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“Come on. You can’t be that worried about what people are going to say.”
“I’m here, aren’t I? The only thing worse than being here and having all these people talk about me behind my back would be to stay home and have them talk about me without any restraint at all.”
“So show ‘em you don’t care,” he encouraged, lifting a hand and running his index finger from the nape of her neck down … over her bare skin … until he hit the top of her dress, where he traced the line of the zipper to the small of her back.
Half surprised the small metal teeth didn’t simply melt away, Emily swallowed hard and searched for an argument to keep herself from doing the same. “I do care. I should care. Today was supposed to be my wedding day. I was supposed to be marrying the man I loved and—”
“But you didn’t. And you’re relieved.”
“Of course I’m relieved. Who would want to be married to someone who cheated and lied?”
“I mean, you’re relieved because you didn’t love him.”
Emily pulled back far enough to meet his gaze. If his dark eyes had slowly peeled away her clothes, she wouldn’t have been surprised—he had that kind of reputation. But she hadn’t anticipated the way his knowing look stripped bare all the insecurities she’d tried to hide. Totally exposed, she struggled to duck behind an indignant front.
“What makes you so sure? You don’t know me. You don’t know—”
“I know when a woman’s in love, and I know when she’s heartbroken. And you, sweetheart, are neither.”
Javy let Emily go at the end of the dance. He couldn’t help watching her walk away. The gown she wore fit her willowy curves to perfection, drawing his eyes to her slender waist and the flare of her hips. The color—a soft, innocent pink—made her skin look even creamier. She had a grace and bearing that spoke of her wealth and pedigree. He would have gladly danced with her all night—breathing in the scent of peaches on her skin, following the fragrance from the curve of her neck, left bare by her upswept hair, to the hollow of her throat, to the valley between her breasts—but the worry clouding her blue eyes had told him how truly concerned she was by what the high-society guests around them thought.
Too bad she hadn’t taken him up on his offer to give the crowd something to talk about. His blood heated at the thought of Emily kissing him in front of the whole crowd, of discovering her unique taste, feeling the slow, soft slide of her lips against his own. But he supposed it would require something bigger than dumping a fiancé she didn’t really love to shake up her world that much.
Making his way to the bar, he ordered a beer. Champagne toasts were likely the thing, but he had simpler tastes. He’d taken his first sip from the bottle when an exuberant hand clapped down on his shoulder.
“Hey, having fun?”
Javy turned to meet Connor’s grin. “You bet. This is my kind of party,” he said wryly. “Loved the ice sculpture, by the way. What the hell was it supposed to be? Some kind of snake?”
“A swan,” his friend said, only to admit a split second later, “I think. Anyway, this is what Kelsey wanted. Her dream wedding.” As he spoke, his gaze immediately sought out his new wife, who was dancing with her uncle.
Javy figured he could have dumped the melting serpent/swan into his friend’s lap and he wouldn’t have noticed. “I’m happy for you, man. Really.” He winced, hearing the doubt he was trying a little too hard to hide.
“Yeah, right.” Connor slanted Javy a glance that reminded him how well they knew each other.
“Sorry. I mean, don’t get me wrong. Kelsey’s a great girl, but—”
“You didn’t think I’d ever settle down,” Connor said, filling in the details. His gaze met Kelsey’s from across the ballroom, and he smiled. “Things change.”
He’d said the same to Emily. “Yeah, guess so.”
“Except for you.” Turning back to Javy, Connor said, “Look, I know you’re still all about playing the field, but you gotta know Emily’s not up for the game.”
Javy pulled back in surprise. “Hell, Connor, you haven’t warned me away from a girl since we were both interested in Alicia Martin in the fifth grade. Are you sure you married the right woman? Emily’s—”
“Emily is Kelsey’s cousin,” Connor interrupted, leaning forward enough to warn Javy not to finish his thought. “I’m just looking out for her. She’s family now. You understand.”
“Yeah, sure,” Javy agreed as Kelsey waved her husband over to the dance floor.
He understood because at one time Connor had considered Javy family. They’d practically grown up together, covering each other’s backs and pulling each other through some rough times.
