Battling the Best Man: A Harmony Falls Novel, Book 2 (Crimson Romance) (3 page)

“Hardly.” She huffed but took a step closer. “One dance, Will, and only because I don’t want to disappoint my mother, but I’m warning you. If you mention calculus, I’ll knee you in the balls and walk away.”

He chuckled. “Deal.” Sliding a hand around her waist and pulling her closer, his laughter evaporated. For a skinny woman, she sure was soft, which may have had something to do with the miles of satin covering her. He opened his mouth for a shallow breath, drawing her the last couple inches against his chest, getting a mouthful of air tinged with something even sweeter than wedding cake. His rusty libido groaned. Somewhere in the distance beyond the physical sensations of Kory’s palm pressing against the back of his neck…and her fingernails grazing his hairline…and her opposite hand nestled hot and tight in his…his brain whispered to his body,
she’s not interested in you.

Acoustic guitar music registered, and then her breath tickled his earlobe. He froze for a moment before instinct had him twisting his wrist and rotating her arm so he could hold her hand against his chest. Swallowing was inexplicably difficult, so he cleared his throat to aid the process, and felt her body tense.

He should’ve stayed at the table with his mother. At least he knew where he stood over there. Here, he was just a man, feeling things for a woman, who, he was damn near certain, wasn’t feeling anything at all for him.

“You know, you can speak? When I said don’t mention calculus, I wasn’t suggesting we dance in awkward silence.”

He nodded, loosened his fingers around her hand, and lightened his palm on her back. “I’m sorry. I’m trying to behave. It seems like I say something stupid every time I open my mouth around you.”

Tipping her head back, Kory studied him. Her brows pulled together, wrinkling her forehead, and her glossy lips pursed. She looked…beautiful. Will squeezed his eyes shut for a split second, trying to reset his brain.

“That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all weekend.” She released a bona fide chuckle that lit her green eyes and showed off the prettiest smile.

Will laughed, too, and that bit of cordial commiseration fanned the spark in his gut.
Bad idea
, his brain said.
She still doesn’t like you.
But his body had a mind of its own, pulling her closer until she settled her chin on his shoulder and somewhat relaxed.

Apparently, sixteen years hadn’t changed a thing. When Kory Flemming was near, Will Mitchell acted like a fool.

He noted the song winding down and battled a burst of disappointment, because he wasn’t ready for her to leave—not when they were finally playing nicely. A few strands of silky hair brushed his lips, and he darted out his tongue, taking a not-so-innocent taste. He really was a strange bird.

“You know, when I get back to Chicago tomorrow night, I’m going straight to ophthalmology and requesting they zap my eyes with laser. Maybe they can erase some of the whacked out things I’ve seen since I’ve been back here.” This was more than she’d said to him the entire weekend, and all he could take away from it was she was leaving tomorrow. He had no idea when she’d be back again, especially with her poor opinion of small-town Harmony Falls. And that felt like a terrible shame.

Suddenly, he wanted to alter their entire history or at least press rewind on the weekend. Maybe with more time he could’ve found his footing with her, and they could’ve had a little fun. After all, she was the only person he knew who might share his excitement over the discovery of a Higgs boson subatomic spec. Then again, if her mother was right, fun—scientific or otherwise—didn’t seem to be a high priority to Dr. Flemming.

“Is it true what your mother said?” Will asked.

“What did my mother say?”

“That Chicago is all work and no play?”

“I like to work.”

He could appreciate that. Heck, he lived that way, too. “You don’t like to play?”

A charged silence lingered between them, and the music changed to a fast song not conducive to holding her close, but she surprised him by not backing away.

“I play,” she whispered.

A hot flush greater than anything the whiskey had delivered heated Will from the inside out.

“Get a room,” Mark called as he cut across the crowded dance floor, two highball drinks in hand.

That did the trick. Kory rocketed from Will’s arms like he’d burst into flames—he felt like he did. She blinked fast and furious, adjusting the belt around her waist. “Thanks for the dance,” she managed before scurrying away.

Will turned to his younger brother and glared. “Nice.”

Mark laughed. “Here.” He held out a small glass of amber liquor. “Consolation.”

Will threw it back, because, hell, he’d rather be drunk and numb than wondering why he was hot for Kory Flemming after all these years.

