Always the Best Man
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Michelle Major
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HarlequinChapter One
Some women were meant to be a bride. Emily Whitaker had been one of those women. For years she’d fantasized her walk down the aisle, imagining the lacy gown, the scent of her bouquet and the admiring eyes of family and friends as she entered the church.
When the day had finally arrived, there was no doubt she’d been beautiful, her shiny blond hair piled high on her head, perfect makeup and the dress—oh, her dress. She’d felt like a princess enveloped in so much tulle and lace, the sweetheart neckline both feminine and a little flirty.
Guests had whispered at her resemblance to Grace Kelly, and Emily had been foolish enough to believe that image was the same thing as reality. Her fairy tale had come true as her powerful white knight swooped her away from Crimson, the tiny Colorado mountain town where she’d grown up, to the sophisticated social circles of old-money Boston.
Too soon she discovered that a fantasy wedding was not the same thing as real marriage and a beautiful dress did not equate to a wonderful life. Emily lost her taste for both daydreams and weddings, so she wasn’t sure how she’d found herself outside the swanky bridal boutique in downtown Aspen seven years after her own doomed vows.
“You can’t want me as your maid of honor.”
Katie Garrity, Emily’s soon-to-be sister-in-law smiled. “Of course I do. I asked you, Em. I’d be honored to have you stand up with me.” Katie’s sweet smile faltered. “I mean, if you’ll do it. I know it’s short notice and there’s a lot to coordinate in the next few weeks so...”
“It’s not that I don’t want to...”
Katie was as sweet as any of the cakes and cookies sold in the bakery she owned in downtown Crimson. She’d been a steadfast best friend to Emily’s brother, Noah Crawford, for years before Noah realized that his perfect match had been right in front of him all along.
Emily was happy for the two of them, really she was. But if Katie was pure sugar, Emily was saccharine. She knew she was pretty to look at but after that first bite there was an artificial sweetness that left a cloying taste on the tongue. Emily didn’t want her own bitterness to corrupt Katie’s happy day.
“You have a lot of girlfriends. Surely there’s a better candidate than me?”
“None of them are going to be my sister-in-law.” Katie pressed her fingers to the glass of the shop’s display window. “I remember the photos of your wedding that ran in Town & Country magazine. Noah and I don’t want anything fancy, but I’d like our wedding to be beautiful.”
“It will be more than beautiful.” Emily swallowed back the anger that now accompanied thoughts of her marriage. “You two love each other, for better or worse.” She took a breath as her throat clogged with emotion she’d thought had been stripped away during her divorce. She waved her hand in front of her face and made her voice light. “Plus all the other promises you’ll make in the vows. But I’m not—”
“I’m a pregnant bride,” Katie said suddenly, resting a hand on her still-flat stomach. She smiled but her eyes were shining. “I love your brother, Emily, and I know we’ll have a good life together. But this isn’t the order I planned things to happen, you know?”
“You and Noah were meant to be,” Emily assured her. “Everyone knows that.”
“Crimson is a small town with a long memory. People also know that I’ve had a crush on him for years and until I got pregnant, he had no interest in me.”
Emily shook her head. “That’s not how it happened.” It had taken Katie walking away for Noah to realize how much she meant to him, but Emily knew his love for his fiancée was deep and true.
“It doesn’t stop the talk. If I hear one more person whisper shotgun wedding—”
“Who?” Emily demanded. “Give me names and I’ll take care of them for you.” Since Emily had returned to Colorado at the beginning of the summer, she’d spent most of her time tucked away at her mother’s farm outside town. She needed a do-over on her life, yet it was easier to hide out and lick her emotional wounds. But it wouldn’t be difficult to ferret out the town’s biggest gossips and grown-up mean girls. After all, Emily had been their ringleader once upon a time.
