—Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author

When We Touch

A Whiskey Creek Novella

Brenda Novak

Dear Reader, I recently came off a stint of wedding movies—Something Borrowed, Made of Honor, The Wedding Planner, The Wedding Date. Some of these are dated. You probably realize that. I’m not sure how I missed them when they first came out, but it was fun catching up. I had renewed interest in this subject because the first of my five children was married recently. Everyone talks about how stressful such an event is. With only two months to plan, we whipped through the preparations but were so pleased with how it all turned out (thanks in large part to the fact that one of my BFFs owns the best wedding venue in the area and another is a fantastic photographer). I can honestly say I’ve never been to a more beautiful wedding (completely objective opinion, of course <G>). Anyway, all those “I do” vibes and sighs of love put me in the mood to write my own wedding story—a first for me. Here you have it. Only this wedding doesn’t go quite as smoothly for some participants as others….

I’m excited to be able to offer you this story. I think it’s a fabulous way to introduce you to my Whiskey Creek series. If you like When We Touch, you’ll hopefully enjoy When Lightning Strikes (to be released August 28th, 2012), When Snow Falls (to be released October 30th, 2012) and When Summer Comes (to be released January 29th, 2013). I’d also recommend trying my Dundee, Idaho, series. More details about both series can be found at my web site (www.brendanovak.com), where you can also enter my monthly giveaways, join my fan club, purchase fun Whiskey Creek items or learn more about my annual online auction for diabetes research, which runs every May. So far we’ve raised $1.6 million!!

Brenda

Dedication

To Megan and German…

Watching you two fall in love has been one of the most gratifying things I’ve experienced as a mother and confirms everything I believe as a romance writer. You can live the dream. Never, never lose what you have!

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Epilogue

Chapter 1

Returning for her sister’s wedding would’ve been difficult had it merely meant pretending to be a happy and supportive bridesmaid. But being in charge of the whole event? That added insult to the most heart-wrenching emotional injury Olivia Arnold had ever sustained.

As she drove back to Whiskey Creek for the first time since learning that Noelle would be marrying Kyle Houseman—the man she’d been dating herself until three months ago—she wished she’d had the nerve to refuse her parents. Noelle tried to beat Olivia at anything and everything she did. It had been that way since they were children.

But Olivia planned weddings for a living. She was also the family peacemaker, so it came naturally to try to forgive, to move on. And, as her mother had pointed out, she was the one who’d asked Kyle if they could take a “break” while she moved to Sacramento to build her business. She’d wanted one year to see if she could develop it into something spectacular in a bigger city before marrying Kyle and settling down in Whiskey Creek.

Given all that, how could she refuse to help? Especially when she could save her father so much money?

Despite her determination to soldier on through everything that was happening, an odd sense of panic welled up as she reached the edge of town. Pulling over just beyond the sign that said Welcome to Whiskey Creek, The Heart of Gold Country she tried to get hold of herself but almost turned her Acura around. Within an hour, she could be home in Sacramento. She could hide away until this wedding was a distant memory and, if she was lucky, avoid her sister and new brother-in-law for a decade or two. Maybe by then she’d be able to face them without wanting to cry.

And why shouldn’t she turn back? If she stayed, the humiliation of the next few days would be as painful as the heartbreak. Whiskey Creek was a town of only two thousand people. Thanks to the fact that she and Kyle had been a couple for two years, and had separated so recently, she couldn’t possibly escape the whispers, the pitying looks or the condolences of the friends and neighbors who’d known her most of her life.

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit!” Bumping her forehead against the steering wheel, she pictured Kyle kissing “the bride” and groaned at the disappointment and betrayal. Noelle had waited for just the right moment. When Olivia was in Sacramento, trying to experience something new before starting her life with Kyle. When he was alone and not coping well with the separation. Then she’d made her move. Olivia wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to forgive her sister, especially since it was Olivia’s own tears and confidences that had armed Noelle. They’d never been particularly close, but they came from the same family and had lived under the same roof until Olivia relocated to Sacramento last February. That gave Noelle certain insights she wouldn’t otherwise have had.

But if she left, if she ran, her sister would know she was just as hurt today as she had been that terrible evening the horrible truth—that Kyle and Noelle had been seeing each other—came out. Why give Noelle the pleasure? Why confirm that her sister, younger by two years (which only made it worse), had finally landed the coup de grâce of their sibling rivalry?

“Ahhhhh!” She pounded the steering wheel with her fists this time, before hitting everything else in sight. Somehow, seeing her hometown looming ahead had destroyed her restraint. Rage seemed to be a monster growing in strength and power until it was bursting out of her chest—

A knock on the window interrupted her midsob. She’d been so focused on her distress, on screaming and beating her dashboard, she hadn’t heard anyone approach.

Mortified to realize she had a witness to her behavior, she turned to see a tall, blond man dressed in a white T-shirt, khaki shorts and flip-flops. His mouth, tense with some emotion, made a slash in his face beneath a pair of mirrorlike sunglasses.

Oh, God… Despite those glasses, it wasn’t a cop, as she’d expected. Worse—it was Kyle’s stepbrother, Brandon Lucero. He was younger than Kyle by a year, which made him almost a year older than her, and he appeared to be…concerned. No doubt he thought she’d lost her mind.

He might as well have caught her with her pants down. It would’ve been less embarrassing. Her only consolation was that Brandon wasn’t likely to tell Kyle what he’d seen, even if he connected it to the upcoming wedding. There was no love lost between the two men. They’d lived together while in high school, after Kyle’s mother married Brandon’s father, but that hadn’t made them friends.

Brandon waited to speak until she rolled down the window. “You okay?” he asked, his teeth a stark contrast to his golden tan.

After getting abusive with the interior of her innocent car, her right hand hurt so badly she was afraid she’d fractured it. She cradled it in her lap, hoping he wouldn’t notice the swelling, and wiped her other hand over her wet cheeks. This kind of behavior wasn’t like her.

“Don’t I look okay?” she countered as if she hadn’t just lost control.

“Babe.” He shook his head. “Tell me this has nothing to do with Kyle.”

She dabbed at her eyes, inadvertently smearing her mascara, which she wiped onto her white shorts. Cut low at the hips and high on the leg, they’d been purchased with one goal in mind—turning male heads. In her current situation, she needed the ego boost. But her pride in the body she’d worked so hard to slenderize and tone had gone out the window, along with her composure. What did it matter if she looked better than she ever had? Noelle was marrying the man Olivia thought would be her husband. “Would you believe I broke a nail?”

His biceps bulged, stretching the sleeves of his T-shirt as he folded his arms. “Not a chance. Want to try something else?”

“No. Who cares if you think I’m an idiot?” she grumbled as she pushed her long hair out of her face. “You’ve never liked me much to begin with.”

This seemed to surprise him. “What gave you that impression?”

“I don’t know.” She managed a facetious smirk. “Maybe the way you scowl every time you see me? Or, if you can’t avoid me, which is always your first choice, you just grunt so you don’t have to say hello?”

He scowled when she’d expected him to laugh. “Would you believe I was saving you from myself?”

“No.”

“I can be chivalrous when I want to be.”

“That’s definitely not an adjective I’d use to describe you. I’m sure all the women with broken hearts you’ve left behind would agree with me.”

His scowl darkened. “What women with broken hearts?”

She could’ve named a few. Some of them were acquaintances. He was a tempting challenge—few women could refuse him. But he didn’t give her the chance to be more specific. He was still talking.

“I’m going to assume you’re angry or you wouldn’t have said that. You’re obviously having a bad day.”

Ah, the understatement of the year. And since she had to face Kyle and Noelle as well as her parents in the next few minutes, her day was going to get worse.

“We had a class together, remember?” he added. “I took you to my junior prom. I’ve always liked you just fine.”

She couldn’t see his eyes, but she sensed that they were moving over her, taking inventory of what her clothes revealed. Instinctively she wanted to cover up. The only thing stopping her was the sure knowledge that doing so would draw more attention to her atypical attire. “And—” he grinned “—from what I can see so far, I’m going to like the new you even more.”

What had she been thinking when she’d put on this outfit? If Kyle didn’t regret what he’d done by now, a pair of short shorts and a low-cut blouse wouldn’t do the trick. It was too late to save what they’d had, anyway. It wasn’t as if she could take him back.

“I dressed in a weak moment,” she explained, her face burning. “I needed to feel attractive.”

“Mission accomplished.” He whistled. “You could stop traffic. You stopped me, didn’t you?”

She considered the amusement on his face. “I’m pretty sure you thought I was having engine trouble.”

“To be honest, I thought a bee had gotten into your car and you were under attack.”

“Thanks for the visual. That helps with the embarrassment. But it wasn’t that bad.”

His eyebrows rose above his sunglasses. “It was alarming. But back to your changed wardrobe. I don’t think showing that much skin is the best way to recover.” He scratched his smooth-shaven chin. “I mean…I’d hate to see you wind up with the wrong kind of guy. Again.”

“Kyle was the wrong kind of guy?” She was anxious to hear his justification for that statement. The general belief was that Brandon was the less reliable of the two. Kyle had attended UC Berkeley on an academic scholarship while getting a degree in electrical engineering. He’d started his own company manufacturing solar panels after that, which was currently making him rich. He was strong, kind, talented.

Maybe he wasn’t quite as handsome as his stepbrother, but his attention wasn’t nearly as fleeting, either.

“For you he was completely wrong,” Brandon maintained as if he’d been able to see it all along.

The uncertainty she’d always felt in his presence returned. She’d caught him watching her since that prom. Most of the time he turned away the second she noticed, but occasionally their eyes met and held, and she remembered how badly she’d once wished he’d call. “Who would be better?” she challenged.

Mouth quirking up on one side, he said, “Why don’t you follow me to my place and put yourself back together before you walk into the lion’s den? We can talk about it.”

It was a kind suggestion. One she never would’ve expected—not from him. But she could guess why he was suddenly so helpful. He’d love nothing more than to shove a connection with her in Kyle’s face.

And therein lay the appeal of his offer….

“Do you think your stepbrother will hear about it if I do?” she asked.

He chuckled softly. “We can make sure of it.”

That kind of petty revenge was beneath her. But the idea of turning the tables on Kyle, and by extension Noelle, was tempting. “He’d hate it,” she mused. “Whether he’s marrying my sister or not.” She knew because of that last call, the apology, the crack in his voice when he’d said he’d always love her. The memory of it brought fresh tears to her eyes….

A truck was coming up from behind. To get out of its way, Brandon stepped close enough that she could pick up his scent in the air that blasted into her car as the truck whooshed by. He smelled as good as he looked. But that was no surprise. She recalled dancing with him as a sophomore, pressing her nose into his warm neck in an effort to remember his scent. She’d instinctively known that was the only part of Brandon a girl could safely capture.

“He wouldn’t want you to be with anyone else, but me least of all,” he agreed.

Obviously he liked the idea of upsetting Kyle as much as she did. Problem was…associating with Brandon came with a certain amount of risk. For one, the way she was dressed could be misleading. He might assume she’d changed, become promiscuous, like the girls he usually preferred. And what if she fell into her own trap? Brandon was like a meteor. He burned hot and bright as he crashed through a woman’s orbit, but he left a lot of damage in his wake and nothing, no one, slowed him down. Although some girls welcomed the thrill of trying—he never lacked for female companionship—Olivia was already nursing a broken heart. She had no business being alone with this man, especially while she was on the rebound.

On the other hand, she was tired of trying to turn the other cheek. She was also tired of being so darn careful with her love life. Kyle was supposed to have been a wise choice, a man who wanted to settle down and have a family. And look how well that had turned out. He was having a family, all right. With her sister. Noelle was pregnant, hence the rush on the wedding. Her mother wanted Noelle married off before she started to show.

“Are you coming?” Brandon asked when she didn’t answer.

Were they going to be allies? She found that a bit ironic, considering that, after prom, they’d never even been friends. She’d been one of the few who’d understood that wanting Brandon would only end in misery. “If I go to your house, it doesn’t mean I’ll be sleeping with you,” she said, taking a stab at his motivation for inviting her.

He jammed his fists into the pockets of his baggy shorts. “Kyle won’t know that.”

Her injured hand was beginning to throb. She should head to her parents’ house, change into something more sensible and make an ice pack. She was supposed to arrive in time for dinner. But if she showed up there in the next few minutes, they’d question her about her red eyes even if she concocted a good excuse for her hand. She couldn’t stand the thought of that, especially if they cornered her in front of Noelle, who would know exactly what was wrong and take great satisfaction in being the cause of it.

“Do you have an ice pack?” she asked, finally letting him see her injury.

He slid his sunglasses down to take a look, and she felt the full effect of those eyes, which were several shades lighter than hazel. “Do I have an ice pack?”

“You have a lot of them.” Of course he did. As a professional skier, he probably needed one often.

“Come with me and you’ll feel better in a few minutes. I guarantee it.”

She squinted up at him. I think that’s what I’m afraid of, she thought but all she said was, “Thanks.”

Chapter 2

Olivia had never been inside Brandon’s house. Kyle had driven her past it once, when they’d been coming back from a picnic near the old mine. Brandon had been abroad at the time, or they never would’ve taken the chance of running into him. Kyle preferred to have as little contact as possible. Since then, she’d noticed the turnoff that led to his solitary cabin whenever she drove up this way to hike or bike. Brandon had always been a bit of a mystery to her. Or maybe it was just that ever since she’d sat in front of him in Chemistry she’d felt his magnetism as much as any girl. There’d even been a few times over the years when she’d been tempted to swing by his house.

She could understand why he’d like living here, with the peace and quiet and the spectacular view afforded by one wall made entirely of glass. His home reminded her of the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House, probably because it was two stories high and dug out of the mountain—very much a part of nature. As if that wasn’t unusual enough, a telescope held pride of place in the middle of the living room, beneath a giant skylight.

Most people wouldn’t put a telescope in the living room because it would obstruct their view of the television. But Brandon’s TV was in the loft area above. Down here, various geodes and old weapons, artifacts and sculptures lined bookshelves that also contained a surprising array of books, mostly nonfiction. She spotted one on astronomy, another on Buddhism and a third on the history of China.

“China?” she murmured while he was in the kitchen, getting her some ice. She’d never taken him for a scholar. Since he made his living as an extreme skier, he was often videotaped plunging down the steepest slopes in the world. She thought he was foolish to risk his life doing a thing like that once, let alone again and again, but there appeared to be some fringe benefits to his job besides the high pay and adrenaline rush. Obviously it had taken him to many different countries.

“Are you an art collector?” she called, studying several paintings.

He came into the room carrying the most technically advanced ice pack she’d ever seen. “Not really. I pick up what appeals to me. Most of it’s from unusual places. I love to travel.”

“I can tell.” He was consumed by wanderlust. No wonder he’d never, to her knowledge, become serious about one particular woman. It was tough to maintain a relationship under such circumstances.

“What about you?” he asked.

She pulled her gaze from a photograph of an African woman holding the hand of a child in some faraway jungle she’d probably never see. “I don’t get the opportunity very often.”

Although she’d been planning weddings and other events since she’d graduated from Sac State with a degree in business administration, moving to Sacramento had required she take on some expenses that she’d never had before. Not only was she living on her own for the first time since renting a small house with three other girls in college, she’d leased an office and was paying for advertising in the hope of attracting new clients. The money she’d saved while living with her parents once she’d returned to Whiskey Creek needed to be held in reserve, just in case.

“Would you like to see more of the world if you could?” he asked.

She fingered an elephant carved out of wood. “Absolutely,” she replied, but she wasn’t really considering the possibility. She was too preoccupied wondering how the Brandon suggested by this house could be so different from what she’d taken him to be, which was much more the typical jock.

“I’m planning a backpacking trip across Nicaragua in a few weeks.” He bent to look into her face. “You could come with me.”

The idea of escaping held massive appeal. But she wasn’t sure it was a legitimate offer. Most people didn’t extend invitations like that off the cuff. “You’re going across the entire country?”

“Nicaragua’s not that big.”

“I have a feeling it might seem big if you’re walking.”

He smiled. “That’s the best way to see it.”

She didn’t know much about South America. She’d always been more concerned with the geography she navigated right here in California—especially finding the right place to live after leaving Whiskey Creek. “I wish I could,” she said in a throwaway statement that took for granted he hadn’t been serious.

He didn’t press the issue. He motioned to a soft leather couch. “Have a seat. Let’s get this on your hand.”

She was tempted to choose one of the hammocklike chairs that hung from the ceiling instead. They had, no doubt, come from Mexico or some other country and looked comfortable. But, in deference to her injured hand, she decided against getting into something she might have difficulty getting out of.

Once she was settled in, he examined her hand before putting the ice pack on it. “You should get this x-rayed.”

“I couldn’t have broken any bones throwing a tantrum,” she said, but she knew that was denial talking. She just didn’t want to face that she might’ve caused herself some stiff medical bills and the inconvenience of going home in a cast.

“I’m not so sure,” he responded. “If the pain doesn’t go away in the next day or so, definitely have it checked.”

He should know about broken bones. Not long ago, he’d tumbled off a cliff in Switzerland and broken his right leg in three places. They’d replayed the footage of it on the local news over and over. Almost everyone had seen it. As a result of that spill, he’d been on crutches, convalescing for much of the last year she and Kyle were dating. In the past twelve months she’d seen him around town more often than she had in the ten years since prom.

He arranged the ice pack on her hand and headed back to the kitchen.

“Do you ever get lonely out here?” she asked, looking toward the giant window directly across from her. From where she sat, she couldn’t see the water, but she knew the river cut through the ravine below.

“Not really.”

That was a stupid question, she told herself. Why would he get lonely? He could have a woman visit any time he wanted.

“Do you ever get lonely in Sacramento?” he called back.

After living at home with her family since college, and dating Kyle for three of those years—seeing him every day—Sacramento had been a big change. She’d been more than lonely; she’d been positively bereft. But no one wanted to hear someone sniveling on and on about a past relationship. Other than that lapse of sanity in her car, she thought she’d managed to absorb the pain without showing how bad she really felt. “I try to keep myself so busy I don’t even have time to think about stuff like that.”

“No wonder you lost your cool.”

His response surprised her. “Excuse me?”

“You haven’t dealt with the blow.”

“I refuse to feel bad about a man who could do what Kyle did. That’s all.”

He reappeared with some painkillers and a glass of water. “Here, take these.”

She swallowed the pills, then eyed him dubiously when he said, “To be honest, I don’t understand why you’re here.”

“You invited me,” she pointed out, purposely misunderstanding.

“You know what I mean.”

With a wince, she adjusted the ice pack. “Everyone’s wondering whether I’ll show up. I felt it was best to come back with my head held high. Not coming would only have confirmed to Kyle and Noelle that I’m still hurt.”

“I admire your courage, but…”

He thought she’d bitten off more than she could chew. That episode in the car proved it. “I won’t break down again.”

“There’s no shame in loving someone, Olivia.”

As if he knew anything about it. She almost said that, but stopped herself. Why be unkind? He wasn’t the person who’d wronged her. She knew better than to give him the chance. “There is if that someone is marrying your sister,” she grumbled. “Everyone’s watching me, waiting for the tears to flow.” And he’d actually witnessed them…

His expression softened. “Kyle screwed up.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, even if you are sort of obligated to say that to someone who’s going through what I am.”

He didn’t try to convince her he’d meant it more honestly. “Just because you’re in town doesn’t mean you have to stay,” he said. “I’m the only one who’s seen you.”

“You’re suggesting I leave? Miss the wedding? She’s my sister.”

“That goes both ways. Most people would say she had no business hooking up with your boyfriend.”

The fact that Kyle had been her boyfriend made him that much more desirable for Noelle. It was a strange but undeniable dynamic. Noelle had always coveted what she had. “What good would it do to nurse my resentment? To tear my family apart?” she asked. “Besides, I have to attend the wedding. I’m planning it.”

