The Best Man's Bride (3 page)

“I don’t know how you managed to wait this long to say I told you so.” Josh’s hands shook as he dragged them over his face.

“Man, that’s not why…”

“You followed me into the bathroom?” Josh finished for him.

“We shouldn’t even be here,” Nick said. “This is a mistake, coming to your reception when you’ve skipped the wedding.”

“
I
didn’t skip the wedding.” Josh laughed. “Only the bride skipped the wedding.”

“Why are we here?” Nick asked, concern for his friend increasing. Josh had had a rough time when his first wife abandoned him and the boys. What must he be going through now? Besides the obvious denial?

“Like Mrs. McClintock said back at the church,” Josh reminded him, “the food is already paid for.”

By the bride’s brother. But Josh had tried to pay—Nick had heard him offer more than once. That was the kind of guy Josh was, generous and selfless. Nick shook his head, bemused as always, that they were friends when they were so different.

“The whole town was looking forward to a party, and like I reminded you in the limo,” Josh continued, “we’re opening an office here. We need to meet our potential patients.”

Nick didn’t need the reminder about the office. Even before the bride had vanished, he’d been against opening a practice in Cloverville. While he couldn’t argue that the town was growing, it still wasn’t big city enough for him or close enough to the hospital where they had surgical privileges. But Josh’s dream had always been to open a small-town practice, a partnership. Nick had made Josh’s dream his—except for the small-town part. “All two patients?” he scoffed.

Josh snorted. “We’re going to have more than that. The only other doctor in town retired last year.”

“Retired or went bankrupt,” Nick muttered. “And he was a G.P. We’re not general practitioners. Does this town really need an orthopedic surgeon and a plastic surgeon?”

“Plastic surgery may be my specialty, but I intend to handle more,” Josh reminded him. “Cloverville’s just in the burbs of Grand Rapids. We still have surgical privileges at the hospital. We’ll have plenty of patients. They just have to get to know us.”

Nick wasn’t comfortable with anyone getting to know him.

“That’s why we’re
here,
” Josh continued.

“You didn’t have to come,” Nick pointed out. They hadn’t had to use the limo, either, even though it had already been paid for, too. But the entire wedding party had ridden together to the reception—well, everyone but the bride. “I could have represented us here.”

“And ushered us into the poorhouse,” Josh teased. “You’d scare away more patients than you’d attract. You’re not exactly known for your bedside manner.”

Who had time for small talk? He’d never had. He’d rather repair people’s broken bones or replace their hips and knees than discuss the weather. “I’m a surgeon.”

“I am, too.”

Dr. Joshua Towers had a bedside manner other doctors envied. Everyone loved Josh. Well, everyone but the women he loved. How did someone so smart keep falling for unsuitable women? Not that Molly McClintock had
seemed
unsuitable. As well as being beautiful, she was smart. Nick personally knew how tough medical school was. And the few times Nick had met her, she’d seemed sweet—far sweeter than Josh’s money-grubbing ex. In fact, she’d seemed the exact opposite of Amy. No wonder Josh had proposed so quickly.

“You’re also a man who just got left at the altar,” Nick said, knowing Josh was used to, and even relied on, his brutal honesty. When he needed it, Josh had always been there for him. “No one expected you to show up for the reception after what just happened. Come on, what’s really going on with you?”

Josh offered a halfhearted smile. “The boys wanted to party.”

Nick narrowed his eyes as his suspicions grew. “You think she’ll show up here? Is that what you’re doing? Waiting for
her?
”

Although he hadn’t really gotten to know Molly McClintock, he doubted she’d have the guts to show her face to the whole town after the stunt she’d just pulled. “She’s not coming.”

“Probably not,” Josh agreed.

Probably.
So he held out some hope. Just how optimistic could the guy be? Too damned optimistic, Nick answered his own question.

Josh sighed. “I’m staying in Cloverville, and I know I should have told you this already. I don’t have possession of it yet, but I’ve bought a house here—for me and the boys.”

And the woman he’d intended to marry. Nick’s guts twisted with his friend’s pain.

“Why’d you do that?” He scrubbed a hand through his hair, trying to hold both his temper and his tongue. “The office isn’t going to be done for a while.”

“But it
will
be done, Nick.”