“What I need is for you to help me take care of the wedding,” Katie answered softly. “To stand by my side and support me as I deal with the details. You may not care about the people in Crimson anymore, but I do. I want my big day to be perfect—as perfect as it can be under the circumstances. I don’t want anyone to think I tried to force Noah or rush the wedding.” She smoothed her fingers over her flowery shirt. “But I’ve only got a few weeks. Invitations have already gone out, and I haven’t even started planning. Josh and Sara had one free weekend at Crimson Ranch this fall, and I couldn’t wait any longer. I don’t want to be waddling down the aisle.”
“None of that matters to Noah. He’d marry you tomorrow or in the delivery room or whenever and wherever you say the word.”
“It matters to me.” Katie grimaced. “My parents are coming for the wedding. They haven’t been to Crimson in years. I need it to be...” She broke off, bit down on her lip. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter. I love Noah, and I should just forget the rest of this. Why is a wedding such a big deal anyway?”
But Emily understood why, and she appreciated Katie’s need for validation even if she didn’t agree with it. So what if Emily no longer believed in marriage? She’d picked a husband for all the wrong reasons, but Katie and Noah were the real deal. If the perfect wedding would make Katie happy, then Emily would give her a day no one would forget.
“I could be the wedding planner, and you can ask one of your friends to—”
“I want you,” Katie interrupted. “I’m an only child and now I’ll have a sister. My family’s messed up, but that makes me value the one I’m marrying into even more.”
“I haven’t valued them in the past few years.” Emily felt her face redden, embarrassment over her behavior rushing through her, sharp and hot. “Until Davey was born I didn’t realize how important family was to me.”
“When your dad got sick, you helped every step of the way.”
That much was true. Her father died when Emily was in high school. She’d taken over the care of the farm so her mom could devote time to Dad. Meg Crawford had driven him to appointments, cooked, cleaned and sat by his bedside in the last few weeks of home hospice care when the pancreatic cancer had ravaged his body.
It had been the last unselfish thing Emily had done in her life until she’d left her marriage, her so-called friends and the security of her life in Boston. As broken as she felt, she’d endure the pain and humiliation of those last six months again in a heartbeat for her son.
“You’re a better person than you give yourself credit for,” Katie said and opened the door of the store. The scent of roses drifted out, mingling with the crisp mountain air.
“I know exactly who I am.” Emily removed her Prada sunglasses and tipped her face to the bright blue August sky. She’d missed the dry climate of Colorado during her time on the East Coast. It was refreshing to feel the warmth of the sun without miserable humidity making it feel like she’d stepped into an oven.
“Does that include being my maid of honor?” Katie asked over her shoulder, taking a step into the boutique.
“Shouldn’t it be matron of honor?” Emily followed Katie, watching as she gingerly fingered the white gowns on the racks of the small shop. The saleswoman, an older lady with a pinched face, stepped forward. Emily waved her away for now. Shopping was one thing she could do with supreme confidence. Not much of a skill but today she’d put it to good use. “What’s the protocol for having a divorcée as part of the bridal party?”
“I’m sticking with maid. There’s nothing matronly about you.” Katie pulled out a simple sheath dress, then frowned when Emily shook her head. “I think it’s pretty.”
“You have curves,” Emily answered and pointed to Katie’s full chest. “Especially with a baby on board. We want something that enhances them, not makes you look like a sausage.”
Katie winced. “Don’t sugarcoat it.”
“We’ve got a couple of weeks to pull off the most amazing wedding Crimson has ever seen. You can be sweet. I don’t have time to mess around.”
“It doesn’t have to be—”
Emily held up a hand, then stepped around Katie to pull a dress off the rack. “It’s going to be. This is a good place to start.”
Katie let out a soft gasp. “It’s perfect. How did you do that?”
The dress was pale ivory, an empire waist chiffon gown with a lace overlay. It was classic but the tiny flowers stitched into the lace gave a hint of whimsy. The princess neckline would look beautiful against Katie’s dark hair and creamy skin and the cut would be forgiving if she “popped” in the next few weeks. Emily smiled a little as she imagined Noah’s reaction to seeing his bride for the first time.
