Two Times as Hot (9 page)

Not a problem except that Jace had asked Emma to be his date and now had disappeared.
It looked as if he’d stood her up both as her date and as a groomsman. Emma pasted
on a neutral expression for Becca’s sake.

“All right. As long as you’re good with it.” Emma, however, was not. “I thought Jace
knew enough to be here for the beginning of the reception but I guess not. Where could
he have gone?”

“Hmm.” Tucker’s gaze zeroed in on a group of people off to the side of the dance floor.

Becca narrowed her eyes at him. “Uh, oh. I recognize that
hmm
. What is it?”

“Uh, nothing.” He shuffled a bit in his black cowboy boots.

His expression said it definitely wasn’t
nothing
. Emma’s brows shot up and she silently willed Becca to pursue this point with her
evasive new husband.

Becca didn’t disappoint Emma as she turned toward him and with one hand still holding
her bouquet, planted the other on her hip. “Oh, no, you don’t. Tucker Jenkins, we’re
married now. You have to tell me everything.”

He laughed. “As if us not being married before made any difference in that area.”

“Don’t change the subject. What were you hmming about?” Becca glanced at the group
of people Tuck had been looking at when he’d made the mistake of making his mysterious
comment. Emma looked their way as well, but she didn’t recognize the family as they
stood and chatted while sipping what looked like iced tea.

Tucker drew in a deep breath and blew it out. “It’s just—those folks over there are
Jacqueline’s parents. She was sitting with her family at the church, but I just noticed
she’s not here with them now.” His gaze cut to Emma and then back to Becca.

Becca drew in a sharp breath and shot a glance at Emma. “Now, let’s not jump to any
conclusions. She probably just went to the bathroom or something.”

Emma wondered why Becca and Tucker were both looking at her funny and bringing her
into this conversation about some guests she’d never met. “Who’s Jacqueline?”

And why did it matter if she were here or in the bathroom or wherever?

“Jacqueline is Jace’s ex-girlfriend.” Becca watched Emma as if she were waiting for
a reaction. She got one.

Emma’s mouth dropped open for a second before she recovered enough to slam it shut
again. “Oh. I didn’t realize she’d be here.”

“I’m sorry, Em.” Becca cringed. “I didn’t even think about it when Tucker’s parents
put her and her family on the guest list. They’re old friends. And she and Jace broke
up over a year ago . . .”

“It’s okay. You had no reason to remember to tell me. I wasn’t even going with him
as his date until he asked last night at the party.” Emma let out a short laugh. “Though
now that I know about this Jacqueline, certain things are starting to make much more
sense.”

Such as why Jace had seemed a nervous wreck while Emma was holding his arm at the
church. Now, Jace was missing and so was his ex-girlfriend. It didn’t take a rocket
scientist to figure out what was happening here. It also proved that Emma might very
well be one of those annoying, too-dumb-to-live heroines found in some of the romance
novels she read when she was home alone in bed.

Alone. That’s what she’d be if she continued to gravitate toward unavailable men.
Guys who were obviously still involved with their exes. Giving Jace a second chance
by agreeing to be his date to this wedding when he’d already proven to her he was
still hung up on Jacqueline had been an insanely stupid move on Emma’s part.

Fools like Emma ended up lonely, or worse, settling for bad relationships with bad
men. She should count herself lucky she was the former and not the latter. If Emma
were a glass-half-full kind of person, she might be glad she was alone rather than
saddled with some loser. Unfortunately, her philosophy was glass-half-empty, all the
way, and she found nothing to be happy about here.

She reverted to her maid of honor role as a distraction. “Listen, I’m going to go
grab Tyler before he disappears, too. Then I’ll tell the band we’re ready for the
introductions and the first dance. That way, you two can get on with enjoying yourselves.”

Emma felt good with the plan, and felt even better that it gave her something to do.
She needed to move, to get out from under Becca’s intense and concerned scrutiny.

Time to get the official stuff over and done with. Then, with her duties behind her,
Emma would be free to hit the bar. She’d feel better after a big glass of wine, although
maybe wine wasn’t going to do it tonight. Not in this situation. Maybe a vodka cranberry,
light on the cranberry. A nice, strong one. Stupidity as great as hers required the
hard stuff.