After Alice tossed the bouquet and the happy couple departed through a storm of bubbles, Kory hid in the coat checkroom, helping Gertrude Cash connect guests with their predominantly outdated overcoats and shawls. She sat on a brown vinyl chair in the corner and counted safety pins and numbered tags while Gertrude talked about her latest litter of coonhounds. Mind numbing. But still better than whatever happened out on the dance floor.
That
was anything but numbing.
That
was…confusing and disturbing.

Was Kory really feeling something more than annoyance and disdain for Will Mitchell?

Gah!
She tipped her hand and spilled a palm-full of pins into a jar.

“And this one has the cutest patch of black right above his little boy parts. Ooh! I have a picture.” Gertrude jabbed at her phone’s touchscreen.

Great. So because Kory couldn’t be woman enough to face Will after their unsettling dance, she was going to subject herself to arguably more unsettling photos of a dog’s genitalia. She was too old for this, too strong. That red-faced neophyte who strolled into a senior calculus class with the upper corners of her Trapper Keeper digging into the flesh beneath her breasts? That loser was gone.

Kory set the jar on the lower shelf beside her and swiped sweaty palms together. How long had she been hiding in here? She glanced at the gaudy clock on the wall above the counter just as Gertrude shoved the phone under her nose.

“Look at that. Isn’t that precious?”

Kory almost looked out of a morbid curiosity she cultivated in medical school, but in the end, she didn’t have to…

“Ladies, I’ll be leaving now.” Tubby Stanwick winked, and then slipped an unlit cigar between his raisin-like lips. “And don’t forget my hat.”

While Gertrude fawned over the ancient man—even showing him the outrageous photo of her puppy’s “little boy parts”—Kory contemplated leaving the coatroom and at least retrieving her shoes. She started to glance at the clock again only to be interrupted.

“I’m going to walk Tubby out,” Gertrude said, grinning. “You can manage for a few minutes, can’t you?”

She had no idea how many people were still milling around the ballroom. Wasn’t there usually a mass exodus after the bride and groom left? A few coats remained, stuffed at the end of the rack—a purple puffer, a fur stole, and a military trench coat. Kory doubted anyone wore any of those to this reception. It was June after all. They were probably unclaimed items. Considering that and the fact this reception was taking place in Harmony Falls where nothing criminal ever happened, she was probably in the clear to leave along with Gertrude. But she wasn’t certain she wanted to leave the “safe room.”

So she stayed a little longer, flipping through yellowed ledger pads, containing the history of garments in the room. Entries went back to 1989. Crazy. And the fact that someone logged a raccoon cap in February 1994? That was even crazier. This town…

“Excuse me. I have a jacket to claim.”

Kory blinked, but didn’t look up, because damn it, she knew that voice. It was the voice she’d been trying—and failing—to avoid.

“Let me guess. It’s a purple puffer vest,” she said, returning the ledger to the shelf below the counter, careful not to take her eyes off the weathered binding of the book.

“Nope. The fur.”

She glanced at him, standing in the open doorway, a green ticket pinched between two fingers. “Fur seems a little ostentatious—even for you.”

The balls of his cheeks rounded, but his face stopped short of a smile. “The fur is my mother’s.”

Seeing him again caused an onslaught of fresh nerves to interrupt the steady beat of her heart. “Sure it is,” Kory said, turning her back to him and reaching for the stole. “You always were flashy, Will Mitchell.” It wasn’t meant to be a compliment.

“Are you really leaving tomorrow?”

The random question stopped her mid-grab. “I am.”

“That’s a shame.”

Her skin prickled. “Why?” she asked, turning slowly, holding the stole between them.

He stepped into the room, exchanging the ticket for the fur. “It would’ve been nice to go out, catch up, you know, hang with an old friend.”

The same blast of incredulity that led her to call him a dick and walk away earlier prompted a sarcastic laugh. “Are you serious? We aren’t
friends
, Will! We haven’t been
friends
since calculus when your
real
friends harassed me to the point I got pulled from the class.” Each word had carried her a step closer to him until she was raging in his face.

He balked. “Come on, Kory.” But then recognition flashed across his annoyingly handsome features. “You got pulled from that class?”

“Yes, I got pulled from that class. What did you think happened to me? I disappeared.”

He snapped his fingers and nodded. “Yeah! Come to think of it I tried to ask you once what happened, but you walked away from me. You do that a lot, you know?” he added with a weak smile. “But apparently, you have reason to.” He shook his head. “I honestly had no idea.”

He didn’t remember what happened. Figured.
All these years—all the energy—she’d essentially wasted. It wasn’t at all satisfying to swear revenge on someone who didn’t know how badly he’d hurt her.