“Maybe it shouldn’t be.”

“We have a lot of money invested.”

Nick massaged the tense cords that stood out on the back of his neck. “This is a bad idea.”

Josh lifted his head, and Nick met his gaze in the mirror. “
You
can’t back out on me.”

“Never. You know that, man. I got your back.” He sighed.

“The practice isn’t the bad idea. It’s this
town
that is.”

“You never wanted the office here,” Josh conceded.

Nick resurrected his old argument. “It’s too far from the hospital. We can’t do surgeries out of the office…” If they got any business at all.

“But you agreed.”

“Because you’re my best friend.” Agitated, Nick blew out a ragged sigh. “And you thought there was something here for you.”

“There’s still something here for me.”

“She left you at the altar,” Nick said even though he was sure the jilted groom didn’t need the reminder. “Why would you still want her?”

Josh’s blue eyes hardened with determination. “I want to
talk
to her.”

“You’re…”

“Crazy?”

He certainly hoped not. He didn’t want his best friend doing anything stupid. Nick had already lost someone he loved to a broken heart—his older brother, Bruce, had fallen apart when his pregnant wife left him. Devastated to find out that the baby she was carrying wasn’t his, he’d started to drink. And he hadn’t stopped until he drove into a tree. Nick hadn’t been able to save his big brother, from his pain or from himself.

But he wouldn’t fail Josh as he had Bruce. He hadn’t stepped in with sympathy or support; he hadn’t been there, when his brother had needed him most. He wouldn’t make that mistake with Josh. He couldn’t lose his best friend as he had his brother. “No, you’re not crazy.”

Maybe he’d just gotten into the punch. Although the little brass plate on the crystal bowl described it as nonalcoholic, Nick definitely had tasted vodka in the fruity concoction. The alcohol still burned in his stomach but it didn’t take the edge off his anger. Right now, he hated Molly McClintock for putting Josh through more pain.

Josh sighed again. “Hell, maybe I am crazy.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Nick suggested.

“Yeah, I better find the boys. I thought they might be in here.”

“Think they’re flushing something down the toilet?”

Josh shook his head, but Nick doubted he was denying their capacity for naughtiness. Josh knew what hellions his sons were. He got regular reports from the boys’ nannies right before they quit working for him. Maybe that was why he’d wanted to get married. But hell, from the way Josh’s first wife had walked out on them, he had to know that a second wife could quit, too.

“I’m not talking about leaving just the reception,” Nick continued. “I’m talking about this town. Once the office is done we can sell the building and build or lease one closer to the hospital in Grand Rapids.”

“The house…”

“You said you don’t have possession yet. The seller was probably in church today.” Hadn’t the whole damn town been there? “He’d understand that you changed your mind. I’m sure you could back out.”

“We closed escrow already,” Josh said. “And I gave my word.”

Once Josh gave his word, he didn’t go back on it. Unlike his runaway bride. “Then you can sell it—”

“It needs some work.”

Nick shook his head. “Come on, let’s get out of Cloverville. There’s
nothing
for you here.”

“I think there is,” Josh insisted, his blue eyes bright with hope. He paused beside Nick and clasped his shoulder. “Maybe there would be for you, too, if you’d give it a chance.”

What? The town—or a certain brown-haired bridesmaid? He didn’t ask and Josh didn’t offer an explanation before his hand slid away and he left.

Nick let the door close behind his friend and walked to the sink to splash water on his own face. He should be relieved that Josh was still so optimistic. Optimism was way better than despair.

Nick acknowledged the fact that he probably didn’t have to worry about Josh, but his heart didn’t lift with relief. Maybe he wasn’t worried about Josh. Maybe he was worried about himself. Because the minute he stepped out of the restroom, he searched the crowded reception hall for her. Colleen, he’d heard her friends call her. She stood with the other bridesmaids huddled near the head table where they’d just eaten the most awkward dinner Nick had ever been a part of.

The bride’s mom had turned the reception into a welcome-home party for the blond bridesmaid and her young daughter, and while the guests had enthusiastically greeted the young woman and her child, they’d still had time to stare at Josh. And Nick.

Probably wondering when he was going to blow. How could Josh be so understanding and forgiving? Nick wanted to
hurt
someone.

