The Stand-in Groom Read online

  “I’m disappointed, actually,” she said. “I keep hoping they’ll get caught and confess. I don’t care about long jail sentences, but I really want to know why they picked me. Jonathan would have paid a ransom, but how did they know who I was and where I’d be? Did they follow me to Lenora’s? Why did they have to call someone if it wasn’t to demand ransom money?”

  “I guess it’s wishful thinking to hope they’ll get caught and tell all.”

  She grinned, and he felt like a pit bull on a leash because he didn’t feel free to hug her. Darn, there ought to be a law against marriage before age thirty. Once a woman got a diamond, life got complicated. He’d missed her like crazy all week, but his free-and-easy attitude didn’t include poaching on another guy’s turf. She was engaged, and therefore she was off-limits. It was a simple equation. It also stank.

  “Can I buy you a cup of coffee? Just a quickie. I have to get back to work.”

  She frowned.

  She was going to say no.

  He held his breath, expecting her to do the sensible thing and tell him to get lost.

  “Will you throw in a Danish? I was too keyed up to eat lunch.”

  “Anything but wedding cake.”

  She laughed, but he wanted to kick himself. Why remind her of the upcoming nuptials? He certainly didn’t want to hear anything about her plans.

  He did have a legitimate reason for taking up some of her time. After what they’d gone through, they needed to talk about the kidnapping and their escape. Maybe together they could remember something that would help catch those idiots.

  “My car’s over there,” he said.

  “I’d better follow you. I don’t like the idea of leaving my care unattended.”

  “I noticed an old-fashioned ice cream parlor about a block down from Lenora’s on the other side of the street.”

  “Sounds like fun. I’ll meet you there.”

  Stacy couldn’t find a parking place. Maybe fate was telling her something. For instance, engaged women shouldn’t date.

  But she was famished, and they did need to rehash the kidnapping to see if they’d forgotten to tell the police anything important. If she paid for her own snack, it wasn’t a date, was it?

  She took it as a positive sign when a big van backed out of an angled parking spot just ahead of her. Her little red compact eased into it as though the car was programmed for nooners with handsome hunks. She’d worry about feeling guilty later.

  Nick was waiting.

  It was well past the lunch hour, and the parlor wasn’t very busy, so they could sit at any of the little round tables with twisted wire legs, each surrounded by three or four wire-backed chairs. The walls were adorned with old-time advertising signs and tin trays.

  Lovely ladies in Edwardian gowns and huge hats were still smiling after a hundred years. Or so Stacy liked to believe.

  “Look at those flavors.” Nick whistled softly and guided her over to a glass-fronted freezer where open tubs of ice cream were two deep in a rainbow array of colors. Next to them, another case held syrups, whipped cream, candies, fruit, nuts, and sprinkles.

  “I skipped lunch for a reason,” Stacy said. “What’s your favorite flavor?”

  “Whatever’s on my plate. I’ve never met a dish of ice cream I didn’t like. What are you having?”

  “Butter pecan with hot fudge sauce.”

  “Make it two,” Nick told a young girl with a dark braid down her back and brown saucer-size eyes totally focused on him.

  The young soda jerk giggled, flirted, and made a huge production out of recommending all kinds of extra toppings.

  He’s not a movie star, Stacy wanted to say. Instead, she said, “My treat.”

  “I’ve got it.” Nick pulled out a money clip made of an old silver dollar.

  “No, I insist. I owe you.”

  “You don’t owe me.”

  “Yes, I do.” She pushed a bill across the counter to a second clerk who manned an ornate old brass cash register. “You’re the only one who ever took a six-pack to the head for me.”

  “Don’t even think of asking me how my head is.”

  She wiggled two fingers in front of his nose to tease. He grabbed them, gently bent her fingers down, and kissed her knuckles.

  He looked as surprised as she was.

  She didn’t realize how small the tables were until they were sharing one. Nick sat with his legs spread wide, so she had to keep hers locked together to avoid rubbing knees. His jeans were practically threadbare, and they strained over his muscular thighs like a second skin. She tried to focus on the gooey treat in front of her, but Nick’s blue cotton work shirt was open two buttons more than necessary.

  Okay, so it was only open two buttons, but the slit of sun-bronzed skin was sprinkled with dark, eminently caressable hair. Her knuckles tingled. Her spine was relaying messages she didn’t want to process. Her toes kept trying to curl. Worse, she was too keyed up, too turned on, to look directly into his eyes.

  Nothing like this had happened on the island, except maybe when Billy John made them kiss. Or did he have to make them? She couldn’t remember.

  Nick had a little smear of hot fudge on his Cupid’s bow. It was driving her wild. Didn’t he feel it? She could imagine wiping it away with one quick flick of her tongue—or maybe several.

  Good grief! She was sucking on an empty spoon. Had she made a disgusting noise? Had he noticed?