“Things change,” he mumbled, lifting the beer bottle to his lips for another drink.
Connor wasn’t the first of his friends to get married and likely wouldn’t be the last. But Javy had no intention of following that line down the aisle. Not now, not ever.
Connor was right about Javy liking to play the field. It had been years since he’d had trouble forgetting a woman, and ever since then, they had come and gone, none of them sticking around long enough to etch a place in his life or in his heart. He had no reason to believe Emily would be any different.
Now that the wedding was over, there’d be little chance of their paths crossing again and less reason for her to cross his thoughts.
No, he definitely wouldn’t have any problem forgetting Emily Wilson, he thought as an exotic brunette at the end of the bar caught his eye. Her ruby-red lips curved in invitation, and he waited for the familiar kick of interest to flare. He could send over a drink—a cosmopolitan, he figured—strike up a conversation and be well on his way to forgetting. He’d learned, thanks to his friends’ weddings, that a reception was the perfect place to first meet a woman. After all, half the work was done for him. The candles, the flowers, the romantic music were already in place. It was easy. Maybe too easy.
When the bartender came by, Javy didn’t order a cosmo or any other kind of break-the-ice drink. Instead, he handed over a few bills for his beer and turned to watch Emily in the out-of-the-way corner where he’d first spotted her.
He wondered if she knew how completely false her smile looked even from across the room. It didn’t come close to reaching her eyes—those beautiful blue eyes with darker flecks, which reminded him of the turquoise gemstones his mother loved.
Emily Wilson was a gorgeous woman, no doubt about it, but if she really smiled—hell, if she laughed—he didn’t think a man in the room could resist. Including him.
Good thing it didn’t look like she’d be laughing anytime soon.
Twenty minutes, Emily vowed silently. She’d give Connor and Kelsey another twenty minutes to cut the cake, and then she was leaving.
She’d accomplished what she had set out to do by coming to the wedding. First, of course, to see her cousin and Connor get married. And second, to face friends and acquaintances for the first time since calling off the wedding. She’d known the whispers and speculation would only be harder to withstand the more time that passed. So, although she wished she were brave enough to stay until the end—heck, she longed for the courage to stand among the single women and do her darnedest to catch the bouquet—in twenty minutes she was going to live up to her own words and sneak out a side door.
Until then, well, Emily decided she had to go to the restroom. She’d check her makeup, her hair, her dress, her shoes, even her nail polish, and hopefully by the time she completed the head-to-toe inspection, at least a quarter of an hour would have passed.
As she stepped into the gold and marble restroom, the door closed behind her, muffling the sounds of music and laughter coming from the reception. Emily leaned against the door for a second and took her first deep breath in hours. The evening was almost over, and she had survived, proving once and for all that embarrassment could not kill.
Walking over to the vanity and the gilded mirror lit by matching sconces, Emily tried to focus on her hair, to doublecheck that none of the intricate curls were escaping the upswept style. But she froze, staring into her own reflection. Not checking her eyeliner for smudges or pulling her lip gloss from her beaded purse to dab on a second soft pink coat, but instead taking a good, long look at herself.
What was it about her that she couldn’t even inspire faithfulness during a very brief engagement? Todd hadn’t even waited until the wedding to break his vows. That slap of reality made a dream of lasting love and commitment seem just that—an impossible dream.
Except she had every faith that Connor’s love for Kelsey would last. Her cousin had found true love, as had her sister. Her parents’ thirty-plus years of marriage proved their lasting commitment. Which meant the dream was only impossible for her … because of something lacking in her.
Emily turned the faucets on full blast and roughly scrubbed at her hands. Todd was the one at fault, and she needed to stop blaming herself. Yet the doubts picked away at her self-confidence like hungry, spiteful ravens.
I know when a woman’s in love, and I know when she’s heartbroken. And you, sweetheart, are neither.
On the dance floor Emily had done her best to dismiss Javy’s words. He knew nothing about her. How could he presume to look inside her heart? But the more she had to work to summon up her anger, the more she worried he was right.
