelming to her. For a moment she considered retreating back to the kitchen, but then she caught a glimpse of an ornate gazebo through the den windows. She could go out and look over the backyard where the wedding would take place while taking a breather from the crowd at the same time.
She ducked out a side door and followed a narrow, dirt path that curved around towards the back of the house. On either side shocking pink azaleas filled neatly tended beds, while at the rear of the house the path dipped into a narrow gully before climbing back up on the other side where she had seen the ivy-covered gazebo. Someone had left a garden hose on, probably to water the azaleas, and water had trickled down the path to form a shallow pool at the bottom of the ravine. Kimberly eyed the muddy track doubtfully, but she really wanted to check out the gazebo. She took one hesitant step down, then another, and then her sandals hit a spot that was slick as ice. Her feet shot in two different directions and she landed hard on her bottom, and then began to slide rapidly down towards the bottom of the hollow.
“Oh, shoot!”
* * *
Colin had been watching her before she fell. Whoever she was, she certainly had some nice curves under her blue spaghetti tank and the skinny jeans that hugged her legs like a second skin. He had wandered into the backyard to get away from the noisy crowd in the house, but he wasn’t dead set against a bit of company—especially not if the company was female and looked like her.
His eyes lingered on the long fall of dark brown curls which gleamed like polished ebony against the cobalt of her shirt, and then followed the elegant lines of her body all the way down to her dainty feet in their blue thong sandals. Yeah, she definitely looked like someone he wanted to get to know better. About the time he decided to wander over and say hello, he saw her legs go out from under her and she slid flailing down the path. Without thinking he broke into a run and reached her side just moments after she smacked hard into a tree stump that jutted up at the edge of the path.
“Are you all right?”
Enormous amber eyes stared dazedly up at him from a sweetly oval face framed by silky curls of shoulder-length brown hair so dark that it was almost black. Colin’s breath caught as those eyes snared him and he lost himself in their honeyed depths. Oh, hell. This was not the time for his hormones to wake up and assert themselves. With an effort he shook it off.
“Are you okay?” he repeated.
She gave him a slow nod before looking away. “I think so. I whacked my knee pretty good, but it seems to be all right. It just stings a little.”
“Let me take a look.”
It was probably nothing, but he knelt beside her to check her over just to be sure. While he struggled to ignore her alluring scent of apple and jasmine and the clinical part of his mind focused on examining her, a part of him yearned to nuzzle against the smooth, delicate curve of her neck and sniff her. Focus! He clenched his teeth, then gently as he could he probed her knee, and although she winced a little when he straightened out the leg she didn’t make a sound. It was fine. She might have a bruise later, but that was it. He gave a satisfied nod and stood up beside her.
“Doesn’t seem to be any damage,” he told her, holding out a hand. After a moment she took it and he pulled her gently to her feet, but she still wouldn’t look up at him. Embarrassed or shy?
“I’m Colin Evans. The groom’s brother.”
She flinched at that. Definitely embarrassed.
“Kimberly Gates,” she replied grudgingly.
“You part of Angela’s family?”
“A friend from school. I’m one of her bridesmaids.”
Something clicked in his head and he remembered hearing Sean talk about her. This was Angela’s plain, mousy friend from back in high school? His little brother must need glasses or something, because there was nothing plain about her. At the same time realization struck—she was even younger than Angela, and couldn’t possibly be more than eighteen or nineteen.
Too bad. No matter how good she looked in those jeans, it would just be asking for trouble. His future sister-in-law would no doubt have his guts for garters if he so much as looked at her wrong. Probably just as well, though. Shy innocence peered out of those captivating golden eyes and she was probably a sweet girl, the kind who still believed in knights in shining armor and romance. Not his type at all. But something about her made him want to dip into those honey-colored eyes again, if only for a few seconds. Would she come out of her shell if he teased her a little, or would she clam up?
“Just for future reference, I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to walk down the path,” he told her. “Although to be honest, your way looked a lot more fun. Except for the stump at the bottom, anyway. Next time you might think about trying to aim to the side of that.”
Her shoulders twitched and a pink glow crept up into her cheeks.
“I’ll try to keep that in mind,” she said softly. “I guess I just got a little carried away, what with it being my first time and all. You have any other pointers?”
There was a definite hint of a smile on her lips, and the glimpse of her eyes as they flickered shyly towards him did really funny things to his pulse.
“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything but you should probably reconsider your wardrobe before you hit the slope again. Mud slides are pretty hard on the clothes.”
