Second Time's the Charm
Автор
Brenda Jackson
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One
“Charm Outlaw has arrived! Now the real party can begin.” Charm circled the room as she greeted everyone at the bachelorette party. Women she’d known since college or other female acquaintances she’d met through the bride-to-be, Lacey Kilgore. All of them were here at the luxurious five-star Crystalline Resort in Cancún for Lacey’s destination wedding.
It didn’t take Charm long to work the room, giving hugs to everyone she knew and meeting those she didn’t. She wasn’t bothered in the least that some thought she was a party girl, although their perception was far from the truth. Granted she liked to have fun, but she knew when, where and how to draw the line. She didn’t do drugs, didn’t frequent nightclubs, nor did she have sex with men just for the hell of it. Most would gasp in shock to know that at twenty-eight, she’d slept with only one man.
She grabbed a drink off the tray of a passing waiter while being introduced to female relatives of Lacey’s fiancé, Vernon Lamont, then headed to the buffet table.
“I can’t wait for the wedding tomorrow,” Ola Cunningham said, joining Charm.
Ola, Lacey, Charm and Piper Akron had been housemates all four years of college while attending the University of Alaska in Anchorage. Charm smiled at Ola, feeling excited as well. When they’d first become housemates, Charm hadn’t been sure how to handle Ola, a forever cheerful, pleasant and agreeable human. She later discovered Ola’s positive attitude was contagious. There was no way anyone could be around her for long and not see the bright side to almost everything.
“Neither can I. I just got a text from Garth. He and Regan will arrive in the morning.” Charm had five older brothers. Garth was her oldest and Regan was his wife.
“Are any of your other brothers coming?” Piper asked, coming up to join them.
Charm couldn’t help but grin as she took a sip of her drink. She’d heard the hopeful sound in Piper’s voice. While they were housemates, Lacey, Piper and Ola had always looked forward to Charm’s brothers’ visits. At the time all five of them had been single. Now they were all happily married. Garth was forty, Jess was thirty-eight, Cash was thirty-six, Sloan was thirty-four and Maverick was thirty-two. And Charm would admit they were brothers she adored.
Maverick, who’d been a junior attending the same university in Anchorage, was supposed to have been one of their housemates as well. At least that had been her father’s, Bart Outlaw’s, plan when he’d purchased the three-story, five-bedroom house for his daughter’s accelerated admission to college. He hadn’t wanted his sixteen-year-old to live on campus. What better way of safeguarding Charm than to have one of her brothers live under the same roof? However, little did Bart know, after the first month, Maverick found other beds he preferred sleeping in.
Some people found it amazing that the six Outlaw siblings were so close, considering each of them had a different mother. Charm’s mother, Claudia Dermotte, was the only woman Bart had ever loved, and the only one Bart hadn’t married...but not for lack of trying. Charm smiled at the thought that twenty-nine years later her father was still trying.
During Charm’s turbulent teen years, she’d begun cutting school and getting into all kinds of mischief, including talking back to her mother. That’s when Claudia, who had reached her wits’ end, contacted the father who hadn’t known Charm existed. At fourteen, she’d stood beside her mother at the door of a monstrosity of a house in Fairbanks and come face to face with her father, Bart Outlaw. Her mother’s words to him had been... “This is your daughter Charm. I can’t handle her sassy mouth anymore. Now you deal with her.”
Charm smiled remembering how Bart had dealt with her. He’d spoiled her rotten, which only made matters worse. It had taken her five brothers to give her an attitude adjustment.
“Charm?”
It was then she realized her thoughts had drifted to the past and she hadn’t answered Piper’s question. “Garth is the only one attending the wedding. The others couldn’t make it. Now that they’re all married, their wives are keeping them busy. Or should I say, they are keeping their wives busy. Cash’s wife, Brianna, is pregnant again, and Sloan became a father earlier this month. True to his word, he and Leslie gave Dad his first granddaughter, and I’m just crazy about my beautiful niece.”
“What’s her name?”
“Cassidy. Leslie gave their daughter her maiden name.”
“Oh, how nice. What about Maverick? His wife is pregnant, too, right?”
“Yes. Maverick and Phire are having a boy next month.”
Moments later Brittany, one of Vernon’s younger sisters, her face showing her excitement, came up to Charm and asked, “Is it true you know Dylan Emanuel?”
