Caught Between an Oops and a Hard Body (Caught Between series Book 2) (18 page)

He chuckled. “No wonder he doesn’t like me. He’s still looking for the perfect man to give his daughter to…which of course we both know there will never be a perfect man. Continue.”

She starred at him, her gaze thoughtful. “See, that’s the part I could never figure out. How do you know when someone is
the one
?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve seen enough heartbreak to last me a lifetime, and yet there are couples out there who have found the right fit. Like your mom and dad, Mandy and Dane.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, which pushed up her breasts and momentarily distracted him from her expressive features. Then he felt a tap on his chin.

“Eyes up here, buster.”

“Sorry. You have some irresistible qualities.”

She got this far away look in her eyes and he wondered who she was thinking of. “I almost got married once. I was twenty-two, old enough to know better, but still too stupid to care. I was in love with the wedding preparations and ceremony, and the Cinderella promise of happily ever after. And so I fell in lust, head over heels in passion, and mistook it for love.” She sighed and met his gaze. “Kind of like with you. By the time the glow had worn off and I realized I couldn’t spend the rest of my life with him, it was too late. The wedding guests were gathering in the church, and my dad was waiting to walk me up the aisle.”

“What did you do?”

“Run.”

He smiled down at her and took her hands in his. “Maybe he wasn’t the right guy.”

She raised her gaze to his face. “And you think you might be?”

“Maybe.” He shrugged his shoulders. “How long have your mom and dad been married?”

“Almost forty years. I think they’ve stayed together out of sheer stubbornness. Although it appears the stubbornness might be wearing thin.”

“I noticed they’ve been a little snippy with each other, but I’m sure they’ll work it out.”

Her voice softened and as she sighed, the sound that went straight to the core of him. “The bottom line is that I’m too selfish for a couple.”

He’d watched her sacrifice everything for her family. “I don’t think that’s true. I think you’re one of the least selfish people I know.”

She stared at him for a moment, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. “And I—uh—in case you didn’t notice, I take after my birth mother. I don’t have a maternal bone in my body. You should be really worried that I’m going to be the mother of your child.”

“I would be, except that I’ve seen the way you dealt with my sister and mother. If you can do that without losing your cool, a baby will be a piece of cake.”

Something else flashed through her gaze, and for a moment he thought she was going to deny his statement. But then she waggled her brows and grinned. “Now that I’ve spilled my guts and my past, you owe me a little naughty. Or we can keep talking. Your choice.”

He had her in his arms and his mouth on hers in less time that it took to draw his next breath.

Unfortunately, her cell phone buzzed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The tap of Stephanie’s heels echoed along the otherwise silent hallway leading to the fitting room. She smothered a yawn and wished for a nap instead of the fitting that should have been finished yesterday. Maybe she’d have a nap
during
the fitting.

Okay, so pregnancy didn’t exactly agree with her…and neither did a one way trip to heartbreak hotel.

What was she going to do about Stone? Every time she thought she’d erected enough barricades to keep him at a distance, he somehow weaseled his way through. Heck, if her phone hadn’t buzzed, she would have been naked in bed with the father of her child right now.

Which maybe wouldn’t be such a bad thing, especially if she could have a nap afterward.

Except she knew he wasn’t done with the marriage idea. He was just biding his time, trying to figure her out, but she was determined to keep him at arms’s length.

Only she was doing a really horrible job of it.

As she turned the corner and entered the fitting room, she cleared her thoughts of the troublesome male who haunted her every other waking moment, and looked around. The seamstress had her back to her and was packing up her case. Liz was nowhere in sight. “Did I miss the fitting?”

The seamstress whirled around, her face pinched and angry. “You and Liz both. My time is valuable. I refuse to stand around and wait for the prima donna bride to appear. I have another appointment in town.”

Shocked by the attack, Stephanie stepped back out of reach and stared. “What do you mean Liz didn’t show? Where is she?”

With a shrug, the other woman turned her back on her again and continued to pack her things. “I don’t know and I don’t care.”

The blood red gown with the entrails sewn into the lace was nowhere in sight. Instead a gorgeous white wedding gown fit for a princess hung on the rack. “Where is Liz’s gown.”

