Stealing the Groom (11 page)

“I know, but we’d give it an effort and then laugh about it until we ached.” He reached for another handful of peanuts.

“If I dated someone like you, I’d go dancing. Some place with jazz music.”

“I didn’t know you liked jazz.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Well, now you do.”

He smiled when she linked her arm with his and then realized with a jolt that he hadn’t thought of work once since arriving at the festival. The knowledge made him feel on edge and he knew exactly why. Spending time with his sexy wife was changing all the rules.

Chapter Ten

“Will you please hurry and get dressed? People are going to be showing up any minute. Grandfather said he’d invited your family for a champagne reception. As if this is a real marriage.” He hated the way his voice betrayed his anxiousness. After spending the night after the festival lying next to Amelia and fighting off the urge to touch her, to kiss her—do all the fun and intimate things married couples are supposed to do—he was in a less-than-rested mood. He hadn’t been able to get the conversation or the kiss they’d shared out of his mind.

So he’d banished himself to his office and spent most of the day working. As if that was going to make him forget he was now sharing a bed with a very grown-up, very tempting Amelia.

“Good Lord, Chad. We both said vows and ended with ‘I do.’ So it’s pretty darned real, according to the law, anyway. I think champagne is definitely in order.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“Very well.” Amelia walked across the room. “One newlywed wife coming right up.” She opened Chad’s closet and pulled out a black dress. She held it up against her body and then winked at him. “Give me a second and I’ll be the adoring wife.”

That’s what he was afraid of, Chad thought when Amelia went into the bathroom and closed the door.

Deep breath. He forced himself to relax.

The festival was over. Reality was back in place. Amelia was not going to turn his life upside down.

He was still in control. He
was
.

He went to the closet and chose a dark-gray suit from a dozen others just like it. Tossing it on the bed, he dug a pair of dress socks from his dresser, then stripped down to his T-shirt and boxers.

The bathroom door swung open. Chad looked over his shoulder and wished he hadn’t.

The little black dress held on to her curves the way a man would if he were lucky enough. He wasn’t used to seeing his tomboy best friend looking so sexy and glamorous.

He forced himself to swallow.

“Zipper, please,” she moved her hair out of the way, showing a soft expanse of her back. Chad inhaled her perfume.

Against his quickly weakening will, his hands gripped her shoulders. He wanted to lower his head and press a kiss to the side of her neck.

A simple kiss. Nothing more.

Before he could act on the impulse, Amelia stilled and turned and faced him.

Her eyes reminded him of the hot South Carolina days when they would lie on a blanket and look up at clouds, complaining about their homework assignments or planning their futures—his as the head of Walker Industries, hers as a successful photographer.

God, it felt like years ago. They both seemed so young then. But his thoughts were anything but innocent at the moment.

Chad swallowed again, his brain trying to analyze the situation from every angle. Part of him wanted to see where a romantic relationship with Amelia would go, to love her in all the ways a man loved a woman.

But another part of him couldn’t forget what his father went through or how opposite he and Amelia were. Opposites didn’t simply attract. They connected and then self-destructed. She’d said maybe she’d have a reason to stay. Maybes weren’t guarantees.

To lose Amelia as his love
and
as his friend…

The thought doused his desire like a bucket of ice water flung into his face.

“Are you okay?” She studied his face.

He forced a chuckle. “Yeah. Thinking about business,” he lied.

Chad followed the movement of her finger when she touched the corner of her lips to dab at her lipstick.

“What’s on your list tomorrow besides work?”

Definitely not making out with my wife
. “Work’s the only thing on the agenda,” he said vaguely, trying to sound normal, but he could tell she didn’t buy it.

She picked up a hairbrush and started sliding it slowly through her hair. One stroke. Two strokes…

Chad couldn’t watch. He’d seen her brush her hair hundreds of times, but it was different now. Sexier.

She finished brushing and then twisted it up into a loose knot, allowing strands to frame her face before securing the back with glittering hairpins.

“Everyone is waiting for us,” Chad said and grabbed the dress pants he’d laid out earlier. He slid his legs into them and pulled up the zipper.

He tried to ignore Amelia as she dug a pair of heels from her suitcase and dropped them onto the floor. She slid her feet into them and Chad had to turn his back to her. When did she develop legs that long? That shapely?

