One Winter Wedding. Barbara Hannay
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The group, a silent film of family togetherness, said their goodbyes amid hugs and kisses, with Kelsey drifting just outside the happy circle. They broke into pairs, the elder Wilsons off to the left with Aileen and her husband, Emily and Dunworthy to his car—illegally parked, Connor noted—alongside the restaurant. Kelsey, the odd woman out, headed toward the back of the restaurant, crossing the parking lot…alone.
Todd’s SUV engine roared. He should follow, Connor knew. His hand went to the ignition, but he didn’t turn the key. A gut feeling, the kind Kelsey had sardonically discounted, held him in place even as Todd backed his vehicle away from the restaurant.
He had to go now if he had any hope of following. Instead, he leaned forward. Kelsey had nearly disappeared around the building. That side of the restaurant wasn’t as well lit. Her hair looked brown in the meager light, the shadows dousing its fiery color. Dressed in a denim skirt and lace-trimmed green T-shirt, she looked smaller than usual…younger and more vulnerable.
Connor had already pushed the car door open before he caught sight of the dark shape of a man cutting across the parking lot and heading her way. Surprise drew Kelsey up short. Connor was still too far away to hear what she said, but he was close enough to see the guy reach out to grab her.
It was his nightmare brought to life. Close enough to see, too far away to help…For a split second, Connor froze until he realized this was no dream and the woman in danger wasn’t Cara Mitchell. It was Kelsey.
Adrenaline pounded through his veins. A short burst of speed, the rhythmic thumping of feet against pavement, and he was there. Muscles flexing, he had the guy’s arm twisted behind his back, his face shoved against the side of the restaurant.
“You okay?” he demanded of Kelsey, surprised by the breathless gasp fueling the words. His heart pounded like he’d run half a mile instead of thirty yards. Trying to outrun the past…
“Kelsey?” He could feel her behind him but didn’t risk looking over his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Connor, what—” Too stunned by his sudden appearance to get the words out, Kelsey pressed a hand to her pounding heart, surprised the organ was still where it was supposed to be. For a second, she thought it had jumped right out of her chest.
“Did he hurt you?”
She blinked, the question not quite registering, and stared at her ex-boyfriend, who was pressed like a pancake against the restaurant’s brick wall. Matt Moran had hurt her. He’d wounded her pride, trashed her self-confidence, hitting her where she was most vulnerable with the reminder she could never compare to her oh-so-beautiful cousin.
Matt made a strangled, high-pitched sound that might have been her name. “Kelsey! Tell him I wouldn’t hurt you.”
Connor shot her a quick glance. “You know this guy?”
The tension eased from his shoulders, but Kelsey knew he could be back in battle mode in a split second. The masculine display shouldn’t have impressed her. She’d never advocated violence as a way to problem-solve. But seeing her former boyfriend pinned to a wall, well, it did her heart some good.
“Yes. You can let him go. He just wanted to talk to me.”
Only, Kelsey hadn’t wanted to hear anything Matt had to say. She’d already heard it all, ironically enough, from Connor.
He let go of the other man’s arm and spun him around. “I take it you don’t want to talk to him,” Connor said. “Can’t blame you there.” He gave the other man a hard, intense look, then seemed to sum up Matt’s entire character with a single shake of his head. Too bad Connor hadn’t been around when Kelsey first met Matt.
Oh, who are you kidding? a mocking inner voice asked. She would never have noticed Matt if Connor had been around. But for all their differences, Connor and Matt had one glaring similarity.
“Kelsey, please,” her ex-boyfriend practically whimpered. “You’ve gotta talk to Emily and tell her she can’t marry that guy!”
Even without glancing in Connor’s direction, she could feel his gaze. Heat rose to her face. She wanted to ignore both men at the moment, but she focused on Matt who was suddenly, oddly enough, the lesser of two humiliations.
“Emily’s in love with Todd, and their wedding is going to be perfect.” Determination rang in her voice, but Kelsey wondered who she was hoping to convince.
“You don’t understand!” Matt took a single step in her direction, but froze when Connor uncrossed his arms. Keeping a nervous eye on the other man, Matt weakly finished, “I love her.”
“Believe me. That is one thing I do understand.”
He’d offered the same pitiful excuse as an explanation for using her, for taking advantage of her feelings, for making love to her and imagining Emily in her place.
Her ex-boyfriend had the grace to hang his head in shame but not enough sense to know when to give up. “Maybe if I could talk to her—” Matt pressed.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, get over it!”
His eyes widened in surprise, but Kelsey felt a shock when the words sank into her soul, and she realized the real object of her anger. She was tired of feeling like a fool for believing his lies. Of accepting his unacceptable behavior. Of shouldering the blame for the failure of their relationship when Matt was at fault.
“Let it go, Matt, and move on. I have.”
Maybe that wasn’t entirely true. As far as love was concerned, she certainly wasn’t ready to take the plunge again, but might it be worthwhile to test the water?
“The lady asked you to leave.” Connor crossed his arms over his broad chest, suddenly seeming to take up twice as much space and ready to literally enforce her advice for Matt to move on.
With a single, pitiful glance at Kelsey, Matt shrank back into the shadows. She didn’t know if he’d heard a single word she said, but it didn’t matter. She’d listened.
“Man, you’ve had your work cut out for you, haven’t you?” Connor asked, once Matt had left. “How many of Emily’s exes have you had to deal with?”
Emily’s exes. Kelsey crossed her arms over her stomach, some of her earlier pleasure fading. The toe she’d stuck in the deep end felt chilled by frigid water. “So far, you’re the only one. Matt isn’t one of Emily’s ex-boyfriends. He’s mine.”
Kelsey didn’t know why she spilled that bit of information. It wasn’t as if she wanted Connor to feel sorry for her. She didn’t know what she wanted from him.
He kicked at the asphalt and glanced in the direction the other man had disappeared. “Hell, Kelsey, you shoulda told me that before. I wouldn’t have been so gentle.”
The unexpected comment startled a laugh from her. It bubbled inside, shaky at first but growing stronger until she felt lighter, buoyed by the emotion and perhaps the chance to let go of the past. “How exactly do you throw a man gently against a wall?”
“Gently means he gets to slink off under his own power. Not so gently requires an ambulance.”
“I guess Matt doesn’t know how lucky he was.”
“You’re right, Kelsey. Something tells me he has no idea.”
Certainty filled Connor’s deep voice. Just listening to him made her feel free from the shame and embarrassment that had held her down for so long. Stepping closer, he crooked a finger beneath her chin. “You okay?”
She nodded, feeling his finger slide along the sensitive skin beneath her jaw. “Yes.”
Concern gave way to relief and then anger. “You should have had someone walk you to your car. You have no idea what could happen—”
“Connor, I’m okay,” Kelsey interrupted,