One Winter Wedding. Barbara Hannay
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expression did take him back in time, filling his thoughts with memories of the girl so desperate to make everyone else happy, she’d made herself miserable.
Relenting slightly, he leaned one hip against the arm of the sofa and reminded her, “We’re not kids anymore, and we’re too old to be sneaking around.”
“I know.” Fidgeting with her engagement ring, she added, “But I wanted to see you, and I didn’t want…anyone to get upset.”
“You mean Todd?” Connor asked pointedly.
“You have to understand, he’s very protective of me. I’m sorry the two of you didn’t hit it off when we met for dinner in San Diego last month.”
Connor held back a snort of derisive laughter at the irony. No, he and Todd hadn’t hit it off. In fact, at the end of the night they’d nearly come to blows. Connor could admit he hadn’t walked into the restaurant with a totally open mind. It was entirely possible Connor would dislike any man who met with the Wilsons’ approval on principle alone. But within fifteen minutes of meeting Todd Dunworthy, Connor had stopped thinking about the past and started worrying about Emily.
In that short span of time, Dunworthy bragged about his Scottsdale loft apartment, his top-of-the-line SUV, his various summer homes in exotic ports of call, all of which would have been little more than annoying except for one thing.
He talked about Emily the same way. She was new and bright and shiny just like the fancy Lexus he drove, and Connor hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that Dunworthy wouldn’t have thought twice about tossing her aside for a newer model.
And the bad feeling roiling through Connor’s gut like acid ever since he’d been hired by Doug Mitchell got so much worse. Outwardly, Doug and Todd Dunworthy had as little in common as, well, as Connor and Todd did. But from the moment he met Doug, the cold look in the man’s eyes and the way he spoke about his wife set Connor’s teeth on edge, too reminiscent of the way his father had talked about his mother, the bitter blame he’d placed on her for dying and saddling him with an unwanted kid to raise.
But Connor had set aside his personal feelings and taken the job. Taken the money, his conscience accused. If only he’d listened to his gut then…
Taking a deep breath, Connor looked out the window, hoping the daylight might dispel his dark thoughts. Only, it wasn’t the sunshine that broke through the shadows, but memories of the sunset, memories of Kelsey, that eased the weight on his chest.
The spark in her dark eyes, the stubborn jut of her chin, her determination to stand up to him…even if she barely stood up to the height of his shoulder. He didn’t doubt for one second she’d be a formidable opponent, and he was glad to have her on his side.
Turning his focus back to Emily, he said, “I’m sorry, too, Em.” And he was. He wanted her to be happy, and he was sorry Dunworthy wasn’t the man she—or more important, he suspected, her parents—thought him to be.
Something in his tone must have given his suspicions away, because Emily’s already perfect posture straightened to a regal, Charlene-like stature. “Todd is a wonderful man,” she insisted. “I love him. I really do, and I can’t wait to be his wife.”
How many times had Emily repeated that statement before she started believing it was true? The words had a mantralike sound to them. Or maybe more like the punishment meted out by a second-grade teacher: I will not chew gum in class. I will not chew gum in class.
“I should go,” she murmured.
“Emily, wait.” A knock on the door broke the tension. “Look, that’s room service. I ordered way too much food. Stay and have breakfast with me.”
Without waiting for her response, he stepped around her and opened the door. The waiter wheeled in the cart, filling the room with the scent of bacon and eggs. He pulled the covers off the steaming plates and revealed a meal large enough for two.
“I shouldn’t,” she protested, eyeing the food with a look of longing. “I need to watch what I eat or I won’t be able to fit into my dress.”
Connor tried to smile; dieting before a big occasion was undoubtedly a prerequisite for most women, but he didn’t think it was the dress Emily had in mind. He’d shared only a single meal with Dunworthy, but he could still see the smug smile on the bastard’s face as he waved the waiter and the dessert tray away with a laugh. “Gotta keep my bride-to-be looking as beautiful as ever!”
“Come on,” Connor cajoled. “You’re not going to make me eat alone, are you?”
Sighing, she slid onto the chair and confessed, “This smells amazing.”
“Dig in,” he encouraged. “Nothing like carbs and cholesterol to start the day right.”
The spark in her eyes reminded him of the old Emily, and she grabbed a fork with an almost defiant toss to her head. “Thank you, Connor.”
“Anytime, Em,” he vowed, knowing her gratitude was for much more than a simple offer to share breakfast.
He picked up his own fork, ready to dig into the eggs, when a hint of spice seemed to sneak into his senses. Normally sides like toast or muffins were an afterthought, something to eat only if the main meal wasn’t filling enough. But the powder-sprinkled muffin on the edge of his plate suddenly had his mouth watering.
He broke off an edge and popped it into his mouth. The moist confection melted on his tongue, tempting his senses with sugar, cinnamon and…Kelsey.
The hint of sweet and spicy had filled his head when he stood close to her, urging him to discover if the cinnamon scent was thanks to a shampoo she used on the red-gold curls she tried to tame or a lotion she smoothed over her pale skin.
If he kissed her, was that how she’d taste?
“What’s Kelsey doing today?”
The question popped out before Connor ever thought to ask it, revealing a curiosity he couldn’t deny yet didn’t want to admit. He set the muffin aside and shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth in case any other questions decided to circumvent his thought process.
After taking a drink of juice, Emily said, “Oh, she’s likely running herself ragged with wedding preparations, making sure everything’s going to go according to plan.”
Her words sent suspicion slithering down his spine. At a small, low-key wedding, the bride’s cousin might be the one behind the scenes, making sure everything went according to plan. But not at the Wilson-Dunworthy wedding, where professionals would handle those kind of details.
“What, exactly,” he asked, “does Kelsey have to do with the wedding preparations?”
Emily frowned. “Didn’t she tell you she’s my wedding coordinator?”
“No,” he said, setting his fork aside and leaning back in the chair, “no, she didn’t.”
“I’m lucky to have her working on the wedding. She’s amazing when it comes to organization, and she’s taking care of everything.”
Everything, Connor thought wryly, including him.
Chapter Four
So much for unbiased. So much for impartial. So much for finding his insider in the Wilson camp, Connor thought. Kelsey was involved in this wedding right up to her gorgeous red head.
“She started her business over a year ago,” Emily was saying. “My father offered to finance the company, but she wouldn’t take the loan. She’s always been weird about money.”
Ignoring his grudging respect for Kelsey’s decision and the curiosity about her weirdness when it came to her family’s money, Connor focused on what she was getting from the Wilson family name. “So this wedding’s a big deal to Kelsey, huh?”
“Oh,