His thick eyebrows jerked together. Because he’d removed his sunglasses the moment they walked into the house, she could see his eyes. She wasn’t sure that was a good thing. They were so beautiful they could render a woman helpless with a single, smoldering glance—especially a woman who needed to feel desired again.

“You’re planning it?” he said. “Why the hell would you do that?”

The anger in his voice made her stiffen. “That’s what I do for a living. That’s what I’ve been doing since college.”

“Doesn’t mean you had to do this wedding. Why didn’t you say no?”

“To my parents?”

“They had no right asking you.”

“They couldn’t afford anyone else. I have all the contacts. I could do it much more easily than they could themselves. Besides, they want me to forgive her. They want to maintain peace and harmony in the family.”

“That’s bullshit. They should’ve protected you, told her to elope.”

Olivia had never dreamed she’d be commiserating with Brandon Lucero. Apparently their mutual dislike of Kyle had pulled them onto the same team. “Why haven’t you ever gotten along with your stepbrother?” she asked.

“Kyle’s not bad,” he replied. “Not anymore.” He returned to the kitchen a third time and came back with two glasses of wine, one of which he handed to her.

“That didn’t really answer my question.”

“I was fifteen when he came into my life.”

“And?”

He seemed reluctant to continue, acting as if it was in the past and didn’t matter anymore. But she could tell it did.

“Oh, come on,” she said. “He was sleeping with my sister within a week of our break. We weren’t even supposed to be seeing other people. I’m not going to stick up for him.”

“There’s no need for anyone to stick up for him. Everyone knows I’m the black sheep.”

“You’re saying he’s had it easier than you?”

He took a sip of his wine. “By the time he came into my life, it’d been ten years since my dad died.”

“I heard he was in a plane crash. Is that true?”

“It was his own plane. He loved to fly; but there was a malfunction….”

“I’m sorry.”

“I was only five when it happened.” He sat across from her. “But by the time my mother remarried, I was comfortable, no longer craving a father or a brother. My mother and I were doing just fine.”

“Then she met Bob Houseman and…everything changed.”

He nodded. “Suddenly I lost the company of my friends and found myself in a new town, a new school. Not only that but I had this father figure who was bossing me around and laying down strict rules. I had a brother, too, who meant the absolute world to him, which meant I could never compete. That made having a dad more of an illusion than a reality.” He studied the wine in his glass. “The worst part was how it affected my mother. She was so eager to please them both that I was quickly relegated to the backseat, expected to understand and adapt.” He fell silent before finishing with, “There were just a lot of changes.”

So he felt that Kyle and Kyle’s father had stolen his previous life and his mother from him. When she looked at it from his point of view, she could see why. It sounded as if Kyle had been in a better position to enjoy the new family dynamic. It would be hard to start over in high school, hard to have your position usurped.

Was that why he’d used his good looks and charisma like a weapon?

“How do you feel about Kyle now?” she asked.

“None of what bothered me then seems to matter anymore. I’ve come to terms with it.”

She got the feeling that wasn’t completely true. Maybe the animosity had died down, but…. “Do you think you’ll ever be close?”

“Probably not. Imagine taking two boys with strong personalities, competitive personalities, both oldest sons and trying to force one to become ‘the little brother’ after years and years of living a different life. Although I was younger, I refused to let Kyle best me at anything, and he resented the constant challenge.”

“I’m sure it didn’t help that you went your own ways so soon after your parents were married.”

“I don’t follow you….”

“You never really got a chance to adjust.” Kyle had headed off to college just two years after the wedding, right after she and Brandon went to Brandon’s junior prom, which was something that had always bugged Kyle—even though he and Olivia weren’t dating back then. By the time he returned, Brandon was gone. Then they started their careers and, with Brandon out of town so much, it’d been easy for Kyle to forget he even had a stepbrother. Most of the time, he hadn’t wanted to talk about Brandon.

“Actually I think we were both relieved about the separation,” he said with a wry grin.

“If he finds out I’m here, you could be looking at another challenge to your relationship.”

He winked at her. “I’m willing to take that risk.”

She glanced around the room. “You’re willing to take any risk.”

His eyes never left her face. She could feel his close regard, even though she avoided eye contact. “Only if I want something badly enough.”

Olivia’s phone rang, saving her from a response. She was glad. Whether or not he’d meant what he’d said as a pickup line, she’d felt a tingle down to her toes. She prayed her reaction was because her self-esteem had hit an all-time low. She needed to heal before she involved herself in another relationship, especially with someone so likely to use her without a second thought.

She checked Caller ID. It was her mother. Nancy had been expecting her and must be getting worried. They were supposed to make the favors for the reception after dinner tonight. Olivia had the supplies in her trunk.

Sending Brandon a look asking his forbearance, she overcame her reluctance to take this call and answered, infusing as much lift into her voice as possible. “Hello?”

“Where are you? I was sure you’d be here by now.”

Olivia allowed herself a grimace. “I, uh, had a little accident.”

“With your car?”

“No. I tripped while loading up and hurt my hand. So I’m running late.”

Brandon was watching her, but she continued to avoid his gaze.

“How bad is it? You didn’t break any bones…”

“I doubt it,” she said, removing the ice pack to take a look.

“Do you need Dr. Harris to x-ray it?”

“We’ll see. I’ll be there shortly.”

“Dinner’s at six.”

She heard the subtle threat in that statement. They’d eat without her if she wasn’t there. “I’ll make it.”

“Good. Kyle and Noelle are here waiting.”

“I bet they are.”

Her mother had to have heard the sour note in her voice, but, wisely, she didn’t react to it. Since the news of Noelle’s pregnancy, Nancy had done her best to minimize Olivia’s previous relationship with Kyle. The way she told the story, Noelle was marrying an “old friend” of her other daughter’s. Never mind that she and Kyle had slept together. Never mind that they’d talked about marriage themselves.

“Hurry. We have a lot to do.”

“See you soon.” After she hung up, she returned her attention to Brandon. “It was very gallant of you to rescue me from my imaginary bee attack, but I’ve got to go.”

“You sure you’re ready for what lies ahead?”

“No, but I never will be. It’s like going in for a root canal. Better to get the pain over with.” She rolled her eyes. “Noelle and Kyle are anxiously awaiting my arrival.”

“Lucky you,” he said dryly.

“Exactly.”

“Where are you staying?”

“My parents’.”

He made a face. “Isn’t your sister living there?”

She drank the rest of her wine, put her glass on the coffee table and got up. “Until Saturday night, when her new husband whisks her off to wedded bliss.”

“You’re more forgiving than I am.”

“I could pay for a hotel, but I’d be a hundred bucks poorer. How would that bother them?”

“Good point.” He stood, too. “Just don’t let loose on any inanimate objects again. You might break your other hand.”

“I’ve learned my lesson,” she responded, but just hearing her mother’s voice had put a lump in her throat. She couldn’t help feeling betrayed by her parents, too, because they were so eager to throw their support behind this wedding. She knew they had a grandchild at stake, but still…

After using his bathroom to fix her makeup, she found Brandon standing at the window, looking outside. “What do you think? Can you tell I’ve been crying?”

“I never would’ve guessed.”

She suspected he might be placating her, but she didn’t push. “Maybe I should change into something more conservative.”

“Are you kidding?” He whistled. “Let Kyle eat his heart out.”

That almost made her smile, until she imagined the reality of the next few hours. “I’ll probably be the miserable one.”

Although he continued to study her, she could tell he’d shifted gears. “If it gets too bad, you could always come back here.”

She arched her eyebrows. “So we could…”

His grin turned her knees to water. “Sleep. Of course. And I won’t charge you for the room.”

“Maybe you’d let me check out your big telescope,” she said, widening her eyes in feigned innocence.

“If you want to see the stars, I could give you a night to remember,” he said, playing along.

She laughed. “The ultimate revenge?”

“No,” he said, growing serious. “What I’ve wanted since prom.”

“That’s why you dropped me off at the end of the night and have avoided me ever since?”

“I knew I wasn’t what you needed. You’re too sensitive.”

He was right. That had been true then, and it was true now. If someone as trustworthy and admired as Kyle could hurt her so terribly, how would she ever survive the kind of emotional damage someone like Brandon could wreak?

“But I’ll go easy on you,” he added with a grin. “My number’s in your phone, in case you need it.”

“Thanks.” She was surprised he’d taken the liberty. She was a little flattered, too. But she had no intention of returning. She hadn’t been with a man in three months. That wouldn’t have seemed like a long time before her relationship with Kyle, but it felt like an eternity now that she knew what she was missing. She couldn’t come back. She’d only get herself into trouble if she did, because it wasn’t Brandon’s telescope she wanted him to share.

Chapter 3

Kyle’s work truck, a Ford F-150, sat in her parents’ driveway. Olivia had expected to see it, but her heart sank all the same.

Taking a breath, trying to bolster herself, she got out of her Acura and started toward the front door, rolling her suitcase behind her with a sense of determination and purpose that belied the pain.

You can do this. Just keep your chin up and try to forget that this is Kyle and Noelle. Pretend they’re are no different from any of the other couples you’ve worked with.

It was a wedding, a job, she told herself. But she hadn’t been home since she’d moved away. Her only contact had been through her mother, who shared various details over the phone, like Kyle buying a new car because Noelle “hated” trucks.

Olivia felt strange marching up to her parents’ front door knowing that nothing was as it used to be, that Kyle wasn’t waiting for her in quite the same way as he’d waited for her in the past.

“I’ve entered The Twilight Zone,” she muttered.

She spotted a flurry of movement at the window. Then the door flew open and her mother descended on her. “There you are! I’ve been worried. Let me see what you’ve done to your poor hand.”

Grateful for the distraction, she displayed her injury.

“Oh, dear.” Her mother’s eyebrows knitted. “Look at that. Of all times for something like this to happen. Well, come on in. We’ll get some ice. Maybe we’ll be able to put you on the left side when we take the wedding pictures so the swelling doesn’t show.”

“I don’t need to be in the pictures at all,” she said before she could stop the words.

Nancy’s smile faded. The expression on her face suggested she was about to respond, but whether she was going to warn her not to ruin the wedding, or say she was sorry about what Olivia must be feeling, Olivia never heard because Kyle strode out to greet her.

Olivia thanked God that Noelle wasn’t with him. Seeing him was bad enough. He seemed reluctant yet eager to approach, which added more confusion to the emotions currently assaulting her.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” he said.

Their eyes met briefly before she jerked hers away, but he kept his smile stubbornly in place as he hurried to assist with her suitcase.

Obviously he’d been anticipating this moment and was prepared for it. Olivia had tried to prepare, too. Little good had it done her. Nausea threatened to ruin her calculated indifference.

“I’ve got it.” She made an effort to keep the resentment from her voice, but it was impossible. No doubt he picked up on her tone. They were too familiar with each other for him to miss the slightest nuance. She knew the strength of his arms and how wonderful it felt to have them close around her, the rough texture of his jaw, the fullness of his lips and how soft yet demanding they could be when he kissed….

Why had this person she’d trusted so deeply betrayed her? There were moments, moments like now, when she couldn’t believe that their lives had taken such a dramatic turn.

He attempted to grab her case in spite of her refusal, but she hung on and kept walking, leaving him no choice but to fall back and follow.

“Where’s Dad?” she asked her mother as they reached the front patio, an attractive covelike entrance to her parents’ rambler.

“Out back, grilling some steaks.”

Olivia didn’t ask where Noelle was. She didn’t want to see her sister.

The smell of a home-cooked meal enveloped her as soon as she entered the house—evoking the only pleasant sensation Olivia had experienced since she’d left Brandon’s. Everything else cut like broken glass.

A buzzer went off in the kitchen, and her mother hurried to remove whatever she had on the stove. “We didn’t want to eat without you,” she said, raising her voice to be heard, “but it was getting late. I’m glad you arrived in time.”

Olivia didn’t comment. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t complain, wouldn’t wallow in self-pity, wouldn’t start a fight. But how she wished she could miss this meal. No aroma could be tempting enough to make her want to stay.

Sensing Kyle’s presence at her elbow, she left her suitcase and pivoted to go back outside, already eager for a reprieve from the tension twisting her stomach. “I’ve got the stuff for the wedding favors in my trunk. I’ll grab it.”

“Not with your hand hurt,” Kyle said. “Let me.”

“No, thanks. I can manage.” She had no intention of allowing him do anything. But, to her chagrin, he joined her anyway. So she tried to ignore him. She didn’t want to see him any more than she wanted to see her sister, didn’t want to hear him, either, or confront the reality of what they used to be and what they were now.

Once they were out of earshot of her mother, he caught her elbow to get her to face him and lowered his voice. “I’m so sorry, Olivia. I know…I know how hard this must be. It’s killing me that I’m causing you pain.”

He seemed sincere, but maybe he was just being arrogant. She’d begun to doubt everything she’d ever known about him, except the physical sensations that had been such a major part of their relationship. Looking at him made her crave the familiarity they’d enjoyed. Since Carly, her best friend, had moved to Phoenix to accept a job offer with Southwest Airlines, Kyle had become both friend and boyfriend. Losing his friendship hurt as much as all the rest.

Battling the threat of tears, she manufactured another smile. “You’re not causing me pain,” she said. “As a matter of fact, I’m already seeing someone else.”

Dropping his hand, he blinked in surprise. “Your mother said…I mean, she didn’t mention that.”

“I haven’t told her about him. There’s enough going on around here. This is your week, your wedding. I’ll save my announcements for later.”

Did he go pale? Or was that her imagination?

“Is it someone in Sac?” he asked.

She could’ve said yes and left it at that. She wasn’t entirely sure why she didn’t. Maybe it was because a mere name wouldn’t have the same effect. “No, actually. He’s from Whiskey Creek. Someone you know quite well.”

A muscle flexed in his cheek. “Who?”

She’d already gone too far. But the same desperate compulsion that had overtaken her in the car when she injured her hand seemed to goad her now, until the name that would hurt him most passed her lips. “Brandon.”

The color returned to his face, staining his cheeks a bright red. “My stepbrother?”

“You’re not really related,” she reminded him. “That happens to be important to me, even though it wasn’t to you.”

He seemed to struggle with words. “His mother is married to my father.”

“You lived together for two years. Sadly I’ve had to put up with Noelle my whole life.”

He shook his head as if she’d just cold-cocked him. “Brandon?” he said again. “You’ve got to be joking.”

She lifted her chin. “Why?”

“Because he’d be terrible for you!”

“In what way?” she challenged.

“He-he doesn’t know what it means to really love anyone. The second he gets bored, or a skiing opportunity presents itself, he’ll be gone and you may never hear from him again.”

She sneered. “Funny you should say that.”

“I know I let you down.” He lowered his voice. “But…that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”

“Did you think I’d mope around indefinitely?”

“No, of course not. That isn’t what I want. I want you to be happy.”

She smiled broadly. “Brandon makes me happy.”

A scowl replaced his stunned expression. “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face, Olivia. He hasn’t been able to maintain one serious relationship. He’ll only hurt you in the end.”

She popped the trunk. “I doubt it. Thanks to you, I’m older and wiser than I was.”

“You’re no match for him. He’ll take advantage of how innocent and trusting you are and how deeply you love—”

“I’m not planning to marry him.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll leave making the Big Commitment to you and my dear sister. Brandon’s good in bed. Right now, that’s all I need.”

When he sagged a little, her heart twisted so painfully she almost admitted the truth. She couldn’t hurt Kyle regardless of what he’d done to her. But Noelle’s voice, filled with suspicion, rang out from the patio. “What’s taking so long?”

Olivia raised the trunk lid, revealing the many boxes of wedding paraphernalia she’d borrowed from River City Resort Club & Spa. She’d been planning to tote it all in herself, regardless of her throbbing hand. She wanted to stay busy, focused. But if Kyle was going to dog her footsteps, she figured he could handle the job.

“Looks like there’s more here than I remembered. If you could bring it into the living room, we’ll get started on the wedding favors right after we eat. I have to leave soon. Brandon’s expecting me,” she said and walked past her sister without saying hello.

Chapter 4

When his mother showed up on his doorstep, Brandon was relieved Olivia was gone. He didn’t feel he owed it to his stepbrother to stay away from her or anything like that. After what Kyle had done, Brandon considered Olivia fair game for any guy, even him. But he knew his mother would get involved if she saw Olivia at his place—and if there was any way to keep his mother from getting involved, it was always best to go that route. Otherwise, she’d give him no peace.

“Hi, what are you doing here?” he asked as he swung the door wide. She rarely came over. But he’d let her last few calls go to voice mail. He’d heard enough about the wedding, hadn’t wanted to hear any more.

That had been a mistake. Instead of leaving him alone, she’d come to harangue him in person.

“I was on my way home and thought I’d stop by,” she said.

Sure, that made sense. Except his place wasn’t on the way to or from anywhere. Only teenagers and hikers bothered to visit the old mine or the trails he loved so much.

“Can I come in?” she asked, sounding slightly miffed that he hadn’t already offered.

Belatedly he realized he was still blocking the entrance. “Of course.” He stepped aside so she could move past him. Then he placed his arms around her in the obligatory hug.

“Have you picked up your tux for the wedding?” she asked as soon as he released her.

“Not yet.”

“Brandon!” Cocking her head, she gave him that searching look that said he was about to get a stern lecture. “You’re not going to do anything to ruin this wedding, are you? Because I’m counting on you. Just once I’d like you to go along with what we have planned and behave yourself. Can you do that? For me?”

“No problem.” He tried to play it straight, but it was difficult not to grimace. He hated the way she catered to Kyle and Kyle’s father. Maybe if she’d give them hell every once in a while, he wouldn’t have to establish their boundaries on his own.

“Good. I’m glad to hear it. I’ll grab your tux when I hit town. If you wait too long, they’ll be closed.”

“There’s always tomorrow, Mom.”

“The wedding rehearsal is tomorrow. There’ll be a lot to do as it is.”

“I can get my own tux!”

Obviously put out by his refusal to let her take control, she sniffed. “And you’ll make the rehearsal?”

“Of course.”

“On time and sober?”

“When have I ever shown up anywhere drunk?” he asked. As an athlete, he worked against the clock as it was. Age would slow him down fast enough; he wasn’t about to destroy his body with alcohol.

“I’m just covering all the bases,” she told him.

For Kyle… “Maybe I’m not the one you should be worried about,” he said.

“What do you mean?

“Maybe you should pay Kyle a visit instead, see if you can get him to call off the coming travesty.”

She looked like he’d just stuck her with a pin. “Why would I do that?”

He made a face that suggested she was crazy for even asking. “Because he’s about to ruin his life?”

For a moment, she seemed torn, but ultimately took the party line. “We don’t know that.”

“Maybe you don’t, but I do.”

“Granted, Noelle isn’t the woman Olivia is,” she said, relenting, “but…it’s his choice. We have to respect his wishes.”

Brandon leaned one shoulder against the wall. “Were you aware that Olivia’s been planning the wedding?”

She slid her purse farther up her arm. He wasn’t sure how, at five-two and a hundred and twenty pounds, she managed to haul that thing around. It had to weigh thirty pounds. But she didn’t go anywhere without it. “Nancy mentioned she was helping, yes.”

“I can’t believe they’d expect her to do that.”

“They told me they thought it would be cathartic for her.”

“To plan the wedding of the man she loves—to her sister? Come on! I think it was just cheaper.”

“It wasn’t my place to make that decision, either,” she said, but at least her tone of voice acknowledged that she agreed with him.

“Someone should’ve told them to plan it themselves,” he grumbled.

“I’m sure it’s fine. Olivia’s a very forgiving, wonderful woman. And someday she’ll find an equally wonderful man.”

Brandon pictured Olivia sitting on the side of the road, tears streaming down her face as she gazed up at him. Even completely disheveled, she was the prettiest woman he’d ever seen. “How wonderful would he need to be?” he asked.

His mother frowned at him. “Excuse me?”

“Never mind.” He’d known all along, ever since he’d held Olivia in his arms at prom, that he couldn’t have her. If he was going to get involved with a woman, she had to be like him, able to enjoy a quick, passionate affair and then move on.

