A Perfect Bride For Christmas (3 page)

Alex hands curled into fists. This was Zoe

Tommy slandered. His friend, his real friend—but Tommy had a point. If he planned to climb in the law firm, he needed the right wife, one who could hold her own with the other wives. Yolanda and her coterie spent half the day at spas, wore the right clothes, went to the best hairstylist. Zoe probably hadn’t gone to a beauty shop in the three years he’d known her.

And yet, he couldn’t take his eyes off the wealth of wild honey brown curls spilling down Zoe’s back to her waist. Her skin gleamed as white as the sheet she clutched to her ample breasts. Maybe being

married to his friend might not be so bad. They could make it work.

A memory, hazy at best, of his hands wrapped in her silky hair while he thrust into her caused an erection, so hard and fast, it nearly jumped out of his loosely wrapped towel. Alex managed to position himself until he could move without exposing

himself. Tommy had enough to laugh at already.

“Dude, you can’t stay married to her. It was just a joke.”

“It wasn’t a joke to me,” Zoe piped up. “You’re right, Tommy, I’ve loved Alex for a long time. Yes, I’m the office fat girl, so what. I have feelings. And if Alex will give me half a chance, I’ll be the best wife he could ever have.” She waited for him to come to her defense, her heart in her eyes. Alex didn’t know what to say. If he said
yes
to Zoe he could lose a chance at getting the corner office he had his eye on.

A
no
would hurt Zoe. He shook his head in silent agreement. She was strong. Zoe would land on her feet anywhere. Refusing her might sting, but she’d forget it in a few weeks. He had a life that didn’t include her. Friendship aside… That’s all they could ever be. The Partners just wouldn’t accept anything more.

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Dyann Love Barr

He offered her a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry, Zoe. This won’t work between us. Let’s forget about all this and chalk it up for what it was, a rotten joke.” The memory of what he considered a betrayal of their friendship justified his rejection. “You didn’t have to go along with it, you know.” There, that put the ball in her court and the blame square in her lap. “We’ll get an annulment.”

She shoved the mass of hair out of her face. “So, this is all my fault?”

Alex had trouble meeting her eyes. He said

nothing. He didn’t want to see her hurt or the pain in her eyes. He wanted things back to the way they were between them. Alex knew that would never

happen, not after the way she made love to him last night.

“Hey, look at this way, Zoe Pie,” Tommy grinned with glee. “At least you got a trip to Vegas and got laid. That won’t happen again for a long time.”

Zoe’s face paled, her breath hitched. For a

moment, Alex thought she might faint, but she held her head high. A martial light sparked in her

fantastic eyes. She clutched the sheet to her chest, marched over to Tommy, and did something he

thought her incapable of. She curled her fingers into a fist and let Tommy have it—hard in the eye.

Tommy’s yelp of pain and cursing heated the air.

Tears of laughter poured down Alex’s cheeks.

“You fucking deserved that, Tommy. I have an

excuse. I can’t remember shit.” He wiped at his face.

“If I did, I wouldn’t have married Zoe, not for all the money in the world.” He pulled in a deep breath and tried to stop laughing. “Sorry, Zoe, I didn’t mean it like that—it’s just I need you at the office, not in my bed.”

It was more than that… She trespassed lines a

wife shouldn’t. She knew too much about him. They were too close. All things he wouldn’t admit in front 16

A Perfect Bride for Christmas

of Tommy in a hundred years. Not that Tommy

would understand anyway. But Zoe might…

If they’d been alone.

It would’ve been kinder to kill her. He saw the hurt, the humiliation cloud her eyes, and regretted his thoughtless words once they were out of his mouth. Alex sobered, the laughter died. “Come on, Zoe. The joke’s over. Let’s go back to normal.”

“Yes, you’re right. It’s over.” With that, she

punched him in the nose with everything she had.

Pain exploded behind his eyes. The bone in his nose made a sickening
crunch,
and blood spurted—Alex yanked his towel off, stuffing it under his broken nose to staunch the flow.

“You know, guys, this is better than any floor

show.”