Figures he was attracted to the one woman he’d never planned to seduce.

He heard her clear her throat behind him and he turned. “Chad, I’ve been thinking…we should find a smaller house to live in.”

“Why would we need a smaller house?”

“I don’t want our children to live in a place that doesn’t feel like a home.”

“Children?” Chad felt as if he’d swallowed an olive whole and it was stuck in his throat.

Amelia laughed and patted the front of his T-shirt. “Don’t forget to breathe. I was teasing. I know you’re even more averse to the thought of having children than you are falling in love.” Her smile faded. “But seriously, I’m not comfortable surrounded by all the servants and extravagance. The stress of having to keep up this charade 24-7 is going to be too much for us. I would feel better in a smaller house.”

“Smaller house,” he parroted. “That’s fine with me.” What the hell was he thinking? A smaller house would put them in closer proximity.

And closer proximity meant more temptation.

Narrowing her eyes, she said, “You are acting so strange. You sure you’re okay?”

He stretched to hide his panic. “It’s been a long day.”

With a shrug, she crossed the room on those endless legs and opened the bedroom door.

“I’ll see you downstairs. If I get lost on the way, send out a search team.”

…

When he was alone, Chad reached for the dark tie and nearly choked himself putting it on. His carefully constructed walls were crumbling fast and he was frantic to stop the downfall. Things were unraveling. Hell,
he
was unraveling, all because his mind couldn’t stop thinking some decidedly non-best-friend thoughts. Sure, he could say to hell with it and give in to his desires, but at what price?

He was a businessman, used to gathering information, weighing the options, and making calculated decisions based on facts.

Fact: His father had loved his mother more than life itself and had lost her.

Fact: The man had never recovered, and the whole family had paid the price.

Fact: Yeah, he was screwed up in the head about love but it had never been an issue before because he’d never been tempted by it.

Fact: Love had the power to destroy.

Fact: Amelia was his best friend. The one person he
couldn’t
lose. Hell, even going along with her groomnapping scheme had come down to him not losing her, not after her unexpectedly strong reaction to his marrying Claire.

Fact: His best friend was now his too-tempting-for-her-own-good wife and he was having a damned hard time keeping things strictly platonic.

Fact: He was totally screwed.

He finished dressing quickly and hurried after Amelia. When he reached the formal living room, he noticed the musicians playing softly in the corner of the room. It was a little much, in Chad’s opinion, but his grandfather never did anything by half measure.

Sweeping his gaze across the rest of the room, he found not only his grandfather, but his friends and Amelia’s family as well.

Abby approached him and pressed a quick kiss to the side of his face. “Chad, feels like just recently you were only a friend of the family.” Her ready smile disappeared when she spotted the man seated by Chad’s grandfather Henry. “Who invited him?” she snapped.

Chad followed her gaze to his friend, Nick Coleman. “My grandfather invited him. You know Nick’s a buddy of mine. I thought you were friends with him, too.”

“No,” Abby said, tensing when Nick rose from his seat and approached.

“Abby.” He gave her a slow smile. “Good to see you again.”

The greeting seemed pleasant enough but to Chad’s surprise, the normally unflappable Abby cringed. “I wish I could say the same.”

Turning on her heel, she marched across the room until she reached her sisters.

“What was that all about?” Chad asked.

“The best night of my life and apparently the worst night of hers.”

Wow. Nick and Abby. He’d have to get that story at some point. “Sorry, man.”

“Don’t be. She’ll come around.” Nick grinned.

“I know Abby. She won’t make it easy on you.”

“No,” Nick took a sip of the champagne one of the waiters had offered, “but she’s worth the fight and I’m a very patient man.”

He turned his gaze to Chad. “After all, you got married and no one thought you’d take the plunge. Not after all of your ‘love kills’ speeches. You preached that stuff like it was gospel.”

He felt himself flush, groping for something to say about his unexpected 180. “Oh, well, when you find the right person…”

“Darling?” Amelia called after making the rounds with the guests. Her sultry voice and smoldering look almost vaporized the friend zone until he remembered she was acting for the benefit of those around them. She held out her hand and Chad captured it to press his lips against the back.

He tried to keep his mind off his wife’s
other
charms.

“Chad?” Amelia touched his side and his stomach muscles went on lockdown. “You look stressed. Are you thinking about tomorrow?”