Because, as soon as ski season arrived, he’d be gone again.

*

Noelle was angry during dinner. Olivia could feel her sister’s animosity. She wasn’t sure why Noelle felt she had the right to be upset. She wasn’t the injured party. But every few seconds she’d glance over at Kyle, who was keeping his eyes on his plate, before sending Olivia an accusing glare.

What did she think happened before she came upon them outside?

Olivia didn’t care. Not really. Most of the slights Noelle perceived were imagined. It’d always been that way. Olivia just wanted to get the wedding favors assembled so she could leave. She couldn’t stay here, as planned. The unspoken hurt and anger were too agonizing.

But she wouldn’t go to Brandon’s. Sacramento wasn’t that far. Although it would waste time and gas, she’d drive home and come back in the morning. She did, however, have to tell Brandon what she’d said to Kyle. She wasn’t looking forward to that conversation. She’d already embarrassed herself once where he was concerned.

After dinner, Kyle went in to watch a true crime show with her father, Noelle disappeared into her bedroom to do whatever she felt she needed to do to prepare for her wedding and Olivia helped her mother wash dishes. Olivia had just started to relax, thanks to the comfort of routine, when Noelle called to her from the bedroom.

“Can you come and tell me how to wear my hair?” she asked, but Olivia wasn’t fooled. Noelle had played nice long enough. She’d obviously decided on a bit of honesty to break through the thin veneer of civility that had carried them this far. Olivia wasn’t opposed to that herself.

“I’ll be right back,” she told her mother.

Nancy’s forehead creased in worry, as if she, too, suspected that Noelle wasn’t interested in opinions on her hair, but she nodded, and Olivia silently promised to do all she could to keep her temper in check. Fighting wouldn’t improve the situation. Noelle and Kyle were going to have a baby. She needed to keep that in mind, especially if she wanted to be part of her niece’s or nephew’s life. The child was innocent and deserved the support of his or her entire family. Olivia just hoped that someday she’d be able to look at her sister’s offspring, at Kyle’s offspring, without cringing.

Maybe it’d be easy. Maybe Noelle would have a little girl who was a much better person than her mother….

“Are you thinking of an updo?” she asked as she walked down the hall.

Noelle was waiting by the door. She closed it as soon as Olivia walked in. “What are you doing?” she whispered harshly.

Olivia studied her flushed face. She was pretty; there was no denying that. They both had wide blue eyes, long blond hair and even features, but Noelle, shorter by two inches, had a curvier figure, which probably made her more attractive. Despite that, Olivia had never been jealous. Due to Noelle’s demanding nature, self-absorption and terrible mood swings, she’d never been particularly popular with the opposite sex. Olivia figured men could sense that her looks wouldn’t be worth the cost of involvement. She’d always thought Kyle understood that, too. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about!”

Did Noelle believe Olivia had said something inappropriate to Kyle? That she was trying to stir up trouble?

Olivia started to explain that she was at a complete loss when Noelle made the reason for her anger clear. “You’re seeing Brandon? Really? Kyle’s stepbrother?”

At first, because of Noelle’s emphasis on the family connection, Olivia assumed she was worried about how that might make Kyle feel. Neither one of them had any right to complain, of course, but the threat of looking like a hypocrite had never stopped Noelle. She believed the entire world should bow at her feet—which made Olivia suddenly realize that Noelle wasn’t angry on Kyle’s behalf. She expected Kyle to fight his own battles and cope with his own difficulties. She expected that of everyone, except herself. The only way Noelle could be this upset was if Olivia’s actions affected her personally.

And then Olivia remembered. For most of one summer, Noelle had had the worst crush imaginable on Brandon. She’d done everything possible to gain his attention, including driving past his house numerous times a day, calling him incessantly, showing up wherever she guessed he might be. Olivia had forgotten that, largely because it’d been so long ago—eight years or more. And he hadn’t given her so much as a second look. When August rolled around, he told her flat-out that he wasn’t remotely interested and she’d better quit stalking him or he was going to the police.

The police threat came—understandable enough—after she’d spied on him with another woman, but his unequivocal rejection had done significant damage to Noelle’s ego.

“Why are you smiling?” Noelle snapped.

Olivia sobered. “I guess I still don’t understand why you’re upset.”

Noelle grabbed her arm. “I’m upset because you’re doing this on purpose! You’re trying to ruin my wedding!”

“What?” Olivia jerked loose. “I’ve been planning your wedding—for free! Not only have I donated hours and hours of my time, I’ve called in favors from all the vendors I’ve ever worked with.”

“For Mom and Dad. Not for me.”

Olivia couldn’t argue with that.

“This is your revenge,” she continued. “This is how you think you’ll get the last laugh.”

“What are you talking about?” Noelle had liked a lot of boys over the years. She couldn’t claim proprietary interest in all of them. Besides, after that summer she’d never had a nice thing to say about Kyle’s stepbrother.

“I’m talking about you sleeping with Brandon!”

So Kyle had shared that information. “I don’t see why my being with Brandon would bother you. You’re in love with Kyle, right? You’re having his baby. And because of that baby, he’s marrying you.”

“Not because of the baby!” she cried, stamping her foot. “Because he loves me! I knew you’d try to cheapen it, try to convince yourself that he’s still in love with you. But he’s not. He hates that the two of you were ever together!”

When they talked on the phone for the last time, Kyle had said the two years they’d spent together were the best of his life, but Olivia didn’t give him away. His feelings had probably already changed.

“Fine. He hates that we were together. He hates me. I don’t care. He’s all yours now. You got exactly what you wanted. So enjoy him and leave me alone.”

“I didn’t get pregnant on purpose. I know you think I did.”

“At this point, it doesn’t matter what I think.” She turned to go but Noelle wasn’t finished yet.

“Does Brandon know?”

Olivia hesitated with her hand on the doorknob. “Know what?”

“That I’m pregnant?”

Why would he care? “Of course he does. Everyone in town knows.”

“Your relationship with Brandon won’t last,” she said suddenly, changing tactics. “He isn’t the marrying kind.”

“Fortunately, after what I’ve been through in the past few months, I’m only looking for some fun.” Unable to resist, she lowered her voice. “And, God, can he provide it!”

*

Kyle had the hardest time keeping his eyes from gravitating to Olivia. She looked better than ever—tall, tan, hair streaked from the sun. But, despite her shapely legs—which happened to be his favorite part of the female anatomy—her appearance had nothing to do with how he felt. She’d always been beautiful to him, the only woman he’d ever loved. Just seeing her made his determination falter.

How had he gotten into such a terrible mess? These days, he constantly asked himself that. But he had no answer—except the obvious. He’d been an idiot, foolish enough to make the kind of mistake that would change his life forever.

He wished he could stop time, demand everyone back up and let him start over. But he’d seen the results of the pregnancy test. With a baby coming, there were no second chances.

“Honey, you have to put three hugs and three kisses in each box,” Noelle said.

He blinked at the foil-wrapped chocolate candies. Wasn’t that what he’d been doing? He opened the last wedding favor he’d assembled. She was right. He’d put in five kisses and only one hug. He’d thought, as long as they each included six pieces, it wouldn’t matter. They had more than enough of both kinds. But every little detail mattered to Noelle.

“Got it.” He smiled as congenially as possible to keep Olivia and her parents from knowing how badly Noelle’s voice grated on him.

Three kisses, he silently mimicked. And three hugs. Along with a scrap of paper that read, What’s the earth with all its art, verse, music worth—compared with love, found, gained, and kept? —Robert Browning

“Kyle, is something wrong?”

He glanced up to see his future mother-in-law watching him. He hadn’t realized he’d slipped into inactivity. He was sitting there, staring at that damn line of Robert Browning’s.

“No.” His cheek muscles ached with the effort of yet another smile. “I was just wondering if I’d remembered to invite my aunt Georgia.”

“You invited her,” Noelle said without looking up. “You had so many on your list I had to cut twenty from mine, remember?”

He didn’t know if he was supposed to apologize. He’d tried to keep his list small. His was certainly smaller than hers, by a significant margin. He hadn’t wanted a big wedding. Given the situation, he much preferred they forgo the embarrassment of being married in Whiskey Creek and fly to Vegas. It seemed crazy to celebrate the hardest thing he’d ever done.

But thanks to Noelle’s insistence on creating the fanfare she’d always craved for her wedding, they were looking at a long, painful weekend. One that included Olivia, making it impossible to avoid the fact that, if not for one foolish night, this could’ve been their wedding.

Actually, he’d been with Noelle more than one night. It had been a whirlwind couple of weeks, during which she’d flirted and teased and cajoled and pleased. Caught in the aftermath of Olivia’s proposing a break and moving to Sacramento because she didn’t want to settle down without experiencing a little more of life, he’d been feeling rejected, unsure she’d ever really come back and angry enough to tell himself he didn’t have to suffer while she was gone. Their break hadn’t been his idea. The fact that they weren’t together but weren’t really apart left him feeling irritable and foolish.

And this was where it had gotten him….

Suppressing a groan, he started filling boxes again.

“Did you find the right tie and cummerbund for your tux?” Olivia asked. It was the first time she’d initiated any conversation between them. He would’ve been grateful for her attention, would’ve seen it as a hopeful sign that she might eventually be able to forgive him, except he knew she was only asking as the wedding planner.

“I have.”

“And your groomsmen have the right ones, as well?”

“Probably. I’ve told them where to go.”

“You need to check.”

“I will.”

“Do they know the rehearsal dinner tomorrow has been moved to seven instead of six-thirty?”

He kept forming little boxes and filling them with the appropriate chocolate candy before adding them to the stack in the middle of the table. The women took over from there, tying on a delicate pink ribbon imprinted with their names and the date of their wedding.

Two days. The worst will be over in two days…. “I’ve notified them of that, too.”

“Even Brandon?”

He’d invited Brandon to be in the wedding party for the sake of his parents. He felt it would be too obvious a slight to leave him out. But other than receiving a brief email confirming his participation, Kyle hadn’t heard from his stepbrother. “Even Brandon.”

“I’ll double-check with him tonight.”

The idea of Olivia spending time with Brandon for any reason made Kyle flinch. She hadn’t meant much to him when the two of them went to a prom together years ago. But she meant a lot to him now. “I can email him again.”

“Why don’t you just call him?”

He met her gaze. “Maybe I will.”

Ham, as Olivia’s father was called, paused in his work to raise his eyebrows at this exchange. But, as usual, he didn’t say anything. Sometimes Kyle wished he would. He wished someone would admit that this wedding was a huge mistake. Because he couldn’t. If Noelle wanted to marry him, he had no choice. He had to stand up and do the right thing or he wouldn’t be able to live with himself later.

Chapter 5

Relieved to be away from her parents’ house, Olivia dialed Brandon’s number as she sat in her car, letting the engine idle in the empty parking lot of Just Like Mom’s. The diner was closed, along with almost everything else in town, including the touristy shops dedicated to Whiskey Creek’s gold rush heritage. It was late enough that she was hesitant to start the long drive home. She was tired. And she wasn’t optimistic that facing her empty apartment would be that much better than crashing in her old bedroom. She seemed to be miserable no matter what.

“I’m not sure how to break this to you,” she said as soon as Brandon answered.

“Break what to me?” he responded, his voice husky, which made her wonder if she’d awakened him. “You couldn’t have found someone with a bigger telescope.”

She knew he was teasing but, feeling herself flush, decided to ignore the innuendo. “I, uh, told a little white lie about you.”

“Did it make me look good or bad?” He didn’t sound too excited by the prospect either way.

“Maybe a little opportunistic?”

“Okay. Let me have it.”

She drew a deep breath. “Kyle and Noelle think we’re seeing each other.”

“That’s it?”

“Not quite.”

“I’m waiting…”

“They also think we’re sleeping together.”

“Really.”

“I don’t know what got into me,” she said. “Kyle pulled me aside and said it was killing him to know he was causing me pain, and I…I couldn’t stand being so transparent and vulnerable. So I told him I’m not hurting at all, that I’m already seeing someone else.”

“Me.”

“Right. I could’ve named someone from Sacramento. That’s what I should’ve done, obviously. He couldn’t have proven that one way or the other. But…”

“It wouldn’t have been half as much fun.”

“No, it wouldn’t have had the same impact.” She’d found Noelle’s reaction even more satisfying than Kyle’s, but she didn’t mention that. She was fairly sure her sister would be a sore subject with Brandon, even after the number of years that had passed since she’d invaded his privacy. “I hope you’re not too sorry you stopped to help me.”

“Not at all. I just wish I could’ve seen Kyle’s face.”

She smiled as she remembered. “He went white as a sheet.”

“Good. Maybe it gave him the jolt he needs.”

“In what way?”

“I haven’t given up hope that he’ll come to his senses and call the whole thing off.”

Olivia pictured Kyle and Noelle as they’d been at dinner. They hadn’t seemed particularly close, but they were dealing with a lot of stress, even more than normally accompanied a wedding. She wasn’t convinced she could get an accurate reading from what she’d seen. “Maybe he loves her.”

“You and I both know who he loves.”

She hadn’t expected Brandon to be so candid. “There is the baby—”

“Jumping into a marriage destined to end in divorce won’t help the baby.” He lowered his voice in a way that demanded an honest answer. “Would you take him back?”

“No!”

“You’re done with him no matter what he does, no matter how much he begs?”

“He won’t beg. You know Kyle. Once he’s made up his mind, that’s it. He’d never embarrass Noelle, my parents or your family by backing out. Whatever else he might be, he’s a man of his word. But I’m done with him.”

“And now you’re all mine.”

The zap she’d experienced earlier, the one that left her feeling slightly giddy, struck again, like a lightning bolt out of the clear blue sky. Which made no sense. She was still in love with Kyle—although their relationship was completely and totally over.

Assuming it was basic chemistry, the kind that could come out of nowhere even with a complete stranger, she shrugged off her reaction. He was merely referring to what she’d said earlier. “Or so they think. I’m sorry I went that far. I had no right to drag you into something that could have long-term repercussions inside your own family. But…it won’t turn out to be a big deal. I let both him and Noelle know it’s not serious. We don’t have to go around holding hands or anything. Maybe a smile or two at the wedding—that’s all.”

“You’re saying you implied we’re not making love, just having sex.”

“Exactly. But I made sure they knew it was mind-blowing.” She tried to joke a little herself but the images that flashed through her head—images of Brandon’s mouth on hers—made her words anything but funny.

“There’s only one problem,” he said.

“What’s that?”

“If you told them it was casual, they already know you were lying.”

For some reason, she was having difficulty catching her breath. “What makes you say that?”

“Honey, you’re not capable of casual.”

She’d certainly been more circumspect than he had. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t play the same game of Catch Me If You Can. “How do you know? I’m just as capable of free and easy as anyone.”

“You’re speaking from experience? You’ve had other ‘free and easy’ relationships?”

She thought of the two men she’d slept with. Both had been long-term, steady boyfriends. “Not yet,” she admitted. “But after what I’ve been through, I’m not looking for a commitment. I think everyone understands that. Emotional entanglements are too…sticky and…and confining.” The memory of Kyle coming forward to tell her he’d been with Noelle made her want to bang her head on the steering wheel again. “Not to mention painful,” she added. “And when they don’t work out you have to deal with regret for getting involved in the first place.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“Why shouldn’t I have my fun just like everyone else?” she asked, warming to her defiance. “I’m twenty-seven. I can do whatever I want.”

“Now you’re getting me excited.”

She heard the humor in his voice but chose to ignore it. “Maybe I’ve been playing it too safe. Maybe I wouldn’t be the one nursing a broken heart if I was willing to take a walk on the wild side once in a while.”

“I’ll buy that.”

Again, she ignored the subtle smile in his voice because she loved feeling empowered. Just the idea of breaking the rules and getting away with it seemed to revive her flagging spirits. She could fight back if she wanted to!

But her enthusiasm dimmed as fast as it had dawned when he said, “Great. Come on over. Venus is out tonight. I’ll show you.”

Shit. She’d gone too far. She’d merely wanted him to respect her as someone equally capable of making that choice. Instead he’d called her bluff.

Suddenly feeling the need to backpedal, she searched for a good excuse. “I would, but…you’re not the right kind of guy for my first hook-up.”

“Are you kidding?” he said. “I’m the perfect guy. And I’m volunteering.”

“That’s kind of you, but…it wouldn’t be…smart.”

“Define smart.”

“We wouldn’t gel. We’re not…compatible.”

“Because…”

She swallowed hard. He knew he appealed to women, knew she was no exception. What would he accept that would allow her to save face? “I’d be a boring partner for a thrill-seeker like you.”

“That’s like saying you have to wash your hair,” he said flatly. “If you’re stepping up your game, you’re really going to have to do better.”

“It’s not as lame as you’re making it sound.”

“It’s worse. Face it. You’re all talk.”

“No, I’m not,” she said. “Think of the women you’ve been with. The variety. The experience. I’d be…meat and potatoes when you’re used to caviar.”

“Olivia?”

It wasn’t hot outside. As a matter of fact, it was a bit chilly. Yet she was sweating. “Yes?”

“Why don’t you let me decide what turns me on?”

Because she’d long ago eliminated Brandon as a romantic possibility. She knew she couldn’t remain as aloof as he did. He seemed to sense the same thing, seemed to understand that she wasn’t capable of dealing with someone like him. “You’ve never even acted interested.”

“Do you remember prom?” he asked.

Of course she did. That night was tucked away in a special file in her brain, one she accessed every now and then so she could relive his good-night kiss. No one else had ever kissed her in quite the same way.

But she didn’t want to think about that now. She was too scared. And not just because of her recent experience with Kyle. She’d been scared of Brandon from the beginning. “That was years ago.”

“I know. But I’ve wanted you ever since. I’ll be here if you change your mind,” he said and hung up.

*

Olivia pressed her good hand over her face. She wasn’t sure what had just happened, how she and Brandon had rounded the corner from “acquaintances who’d once had a class together and went to a school dance” to “I’ve wanted you ever since” in such a short time. She figured it was her fault. She’d sent the wrong signals, especially when she’d had to let Brandon know she’d been telling others they were having sex. She supposed it was natural for him to take advantage if he sensed an opportunity. But she couldn’t accept what he’d offered, no matter how reckless and angry and fatalistic she might be feeling. One night with him would be enough to set her recovery back by months.

Somehow, her life just kept getting more complicated….

She told herself to head back to her parents’ house and turn in. She had so much to do in the morning. She had an early appointment with the events coordinator at the Pullman Mansion, where they were having the wedding and the reception. She also had to track a shipment of candy jars she’d ordered on the internet to find out why they hadn’t yet arrived. And if those jars weren’t going to make it in time, she needed to come up with an alternative. After that, she was scheduled to meet with the florist to see about adding lights to the centerpieces, and then the DJ so she could provide him with a playlist. All before the rehearsal dinner.

This wedding had to go without a hitch, had to run more smoothly than any event she’d ever planned, or she’d get the blame for anything that went wrong. After all her efforts, she certainly didn’t want to be accused of sabotage. If she wanted to let her parents down, she could’ve done that by refusing to handle it in the first place.

Too bad she didn’t have internet, or she could work on her computer right here, she thought with a frown. Her parents had service, but she was still dragging her feet about returning there. She preferred to wait until Kyle had gone and Noelle was in bed, and she didn’t think she’d let enough time pass for that to have happened.

Briefly she considered renting a room at one of the two bed and breakfasts in town. They’d have internet. But she didn’t dare spend the money. Her savings was off-limits. Besides, one of Kyle’s best friends owned The Gold Nugget. That crossed it off her list right there.

Sexy Sadie’s, a local bar fashioned after an old-time saloon, caught her eye. It was down the street. The place wasn’t usually crowded on weeknights but Thursdays were busier than Monday through Wednesday. She watched several people come and go, was contemplating stopping there for a drink, when her cell phone rang.

It was Kyle. She almost didn’t answer. They had nothing to say to each other. But if he was at her house, her mother, father or sister had likely asked him to pass on a message. She had to stop thinking of him as her ex and start thinking of him as her brother-in-law.