She’d been so sure she loved Todd; why else would she have agreed to marry him? And yet hadn’t she sensed their relationship wasn’t all it should have been? That he spent more time telling her what he thought she wanted to hear than actually talking to her? That they never looked beyond the surface of an engagement that looked good on paper?
She now knew why Todd had been so willing to accept so little. The bitter question was, why had she?
Keeping her gaze away from the mirror, Emily finished washing her hands. She’d just thrown the paper towels away when she heard a burst of laughter coming from the outside hall.
Averse to coming face-to-face with anyone at the moment, Emily grabbed her small purse and ducked into the far stall.
The restroom door opened, letting in a burst of music and laughter, along with two women. “Tell me! I have been dying to hear the whole story.”
Emily’s stomach immediately clenched at the expectation in the woman’s voice.
“Well.” Drawing out the moment, the second woman paused. “From what I heard, she found out her fiancé was cheating on her with the family chef.”
“No!”
“Yes, and it gets even worse! It turns out they have a child together. A boy, I think.”
“Oh, that is horrible!” the second woman exclaimed, sounding all too overjoyed by the scandal.
Humiliation burned in Emily’s cheeks at the delight the women were taking in her embarrassment. The details were wrong but close enough for her to realize her family had once again trusted the wrong person. She hadn’t spoken to anyone else about Todd’s infidelity or his reasons for proposing. And yet someone—her mother or sister, most likely—had talked to a close friend, no doubt swearing them to secrecy, for all the good it had done.
The betrayal was minor compared to Todd’s lying and cheating, but for Emily, it was the last straw.
With a definitive flick of her wrist, she unlocked the stall door. The two women spun in guilty tandem, but Emily didn’t spare them a glance. Instead, she moved toward the mirror. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind one ear, keeping her focus on her own reflection as she spoke. “It was the maid, not the chef. And she’s still pregnant. The baby hasn’t been born yet. If you’re going to talk about me, you might as well get the details straight.”
A stunned silence accompanied her exit from the restroom—probably the first time either woman had stopped talking since they’d arrived—but Emily didn’t feel better. She hadn’t thought it possible, but if anything, she actually felt worse.
She was leaving. Now. Before she gave everyone even more to talk about by foolishly bursting into tears at her cousin’s reception.
Rounding a corner, she gasped when a pair of strong hands clamped on her shoulders, stopping her from running headlong into a tuxedoed chest. “Whoa! Where’s the fire?” Javy’s laughter trailed away, and he ducked his head to look into her face. His thick eyebrows lowered over his eyes. “Emily? Are you all right?”
Desperate to escape, she said, “I—I have to get out of here.”
“Okay.” Without questioning, he draped an arm around her shoulders and guided her toward an exit. But instead of a quick farewell before he went straight back to the reception, he followed her into the summer night air.
Moonlight glinted on the surface of the nearby pool, and the multicolored lights played over the stream pouring from a rock waterfall. The peaceful setting was a sharp contrast to the turmoil churning inside her, reminding Emily this was her problem.
Everyone else was having a good time. Everyone else should be having a good time … including Javy. She hadn’t missed the hungry looks several women at the reception had slanted in his direction. He could be with any one of them right now.
Ignoring the twinge of regret, she turned to him and said, “You need to go back inside. You’re the best man. You have to give the toast and—”
“Already did.”
“You did?”
“Yep. Short and sweet, just the way the guests like it. No one came here tonight to hear me talk.”
“I’m sorry I missed it.” Despite his protest, Emily definitely enjoyed hearing Javy talk. The deep murmur of his voice held a hint of his Hispanic heritage and a trace of good humor, like he was ready to laugh at any given moment.
“Hmm, me, too. I have to say, I was a hit. Especially the love song I recited in Spanish.”
Uncertain if she could take him seriously, she protested, “You did not.”
“I did. Spanish is one of the romance languages, you know.”
Pig Latin would be one of the romance languages as long as Javy was the one speaking it. She was willing to bet every woman in the ballroom had gone a little weak at the knees listening to him, and maybe it was a good thing she hadn’t been inside.