Charm hadn’t been expecting that question about the guy who had broken her heart at eighteen. After drawing in a deep breath, she took a sip of her wine before pasting a smile on her face. “Yes, I know Dylan. We met a long time ago when he attended the University of Alaska’s Fairbanks Summer Music Academy.”
“Wow! That is so cool,” Brittany said in awe. It was easy to see the young woman was one of Dylan’s adoring fans. There was no way Charm would burst Brittany’s bubble by letting her know Charm wasn’t one of them.
Before Brittany could ask her anything else about Dylan, Piper interceded by grabbing hold of Brittany’s hand and saying, “I need help setting up tonight’s first game.”
“Sure.”
When Charm and Ola were alone again, Ola leaned in to say, “I should have warned you that might happen. Last night at the bar, when one of Dylan’s songs began playing, Lacey mentioned to everyone at the table that the two of you knew each other.”
Charm took another sip of her drink. “No harm done. Like I told Brittany, that was a long time ago. I’d almost forgotten about it.”
“Liar.”
Yes, she was lying. She hated to admit that whenever she heard one of Dylan’s songs, she remembered the summer they’d met and the long-distance romance that had lasted two years. For her, it had been love the moment her gaze had met that of the long-haired and super-cute Dylan Emanuel. That day, at sixteen, she’d been convinced he was her soulmate.
“Are you okay, Charm?”
She forced a smile to her lips as she looked into Ola’s concerned eyes. “Yes, Ola, I’m fine. Memories are just hard to fight sometimes. The only thing I appreciate about being with Dylan is that we outsmarted Bart that summer.”
Her father liked to be in control. She had learned from her brothers very early to never let Bart have the upper hand. Only to let him think that he did. It didn’t take Bart long to find out about her interest in Dylan. When he’d asked her about him, she’d seen no reason to lie and had told him that yes, she was in love with Dylan.
Bart had surprised her when he suggested she invite Dylan to dinner so he could meet her family. Her brothers Cash, Sloan and Maverick had been there. Garth had been away in the military and Jess had been out of town on a business trip.
She should have known her father was up to no good, but for once she’d hoped he would behave like a decent human being. Over dinner, however, Bart told Dylan in no uncertain terms that Charm was too young to have a boyfriend. As her father, he was officially putting an end to any budding romance between them. He’d called it utter teenage nonsense, and further stated that his future plans were for Charm to marry well and not become involved with some two-bit guitar player who would never amount to anything.
Then to make sure she didn’t see Dylan anymore, Bart ended her piano lessons, which had brought them together. She and Dylan managed to see each other anyway. The one thing they agreed not to do was let Bart dictate anything about their “budding romance.” They were in love and were committed to staying together, no matter what. It wouldn’t be easy with Dylan attending school in New York and her in Anchorage, over four thousand miles apart, but they’d come up with a plan to keep their romance a secret and had successfully done so for two years.
“Charm?”
She glanced over at Ola. “Yes?”
“Are you still staying here a week after the wedding?”
“That’s the plan.”
Ola chuckled. “Must be nice to have a job with your family’s company where you can take off whenever you want, make your own hours and write your own job description.”
“Whatever.”
“Come on. I think they’re ready to start the games now,” Ola said.
Charm hooked her arm in Ola’s and answered, “Yes, it’s time for the fun to begin.”
Dylan Emanuel smiled as he listened to what the drummer in his band was saying. He and Graham Ives had been best friends ever since the Ives family had moved into his Memphis neighborhood when they’d been in their early teens. After discovering they both had a passion for music, they’d bonded.
Graham and the rest of the band members were enjoying their break from touring by spending the summer in Dublin, Ireland. At any other time, Dylan would have been with them, but he’d been using this time to write several songs that would be included on their next album. Lodged in a villa in Cancún for two weeks, he’d finally finished the project last night.
“We’re having a grand time, Dyl. Groupies, you gotta love them. Now that you’ve finished working, you might as well hop on a plane and join us.”
A part of Dylan wished he could, but he knew that wouldn’t be happening. “When I leave here, I’m headed for Idaho. You know the promise I made to my grandparents, and Ren has called already to make sure I’m coming.”