“Ick,” she muttered but, with a sigh, hit the talk button. “What can I do for you?”

“You can answer one question,” he replied.

This didn’t sound like he was planning to pass on a message. “Does Noelle know you’re calling me?”

He didn’t answer. “Are you already with Brandon?”

“No.”

“Are you really seeing him?”

She curled her fingernails into her palms. Making up a relationship that didn’t exist was pathetic. She should never have done it. Look what had happened with Brandon as a result! Just the thought of him lying in his bed, waiting for her, made her yearn for more than the memory of that one kiss all those years ago.

“No!” she said, as much to herself as him.

He seemed surprised by the energy of her answer, but he was probably too relieved to comment on the intensity behind it. “Thank God.”

“Not that it should matter to you,” she added, feeling more sane.

“I know, it’s just…I believed you.”

After the doubt Brandon had shown that anyone would be convinced they were seeing each other, she knew she should feel vindicated. But he obviously understood who she was better than Kyle did. Which was odd. “Even though I’ve been living in Sacramento for the past four months?” she said.

“He’d be willing to make the drive. He has a thing for you. I could sense his interest the whole time you and I were together.”

Strange though it seemed, given their limited contact over the years, she’d always had a thing for him, too. She’d just never allowed herself to entertain the possibility of letting it go anywhere. “Jealousy’s making you blind.”

“I’m not blind to anything! He likes tall blondes.”

“Doesn’t mean he likes all tall blondes.”

“I’m telling you we almost got into a fight at Thanksgiving because of the way he kept looking at you.”

Olivia hadn’t noticed anything amiss, nothing beyond the usual push-pull she felt whenever Brandon was around. He’d shown up for dinner, but he’d stayed only long enough to eat. As far as she was concerned he’d done nothing wrong.

“He didn’t even speak to me,” she said.

“He might try now.”

“So you’re…what? Giving me fair warning?”

“I’m letting you know that getting involved with him wouldn’t be a smart move. You remember how he treated your sister—”

“I like that better than how you’ve treated my sister!”

“Ouch,” he said but she ignored him.

“Besides, that was years ago, when he was home from college for the summer. And she was stalking him, Kyle. She spied on him with another woman. That would make anyone angry.”

“That’s not the way she tells the story. She says he was pursuing her, leading several women on at the same time.”

Because she didn’t want to admit the truth. He’d discover that was a common occurrence. “I believe Brandon.”

“Over your own sister?”

“Yes. Absolutely. Look, I appreciate all the brotherly love, but—”

“Brotherly love?” he broke in. “Would you just…stop? Please? Do you think this is any easier for me?”

The desperation in his voice surprised her.

“I screwed up,” he went on. “And now I’m paying the price. But I don’t want you to suffer any more than you already have because of my stupidity.”

Somehow his words made her even angrier than if he’d said he adored her sister and always had. “If you’re having second thoughts, I’m not the one to talk to.”

There was a long silence. Then he said, “I realize that.”

“What is it you hold against Brandon, anyway?” she asked. “It can’t have anything to do with him mistreating Noelle, because you didn’t like him before he threatened her with a restraining order.”

“You know how he is. He’s stubborn and egotistical and…and difficult to get along with.”

She wrapped her arms around herself and stared out at the town she loved so much. Kyle had cost her even this. She’d planned to come back but now…she felt as if she’d been cast adrift, as if Whiskey Creek was no longer her anchor. “How does that affect me?”

“He can’t commit, and as much as you’re trying to pretend you’re not looking for love, I know you too well. He’s not the kind of man you need.”

As if Kyle was any better! He’d set himself up with that statement. But this time she let it go. “Have you talked to him recently?”

“I don’t need to.”

“Maybe you’re going by dated information. Maybe he’s matured and you’re missing out on having a great brother.”

“I’m not missing out on anything.”

“You could cut him a little slack, you know. He’s in your wedding party.”

“For the sake of my parents.”

She understood how familial obligation played a role this weekend. She doubted she’d even be attending the wedding were it not for Nancy and Ham. “Now you know why I’m here.”

“I knew that before.”

Again, the door opening and closing at Sexy Sadie’s caught her eye. “I have to go.”

“Wait—”

“For what, Kyle? Get some sleep. You’ll need to be in top form this weekend.”

He’d dared to call her, so she knew he wasn’t with Noelle. Her sister was probably in bed, getting her beauty rest. That meant she could return to her parents’.

But Olivia couldn’t go back there quite yet. Telling herself she’d have just one drink, she drove down the street and parked in front of the bar.

Chapter 6

Brandon’s phone woke him. “Hello?” he muttered, squinting to see the time displayed on his digital alarm.

He was pretty sure it read 1:10.

“Brandon?”

Olivia. He recognized her voice immediately—although he could tell there was something wrong. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry, Brandon.”

She sounded genuinely distraught. “For what, honey? It’s okay that you didn’t come over. I wasn’t really expecting you.”

“I meant for b-bothering you in the middle of the night.”

When she sniffed, he gripped the phone harder. She was crying. “That’s okay, too. What’s wrong?”

“Um…do you think…would it be too much trouble…I hate to ask this, but…”

“Where are you?” He was awake enough to hear that she was slurring her words. That, together with the loud music in the background, indicated she was at a bar. But, if so, where? In Sac? Or in Whiskey Creek?

“S-s-sexy S-s-Sadie’s!” she announced, laughing. “I think I’m drunk. I was only going to have one drink, but…I don’t know what happened.”

“You had more.”

“Yep.”

He’d assumed she left town. He’d known she’d never show up at his place. “Do you need me to come get you?”

“Would you?” She seemed infinitely relieved.

“Of course.” He rolled out of bed and began to dress. “Where’s your car?”

“Out front. But I don’t think-I don’t think I should drive, Brandon. It wouldn’t be safe. I might hurt some-somebody. I wouldn’t want to hurt anybody.”

“You’re not going to get behind the wheel, sweetheart.”

“No, but…I shouldn’t have called you. Today’s the first time we ever really talked since prom so…it’s rude, right? To do that to a new friend?”

“Is that what we are?”

“Aren’t we?”

He smiled at her distress. “Of course we are.”

“Okay, good. Anyway, I’d call someone else but…all my other friends belong to Kyle.”

“They what?”

“They’re his friends. Callie and Eve and Riley and Ted and Cheyenne…”

She seemed to lose her train of thought before she could name all the members of the tight clique Kyle had belonged to since grade school. Rattling them off by memory wouldn’t be that easy to do sober, since there were at least ten.

“Losing them, along with everything else, must’ve been hard.” Her own friends had gotten married or taken jobs elsewhere, but most of Kyle’s had remained here in Whiskey Creek and were as close as ever. A lot of people envied the support and friendship they gave each other. He doubted they liked her any less, but he could see why she could no longer hang out with them.

“Cheyenne’s so nice,” she was saying. “Even with that monster of a mother. Can you believe she grew up living in motels and clunker cars? That she had to beg on street corners? What kind of life would that be?”

He found his shoes and headed to the kitchen for his keys. “Cheyenne’s nice,” he agreed.

“And here I am wallowing in self-pity because my boyfriend got my sister pregnant. I should be more grateful.”

“You’ll get through this.”

“Do you think she did it on purpose?”

“I wouldn’t put it past her.”

“Me, neither,” she responded. “I wish I could talk to Cheyenne about it. But…it’s not the same with Kyle’s friends now. They have to be…have to be loyal to him. They were his friends first. I know they feel bad about what’s happened, but…what can they do? No more Fridays at the coffee shop for me.” She’d added a singsong quality to her voice, but that quickly fell away. “I wish…I wish it could be different. I wish—”

“Olivia?” He interrupted because he’d heard her voice crack and knew she was about to break down again. “Don’t think about Cheyenne or any of Kyle’s other friends—”

“Who aren’t my friends anymore,” she broke in, but he didn’t let her distract him.

“I’m coming, okay? I’ve got my keys in my hand. I’ll talk to you when I get there.”

“I’m sorry, Brandon. You shouldn’t have to come out so late.”

“I don’t mind,” he said. “Just stay put. I’m on my way.”

“Thank you. I’m so tired. Maybe if I get some sleep tomorrow will be better.”

“Of course it will. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll take care of you.” He strode to his front door. “Now let me talk to Fisk.”

She didn’t need to ask who Fisk was. He’d been bartending at the Sexy Sadie since they were kids. “Sure. Goodbye, Brandon. You’re coming for me, right? You’re coming now? And you’ll show me the stars?”

A smile tugged at his lips. “If that’s what you want, honey. Give the phone to Fisk.”

“Okay…”

The music got even louder as the phone changed hands. Then Brandon heard the boom of Fisk’s deep voice. “‘Lo?”

“Fisk, Brandon Lucero.”

“Oh, hey, Brandon. What’s up?”

“I wanted to ask if you’d keep an eye on Olivia until I get there. Can you do that for me?”

“I would, but—”

“No buts. Don’t let her go anywhere.”

Fisk lowered his voice. “I doubt she could make it to the door. That’s why I called Kyle a few minutes ago. I know he’s seeing her sister these days—what a mess that is—but as soon as I said I was going to call Noelle she wouldn’t give me her phone, and I didn’t have the number for any of her friends or family. So it was Kyle or no one.”

Brandon had been jogging to his truck. At this, he stopped. “Don’t let him take her.”

“I just wanted someone to get her home safe.”

“I’ll see to that.”

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop him, Brandon. You’d better get here quick.”

“Shit.” Brandon hit the end button as he fired up his truck and roared out of his driveway.

*

By the time Brandon arrived at Sexy Sadie’s, Kyle was already there. But he didn’t have to worry about Olivia leaving with his stepbrother. She was clutching the bar for all she was worth, wouldn’t even stand, despite Kyle gripping her shoulders and urging her to get up.

“Let go of her,” Brandon said, coming up on him from behind.

At the sound of his voice, Kyle whipped around. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I came to take her home.”

Fisk had watched him walk in. Now he hurried over to address them. “I don’t want any trouble, boys.”

Brandon lifted a hand to reassure the bartender that they weren’t going to cause a scene but kept his focus on Kyle. “She doesn’t need your help, bro. I’ve got it from here.”

Olivia turned a beseeching expression on him. “Don’t let him take me, Brandon.”

“I won’t, honey. Just get your purse off the floor, and we’ll go home and look through the telescope.”

Her pretty blue eyes filled with tears but she blinked them back. “That’s…good.” Releasing the bar, she got up, managed to sidestep Kyle even though he reached for her and staggered right into Brandon’s arms.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, clinging tightly to him.

He let his arms close around her, once again feeling that inexplicable protectiveness he’d experienced all those years ago when they danced at prom.

The menacing look on Kyle’s face made Brandon wonder if he’d be able to keep the promise he’d just given Fisk. Kyle didn’t seem willing to let Olivia go without a fight. “You need to take her to her parents’,” he said, his voice threatening, low.

Fisk stepped forward. “Come on now. Let Brandon handle it, Kyle. I shouldn’t have called you. You have no say anymore.”

“I’ll let her leave with someone else but not him,” Kyle shot back.

Brandon arched an eyebrow. “She’s the one who called me.”

“Olivia—” Kyle started but she wouldn’t even look at him.

Brandon backed off enough to see into her face. “Do you want to go to your parents’ house? Your sister’s probably waiting up for you. You know how concerned she is about your welfare. You wouldn’t want Noelle to worry, right?”

“You son of a bitch,” Kyle ground out.

“I’m just asking the question.” Brandon spread his hands, smiling when Olivia insisted she definitely didn’t want to see her sister.

“That comes as a real surprise, honey,” Brandon said and returned his gaze to Kyle. “I think she’s made her desires clear.”

A growl sounded deep in Kyle’s throat and he clenched his fist as if he’d throw a punch.

Prepared to put Olivia behind him in case he had to defend himself, Brandon stiffened. But Fisk grabbed Kyle before he could do anything stupid.

“Calm down, buddy,” Fisk said in a low voice. “I’m sure you could cause some serious damage, but I think your brother could, too. You don’t want to wind up with a shiner for your wedding.”

“Don’t hurt him!” Fresh tears caught in Olivia’s long lashes when she saw Fisk shoving Kyle back. “Please, don’t hurt him.”

Her panic over Kyle’s well-being showed that she still cared about him, and that took the fight out of him. Dropping his hands to his sides, he watched her with such agony that, for the first time ever, Brandon felt a degree of sympathy for his stepbrother. Maybe the way Kyle’s life had intersected with his own wasn’t what Brandon would’ve wished for, but Kyle was obviously in a great deal of pain.

“I’m sorry.” Kyle shook his head. “I’m so sorry.”

He was speaking to Olivia, but she didn’t respond to him. She’d already closed her eyes and turned as if she couldn’t bear to look at him another second.

“I won’t let anything happen to her.” Brandon had to offer his stepbrother that much comfort as he guided her out.

Chapter 7

Brandon felt like he deserved a medal. He’d managed to stop Olivia when she’d started peeling off her clothes. There’d been one moment when he’d almost succumbed—when she locked her arms around his neck and tried to pull him into bed with her. She kept insisting she could do casual sex and, Lord, did he want to believe her. With her body up against his, the silk of her panties coming out the back of her loosened shorts, he’d nearly thrown honor and decency to the wind. Thoughts like, “Just one kiss, one taste, one touch…” went through his head but considering the desire raging through him, he’d known that was all the spark it would take to start a conflagration. Sternly reminding himself that she wasn’t in any condition to give consent, he helped her remove the shorts she was so intent of getting off but refused every advance.

And now he was paying the price. Tense and completely unsatisfied, he tossed and turned while the girl he’d dreamed about for over a decade lay in the next room wearing nothing but her T-shirt and a pair of pretty panties. He felt her soft skin in his mind every time he closed his eyes.

The memory alone made him hard.

He could only hope she’d want him as badly in the morning, but he knew her better judgment would take over by then. As much as she thought she wanted a wild affair, something to fill the sudden loneliness, it was all too typical of being on the rebound. She wasn’t the type to take sex lightly, which was why he’d always been careful to keep a safe distance. He wouldn’t be good for someone like her. He was too devoted to his freedom.

Frustrated with his inability to shut down, he rolled over to search for his phone on the nightstand. For the past hour, he’d been debating whether to send Kyle a text. He figured he might as well be gallant all the way around.

She’s in the guest room asleep. Safe and sound. Get some rest. Big weekend ahead.

He hoped that would bring Kyle some peace.

A return text quickly confirmed that Kyle was still awake, which wasn’t a surprise. If Kyle felt half as torn about his upcoming marriage as Brandon suspected, he might walk the floor all night.

You better not have touched her.

“So much for trying to do you a favor,” he grumbled and scrolled through his pictures, looking for one his mother had sent him, months ago, from Thanksgiving. It was a group shot with Kyle and Olivia and the whole family.

As he stared at her image, at her and Kyle smiling for the camera, he remembered how difficult it had been to see them together. He didn’t want to sacrifice the life he had, but she’d always been a temptation. He’d hated the idea that his stepbrother, of all people, would end up with her, knew it would make every family event a challenge.

The ding signaling another text drew Brandon from his thoughts.

Have you been calling her since we took our break? Did you wait even that long before making your move?

What does it matter to you? he replied. Aren’t you getting married this weekend?

Have you been chasing her?

Brandon didn’t bother to deny the attraction. Was waiting to see if you were going to wake up and realize you’re screwing up your life.

This time when there was no response, Brandon figured it was just as well. They weren’t close enough to be so up-front with each other. He leaned over to return his phone to the nightstand—but another message appeared.

I have no choice.

Propping his pillows behind his back, he typed, Yes, you do. Don’t let your sense of duty drag you into making a bad situation worse.

What about the baby?

What about it? Did you ever think she might’ve gotten pregnant on purpose? That she’s manipulating you? Brandon wouldn’t put it past her.

She’s still pregnant. You’re telling me you wouldn’t even try to create a family?

You can still support the baby, still be a good father regardless. Maybe it’s not optimal to do it single, but you can make it work. That sort of thing happens all the time.

There was a long wait before the next text came in. Brandon had just decided Kyle must’ve gone to sleep when he heard the reply arrive.

Not to me it doesn’t. I want my kid to have my name, my presence. I don’t want to be a part-time dad with a stepparent joining the action.

Brandon could sense the resolve in those words. He could easily understand the sentiment behind them, too. But he was afraid that Kyle’s background and misguided nobility were pulling him into a nightmare of catastrophic proportions.

So how should he answer? What Kyle did or didn’t do wasn’t any of his business. He’d spent the past decade telling himself he didn’t really care about his stepbrother. But…he couldn’t help admiring Kyle’s determination to fall on his sword. He was a much better person than Brandon had ever given him credit for. Maybe Bob had a right to be so damn proud. Brandon couldn’t have made himself marry Noelle.

But no one—even Olivia—knew her the way he did. Although he was trying to believe she’d grown up and changed, he’d seen her at her worst, when she was obsessed and unrelenting and so narcissistic he couldn’t even like her. He’d done everything he could to discourage her from pursuing him eight years ago, to let her know he wasn’t interested. But it made no impact whatsoever. If anything, she became more determined. He’d come home to find her waiting in his driveway, turn to see her staring in his window, “bump” into her so many times a day she could only be following him. He couldn’t imagine a woman so out of touch with reality and the wants and desires of other people being successful in a marriage, even to a white knight like Kyle, who was willing to do ninety percent of the work.

I wish you’d listen to me, he wrote. There’s something missing in Noelle.

I already know she had a crush on you. She was just being young and stupid and too forward.

Too forward? Her behavior went far beyond that. You’re saying the Noelle she is now would never cross the lines she crossed back then?

Of course not, Kyle responded. Anyway, I could never undo the damage I’ve done. I can’t go back to Olivia while Noelle has my baby. I might as well have some integrity and stand up and take responsibility for my actions.

Brandon wanted to reiterate that he’d be sorry if he married Noelle. But what good would it do? Kyle had made up his mind and nothing was going to change it. Then you need to let go of Olivia.

Again, Kyle’s answer took a while to arrive. But Brandon waited because he knew it would come.

Won’t be easy.

*

Olivia woke up to a splitting headache. It took effort just to open her eyes. Thank God the room was dark. She could see sunlight peeking around the cracks in the blinds, enough that she could make out an overburdened desk, a computer, a ship in a bottle and some tribal masks on the wall—but she didn’t recognize any of it. Where was she?

Then it came to her. She’d gotten drunk last night, and Brandon had brought her home. She could remember him fighting to keep her clothes on. She could also remember trying to kiss him. She’d wanted him so badly….

Surprisingly enough, he was the one who’d resisted. “You’re not interested?” she’d breathed.

“Not like this, sweetheart,” he’d told her and helped her remove only her shorts before tucking her in. She’d gotten the impression he’d been tempted despite those words, was fairly certain he’d almost turned back at the door. But she was embarrassed all the same. Now both of the Arnold girls had thrown themselves at him.

Kyle’s actions had knocked her on her butt and she couldn’t seem to get her legs under her again. She never would’ve behaved like that otherwise.

Brandon interrupted her moment of regret with a brisk knock. “Olivia? You awake?”

She cringed at the fact that she was going to have to face him, and so soon. She’d made a complete fool of herself last night, first by getting drunk, then by trying to get him into bed. She still wasn’t sure what he’d meant by, “Not like this.” Was he saying he didn’t want to take advantage of her while she was under the influence of alcohol? Or that he didn’t want to become a surrogate for Kyle?

She couldn’t imagine he’d refrain because of Kyle. Brandon probably preferred she be in love with someone else. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about her falling in love with him.

“I’m awake, but I’m not very happy about it,” she replied.

He poked his head inside. Freshly showered and wearing a black V-neck T-shirt with a pair of well-worn jeans and flip-flops, he looked better than ever—which was saying a lot. She wasn’t sure what accounted for that, unless just getting to know him made him more and more attractive. Maybe it was that she finally had some respect for him, since he’d rejected her advances.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

She shoved a hand through her messy hair. “Like roadkill.”

