Once Upon a Wedding / Accidental Princess. Nancy Robards Thompson
lucky,” Connor agreed as he tapped his own glass against hers.
Emily might not know it, but he was here to save her again.
The tiny butterflies taking flight in Kelsey’s stomach as she drove toward the hotel turned into radioactive monsters by the time she stepped into the lobby. She’d been crazy to make a deal with Connor McClane. Somewhere along the way she was going to lose her soul.
Although they hadn’t made plans to meet this morning, the best way to keep an eye on Connor was to embrace their partnership. As she walked by the three-tiered fountain toward the elevators, the doors slid open. Kelsey gasped and ducked into an alcove—the same alcove to which Connor had pulled her aside the day before—and watched in disbelief as her cousin walked by.
What was Emily doing at Connor’s hotel?
Her cousin rarely left the house before noon, and it was barely nine o’clock. What was Emily doing up so early? Or had she stayed out too late? Kelsey’s stomach churned at the thought. She hated to think her cousin would be so susceptible to Connor’s charms. And what about you? her conscience mocked. How easily did you agree to work with Connor in this very spot?
But that was different! That was about business and keeping an eye on Connor and keeping him away from Emily…not that Kelsey had done a bang-up job at either so far.
Emily slipped on a pair of sunglasses and smiled at a bellboy, who nearly tripped over his feet as she walked by. She didn’t look as if she’d rolled out of bed with her ex-lover, but then again, Kelsey had never seen Emily look less than perfect. Ever.
Kelsey stayed hidden as her cousin sashayed across the lobby and out the automatic doors, then made a beeline for the elevator. “So much for his promises,” she muttered as she jabbed the Up button.
“But why am I even surprised?”
She stomped out of the elevator on the fourth floor. Had she really believed Connor would keep his word?
Maybe she had. Which only went to prove how some people never learned. Rapping on Connor’s door hard enough to bruise her knuckles, she thought she’d be better off banging her head against the wood.
“Kelsey.” Opening the door, Connor greeted her with an assessing look and not an ounce of shame. Bracing one arm on the doorjamb, he said, “I’m surprised to see you here.”
“Are you?” Determined to ignore the masculine pose that could have come straight from some sexy man-of-the-month calendar, she ducked beneath his arm and made her way inside. She refused to have an argument in the hall where any guest, bellhop or room-service waiter might walk by. “If I’d shown up a few minutes earlier, it would have been a regular family reunion.”
“You saw Emily?”
“So much for your promise to keep your distance!”
Connor frowned. “I said I’d stay away. I can’t help it if she comes to see me.”
“Right. And I’m sure she forced her way inside your hotel room. Probably tied you up and had her way with you, too.”
Connor pushed away from the door and stalked toward her with that challenging expression still in his eyes. “That would really mess up your plans, wouldn’t it?”
“She’s engaged, Connor. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“Yeah. It means she’s about to make a mistake.”
Connor stepped closer, and the only mistake Kelsey could concentrate on was her own in thinking she could confront Connor face-to-face and not be overwhelmed by his masculine sensuality. He hadn’t shaved and the morning stubble only made him that much more appealing. Worse, she could practically feel the erotic scrape of whisker-rough skin against her cheeks, her neck, her breasts—
Afraid he could read her every thought by the glow in her cheeks, Kelsey ducked her head. Her gaze landed on the nearby breakfast tray, on a white coffee cup and a pink bow-shaped smudge left by Emily’s lipstick. The mark may have been left on Connor’s cup, not on the man himself, but the reminder that Emily had been there first doused Kelsey like a bucket of ice water. “Emily’s only mistake was inviting you.”
“Yeah, I bet that’s tough on you, isn’t it? When you told me yesterday working together would be strictly business, I didn’t realize that meant you were getting paid.”
“So I’m coordinating Emily’s wedding. Don’t act all offended like it was some big secret. I thought you already knew.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t. If I had—”
“You would have what?”
Scowling at her, he said, “Look, if you want to work together, I need to know you care more about your cousin than you do about your business.”
If she wanted to work together! Just yesterday, she thought agreeing to work with Connor was possibly the most foolish thing she’d ever done. And now she had to fight to keep the opportunity?
Yes! a voice inside her head argued. Because it’s the only one you’ll get. How else will you keep an eye on him? How else will you keep him from stopping the wedding?
“Of course I care about Emily.”
A sardonic twist of a smile lifted one corner of Connor’s mouth. Darn him for making even sarcasm look sexy! “I know you care about her. The question is, do you care enough to put her first over everything else you want?”
The intensity in his eyes transformed the question from a challenge about her loyalty to Emily into something more personal. Something dark and revealing about his past. Prove that you care…
It was a test Emily had failed. She hadn’t cared enough, or she’d cared about her family’s approval more. Was Emily the only woman who hadn’t passed, Kelsey wondered, or were there other women who hadn’t given Connor the proof he needed?
“You can’t prove you care about someone,” she stated flatly. “Not in words. Actions show how you truly feel.”
Like Connor showing up for Emily’s wedding…and Emily showing up at Connor’s hotel room. Trying not to think what those actions meant, Kelsey continued, “I’m here. That alone should prove—”
“That you’re a clever businesswoman? I already knew that.”
Tightening her grip on her purse strap, Kelsey fought for control. She couldn’t pretend she didn’t have a lot riding on Emily’s wedding.
As she racked her brain for a way to prove her loyalty, Kelsey realized nothing she said would be enough. Meeting his gaze, she stated, “I can’t prove it to you, Connor. Because love and caring aren’t about proof. They’re about faith. So, if I’m supposed to trust your gut when you tell me Todd isn’t right for Emily, you’re going to have to trust me when I tell you Emily’s happiness matters most.”
With his gaze locked on hers, Connor stayed silent long enough for Kelsey to anticipate half a dozen responses. Would he laugh in her face? Turn away in cynical disgust?
Seconds ticked by, and she held her ground by pulling off a decent imitation of her aunt. She kept her back straight, her head held high, and still managed to look down her nose at a much taller Connor.
He ruined the hard-won effect with a single touch, tracing a finger over her cheek. The steel in her spine melted into a puddle of desire.
“Good to have you back on the team,” he said softly. “We have work to do.”
Connor knew he’d crossed the line when Kelsey’s eyes widened to a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. He needed to back off. If he pushed, she’d bolt. But it was the urge to ignore his own boundaries that had him pulling back even further.
If anyone could make him want to trust again, Kelsey might. And that sure as hell wasn’t the kind