Tailored for Trouble: A Romantic Comedy (Happy Pants) (28 page)

The warm, mid-summer Napa Valley evening air heated Bennett’s sweaty face as he moved through the crowded party tent in his tux, wanting to beat the crap out of every guest who asked him for a goddamned refill. For the record, he did not mind pouring champagne as much as he minded what happened next. How much more of this “good will” could one man take? Case in point…

“Ohmygod!” a redheaded woman in a shiny mess of a blue evening gown screamed at the top of her lungs, pointing in his face. “You’re Bennett Wade!”

Bennett bit back a growl and forced a polite smile to his mouth just as his mother had taught him. “Always be gracious,” she’d say. “Remember that not everyone in this world has it so lucky.”

He cleared his throat. “Yes. I am Bennett Wade. And yes, you may take a damned picture with me.”

The woman squealed and clapped. “Ohmygodohmygod!” She dug out a phone from her little purse and handed it to the man who stood by her side, looking like he wanted to take a swing at Bennett.

Bennett put his arm around the woman and gave the man a look.
Try it. I fucking dare you. Because I’ll have you in the fetal position so fast that your girlfriend here will never look at you like you’re a real man ever again.

The man, average height with blond hair, suddenly looked like he might wet himself.

Good choice, my friend. Just snap your picture.

He did and handed the phone back to his girlfriend. “Th-thank you, Mr. Wade.”

Bennett gave a nod and headed through the crowd in the other direction. That man wasn’t the first—more like the twentieth this evening—and he wouldn’t be the last to instantly assume that men like Bennett were pussies in suits who wanted nothing more than to hide behind their money and take their girlfriends. But not all rich bastards were alike, and he hadn’t grown his multibillion dollar empire by backing down from a fight. That, and hard work. Lots of it. His company was his life and the only thing he did with his time aside from exercising—which had become his primary form of stress relief these days, given he hadn’t been able to get it up for over a year, except for Taylor. It seemed his dick was smarter than he was and had gotten tired of the shallow women like Kate who had only been after his money. But the minute the real deal showed herself, his dick knew.

Oh yes.
It knew.

Taylor had entered that conference room in Phoenix in her tight little suit, her face flustered and flushed, and it wanted her. Not because his “friends” were lined up around the block pining for the woman, betting to see who could get her in the sack first, but because she had this fire in her sultry brown eyes—the same fire he’d seen in a picture when one of his “buddies” told him about the bet after a game of golf (a necessary evil for doing deals in his world). The moment he heard she’d turned them all down, it piqued his interest. Because she was single, beautiful, a hard worker from what the guys said, and couldn’t be won over with a few cheap pickup lines and a big bank account.

They’d all tried. Repeatedly.

They’d all crashed and burned. Repeatedly.

He had to meet her.

And as luck so happened, he was headed to Phoenix to golf with an executive from Japan who was there on business and interested in selling the patent he needed.

So he made a few calls and set up the meeting.

Yes, just to meet her.

Silly, a guy like him, who could have any woman he wanted, going out of his way just to get in a room with Taylor Reed, a woman he’d never met.

But he’d been right about her. She couldn’t be fooled or charmed. She could see through ten feet of bullshit from a mile away, and that,
that
was why everyone failed to seduce her.

The moment she chewed his ass out in Phoenix, he knew he wanted her because she might just be the only woman on the planet capable of seeing him for what he truly was: fucked up.
The tailored suit is a deceptive tool, indeed.
However, each time he thought of calling her, he’d pathetically lost his nerve. She had to hate him after the way he behaved, after
losing her job
, so he convinced himself to let it go, that he had no interest in her, that she wasn’t his type because a woman like that couldn’t be happy with what he had to offer: a mess inside a suit. And then one day, her name came up again in a round of golf, his “buddies” making fun of her efforts to start her own company, and it set him off. He might not be interested in her, but he’d be damned if he was going to let those assholes put her down simply because they all failed to get in her pants. So he’d decided to hire her. Yes, to snub those bastards. He also figured it couldn’t hurt to get her help with Lady Mary. Of course, the moment he saw Taylor again in Seattle, that same fiery look in her big brown eyes, well…he began to get the feeling that he might actually need her. Really need her.