“M
mm, I love dancing with you.” Tara pressed against Logan, closer than was appropriate
for two friends during the first dance at her older brother’s wedding. Particularly
since her parents and his were both present and watching. Not to mention the hundred
or so additional guests, plus a photographer and a handful of caterers.

Tara’s pelvis ground into his. Damn the girl for being so tall. They were aligned
perfectly for her to rub his cock with every move she made. Long neglected, Logan
Junior down there in his pants was happy to get some attention, not caring one bit
if Logan cringed at even the idea of him and Tara together like that.

Logan pulled his hips back but she followed, as if some invisible force tethered them.
She wasn’t helping his situation at all as the whole length of her pressed against
him while she clamped her arms tightly around his neck. He was trapped.

Jesus. He couldn’t do this any longer. He had to get away from Tara, but he couldn’t
cause a scene on the dance floor. Not in the middle of Tuck and Becca’s first dance
as a married couple.

Knowing Tara, if he said anything about how the closeness was making him uncomfortable,
or commented on how it wasn’t proper here and now—or ever when it came to him and
her—she’d either start an argument or storm off in a huff. With the entire tent full
of people watching the three couples of the wedding party on the dance floor, people
would be bound to notice.

Why wasn’t Jace dancing with Tara? Logan would have been happy to be the odd man out
since Tuck had one more groomsman than Becca had bridesmaids.

Logan surveyed the immediate vicinity, looking for his escape. He didn’t see Jace
anywhere, so there went any chance of handing Tara off to him under the guise of sharing
the spotlight. He couldn’t steal the bride from Tuck during the first dance, but,
hell, he sure could take Emma away from Tyler. He’d enjoy doing it, too. Holding Emma
close for a nice slow dance would be no hardship for Logan. Nope, not at all.

“Tara.”

“Yes, Logan?” Tara gazed at him with puppy dog eyes.

Back in the old days, Logan could handle her hero-worship. But this weekend had proven
that inside Tara an aggressive, single-minded wildcat had grown, and he wasn’t prepared
to deal with that.

He had to think. Concentrate and plan his escape. “Uh, the photographer just signaled
me. She wants a picture of you and Tyler dancing together.” After that whopper of
a lie, Logan swept Tara closer to Tyler, trying to keep in time with the music to
make his maneuver less obvious.

“What are you doing?” Tyler frowned as Logan artfully made the swap, fast, before
Tara could argue.

“Cutting in.” In seconds, Emma was in Logan’s arms, where he’d wished she had been
the entire time.

He steered her across the dance floor and away from the confused-looking Tara and
Tyler. All before anyone, except for Logan himself, realized the smooth move he’d
accomplished.

Once he was home free and it looked like the switch was going to stick, Logan glanced
down at Emma. “Sorry. I just needed to, uh . . .”

Words failed him. Shit. Why did he even try to explain? He should have just smiled,
enjoyed having his hands on Emma, and left it at that.

“Needed to what?” Emma moved in closer. She raised one pretty brow above deep blue
eyes a man could get lost in.

As they moved with the music, not so much dancing as rocking, she rested one hand
on his chest. She gazed up at him expectantly, waiting for his answer, but all Logan
could think about was how close she was, and how he wanted her to be so much closer.
It was just Logan’s luck that Emma wasn’t grinding against him the way Tara had been
trying to. Wrong girl at the wrong time—story of his life.

Just the thought of Emma pressed against him had Junior beginning to stir in Logan’s
pants, and he realized it was a damn good thing Emma wasn’t any closer or she’d feel
it.

He wrestled his mind back to the conversation. “Nothing.”

Logan glanced at Tara and Tyler to confirm his dance with Emma wasn’t about to be
interrupted. He wasn’t ready to let her go quite yet.

Emma followed his gaze as a smile twitched the corners of her mouth. “Looks like I’m
not the only one having date issues at this wedding.”

“Date issues?” Logan cocked a brow.

“Mmm, hmm.” Emma nodded. “My date is missing and I noticed yours being a bit overly
affectionate, shall we say?”

