Best Man for Hire (Entangled Lovestruck) (Front and Center) (16 page)

“You don’t have to keep telling me you want to get married someday,” she’d murmured against his chest, snuggling into his bed after the rehearsal dinner last night. “I believe you. I don’t expect forever after less than two weeks.”

He’d planted a kiss along her hairline and stroked his hand down her bare back. “I know. It just feels good to say it. No matter what happens.”

But he knew what was going to happen. He was going to marry Anna someday, dammit.

A rustle in the crowd drew his focus back to the church doors. Everyone in the audience stood, and Grant straightened a little as his sister began a slow march down the aisle. She looked beautiful in a shimmery gown Anna had called “eggshell,” whatever the hell that meant. The same curls Grant used to tug as a little kid were pinned up under a fluffy-looking veil. Her cheeks were flushed and her shoulders were bare, and she was smiling at Sam like he was the best thing she’d ever seen in her life.

“Good God,” Sam murmured beside him, and Grant smiled to see his new brother-in-law staring at her in wonder.

Sheri smiled and walked toward him, her eyes shimmering with emotion. She reached her groom’s side and stood on tiptoe to kiss him.

“You’re skipping ahead a little,” Grant whispered.

“It’s my wedding,” she whispered. “I can do whatever the hell I want.”

“Indeed,” Mac agreed, nodding over Grant’s shoulder.

“You look beautiful,” Sam murmured, and Grant took a step back to give them a moment of privacy. He looked away, his eyes scanning the crowd for Anna. He spotted her near the doorway, her eyes fixed on the happy couple. She was beaming with joy, her red hair glistening in the sunlight that filtered through the windows. She wore a blue dress, and though she’d tastefully pinned her hair behind her ears, Grant could still see the blue streak peeking through the coppery strands.

Grant caught her eye and smiled.
You look beautiful
, he mouthed.
I love you.

She smiled back.
I love you, too.

He forced himself to look away. This was his sister’s big day, and he didn’t want to detract from that by ogling the wedding planner. There’d be plenty of time for that later.

He let his gaze drift across the crowd. There were a lot of people here, some cousins and aunts and uncles he recognized, and a few of Sam’s sisters and a lot of assorted friends. He spotted Janelle on the far side of the church and watched her hand a cable to the videographer. The man nodded and Janelle scurried discreetly out the side door, as unobtrusive as possible.

“Dearly beloved,” the minister began, and Grant started to pull his eyes back to the happy couple.

He froze.

His eyes caught a flash of movement beyond the side door. A figure stood outside, cloaked in shadows, watching through the small sliver of light.

“We are gathered here this day to join this man and this woman in the bonds of holy matrimony.”

Grant forced himself to pay attention, ignoring the prickle of unease in his gut. His sister was beaming at Sam now, reciting vows the two had written together.

“Through diapers and deployments, though burned dinners and good wine, I promise to love you—”

Grant swallowed back a lump in his throat as his sister and Sam took turns pledging their eternal devotion to one another. He couldn’t ask for a better man to be marrying his sister, and he knew Sam was getting a helluva woman with Sheri. The service continued, and Grant stole another glance at the door. It wasn’t ajar anymore, so maybe he’d been imagining things.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister said at last. “You may kiss the bride.”

The audience erupted into applause, and Grant joined the cacophony. He clapped Sam on the back, and Mac followed suit.

“Congratulations, man. Take good care of her.”

“Way to go, bro.”

The happy couple didn’t stop kissing, and Grant saw Anna beaming at the back of the church. He smiled at her, and she waved back. Her eyes looked glittery, and he wondered if she felt moved by the ceremony or by something else.

He kinda hoped it was a little of both.

As the pianist played the final bars of the song Grant only knew as “There Goes the Bride,” his sister and Sam marched hand in hand down the aisle, laughing as each of them stopped to scoop up one of the twins. They headed toward the door, Sheri’s veil trailing behind them on the breeze.

The crowd began to disperse, picking up purses and murmuring to each other about the vows and the flowers.

“So pretty.”

“A wonderful couple.”

“Such a lovely ceremony.”

Grant made his way through the crowd, wondering when the day would come for his family and Anna’s to gather together and murmur the same things about the two of them.

“You did a wonderful job,” one of Sam’s sisters was saying as she clasped Anna’s hand. “Such a beautiful wedding. Do you have a card? My best friend is getting married next year, and she’s been looking to hire someone.”