Renshaw Burgess was the foreman of his family’s cattle ranch in Davenport, Idaho and had been for as long as Dylan could remember. The one-hundred-and-fifty-acre ranch had been willed to him by his grandparents. Although it hadn’t been stipulated in writing, they had wanted him to make the Red Flame Ranch his primary home when he wasn’t touring.
“You’re flying out to Idaho today?” Graham asked.
“No. Since I’m booked at this resort for another week, I plan to stay and enjoy myself. Unwind, rest and relax.”
The only time he’d left the villa was to run on the beach every morning and again in the evenings. All his meals had been delivered by room service. Now, with nothing to keep him locked inside, he was ready to get out and enjoy himself with plans to keep his identity hidden as much as possible. He loved his fans but they could be intrusive when it came to his privacy.
Hearing music, Dylan wanted to investigate where it was coming from and told Graham he would talk to him later. After sliding open the glass door, he stepped out onto the balcony. He was three stories up and from the looks of things below, a wedding was taking place on the beach.
Dylan would admit the sunset and ocean backdrop made for a beautiful wedding...if you were inclined to get married. He wasn’t. His first experience with falling in love had been his last. Music was his only true love and always would be. It would never let him down. Not like a certain woman had done.
Dylan was about to turn to go back inside when he went still at the sight of one of the bridesmaids walking down an aisle of grassy turf lined with a bevy of yellow roses. Although it had been ten years since he’d seen her, he recognized her immediately.
Charm Outlaw.
He was certain it was her. Naturally she was older, but she was as beautiful now as she’d been back then. What were the odds? Just seconds ago he’d thought about the one time he’d fallen in love and the woman who’d let him down. Now she was here of all places, taking part in a wedding.
His gaze locked on the woman who’d caused him so much pain when he had been too young to know better. His father and grandfather had warned him that an Emanuel man would recognize the woman destined to share his life the moment he saw her. His parents, grandparents and great-grandparents had all been high school sweethearts. Even with all their challenges—his parents had even gone to separate colleges—their love for each other had survived because they’d been determined to make things work. Long marriages ran in his family.
Dylan had seen no reason why a long-distance romance wouldn’t work for him and Charm as well. The moment he’d seen her, she had staked a claim to his heart. He was convinced he had met the one and only girl for him. The one he would marry. Who would have his children. Share his life. Grow old with him. Love him until the day he died.
Memories of that summer in Alaska came back with vivid clarity. He’d been a couple of weeks shy of his eighteenth birthday and music had been his only love. Until he’d seen Charm. It had been love at first sight for him.
He’d been warned by some of the other music students that she was the spoiled and pampered daughter of one of the most ruthless businessmen in Alaska and if he was smart, he wouldn’t get mixed up with her. He had ignored their warnings. Now he wished he hadn’t. He doubted he was capable of loving another woman the way he had loved her.
Two years into their romance, she had ended things, saying she didn’t want a long-distance relationship any longer. He hadn’t seen it coming.
Dylan released a sigh. Feeling disgusted and angry at reliving memories that were still painful, even after ten years. Suddenly, as if Charm knew he was there, she glanced up and met his gaze.
It was Dylan!
Charm Outlaw drew in a ragged breath and tightened her hand around her bouquet. She broke eye contact with him to look toward the front where Ola and Piper were already standing. Although she maintained the smile on her face, she could tell by her two friends’ expressions that they knew something was wrong. What had given her away? Had they seen her glance up toward the building? Had the happy expression on her face changed for a second?
When she reached her designated place beside them, she leveled a “you won’t believe it” gaze at them in response to their questioning looks. There was no way she’d been mistaken. The man she’d seen had been Dylan. She was certain of it. His eyes had given him away. They were dark, alluring, and had always been the most beautiful pair of eyes she’d ever seen. He’d told her his Native American ancestors had been part of the Shoshone tribe.
He looked older, more mature, and he was gorgeous. Over the years she had seen him on television, photos of him on magazine covers and just this week, when they’d arrived in Cancún, she’d seen a sexy image of him on a huge billboard modeling men’s underwear. He had certainly made a name for himself. Definitely not the two-bit guitarist who would never amount to anything that her father had assumed. Dylan was a huge success as a renowned jazz guitarist and singer with numerous awards under his belt. He was a household name with a legion of fans.
She tried to force Dylan from her mind as she watched the rest of the wedding, but couldn’t help remembering the summer when she and Dylan had met.