She twisted so she could see her backside. “Ohmygoodness. Lisa’s never going to let me in her car like this.”
“You’re not staying here?”
“No, we’re at the hotel up off the interstate. That new one that they just opened a year or so ago.”
Didn’t it just have to be? “Well, I’ll tell you what. I’ve got a truck with vinyl seats and I’m not afraid of a little mud. Why don’t you let me give you a ride back there so you can get cleaned up and change your clothes? That way you can stay on Lisa’s good side.”
She stared at him in wide-eyed wonder, like he’d offered to fly her to Paris or something. “Seriously?”
The way her eyes lit up filled him with a warm satisfaction that made him want to do it all over again. Oh, he was definitely playing with fire here, and he didn’t dare keep going. Except that he was going to do it anyway, because those eyes wouldn’t let him do anything else.
“Sure. I have an allergy to this whole giant family get-together thing. I prefer to take it in very small doses until I’ve built up an immunity.”
Was that a snicker?
“Great, we can work on herd immunity. I’ll go tell Lisa and get my purse.”
Even covered in mud her perky, little butt looked amazing in those jeans.
* * *
Kimberly’s tongue kept trying to glue itself to the roof of her mouth on the way to the hotel. She was so nervous her palms were sweating, but she remembered the look in Alyssa’s eyes whenever she talked about Kyle and so she pushed herself to keep up the lighthearted banter with Colin. Not that she expected a man like Colin to fall for her the way Kyle had for Alyssa, but if she ever wanted to get a boyfriend of her own she just had to learn how to relax around guys. Whenever she glanced at him, though, she had to remind herself to breathe. He was just that gorgeous.
Every inch of his six-foot frame was swoon-worthy, from his close-cropped, sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes down. Broad shoulders filled out an olive green dress shirt that was open at the collar and had the sleeves rolled up to display his tanned, muscular arms, while his torso tapered to a trim waist and pair of long legs wrapped in old, faded jeans.
Of course that was nothing compared to the dark gleam that lurked in his eyes when he smiled down at her, or to the electric jolt that had sizzled across her palm and up through her arm when he had helped her up off the ground. She could still feel the touch of his fingers against hers, and a flush whispered along her skin at the memory.
Angela had mentioned him, of course, although ‘eye candy’ didn’t remotely do him justice. The groom’s older brother was a fireman, but while he put out burning buildings during the day, Angela had told her he spent his nights setting the sheets on fire with any woman who caught his eye. She had called him a heartbreaker, and Kimberly had no trouble at all believing it now that she had met him. However tempting he might be, though, she had no inclination to become another of his conquests. The last thing she needed was to get hung up on a guy like Colin.
While they chatted she tried to remember how old he was. Sean was twenty-two, and Angela had said that there was a decent gap between them. Four years? It was something like that, so Colin had to be around eight years older than she was. Not that Kimberly cared, but her family was another story. Kimberly didn’t even want to think how her parents and sisters would react if she showed up on their doorstep with Colin.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. As if she was going to bring him home to meet her parents.
Colin was undoubtedly just doing a favor for the poor, clumsy little bridesmaid. Heck, he was probably only being nice for Sean and Angela’s sakes, and the playful teasing was just his natural way with women. Besides, even if he hadn’t been a player she was still only a kid in his eyes—a silly, clumsy kid covered in mud. But when he grinned at her she felt more alive than she had ever imagined possible, and although she knew exactly what kind of man he was she felt more at ease with him than she had with any other guy in years. Lusting over his scrumptious body a little and enjoying his teasing wouldn’t hurt anything, right?
Her heart sank as the hotel’s sign came into view. She wished the ride could have gone on for hours, but Colin was probably ready to get back to the house and mingle with people closer to his own age. Best just to let it go and carry on through the weekend as she had originally planned. Smile firmly in place, she opened the door and hopped down to the parking lot.
“Thanks for the ride, Colin. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at the rehearsal?”
A broad grin snuck onto his lips as he shut off the engine and climbed out of the cab to retrieve two bags from behind the seat. Her mind simply refused to believe it until he had locked the doors and stood next to her with one eyebrow cocked expectantly.
“You’re staying here, too?” she squeaked.
“Yep.”
He stepped back to let her precede him through the automatic door into the lobby, his gentlemanly manner surprising her. When he turned off towards the check in counter she paused, unwilling to part with him so soon.
“Thanks again for the ride, Colin.”
“No problem. You want me to give you a lift back once you’ve changed?”