With a jut of her chin, the seamstress indicated the gown. “Liz called me last night. Said she’d changed her mind. Asked me to bring by the original dress she’d tried on.”

Stephanie fingered the lace. “It’s gorgeous.”

“And yet, the bride didn’t show up for her fitting. Well, she’ll have to make do with her original choice. Ugly as it is, it won’t matter that it doesn’t fit properly.”

“Wait.” Stephanie whirled around and grabbed the seamstress’s arm. “The wedding is in two days. If that’s the gown Liz wants, then she needs to have it altered. Please. I’ll find Liz right now and get her down here.”

“You have five minutes.” She glared down at the hand on her arm until Stephanie clued in and released her. Then the other woman tapped the face of her watch. “The clock is ticking.”

Stephanie pulled her cell out of her pocket and made tracks for the entryway. She was thankful now that Stone had put his number into her cell. Except when he heard about Liz’s absence, he was so going to gloat and point out that his younger sister was irresponsible, impulsive, and not ready to get married.

And whether or not she agreed with him—and just for the record, she totally did, which was beginning to make her feel bad for plowing full steam ahead—she had a wedding to plan and a bride to find.

A moment later, Stone's smooth voice came through the connection. “Miss me already?”

She heard the smile in his voice and ignored it along with the pleasure unfolding in her chest. “We have a problem.”

“You’ve fallen deeply, madly in love with me, and now you regret turning down my marriage proposal.”

Okay, that stopped her, because on some level, he might be right.

As panic set in, she shook away the thought. “Liz is missing.”

“Missing? As in you found a letter from a kidnapper?”

“No, missing as in she didn’t show up for the fitting.” Before he could gloat and say
I told you so
, she rushed on. “Liz decided to go with a different gown, so it has to be fitted. The seamstress is high strung, very temperamental. She doesn’t like to be kept waiting so you have to find your sister or there won’t be any dress alterations. And then she’ll have to wear that horrible red zombie dress.”

“Okay, okay, take it easy, sweetheart.” Stone's soothing voice came across the connection. “The stress is no good for you or my son.”

“Son?” She straightened up, startled, and looked around to make sure no one could overhear. “What if it’s a girl?”

“I don’t care what our baby is, as long as both him—”

“Her.”

“—and his mother are happy and healthy. Speaking of which, come back here and we’ll have a nap together.”

“Right, if I lie down with you, there won’t be any napping.” Sorely tempted, she huffed out a sigh and refocused. “So you’ll find your sister?”

“Yes, because you asked so sweetly.”

“You have five minutes. Call me the moment you find her.”

Before he could say another word, she clicked off the phone and raced back into the room, nearly tripping over a loose rug in her haste to make tracks. She caught her balance at the last moment and forced herself to slow down. Way slow, because she didn’t want to hurt the baby.

This was all Stone's fault. This whole pregnancy, throwing up thing. Because he was irresistible and now she had to pay for being weak willed woman.

He’d implanted the seed of motherhood in her, so that the idea of becoming a mother was slowly blossoming. In less than nine months, would she be ready for this tiny human being they’d created?

Inside, the seamstress shoved pins and needles and thread back into her bag.

“I’m so sorry for the confusion. Liz will be right along.”

The seamstress turned, her thin nose held high, her nostrils quivering the slightest with restrained anger. “I’ve been waiting over half an hour. How much longer do you expect me to wait?”

Stephanie began to hyperventilate. “We’re fetching the bride right now. It should only be another five—” She quickly calculated the time it would take Stone to get to Liz’s cabin, but if she wasn’t there, what would they do? “Five minutes. Ten at the most.”

The seamstress returned to packing up her things. “Not soon enough. I’m a busy woman. I have other clients.”

Dora walked into the room just then, and Stephanie wanted to rush over and hug her. Her mom would know how to deal with the seamstress.

Except as she sidled up to Stephanie, her gaze darting around the room, she hissed, “Where is he?”

Stephanie raised her eyebrows. “Who?”

“That nasty divorce lawyer.”