“Of course,” Anna said, beaming. “I left my purse in the other room, but I’ll come find you at the reception.”

“Fabulous,” the woman said, and walked away.

“You’re a popular woman,” Grant said, sliding an arm around Anna as he stepped into the space the woman had vacated. “I don’t suppose I could hire you?”

“I’m pretty sure there are laws against hiring people for what you have in mind,” she said, stretching up on tiptoe to kiss him. “I’m happy to volunteer, though.”

“Your duties will be pretty extensive,” he murmured, kissing her back. “Speaking of duties, I had a message from my command this morning.”

“Oh?”

“There’s a special intelligence project I’ll be working on for PACOM. It’s based out of Fort Lewis.”

Anna’s eyes went wide. Grant wasn’t sure how to read her at first, but her smile was quick to alleviate his worry. “In Washington? That’s only a couple hours from Portland.”

“I know.” Grant grinned and pulled her closer, pleased she seemed delighted instead of freaked out by how quickly things were moving. “We’ll be able to see each other all the time.”

“All the time,” she repeated settling into his arms in a way that left him feeling certain she was made to fit there. “I can live with that.”

Grant breathed in the flowery scent of her hair, feeling damn glad to be there, even if he did have to wear a monkey suit. Anna was soft and warm in his arms, and her cheek fit perfectly into the hollow of his chest.

He glanced back at the side door, surprised to see it ajar again.

A man stood in the shadows wearing a dark gray suit. He had a thick beard and dark sunglasses that weren’t necessary in the dim light of the hall. Grant blinked. The man was watching him.

The figure moved a fraction of an inch, his body hidden almost completely by the door. A sliver of light fell across his face, and Grant froze.

Schwartz?

Even through the sunglasses, he could tell the man’s eyes had locked with his. They stood frozen like that for a moment, neither of them moving or speaking or even seeming to breathe. Grant didn’t blink. He couldn’t tear his eyes from the space, couldn’t stop his mind from racing to the possibility that his long-lost brother had decided to come after all.

Anna stirred in his arms. “We should probably get going to the reception,” she murmured against his chest. “I want to get there before the caterer does.”

Grant blinked. Through the sliver of light in the doorway, he saw the man turn away.

As the figure made his way down the hall, Grant saw the faintest trace of a limp.

Then the man was gone, vanished into the sunlight far away from the bustling crowd.

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Acknowledgments

Tremendous thanks, as always, to Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary. I’m forever grateful to have you in my corner, especially since our corner has all the good candy and beer.

Thank you to Heather Howland for being a kick-ass editor and all around awesome idea generator. I’m also grateful to the entire Entangled team for the fabulous support, promotion, distribution, and everything else you do to turn my words into books instead of crossword puzzles.

Big huge thank yous and sloppy hugs to “Major Sexypants” Jason Faler for all your help nailing down the military details. I couldn’t have done this without your wisdom and insight, and any errors here are entirely my fault. Or my cats’ fault. It’s easier to blame them.

Thanks a million to my fabulous critique partners and beta readers, Linda Grimes, Cynthia Reese, Linda Brundage, Bridget McGinn, Minta Powelson, and Larie Borden. You ladies are my rock stars, only without the big hair and coke habit.

Oodles of gratitude to Aaron and Carlie Fenske for getting hitched on Kauai so I had an excuse to set a wedding-themed book there. Thanks also to my parents, David and Dixie Fenske, for choosing to live half the year on the island so I’ll never run out of reasons to visit and use the locale as the setting for stories.

Thank you to Cedar and Violet for being the best step kids in several galaxies, and for continuing to be impressed by the sight of my books on store shelves.

And thanks especially to my husband (HUSBAND!), Craig Zagurski, for your endless support and love, and for the secret behind
that
scene.

About the Author

Tawna Fenske
traveled a career path that took her from newspaper reporter to English teacher in Venezuela to marketing geek to PR manager for her city’s tourism bureau. An avid globetrotter and social media fiend, Tawna is the author of the popular blog,
Don’t Pet Me, I’m Writing
, and a member of Romance Writers of America. She lives with her gentleman friend in Bend, Oregon, where she’ll invent any excuse to hike, bike, snowshoe, float the river, or sip beer along the Bend Ale Trail. She’s published several romantic comedies with Sourcebooks, including
Making Waves
and
Believe it or Not
, as well as the interactive fiction caper,
Getting Dumped
, with Coliloquy.

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