“What’s going on tomorrow?” Ann asked, coming up behind them.

“He’s going to work again,” Amelia said.

“You’re working on your honeymoon?” Ann
tsk
ed.

“The wheels of business don’t stop turning,” Eric Maxwell, Chad’s attorney and friend said, giving Ann a measuring look from over the rim of his champagne flute.

Ann sighed and tugged gently at Eric’s plaid bow tie. “You would know all about the wheels of business turning, Mr. Never-Takes-a-Day-Off.”

“I have a lot of clients with a lot of important needs,” he replied.

“Uh-huh. Couldn’t have anything to do with that blonde you recently hired as a secretary, could it?” she teased.

“Jealous, Ann?”

Ann laughed. “You wish.” Then she turned her attention to Amelia and the two discussed Amelia’s lending a hand at the diner tomorrow.

His voice so low Chad was the only one who caught it, Eric said, “Yeah, maybe I do wish.”

Hmmm…first Nick, now Eric. Were they all destined to fall victim to the Snyder women?

The musicians launched into a slow song. Aware that couples were heading to the dance floor, Chad decided it was time to dance with his wife. Strictly for show. He swept Amelia into his arms, feeling like a man stepping in front of a speeding train.

He was thankful she didn’t know what he was thinking.

When she realized he was whisking her onto the dance floor, he couldn’t help but smile. She might dance with wild abandon in private, but she’d revealed years ago that she felt awkward dancing in front of an audience.

“You have nothing to fear with your dancing,” he whispered and Amelia promptly stepped on his toes.

“Oops.” She gave a nervous laugh. “Spoke too soon, didn’t you?”

His hands were at home around her waist. Too at home. He slid them quickly upward to her back, intending to joke about her misstep.

Her lips parted and he had the foolish thought to kiss her. For the sake of the crowd watching. No other reason. He inclined his head and lightly pressed his lips to hers. She ran her fingertips along the nape of his neck to play with the end of his hair, and kissed him back.

Beneath the glittering chandelier, with the sound of the music wafting slowly across the room, he wanted nothing more than to make love to his wife.

Amelia leaned her head against his chest and when he bent closer to hear, whispered, “I’m exhausted. Think we can make our excuses and you can help me out of this dress?”

Help her out of her dress?

How the hell was he supposed to stay strong when temptation had his number on speed dial?

Chapter Eleven

The morning sun poked insistent fingers through the window and spilled across her face. Amelia stretched slowly, lifting her arms above her head on the pillow, and rolled over in Chad’s bed. When she realized where she was, she bolted upright beneath the plush covers.

Leaning over the edge of his bed, she reached down to wake him, only to discover the hastily constructed pile of blankets empty.

Despite the confidence he’d shown last night when they thanked everyone for helping celebrate their special day, once he’d gotten back to the room, he’d totally freaked out.

As in get-the-guy-a-Valium-already.

After unzipping her dress and watching it slip down her body, he’d gaped at her Victoria’s Secret lingerie and promptly ran to make a bed on the floor. What was he, twelve?

She tried not to be hurt by it.

The bathroom door opened and Chad stepped out, fully dressed in a suit similar to the one he’d worn last night. Behind him, she could see the steamy bathroom mirror.

“Would you like to have breakfast together before we start the day?” he asked.

She felt at odds over his oh-so-neutral tone of voice, at odds over the blue of his eyes, his freshly shaved jawline. Something was different.
She
was different.

Why was it so hard to draw in a deep breath? Was it hot in here? Maybe from the shower steam.

“Are you okay?” he asked. He picked up his watch and fastened it onto his wrist. Long fingers. Perfect for holding against her waist. Perfect for…a lot of things.

She averted her eyes.
Soooo not okay.
“Ame? Breakfast?” Chad asked again, a puzzled frown marring his face.

She wanted to slide from the bed and walk over to him. She wanted to put her hands behind his neck and pull his lips closer to hers—

“Ame?”

“Of course. Breakfast,” she said, snapping out of her fantasy to put on her best “just friends” smile, the only one he wanted to see. “Are you going to make your gourmet toast?”

“Don’t poke fun, woman. I make a mean burned toast and you know it.”

“You certainly do, dear. I’ll just scrape it the color I want it.” She slid from the bed and snatched a robe to cover her pajama set. “You’re staring at me. Do I have bed hair?”