“You’re beautiful, Katie, and we’re going to find the right dress.” She motioned to the saleswoman. “We’ll start with this one,” she said, gently handing over the gown.
The woman nodded. “When is the big day?”
“Two weeks,” Emily answered for Katie. “So we’ll need something that doesn’t have to be special ordered.”
“Anything along this wall is in stock.” The woman turned to Katie. “The fitting room is in the back. I’ll hang the dress.”
“Do I have to plan a cheesy bachelorette party, too?” Emily selected another dress and held it up for Katie’s approval.
Katie ignored the dress, focusing her gaze on Emily. “Is that your way of saying you’ll be my maid of honor?”
Emily swallowed and nodded. This was not a big deal, two weeks of support and planning. So why did she feel like Katie was doing her the favor by asking instead of the other way around? “If you’re sure?”
“Thank you,” Katie shouted and gave Emily a huge hug.
This was why, she realized, as tears pricked the backs of her eyes. Emily hadn’t had a real friend in years. The women who were part of her social circle in Boston had quickly turned on her when her marriage imploded, making her an outcast in their community. She’d burned most of her bridges with her Colorado friends when she’d dropped out of college to follow her ex-husband as he started his law career. Other than her mom and Noah, she had no one in her life she could count on. Until now.
She shrugged out of Katie’s grasp and drew in a calming breath. “Who else is in the bridal party?”
“We’re not having any other attendants,” Katie told her. “I’ll try on this one, too.” She scooped up the dress and took a step toward the back of the store. “Just you and Jase. He’s Noah’s best man.”
Emily stifled a groan and muttered, “Great.” Jase Crenshaw had been her brother’s best friend for years so she should have expected he’d be part of the wedding. Still, Crimson’s favorite son was the last person she wanted to spend time with. He was the exact opposite of Emily—warm, friendly, easy-to-like. Around him her skin itched, her stomach clenched and she was generally made more aware of her long list of shortcomings. A real prince among men.
Katie turned suddenly and hugged Emily again. “I feel so much better knowing you’re with me on this. For the first time I believe my wedding is going to be perfect.”
Emily took another breath and returned the hug. She could do this, even with Jase working alongside her. Katie and Noah deserved it. “Perfect is my specialty,” she told her friend with confidence. Behind her back, she kept her fingers crossed.
* * *
“What the hell was that?” Noah Crawford held out a hand to Jason Crenshaw, who was sprawled across the Crimson High School football field, head pounding and ears ringing.
Jase hadn’t seen the hit coming until he was flat on his back in the grass. He should have been paying more attention, but in the moment before the ball was snapped, Emily Whitaker appeared in the stands. Jase had done his best to ignore the tall, willowy blond with the sad eyes and acid tongue since she’d returned to town.
Easier said than done since she was his best friend’s sister and...well, since he’d had a crush on her for as long as he could remember. Since the first time she’d come after Jase and Noah for ripping the head from her favorite Barbie.
Emily’d packed quite a wallop back in the day.
Just not as much as Aaron Thompson, the opposing team’s player who’d sacked Jase before running the ball downfield. Jase brushed away Noah’s outstretched hand and stood, rubbing his aching ribs as he did. “I thought this was flag football,” he muttered as he turned to watch Aaron do an elaborate victory dance in the end zone.
“Looks like Thompson forgot,” Noah said, pulling off his own flag belt, then Jase’s as they walked toward the sidelines.
“We’ll get ’em next time.” Liam Donovan, another teammate and good friend, gave Jase’s shoulder a friendly shove. “If our quarterback can stay on his feet.”
“This is a preseason game anyway,” Logan Travers added. “Doesn’t count.”
“It counts that we whipped your butts,” Aaron yelled, sprinting back up the field. He launched the game ball at Jase’s head before Logan stepped forward and caught it.
“Back off, Thompson,” Logan said softly, but it was hard to miss the steel in his tone. Logan was as tall as Jase’s own six feet three inches but had the muscled build befitting the construction work he did. Jase was in shape, he ran and rock climbed in his free time. He also spent hours in front of his computer and in the courtroom for his law practice, so he couldn’t compete with Logan’s bulk.
