BEAUTY AND THE BEST MAN Read online

  “Thank you,” Angie said. “I think Matt’s trying to let you get used to the idea of him being with you with none of the sexual tension.”

  “That’s what you think,” she muttered.

  Angie laughed. “Ooh, interesting. So there’s still tension. But the question is, are you enjoying having Matt around?”

  “Absolutely.” The word had popped out before she could even think about holding it in.

  Angie grinned. “That’s the good news. Now the bad news?”

  “That’s easy. How can I trust him?” Kayla set her coffee cup down on the table. “He lives in L.A., Angie. And I live here. What will I do when he leaves again?”

  “How can you trust him? People do occasionally learn and grow, Kayla,” her friend said quietly. “And it sounds to me like he discovered he really didn’t like his life without you in it and so he came back home.”

  “For how long?”

  “You want guarantees?” Angie asked, shaking her head. “There aren’t any. Even as wonderful as Evan is, as happy as we are together—there’s no guarantee for us, either.”

  “And that doesn’t worry you?”

  “If I focused on it, it probably would,” Angie admitted. “I choose to focus on the fact that I love him. And I know that he loves me.”

  Which was something Kayla didn’t know about Matt. He had never said those three specific words. The words that would maybe make taking a chance just a little easier.

  Six

  It was a great party.

  Matt looked around the room at the friends and family gathered for Evan and Angelica’s rehearsal dinner. Sage Lassiter was standing against the wall, nursing a single beer and looking as though he’d rather be anywhere else. Marlene Lassiter, Angie’s aunt, brought J.D. a tall bottle of water, and Matt was sure the older man wished it was a beer. And J.D.’s nurse Colleen looked fabulous in a red dress that gave the society women here tonight a run for their money.

  Angie was cuddled in close to Evan and as the happy couple whispered together and shared a secretive smile, Matt frowned to himself. Where the hell is Kayla? As the maid of honor she had attended the rehearsal but when he’d tried to give her a lift to the dinner, she’d insisted on driving her own car. Had she gone home? Was she trying to avoid him?

  Scowling, he took a sip of his scotch. If she didn’t show up in a few minutes, he’d go looking for her. The past two weeks had nearly killed him. To be so close to her and not touch her had been much harder than he’d thought it could be. But that was the plan. Be with her. Be a part of her life. Show her that he wanted her with him. That she could trust him.

  But it was taking so damn long, he was ready to pitch the whole plan out the closest window, toss her over his shoulder and cart her off to bed. Once he had her there again, he would spend hours convincing her just how much he loved her. How important she was to him.

  He knew it was his own damn fault that he was in this situation, but what man wouldn’t panic when he was unexpectedly slapped in the face by love? Nine months ago, he’d run as far and as fast as he could. Now, he had to find a way to prove to the only woman who mattered to him that he would never run from her, from what they could have together, again. He didn’t have everything worked out yet. He couldn’t promise he’d be staying in Cheyenne forever, but he knew he didn’t want to live his life without Kayla in it. All he had to do was figure out what the hell to do about all of this.

  Checking his watch, he realized the dinner was about to start. Dylan Lassiter hurried into the room, straightening his tie with one hand and smoothing his hair with the other. He looked like a man who’d been...busy. Well, at least someone was.

  Matt knew it the moment she entered the room. He felt the nearly magnetic charge in the air. His gaze locked on her and when she smiled, everything inside him tightened. She wore blue. A dress with a scooped neck, a tight, short skirt and skinny straps that snaked across her shoulders. The black pumps she wore had three-inch heels and made her legs look even more amazing than usual.

  She took his breath away. And judging by the knowing smile lighting her eyes, she knew exactly what she was doing to him. He made his way to her, and going against his own damn plan, he pulled her in for a quick, hard kiss. “You look amazing.”

  “Thank you,” she said, lifting one hand to her lips as if feeling the kiss he’d left there.

  Oh, yeah. He couldn’t imagine now how he had kept from touching her for so long. Couldn’t think why he’d had the idiotic idea to go slowly when all he wanted to do was snatch her up and never let her go.

  But he would have to let go soon, wouldn’t he? Unless, Matt told himself, he could find a way to keep them together. His heart filled and his mind raced and he knew suddenly what he had to have. What he needed, wanted more than anything else in the world. All he had to do was convince Kayla.

  “Matt!” Evan hurried up to them. “Sorry Kayla, I just need a second with Matt.”

  A little irritated at being interrupted, especially now that he knew just what he wanted to do, Matt asked, “What’s up?”

  “I just wanted to let you know I’m going to need you to head back to L.A. right after the wedding.”

  Beside him, Matt felt Kayla stiffen. Great. Perfect timing.

  “That new account you signed on? He wants to double down on his advertising budget and I need you to handle it personally.”

  “Sure,” Matt said tightly. “Fine. I’ll take care of it.”