  “I haven’t had anything this good in years,” he said.

  “Me, either.”

  Was he talking about the ice cream? Was she? She’d lost her sense of taste. What was she eating? She looked down at her dish, shaped like a cone only flat on the bottom. Two of the three scoops were gone. She must have inhaled them while her mind was otherwise occupied.

  Nick had hardly started his. She squirmed, knowing he must have been watching every bite she took.

  “I don’t usually wolf down food like that,” she said, mortified.

  “You have an interesting tongue movement. The tip flicks out a little after every bite.”

  “I didn’t know...” She covered her lips with two fingers.

  “No, don’t be embarrassed. It’s cute.”

  “You’re cute with a chocolate mustache.” She had to choke back a giggle.

  “I forgot napkins,” he said. “I’ll get some.”

  “Never mind. I have a tissue,” she said, but he was already on the way to get some from the holder on the counter.

  His shoulders were even wider than she remembered, his waist slimmer, his buttocks rounder and tighter. She was fascinated by everything about him but didn’t want to be. She was engaged to a wonderful man, and she wanted to fondle Nick’s bottom.

  She wanted to hear him moan the way men did when they were really turned on—at least the way she thought they did. Jonathan was always pretty subdued. Thinking about him while she watched Nick walk back was making her squirm with guilt—or something.

  It was all Nick’s fault. He should wear loose, pleated trousers, not jeans that bunched and wrinkled and bulged suggestively.

  “Napkins.” He handed her several but didn’t keep one for himself when he was the one who needed one.

  “Thank you.” And please sit down so I can’t see so much of you.

  He sat, the smear of chocolate giving him a rakish look. She couldn’t stand it. She peeled off one of the napkins, reached across the tiny table, and wiped away the hot fudge.

  “Thanks.”

  He gave her a thousand-watt grin, and part of her melted.

  She struggled not to watch while he slowly finished his sundae. She wanted to brush his hair back from his forehead, run her finger along his eyebrows to make them smoother, and rub the back of her hand on his lightly bristled cheek.

  She wanted to touch him, and the greater the urge became, the more guilty—and excited—she felt.

  “Did you take the whole afternoon off to look at mug shots?” he asked.

  “Yes, I
have lots of vacation time coming.”

  “So you’re free for the rest of the day?”

  “I guess.” She was venturing into dangerous territory here.

  She assumed Jonathan would call later, but he rarely left his office before six. And she really did need to vent about the kidnapping with the one person who been through it with her.

  “Let’s go to the zoo,” Nick suggested.

  “What?”

  “The Belle Isle Zoo. I haven’t been there since I was a kid.”

  “Oh, I don’t think I can.”

  No question, that would be a date.

  “We haven’t talked about the kidnappers yet. Maybe we can jog each other’s memories, remember something they said or did.”

  “Don’t you have to go back to work?”

  He frowned. “Cole’s out of town, so Zack’s in charge. But what’s the worst he can do? Fire me? I’ll take the risk.”

  “I really shouldn’t.” She wasn’t being coy.

  “Have you picked out your wedding dress yet? I could tag along and give you my expert opinion.”

  “Be serious!”

  “The zoo then?”

  “Okay, the zoo, but only for a little while.”

  6

  “We bring our preschoolers to Belle Isle every spring,” Stacy said. “It’s a treat to be here without counting heads every two minutes.”

  “Ever lose any?” Nick asked, wondering who was watching the swarms of kids milling around on the elevated boardwalk that looked down on animal exhibits.

  “No, but I’d hate to bring them here today. It looks like a Cub Scout convention.”

  She moved aside to avoid being mowed down by a trio of ruffians.

  “Hard to believe I was once that young—and probably even wilder,” he said.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I can still see the little boy in you.”

  “You think I’m still a kid?”

  His pride took a hit, especially since Zack had told him just last week it was time to grow up. His brother didn’t hurt his feelings, though. He knew his struggle to find a career didn’t have anything to do with lack of maturity. It had everything to do with his grandfather being a control freak—and the stubbornness Nick had inherited from him.

  “No! I didn’t mean that at all,” she said apologetically. “You just have boyish enthusiasm...”

  “Boyish?”

  He gave her a look meant to intimidate, but she went eyeball-to-eyeball without flinching.

  “Spontaneous is a better word. You’re not afraid to do something on impulse like coming here.”

  “When I should go back to work.” He grinned ruefully.

  “Everyone needs a break once in a while.”

  She smiled, and his heart skipped a beat. But the last thing he wanted was to discuss his motives for goofing off this afternoon.

  “Anything special you want to see?” he asked.

  He took her hand and pulled her out of the way as a pack of Cubs surged by, more or less led by a perspiring, red-faced woman. There didn’t seem to be any reason to release it after.

  “I love the wolves. They look like big dogs looking for a hug, but they’re so dangerous they make me shiver.”

  “I’ll take the big cats any day.”

