The Determined Groom. Kate Little
night he had kissed her, hadn’t he? Connor had all but forgotten that moment, until now. A soft, fleeting kiss squarely on her lips, which had brought the color rushing up to her cheeks, and left her wide-eyed and stunned. The kiss had been half-friendly…half something else. But it had ended right there, with Connor realizing that, no matter what was simmering between them, Laurel was far too young for them to be romantically involved.
It wasn’t much different this time, was it? Connor reflected. Laurel was a beautiful, elegant, charming woman and, holding her in his arms, he felt the envy of every man in the place. Inexplicable feelings still simmered between them. And he still yearned to kiss her. Not an innocent peck either, but a kiss that would lead to much more.
And Laurel was still out of reach. Off limits. Tonight, even more than before.
How had that happened? And how had he lived all this time without her?
The unbidden thought flashed through his mind. Connor considered it, feeling at first totally crazy and then utterly sane. Saner and more content than he had in a long time.
As he continued to make polite small talk, another part of his mind repeated the same refrain: This is Laurel. My Laurel. We’re together again.
Holding her in his arms, looking into her eyes, every loose end in his life had suddenly fallen into place.
Then their conversation stopped and they slowly moved closer, their bodies moving in rhythm to the music as if one. Did she feel it too? he wondered. He believed that she must be feeling something…extraordinary, as he did. He simply could not be experiencing this amazing revelation alone.
“Connor.” She said his name slowly, as if savoring the sound as it rolled off her tongue. “I’ve thought about you a lot these past years, wondered how you were doing…” Her voice trailed off. “I missed you,” she confessed. She looked up at him, with clear blue eyes that conveyed so much more than words could ever say.
Her simple admission went right through him, touched his heart, his very soul, ringing within, loud and true. And he knew he was right. She felt it, too.
“I’ve thought about you too, Laurel,” he replied. He tilted his head back and looked down at her. “I’ve missed you, too. Very much.”
He watched as the impact of his words registered in her expression. She looked surprised at first, then happy, and finally, her gaze was sweet and tender. She turned away, a slight smile on her lips, and he tucked her close again. She had always been so open and honest with her emotions. So trusting. He could never hurt her. He could never betray that trust.
I have missed you, Laurel, he added silently. But until tonight, I didn’t know how much. Something in my life making me feel restless, driven, unsatisfied. Some elusive need, pushing me on. Wanting to achieve, to excel. To measure up in someone’s eyes. Not for my family. Not even for myself. For someone. Who? For you, Laurel. It was all for you. And of all the women I’ve met, one or two came close to feeling right, and yet, still fell short. That was it, of course, all those years. I’d been comparing them to you.
And never even realized it.
Connor felt the music wash over him, cherishing the feeling of Laurel in his arms. The singer’s soulful voice did full justice to the song’s romantic lyrics, describing the magical moment when love is first discovered, first realized. Suddenly Connor wanted to laugh out loud at his own foolishness, his own blindness. He felt lighthearted. Released of some crushing burden he wasn’t even aware he’d been carrying. But now he knew. And the entire world looked different to him, bright, fresh, new, as if washed clean by a summer storm.
On impulse, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips. He saw her eyes flutter shut for a moment and heard her sigh. The sound, no louder than a breath, drove him wild. He imagined sweeping her up in his arms and carrying her down to the beach, making love to her all night long just to elicit more of those soft seductive sighs. He gently squeezed her hand and then felt something cold and sharp bite into his skin. He knew without looking. Her engagement ring. Of course. The classic, square-cut diamond—large enough to impress but one that could never be called ostentatious.
Then, as if magically summoned by Connor’s thoughts, the fiancé appeared, emerging from the crowd to stand beside them on the dance floor. Connor recognized him instantly from the peeved expression on his smooth face.
“Enjoying yourself, sweetheart?” he asked Laurel. He brushed her hair off her shoulder in a gesture that seemed to Connor both blatantly intimate and somehow, mildly disapproving.
“Todd.” Laurel’s voice sounded husky and slow, as if she had just been rudely awakened from a pleasant dream, Connor thought. Or was that simply his own feeling? Laurel stopped dancing and Connor had no choice but to release her.
“This is my old friend, Connor Northrup,” Laurel said, starting the introductions. “You must have heard me talk about Connor. We go way back.”
“Of course. Good old Connor. Boy hero, a friend to all. I remember,” Todd assured both of them.
Connor knew that if Todd recalled anything about his relationship with Laurel it would most likely be that Connor was the son of the family servants, the caretaker—and sometimes chauffeur—and the housekeeper. From the cool, condescending way Todd looked him over and the curt nod of greeting, Connor felt certain that this was the case.
“Connor, this is my fiancé, Todd Parson.”
“Congratulations on your engagement,” Connor offered politely. “You’re a lucky man.”
“Thanks, Connor.” Todd slipped his arm around Laurel’s waist and pulled her toward him. “Guess I chased her until she caught me,” he joked.
Connor laughed politely along with Laurel, but he could see how Todd’s little joke had stung her. He didn’t like Todd Parson. He supposed that most women would find the guy good-looking, but Connor didn’t like the man’s small dark eyes, his slicked-back hair, his cocky attitude. His entire demeanor screamed of the right family name, the right schools and connections. But Connor felt, deep in the marrow of his very bones, that this arrogant young man, who came equipped with all the advantages of wealth and class, was not nearly good enough for Laurel.
“Stan and Louise just arrived. They’ve been asking for you,” Todd mentioned privately to Laurel. “I really think you ought to say hello to them. Especially since Stan sent me that new client last week.”
“Oh, yes. I guess I’d better,” Laurel agreed, scanning the crowd. Then she glanced up at Connor, her turquoise eyes shimmering with some private message for him alone. Clearly, she seemed sorry to leave him. But there was something more. What was it exactly? Connor wondered as he tried to understand. Telegraphing her reluctance to leave him? Her sense of being torn suddenly between her promise to Todd and the feelings ignited by their reunion?
“I’ll see you later, Connor. We’ll catch up some more, okay?” Laurel said as Todd began to sweep her back into the crowd.
“Sure thing,” Connor replied easily, though he felt anything but.
Laurel nodded, then turned to respond to some request from Todd that Connor could not hear. Todd’s face looked a bit flushed, as if he’d had too much to drink or was simply irritated, annoyed at Laurel for some reason.
Jealous maybe, Connor thought. Had he been in Todd’s place and found his fiancé in the arms of another man with that dreamy expression on her face, he would have felt the same.
Connor watched as the couple disappeared into the laughing, milling crowd and then walked off in search of a drink. His head pounded and a bitter knot twisted in his gut. He was jealous of Todd Parson. Out of his head with jealousy. And what right did he have to feel this way? Absolutely no right at all.
Except that he did. For the profound, amazing feelings for Laurel he’d so newly discovered seemed to grant him the right.
Was he fooling himself? Or had he and Laurel discovered something rare and