He chuckled. “I was afraid of that. Would you like something to eat?”

Could her stomach tolerate food? She didn’t dare take the risk. “No, but a pain pill would be nice.” She knew he had some; he’d provided it yesterday. “What time is it?”

“Nearly nine.”

“Oh, no!” She shot out of bed, then staggered and nearly fell.

Somehow, he managed to get inside the room quickly enough to catch her and guide her back to the bed.

“I’ve missed my first appointment,” she explained, raising her good hand to her pounding head. “I was supposed to meet Abby, the event planner at the Pullman Mansion, at eight. I’ve got to go!”

He frowned at her. “I don’t think you’re up to it.”

She’d been stupid to drink last night. She wasn’t used to that much alcohol. “I don’t have any choice.” Her tongue felt thick and unwieldy. “Have you seen my phone?” She glanced around but couldn’t locate it.

“Your purse is out on the counter.”

When she started to get up, he pressed her back. “I’ll get it.”

He returned with a glass of water, two ibuprofen tablets and her purse, which contained her phone. At least she hadn’t left it at the bar last night. She figured, at this point, she should be grateful for the little things.

“She’s tried to reach me five times,” she said as she checked her call record. “My mother and Noelle have both called twice.” She lifted her eyes to his. “What am I going to tell them?”

“I say you tell them that you’re not feeling well and to get by the best they can without you.”

“I can’t do that! The wedding’s tomorrow night.” She rubbed her temples, hoping to mitigate some of the pain. The hand she’d injured was no longer swollen, but it was still sore, which didn’t help with her hangover.

He urged her to swallow the painkiller and watched as she obeyed. “Fine. Get in the shower. I’ll call and tell them you’re on your way.” He took the glass. “Then I’ll drive you to your car.”

It wouldn’t go over very well to have Brandon act as her secretary when she’d blown such an important appointment. They’d assume she was purposely causing problems, that it was a vindictive attempt to strike back at Noelle. But it would postpone the confrontation until she felt more equipped to handle it. And letting them believe she was having an affair was better than the pathetic truth that she wasn’t handling Kyle and Noelle’s union quite as nonchalantly as she’d planned.

Regardless of anything else, she deserved one small rebellion, didn’t she?

“Thanks.” She handed him her phone. “They’re right there on my list of favorites.”

“Towels are on the rack to the left of the sink,” he said. “You’ll see them.”

Despite the pressure she was feeling to hurry, she could only move gingerly. She made her way to the door before turning back. “Did Kyle come to the bar last night?”

He met her eyes. “He did.”

“I thought maybe I dreamed that part.”

“No.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds. Olivia didn’t understand why, but she couldn’t look away.

“You could steal him back if you want,” he said at length. “You know that, right?”

He was serious. He was telling her that if Kyle was the man she really wanted to be with, she could fight for him and would probably win.

But it wasn’t so simple. There were other people involved. Not to mention the baby.

“I wouldn’t want to hurt the people that would hurt,” she said.

“Despite what Noelle has done to you?”

She sighed. “Yes.”

“Then you must not want him enough.”

“I don’t,” she said. “Not anymore.” That didn’t mean what she was going through didn’t hurt. The disappointment, the disillusionment, the sense of betrayal and the blow to her self-esteem were very real and ever-present, especially when she was in Whiskey Creek. But she couldn’t get back with Kyle knowing he had a child with her sister. How would they interact with that child? How would they interact with her family?

At least, for the first time since falling in love with Kyle, she was feeling desire for another man. The excitement that brought told her life after Kyle was possible; she just had to be careful or she’d land herself in an even worse situation.

“I’m glad to hear it,” he said.

Suddenly she became very conscious of the fact that she was wearing nothing but her panties and shirt. She was better covered than if she were wearing a bathing suit. But what had almost happened last night, what she’d wanted to have happen, made her feel very exposed.

The way his gaze traveled over her body, as intimate as a caress, made her breasts tingle. She struggled to find her voice. “Did I really try to rip off my clothes when you put me to bed?”

He grinned, which was answer enough.

“Thought so.” She’d actually brought it up so she could apologize. “I’m sorry. From what you said on the phone, I assumed that…that you might welcome a bed partner.”

“You think I was rejecting you?”

She felt her eyebrows slide up. “Weren’t you? I slept alone last night.”

“Next time ask me when I have the option of saying yes.”

Chapter 8

Olivia had left her luggage at Brandon’s house. Since she didn’t have a better place to stay, it’d seemed silly to lug it in so she could get ready, then lug it back out. He would have done the carrying for her, of course. He was a gentleman that way. But since her family already knew she was with him, there was no reason to leave his cabin on their account. He’d invited her to use his guest room for as long as she wanted, and she figured she might as well take him up on it.

That meant she’d be going back….

“Olivia, what do you think?”

She blinked before focusing on her mother, who was wearing a flowery dress and had her hair sectioned off in rollers with a scarf tied over the lot, making her look very 1960s housewife. “About what?”

“The bows that go on the chairs!” The impatience in Nancy’s voice suggested she’d already asked once. “Noelle doesn’t think they match the table runners. Are you sure these are the shade we ordered?”

Removing the sunglasses she’d been using to hide her bloodshot eyes, Olivia tried to focus. She’d expected these meetings to be difficult. But she was so preoccupied with Brandon, she was finding them more of a nuisance than a challenge.

“They’re a shade off,” she admitted. “I borrowed these from River City to save money, remember? That’s what you wanted me to do.”

“But will they look bad?” Nancy refastened a roller that was threatening to fall. Olivia had tried to convince her that a round brush and a blow drier would give her the curl she wanted, but she insisted her hair looked best when she “put it up” for a day—and she was going all out for the wedding.

“I think they’ll be fine,” Olivia assured her. “They won’t be right up against each other. See?” She held the two fabrics a few inches apart. “You won’t notice they’re not exact, especially with all the shades of pink and peach in the flower arrangements.”

“I don’t know….” Noelle shot her an accusing glower. “I thought they’d match better than that.”

She said this as if it was Olivia’s fault they didn’t, although it had been Noelle’s choice. She’d wanted to save money on the chair covers so she could get a pair of very expensive heels that wouldn’t even show beneath her dress.

Noelle wanted this to be the wedding of the century, which was so unrealistic. But it wasn’t only the color of the chair bows that was bothering her. She’d been hostile all morning. Olivia could feel the animosity; she just wasn’t sure of the cause. Was it the difficulty of pulling off an event like this? Or was it that Noelle knew Kyle had called her last night? That he’d come to the bar to get her?

Maybe she’d been the cause of a fight….

Or was Noelle upset that she was hanging out with Brandon?

The suspicion that her sister was once again jealous of the man in her life—even though she and Brandon weren’t as romantically involved as Noelle thought—made Olivia nervous. After everything Noelle had done to get Kyle, including, possibly, a purposeful pregnancy, she had no business even noticing Brandon.

“Regardless, it’s too late to change now,” Olivia said. Normally she would’ve gone to greater pains to reassure the bride, but she meant that statement in more ways than one. Noelle had made her decision. And in the process, she’d hurt and embarrassed Olivia, cost their parents a great deal of money by demanding such an expensive wedding, made a public fool of Kyle and humiliated herself.

Now she was carrying Kyle’s baby.

It was time for her to quit being so selfish.

“We could do without the bows,” her mother suggested, obviously trying to placate Noelle.

“Is that what you want?” Olivia turned to her sister, making it clear by her tone that she didn’t care either way.

Noelle pressed her fingers to her eyes. “Ugh! This is turning into a nightmare! Some wedding planner you are. I thought having a wedding was supposed to be fun.”

“I think it helps to be in love,” Olivia murmured. Fortunately Nancy didn’t hear. Abby was showing her where they’d set up the table for all the candy.

“I am in love!” Noelle insisted.

“With Kyle or Brandon?” Olivia asked.

Noelle’s lips thinned and her eyes grew so cold they gave Olivia chills. “You’re trying to ruin my wedding!”

Seriously? Was that all she was concerned about? There was so much more at stake!

“I’m afraid you’re going to ruin Kyle’s life,” she responded, realizing, for the first time, that what she’d suffered might turn out to be paltry by comparison.

*

“How’d it go today?” Brandon asked as he let her in.

Olivia was so tired she could scarcely move. This week had been emotionally draining. Add to that her late night at the bar, and a day spent in her sister’s company, and she was ready to crawl into bed. She hadn’t even taken the time to have lunch. She’d been running too late, so she’d gone all day without a meal. But they had to be at the rehearsal dinner in an hour. She’d eat then.

“It was weird,” she told him.

He went into the kitchen as she dropped onto his couch.

“It’s always weird when your sister is marrying the man you love,” he said.

Love? Or loved? She couldn’t decide anymore.

She thought back on the last seven hours. Her sister had grown more and more hateful throughout the day. Olivia felt sorry for their mother, who’d worked extra hard to stay positive and enthusiastic in the face of their long, sullen silences. “It got even weirder than that,” she said.

“In what way?” He brought her a sliced orange, which she accepted gratefully.

“I’m beginning to feel sorry for Kyle, if that makes any sense.”

“Makes all the sense in the world to me. I feel sorry for him, too.”

She offered him a tired grin. “That’s harsh. Just because she stalked you for a few months?”

A chuckle let her know he understood she was teasing. “It was the creepiest thing I’ve ever been through, seeing her face staring in at me through the window.”

“I suspect she still has a thing for you.”

He tried to shrug it off. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s true. Our…relationship is driving her crazy. I’d tell her we haven’t slept together, but I don’t think she’d believe me.”

“She’s getting married. It shouldn’t matter to her either way.”

She savored the sweetness of the orange he’d given her. “Unless she’s only in it for the shoes.”

“The shoes?”

“The trappings, the party, the celebration, the attention. This wedding shines a bright light on her and announces to everyone in Whiskey Creek that Kyle, a guy highly admired, prefers her to every other woman, including me.”

“The sad truth is…he doesn’t.”

“I don’t even care anymore.” Pushing her plate away, she leaned back and closed her eyes. “All I want is for this wedding to be over.”

“You’re exhausted.”

She didn’t answer. She told herself she could rest for fifteen minutes. Then she had to get ready. She had to get through the rehearsal dinner. But Brandon nudged her before she could drift off. “Come on. Nap on the bed. It’ll be more comfortable.”

“I can’t move,” she objected, but that didn’t deter him. He simply scooped her up and carried her down the hall.

When he took her to his room instead of hers, she didn’t have the energy to protest. At the moment, she was worthless as a sex partner. She just hoped he’d curl up beside her, lend her his strength and his warmth. But the next thing she knew, she was facedown on his pillow, breathing in the scent that lingered there—the same scent that clung to his body—as his fingers massaged the tight muscles in her neck and shoulders.

She groaned. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

He laughed softly. “Don’t trust it. Considering what you do to me, I have only evil intentions.”

“Would it make you any less of a villain to lie down with me?”

“I suppose that wouldn’t hurt my reputation too much,” he said wryly and scooted in beside her.

With his shoulder as her pillow and his fingers moving gently through her hair, she felt oddly content as she drifted off.

*

A screech woke Brandon from a dead sleep. One look at Olivia, blinking awake next to him, told him she hadn’t made that sound. She was as startled as he was. So what—

Then the sound came again—”O-li-via!”—and he realized what was going on. “Shit! The rehearsal dinner!”

Olivia was already scrambling off the bed, but she didn’t have a chance to speak before Noelle started screaming again.

“I know you’re in there, damn you!” She banged on the door. “How could you? How could you do this to me?”

“What time is it?” Olivia cried.

“Nearly eight.”

Her face went pale. “Oh, God! I overslept.”

Brandon felt terrible. “I’m sorry. I never intended to fall asleep. I just shut my eyes for a minute.”

She rubbed her face as if trying to get her bearings. “We have to go.”

Galvanized into action, he hopped out of bed. “You go change. I’ll answer the door.”

“No, I’ll answer. She’s so upset there’s no telling what she might say.”

“Exactly.” He gave her a little push. “Better if she says it to me. She can’t hurt me, and it might blow off some of the steam. Get ready.”

Although reluctant to let him handle her temperamental sister, she seemed to understand the urgency of showing up at the dinner party—where the rest of the wedding party was waiting for them.

“I’ve got it,” he assured her, and she hurried into the bathroom.

“Olivia!” Noelle yelled.

He opened the door before she could knock again.

She immediately stepped back so she could look up at him. “Where’s my sister?”

“Getting ready. You can head back. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“You’ll be there? Why weren’t you there an hour ago?”

He stepped out and closed the door so that Olivia wouldn’t have to hear this. “We fell asleep, okay? I’m sorry about that—”

“You’re not sorry for anything!” She looked a little crazed with her hair falling out of whatever was holding it up. “You’re busy banging my sister when it’s supposed to be my turn!”

Knowing she couldn’t have meant that quite the way it sounded, he raised his eyebrows, giving her a chance to clarify.

“To have what I want,” she said, her cheeks flashing red. “To have everyone’s cooperation. It’s my wedding. This isn’t about you…or her!”

“Then don’t make it about us,” he said. “Go ahead and enjoy it. We aren’t standing in your way.”

“Yes, you are! She’s my planner! She’s supposed to be there taking care of things!”

He lowered his voice, hoping she’d do the same. “The wedding isn’t until tomorrow, Noelle. Everything will be fine. Just…calm down, okay? Your sister doesn’t need you to flip out right now.”

“You’re worried about what she needs? What about me?”

“What about you?” he retorted. “Have you ever stopped to consider how what you’ve done—what you’re doing—might be making her feel?”

She narrowed her eyes at his mussed hair and wrinkled clothes. “I know what she’s been feeling,” she said and stomped away.

*

Olivia was so self-conscious about entering the ballroom more than an hour late, and with Brandon at her side, she could barely stand it. But she couldn’t turn back time. And since Noelle had probably announced that she’d found them together, Olivia saw no benefit in appearing separately. Bringing two vehicles to the rehearsal wasn’t going to fool anyone. She’d actually been glad that, with her nerves in such a riot, she hadn’t needed to drive the steep mountain road from Brandon’s house to town.

The instant they stepped through the door, twenty-four sets of eyes turned in their direction. Kyle’s family. Her family. Lindsey Manelli, Noelle’s maid of honor and best friend. The tight-knit group Kyle had grown up with, including the female members, who were in Noelle’s line because she wouldn’t have had much of a line without them.

Olivia had expected to attract everyone’s attention—the entire party had been waiting for her—yet she still felt her stomach muscles tighten. Brandon, on the other hand, seemed to take it in stride. He smiled as if he was completely relaxed and had no reason to be embarrassed. And he kept his hand at the small of her back, encouraging her to follow his lead.

She tried, but her smile faltered when her father pinned her beneath a disapproving stare. She’d figured her mother would squawk and Noelle would rant and then pout. She’d known their reactions wouldn’t be easy to take—she still had that to look forward to—but this was harder. Unlike her mother, who refused to see her sister’s shortcomings, her father knew Noelle had problems. Although he obviously loved his youngest daughter, Ham often shook his head in disgust when she was being shallow or selfish.

With Olivia, however, it was different. She had always been able to maintain his respect. But with that came high expectations. And she’d just let him down.

Trying not to allow his disappointment, her sister’s angry glare or Kyle’s stony expression to attack her confidence, she apologized to the wedding party at large, without providing an excuse for her tardiness. Then she ran through a brief rehearsal just to make sure everyone was aware of how the ceremony should proceed. Fortunately Abby from the Pullman Mansion had taken over in her absence, so they already knew what she was telling them.

Then they were off to the upscale restaurant in the front of the mansion, where Kyle had booked a private room for everyone to have a steak dinner. The chicken or pasta would’ve been cheaper. Olivia had pointed that out. But Noelle had insisted that she could never serve less than the best at her wedding. And since Kyle was paying for it, Noelle was getting everything she wanted—the most expensive meal on the menu along with some fancy Napa Valley champagne.

“Was being in his bed worth it?” Noelle hissed in Olivia’s ear.

Olivia turned to see her sister filing into the room behind her as everyone fanned out, trying to find a seat.

“Worth what?” She edged toward the middle table, where the bride and her family and the groom and his family were to sit. She was hoping to avoid a confrontation by slipping away before Noelle could really engage her, but Noelle managed a parting shot all the same.

“Looking like a slut in front of both our families and all of Kyle’s friends!”

Those friends used to be her friends, until Noelle had stolen Kyle and made it too awkward for Olivia to hang out with them. Incensed to think her sister would dare take that tack after what she’d done, Olivia almost let her have it. But then she glanced up and caught Brandon watching her. As he walked through the crowded room, he gave her a half smile and a wink that reminded her to take it on the chin—or at least pretend to.

Ignoring Noelle and Gail DeMarco, Noah Rackham, Baxter Solomon, Callie Vanetta, even Cheyenne Christensen, her favorite of Kyle’s friends, Olivia began to circle the center table. She was hoping to put several place settings between her and Noelle. But her sister had saved the seat next to her.

“Olivia, why don’t you sit here by me?” she said as sweetly as if she hadn’t just called Olivia a slut.

Olivia suspected her sister of trying to keep her from sitting beside Brandon, but she had no intention of doing that, anyway—not under the watchful eyes of both sets of parents, neither of whom seemed pleased by their friendship. Maybe they believed Noelle and thought she and Brandon were trying to ruin the wedding.

“Noelle!” Kyle’s chastening tone surprised Olivia. Clearly he wasn’t happy. He seemed to be cautioning his fiancée against baiting her, but Noelle ignored him.

“Well?” Her sister lifted her eyebrows.

Feeling Kyle’s parents’ attention on her, Olivia suppressed her anger. She’d be damned if she’d let Noelle make her look any worse than she already did. “Coming.”

Once they were all seated, the tension eased enough for polite conversation. Everyone joined in except Kyle. He remained silent, drinking far more than he ate.

Noelle didn’t seem to notice that her groom was upset. Her gaze darted to Brandon every few seconds, even though he didn’t pay her the slightest attention. When he did look up, it was to catch Olivia’s eye.

Determined to get through the meal as fast as possible, Olivia concentrated on her salad and champagne and tried to block out everything else. But Brandon’s mother whispered something to him, and Olivia couldn’t help straining to hear what was said.

“Why on earth were you so late? You promised me you’d be on your best behavior!”

“I am on my best behavior,” he said with a mock scowl that nearly made Olivia laugh. He hadn’t answered his mother’s question, but when he leaned back and put his arm around her, she seemed so pleased by the loving gesture that she let the rest go.

Smooth, Olivia thought. Too smooth. She was going to have to be careful not to fall for him like everyone else.

Chapter 9

Kyle felt as if the night would never end. He knew he was drinking too much, but he had to do something. Otherwise, he’d get into a public argument with his soon-to-be wife. Noelle was playing games, taunting Olivia wherever and whenever she could. She didn’t realize that it made her look jealous and inferior and foolish.

This was the woman he was marrying. But the sense of doom that acknowledgment brought him wasn’t the worst of what he was suffering. Not tonight. The worst was watching Brandon and Olivia together. The way they’d walked into the room, united against everyone else. The intimacy of the looks they exchanged across the table. The smiles. They were captivated with each other. He’d never seen his brother so attentive to a woman. He wanted to believe Brandon was just trying to get under his skin, but he knew better. Brandon had his faults. He was competitive and stubborn and determined to live life on his own terms, but he was honest, and he wasn’t petty.

Kyle had expected this wedding to be difficult, but it was proving to be almost impossible.

��So have you decided where you’ll live?” his future mother-in-law asked.

This had been a subject of much contention. He wanted to stay in the same house he’d been living in for five years, the one he’d had built near his manufacturing plant. It wasn’t big or ostentatious, but it was comfortable and convenient.

Noelle wanted him to buy her a mansion in town. She worked at a dress boutique, making minimum wage, and used the excuse that it was closer to her job.