A swarm of butterflies took flight in her stomach. What she wanted was to get back in his truck and drive with him all night, to listen to the sound of his voice and to see if she felt tingles again when he touched her. Spending more time with this fireman and his wickedly sexy grin was definitely not a good idea, though. It would be so easy to get hooked by those bright blue eyes.
“No thanks,” she made herself respond. “I’m going to give the family some time together. I’ll just hang out here until dinner, and Lisa said she’d come pick me up for that.”
“OK. I’m going to the pool for a while to relax after I check in. Want to join me?”
Colin in swim trunks, bare muscles all slick and wet? Wow. She shivered. “I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”
“Oh. Well, I guess I’ll see you later, then.”
She watched him until the elevator doors creaked slowly closed, and then screamed silently at her reflection in their mirrored finish. Why did she have to be such an idiot? He had invited her to hang out with him; she could at least have gotten him to tease her some more while she drooled over that mouth-watering body of his. Had she had hit her head as well as her knee against that stump? Brain damage seemed to be the only rational explanation for saying no to that kind of offer.
After a quick shower to rinse off the mud that had soaked through her clothes she pulled on a pair of pale blue low rise shorts and a cream, off the shoulder t-shirt which emphasized what little tan she had. Her damp hair got a quick brushing, and then she flung herself onto her bed and flipped on the TV. It took less than five minutes of surfing to realize there was absolutely nothing on. Stabbing the off button, she dropped the remote and rolled over to stare in frustration at the flat, white plain of the ceiling.
Her love life so far had consisted of a single, utterly disastrous date. Growing up in one of the poorest families in her small town had meant that Kimberly’s clothes had usually been handed down at least twice before they ever got to her. She and her sisters had never been in a salon; they did their best with each others’ hair, but sometimes they messed up and when that happened they cried and chopped it off and then waited for it to grow back out. And right up to her junior in high school not one single boy had ever looked twice at the quiet, drab little brunette in her faded, threadbare clothes. Until Justin.
The dark-haired senior with the puppy dog eyes had been her secret crush for ages, and when he asked her out she had thought that she might actually die. Her heart seemed to stop, and when it finally started again it felt as though it was going to explode right out of her chest. That Saturday had been the happiest day of her life and she had been walking on air—right up until they parked and it became evident that in Justin’s mind poor equated with slut. When it turned out that she wasn’t, he had kicked her out of his car and left her to find her own way home.
Even graduating valedictorian hadn’t managed to blot out the shame and hurt left over from that night. She knew it didn’t make any sense—she hadn’t done anything wrong and it hadn’t been her fault at all—but the feelings persisted, regardless of logic. Ever since then she got so nervous around boys that she could barely function. Her friends all thought she was boy crazy, but while she talked a good game it was all for show. After that night with Justin she had never dared to let anyone else get close to her.
And yet with Colin she didn’t feel nervous—not scared nervous, anyway. It was a butterflies-in-the-tummy excited nervous instead. Even though she had thoroughly embarrassed herself in front of him at their first meeting he hadn’t made her feel bad about it. If anything, his gentle teasing had turned what could have been a horrible experience into something she’d laugh about with her roommates back in the dorm.
She should have agreed to meet him at the pool. Maybe it wasn’t too late.
* * *
Colin eyed the wildlife prints that lined the walls of the hotel bar while he sipped from a tumbler of bourbon. The place apparently made most of its money during hunting season; maybe he should try one of the local leases later in the year. He had a fair bit of vacation saved up, and this was as good a place as any to get away for a while.
For some reason Kimberly’s refusal of his invitation to join him for a swim had disappointed him more than it should have, but it was for the best. The girl’s effect on him was becoming unsettling, and he certainly didn’t want her to get the wrong idea and follow him around all weekend. Fortunately he was old enough that she probably wasn’t interested in him, and had only played along with his flirting because he was Sean’s brother and she wanted to be nice. Most likely she was upstairs right now happily texting some guy back at the university.
Still, something about the pretty brunette tugged at him. It was crazy, because she was absolutely nothing like the women he always went for—flashy and experienced and eager and unlikely to get their feelings hurt if he didn’t follow up after they spent a night in his bed. They all knew what they were getting into with him and accepted it. While they might have fun together for a while, it wasn’t going to last. He was not interested in anything permanent.
But a girl like Kimberly wasn’t going to be interested in a one night stand.
So it was all for the best that she had gone upstairs and stayed there. He frowned at his now empty glass. And just how many times was he going to have to tell himself that before he started to believe it? The bartender shot him a questioning look, and Colin nodded and slid the glass across the counter. Another drink before dinner would be good. Angela’s parents were being polite, but it was obvious they were still not happy about Sean swooping down on their little girl. He grinned to himself, imagining what Kimberly’s parents would say about him. Conniption fit probably wouldn’t even come close.