His blue eyes locked on hers, then lowered slowly, agonizingly slowly, down the length of her body and back up. “Amelia.” There was a husky note in his voice and she didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand what it meant.

He might be putting up roadblocks left and right, but he wasn’t immune to her. The hope within her reached upward like a flower lifting toward the warmth of the sun.

He took a step closer and she waited, scarcely daring to breathe. “I can’t ruin us,” he said. “We’re good together. Platonically, I mean.”

“Yes, we are,” Amelia said quickly.

“I just…I just want you to know, it’s not you. There are still some things I can’t…”

She saw the way he struggled to find the words to explain his feelings. Chad had never been any good at opening up—not unlike most men—so the fact that he was trying was a testament to how much she meant to him.

“I know how your mom’s leaving destroyed your father. All of you really. You not only lost a mother, but because of your father’s inability to move past his grief, you lost a dad too.”

A thoughtful look crossed his features. “You know, I never thought of it that way, but you’re right. I did lose both parents.”

She nodded. “And so did I. In a different way but they were still gone. So I understand. You won’t lose me. But don’t let your fear of love keep you from living your life. Not loving can ruin you, too, Chad.”

He stared intently into her eyes and she felt butterflies dance in her stomach. It was possibly the most intense moment they’d ever shared. His hand was halfway to her cheek, as if to caress it, when someone pounded on the door hard enough to make it rattle.

“Chad? Amelia? You two up yet?” Henry’s voice yelled.

“One second!” Chad called out.

“Good Lord, does he do that often?” She tried to hide her annoyance.

“Do what?”

“Just bust in on people?”

Chad grinned. “You get used to it. Let’s get these blankets on the floor put away before we let him in.” They rushed forward and gathered the blankets, tossing them in an unruly heap on the bed.

Amelia did her best to smooth the heap before Chad crossed to the door and swung it open. Henry stood in the doorway and peeked into the room. “Good morning, lovebirds.”

She saw Chad roll his eyes. “Can we help you, Grandfather?”

Henry laughed. “Get dressed and come join me downstairs. Noah is here too and we want to run something by you.” With that, he turned and strode down the hall.

She heard Chad mutter, “What the hell do they want now?”

Crossing to the closet, she replied, “I guess we’ll find out once we get there.” She pulled out a pair of jeans and a green T-shirt and quickly slipped into them while Chad dutifully kept his eyes averted and focused on his phone.

A few minutes later, they entered the breakfast room.

“Good morning, Granddaddy.” Amelia crossed the floor and hugged him tightly.

“Good morning, sweetheart! You’re probably wondering what this is all about.”

Chad nodded his head. “We’re definitely curious.”

“We’ve been thinking,” Noah said in his booming voice, his gaze on the two of them. “We know we put the two of you on the spot and that your wedding ceremony was too rushed. Not the kind of wedding I wanted you to have,” he added, looking pointedly at Amelia.

“We feel that it would be a great idea if the two of you had another wedding here in town. A big one so that all the family and friends could attend.” Henry smiled a bright, sunny-side up smile.

“I don’t want to have another wedding,” Chad blurted.

“I don’t want another wedding either,” Amelia seconded, still feeling a little guilty that she’d caused the first one to happen.

Henry shuffled to a chair and sat down with a huff of breath. “I think it would be a smart move. We can keep it low-key and it would put a stop to any rumors that might crop up.”

Noah nodded a little too eagerly and slapped his knee with gusto. “I agree. So what do you say?”

Bright. Cheerful. Too bright and cheerful this early in the morning.

Suspicion blooming, Amelia asked, “Granddaddy, what’s going on?”

“Nothing!” He spread his hands wide. His how-could-you-suspect-me-of-anything gesture. The one he used when he’d been busted.

“Out with it, you two,” Chad said in an aggravated tone of voice. “We already did the wedding you asked for. Why do you want another one?”

“Honestly, Chad, can’t a grandfather want to give his granddaughter a beautiful wedding so that all her family and friends can be there to share it?” Noah asked with an injured air. “You’re not ashamed of her, are you?”

“No, I’m not, but I’m not buying your act,” Chad said and crossed his arms. “If you were so concerned with giving Amelia a nice wedding, then why did you rush her to the altar to begin with? Now exactly what’s going on here?”