Clutching the sheet tight, Zoe gathered up her

clothes from the floor and snatched her purse from the dresser top. “I’m through with assholes. I’ve worked hard, sweated bullets, and pulled your butt out of the fire more times than you realize.” She twisted the ring off her finger and flung it at him.

“You don’t care about me or my feelings.”

A sharp sting blasted his right eye as the ring bounced off his face and onto the floor. “Ow, that hurt,” he yowled from behind the bloody towel

“Go ahead, get the annulment. I won’t fight it, but do me a favor.” Her gaze slid over Alex. “Don’t contact me, ever again. I loved you Alex, and neither of you have any respect for me. So screw you,

Tommy Dunne. And especially you, Alex.”

She marched out of the room wearing a sheet,

tears in her eyes, and her head held high.

“No, wait, Zoe—
stop.
” Alex ran out the room, bare-assed with a bloody towel in his hand. She got into the elevator and stabbed at the button. The doors slid shut but not before his heart clenched tight in his chest at the hurt in Zoe’s eyes.

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Dyann Love Barr

He’d screwed up big-time. The only person who

could fix it rode down seven floors to the lobby and out of his life, forever. Alex ran to the elevator and beat on the door.

“I do want you.” He gave the door one last

thump with his fist. “I mean it. Come back.” With a groan, he turned and slid down to the floor. The cold metal of the elevator door froze his back, the rasp of the carpet on his bare butt felt like a hair shirt.

“Here.” Tommy threw a hotel bathrobe at him.

“They’re used to naked people in Vegas but not in the hotel hallways.

“Fuck you, “Alex growled as he stood, looked

both ways, and slipped on the robe.

Tommy gingerly touched his fast blooming

shiner. “You dodged a bullet, pal.”

“No, I hurt someone very dear to me.” Alex

trudged back to his room.

“It’s for the best.”

Alex felt hollow inside as he thought back to the anguish in Zoe’s eyes. “Maybe she’s the one who dodged the bullet.”

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A Perfect Bride for Christmas

December 2010, Kansas City, Missouri

The mirror didn’t lie. It might as well be
the mark of Cain.

Alex ran a finger along the line of his nose,

feeling the long-healed break that gave his once-straight nose a cant to one side. Plastic surgery was always an option, and Lord knew, Sydney had

suggested it a thousand times. They were getting married Christmas Eve, and she said the wedding pictures would look so much better if he had it fixed.

Appearances were everything, she told him.

But if he had it straightened, it would be the

last bit of Zoe he had left. It seemed strange he would cherish the moment she’d landed that mean punch, but it rocked his world. When he took a good look at himself, he realized Zoe had been right all along—he was an asshole. From that moment on, he tried to be a better person. He stumbled and failed, a lot, but at least he made the effort.

No, Sydney would have to live with him, crooked nose, and all.

Tommy sat on the leather sofa in Alex’s office, reading the papers Alex’s mother sent him earlier in the week.

Someone named Keeley Jacobs had sworn,

under oath, she was Dad’s kid, and she wanted her share of his estate.

He thought of Hollyfield, their childhood home

out in the boonies of North Kansas City. The

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Dyann Love Barr

sprawling Victorian house, owned by Dad’s family since the late nineteenth century, sat on a large chunk of acreage. Not that Mom played Lady of the Manor. She had helped Dad run the car dealership, even took it over when their father had a scare with prostate cancer.

“This woman is saying she has an interest in

Hollyfield. Your dad died intestate. She may be right.”

Alex paced, his hand rubbed over his face.

“That’s impossible. My father would never cheat on my mother.”

“She’s included copies of her birth certificate, pictures of your father with this woman. Vietnam was hard on a lot guys, the separation from their families, dangerous situations. You know.”

“No, I don’t. You don’t understand—my parents

had the perfect marriage. All the Kings get married on Christmas Eve. It’s a tradition. It insures a wonderful life together. This would never have

happened.”

“This is real life, not some cinematic fairy tale like
It’s A Wonderful Life
. Angels don’t get their wings when a bell rings down here. Some thug rips them off and sells them to Victoria’s Secret for their newest commercials.” Tommy tapped the file in his hand. “This woman says her late mother served as a nurse in Vietnam with your father. Get over it.”