“We’re going to knock down the old Foreman house right there on the turn as you leave town and build our dream home,” Noelle gushed.

Kyle gaped at her. Where had that come from? She’d been trying to talk him into that plan, but he’d never agreed. “No, we’re not,” he said. “Noelle will be moving in with me.”

“We can’t live in that cracker box!” she snapped. “Where will we put the baby?”

“There’s room.” He finished his champagne and searched for the waiter. “I can move the storage I have over to the plant.”

“But there’s no need to go to the trouble. If we build in town, we can have everything just the way we want.”

The way she wanted. That was all that ever mattered.

He could tell he was making his parents uncomfortable by not respecting her wishes, but the alcohol was interfering with his ability to control the negative thoughts and emotions rising to the surface. “I’m not ready to build in town.”

“That’s not what you said when we talked about it last,” Noelle pressed, despite the look he gave her, asking her to drop it. “You said you’d think about it.”

He shrugged. “I have. The answer’s no.”

“What I want doesn’t count?” Her voice grew shrill. “We’re going to stay in that dump just because you like it?”

His place was one of the nicest in the area. It wasn’t even close to being a “dump.” She was just trying to get her own way, like the spoiled child she really was, but before he could say so, someone touched his shoulder.

“Hey, you.”

Gail had left her table in the middle of the main dish to rescue him. He knew that as soon as her gaze cut to the waiter filling his glass on the other side.

“What’s up?” he said.

“I have a toast I want to do tomorrow,” she replied, “but I’d like to check with you to see if what I’ve got planned is okay. Do you have a minute?”

He glanced around the table at all the faces watching him and managed to conjure up what he hoped was a passable smile. “Of course.” He dipped his head toward the rest of them. “Excuse us.”

“Don’t you want me to come?” Noelle asked. “I should probably know about it, if it’s for the wedding.”

“Um…” As Gail’s eyes shifted to his fiancée, Kyle was willing to bet only he knew how much Gail disliked her.

“It’s actually a surprise,” Gail said. “For you! So…it would be better if you stayed here, okay?”

Obviously flattered, Noelle preened for Brandon as if this somehow proved her importance. Then Brandon turned to Kyle, and he might as well have said, “You’re a fool if you go through with this,” because it was written all over his face.

“What about your dinner?” Noelle’s mother piped up. “Can’t you talk about the toast after you finish? You’ve hardly eaten a thing!”

Kyle put his napkin to the side of his plate. “I’m too excited to eat,” he said, even though excitement played no role.

Eager to escape, he followed his friend out of the room and then out of the restaurant to a patio that was empty except for a few lingering diners who congregated around a table at one end.

“What’s going on?” he murmured.

“That’s what I’m wondering,” she said, turning to confront him. “I’ve never seen you drink so much at someone else’s rehearsal dinner—and this is your own!”

“I’m fine. I—”

She squeezed his arm. “Kyle, please. If the rest of the gang could’ve gotten out of that room without making it look too odd, they’d be here with me, trying to talk some sense into you.”

He knew where this was going. “She’s having my baby, Gail.”

She pressed two fingers to each temple. “I know! I understand you feel responsible for that. And I admire how determined you are to do the right thing. But…I can’t bear to see you unhappy. We all feel like we’re attending your funeral instead of your wedding!”

The others must have shared the details of the past few weeks with her because he hadn’t had the chance to say much since she hit town. She lived in L.A., was the only member of their group to have moved away and had been gone since starting her public relations firm over a decade ago.

Normally he loved it when she came home. She had the best stories about the movie stars she represented. At last count, she was working with several box office hits, including Hollywood heavyweight Simon O’Neal. But they hadn’t had a chance to catch up on any of that this time around.

“It’s just extra hard,” he said. “With Olivia here.”

“I’ve let my work take over my life, so I’m no expert on relationships,” she said. “But…if you won’t cancel this, you should at least put it off until you’re more confident in your decision.”

He laughed. “Are you kidding me? The wedding’s tomorrow, Gail. There’s no way I can change anything.” If he backed out, he feared Noelle would make it impossible for him to ever see his child. As long as she got her way, she was tractable. But if he embarrassed or upset her, she’d fight him on everything.

“Kyle—”

“There you are.”

They both turned to see Eve, who managed The Gold Nugget, the bed and breakfast owned by her family.

“Did you tell him what we think?” she asked Gail.

Gail shot Kyle a meaningful glance. “I told him.”

Eve gave him a stern look. “So are you going to call it off?”

Once again, he searched for a better way to handle the situation but couldn’t find one. “No. I’m going to be a father. Nothing can take precedence over that.”

*

They were almost out of the room, almost free, when Kyle’s father caught up with Brandon and pulled him off to one side. “So what are you doing to keep busy now that the cast is off?” he asked.

Olivia gritted her teeth at being detained. She couldn’t wait to leave, to put the rehearsal dinner behind them and return to the peace of Brandon’s secluded cabin. She needed to regroup, but she couldn’t allow her eagerness to show. Everyone was watching her too closely, wondering if she’d been late in some passive-aggressive attempt to make her unhappiness known.

“Just working out every day, trying to get in shape for the season.”

Brandon answered Bob’s questions politely, but Olivia could tell he was purposely playing up the ski bum image. He’d already told her that spring and summer were almost as busy as fall and winter. When she’d acted surprised, he’d explained that he had to meet with his sponsors, be available to film commercials and participate in photo shoots, most of which required travel to New York or Los Angeles. He also had to appear at various events, including children’s camps and autographings, and increase his presence on social networking sites. Professional skiing was a business as much as a sport, and the stacks of paperwork on his desk—mostly contracts of one kind or another—seemed to prove it. So did the poster samples he’d been sent. One showed him dropping, seemingly without effort, down the face of an alarmingly steep mountain wearing an expensive brand of ski gear. Another captured his smiling face in a pair of Oakley goggles with ice crystals caught in the beard growth along his jaw.

He could’ve told his stepfather about these things. He could also have mentioned that he was making a tremendous amount of money. Although they hadn’t spoken about that aspect, Olivia could tell it was true. But Brandon refused to vie for Bob’s approval, and Olivia couldn’t help but respect that.

“Can the leg take another season?” This question was spoken with apparent concern, but Olivia heard the subtext. Bob thought Brandon should hang up his skis and get serious about life.

She guessed Brandon interpreted his tone the same way and that made her sad. Brandon was one of the best skiers in the world, yet Bob treated him as if he hadn’t accomplished anything. He seemed to think Brandon should be a horse breeder like him, or something else more “legitimate,” like Kyle.

“Leg’s getting stronger all the time,” Brandon assured him. “It’ll be fine.”

Olivia imagined the pain Brandon must’ve suffered from that injury. Another daunting descent would require courage, but she had no doubt he’d do it. His daring made her smile.

She was still smiling when she realized that Brandon was watching her with a speculative expression. He had somehow guessed that her smile was related to him. His lips quirked slightly as if he was tempted to grin back at her, even though a grin wasn’t appropriate to the conversation he was having with the disapproving Bob.

“Well, you’ve got several months before you go back to Europe. You want to learn what it’s like to put in a hard day’s work, come on out to the stables,” Bob was saying. “We’ve got our hands full this year. Might be a great way to make some extra cash.”

Brandon thanked him for the opportunity but begged off, saying he was going backpacking in Nicaragua. That didn’t win him any points with Bob, but it made Olivia chuckle. Brandon knew just how to tweak his stepfather’s nose without appearing to be impolite.

She turned to hide her mirth and came face-to-face with Brandon’s mother. Paige had been talking to Nancy and Ham, who’d just left.

“I’m sorry about how things worked out for you with Kyle,” Paige said, almost conspiratorially. “We miss seeing you at the house.”

“I miss you, too,” Olivia responded, feeling an odd tug for what used to be.

“Brandon’s far more of a handful,” she responded. “But it’s impossible not to love him.”

Another warning—in case Olivia wasn’t already a believer. “We’re just friends,” she said, but Paige had already started a separate conversation with Cheyenne Christensen, whose mother was suffering from cancer. Olivia didn’t think Paige had heard the rejoinder.

“What’d she say?” Brandon had finally broken away from his stepfather.

“She said she loves you.”

Taking hold of her elbow, he guided her out. “Was she shaking her head as if it’s against her will?” he asked with a laugh.

*

Olivia had been so eager to get to Brandon’s house, but even before they walked through the door she knew she wouldn’t be able to unwind the way she’d envisioned. They no longer had to cope with the myriad emotions swirling around the wedding party. Her father’s disapproval. Noelle’s jealousy. Kyle’s sullenness. The palpable concern of Kyle’s friends. All of that suddenly seemed far away…part of another lifetime. Instead they had to cope with each other, and that was almost more difficult, because every word they’d spoken on the drive back, every incidental touch as he let her in, felt like foreplay to a sexual encounter she knew she’d be foolish to allow.

It wasn’t so unusual for a woman in her situation to want to jump into bed with the next handsome guy. Another relationship, one with a quick flame, could assuage the loneliness and ease the sting of rejection. But, oddly enough, this was different. It didn’t feel as if Brandon would be a substitute for Kyle. It felt as if Kyle had always been a substitute for Brandon!

She was fairly certain the rebound experience wasn’t supposed to work like that and couldn’t figure out why her situation was so different. She and Kyle had only been apart for about four months, and thanks to his betrayal, those four months had been the most miserable of her life. That meant she still loved him, didn’t it?

So how could she care more about being with Brandon than she did about being hurt and angry over Kyle’s Big Mistake? What he’d done meant they could never be together again.

But that didn’t seem to matter so much anymore.

“Would you like some herbal tea?” Brandon asked as she put her purse on the counter.

“What kind do you have?”

“A blend I found in Thailand.” He reached into a cupboard to get the box, which he showed her. “You should try it.”

She pictured them drinking tea together, talking into the night and eventually ending up in his bed. She wanted that exact scenario so badly she almost chose satisfaction over caution.

Maybe she would have, if not for his mother’s words: It’s impossible not to love him.

She had an inkling that might be true. She’d always been drawn to Brandon, but never more so than in the past two days. She figured it was better to get away while she could. So, after a brief hesitation, she shook her head. “No, thanks. I’ve got to get up early. I wouldn’t want to oversleep the way I did today.”

She halfway hoped he’d try to convince her to stay up with him. But he didn’t. He told her he understood and added a polite good-night.

Forcing a smile to hide her disappointment, she nodded, but before she turned away, she caught sight of something that held her fast. When he moved, a grimace crossed his face and he shifted to take his weight off the leg he’d broken in his skiing accident.

“Are you okay?” She’d heard him say his doctors had been able to put him back together, that he was healed and already training for the next season.

His expression cleared instantly. He even exerted normal pressure on his leg while putting away the tea. “Of course. Why?”

“I just thought…” She stopped herself. He wouldn’t be planning to walk across Nicaragua if his leg was causing him trouble. She must’ve imagined that he felt pain. Or maybe he’d just twisted it, which could make anyone wince. “Never mind,” she said. “See you in the morning.”

Chapter 10

Something woke Olivia a few hours later. She wasn’t sure what—until she listened carefully. Then she realized it was the TV. Although the house was otherwise dark and quiet, she could hear the drone of voices and wondered what Brandon was watching.

It had to be late.

She checked her phone on the nightstand. Sure enough, it was three-thirty.

She tried to go back to sleep. It wasn’t any of her business what Brandon was doing. But after lying awake for another twenty minutes, she got up to see if he was okay. Maybe he needed someone to cover him and turn off the TV….

He had a television in his bedroom. She’d seen it when they’d napped in there before. But that wasn’t where she found him. Perhaps he’d thought he’d keep her awake if he used that one. Or he liked the loft better, because he was there, asleep in a recliner.

He’d changed into an old T-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. That he’d wanted to get comfortable didn’t come as any surprise, but his leg in a brace and buried beneath half a dozen ice packs did.

“Oh, God.” She hadn’t imagined the flicker of pain on his face earlier. Although he’d masked it quickly, there was no doubt now. Besides the brace and the ice, she saw a bottle of prescription pain medication on the table beside him. Obviously his leg was still giving him a great deal of trouble.

Her presence and the two words she’d uttered were enough to wake him. He opened his eyes and looked at her. Then he tried to sit up and grab for the remote, but it had fallen out of his hands and onto the floor.

She retrieved it for him, but by then she’d already seen what he probably didn’t want her to see. He’d been watching the footage of his own fall. From what she could tell, his support crew was a couple of hours into trying to get him help. She could see the dark speck he made on the mountain, hear the helicopter from which they were filming and the frantic discussion going on between the cameraman and the pilot. She could also feel the tremendous concern, the sheer urgency of the situation. According to the stopwatch on the screen, whoever held the camera had been filming for two hours and forty-four minutes, but rescuers hadn’t yet been able to reach Brandon on that steep slope.

How long did he have to lie there, in a crumpled heap, waiting? She’d never thought about that. She’d seen the same clip as everyone else—the part where he lost control and tumbled like a rag doll down the cliff, hitting rocks and trees along the way—but not this extended version. This wasn’t for public consumption. She hadn’t even considered how hard it would be for emergency help to get to him or how it must’ve felt for him to lie there suffering. It was a miracle they’d been able to rescue him at all.

“Are you wondering how you survived?” she asked.

He scratched his head as he relaxed into his seat. “I’m wondering how I screwed up so badly, how I put myself in that position in the first place.”

“You’re good at what you do, Brandon, but…anyone can make a mistake. Especially on a slope like that.”

He took the remote and snapped off the TV as if he couldn’t bear to see any more, and she frowned as she studied his leg. “I hope you’re really going backpacking across Nicaragua in two weeks because, if I remember right, I was invited to join you.”

“I’ll take you next summer.” He shifted so he could remove the ice packs on his leg.

“So that invitation—it was just a fake?” Nudging his hands away, she stripped off the packs.

“Sort of. I have to leave town, but I won’t be doing any backpacking.”

“Where are you going?”

Obviously uncomfortable revealing this information, he cleared his throat. “There’s a doctor in Europe. Thinks he can fix my leg.” He motioned to a small refrigerator in the corner near the wet bar. “The packs go in there.”

Apparently sitting up with his leg in a brace wasn’t an unusual occurrence. “You need another operation?” she asked as she opened the fridge.

“At least one,” he answered. “In order to regain full range of motion, it might take more.”

“And you’re not telling anyone because…”

Velcro rasped as he removed the brace and set it beside his chair. “I can’t risk losing my sponsors. If they think I’ll no longer be a force in the industry, they’ll sign someone else.”

“I see.” She folded her arms. “And you haven’t told anyone here at home because you’re afraid we might leak the truth to the press?”

“Figured if I’m going to lie, I might as well be consistent among all my friends.”

“What about your family?”

“What family?”

“Your mother loves you, Brandon.”

“And she loves Bob and Kyle and will soon have a grandbaby. I’m a big boy. I’ve made my decision and I’ll live with the results. There’s no need to worry her.”

How many times had his parents warned him not to take the risks he took? “That’s gallant of you. I think. Except, if I was your mother, I’m pretty sure I’d want to know.”

“I’ve considered that. But if I tell her, I essentially tell my stepfather, too, and I don’t want to hear him say, ‘I told you so.’ I especially don’t want to put up with having him act as if I deserve this.”

She could understand his feelings. She’d heard Bob expound on the subject of Brandon and his choice of career before, when she was at the Housemans’ with Kyle. At the time, she’d agreed with him. Now she felt…torn. She wanted Brandon to be happy, wanted to see him excel at what he loved. She just didn’t want him to lose his life chasing the next adrenaline rush.

“I heard the condescending way he was talking to you tonight.” Groggy from sleep and possibly the painkiller, he seemed a little out of it, so she helped him to his feet. “Let’s get you to bed.”

“My stepfather is a pain in the ass,” he grumbled, but he settled an arm over her shoulders so he could take some of the pressure off his bad leg.

She decided it was better not to comment on that, since she’d once been sympathetic to Bob’s frustrations where Brandon was concerned. “Back to Nicaragua.”

“Are you sorry the trip’s off?”

“I’m wondering why you invited me to go at all.”

“Wishful thinking.”

An adventure like that had sounded nice. It still did.

“And I knew you’d refuse,” he added.

He also knew it made a great cover, a believable cover, for the length of time he’d be gone. She had to hand it to him, he was good at hiding the problem. Until he’d winced earlier, she’d never even suspected. “And if I hadn’t?” she asked.

“You could come to Europe with me, travel around while I recuperate—as long as you stop by to see me once in a while.”

She could imagine how lonely that would be—to have an operation in a foreign county when all your friends and family thought you were having such a great time they didn’t bother to write or call. But, assuming he wasn’t any more serious about having her join him in Europe than he’d been about Nicaragua, she let that comment slide. “You made yourself climb these stairs. Maybe if you didn’t push yourself so hard, your leg would have a chance to heal on its own.”

“Stairs are the least of my worries. I’m going to have to do much more than climb up to my loft if I want to hang on to my career.”

He was scared, she realized. Scared that everything he’d been was somehow gone. He had to recreate himself.

She could relate to that. She’d embraced moving to Sacramento, had been eager to have a year to herself to see what she could do to expand her professional aspirations. But then her life had taken the Kyle-Noelle detour and she’d been floundering ever since.

“Would it be so terrible to retire?” Finished navigating the stairs, she guided him into the hall. “Surely you can’t expect to ski such dangerous runs forever.”

“No, not forever. Just another two or three years. I’m not ready to give it up. When I go out, it’ll be on my terms.”

The conviction in his voice told her that even if his efforts didn’t pay off, he’d put up one hell of a fight. “Then I believe you’ll make a comeback. If not this season, the next.”

He didn’t respond. She feared he knew her encouragement was simply that—encouragement.

“For now you need to get some sleep,” she said. “Or you won’t convince anyone that leg has healed.”

They’d reached his room. She hesitated at the entrance, expecting him to continue on himself but, keeping one arm around her shoulders, he touched her face with the opposite hand.

When she looked up at him, he held her chin so that she couldn’t look away as he murmured, “Come to bed with me.”

*

Brandon knew Olivia had every reason in the world to say no. She’d just been through a terrible breakup. She probably wasn’t over Kyle. The last thing she needed was to make love with a man who’d soon be leaving, most likely for months. At the moment, he had no clue where his life was going, whether he’d ever ski again, what he’d do if his comeback turned out to be a bust.

But he couldn’t help trying to capture and hold on to the special quality that made her so difficult to forget.

“Brandon—”

At the distress in her voice, he released her. He wouldn’t pressure her, didn’t want her to regret giving in once it was all over. “Never mind, honey. I know it’s been a hell of a year for you.” Figuring she’d hurry to her own room, he limped to the bed and dropped onto the mattress. His damn leg was aching again. Some days were worse than others. Tonight, the pain had gotten so bad he thought it might drive him insane.

But then she was there with her clothes off, and the pain disappeared beneath a flood of euphoria.

*

Olivia supposed she’d known this was coming. Brandon had always been different from the other boys and, as an adult, he was different from the other men she knew, too. So even though a lot had changed in recent months, nothing had really changed. Meeting him again had shown her that as much as she’d cared about Kyle, she’d already accepted that their romantic relationship was over. She’d gotten farther beyond the heartbreak of it than she’d dreamed.

“That’s it, honey,” Brandon whispered as she slid her hands up under his T-shirt to run her fingers over the ridge of his pectoral muscles, his nipples, the sprinkling of soft hair that covered his chest. She liked that he was encouraging her to cast her inhibitions aside, to touch and taste him as eagerly as he was touching and tasting her. They hadn’t even bothered to turn off the lights. Being able to see his expressions and reactions added a whole other dimension.

When her bare skin first came into contact with his, he sucked air between his teeth and held her still as if he needed a moment to recover. “You’ve got me so excited I can hardly breathe,” he whispered hoarsely.

She loved the power that knowledge gave her. He probably realized she would or he wouldn’t have made the admission. He was generous that way, and she appreciated it. “There’s just one problem…”

He gazed up at her. “What is it?”

