Chasing the Runaway Bride (2 page)

Wow. She couldn’t exactly remember the definition of irony, but Harmony Hills’s runaway bride being attracted to its most notorious no-show groom? That was too much gossip for one town to handle, especially since the woman he’d left, Lonnie Simmons, was her best friend. So, no. She wouldn’t be participating in that particular literary device.

But, more important than the runaway bride/no-show groom gossip was the notorious Hyatt/O’Riley feud. His grandfather had won
her father’s
grocery store in a poker game, and most people in town believed Richard Hyatt had cheated. Cade Donovan was the grandson of the guy who had stolen her father’s business. Taken away his livelihood. Half the people in town didn’t shop at O’Riley’s Market because they didn’t want to support a cheat. She and her mom would cross the street rather than walk by anyone in the Hyatt/Donovan family.

She and Cade Donovan weren’t just a bad bet. They were enemies.

Her spine stiffened. Her smile became cool. “There’s no need to go back for cash. We have less expensive wedding cards.” Though it was a struggle, she kept her demeanor professional. “And they’re every bit as nice.”

“Thanks.”

He smiled again, and she had to take a quiet breath to stop the surge of white-hot need that burst through her. As much as she wanted to feel this heat that she’d never felt before, she could not be attracted to
him
. She refused.

“No problem. Let me show you.”

…

Cade Donovan’s gaze followed the unexpectedly gorgeous cashier as she came from behind the register. When she reached him, she pointed at the section with the greeting cards again and together they strode back down the aisle.

Slightly behind her, he let his gaze fall from her slim shoulders, down her sleek back, to her absolutely luscious backside. He swore his mouth watered.

Wearing a tank top that caressed her breasts and outlined her slim waist, and low-rise jeans that hugged her ass, she was the epitome of female perfection. Add long, straight black hair and bright green eyes to the mix, and his hormones were all but doing a samba.

She retrieved a pale yellow wedding card and presented it to him. “See? Two ninety-nine.”

“Thanks.”

His voice came out rough. Standing so close, he could feel the heat of her, smell the light floral scent of her perfume or shampoo. His body responded the way any male body would. His breath might have stalled, but the rest of him came to vivid attention. He could virtually see himself sliding the strap of her tank top down and licking her shoulder.

Their gazes met again.

Her eyes searched his. A combination of heat and something he couldn’t quite identify filled them. But from the way she’d been flirting before, he figured this wasn’t a one-sided attraction. She was feeling everything he was.

His engines revved, priming for some fun. But she quickly looked away. “Um…I should go check you out.”

Thanks to cheating, lying Lonnie Simmons, he might have sworn off relationships forever, but he hadn’t sworn off sex. And after his brother’s garden wedding, he had an entire night with nothing to do but sleep. When a man found a woman like this, sleep took a definite backseat.

He smiled. “Darlin’, I’d love for you to check me out.”

Her face flushed scarlet. “At the cash register.”

He laughed. “Right.”

They headed back to the counter. But when she took the card from his hand, their fingers brushed, and his heart beat double-time as electricity sprinted up his arm.

Refusing to meet his gaze, she snatched her hand away to put the card in a bag.

Ah, come on. Does she seriously think we should ignore this?

He caught her hand again. “When do you get off work?”

“Six.”

“Feel like a beer?”

She shrank back and stared at him as if he’d spoken French or German.

“You don’t drink?”

“I…I…”

He frowned, not quite sure what confused her. As beautiful as she was, she had to get hit on at least ten times a day. Plus, hadn’t they been leading up to this? Talking about stripper poles and her last boyfriend. What the hell had happened?

The bell rang as the drugstore door opened again.

“I’ll be right with you,” she called to the customer, a teenage girl.

The girl nodded as the door opened again. An old man walked in. He pointed at the back of the store, as if asking the cashier to meet him in the pharmacy department.

She quickly gave Cade his change and scrambled away.

Cade stood by the register for a few seconds, more than a little confused. He couldn’t follow her and demand she have a drink with him without looking foolish. So he headed out. He didn’t ever have to demand a woman pay attention to him. And he wouldn’t this time, either.