“Tara’s
not
my date.” He wanted that point made clear right up front. But more interesting to
Logan than Emma assuming he was here with Tara as a couple, was what she’d said about
Jace. “What do you mean yours is missing?”

“I haven’t seen Jace since after taking the pictures at the church when he suggested
I ride with my parents in their car to the reception rather than in his truck.” She
shrugged, which only drew his attention to her breasts, beautifully outlined beneath
the material of the dress. He yanked his gaze back up.

“Really?” That was an interesting tidbit. Logan’s gaze swept the crowd of guests again,
but just as before, it didn’t land on Jace anywhere.

“Don’t bother looking. Jace isn’t here. And apparently his ex-girlfriend is missing,
too. Or so I’ve been told, since I don’t know what she looks like. I’ve never had
the pleasure of officially meeting the obviously irresistible Jacqueline face-to-face.”
The sarcasm was clear in Emma’s tone.

Logan had trouble believing even an ass like Jace would abandon Emma at her own sister’s
wedding to go be with the girl who’d made his life miserable and dumped him over a
year ago. The man was an absolute idiot, but for once, that worked in Logan’s favor.

He looked down at the woman in his arms. “I have met her, more than once. Believe
me, Emma, Jacqueline doesn’t hold a candle to you.”

“Hmm.” Emma pursed her lips. “Thank you for that, but I’m not sure it makes me feel
any better. Being ditched for her, I mean.”

“Jace is a fool.” Logan had no problem saying that with absolute conviction.

“I think I’m starting to realize that. Thanks for confirming it, though.” She leaned
closer, just a bit, as he felt her relax in his arms.

“Anytime.” Logan adjusted his hold, pulling her a bit tighter against him until he
could rest his head on the top of hers. “Emma?”

“Mmm, hmm.” Her response was muffled since she’d laid her cheek against his chest.
It felt damn good having her there. Natural. Comfortable. Almost as if they’d danced
this way before, even though they’d just met.

“I want you to know that unlike Jace, I’m not a fool.”

She lifted her head and looked up at him. “I never for one single moment thought that
you might be.”

The intimacy of her gaze holding his made Logan’s heart begin to pound hard enough
he wouldn’t be surprised if Emma heard it.

He could feel the warmth of her body through the fabric beneath his hands. Her light
floral perfume and the fruity scent of her hair filled his nose. She laid her cheek
on his chest again and the sound of her sighing against him was nearly his undoing.

All these sensations enveloped him, making him feel as if they were completely alone,
even while amid the crowd of guests who now joined them on the dance floor. If Logan
could be sure of anything at all while his mind whirled along with the other couples
surrounding them, it was that the song Becca had chosen for the first dance wasn’t
going to last forever. Neither was this magical moment. His time with Emma was limited.
He needed to say something before it ended and he had no more excuse to hold her.

Emma obviously liked him. At least enough to let him hold her close here on the dance
floor, moving in a motion so slow it could barely be considered dancing at this point.
He swallowed hard, and then forged ahead. “So, since your date is missing and I came
to this thing stag, do you think maybe you’d like to hang out with me for the rest
of the night?”

Not his smoothest line, but Emma nodded anyway. She pulled back a bit and looked up
at him. “I think I might like that. Very much. But can I ask you a question first?”

“Sure.”

“You don’t have an ex-girlfriend you’re still hung up on lurking around town somewhere,
or possibly on the guest list for tonight? Do you?”

“No. Definitely not.”

“You sure?”

“As sure as I am of my own name.” Logan laughed. “I’ve been married to the army for
so long, no woman will have me.”

“Then, yeah. I’d love to get to know you better. Much, much better.” Her voice had
dropped to a low, husky tone. It was sexy as hell.

He drew in a breath as pure need took over. “When do you leave for home?”

“Late tomorrow afternoon.” She cringed. “Poor planning on my part I guess, but with
Becca and Tucker leaving for their honeymoon right after the brunch in the morning,
it didn’t make sense for us to stay another night.”

“I understand.” Logan would happily spend a solid week alone with Emma getting to
know everything about her, but she wouldn’t be around that long. “We’ll have to make
the most of the time you are here.”