The two older men looked sheepishly at each other before Henry stretched out one of his legs and absently massaged his knee. “How can you think this is some sort of an act?”

Silence fell.

Amelia narrowed her eyes. Something fishy was going on and unless she was off the mark, their grandfathers were up to their fedoras in the thick of it.

“Okay, you caught me. Having a formal wedding ceremony here makes good sense for the company,” Henry said. “We can invite our business contacts, do a little socializing while schmoozing. We can have some media there, get some nice publicity.”

Chad sighed. “So this is business?”

Amelia heard the inflection in Chad’s voice and felt bad for him. She’d never known how demanding his grandfather was where Chad was concerned. When did Henry ever do anything for him that wasn’t linked back to the company?

Henry arched a brow. “Of course.”

“Whatever is good for the company is fine with me. As long as Amelia’s agreeable.” Chad glanced at his watch and said, “Put whatever you need to do in motion. I’m due to get to the office for a meeting with the software designers.”

“You go on and do what you need to do. We can have the wedding ready in three days,” Noah said.

“I guess I’m okay with another ceremony if this helps the company, but how are you going to arrange a wedding in seventy-two hours?” Amelia was skeptical.

“Sweetheart, Sweet Creek might not be Honeymoon Hills where everything is on hand like at that formal-wear shop, but we can handle the wedding details. You leave everything to us.” Noah laughed his heh-heh-heh laughter and got up. He patted Amelia on the shoulder.

“You don’t worry yourself over any of this. We’ll handle the wedding. We’ll have a lunch meeting today at the diner to go over the details. Noon?” Henry asked and when Chad and Amelia agreed with that, their grandfathers hurried from the room.

“Something is off,” Amelia said. “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but those two are up to something.”

“When are they not up to something?” Chad asked. “Whatever it is, I don’t have time to play investigator.” He leaned down, then froze with his lips inches from hers. He drew back. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” He hesitated. “Listen, I was thinking I could cut out of the office early tomorrow. The two of us could drive up to the lake.”

“I think that would be a lot of fun.” Amelia smiled at him while her stomach did a funny jig. “Sort of like a date.”

“A date between friends.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “I’ll guess we’ll take a rain check on my delicious gourmet toast for breakfast.”

She grinned. “That’s too bad. I was looking forward to scraping the burn off. By the way, I’m stopping by the office today with a little something for you.”

“You don’t have to give me a gift.”

“Consider it a step in the right direction for your future.” And part of her continued plan to introduce some spontaneity into his life.

His eyebrows lifted. “Should I be worried?”

“This is a perfectly harmless gift.” She hoped.

“I’ll be in and out of meetings so you might need to drop it off.”

“I’ll leave it with your secretary,” Amelia said with a smile.

“Then I’ll see you later.”

Amelia hugged her arms around herself and watched the door for a second after Chad was gone.

Something important continued to nag at the back of her mind. Whatever it was filled her with a quiet dread, but she couldn’t grasp what that something was.

Pushing the thought away, she went back upstairs to get her makeup and hair ready for the day. Her mind began running over her to-do list.

After she helped Abby at the diner later, she needed to pick up some things from her bedroom at home, contact the Realtor her grandfather had reluctantly suggested at the champagne reception last night, and set up a time to view homes.

She needed to check her e-mail to see if the editor of a new travel magazine had liked the photos and article she’d sent in.

Depositing her toiletries onto the bathroom counter, she bent slightly to check the polish on her toenails. No chips. When she straightened, realization hit with the force of a hurricane roaring onto shore.

The whispered consultations she’d interrupted between Chad’s grandfather and hers when she’d first returned back to town. The way they’d both gone on and on about how Chad’s life would be ruined if
someone
didn’t do something.

Meaning her. Because they’d known that when it came to Chad, she’d do anything, even something as crazy as snatching him from a wedding.

Henry and Noah had both counted on her to act impetuously when it came to Chad. Which was why her grandfather had rushed to buy that cabin. Why he’d reiterated time and again how it would be the perfect place to go in a hurry.

Moving to the bed, she sank down on the edge, feeling stunned. The rats had planned this and she’d gone right along with them in her own foolish, bumbling way.

Henry hadn’t wanted Chad to marry Claire any more than Amelia had.

He’d wanted him to marry
her
.

She and Chad had been duped by two seventy-year-old Cupids.