Still, there was something about this woman…something…

He didn’t know what, but he intended to find out.

Three hours later, he stood in the heat of the July sun, wearing a gray tux just like his brothers Devon and Finn, the groom. Sweat trickled down his back.

Sitting in the front row of folding chairs covered in white linen, his mom wept with happiness. The gaggle of church ladies referred to as the “Dinner Belles” sat in the row behind her. Barbara Beth Rush, his partner for the wedding, stood behind Ashley Lashinsky, Ellie McDermott’s matron-of-honor.

It seemed everybody but the drugstore girl had gathered for this wedding.

When the ceremony was over and they assembled for pictures, his mom was still crying. With happiness. He shook his head over the silliness of women. Especially when his mom burst into tears over how beautiful Ellie looked in her lace “mermaid” gown.

He didn’t know what the hell a mermaid gown was, but he had to admit his new red-haired sister-in-law did look cute in her dress.

And Finn looked ecstatic. Cade had never seen anyone so happy. He and Ellie gushed over each other.

Four thousand eight hundred and ninety-one pictures and two overly long toasts later, he ate his late lunch with gusto; danced the introduction-of-the-bridal-party dance with Barbara Beth Rush, one of the funniest, nicest women from Harmony Hills; and finally, finally, he was set free. His wedding obligations were over.

Yanking at his goofy
pink
ascot tie, he stepped into the flower-covered gazebo and headed straight for the makeshift bar. Music drifted over from the DJ standing on the wide front porch of the yellow Victorian house that had been in Ellie’s family forever. Wedding guests danced under a big white tent or milled about the grassy yard, the men dressed in suits and ties and women in flowery dresses and sun hats. Cade pulled off his tie and tucked it in his jacket pocket so it wouldn’t get lost.

Brent Tulowitski strolled over. “What’ll it be, Cade?”

“Whiskey.”

Brent walked away, and Cade passed his hand along the short growth of black hair on his head, the cut a leftover from his time in the Marines. It didn’t feel right to be outside without his Stetson. But he couldn’t dwell on that. He had a mission. The woman in the drugstore might have brushed him off, but Brent knew everybody. If anyone could give him a name and a phone number, it would be Brent. And once he had those, he intended to turn that brush-off into a fervent yes. To everything he could think of.

The bartender returned with two fingers of Kentucky bourbon in a plastic cup, then swiped a cloth down the length of the bar. “So, Finn’s married.”

Bringing his whiskey to his lips, Cade snorted. “Looks that way.”

“He’s lucky. Ellie’s a great girl.”

Keeping up the small talk so he didn’t look overly eager to get the drugstore clerk’s info, Cade said, “She is.” Because Ellie
was
a wonderful woman—a good match for his brother, who had resettled in their hometown.

Brent poured two tall draft beers for an older couple, then strolled back to Cade. “So, you okay being home?”

He shrugged and glanced around, not surprised by the question. This was why Brent knew everything and everybody in town. He chatted up his customers.

“I guess.”

“No rumblings from your dad?”

“We’re just glad he didn’t crash the wedding.”

“He’s got some balls.”

Cade sniffed a laugh, knowing exactly what Brent referred to. The year before, Finn had had their father arrested for assault. The whole town had been shocked that their dad had punched Finn, but they’d reeled over the news that the bank president had regularly beaten his sons and wife. Still, he walked around town like the king of the world, telling everyone his children and estranged wife were liars.

“Yeah, he does.”

Wanting desperately to change the subject and get the information he was here for, he asked Brent for another shot. When Brent brought it over, he said, “So, I had to go to the drugstore for a card this morning, and I saw a new clerk.”

Brent frowned. “New clerk?”

“Yeah, a woman with black hair, pretty green eyes.”

Even before he was done, Brent burst out laughing. “You messing with me?”

Cade’s eyebrows rose. “Messing with you?”

“Teasing…come on, Cade. Are you trying to tell me you were checking out Piper O’Riley?”

Cade almost choked on his whiskey. “Piper O’Riley?”

“She manages the Health Aid.”

An “Oh” slipped out, even though Cade wished it hadn’t. He pointed to his shot glass again. Brent easily filled it, then walked away to get a drink for a woman in a blue-flowered dress.