Her gaze smoldered as it captured his. “I totally agree.”

His eyes narrowed as he absorbed the signals she was broadcasting just as the song
ended. They stood there, holding each other, not moving as the band kicked into a
fast swing number.

“I guess I should go see if Becca needs me for anything.” Emma looked as reluctant
to end the dance as he felt.

“All right.” Logan nodded. “I’m going to head to the bar and get myself a beer. Can
I bring you anything?”

She shook her head. “No. The way I feel right now, I’m pretty sure alcohol is the
last thing I need.”

He didn’t understand what that meant, but he had the whole night to figure it out.
“I’ll meet you back at the head table then?”

Her smile seemed to light up the room. “It’s a date.”

Still in a daze, just from one damn dance and a smile from Emma, Logan made his way
to the other side of the tent. No surprise, he found Tyler already there placing an
order with the bartender stationed behind the rolling bar.

“Logan, my man. Shots?” Tyler sent him a grin.

“No. Definitely not.” Logan held up both hands and shook his head. He turned toward
the bartender. “I’ll just have a beer. Thanks.”

The last thing Logan wanted was to get drunk. He needed his wits about him now that
the situation had changed. Jace was missing, Emma was currently dateless, and Logan
was more than pleased about both.

“So, uh, don’t think I didn’t notice how you hijacked my dance partner out there.”
Tyler reached for the drink the bartender had just placed on the top of the bar in
front of him.

“Did I?” Logan could play dumb with the best of them, only this time he was so damn
happy about how the dance with Emma had gone, it was hard to keep the smile off his
face.

“Yes, you did. Taking Emma and giving me my own sister? What the hell, dude?” Such
a deep frown knit Tyler’s brow, Logan couldn’t help but laugh. Apparently, Tyler was
unhappy with him, and Logan couldn’t care less.

“Sorry, Ty. I thought you might want to dance with Tara, since she is your sister
and this is your brother’s wedding.” Logan somehow managed to keep a straight face
as the lie slipped off his tongue, smooth as silk.

“Yeah, right. You just wanted to get your hands on Emma and you know it. You two seemed
to be getting cozy out there on the dance floor.” Apparently Tyler was more observant
than Logan had given him credit for. Not that it mattered. Logan was in too good a
mood to care what Tyler thought.

“Do you blame me?” Logan lifted one shoulder in a shrug.

He might not be willing to spread it around that he hoped to spend more quality time
with Emma tonight, hopefully alone, but Logan saw no reason he shouldn’t admit his
attraction to her to Tyler. He and Emma were both single, consenting adults, even
if she was technically Jace’s date for this wedding.

“Don’t blame you one bit, my man. Not at all.” Tyler chuckled. “I might have gone
for it myself with Tuck’s lovely new sister-in-law if I didn’t already have my eye
on someone else.”

Logan had a feeling Tucker might have taken issue with a player like Tyler
going for it
with Emma, but he kept that opinion to himself. “Oh? Who’s the lucky girl in your
sights tonight?”

“The preacher’s daughter over there.” Tyler cocked his head in the direction of a
nearby table. “She just turned eighteen and you know what they say about preachers’
daughters.”

Logan followed Tyler’s gaze to where the preacher and his family were seated. “No,
I don’t. What do they say about preachers’ daughters?”

“That they can be real wild and rebellious, doing things daddy wouldn’t approve of,
if you know what I mean.” Tyler’s crooked grin looked positively evil, making him
appear more devilish than usual.

Since it already seemed to Logan that simply having this discussion could guarantee
them both a one-way ticket to hell, he decided not to contribute to it any further.
He pursed his lips and left his commentary at a nod, thankful when he noticed his
beer on the bar top in front of him, placed there by the helpful bartender sometime
during this surreal discussion.

Logan grabbed the bottle and took a swig as he scanned the room for Emma.

“She’s at the head table.” Tyler smirked.

He hadn’t realized his looking for Emma was so obvious until Tyler answered the question
he hadn’t asked. Logan glanced in the direction of the bride and groom’s table, and
saw both Becca and Emma seated there. Sure enough, Tyler was right.