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Wedding Date with the Best Man
Melissa McClone
Her friends have all found their Mr Right, but Jayne’s is Mr Right-Under-Her-Nose! Jayne Cavendish was engaged to Tristan MacGregor’s best friend, and strictly off-limits. Now she’s back from her girls’ weekend in Vegas – with a new hairdo, a new ‘no man’ rule and she’s even further out of his reach! His idiot ex-best friend might have destroyed her dreams, but the fun-loving girl Tristan fell for is still in there, waiting to be unleashed…and this intrepid adventurer is just the man for the job!
Dear Reader
Las Vegas has always been one of my favorite escapes. When I lived in Phoenix, Arizona, and could take advantage of cheap shuttle flights, my girlfriends and I spent many weekends lounging by hotel pools, scrounging out inexpensive buffets, window shopping and exploring casinos.
When I moved to San Francisco I continued to meet up with my friends for weekend getaways to Las Vegas. We all cherished the opportunity to dish about men and careers, recover from broken hearts, relax at a show or bond over blackjack.
The year I turned twenty-six, eleven friends—male and female—joined me for an amazing birthday celebration weekend. I’ve always been a fan of castles, so we stayed at the Excalibur Hotel on the Las Vegas strip. My birthday dinner was a banquet show, complete with gorgeous, jousting knights. A photo from that night—the silly grins, the extravagant medieval costumes—sits in my study today. It was a weekend to remember. Good times with great friends.
Those memories played a part in my writing WEDDING DATE WITH THE BEST MAN. When your heart is broken, like Jayne Cavendish’s, nothing beats a weekend away with your closest girlfriends.
Jayne is happy when her three best friends unexpectedly find love in Sin City. But it isn’t until she returns on a visit with sexy Tristan MacGregor that she discovers Las Vegas can be as romantic as Paris.
Enjoy!
Melissa
Wedding Date with the Best Man
By
Melissa McClone
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
GIRLS’ WEEKEND IN VEGAS
Four friends, four dream weddings!
On a girly weekend in Las Vegas, best friends
Alex, Molly, Serena and Jayne are just
supposed to have fun and forget men—but they
end up meeting their perfect matches! Will the
love they find in Vegas stay in Vegas?
Find out in this sassy, fun and wildly romantic
mini-series all about love and friendship!
Meet the girls:
Alex
SAVING CINDERELLA!
by Myrna Mackenzie
June
Molly
VEGAS PREGNANCY SURPRISE
by Shirley Jump
July
Serena
INCONVENIENTLY WED!
by Jackie Braun
August
Jayne
WEDDING DATE WITH THE BEST MAN
by Melissa McClone
September
To Virginia Kantra for her wonderful writing insights, support and friendship.
Special thanks to Amy Danicic,
Terri Reed and Girls’ Weekend in Vegas authors Myrna Mackenzie, Shirley Jump and Jackie Braun, and editor Meg Lewis.
Status update for Jayne Cavendish’s internet networking profile
Jayne Cavendish is getting out of the house…finally! (About an hour ago)
Serena Warren Benjamin: Good for you! Where are you going?
Jayne Cavendish: The Victorian Teahouse.
Molly Hunter Curtis: Wait a minute! Isn’t that where you had your bridal shower?
Jayne Cavendish: Yes, I’m putting the past behind me.
Alex Lowell McKendrick: Yay, girlfriend! Have a great time!
Serena Warren Benjamin: Now that you’re getting out, you need to visit us in Vegas!
Alex Lowell McKendrick: This is the city to fall in love!
Jayne Cavendish: So not ready for that, but someday I will be!
Serena Warren Benjamin: Vegas will be here when you’re ready!!!!
Chapter One
CONVERSATION and laughter surrounded Jayne Cavendish. Sitting at a small table tucked away in a corner of the Victorian Tea House, she glanced around the room.
Pairs of women sat at tables nestled among potted plants and curio cabinets filled with an eclectic collection of teacups and saucers. Everyone seemed to be having a great time at one of San Diego’s favorite Old Town establishments. Everyone but her.
She stared at her steaming cup of Earl Gray, wishing she could conjure up one of her three best friends. She missed Alex, Molly and Serena so much.
Sure, they kept in touch via phone calls, texting and Facebook. Twitter came in handy, too. Alex jetted back from Las Vegas when she could, and Molly would be returning once her and Linc’s dream house was built and his business moved here, but it wasn’t the same as all four of them living in San Diego, dishing face-to-face, getting pedicures and going to tea.