“Forget it,” she said, dropping to the flats of her bare feet, suddenly surprised by their close proximity.

“No. This time, I won’t forget it. I’m very, very sorry for whatever part I played in you being pulled from that class.”

The seemingly heartfelt apology stunned her, stopping her before she could step back and put reasonable space between them. She stood there stuck in some strange mix of abhorrence and attraction. “It’s okay, Will,” she finally said. But the words weren’t accurate. If anything were really
okay
her heart wouldn’t be racing.

“It’s not okay. Whoever I was in that class, I can assure you it’s not the real me. If we had more time together, I could prove it.”

His head tilted to one side. His tuxedo shirt opened at the throat. And he studied her with dark sparkling eyes, causing a hot spot low in her belly.

This attraction didn’t make any sense, and Kory thrived on rationality. She hadn’t trusted Will Mitchell for years. What purpose did it serve to let her guard down now? She’d be back in Chicago before her brain had time to process their interaction.

Then again, maybe that was the best part about it. Maybe that was why she allowed herself to maintain eye contact with him past the point of innocent interaction.

Will leaned closer, his voice just above a whisper. “So, would it ruin all our progress if I kissed you?”

“Only if it’s a really bad kiss,” Kory said, lifting her chin to within a fraction of an inch of his, smelling the whiskey on his breath.

Will’s hands landed on her hips the minute his lips landed on her mouth.

• • •

Only if it’s a really bad kiss?
After that lead-in, the pressure was on.

Will started soft, hoping Kory wouldn’t change her mind, tugging gently on her bottom lip. She surprised him with tongue, and the kiss turned hot, wet, and hard.
Holy hell.

“Heavens to Betsy, I almost forgot my coat!”

Will’s brain didn’t fully register the interruption until Gertrude Cash was standing right next to them. Kory bolted from his arms like she’d been caught stealing from the coat-check tip jar.

“Don’t mind me,” Gertrude said, moving to the corner of the room and freeing the purple puffer vest from its hanger. Will tracked her with his eyes, but his body remained zeroed in on Kory, bathed in heat she was still radiating. They’d barely had time for a proper kiss before Gertrude barged in. Even so, his brain hummed from the contact and he wanted so much more.

“Have a nice time, kiddos.” Gertrude tossed them a yellow-teethed grin.

“Good night,” Will managed.

“Wait,” Kory rushed past him, eyes wide and watery. “Did you see a pair of shoes out there? I need to find my shoes before the clean-up crew grabs them.” She bolted from the room, leaving him staring at Gertrude.

The woman zipped her vest and eyed him with raised brows. “I ‘pologize if I screwed things up.”

He exhaled out his mouth and shook his head. “Nah, you’re good.” Because what else could he say?

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

His thoughts collided with her words. “Tomorrow?”

“Isn’t it tomorrow? I thought the nurses and aides at the home were meeting with you.”

He nodded slowly as real life and obligations trickled into a consciousness marred by liquor and lust. Gertie had been an aide at Harmony Elder Care longer than Will had been making sure the wide array of Mitchell family businesses ran smoothly, and she was among the most vocal proponents for the nursing home’s sale. In fact, only his mother seemed to want the transaction completed more. “Tomorrow. Yep. See you then.”

She wrinkled her wide nose. “You got someone driving you home?”

He grinned. “Yes, I have a designated driver. Don’t you worry.”

“Good man.” She slapped him on the upper arm and walked away. “And I’m sorry about barging in.”

Will’s lips twitched, and he swiped a finger across them. He was sorry, too. If the kiss had come to a natural, satisfying end, where would he and Kory be now? Would he still be headed home in a town car alongside Mark and Mother? Unfortunately, the answer was yes. If Will wanted to keep favor with his mother and anyone with a vested interested in the company’s bottom line, he didn’t have the luxury of pursuing his passion, especially one that was most likely a fantasy. Will had to be at work bright and early tomorrow morning. Reality included more than twenty local businesses under his family’s direction, which meant while most of Harmony Falls would be sleeping off their reception stupors, Will would be holding a typical Saturday meeting, this one at the nursing home, which had fast become his least favorite asset in the Mitchell family portfolio. Between his mother’s insistence that a lucrative sale come swiftly, and the twenty women who were counting on him to strike one hell of a compensation package deal with a stingy Valley Hospital System, his stress level was through the roof.