As he looked up, Bennett spotted Ms. Luci’s approach through the crowd. She had a scowl on her face. Not a good sign.
That woman frightens me.

“Mr. Wade!” she barked out, turning a few heads, despite the loud mariachi music pouring from one of the other six tents they’d set up to accommodate the thousand-plus guests. Many were here to attend the group wedding being held for Ms. Luci’s successful matches. Apparently, they did this every year.
A goddamned nooky cookie cult.

“Ms. Luci.” He dipped his head, getting the distinct feeling she was about to…

She grabbed his arm—
Ow! She has a grip
—and dragged him to the edge of the tent. Her manservant or lover or whoever that Sebastian fellow was stood behind her, his one large eye poking out like it might bite someone. “Bennett, this is your last warning,” she said, “or I will send you to the kitchen. Stop terrorizing my guests.”

Bennett had a very, very deep respect for his mother—a strong woman and the only person he’d ever known to love him unconditionally besides Taylor—and Luci reminded him exactly of her.

Your mother or Taylor?

Both.

“My apologies, Ms. Luci. It will not happen again. However,” he glanced at his watch. “I’m afraid I’ll need to depart in a moment. I’ll be out of the country for a few weeks, traveling on business, and must stop to see my mother before I go.” Ms. Luci would understand why. His mother confessed that the two had been corresponding for months now, growing quite a friendship, so she’d be aware of his mother’s cancer.

Luci’s face lit up with panic. “Leave? You can’t leave.”

He raised a brow. “You’re saying I should not go and visit my sick mother?”

“Uh-uh,” she stammered. “Can you at least wait a few more minutes? Until the ceremonies begin? They are…” she searched for words. “Touching!”

Why did he feel like she was up to something?

Because she probably is.

“Ms. Luci, I know you are hailed as some great matchmaking expert, which I’m sure is the reason my mother contacted you initially, but I’m sorry. I’m not interested in dating.”
Ever again.

She had a guilty look on her face, which she hid rather poorly. “Dating? Now, who said anything about dating,
mijo
? I’m simply asking you to stay for a few…” Her dark eyes flashed to the other end of the tent, and then a look of relief washed over her face. “
Ay dios.
Thank goodness.” She smiled up at Bennett. “I think someone is looking for you.”

He turned and spotted Taylor in a sexy little white strapless dress that hugged her soft curves and accentuated her breasts, making them look plumper and so…

In need of my hands.

He gulped.
Goddammit.
She looks fucking amazing.
Her dark, silky brown hair cascaded down her bare shoulders, her pouty lips—the ones he dreamed of kissing almost every single goddamned night—looked downright sinful. His dick instantly began hardening.
You are not a goddamned compass. And Taylor isn’t your goddamned polar north, you sonofabitch.

Taylor’s pleading eyes locked onto his from across the crowded tent of happy, formally dressed guests. He knew she felt sorry. But what was the goddamned point when he couldn’t forgive her? He’d shared his darkest secrets, he’d opened up to her when the act of doing so felt like taking a knife to his own goddamned chest. But, he’d done it. For her. Taking a risk that she’d love him anyway. Did she have any idea how difficult that had been after Kate?

He’d put his faith in Taylor. His goddamned faith. And then she ran. No note. No message. She just…ran. Straight to Mary, a stranger, in order to share his dark past. Yes, Taylor probably thought she was helping, but it wasn’t her story to share. And why had she done it? To hide the final nail in her coffin: that she’d only come with him on that trip to ruin him. Taylor. The one woman he’d hoped, with his entire soul, he could trust.
I can’t be wrong about this one. Not her. Not this time,
he’d thought over and over again. But he had been.

With their eyes still locked across the crowded tent, he slowly shook his head at her, warning her not to come closer. It was over. He didn’t want to see her again.

Taylor’s face then flushed with determination, and she began making her way toward him.

Stubborn woman
. Why couldn’t she simply leave him be? She’d already done enough damage. He made his way across the grass toward the parking lot and was almost to the security check point when he heard his name over the loudspeakers.