Her parents? He looked down into the fresh glass of whiskey that glowed with the same deep golden warmth as Kimberly’s eyes. Maybe he’d better give the alcohol a rest. From the way his mind was working he’d had more than enough already.
“Colin?”
The woman who slid onto the seat beside him was a few years older than Kimberly, and from the greedy way her peridot eyes roamed over his body she was far from innocent. Cascades of shining gold tumbled down to her full breasts, which were displayed to good effect by a clingy, royal blue sundress that left her tanned arms and legs enticingly bare. Every eye in the place was on her and she knew it, reveled in it. He had met her briefly the day before, another of Angela’s bridesmaids. A cousin? His mind raced. Kayla? Kylee?
“Um, Kayleigh, right?”
Her playful smirk told him he had nailed it first try. Definitely not the kind of girl who would trouble his conscience much if he spent the night with her—or his memory, either. If he slept with her he’d be hard put to recall her name in a month. Somehow he had a feeling that Kimberly and her golden eyes would haunt him far longer, even if he never so much as spoke to her again.
“Well, now I’m really glad I decided to stay here instead of camping out at the house,” she purred.
What was the old saying? The best way to forget one bridesmaid is in the arms of another? Close enough. Maybe Kayleigh was just what he needed to get his mind off of Kimberly. He shifted towards her in his seat and put on a lopsided smile.
“What? You mean sleeping on a couch and being up to your eyeballs in other peoples’ screaming kids isn’t your idea of a good time? What’s wrong with you?”
Kayleigh slowly crossed her long legs, making a production of it while she twirled a strand of cornsilk hair between her fingers. “I don’t mind the couch so much, but I prefer to be the one doing the screaming.”
“Then it’s a good thing you remembered my name, honey.”
She tipped her head back and laughed. “I love a man with confidence. Are you really as good as you think you are?”
“Well, Kimberly, there’s only one way to find that out.”
Two perfect eyebrows arched. “Kimberly?”
Oh, hell. “Kayleigh, if you spend the night with me, you won’t remember your name, either.”
To his relief she laughed again, so apparently his line had covered up his gaffe. He was going to have to be more careful, though. Just what was it going to take to free his mind of Angela’s amber-eyed bridesmaid?
“So are you coming back here after dinner?” Kayleigh asked. “We could have a nightcap, and then spend some time getting to know each other.”
As long as it didn’t interfere with her wedding, Colin doubted that Angela would care much what he did with this bridesmaid. The heat in the blonde’s eyes promised that he wouldn’t regret a second of it, either.
“I think that’s a great idea. I have a feeling I’d really enjoy getting to know you a lot better.”
Even as the words came out Colin regretted them, felt oddly guilty about them, and it didn’t get any better as their conversation continued. There was none of his usual enjoyment in the banter, none of the anticipation of getting this hot and obviously eager woman into his bed. Instead he found himself dwelling on his far more innocent flirting with Kimberly earlier, and the warm thrill of her shy little smiles, and with an odd pang he realized that he wished she was the one sitting here beside him instead.
Kayleigh had moved closer so that her fingertips brushed his bare forearm and one bare knee nestled warm against his thigh. On any other night he’d be buzzing with the excitement of the game, ready to snatch her up and take her home for a long evening of mutual enjoyment. Instead he found himself glancing at his watch and wondering if he’d see Kimberly at dinner. Maybe he should tone things down with Kayleigh? If he stayed in this mood he wasn’t going to do her any good later. He could take a bathroom break and then claim he needed to bail to get ready for dinner.
No sooner had he turned his head to look for the restrooms than Kimberly stepped out of the elevator by the bar entrance. Honey-gold eyes went wide as she took in Kayleigh practically sitting in Colin’s lap, and a wistful look of disappointment swept over her face. Before he could get his wits together enough to react she had darted back into the elevator and disappeared again.
Colin was halfway off the stool to go after her before he caught himself and realized he had no idea what room she was in, and no idea of what to say to her even if he’d known. It wasn’t as though he had done anything wrong, so why did he suddenly feel like a total jerk? What the hell was wrong with him? Kayleigh was right there, so eager she was practically quivering, ready to spend every spare minute of their weekend having crazy, wild sex. So why did his thoughts keep straying back to Kimberly, the last girl in the world he should be thinking about?
A little voice in the back of his mind warned him that he was in deep, deep trouble.