Colleen shivered as Nick Jameson approached, passing Abby as she headed away from him, toward the dance floor.

“Do you know Dr. Jameson from the hospital?” Brenna asked. She was one of the few people in Cloverville who knew Colleen volunteered at the hospital in Grand Rapids, but even she didn’t know why.

Colleen hadn’t actually ever
met
Dr. Jameson. He never acknowledged any of the volunteers, no matter how desperately some of them fought for his attention. “I only know him by reputation.”

As a no-nonsense orthopedic surgeon. Not only the volunteers but several of the female staff obsessed over him, longing to experience his “elusive” bedside manner, but Colleen wasn’t one of those women who’d considered breaking her leg to get his attention. As he closed the distance between them now, Colleen’s pulse quickened.
She
had preferred it when he hadn’t noticed her at all.

His gaze moved over her like a caress, lingering on her bare shoulders and the low bodice of her dress. Why look at her meager cleavage when she stood next to a Grecian goddess like Brenna? And yet he didn’t even glance at the redhead, although he addressed them both. “Ladies.”

“Dr. Jameson,” Brenna said. “Have you seen Josh? Is he okay?”

Nick’s shoulders twitched stiffly in a tense shrug. “I don’t know. He’s looking for TJ and Buzz.”

Brenna smiled, and her green eyes softened with affection. “The boys are with my parents. I’ll let Josh know.”

Colleen reached out, trying to catch her friend’s arm, but the maid of honor slipped away, leaving Colleen alone with Nick Jameson. He closed his hand around her outstretched one, entwining his long fingers with hers. Colleen drew in a deep breath as indescribable sensations raced through her. She tugged on her hand, but he didn’t release her.

“Let’s dance,” he said, leading her toward the crowded floor before she could sputter out a protest.

And she would have protested. She didn’t want to dance with a man who’d called her sister flaky.
Hypocrite.
She didn’t want to dance with a man who’d seen her any number of times but had never noticed her before.

Until today. Until she wore the red dress Brenna had picked out for the bridesmaids to wear. Despite the fact that
she
was the bride, Molly had made none of the arrangements for her wedding. Given her apparent disinterest, maybe no one should have been surprised that she’d backed out of the marriage. But Molly wasn’t flaky, as Nick had said. Once she set her mind on something, she followed through—like becoming a doctor. While Colleen liked volunteering at the hospital, she would never have been able to handle the studies, as Molly had, taking time off from medical school only for her wedding. Her
wedding-that-wasn’t.

Josh’s wedding, too.

“How is the groom?” she asked, as Nick led her in between the other dancing couples and kids to a remote corner of the floor.

“Groom?” he snorted as he pulled her into his arms.

“Groom implies that there was a wedding.” His jaw taut, he ground out his words. “There was no wedding. There was no bride. So no, there is
no
groom.”

Colleen’s reluctance to dance with him had nothing to do with her wounded ego. She couldn’t dance with a man this angry with her sister. He acted as if
he
were the jilted groom. She stopped moving and tried to pull away, but his hands continued to hold her close.

His breath shuddered out, stirring her hair. “He’s my
best
friend.” Emotion cracked the deep smoothness of his voice. “I
hate
to see him go through this again.”

“Again?”
Oh, God, the poor man…

“He didn’t get left at the altar before. But when the twins were babies, their mom, Josh’s first wife, just took off.”

Like Molly had. Probably not out a window, but still she’d abandoned her husband and children. Colleen knew what it felt like to be abandoned. Shortly after her dad died, Molly and Brenna had left for college, Eric had enlisted in the Marines and Abby had just…
left.
Colleen had never felt so alone. She lifted her hand to Nick’s shoulder and settled back into his arms, moving her feet to follow his lead as the music played, low and smoky. “I’m sorry.”

Nick shrugged, muscles rippling beneath her palm. “He says he’s staying in Cloverville.”

Waiting for Molly. Men waited for Molly. They didn’t even notice Colleen.
Usually.