“I don’t want to hurt your leg.”

Even the guttural sound of his laugh made her happy. “I don’t want you to worry about that,” he said. “All I can feel is how badly I want you. Kiss me.”

When her mouth met his, Olivia groaned. It felt as if she’d been waiting for this day since the last time he’d kissed her, in high school. Closing her eyes, she parted her lips and welcomed his tongue in her mouth, enjoying the fact that she was in control and he didn’t seem to mind.

“You kiss even better than you feel,” he told her.

“Good. Because I want to kiss you again.”

He rolled her beneath him as the kiss grew wetter and more heated. Then, anchoring her hands to the mattress above her head, he lowered his head.

Olivia gasped when his mouth closed over her breast. She was so wound up, so desperate to release the building tension, she wanted to rake her nails down his back. But she could only arch into him because he was still restraining her hands.

“Ah, you like that?” he murmured as his tongue made arousing circles.

She liked him. She almost said so—almost blurted out that these sensations would be meaningless to her if he were anyone else. But she knew that would make him uncomfortable. It’s impossible not to love him, his mother had said. That was true—but it was equally true that he’d never commit.

He spent considerable time on her other breast, the sensitive skin on the inside of her arms and her neck before releasing her wrists. Then she was free to touch him wherever she wanted, and she took full advantage of it—until his mouth returned to hers and his fingers found the part of her that wanted him most.

“Brandon…” Her voice caught on his name.

He was so engrossed it took him a second to respond. “What, sweetheart?”

He sounded dazed. She knew she probably sounded the same. Or maybe she sounded desperate. She was certainly feeling desperate, craved nothing more than the completion he promised.

“Do you have birth control?” she asked. “Because I…I have nothing.”

“I bought some condoms this morning.” His mouth was at her breast again but his fingers…they were torturing her even more sweetly.

“This morning?” she repeated.

He lifted his head long enough to grin at her. “I was thinking positive.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Oh, you were.”

“Couldn’t help hoping.”

Catching handfuls of his hair, she laughed as he settled himself between her legs.

“Do it now,” she whispered.

He kissed her tenderly. “I’ve waited a long time for this.”

She liked that they’d left the lights on, that she could see him. He was male beauty and athletic grace. “God, I love—”

He hesitated. “What?” he whispered when she stopped.

She’d been about to say, “Everything about you.” Those exact words almost came out despite her efforts to hold them back, but she managed a more acceptable substitution. “The way you make love.”

He stared down at her. “Thank you. I love the way you make love, too.”

That was nice of him, she thought. He sounded so sincere. Then she locked her legs around his hips, drawing him as deep as possible.

Chapter 11

Brandon reached for Olivia before he even opened his eyes, but she was no longer in his bed. His hands met with cool, crisp sheets instead. Only a hint of her perfume remained.

He rolled toward the scent, breathing it in, remembering. Then he shoved himself up on his elbows to listen.

Silence. She wasn’t showering. She wasn’t moving around in the kitchen.

She was gone from more than just his bed.

“Damn,” he muttered, disappointed. But at least his leg wasn’t painful. The terrible ache that was becoming such a part of his life had disappeared as completely as Olivia had. Of course, given how often they’d made love in the past three or four hours, he had too many biochemicals flowing through his bloodstream to feel anything unpleasant. But these days he checked for pain every time he woke up because he never knew when just walking was going to be a battle.

Today was a good day. He was exhausted after being up so much of the night, but it was the kind of exhaustion that comes with complete satisfaction. The only thing better would to be to feel her bare skin under his hands one more time.

He almost drifted back to sleep. But then he began to wonder if she was gone until she ran some errands, until after the wedding, or for good.

Dragging himself out of bed, he tested his leg to see if it would complain when he put pressure on it, breathed a sigh of relief when it didn’t and went to check the other bedroom.

“Already?” he grumbled when he saw it.

She’d taken her suitcase with her.

*

“Are you really with Kyle’s brother?” Nancy asked.

Olivia had been so busy this morning pulling together the last-minute details of the wedding that she’d managed to avoid spending any time alone with her mother or her sister. To get everything done, she’d had to stay focused. When Nancy and Noelle stopped for lunch, Olivia grabbed a sandwich and moved gratefully on without them to get the right colored candy for the reception.

Fortunately the jars she’d ordered online had arrived. That meant she didn’t have to use the less attractive ones she’d bought yesterday. But now that the chairs, tables and decorations were in place, and the caterers, minister and disc jockey were primed and ready, she only had to make sure everyone was prepared for the photographer at three. So she and her mother were getting a manicure while Noelle was having her hair curled and stacked in an arrangement that could’ve been featured in Bride Magazine.

“No. Brandon and I are just friends,” she said, pretending to be preoccupied with her nails so she wouldn’t have to look up.

“You’re staying with him,” her mother pointed out. “You’re staying with him instead of us.”

The nail tech had left to see to a walk-in customer. Olivia wished she’d come back. “He has an extra room, Mom.”

“You’re saying you slept in it last night?”

Olivia wished she could insist she had. She should’ve stayed in her own bed. She’d been a fool to get up and go find him, a fool to allow herself to get in so far over her head.

Did she want to be mooning over Kyle’s stepbrother for the rest of her life?

Definitely not—but she had a feeling it might go that way. She’d never had such a strong reaction to any man. Since they’d been together, she hadn’t been able to think of anything besides the tender way he’d held her and the feel of his mouth on hers…not to mention the many intimate places he’d put his hands.

She’d come to Whiskey Creek brokenhearted over Kyle and would be leaving brokenhearted over Brandon. That shouldn’t have been possible in such a short time. But it was her own fault. She hadn’t given herself a chance to recover from Kyle before taking on an even bigger threat to her peace of mind.

“More or less,” she muttered when her mother leaned forward, demanding an answer to where she’d slept.

“More or less?” Nancy echoed. “Oh, no! Noelle was right. She told me the two of you are sleeping together, but I didn’t want to believe it. I don’t know what’s wrong with you girls. First her, and now you! You’ll do anything to hurt each other.”

“What’s happened between Brandon and me has nothing to do with her or Kyle. We aren’t trying to hurt anyone.”

“Then why are you getting involved with someone so close to both of them?”

“Brandon has never been close to Noelle. He hasn’t even been close to Kyle. And I’m not ‘getting involved’ with him. I admit things got out of hand this weekend. I—I haven’t been myself, wasn’t prepared to deal with…temptation.” Or not in such a potent form, she added silently. “It’s not every day that your sister gets pregnant by the man you thought you’d marry yourself,” she went on. “Don’t you think that could throw a girl off track?”

Her mother winced, but Olivia could see the nail tech finishing with the other client and wanted to wrap up the conversation before she returned.

“Anyway, it’s over,” she continued. “I’m heading home after the wedding and trying to forget this weekend ever happened.”

“So it’s not an ongoing relationship.”

She pasted a pleasant expression on her face because the nail tech was walking toward them. “Of course not. Brandon’s going backpacking across Nicaragua in two weeks. Then he’s got the ski season. Who knows when he’ll be back in Whiskey Creek? And I’ve already moved my business to Sacramento, just like I planned.” A plan that had sounded so ideal in the beginning but had, in the end, cost her so much.

The worry lines on her mother’s face softened. “That’s a relief.”

“Why would it matter to you?” Olivia asked.

“Our lives are complicated enough at the moment. I don’t like what Noelle has done, but I can’t change it, either. At least I know Kyle will make a good husband. That gives me hope that we can all get past the rough start. I’m not sure I’m convinced of Brandon’s integrity.”

“Maybe he has more integrity than you think.”

Her mother had no chance to reply because Noelle suddenly appeared from the other side of the salon. “Well?”

Even Olivia had to admit she looked beautiful. “Kyle will love it,” she said.

*

Pictures seemed to take forever. Noelle had decreed that Kyle was not to see her before the ceremony, so the groom and his men were sequestered in a different area of the mansion than the bride and her ladies. Callie Vanetta, one of Kyle’s best friends and part of the group he’d grown up with, owned a photography studio on Sutter Street, near the center of town, and was handling the pictures like the pro she was. First, she photographed Kyle, his best man and other groomsmen while Noelle did her makeup. Then Callie came to the bridal suite, where she snapped shots of Noelle getting ready with her maid of honor and bridesmaids.

Feeling more like a robot than a human being, Olivia smiled and nodded and offered her fair share of compliments. They toasted the wedding with delicate flutes of champagne, and took pictures of the process. They admired Noelle’s veil and jewelry and hair, and took pictures of that. They hugged and laughed and watched Noelle gaze into a giant mirror, and took even more pictures.

As soon as possible, Olivia faded into the background. She wanted this part, which required so much pretending, to be over. But she didn’t want the next part—the wedding—to begin. Then she’d have to face Brandon. Although she’d been able to avoid him so far, that wouldn’t be the case much longer.

“Olivia, I…”

Olivia turned from the window overlooking the patio where the ceremony would take place to see Callie standing at her elbow.

“I just…I wanted to say I’m sorry,” she whispered. “For… what’s happened.”

Olivia managed a brief smile, but then Noelle, who’d gone into the bathroom, returned and asked if they should take a picture of her by the window, looking down at the altar below.

“Good idea.” Olivia squeezed Callie’s arm as she moved past, to let her know she was okay. But she felt a little guilty accepting Callie’s sympathy, or anyone else’s. She knew Callie would be surprised to learn she wasn’t brooding over Kyle, that she’d slept with Brandon last night and wanted nothing more than to do it again.

*

Brandon didn’t get to escort Olivia. Noah Rackham was her partner and had been from the beginning. But she was right in front of him. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He kept hoping she’d turn and acknowledge him in some way, maybe give him a smile that indicated she’d enjoyed last night as much as he had. But ever since she’d entered the room she’d kept her eyes averted and her attention on what was going on around them—on everything but him. He hoped it was because she was under pressure to make sure this wedding was a success.

The music swelled as Kyle, followed by the first of the groomsmen and bridesmaids, walked down the aisle. Noah and Olivia were after Eve and Baxter, two more of Kyle’s friends. Brandon watched as they moved into the dazzling sunshine, and waited several beats before stepping “on deck” with Cheyenne Christensen.

“I can’t believe he’s going through with this,” his partner muttered as she slipped a hand through the crook of his arm.

Her words surprised him. Kyle’s friends were normally so loyal to Kyle they generally ignored him when he was at home.

“What did you say?” he asked.

She turned distressed eyes on him. “I feel like someone should stop the wedding.”

“And that someone should be…”

“How about you?” she responded, but she grinned when she said it and he couldn’t help chuckling.

“It’s too late to save him now,” he said.

She ducked her head, presumably so that the guests twisting around in their seats, trying to catch a glimpse of the rest of the wedding party, wouldn’t see her disapproval. “I know.” Then they stepped into the sunlight, too, and pandered to the crowd and Callie’s camera as they approached the minister, where they separated.

Brandon thought he saw Olivia looking at him as he released Cheyenne. He smiled to see if he could get her to smile back, but she glanced away so quickly he wasn’t sure she’d really seen him. He caught Kyle glaring at him a second later so he moved on without missing a beat.

Once the line was assembled, the traditional wedding march blasted from the speakers and Noelle appeared on her father’s arm. As she glided toward her waiting groom, Brandon thought maybe he should speak up. He would have, if he’d believed it might make a difference.

But Kyle wouldn’t thank him for it. His stepbrother was determined to go to the guillotine, so Brandon kept his mouth shut as the two repeated their vows, kissed and exchanged rings.

The congratulations came next but, in Brandon’s opinion, they were rather subdued. Does anyone think this wedding has a chance?

Kyle held his bride’s hand, but his gaze strayed almost immediately to Olivia, who seemed determined not to look in his direction, either.

As soon as Callie Vanetta had finished taking pictures now that the men and women were together, Brandon made his way over to Olivia. “Everything’s working out perfectly,” he said. “You’ve done a great job.”

When she turned to face him, he again tried to get a read on what she was feeling. But she didn’t give him the opportunity. “Thanks,” she said and moved away.

*

Olivia knew people were keeping a close eye on her, wondering if it was breaking her heart to see Kyle marry her sister. She could hear them murmuring—”Poor thing…Can you believe he went through with it?” and “She even planned the whole wedding!”

She did her best to bear up under the scrutiny. Their pity humiliated her. But she’d expected as much and couldn’t focus on it. Not with Brandon in the room. It was all she could do not to head straight over to him, especially since he seemed so confused by her withdrawal. He’d tried, several times, to approach her.

He was kind to show his support. She appreciated his attempts to make this god-awful night a bit better. But she feared that if she spent even two seconds in his company he’d realize he’d been right all along—she wasn’t cut out for casual sex. She couldn’t say how it had happened, but she’d somehow lost a piece of her heart in that encounter, which was definitely information she didn’t want him to have.

So she avoided him at all costs.

“Are you seeing Brandon?”

Cheyenne stood at the candy table next to her. Olivia had been so busy refilling the jars she hadn’t noticed her. “No. Of course not.” She cleared her throat. “We’re just friends.”

“Does he know that?”

She cleared her throat. “Pardon?”

“I’ve never seen him look at a friend the way he looks at you.”

Following Cheyenne’s line of sight, she saw Brandon leaning against the wall with a drink in one hand. He had a frown on his face and that didn’t change when their eyes met.

She nodded politely, but this time he didn’t respond. “He’s been very…supportive,” she said, forcing herself to turn away.

“I’ve always thought he’s not as bad as people make him sound,” Cheyenne said. “A lot of that criticism stems from jealousy, don’t you agree? People have a hard time accepting someone who soars so high. Someone who dares to break all the rules.”

Olivia wondered why Brandon was on his feet and wished he’d sit down and give his leg a rest. “It’s great how much he enjoys the things he loves.”

“I think he’d like to enjoy you, too.” Her lips curved in a conspirator’s grin, but before Olivia could say anything, the toasts started and Cheyenne moved back to her table.

The best man, Noah Rackham, spoke first. He talked about the length of his friendship with Kyle and how Kyle’s marriage would make their group of friends larger.

Olivia flinched at that. She’d always thought she’d be the next official member of their clique. Then Nancy got up—Ham wasn’t the type—and told her new son-in-law how excited she was to have him as part of the family. She related a cute story about Kyle coming to her rescue once when her car wouldn’t start. Everyone smiled because it was endearing, and they’d expect nothing less from Kyle, but Nancy didn’t add that he’d done it when he was her boyfriend, not Noelle’s.

Kyle’s father got up after Nancy and said he’d always been able to depend on Kyle and how proud of him he was.

As the toasts wore on, Olivia began to see a pattern. Everyone had praise for Kyle, but no one had much to say about Noelle.

Determined to be big enough to overlook the circumstances that had brought them to this point, Olivia retrieved her glass from the dessert table where she’d left it when she restocked the candy and lifted it high. “I’d also like to offer a toast.”

She regretted her impulsiveness when everyone looked at her. A sudden hush swept through the room, attaching more weight to what she was about to say than she wanted. She got the impression that there were people who hoped to see her break down in public, or perhaps berate her sister as Noelle deserved. But Olivia merely wanted everyone to know that she supported the union and was no longer bitter about how this wedding had come to pass.

Stubbornly maintaining a congenial smile, she turned toward the new couple. She wished she could extoll her sister’s many virtues, but…she couldn’t. So she settled for a few simple words to show everyone that she harbored no animosity. “To the bride and groom. I wish you health, happiness, prosperity and…abiding love.”

Although everyone else applauded, the despair on Kyle’s face made it difficult to drink to her own toast. His expression told her he knew what her words really meant. She’d cut him loose. She’d stopped carrying a torch for him. She thought Noelle would appreciate that, but her sister seemed as crestfallen as Kyle. Maybe, now that Olivia no longer wanted Kyle, Noelle wasn’t sure she wanted him, either. Noelle couldn’t even console herself with the fact that she’d soon be living in a mansion. From Noelle’s grumblings while they were at the salon earlier, Kyle hadn’t relented and agreed to build her the house of her dreams.

A few others offered toasts, all of them Kyle’s friends, except for Noelle’s maid of honor. Then the dancing started.

Breathing a sigh of relief that the night was nearly over, Olivia put down her glass and automatically glanced over to where she’d last seen Brandon. But he wasn’t there anymore. After a quick search, she caught sight of him, recognized his blond head at the door.

He was leaving.

Chapter 12

“Brandon.”

Brandon refused to turn when Olivia called his name. He kept walking through the gardens even when she hurried after him and grabbed his hand.

“Brandon, wait. I—”

“What?” he snapped, stopping so suddenly that she had to back up to avoid running into him. “What could you possibly have to say to me after treating me like I don’t exist?”

Taken aback by the depth of his anger, she stared at him. She didn’t know what to say, how to explain. Everything that came to her was wrong. Or far beyond what she should feel after so short a time.

“I-I’m sorry,” she mumbled and turned before he could see the tears in her eyes. But this time he came after her. He reached her before she could enter the building. And she was pretty sure he cursed when he kissed her.

*

Brandon had no idea what had happened at the wedding. If Olivia had been confused, or hurt, or embarrassed. But she was in his arms now and that took the sting away, made it easy to forgive her, to chalk her remoteness up to everything she’d been through in the past few months. When her lips gave way beneath his, allowing him to taste the warm wetness of her mouth, he couldn’t even remember why he’d been mad.

“There you are,” he breathed as her arms circled his neck. “I’ve missed you.”

She smiled against his mouth. “I’ve missed you, too.”

It didn’t matter that it had only been a day. He meant what he’d said, and he could tell she did, too. Eager to take anything she was willing to give him, he groaned as she ground her hips against his. He knew what she wanted. He wanted the same thing. But they couldn’t risk being seen, couldn’t be caught making out like this.

It would’ve made more sense to take her home, but he was rattled enough by her earlier behavior to fear she’d change her mind again if he waited. So he pulled her into the shelter of some trees, where they had a degree of privacy.

“You’re all I’ve thought about,” he admitted, framing her face with his hands.

“Funny you should say that. You’re all I’ve thought about, too,” she said, and then they were kissing again and straining to get closer and she started to remove his belt.

*

Olivia knew what she was doing was crazy. She’d never behaved like this before—but she’d never felt like this before, either, never wanted a man like she wanted Brandon. Instead of stopping him when he slipped a hand inside her dress, she encouraged him, shifting so he could reach what he wanted to touch. Only the fear that what they were doing might cause him to injure his leg gave her pause.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” she murmured.

“I’m fine,” he whispered. “All I need is you.”

“But your leg…”

“I’m being careful,” he said, but he didn’t seem to be keeping that promise when he put on a condom and lifted her up against the building.

It was over almost as fast as it had begun. Sheer excitement crashed into frantic need for an incredible few minutes, obliterating every bit of pent-up longing. She could hear the music, smell the roses but all she could feel was Brandon moving inside her.

Afterward, his heart pounded hard and fast beneath her ear and his chest rose and fell as he struggled to catch his breath.

“I’ve never done it at a wedding before,” he told her with a chuckle.

She tilted her head back to look up at him. “I’ve never done it anywhere in public.”

Lowering her gently to the ground, he kissed her temple. “I’m a bad influence.”

“No. It was my fault as much as yours.”

He straightened his clothes while she straightened hers. Then he offered her his hand. “Let’s get out of here, go home.”

She shook her head.

“Do you have to stay for a while? I hope not. I want more of you.”

“I’m sorry, but—” she bit her lip “—this is goodbye, Brandon. I’m not going back to your place.”

His eyebrows drew together. “What are you talking about?”

He wasn’t used to being denied. But she knew it was better to leave him wanting more. To end on a positive memory…

“I’ve got my life and you’ve got yours. I don’t even live here.”

“So? You’re not far. Why not enjoy each other while we can?”

She wanted to walk away while she still had the strength to do it with some dignity. It was important to her self-esteem. He was leaving the country in two weeks, anyway. “Because you were right.”

“About…”

“I’m not capable of casual.”

His finger tilted up her chin. “What if—” he started but another voice interrupted.