Focused on his shot, he counted his blessings that his questions about Piper O’Riley hadn’t gone any further. Good God.
That
was Piper O’Riley? He remembered her as a flat-chested, shy nerd. The twelve years he’d been away had been very, very kind to her, but that didn’t mean he wanted to date her. Even discounting the fact that she was Lonnie’s best friend—and therefore someone who probably knew the son Lonnie claimed to be Cade’s was actually another man’s—the O’Rileys had held a grudge against his grandfather for thirty years. Richard Hyatt had won O’Riley’s market from Sean O’Riley fair and square in a poker game. Yet Karen O’Riley, Piper’s mom, had accused him of cheating.

Her friends stopped shopping at the store and sales had plummeted with only half the town supporting the little market. But his grandfather said he made enough money to pay himself a good salary, and the other half of the town still needed bread and milk and birthday cakes. So he was staying open.

Cade’s eyes misted. His grandfather had been a generous, loving man. Sadly, he’d died the month before. Cade wouldn’t defame his memory by even talking to an O’Riley.

He asked for another shot just as Jeff Franklin, the town’s attorney, stepped into the gazebo and up to the bar.

“Hey, Cade.”

“Jeff.” Cade eyed the balding, slightly chubby lawyer over his shot glass. He’d known Jeff since he was a football player for Harmony Hills High. They’d never been friends, but because he was executor of his grandfather’s estate, for the time it took to settle everything out, he and Jeff would be spending a lot of time together.

“I’ve been thinking about our meeting on Monday and the will reading.”

Cade inclined his head.

“I’d like for you to come in an hour early, before the rest of your family, so we can discuss your duties as executor and a few other things.”

“Sure. No problem.”

“Great. I’ll see you Monday, then.”

Cade saluted him with his glass. “Monday.”

Jeff eagerly raced away.

Cade suppressed a sigh. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy returning to the town where he’d left a woman at the altar and deserted a child everybody believed was his. He’d expected the cold shoulders and fingers pointed in his direction at the diner. But Jeff was a professional. His grandfather’s lawyer. He shouldn’t feel the need to race away.

Yep, being stuck in Harmony Hills while they worked out the logistics of the will was going to be a real blast.

Now he just had to hope Piper O’Riley didn’t tell anybody he’d been flirting with her.

The very thought had him pointing at his shot glass again.

Chapter Two

Monday just before noon, the little bell rang at the entrance to Health Aid. Piper looked up from the cash register to see gray-haired Molly Green, Jeff Franklin’s long-time secretary, walking toward her.

“Attorney Franklin wants to see you.”

Piper didn’t sigh. She didn’t blink. She didn’t show any emotion at all, because she’d been expecting this. A woman didn’t leave two grooms at the altar and come away without being sued at least once. But in a small town like Harmony Hills, the attorney who filed suit wouldn’t force her to go through the embarrassment of having a process server visit her at her place of employment. He’d call her to his office, hand her the papers, and probably advise her to retain legal counsel. Jeff was kind that way.

“I need to go now?”

Molly nodded, her attention already snagged by the cosmetic display. “Yeah. Now.”

“Okay, then.” Piper slipped from behind the counter. Calling down the long row of hair products, she said, “Darlene, your turn at the register. I’m taking my lunch now.”

“Whatever.”

The one-word reply came from the back of the store where Darlene, Piper’s assistant manager, was probably reading magazines, but again Piper didn’t care. Working in a drugstore chain was probably the most boring job on the face of the earth. The corporate office had a system for everything. Employees couldn’t be creative with shelf displays, couldn’t run sales, hand out discounts, or even give a customer a break. Most days Piper genuinely believed the corporate office didn’t want them to think at all. So if Darlene needed to read magazines to cope, Piper didn’t blame her.

She opened the glass double doors and stepped out into the July sunshine. Drawing in the warmth of the bright rays, she walked along Main Street and turned down Elm. She didn’t relish the prospect of being sued, but Ronnie had been furious with her. Especially when she’d reluctantly explained that she hadn’t felt any zing for him. She’d been trying to tell him he deserved a woman who did, but he’d taken it all wrong.