Forever And A Day (Montana Brides, Book #7) (13 page)

“About twenty.”

“I’m doomed.” Alex looked seriously worried. “What the hell am I supposed to do if one of them gets close?”

By this stage, Jordan had been smiling for so long that his face muscles felt stiff. “It’s tough being a babe magnet. You know what they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

“Yeah, but we’re nowhere near Vegas. Emily’s got a secret underground communication thing happening. She knows stuff faster than should be humanly possible.”

“It’s Doris,” Jordan said. “Her Facebook page keeps everyone up-to-date, whether you want your news on there or not.”

“Will you two stop talking? Man up and deal with it,” Jacob growled.

Alex loosened his tie and stared at his brother. “Open the door. I might as well get this over with.”

“Remember to look happy. It’s supposed to be a bachelor party, not a funeral.” Jacob opened the door.

The lights were off. The only sound Jordan heard was someone giggling. A very female, high-pitched someone, who could have been an exotic dancer or a contortionist. But maybe that was his imagination working overtime.

Alex groaned. If that told Jordan anything, it was that his best friend, a World Bull Riding Champion, a man who feared nothing, was thinking the same thing.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Jacob hissed. He pulled Alex into the room and yelled, “Turn the lights on.”

Jordan blinked a few times, then ducked for cover when a wall of party poppers shot toward them.

Everyone was laughing, clapping, and yelling, “Surprise” at the top of their lungs. Half the town looked as though they’d turned out for the bachelor party. Which, coincidently, didn’t look like any bachelor party Jordan had been to.

They’d been sabotaged.

Emily walked toward her fiancé, grinning at him like cupid was still alive and well in downtown Bozeman. “Ben and Adam got cold feet. Are you disappointed about not having a traditional bachelor party?”

“Not if it keeps me out of trouble.” Alex glanced over his shoulder at Jordan. “I don’t need rescuing tonight. You’re officially off the hook.”

“Does this mean I don’t have to put up with your snoring?”

“Think of it as a lucky escape,” Emily said. “I’ve heard him and it isn’t pretty.”

Jordan grinned at the bride-to-be. “And you still want to marry him?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Jordan watched the misty, I’ll-love-him-till-the-end-of-time look on Emily’s face. It made him think about what was missing in his life. He wanted someone to look at him like that. At the moment, Peaches, his sister-in-law’s cat, was the only female who wrapped herself around him. But that was only when she was hungry and no one else was around to feed her.

Jacob grabbed him by the arm and pushed him toward the bar. “Let’s get a drink before the party games start.”

“You’re not serious?”

“Ben and Adam might have been talked into this, but they’ve still got evil intentions.”

Jordan looked at the evening dresses and suits filling the room. He doubted anyone here had evil intentions. Except the tall, curvy, blonde at the end of the bar. The sultry look on her beautiful face was pure sin. He moved closer, saw her eyes flash in recognition.

In that split second, between mild interest and appreciation, he knew Sarah had been right. Kermit the Frog had a lot to answer for.

Because Jordan planned on exploring his own rainbow connection tonight.

***

Sarah didn’t know where to look. Jordan’s gaze devoured her whole. Her heart raced, her hands trembled. If she’d been standing, her legs would have wobbled so much that she would have needed to sit down.

She’d never seen Jordan in anything other than old jeans. The suit he had on made him look sophisticated, polished, and if she was truthful with herself, sexy. So sexy, that when Tess wolf-whistled, Sarah felt herself blush on his behalf.

Jordan wasn’t having the same reaction to Tess’ undiluted appreciation of his anatomy. He looked as though he hadn’t heard her. But it was impossible not to get her meaning. Especially when she was standing halfway between Sarah and her heartthrob of the moment.

Jordan kept moving toward Sarah, his blue eyes heated to liquid fire. She glanced down at her drink, sipped the non-alcoholic cocktail as if her life depended on it.

When Emily said they were joining forces with the male half of the wedding party, she almost hadn’t come. With the rest of the bride and groom’s family and friends joining in, it had the makings of either a great night or mayhem. Especially if Ben followed through on his promise to liven things up.

Now she wished she’d listened to her inner voice of caution. The one she’d spent her entire life listening to. But she was going for a touch of impulsiveness. A rare display of courage under fire.

Jordan thought she was a scaredy-cat, so she’d done what any other temporarily insane woman would have done. She’d gone shopping. After an hour of finding nothing, she’d stumbled into Emily’s boutique, found the most gorgeous dress she’d ever laid eyes on, and bought it.

Now she thought that maybe the black lace bodice hadn’t been such a good idea. Not with Jordan’s eyes devouring her whole. And the fuchsia pink satin skirt was almost demure. With wide box pleats and a simple tie waist, it wasn’t the kind of dress someone wore if they were looking to get lucky.

But then she’d never been the type of person to want to get lucky. Even now, with Jordan staring at her as if she was the only woman in the room, she would sooner have run for cover. The thought of doing anything about the message in his eyes terrified her.

“You look great, Sarah.”

Jordan stood so close that she could have touched his pin-stripe suit if she’d been brave enough. “You look good, too. I like your suit.”

Jordan looked down at what he was wearing. “Thanks.”

Above the conversation and laughter going on around them, Sarah heard someone tapping the side of a glass. Another person whistled at the top of their lungs as if they were directing sheepdogs. That hushed everyone quicker than the tinkling glass, and Sarah smiled.

Jordan leaned forward “Has anyone ever told you what a pretty smile you’ve got.”

Jacob leaned in close over Jordan’s shoulder. “You say the sweetest things.” He moved fast when Jordan’s elbow connected with his chest.

“Buzz off, Jacob,” Jordan growled.

Alex cleared his throat. “Are you two done?”

