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Sudden doubts buzzed through her mind like annoying insects, unrelenting and unavoidable. Had Emily pushed for the summer wedding? Or was the idea Charlene’s…or Todd’s? Kelsey had been so focused on getting everything done on time, she hadn’t stopped to wonder about the short engagement. Until now…until Connor had stirred up the hornet’s nest of doubt.
Connor hung up the phone after ordering breakfast and ran his hands over his face. He hoped the distraction of food would wipe the nightmare from his memory. It wasn’t the first time disturbing images had invaded his sleep.
The beginning of the dream was always the same. Connor watched his client, Doug Mitchell, arrive at his wife’s apartment through the tunnel-eye view of a telephoto lens; only when he tried to stop the man from attacking his estranged wife, did the dream shift and alter, keeping him off balance, unsure, helpless. Sometimes he froze in place, unable to move a muscle, unable to shout a warning. Other times, he ran through air thick as quicksand, each move bogged down by guilt and regret.
But no matter how the dream changed, one thing remained the same: Connor never arrived in time to stop Doug.
A sudden knock at the door jarred the memories from Connor’s thoughts. Undoubtedly the Wilsons had picked the best hotel around for Emily’s reception, but no one’s room service was that fast. Besides, he had an idea who might be on the other side of the door, and it wasn’t the maid with fresh towels.
Opening the door, he summoned a smile for the woman standing in the corridor. “Morning.”
Emily Wilson beamed at him, looking like a Hollywood fashion plate of old in a yellow sundress layered beneath a lightweight sweater and a scarf knotted at her neck. “Connor! I’m so glad you’re here. I know I should have called first, but—”
He waved off her not-quite-an-apology and held the door open. “Come on in.”
As she breezed into the hotel room and set her handbag next to his laptop, Connor was glad to see the computer logo flashing across the screen. Last thing he needed was for Emily to see the dossier on her fiancé.
Emily took her time looking around the suite’s miniature living area: a cluster of armchairs and end tables encircling the entertainment center. The added touches of a stone fireplace, balcony overlooking the pool and hot tub spoke of the hotel’s five-star accommodations, but Connor doubted she was impressed. After all, she’d grown up surrounded by luxury and wealth.
“What are you doing here, Em?”
“I wanted to see you.” She blushed as prettily now as she had at eighteen, but somehow for Connor the effect wasn’t the same.
An image of Kelsey flashed in his mind, and he couldn’t help making the comparison between Emily and her cousin. It was the difference between a sepia photograph—all soft, dreamy hues—and a full-color, HD image that instantly caught the eye.
As a hotheaded teen, Emily had been his unattainable fantasy. But now it was Kelsey and her down-to-earth reality who kept intruding into his thoughts.
Like yesterday evening, when he’d stood on the balcony and watched to see if the Arizona sunsets were still as amazing as he remembered. As he watched the blazing light slowly fade on the horizon, it wasn’t past evenings that came to mind. Instead he thought of the way sunshine caught the fire in Kelsey’s auburn curls…
“I snuck out like when we were kids.”
Emily’s words jarred Kelsey from his mind. He told himself the swift kick in the gut was remembered pain and not anything current or life threatening. But, dammit, he didn’t need the reminder that as far as the Wilsons were concerned, he’d never be good enough. And while Kelsey might not look like her blond-haired, blue-eyed cousins, she was still a Wilson, and some things never changed.
Judging by Emily’s impish grin, she’d enjoyed reliving her youthful rebellion and the walk down memory lane. Too bad the trip wasn’t so pleasant for him. Feeling his smile take a sardonic twist, he asked, “Still can’t risk being seen with me in public, huh, Em?”
Her eyes widened in what looked like genuine dismay. “No, Connor! It’s not like that.” She reached out and grasped his arm, and the frantic 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, it’s huge! She’s counting on my wedding being the launching pad for Weddings Amour. The business is totally her baby, and she loves it. Says it makes her feel like a fairy godmother, starting couples out on their own happily-ever-after.”
Connor let out a snort of disbelief. He hadn’t read any fairy tales since he was six and figured it had been nearly as long since he’d believed in happily-ever-after.
“What?” Emily demanded.