He also wasn’t much for physical intimidation. Not that Aaron would be intimidated by Jase. The Thompson family held a long-standing grudge against the Crenshaws, and hotheaded Aaron hadn’t missed a chance to poke at him since they’d been in high school. Aaron’s father, Charles, had been the town’s sheriff back when Jase’s dad was doing most of his hell raising and had made it clear he was waiting for Jase to carry on his family’s reputation in Crimson.
Jase took a good measure of both pride and comfort in living in his hometown, but there were times he wished for some anonymity. They weren’t kids anymore, and Jase had long ago given up his identity as the studious band geek who’d let bullies push him around to keep the peace.
He stepped forward, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down his nose at the brutish deputy. “Talk is cheap, Aaron,” he said. “And so are your potshots at me. We’ll see you back on the field next month.”
“Can’t wait,” Aaron said with a smirk Jase wanted to smack right off his face.
The feeling only intensified when Aaron jogged over to talk to Emily, who was standing with Katie and the other team wives and girlfriends on the sidelines.
“Let it go.” Noah hung back as their friends approached the group of women. “She wouldn’t give him the time of day in high school, and now is no different.”
“Nice,” Jase mumbled under his breath. “Aaron and I actually have something in common.”
Noah laughed. “Katie’s asked Emily to be the maid of honor. You’ll have plenty of excuses to moon over her in the next few weeks.”
Jase stiffened. “I don’t moon.”
“You keep telling yourself that,” Noah said as he gave him a shove. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Emily has her hands too full with Davey and starting over even if she wanted a man.” He gave Jase a pointed, big-brother look. “Which she doesn’t.”
“I’m no threat,” Jase said, holding up his hands. “Nothing has changed from when we were twelve. Your sister can’t stand me.”
“I get that but you’ll both have to make an effort for the wedding. Katie doesn’t need any extra stress right now.”
“Got it,” Jase agreed and glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to check in at the office before I head home.”
“How’s the campaign going?”
“Not much to report. It seems anticlimactic to run for mayor unopposed. Not much work to do except getting out the vote.”
“You’re more qualified for the position than anyone else in Crimson,” Noah told him, “although I’m still not sure why city council and all the other volunteer work you do isn’t enough?”
“I love this town, and I think I can help it move forward.”
Noah smiled. “Emily calls you Saint Jase.”
Jase felt his jaw tighten. “How flattering.”
“She might have a point. What are your plans for the weekend? Katie and I are going out to Mom’s place for a barbecue tomorrow night. Want to join us?”
Jase rarely had plans for the weekend. Juggling both his law practice and taking care of his dad left little free time. But Emily would be there and while the rational part of him knew he shouldn’t go out of his way to see her, the rest of him didn’t seem to care. If he could get his father settled early tomorrow...
“Sounds good. What can I bring?”
“Really?” Noah’s brows lifted. “You’re venturing out on a Saturday night? Big time. We’ve got it covered. Come out around six.”
“See you tomorrow,” he said and headed over to his gym bag at the far side of the stands. He stripped off his sweaty T-shirt and pulled a clean one from the bag. As he straightened, Emily walked around the side of the metal bleachers, eyes glued to her cell phone screen as her thumbs tapped away. He didn’t have time to voice a warning before she bumped into him.
As the tip of her nose brushed his bare chest, she yelped and stumbled back. The inadvertent touch lasted seconds but it reverberated through every inch of his body.
His heart lurched as he breathed her in—a mix of expensive perfume and citrus-scented shampoo. Delicate and tangy, the perfect combination for Emily. Noah had accused him of mooning but what he felt was more. He wanted her with an intensity that shook him to his core after all these years.
He’d thought he had his feelings for Emily under control, but this was emotional chaos. He was smart enough to understand it was dangerous as hell to the plans he had for his future. At this moment he’d give up every last thing to pull her close.