Everyone was staring at Jordan, Jacob, and Sarah as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Except there was nothing to see. Sarah had been enjoying her drink, having not so sweet thoughts about Jordan and trying to ignore Jacob.

Jacob rubbed his chest and grinned at Jordan. “We’re done. For now.”

Alex picked up a glass of wine and smiled at Emily, “My soon to be wife and I would like to thank you for coming here tonight. Apart from when Emily agreed to marry me, it’s the best-kept surprise I’ve ever had.” He glanced across at Doris Stanley and she snapped his photo. Probably for her Facebook page. “I hope you enjoy the evening.”

Alex stepped back and Ben hot-footed it across to his side. “Before everyone gets too comfortable I want to remind you that your karaoke teams are posted on the board beside the DJ. The first team needs to have their song selected and be ready to perform in fifteen minutes. And just because you didn’t put your name in the box, doesn’t mean it’s not there.”

Sarah felt heat scorch her cheeks. She hated karaoke. Standing in front of people, singing off key, and generally making a fool of herself felt like torture instead of fun. She’d ducked past Adam and Ben as they’d stopped everyone on the way into the room.

She’d come to the party with Emily. The bride-to-be had things to do, things Sarah needed to help with. She thought she’d dodged a bullet by not putting her name in the box. She’d been wrong.

“Smile for the camera.” Molly snapped Sarah’s photo, then glanced at the screen on the back of her camera. “A shot worthy of a karaoke star. Guess who you’re singing with?”

Sarah was still living in the land of delusion, hoping Ben’s threat had been idle banter and not the real deal.

“No one?” Sarah muttered.

Molly didn’t take offense at her less than enthusiastic reply. Sarah guessed that came in handy when you were a professional photographer. Molly’s images had appeared in fashion magazines around the world. Her home was in Ireland, but she’d roamed through Europe for most of her life. And somehow, without Sarah knowing why, Molly had ended up in Bozeman.

“We’ll be singing together. You, me, and Emily.”

Sarah felt like a noose had just tightened around her neck. If her singing partners had been different, she could have slipped into the background. Singing with a great-aunt or two wouldn’t have attracted any attention. She could even have mumbled her way through a song with a couple of cousins. But the bride would create a stir, draw people’s attention to the trio of karaoke wannabes standing at the front of the room.

“There’s no need to be nervous. There’s a bit of the blarney in all of us. It’s just a matter of letting loose, not worrying about what anyone else thinks. Isn’t that right, Jordan?”

Sarah looked at Jordan and guessed that he’d never had much of an issue standing in front of crowds. He grinned, which only added to the nerves racing around her body.

“You could always swap with Adam and sing with me?”

Sarah was tempted by Jordan’s offer. Really tempted.

“You’re not allowed to change the groups around,” Molly said. She quickly took a photo of Jordan’s frowning face and pulled Sarah off her bar stool. “We’re on in twenty minutes. We need to rehearse.”

And before Sarah could wiggle her way out of her karaoke team, Molly was dragging her across the room. “Where are we going?”

“To the DJ. We need to choose a song.”

By the time they reached the DJ, Emily had nearly finished going through the song sheets. “Do you know,
Mama Mia
?”

Sarah liked ABBA, she really did. But singing one of their songs?

Molly gave her a nudge. “Of course we know it. Let’s go and practice.”

As Molly led them into the women’s bathroom to practice, Sarah decided the night could only get better. At least most of their audience would know their song. And if luck was on their side, everyone else’s voices would drown out their rendition.

***

It turned out luck wasn’t on their side. Sarah didn’t know whether it was because they’d come on stage after three aunts had boogied their way through a Dolly Parton song, or if it was because the bride-to-be was involved. But either way, everyone was watching and listening and not doing much of anything else.

Their karaoke team couldn’t have looked more different if they’d tried. In the bathroom, they’d decided that Emily would stand in the middle. At just over five foot, she was a lot smaller than Molly or Sarah. With her short red hair and freckles, she was cute in an understated kind of way.

There was nothing cute about Molly. With spiky black hair and a body that was as lean as it was long, she could have been one of the models she was famous for photographing. And then there was Sarah. The tone deaf blonde who didn’t like speaking in front of crowds of people.

The first few bars of music began and Sarah’s nerves took on a life of their own. She tried hard not to look at their audience, but there was only so much hiding you could do when eighty people were staring at you.

So she did what she’d always done. She broke down the problem, sorted through her options, and chose the best alternative. Walking off the stage was out of the question, so she resorted to plan B. If she could waltz with Jordan to Kermit the Frog, he could be the person she’d focus on as they sung to ABBA.

She didn’t have to look hard to find him. He was sitting at a table not far from the front of the room. He nodded, smiled, gave her a bit more courage than she’d had a few minutes ago. She turned sideways, followed the moves they’d quickly rehearsed.

Emily had more on-stage performance experience than any of them. Her mom had enrolled her in a modeling course when she’d been a teenager. Then there’d been the dance classes, the drama club, glee club. She was almost a professional for cripes’ sake.

They blustered their way through the song. Their choreography earned them claps of encouragement and more than one wolf whistle. Before the third chorus started, they had a mini fan club joining in, diluting everyone’s attention away from the karaoke stars.

As they shimmied their way into the last verse, Sarah caught Jordan’s gaze and smiled. She was nearly finished. She was still alive, still breathing. No one had laughed or made fun of them. They’d been less than perfect, but it didn’t matter.

The song ended and they linked hands and bowed, accepted all of the applause like seasoned pros. Sarah could see the next trio lined up to take center stage. The three men had slicked their hair back, hung their ties loose from their necks. With their top shirt buttons popped open they looked like a fifties version of James Dean.

“We did great,” Emily said as they made their way across to the bar. “Alex will have to come up with something incredible to do better than that.”