“Olivia? Olivia!”

Noelle was looking for her.

“Where are you?” her sister cried.

“Damn,” she whispered and began to step out of the trees, but he tugged her back. “I’m not ready to let you go.”

She wasn’t sure if he was referring to this moment or their relationship in general. But it didn’t matter either way. “It’ll be easier now than later,” she said. Then she slipped out.

Hoping to rejoin the wedding without bringing attention to herself, Olivia drew a deep breath and smoothed her hair. But Noelle saw her as soon as she entered the room and came straight for her.

“Where have you been?” her sister demanded. “Everyone’s been asking about you. Grandma and Grandpa are tired. They want to say goodbye.”

Olivia struggled to appear serene, but the intensity of what she’d just experienced had left her shaken. “Outside, getting some fresh air.”

Her sister’s eyes narrowed. Had she noticed Olivia’s flushed face and Brandon’s recent departure and put the two together? “Doing what?”

“Nothing.” At the suspicion in Noelle’s voice, she couldn’t help turning to see if Brandon was behind her, but he wasn’t.

Noelle raised one hand to pluck a leaf from her hair. “At my wedding, Olivia? At my wedding?”

Olivia told herself to cross the room and say goodbye to her grandparents and everyone else. But she couldn’t bring herself to stay another second. She’d given this weekend all she had. And still she felt like she’d failed more than she’d succeeded. “I’m leaving,” she said. “I hope you enjoy your honeymoon.”

“Wait! Who’s going to clean up?” Noelle called, but Olivia ignored her. She walked faster and faster until she was outside, running. Her parents and their friends could clean up. Kyle’s friends could help. She’d done all she could.

When she reached her car, she got in, locked the doors and peeled out of the lot.

It wasn’t until she was almost at her apartment that she realized she’d received a text nearly half an hour earlier. It was from Brandon: I wish you’d change your mind.

*

Olivia never came back. And she didn’t call him. As one day led to the next the week after the wedding, Brandon held out hope that she might relent and see him. He knew what they’d shared was special. Wondered how she could hold out, given the strength of their attraction.

But he didn’t hear from her. He told himself to move on without her. He’d known all along that he wasn’t the kind of man she needed. He was too caught up in his career. And right now he had a battle of epic proportions on his hands if he expected to get back on a pair of skis. He didn’t need to be involved with a woman who could distract him the way she could.

Everything he told himself was logical and true, but that didn’t make her any easier to forget.

By Wednesday, he broke down and called her. She didn’t pick up, but he left a message on her voice mail. “Call me. This is nuts. I want you so much I can’t think straight.”

On Thursday, he texted her twice. “Are you really going to do this to me?” and “I smell you, taste you every time I close my eyes.”

He was dying to see her again and he made no effort to hide it. But that didn’t seem to matter. Although he tried calling her one last time, he received no reply.

Friday, when his parents invited him to dinner, he accepted immediately and was grateful for the diversion—until Kyle and Noelle showed up. They must’ve returned early. They were supposed to be on their honeymoon until Sunday night.

“Did you have a wonderful time?” his mother gushed as Bob let them in.

“It was—” Noelle sent Kyle a sulky look “—fine.”

“Fine?” Paige blinked in confusion. “You went to Napa Valley. There isn’t a more beautiful place on earth.”

Noelle lifted her nose in the air. “There was nothing wrong with the scenery. It was Kyle. He insisted on working the whole time we were gone.”

“I have a company to run,” he explained. “I had to take a few calls. Nothing big.”

“Maybe it wasn’t big to you.” Noelle regarded Brandon with an accusatory air, but he had no idea how she could blame him for anything. “You weren’t the one who was always waiting,” she snapped at Kyle.

Kyle seemed embarrassed, which was, no doubt, Noelle’s intent. “I gave you plenty of attention,” he grumbled, and surprised Brandon by appearing relieved to see him. “How’s the leg?”

Brandon hadn’t heard that question in a while. Only Olivia knew he was still having problems with it. But the pain it caused him had been getting harder and harder to hide. “Fine. It’s been fine since I got the cast off.”

Fortunately Kyle didn’t question that. “Great. When do you go to Nicaragua?”

Paige drew Noelle into the kitchen while Brandon answered. “Next Friday.”

Kyle shot a look at his father, who was turning off the TV. “I wish I could go with you,” he said in a low voice, intended only for Brandon.

Brandon scowled at him. “Damn it, Kyle.”

He didn’t say anything. He just pinched the bridge of his nose as if the past week had been one of the hardest he’d ever endured.

“I wish you weren’t so damn noble,” Brandon muttered.

“It wasn’t my nobility that got me into this mess.”

Brandon chuckled as Bob came back toward them.

“What?” he said, looking between them.

Kyle answered. “Nothing,” he said, but he didn’t seem bothered that his father could overhear when he asked, “How’s Olivia?”

An image of her, naked beneath him, popped into Brandon’s mind, making the craving he felt for her that much worse. “I wouldn’t know.”

Kyle studied him for a moment. “If you care about her, don’t let her go.” He sounded jealous but resigned to the idea. “She’s crazy about you. I could tell.”

Brandon was so shocked that Kyle would encourage him, he couldn’t decide how to respond. Fortunately his mother saved him the trouble by entering the room, carrying a hot casserole. Noelle was right behind her with some rolls.

“Come on over and sit down,” she said. “Dinner’s served.”

*

Olivia had almost called Brandon a million times. She wanted to respond to his messages, to see him again. But she knew that if he was leaving in a week there was no point. He’d go on his way and forget about her. She didn’t need to grow even more attached to him.

But it had been a long, lonely week since the wedding. It didn’t help that Kyle texted her on Sunday: Brandon seemed lost at dinner Friday.

There was no context to let her decipher his meaning or his intent. She planned to ignore it but ultimately wrote back: What does that have to do with me?

Everything, came the reply.

Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon? she typed.

Work brought me back early.

A few seconds later, he added a Thank God that almost made her laugh. She knew, in a way no one else probably did, what he was talking about. Noelle was not an easy person to take for long periods of time.

I refuse to feel sorry for you, she texted back.

He followed up with a wink and that brought a smile to her lips. “Poor Kyle.” She was just glad she hadn’t heard from her sister. She was also glad that it was wedding season and she’d signed three new clients. The added work, along with trying to hang some pictures and decorate her apartment, was keeping her busy, giving her a good excuse not to drive back to Whiskey Creek—even though, when she stopped working for five seconds, that was exactly where her heart wanted to take her.

Chapter 13

Kyle, of all people, called to say goodbye. “Do you have everything? Do you need a ride to the airport?” he asked.

Brandon glanced at the luggage he���d packed. He’d hired a car to take him to Sacramento. He was meeting his agent, Scott Jones, for lunch before heading to the airport. To pay a driver to come all the way out to Whiskey Creek was expensive, but he couldn’t let any of his friends or family see that he wasn’t taking a backpack.

“I’m covered,” he replied. “Thanks, though.”

“Your plane leaves at five?”

He grimaced as he shifted. His leg was giving him so much trouble today. It was getting worse all the time. “Five-thirty.”

After this small talk, there was a slight pause. “Okay. Have a nice trip.”

Brandon stopped Kyle before he could hang up. “You thought you’d offer me a ride because…”

“When she was here for the wedding, Olivia told me something I’ve decided might be true.”

He hadn’t realized Olivia and Kyle had had much chance to talk, or were even on speaking terms. That toast at the wedding had been so generous it had blown Brandon away. He couldn’t imagine many other women being able to forgive so quickly that they could wish a sister well despite the hurt she’d caused. “What did Olivia say?”

“That I should try talking to you now and then. That I might be missing out on having a great brother.”

A fresh pang of longing shot through Brandon. He hadn’t talked to Olivia since their encounter in the gardens during the wedding, but his desire to hear her voice hadn’t diminished. If anything it had grown stronger. “She did?”

“I told you how much she admires you.”

“I remember. I’m still not sure why you bothered to do that.”

“I missed out. Doesn’t mean you have to,” he said and hung up.

Brandon stared at his phone. He wanted to call Olivia one more time, to at least be able to say goodbye. But a honk let him know the car had arrived. He had to get his luggage outside or he’d be late for lunch, which could potentially make him late for the airport.

*

Today Brandon was leaving for Europe and his surgery. Olivia had received a text from him a few days ago telling her he’d like to stop in to say goodbye. She wanted to say goodbye to him, too, but she knew it would be too difficult to see him again, knowing what lay ahead. She was worried about his leg, about his career, about his being in Europe on his own for weeks, maybe months, while he recuperated. She hated that he hadn’t told anyone else what he was doing. That meant even his parents wouldn’t be there to support him. As far as they were concerned, he was off on another grand adventure. If anything, they felt mildly annoyed that he didn’t seem to be growing up.

She sighed as she clicked on one YouTube clip of him after another. He was truly an impressive skier. She loved watching him plunge down those treacherous mountains. He seemed able to conquer the impossible. There was an inherent thrill in seeing someone who mattered so much to her do something so magical. But she also cringed with each new descent. She knew he was addicted to the adrenaline and all the benefits the sport brought him, and if he continued, he might not survive.

Her phone rang just as she was trying to make herself go to the office. She had work to do, work that was piling up because she couldn’t seem to quit thinking about Brandon.

For a split second, she thought maybe it was him on the phone. But it wasn’t. He’d stopped calling a few days ago. This was Noelle. Her sister was trying to reach her for the first time since the wedding.

Unable to deal with Noelle on this of all days, she set her phone aside. But a minute later, she heard the buzz of an incoming text.

“What do you want?” she grumbled and checked her messages.

Brandon’s off on his Nicaragua trip for God knows how long. He probably won’t even remember your name when he gets back, her sister had written.

Noelle couldn’t seem to help herself. She just had to be spiteful.

Olivia nearly responded with some remark about the difficulty of marriage and good luck getting Kyle to give her that house in town—or earning Kyle’s love, for that matter. But her mother had told her Noelle was having a tough time adjusting to married life. Apparently stealing Kyle hadn’t brought her the happiness she’d thought it would. So, instead of unleashing all the hurtful things she was dying to say, Olivia wrote, I wish Brandon the best.

Then she went to get showered. Noelle was right on one account. Brandon would forget her soon enough.

*

Lunch with Scott was tense. His agent was the only one, besides Olivia, who knew that Brandon’s leg wasn’t healing properly, the one who’d arranged the operation to fix it. He had a vested interest in seeing Brandon succeed, so he clearly wasn’t happy when Brandon came toward him, unable to walk without a slight limp.

“It’s worse?” he said.

Some days, like today, the pain was so bad Brandon almost couldn’t tolerate it. “A lot worse.” He hated to hear himself say that, but there it was.

Scott cursed, looked away, then forced a smile. “Dr. Shapiro will take care of you. He’s the best leg man in the world. A real miracle-worker.”

Brandon nodded and listened as Scott detailed what they’d accomplish next season. Neither one of them admitted that, if the operation didn’t work, his career was finished. It wasn’t a possibility they could even acknowledge.

By the time the waitress brought the check, Brandon was eager for lunch to be over. He’d thought seeing Scott would be helpful, motivating, encouraging, but he found that their visit had depressed him instead. It was the worry in Scott’s eyes.

“When do you have to be at the airport?” Scott asked.

Brandon glanced at his watch. “Half an hour. We’d better go.”

They rode in silence. There wasn’t much more to say. Brandon had a rough few weeks ahead of him, with uncertainty his only companion.

When they arrived, Scott insisted on parking and taking Brandon’s luggage. That in itself told Brandon his agent was deeply concerned. How many times had Scott brought him here and dropped him at the curb?

Too many to count. But Brandon didn’t argue. He figured he’d be on his own all too soon.

They were in line at the ticket counter when he received a text from Olivia. He couldn’t believe she’d finally responded.

What she’d written came as an even bigger surprise: Before you go, I just want you to know that I’ve never felt about anyone else the way I feel about you. You own my heart, Brandon. I think you have since prom. So please, be safe. I want to see you on the slopes next fall.

“What is it?” Although Scott had been getting anxious to leave—making calls and answering texts while they waited—he was watching Brandon now, too curious to be distracted by the passing time.

“A friend,” he replied, but he realized almost as soon as those words came out of his mouth that she was much more than a friend. He’d never felt about anyone else the way he felt about her, either.

“I can help you here, sir.” The gal at the ticket counter smiled, expecting him to approach. But he couldn’t move.

“Brandon?” Scott had already dragged his luggage to the scale.

“I can’t do this,” he said, remaining right where he was.

Scott’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “What? Are you crazy?”

The reason behind the fear that had been gripping his stomach for days suddenly became clear. It wasn’t only his career he was afraid of losing. “I have to see someone.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Scott said. “See who?”

Waving the family behind him to the counter in his place, Brandon stepped out of line.

His shocked agent hurried over with his bags. “What are you doing?” he whispered. “If you miss this plane, you’ll miss your operation. And I’m not sure when we’ll be able to reschedule. This doctor is booked. Do you hear me? He’s world-famous.”

“I can’t leave her,” he said simply.

“Can’t leave who, for crying out loud?” Scott jerked on his tie, trying to loosen it. “You have to get on this plane! Do you want to ski next season or not?”

He wanted to ski. But that was no longer all he wanted. “Drive me back to Sacramento or I’ll take a cab,” he said and wrenched his suitcase from Scott’s hand.

*

Olivia felt much better after texting Brandon. She knew she’d probably never see him again—unless it was to bump into him occasionally while visiting Whiskey Creek. But at least she’d finally had the guts to be honest with him about her feelings. Somehow that seemed important, whether he wanted to hear what she had to say or not. It wasn’t as if she expected anything in return. She’d spoken the truth so he would know how hard she’d be praying for his health and well-being while he was gone. That was all. He needed someone to know, someone to care.

Now she’d given him that.

“Are you okay?”

She had a prospective bride in her office, looking at samples of table linens. “Of course. Why?”

The girl cocked her head. “You’ve got tears in your eyes.”

Olivia dabbed at the corners. “I was just thinking of a friend.”

“Must be a close friend.”

She nodded. As brief as her time with Brandon had been, she felt closer to him than anyone else.

She’d finished the appointment and was packing her briefcase with swatches and magazines—she had to meet another bride at River City Resort Club and Spa tomorrow morning—when she heard the buzzer that indicated someone had walked into the small anteroom outside her office. She didn’t have any employees, couldn’t afford payroll, so she called out, “Welcome to Weddings by Olivia. I’ll be right there.”

“Could you hurry?” came the response. “I’ve got a plane to catch.”

Brandon! Olivia’s heart jumped into her throat as she scrambled around her desk.

When she reached the reception area, she saw him standing just inside the door with an exasperated-looking man wearing what appeared to be an expensive suit.

“What-what are you doing here?” she asked, glancing between them.

“I couldn’t do it,” Brandon said. “I couldn’t leave without you.”

Was she hearing him right? He seemed in earnest…. “But your… your operation!”

“It can wait.”

“Not if he wants to ski next season, it can’t,” the man he’d brought with him cut in. “But he can still make it if he’s on the next plane.”

“When does it leave?” she asked.

“In three hours.”

“I’ll only go if you go with me,” Brandon said. “Do I have any hope of talking you into that?”

“I-” Her mind whirled as she thought of her apartment, her business.

“Come here, honey,” Brandon said, reaching for her.

He didn’t have to ask twice. She walked right into his arms and pressed her body against his, so grateful to see him, to touch him, her chest ached at the prospect of letting go.

He’d come back. For her.

“I think what we feel deserves a chance,” he explained, his voice low in her ear. “I don’t want to walk away from it.”

“I’d like to be there for the operation.” She wanted nothing more than to watch over him, keep him safe. “But I have clients to take care of and rent to pay—”

The other man made a show of tapping his watch. “Maybe you could join him in a week or two.”

“Olivia, meet Scott Jones, my agent,” Brandon said. “You don’t have to listen to anything he says. Personally I’m finding that quite liberating.”

Now she understood why this other person was so upset. Brandon was risking his career by coming here. She grinned at Brandon’s tongue-in-cheek comment but spoke to Scott. “Won’t the operation be over by then?”

“You could make it for the recovery,” Scott said. “That’s the most important part, anyway.”

Not to her. She wanted to be there to support Brandon through the whole thing. She wanted to go with him now.

She could refer her clients to another planner she knew in River City. That wasn’t the tough part. The tough part was paying her rent without that income….

“He’s right,” Brandon said. “I’m being selfish. I’ve just missed you so much. If it’s too hard, you can come later.”

She considered the money in her savings account. She’d put that away to get her through difficult times, had promised herself she wouldn’t touch it except in an emergency.

Was she willing to spend it on love?

Everyone she knew would probably tell her she was being foolish, reckless. If Brandon recovered, he’d return to his career. But when she was with Kyle, and even long before that, she’d been so responsible, methodical, cautious—and that hadn’t saved her from heartbreak. If Brandon could risk his career for her, she supposed she could risk her career for him.

“I’ll throw some clothes in a bag. The rest I can handle via the internet,” she said and smiled happily as his arms tightened around her and he buried his face in her neck.

“I’ll make you glad you did,” he promised.

Epilogue

When Brandon opened his eyes, it took him a moment to remember where he was. London. The operation. Dr. Shapiro was going to take out the intramedullary rod in his leg and insert a new one.

So where was the stern-faced doctor who��d come to visit him before the anesthesiologist put him under? Brandon could see the ceiling lights of a hospital flashing overhead as two male orderlies whisked the gurney he was lying on down the hall.

Was he on his way to the operating room? If so, the anesthesia wasn’t working. That caused him a moment’s concern. But maybe he was on his way back.

“Is it…” His throat was so dry he could hardly speak. “Is it over?”

One of the orderlies tossed him a professional smile as they continued to navigate the crowded hall. “After six hours? I should hope so, Mr. Lucero,” he responded in a British accent.

Brandon searched the faces of the people who were coming and going. Most were doctors, nurses or patients. He couldn’t see Olivia, but he knew she was in the hospital, somewhere. She wouldn’t abandon him.

He also knew he wasn’t the same man he’d been even two months ago because the next question out of his mouth wasn’t whether or not he’d be able to ski again. “Where’s my girlfriend?”

“She’s waiting in your room, and we’re just getting there now.”

They slowed so they could maneuver the bed through a doorway, and Olivia hurried to reach his side. “How are you?” she asked, obviously worried as they wheeled him in.

“Better now that it’s over,” he said. “At least I hope I’m better. Have you talked to my doctor?”

“He came to see me as soon as he finished.”

“And?”

She stroked the side of his face. “It was a bone infection. He wasn’t sure how your doctor in the States missed it, considering it was so extensive. He had to scrape away the infected area and drain a couple of abscesses. But he said, with antibiotics and some physiotherapy, you should recover completely.” She pecked his lips. “We can call Scott and tell him the good news as soon as you’re not so groggy.”

He wasn’t thinking as clearly as usual, but he was clear about one thing. “Scott can wait.”

“He’s dying to hear the results.”

“But I’m not sure what the results will be.”

She straightened. “What do you mean? Everything’s going to be fine. The doctor’s sure he got it all.”

“I don’t know if I’ll try to hit the circuit next fall.”

Her jaw dropped. “Why not?”

A grin quirked his lips. “Love is making me soft, I guess.”

Obviously surprised, she took his hand.

“Skiing is no longer the most important thing to me,” he said. “You are.”

*

Join the people of Whiskey Creek again in When Lightning Strikes, coming in September 2012. Olivia’s friend Gail DeMarco has her own PR agency in L.A. and her most difficult client is actor Simon O’Neal. When she drops him, her other clients drop her, forcing Gail to make a deal with Simon—she’ll help him rehabilitate his reputation in order to save her business—and to help him regain custody of his son. Her plan involves having him marry some squeaky-clean girl who’ll drag him off to some small, obscure town…. But Simon says Gail has to be his temporary wife and Whiskey Creek his temporary home!

Keep reading for an excerpt!

Welcome to Whiskey Creek—Heart of the Gold Country!

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