Right. Her mom never forgave and never forgot, which was too bad because it would hurt Stone. “He’s looking for the bride. She’s late for her fitting. If you could just—”

Her mom huffed out a sigh and headed for the wedding gown. “He’s probably one of those men that likes his women big boobed and dumb.”

“Mom, that’s not very nice.”

She bent her head to examine the stitching and muttered, “He probably hates children, too.”

Stephanie remembered how he’d taken Mariam’s little tyke into his arms, as though handing a toddler was an every day occurrence. She clasped her hands over her abdomen. “Actually he’s pretty wonderful with kids.”

But her mom chose not to hear her.

“Your father was right. The moment he saw that man’s hand up your top, he said,
no good can come of this
. But did I listen?” Dora tsked, then straightened her back and retraced her steps to Stephanie’s side. “I was so very, very wrong. I should call your father and apologize.”

She knew her mom’s obsessive personality well enough to know she wasn’t going to be of any help with the current situation. As Stephanie glanced down at her silent phone, she said, “Yeah, you go ahead and do that, Mom. I can take care of this on my own.”

On her way out, Dora nudged her on the shoulder and lowered her voice to a stage whisper. “If the seamstress walks, she’ll be doing you a huge favor. Her stitches are atrocious.”

Great
. Stephanie gritted her teeth, and as expected, the seamstress turned, her face a granite stone.

“That’s it. I’m out of here. Tell your mother she can fix my bad stitching.”

Stephanie stepped into the other woman’s path. “Please, don’t go. My mother thinks she has the market on wedding and party events, but she’s an amateur, not a professional like you and me. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Your stitches are beautiful.” Thankfully, her cell phone rang. “Wait, this will be Liz.”

“It better be.”

Stephanie turned her back and headed toward the door, determined to thwart any attempt the seamstress made to escape.

“Did you find her?” she hissed.

Stone's voice came clear through the connection. “No. I’m heading over to Roger’s cabin to check there. And if she’s not there, I’ll check to see if she’s with Kevin.”

“Kevin? Kevin who?”

“Never mind,” he said. “Leave Liz up to me. I’ll find her and get her there.”

The phone went dead. Stephanie met the seamstress’s shrewd gaze and gave her a weak smile. “Just another five minutes, please.”

With her index finger, she tapped her mouth, her gaze traveling down Stephanie’s body. “You and Liz are close to the same size.”

“What?” Stephanie glanced down at her too tight top and thought of the button on her jeans which she’d had to leave undone, then back up at the other woman.

The seamstress pulled the gown off the hanger and held it up in front of Stephanie. “You’ll do.”

It dawned on Stephanie what she was thinking. She took a step back. “No, I don’t do fittings.”

“If you want this dress done in time for the wedding, you’ll put it on.” She shook out the dress. “Come on. Climb in.”

The gown was beautiful, with a fitted bodice, fitted waist and a princess style skirt. The fine bead work glittered in the light as the full skirt swished and swayed.

She reached out and touched the material and experienced a sense of awe. It wasn’t as though marriage had ever been in her plans anyway. Especially now that she was pregnant. It was better to raise her child alone rather than raise her baby with a reluctant father.

Except Stone wasn’t all that reluctant. He was willing to step up and take responsibility.

With a shake of her head to clear her thoughts, Stephanie took another step back. “It’s bad luck to try on someone else’s wedding gown.”

“That’s just a rumor started by brides to keep their bridesmaids from trying on their gowns.” She pulled her lips into a smile that looked more like a sneer. “Either you put on the gown or I walk.”

“But we have a contract.”

“A contract which clearly states you will meet my time requests. Which of course, you haven’t.” She huffed out a sigh. “Look, I’m giving you a break because we’re in the same business. Take it or leave it.”

Stephanie turned her back and in one last ditch attempt, pulled out her cell and typed.
Desperate mother-to-be here…did you find her
?

Almost at Roger’s
.

“Where are you, Liz?” she muttered as she reached for the top button on her shirt. Deflated, she turned back to the seamstress. “Fine, you win. Let’s get this over with before anyone comes in and catches me wearing that dress. There are certain people who could get the wrong idea.”