  “I know you will,” Evan agreed with a wide smile. “Okay, and that’s all the shop talk allowed tonight, I swear.” He scanned the crowd, spotted Angelica and said, “See you two later, huh?”

  When he was gone, Matt stared down at Kayla.

  “You’re leaving soon.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Yeah,” he said, shoving one hand through his hair. If he could have, he would have kicked Evan for ruining tonight. For putting Kayla and him at odds before he’d even had a chance to smooth her into bed where he could romance her into the future he suddenly could see so clearly.

  “Right after the wedding?”

  “Apparently,” he said. “Look, I didn’t want to do this right now, but since it’s in the open—Cheyenne will always be home to me, but I’ve got a life in California, too.”

  “Yes, I know.” Her eyes were shadowed.

  “Kayla...” Damn it, this wasn’t going at all as he wanted it to.

  She shook her head. “You don’t owe me an explanation this time, Matt.” Lifting her chin, she gave him a small but determined smile. “You’re leaving. I’m staying. It’s not like I’m surprised. We all knew you would be going back to L.A. eventually.”

  Yeah, they had known that all along. But until now, he hadn’t really let himself acknowledge that leaving without her was completely unacceptable. How could he go back to a life without her in it? Impossible. Now all he had to do was make her see things his way. “Let me get you some wine.” He took her arm and steered her through the crowd toward the bar.

  “Matt, wine isn’t going to solve anything.”

  Stubborn until the end. “Sometimes a glass of wine is just a glass of wine.”

  As they crossed the room, J.D. Lassiter picked up his bottle of water, frowned at it and instead reached for a nearby glass of champagne. Tapping a spoon against the delicate crystal until he had everyone’s attention, the older man let his gaze sweep the crowd before saying, “Dinner’s about to be served, so I wanted to say a few words before we get started.”

  His nurse
was close at hand and she looked worried, Matt thought as he handed Kayla a glass of white wine. Frowning himself, he studied J.D. and realized that the man’s skin had a gray cast to it.

  “Is he okay?” Kayla whispered, their differences set aside for the moment.

  “I don’t know,” Matt answered, but knew that there was no way to stop J.D. Lassiter once the man had decided on a course of action.

  “We’re all here to celebrate my girl Angelica’s upcoming marriage.”

  Smatterings of applause broke out, before J.D. shushed them all with a wave of his hand. “I’m a big believer in family,” he continued, his voice going softer. “A man makes mistakes in his life, can’t avoid them. But the one thing you should be able to count on is family.”

  Kayla glanced around the room, wondering if anyone else but she was noticing that J.D. didn’t look too well. But the others were clearly just listening to the words.

  “All of us gathered here tonight are family. By blood or by choice. Doesn’t matter. The only thing that does matter is that we’re here for each other come what may. So I’ll ask you to lift your glasses—”

  He stopped. Eyes going wide briefly, his expression vaguely surprised, J.D. dropped the champagne flute and the fine crystal shattered on the tile floor. He didn’t seem to notice. He took a single step, then slumped to the floor and lay still.

  The next few minutes felt as if they’d been pulled out of time. Kayla knew only moments went by but everything took place in such slow motion it was as if hours were crawling past. She watched as if from a distance even though she was right in the middle of it all.

  Chaos erupted. Angie screamed. Colleen dropped beside J.D., loosening his tie and collar. She checked his pulse and as Dylan and Sage dropped to the other side of their father, she began CPR.

  Horrified whispers ran just beneath the shouts and choked, muffled sobbing from the people gathering in a tight circle around the fallen giant.

  Kayla moved to Angie, wrapped one arm around her and held on as Evan dialed 911. Holding on to her friend, feeling the other woman’s tremors wracking through her own body, Kayla watched helplessly as Colleen continued CPR.

  Matt herded the crowd back, giving those trying to help J.D. the room they needed. Matt’s gaze locked with Kayla’s and she knew exactly what he was thinking. It didn’t look good. There’d been no change in J.D.’s condition. He lay still and quiet, the only island of calm in a churning storm of emotion.

  Sage and Dylan hovered over their father, helping Colleen as they could, focusing on the old man as if they could use the strength of their will to heal him.

  And Kayla thought wildly, there was a part of her half-expecting J.D. to sit up, laugh that booming laugh of his and tell everyone it was all a joke. A prank.

  But he didn’t move and as seconds passed and the sounds of approaching sirens grew louder, Kayla hugged her friend tighter, knowing that nothing was ever going to be the same for any of them again.

  * * *

  At the hospital, Kayla felt absolutely useless. She couldn’t help J.D. Couldn’t help her friend. Couldn’t help herself.

  Angie was bereft, huddled against Evan’s chest, her quiet sobs echoing in the eerie stillness of a cold, antiseptic waiting room. Colleen sat beside Marlene, offering what comfort she could while Sage and Dylan paced relentlessly across pale green linoleum. No matter what happened with J.D. tonight, Angie had already made the decision that the wedding would be postponed indefinitely.