Instead he ignored the instinct to reach for her. When she was steady on her feet, he stepped away, clenching his T-shirt in his fists so hard his fingers went numb. “Looks like texting and walking might be as ill-advised as texting and driving.”
“Thanks for the tip,” she snapped, tucking her phone into the purse slung over her shoulder. Was it his imagination or was she flushed? Her breathing seemed as irregular as his felt. Then her pale blue eyes met his, cool and impassive. Of course he’d imagined Emily having any reaction to him beyond distaste. “My mom sent a photo of Davey.”
“Building something?” he guessed.
“How do you know?”
“I was at the hospital the day of your mom’s surgery. I made Lego sets with him while everyone was in the waiting room.”
She gave the barest nod. Emily’s mother, Meg, had been diagnosed with a meningioma, a type of brain tumor, at the beginning of the summer, prompting both Emily and Noah to return to Crimson to care for her. Luckily, the tumor had been benign and Meg was back to her normal, energetic self.
The Crawford family had already endured enough with the death of Emily and Noah’s father over a decade ago. Having been raised by a single dad who was drunk more often than he was sober, Jase had spent many afternoons, weekends and dinners with the Crawfords. Meg was the mother he wished he’d had. Hell, he would have settled for an aunt or family friend who had a quarter of her loving nature.
But she’d been it, and lucky for Jase, Noah had been happy to share his mom and her affection. With neither of her kids living in town until recently and Meg never remarrying, Jase had become the stand-in when she had a leaky faucet that needed fixing or simply wanted company out at the family farm. He’d taken the news of her illness almost as hard as her real son.
“I remember,” she whispered, not meeting his gaze.
“Every time I’ve been out to the farm this summer, Davey was building something. Your boy loves his Lego sets. He’s—”
“Don’t say obsessed,” she interrupted, eyes flashing.
“I was going to say he has a great future as an engineer.”
“Oh, right.” She crossed her arms over her chest, her gaze dropping to the ground.
“I know five is young to commit to a profession,” he added with a smile, “but Davey is pretty amazing.” Something in her posture, a vulnerability he wouldn’t normally associate with Emily made him add, “You’re doing a great job with him.”
Her rosy lips pressed together as a shudder passed through her. He’d meant the compliment and couldn’t understand her reaction to his words. But she’d been different since her return to Crimson—fragile in a way she never was when they were younger.
“Emily.” He touched a finger to the delicate bone of her wrist, the lightest touch but her gaze slammed into his. The emotion swirling through her eyes made him suck in a breath. “I mean it,” he said, shifting so his body blocked her from view of the group of people still standing a few feet away on the sidelines. “You’re a good mom.”
She stared at him a moment longer, as if searching for the truth in his words. “Thanks,” she whispered finally and blinked, breaking the connection between them. He should step away again, give her space to collect herself, but he didn’t. He couldn’t.
She did instead, backing up a few steps and tucking a lock of her thick, pale blond hair behind one ear. Her gaze dropped from his, roamed his body in a way that made him warm all over again. Finally she looked past him to their friends. “Katie told me you’re the best man.”
He nodded.
“I’ve got some ideas for the wedding weekend. I want it to be special for both of them.”
“Let me know what you need from me. Happy to help in any way.”
“I will.” She straightened her shoulders and when she looked at him again, it was pure Emily. A mix of condescension and ice. “A good place to start would be putting on some clothes,” she said, pointing to the shirt still balled in his fist. “No one needs a prolonged view of your bony bod.”
It was meant as an insult and a reminder of their history. She’d nicknamed him Bones when he’d grown almost a foot the year of seventh grade. No matter what he’d eaten, he couldn’t keep up with his height and had been a beanpole, all awkward adolescent arms and legs. From what he remembered, Emily hadn’t experienced one ungainly moment in all of her teenage years. She’d always been perfect.
And out of his league.
He pulled the shirt over his head and grabbed his gym bag. “I’ll remember that,” he told her and walked past her off the field.