“It’s—nothing.” He stabbed at his eggs. “The whole thing is crazy. Fairy godmothers, everlasting love, all of it—”
It was impossible. He’d seen far too many marriage vows broken from behind the telescopic lens of his camera. Those couples had likely had dream weddings, too, but the dream couldn’t survive reality. And sometimes—like with Cara Mitchell—happily-ever-after turned into a living nightmare.
“Well, don’t tell Kelsey her business is a joke. She takes it very seriously.”
“I bet she does.”
Seriously enough that Charlene Wilson had put Kelsey in charge of “attending to him.” He’d overheard the comment yesterday but hadn’t realized he’d be in the hands of a professional.
“Why all the questions about Kelsey?”
“Just curious.” When Emily’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully, he added, “I don’t remember you talking about her when we were going out, that’s all.”
She shrugged. “I didn’t know her then.”
“Didn’t know her? She’s your cousin, right?”
“I, uh, I meant I didn’t know her well.”
“Uh-huh.” Emily was a horrible liar and not much better at keeping secrets. He could have pressed. A few pointed questions, and Emily would have told him everything.
Connor refused to ask. Even as curiosity stacked one row of questions upon the next, he wouldn’t ask. Not about why Emily hadn’t known her own relative, not about why Kelsey had gone to public school instead of the exclusive prep schools her cousins had attended, not about why she was weird when it came to the family fortune.
He wasn’t back in Arizona to find out about Kelsey Wilson.
Returning his focus to that goal, he asked, “What’s Todd up to today? He must have a lot of free time on his hands while you and your mother and Kelsey take care of all the wedding details.”
“Oh, no. He has a meeting this morning. He’ll be at his office most of the day.”
“Really?” Now, this could be something. Connor forced himself to take a few bites of waffle before he asked, “What kind of meeting?”
“I’m not sure.” A tiny frown tugged her eyebrows. “Todd doesn’t tell me much about his work.” Laughter chased the frown away. “Just as well. I’d be bored silly.”
“I doubt that. You’re smart, Emily. Smarter than you give yourself credit for.”
“Thank you, Connor,” she said softly.
“How’d you two meet anyway? I don’t think you’ve said.”
“At a department store.” She smiled. “We were both shopping for Christmas presents for our mothers, but he didn’t have a clue. Finally he asked me for help. It was really cute.”
“Hmm. Almost as cute as when we met.”
“Oh, you mean in that sleazy bar where you had to fight off those bikers who were hitting on me?”
“A bar you weren’t old enough to be at in the first place,” Connor pointed out.
“Luckily you were there to rescue me,” she said, lifting her glass in a teasing toast.
“Yeah, lucky,” Connor agreed as he tapped his own glass against hers.
Emily might not know it, but he was here to save her again.
The tiny butterflies taking flight in Kelsey’s stomach as she drove toward the hotel turned into radioactive monsters by the time she stepped into the lobby. She’d been crazy to make a deal with Connor McClane. Somewhere along the way she was going to lose her soul.
Although they hadn’t made plans to meet this morning, the best way to keep an eye on Connor was to embrace their partnership. As she walked by the three-tiered fountain toward the elevators, the doors slid open. Kelsey gasped and ducked into an alcove—the same alcove to which Connor had pulled her aside the day before—and watched in disbelief as her cousin walked by.
What was Emily doing at Connor’s hotel?
Her cousin rarely left the house before noon, and it was barely nine o’clock. What was Emily doing up so early? Or had she stayed out too late? Kelsey’s stomach churned at the thought. She hated to think her cousin would be so susceptible to Connor’s charms. And what about you? her conscience mocked. How easily did you agree to work with Connor in this very spot?
But that was different! That was about business and keeping an eye on Connor and keeping him away from Emily…not that Kelsey had done a bang-up job at either so far.
Emily slipped on a pair of sunglasses and smiled at a bellboy, who nearly tripped over his feet as she walked by. She didn’t look as if she’d rolled out of bed with her ex-lover, but then again, Kelsey had never seen Emily look less than perfect. Ever.
Kelsey stayed hidden as her cousin sashayed across the lobby and out the automatic doors, then made a beeline for the elevator. “So much for his promises,” she muttered as she jabbed the Up button.
“But why am I even surprised?”
She stomped out of the elevator on the fourth floor. Had she really believed Connor would keep his word?
Maybe she had. Which only went to prove how some people never learned. Rapping on Connor’s door hard enough to bruise her knuckles, she thought she’d be better off banging her head against the wood.