  No one could think of a wedding right now and Kayla had promised to make all the necessary calls as soon as they knew what was happening.

  Until then, Kayla was grateful for the warmth and strength of Matt’s arm around her shoulders. It felt good to have him with her. Even though it tore at her to think that soon he would be gone again, right now, he was here. With her. And she knew somehow that as long as she needed him, he would stay. All night if necessary. Even longer. As that thought slid through her mind, she realized that she believed in him.

  She wasn’t sure when it had happened, but Kayla was convinced now that he really did want her in his life. How that would work out, she didn’t have a clue, but maybe together they could find a way.

  As an anonymous voice bristled over the loudspeaker, Marlene cried into a tissue and Dylan offered to bring everyone coffee. But before they could respond, a doctor strode into the waiting room and everyone there leaped to their feet. They had been waiting so long—now they would finally have answers. But judging from the look on the doctor’s face, Kayla knew none of them was going to like what he had to say.

  “Ms. Lassiter,” he said, stopping directly in front of Angie.

  She stood up, with Evan, Sage and Dylan flanking her in a protective half circle. “Yes?”

  “I am sorry,” the doctor offered, his gaze shifting between the family members before coming back to Angie. “We did everything we could, but your father passed away.”

  Angie swayed in Evan’s arms, Marlene cried out and even Colleen had tears streaming down her face. The Lassiter men, including Evan, were stoic but pain gleamed in their eyes.

  Kayla was stunned. Shocked. J.D. had been ill, but to die like that? The night before his daughter’s wedding? To go so suddenly, so quickly. In one moment, everything had changed.

  It was staggering to realize that life, so wonderful, so precious, could end in the blink of an eye. Kayla’s heart hurt for her friend and the rest of the Lassiters. Their world had just changed forever. But maybe it was a lesson, too. To not waste time. To be sure to tell the people you love while you still had the chance.

  Now, she looked up into Matt’s green eyes and saw that he too had been hit hard by this news. But he only held her tighter, closer, as if he could somehow protect her from anything else that fate might throw at them.

  * * *

  A few days later, Kayla was still fielding phone calls from people wanting to know how Angie was dealing with her father’s death. She wanted to shout, How do you think she’s feeling? But she didn’t, because she knew that others felt just as helpless in the face of a tragedy as she did.

  To make it worse, she hadn’t seen Matt since the night J.D. died. He’d spent the night, and in the darkness they’d held on to each other, each of them giving and taking comfort.

  But just like nine months ago, in the morning he was gone. No word. No kiss goodbye. Nothing. She hadn’t heard from him since. For all she knew, he’d already left and gone back to L.A. At the thought, something inside her twisted in pain.

  Why would he do that again? She’d actually tried to call him this time, but hadn’t reached him. Was he finally making it a clean break? But what about everything he’d said over the past couple of weeks? What about what they’d both felt? Was that nothing? Was she supposed to just ignore the pain and pick up the pieces of her life again? Pretend nothing had happened? Nothing had changed?

  She was so confused and torn, Kayla hadn’t even gone in to work the past few days. She had stayed shut away in her house, reliving the night of J.D.’s death. Trying to come to terms with what she was feeling, thinking. Yet every thought circled back around to Matt. She didn’t know what to do about it. About him. Her feelings for him.

  But she did know that she wouldn’t go through what she had before. She wouldn’t drown in misery and agony. If there was one thing J.D.’s death had taught her, it was that life was too short. It went too fast. And could end all too unexpectedly.
/>   Life could change in a blink. End in a moment. As for those who were left behind, their lives could be rearranged, altered forever in the span of a single heartbeat.

  When the doorbell rang, she set her coffee cup down on the kitchen table and walked to answer it. Finding Matt on her front porch sent her reeling.

  “I thought you were gone,” she blurted.

  He snorted. Pushing past her into the house, he grumbled, “You thought I would leave again? Without talking to you?”

  “I haven’t seen you in days,” she countered, closing the door and following him into the living room. God, he looked good.

  “I had some thinking to do.”

  “And you had to do that away from me?”

  “Yeah, this time, I did.” He looked at her and she felt his gaze on her as powerfully as she would have a touch. She’d missed him with a bone-deep ache that just seeing him again was already easing.

  “Okay,” she said. “What was so important? What were you thinking about?”

  “Really?” He shook his head. “You can ask me that? I was thinking about you, Kayla. Us.”

  “Us?” Her heartbeat jumped and a flurry of nerves awakened in the pit of her stomach.

  “Of course us.” He pushed one hand through his hair. “Ever since the night J.D. died, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about us. Hell, I put off the trip to California because I couldn’t leave without settling some things between us.”

  She took a deep breath and held it. Her gaze locked on him, and she couldn’t have looked away for anything.

  “But you haven’t even spoken to me in days, Matt. You didn’t even call me back after I called you.”

  “I know.” He shook his head again. “You’ve got a right to be pissed, but hear me out first, at least.”