“Shit.” Alex flopped into his chair behind the

desk, leaned back against the cushioned leather, and closed his eyes. “This is going to kill Mom. She didn’t understand all the legal implications when she sent it to me.” He turned his head to look at his friend.

“She probably thought it might be a bill against the estate.”

Tommy leveled him with a hard stare. “I know

you, Heath, and Clint filed a quit claim deed back to your mother, but this can turn into a mess of worms.

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A Perfect Bride for Christmas

It’s like they say,
it’s all fun and games until the
flying monkeys attack.”

“Thank you for those words of wisdom.”

“Any time.” Tommy got up and laid the file on

Alex’s desk. “You better explain this to her, rather than have this Keeley Jacobs show up on her

doorstep with an appraiser in tow.”

“You’re right, you’re right.” Alex took the file and opened it again, his eyes scanning over the bits and pieces of information. “I hate this. There are times I think I should’ve taken up selling cars instead.”

****

Hillman. I can’t believe it. I didn’t recognize you at first.” Shock and pleasure followed on her face. “I thought you were in St. Louis.”

It felt strange to see Amelia again after all this time. She’d met her several times while working for Alex, but it felt odd that this elegant, petite woman had been her mother-in-law for all of thirty-six hours before her marriage to Alex had been annulled. Did she know about that awful time in Vegas?

“It’s Zoe Bennett now. I moved to St. Louis after I left the law firm. That’s where I met my husband.”

Amelia gave her a sweet smile, but her blue eyes were sharp and probing. Probably where Alex got his killer style in the courtroom.

“Oh, yes. I’d heard you remarried.” She gave Zoe a direct look. “This is very akward. I mean with everything that happened with Alex. Will working for me be a problem?” Amelia shook her head. “What am I saying? Of course it’s out of the question.”

“What would be out of the question?”

“I’m hosting a wedding reception at my home

this Christmas Eve.” Amelia shook her head. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

“There’s no hard feelings, no unresolved issues.”

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Dyann Love Barr

Zoe kept an even expression on her face. “It’s a catering job, Mrs. King. Which one of the boys is getting married, or is it for you and Frank? Renewed vows?”

Amelia’s pretty face turned gray. “Oh no, Frank passed away in July. I’m on my own now.” She gave Zoe a sad, sweet smile. “I’m dealing with it day by day, but this is important to Alex—the whole family.

Everyone will be there. I didn’t ask them to come for Thanksgiving, I didn’t feel ready, but I’m not

accepting excuses for Christmas. We need to start celebrating life again.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” Zoe wondered if the shoe she had firmly wedged in her mouth

accounted for the bad taste on her tongue. Blunders like this didn’t garner new customers, and Amelia King could lead a lot of business her way.

“Don’t worry.” Amelia might have an old fashion name, but her casual elegance said otherwise. She wore her white hair in a modern, short cut. Her black slacks, tan fitted sweater, and red blazer made her look a good ten to fifteen years younger than her sixty years. “Alex is the one getting married again.”

“Oh.” All the old memories, good and bad,

rushed back in mental collage that must have left her frown on her face.

“Are you sure you’re okay working on the

reception?”

“Oh.” Zoe blinked back her surprise. “No.” She

shook her head. “It won’t be a problem, Mrs. King.”

“Wonderful.” Amelia’s shoulders relaxed with

relief. “Maggie Callen said you were brilliant.

Everyone raved about the appetizers at her function last week. I would understand if you felt

uncomfortable.”

“Business is business, Mrs. King.”

“Now, Zoe, we’ve known each other way too long

for that. It’s Amelia.” She gathered her purse and 22

A Perfect Bride for Christmas

got to her feet. “This has been so nice seeing you again. I hope you didn’t think I was being rude when I didn’t recognize you.” Amelia smiled and pointed.

“The eyes finally gave you away though. No one has those, what did Alex call them—kaleidoscope eyes.

An unexpected thrill shot through Zoe. She’d

gotten over Alex a long time ago, but it felt good to know he’d noticed something good about her. “All right.” Zoe held out her hand to say goodbye. “I will get back with you on the menu, once you have the numbers nailed down.”

“Thank you again.”

Amelia turned to leave the shop, when three