Jayne sank in her chair, feeling as buoyant as a deflated hot air balloon.
Maybe coming to the teahouse this Saturday afternoon hadn’t been such a good idea. She remembered her first visit, when her then-fiancé’s sisters had thrown Jayne a bridal shower. That ‘welcome to the family’ party seemed like years ago, even though it had been only months.
So much had changed since then. She touched the bare ring finger on her left hand. So much still hadn’t changed.
At least not for her.
Jayne looked down at the silver-rimmed plate containing two golden-brown scones and a dollop of honey butter.
Too bad she wasn’t hungry.
Uh-oh. If she weren’t careful she’d soon be hosting a pity party for herself. Jayne sipped her tea to clear her head.
No sense wallowing in the past.
Her teacup clinked against the saucer as she placed it on the table.
So what if memories of her bridal shower with the Strickland sisters were bittersweet? Jayne had other memories, good memories, of subsequent visits here with Alex, Molly and Serena. Her three friends might not be related to Jayne by blood, but she considered them the sisters of her heart. Nothing, not distance or their marriages, would ever change that.
Determined to make peace with the present and enjoy herself, Jayne removed a library book—the latest offering from a top personal finance guru—from her purse. She opened it to her bookmark: a picturesque postcard with a palm tree arcing over a crescent of sugar-white sand and turquoise water stretching all the way to the horizon.
A perfect place for a honeymoon, she thought with a twinge of regret.
No regrets.
She straightened.
So what if things hadn’t turned out with Rich Strickland as she’d planned? Because of what had happened—er, hadn’t happened—her three best friends had found the loves of their lives. Jayne could never regret the end of her engagement and the wild weekend with her friends in Las Vegas afterward that had brought romance and so much happiness to the three people who mattered most in her life.
She flipped over the postcard she’d received two months ago and reread Serena’s loopy, almost whimsical handwriting.
Jayne
Having a great time! This trip was the perfect way to celebrate Jonas’ election victory and recoup from campaigning! As soon as we’re home you must come to Las Vegas! I want to see you! Alex and Molly want to see you, too!
Hope all is well! Miss you!
Love,
Serena and Jonas
The number of exclamation points brought a smile to Jayne’s lips. Serena lived life as if an exclamation point belonged after everything she did, whether at work or play, but she’d found her center with Jonas Benjamin, the newly elected mayor of Las Vegas. He absolutely adored his wife.
As soon as we’re home you must come to Las Vegas!
Jayne wanted to see her friends, but she’d been putting off their invitations to visit. Venturing back to the neon-lit city, with its monstrous resorts and hundred-degree-plus temperatures, held little appeal and way too many memories of the time right after the breakup. Hmmm, maybe she could talk them into coming to San Diego instead. Her friends could bring their husbands and show the three men what their lives here had used to be like.
A life Jayne was still living.
She placed the postcard next to the plate of scones on the table and adjusted the book in her hands. Happily living, she reminded herself, even if her dreams had been put on hold and she was alone. Again.
She focused on the page, mentally taking notes on fresh ideas that might help the clients she counseled at the debt management center where she worked. No wonder the book had hit the bestsellers’ list. The author had some great ideas for getting one’s finances under control.
Several minutes later, the noise level in the teahouse increased exponentially, as if a crowd had entered all at once.
She looked up from the book, glanced behind her and saw a large group of women standing around and holding presents.
Her gaze collided with someone she recognized—Savannah Strickland, her ex-fiancé’s youngest sister. A look of disbelief filled Savannah’s hazel eyes before she turned away.
Was this a birthday party? Perhaps a baby shower for Grace, the oldest sister? Her third child must be due soon.
Curious, Jayne peeked at the colorfully wrapped presents. No bunnies. No duckies. No baby carriages. A few umbrellas, though.
Rich’s other sister, Betsy, noticed Jayne, gasped and elbowed her twin, Becca. Both turned bright pink.
Jayne didn’t understand their embarrassment. Sure this was a little awkward, considering what their brother had done to her, but his sisters weren’t to blame for his…
Oh, no.
There she was.
Every single one of Jayne’s nerve-endings stood at attention with a combination of shock and horror.
The other woman.
The reason Jayne was still single and her three friends were now married.
She forced her gaping mouth closed.
Jayne had only seen the woman once. At Rich’s apartment. Days before their wedding. A living, breathing Barbie doll in lingerie.