N
ICK SHIFTED HIS HAND
against her back. Moving his palm over the smooth red satin, he longed to touch her, to see if her skin was as silky as the dress. She was so slender his hand nearly spanned the back of her waist. He nudged her closer, so that she settled against his chest. His pulse leaped as he breathed in the scent of lilies from a small sprig of flowers clasped in her hair. Some of the chocolate-colored strands brushed his chin and throat. He’d never felt anything as soft except for the kitten he’d once bought the twins. But the boys’ rambuctiousness had scared the little thing so much he’d had to rescue it from them.

When he tilted Colleen’s chin, she stared up at him with enormous dark eyes, as vulnerable and frightened as the kitten had been. Why did she fear him? Did she feel his barely controlled anger over how her sister had humiliated his best friend?

Or did she feel the desire he could hardly control at this moment—for her? “Colleen…”

Something about her, that vulnerability, her youth and air of innocence, suggested she needed rescuing and compelled him to step up and save her. But Nick knew, the only one from whom
he
could save her was himself. His anger still simmered, but he couldn’t hurt
her.

As she blinked, thick black lashes brushed her cheekbones. She had the face of a model, with huge expressive eyes, exquisite cheekbones, delicate nose and generous lips. Kissable lips.

He jerked up his chin, tearing his gaze from her face. Over her head he glimpsed another couple on the dance floor, and watched as the tall man leaned over the petite woman in his arms. Clayton McClintock was kissing the blond bridesmaid with hunger and passion. The way Nick wanted to kiss Colleen.

What the hell was he thinking? Even if her sister hadn’t left Josh at the altar, he wouldn’t want to get mixed up with some young girl from Cloverville. Small-town women expected commitments. They wanted husbands and kids. He couldn’t give Colleen McClintock any of those things. He would never put himself in that position, being so vulnerable to another person. If Josh, if
Bruce,
hadn’t picked the right woman to love, how could
he?

“Dr. Jameson?” she said, her voice soft and tentative rather than haughty as it had seemed at the church. Which voice matched the real woman? Her change in attitude reminded him that he couldn’t trust his instincts, not regarding women.

“Use my first name,” he told her. He didn’t want this woman calling him Doctor. He wanted to hear his name on her lips, but she didn’t say a thing. She just stared up at him, those deep eyes so fathomless they were impossible to read. Did she really not know his name? Maybe she didn’t. He hadn’t known hers, either. “Nick.”

“Nick,” she repeated, her voice breathless as her gaze held his.

His heart pounded and adrenaline rushed through his veins with the heat of desire. All she had to do was say his name and he nearly forgot his anger at the way her sister had treated Josh.

“Nick.” She said his name again. “You were going to tell me something.”

That was before he’d been overcome with the urge to kiss her. He drew in a deep breath, remembering his decision. “Since Josh is staying in Cloverville, so am I.”

C
OLLEEN REACHED FOR THE
glass of punch she’d left on the head table next to her purse. She hadn’t had time to take a sip, for the mingling and the desperate calls she’d been placing to Molly’s turned-off cell. And the dancing. She shouldn’t have danced with the best man.

Fortunately, the slow song had ended just as he’d told her of his intention to stay in town. She’d been able to pull away without drawing attention to them. Then she’d lost him in the crowd of dancers. Or maybe he hadn’t tried to follow her. Why would he? Just because a couple of times he’d leaned forward as if he’d been about to kiss her?

She’d probably only imagined seeing desire in his eyes because she’d had a crush on him for so long. While he didn’t have Josh’s bedside manner, he was a brilliant surgeon. But more than his medical expertise or his fair-haired good looks, she’d been drawn to the sense of sadness that surrounded him, as if he, too, had experienced loss. In him, she’d felt as if she’d recognized a kindred spirit. But she’d probably only imagined that, too. She and Dr. Nick Jameson were nothing alike, and she needed to get a trip on those feelings she had for him.

She’d impulsively acted on one other crush, a long time ago. But the object of her affection hadn’t really wanted her. The arrogant high school jock had only been interested in bragging rights. She’d vowed then to never give herself away again. But why did she suspect that acting impulsively with a man such as Nick Jameson would be infinitely more enjoyable than her youthful experience with a clumsy boy?

Heat, as hot as what she thought she’d glimpsed in Nick’s eyes, flashed through her, leaving her parched. Hand shaking, she lifted the plastic cup to her lips. She gulped the red punch, then sputtered and coughed as alcohol burned her throat. Who’d spiked it?