The memory of their dance still lingered, not only in her mind, but in every part of her body that had brushed his as they swayed together. She could still feel the softness of his hair on her fingertips, the broad shoulders beneath her hands and the press of his thighs against her own….
Desire still tingled along nerve endings every place they had touched, and the last thing she needed was Javy’s Spanish love song as a soundtrack.
Holding out his arm, he said, “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“For a walk. Unless you’d rather be alone.”
Emily knew she should take the easy out he’d given her. Not because she actually wanted to be alone, but because being with a man of Javier Delgado’s reputation was not smart.
Or maybe it was, she thought suddenly. After feeling like she’d lived her whole life with blinders on, maybe taking a walk with her eyes wide-open was the smartest thing she could do.
Chapter Two
Javy waited for Emily’s answer, anticipation picking up a beat inside him that he hadn’t felt for years. He wouldn’t blame her if she wanted to be alone, but he hoped she’d say yes. A simple moonlight stroll suddenly meant more than his last several relationships combined.
Stupid, he thought. He was the last guy to suffer from wedding fever, but if he didn’t know better.
“Won’t Connor notice that you’re gone?”
Connor was more likely to notice that both he and Emily were gone, but Javy wasn’t about to point that out. “I’m sure he’ll figure I’m around somewhere. Besides, isn’t it time for them to take off for their honeymoon?”
“I suppose so.” Emily crossed her slender arms, although she couldn’t possibly be cold, even with the slight breeze stirring the summer night air.
Javy swore silently. Emily would have been leaving on her honeymoon tonight. While finding out her fiancé was a liar and a cheat—not to mention a moron, because, come on, what kind of idiot cheated on a woman as beautiful as Emily Wilson?—might have been a relief, it still didn’t change the fact that all of Emily’s plans had come crashing down around her. Not just plans for a wedding or honeymoon, but her whole future. No wonder she was feeling more than a little lost even if she hadn’t loved the guy.
“I’m sorry, Emily. I know how hard this must be for you.”
She started walking alongside the meandering pool, silently accepting his offer. “We were going to go on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera. Todd had everything planned. Snorkeling in Cabo, windsurfing in Mazatlán, parasailing in Puerto Vallarta …” Her voice trailed off in a memoriam of broken dreams.
“You like windsurfing?” Javy asked, hearing the doubt in his own voice. He had no problem imaging Emily sunning herself on a sandy beach, easily visualizing her long limbs bared by a less-than-nothing bathing suit, but he couldn’t picture her riding the waves on a board.
“I’ve never been. I’m relatively sure I would have hated it,” she said lightly. “Just like I would have hated the cruise. I went on a three-day trip right after I graduated high school. Turns out I get seasick. I spent the entire time feeling nauseous in my cabin.” She gave a soft laugh. “If you think about it, Todd really did me a favor. It would have been a miserable honeymoon.”
Javy had a feeling the misery would have lasted far beyond the honeymoon. He caught her arm and forced her to face him, with the moon shining down like a single interrogator’s light-bulb into her turquoise eyes. “Why, Emily?”
A slender shoulder lifted in an eloquent shrug. “He had everything all planned and—”
“I’m not talking about the honeymoon. I’m talking about everything. The engagement, the wedding. Or was that all planned, too? Was it easier to go along with what everyone else wanted than to stop and think about what would make you happy?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t have married Todd—I wouldn’t marry anyone—just to make my parents happy.”
“Then why did you agree to marry him?”
“Because I loved him. And don’t you tell me that I didn’t! You don’t know me. You don’t know how I feel. And from what little I know of you, you don’t know what it’s like to be in love. You go from woman to woman with less time than it takes you to swap CDs.”
You don’t know love. Her words echoed in his thoughts, and Javy’s jaw tightened as he thought how wrong she was. He knew how love carved out a man’s insides, leaving him as hollow as a grinning jack-o'-lantern. He knew too well—and he’d learned his lesson.
But forcing his muscles to relax, he offered her an easygoing smile. “Feel better?”