“Bennett. Bennett Wade. Don’t you dare walk away from me!”

He stopped and looked toward the tent in the middle of the field, about fifty yards away. It was where Luci said they’d be holding the one hundred weddings later tonight.

When his eyes focused, he spotted Taylor in her white dress, holding a microphone and standing on a podium decorated in a crap load of white flowers and ribbons and wedding bullshit.

“Bennett, I know you can hear me,” she said. Even though she was half a football field away, he felt her eyes on him. “Before you leave, I want you to know that I am…” There was a catch in her voice, and Bennett realized she was crying. A brunette woman he’d never seen before ran up on the podium to comfort her. “Go on, Tay,” the woman whispered, the mic picking up her words. “Say what you came here for.”

Bennett felt his body tense up with anger and so many other emotions he wasn’t used to feeling. Did she honestly believe some speech would change his mind or undo the damage?

Taylor cleared her throat. “Bennett, I am sorry. And I know there’s no excuse for what I did, but I love you.”

The crowd, who’d gathered in front of the wedding tent, began to cheer.

Taylor dipped her head graciously. “Thank you. Thank you.” She held out her hand, pleading for them to let her finish. “But it’s now or never, Bennett. You can forgive the woman who accepts you exactly as you are, or you will lose her forever.” She wiped away the tears from her eyes, and her friend gave her a little squeeze of encouragement. Taylor squared her shoulders and looked out across the field in his direction. “Bennett, you once told me that we were the same, that we saw people and situations for what they truly were. Then can’t you see how truly sorry I am? Can’t you see that I never meant to hurt you?” She sighed. “Please, I’m begging you, please forgive me. Because…”

Bennett stared across the field, the crowd dissolving into the night. He wanted to go to her. He wanted to say he could forgive and trust and be a fucking man…but he simply didn’t know. So much pain weighed him down and until he made right with his demons, he couldn’t truly let go, or be there for anyone, or forgive or sleep or fuck or eat or love.

And
that
was about all he knew.

She let out a little hiccup before she went on, “Because if you don’t forgive me now, I’ll never be able to forgive you, Bennett. Never.”

What the hell did she mean by that? Forgive me or I won’t forgive you?
He looked down at his polished black shoes and then turned toward the parking lot, fuming at her ultimatum. Could she see him? He didn’t know. He only knew that Taylor was the woman he’d thought was for him and the woman he needed to let go of if he hoped to keep breathing.

“Fine, you fucker!” a woman’s voice rang out. It wasn’t Taylor, but her friend who’d grabbed the microphone. “She’s pregnant, and you just lost the chance to be with the one woman who could ever love a rich, famous, totally hot asshole like you! Oops. I mean…asshole! Just asshole.”

Bennett turned his entire body just in time to see a thousand people scowling in his direction, probably willing him to die.

Taylor stood frozen on the podium while Sarah remained at her side, screaming to the world that Taylor had been knocked up by Bennett Wade.

Oh, the shame
. Wasn’t it bad enough she’d gotten up on the stage in front of a thousand people and declared her love like a fool?

Don’t forget the begging. That was pretty pathetic, too.

But the shame was nothing compared to the heartbreak of seeing Bennett walk away like she’d meant nothing to him or wasn’t good enough to deserve his forgiveness.

And, of course, that heartbreak and shame only felt exacerbated by watching Jack, a big guy with a mean right hook, who was anything but a pacifist despite his Hippocratic Oath, tearing through the crowd after Bennett.

Taylor cupped her hands over her mouth. “Oh no.”
Jack’s going to kill him.
“Jack!”

She looked at Sarah who grinned from ear to ear. “Go kick his ass, Jack!” she screamed into the microphone. “I’ll make sure all charges are dropped!”

“I can’t believe this,” Taylor whispered, shaking her head as the entire party rushed off to watch the fight.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a giant love fest?

Taylor made her way down from the podium and charged off to where the mob had gathered near the edge of the dirt field being used as a parking lot. They started cheering.
Oh, shit.
That meant Jack was winning.

Wait.
Shouldn’t she be happy about that?

No. Of course not.
She didn’t want anyone fighting. Period.