Rory.
Blinking tears from her eyes, she scanned the reception hall for her teenage brother. Where was the little jerk? Probably outside smoking.

She headed toward the door, where Abby and Brenna stood, deep in conversation. Guilt ate at Colleen as she took in the distraught brightness of Abby’s eyes, the way she nibbled on her bottom lip. Abby hated being back in Cloverville. The whole time she’d been growing up, she couldn’t wait to leave. Was Colleen being selfish in still wanting her to move home? Maybe she shouldn’t have agreed to help her mother convince her friend to stay. If only Abby and Clayton would stop fighting their feelings for each other…

“Blame it on the wedding,” Abby said.

“The wedding-that-wasn’t,” Colleen murmured. “That’s what everyone’s calling it.” Someone opened the door behind Abby, and cool night air rushed in, soothing Colleen’s overheated skin. Her head cleared slightly, but her emotions grew more muddled. Clayton wasn’t the only McClintock who was determined to fight his feelings. Maybe Molly had been as afraid to give herself to someone as Colleen was, and that was why she’d bolted before saying her vows.

“So you think Molly’s really okay?” Colleen asked, needing Brenna and Abby’s reassurance. Molly must have been really afraid to back out on such an important promise. “That she just needs time like her note said?”

Abby reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, checking for voice mail. “No messages.”

Brenna shook her head, tumbling locks of brilliant red hair around her shoulders. “I think she meant that she needed more than a few hours.”

Colleen sighed. “She also said she wanted time
alone.
Do you really believe she’s alone? When I called Eric, he said he hadn’t seen her, but…”

Could they believe Eric, after the way he’d backed out of the wedding party at the last minute? After Molly went out the window, each of the bridesmaids had called him, but he’d sworn he hadn’t seen Molly.

“Eric would lie for her,” Brenna said.

“He’d do more than lie,” Abby reminded them.

Jealousy caused the sweet spiked punch to swirl in Colleen’s stomach. Her
first
crush hadn’t been on the high school jerk but on Eric South. Yet years ago, during her adolescence, she’d buried that unrequited crush on Eric, as well as her resentment of her brilliant, beautiful older sister. Molly couldn’t help being Molly, the one everyone adored. Colleen had long ago accepted that she would never
be
Molly, and like everyone else, she adored her older sister. She didn’t resent her. Not anymore.

But just once, would it be too much to ask for someone to adore
her?
Feeling a penetrating stare, she lifted her gaze to
him.

N
ICK SWALLOWED HARD
, his mouth dry as he held her gaze. He lifted the plastic cup, sniffed the rim, but didn’t take a sip from her glass. Her lipstick, deep crimson, marked the cup in the shape of her full lips. She’d drunk the spiked punch. Was she aware that she had? She’d been so distracted that when she’d gone off to huddle with the other bridesmaids, she’d left her purse on the table.

He lifted his gaze from her beaded crimson bag to study the women who stood near the door. They knew where the bride had gone. Women talked to each other. They didn’t talk to him. They flirted. They teased. They never talked.

But maybe that was Nick’s fault. He never talked to anyone but Josh anymore.

He couldn’t lose his best friend the way he’d lost his big brother, for so long the guiding force in Nick’s life. Hell, if not for Bruce, Nick wouldn’t have had a life. His brother had saved him from the car accident that had claimed their mother’s life. Nick had owed him, but he’d let him down. He hadn’t been there when Bruce had needed him. He wouldn’t make the same mistake with Josh.

For his best friend, Nick would make any sacrifice. He’d even spend time with the most tempting woman he’d ever met—but only to pump her for information. Finding the groom’s runaway bride had become one of Nick’s duties, as best man. While he hadn’t agreed with much that his friend had said in the bathroom, he acknowledged the fact that Josh needed to talk to Molly. The sooner he did and accepted that she didn’t and would never love him, the sooner Josh could put her and Cloverville behind him and move on.

Maybe that space on Michigan Avenue in Grand Rapids was still available. Sure, the rent had been more than the mortgage payments on the building in Cloverville, but they could swing it. Together. Like they’d done everything else.

Nick glanced down at Colleen’s nearly empty cup. Had she had enough to, as his dad would say, prime the pump?