  “Lazy old lions. The male sleeps all day and makes the female do the work.”

  “Sounds like a good system to me,” he teased.

  The sun was hot, giving a pink flush to the cheeks of her heart-shaped face. She had one of those perky haircuts that fell into place and never look mussed, but one stray lock had fallen over her forehead. He flicked it aside.

  Touching her felt so right. He wanted to rail at her for getting herself engaged to Mercer. He also wanted to ask her why, but he didn’t have a right to go there.

  He shouldn’t be with her now. Even if he could mess up her wedding plans, which he doubted, he wasn’t marriage material himself. He couldn’t offer her what she seemed to want.

  “A friend of mine had her wedding reception at the casino here,” she said, leaving her hand in his but not responding when he tentatively squeezed it. “Of course, casino isn’t a very descriptive name for the old building. There’s no gambling, but it’s a nice place for events. My Aunt Lucille went to a health fair there.”

  Wedding. He knew she knew she’d said a taboo word, but she tried to cover up by chattering about the senior citizen stuff her aunt had done in the old Spanish-style building.

  “A friend of mine got married at the conservatory here,” he said when she fell silent.

  Talking about weddings with Stacy was like pinching a sore spot, but he was having a hard time believing she’d actually marry Mercer.

  “No need for a lot of flowers there,” he went on. “Can you see yourself tying the knot among the cacti?”

  “Jonathan wants a wedding just like his parents had. Same church, same flowers, same country-club reception. Guess I’m lucky I’m too tall to wear his mother’s dress.”

  Why the hell did she want to get married? She was young, nor more than twenty-four, he guessed. He could understand his mother wanting to marry for companionship now that her three sons were grown up, but why did a smart, attractive, witty, resourceful, sexy woman want to spend the rest of her life with that jerky lawyer?

  More to the point, how could she crawl into bed with him? It went against the natural order for a beauty to end up with a toad.

  Nick dropped her hand and tried to focus on the excuse he’d given for spending the afternoon with her.

  “I’ve been trying to remember if the kidnappers gave any hints about where they live,” he said.

  “No.”

  “When they talked about forgetting the phone...”

  “They refrigerate their beer. Big clue.”

  Apparently, the wedding talk had made her cranky. It didn’t do much for his disposition, either.

  They swerved to avoid an especially boisterous bunch of Cubs, and Nick caught a glimpse of something behind them.

  “Is there any possibility...” He started to ask if she could’ve been followed this week but decided not to worry her. “I can stop to tie my shoelace?”

  He moved over to a railing and stooped down quickly, hoping she wouldn’t see that both his work boots were firmly tied. When he stood, he had a chance to look behind him. A slender red-haired man built almost exactly like Percy was hovering a few dozen yards behind them, but he looked to be all of fifteen and had a busty little blonde glued to his side.

  That kid was no threat to Stacy, but until Percy and Harold were in custody, Nick would worry. They’d stolen nothing and hadn’t had a chance to demand ransom. What was to stop them from trying again? With thousands of kids chasing around Belle Isle, who would notice one more scream if they tried to grab Stacy?

  “It’s hot today,” he said, catching her hand again. “How does the aquarium sound to you?”

  She smiled up at him, and it was all he could do not to wrap his arms around her and kiss her until she forgot Jonathan Mercer existed. But she’d made her choice, and Nick didn’t want her to hate him for interfering.

  “I love the aquarium,” she said. “Real live sea monsters!”

  “Earth’s own aliens.”

  “I’m glad you suggested coming here. I feel so free. It’s the first time all week my family hasn’t hovered over me. Even my little brother wants to stay overnight and protect me. I’m getting claustrophobic.”

  “They’re only worried about your safety.”

  Her family had a right to worry about her. He probably didn’t. This protective feeling was new to him, but he wasn’t sure how to deal with it. He did know how to take care of Percy and Harold if they got anywhere near Stacy when he was around, though.

  But for now, he’d better be subtle. She wasn’t in the mood for a bodyguard. At least he wouldn’t lose her in the mob of people at the zoo, not with her hand firmly locked in his. They walked slowly toward the aquarium and didn’t m
ention weddings again.

  He liked watching her as she edged through the crowd inside the aquarium and stood face-to-face with a glassy-eyed monstrosity so improbably ugly it didn’t seem real.

  “I’m glad he can’t survive on our turf,” she said with a mock shudder.

  A trio of Cubs squeezed in front of her trying to steam up the glass with their breath.

  To avoid having his toes stomped by overzealous scouts, Nick backed up. He was still edgy enough to glance around the crowded room.

  Unfortunately, not everything ugly was swimming in a fish tank. A slender man who matched Percy’s description in every detail except for the ski mask was trying hard to be inconspicuous beside a tank of less popular freshwater fish. Nick caught his eye for an instant, and the guy bolted toward the exit.

  Nick struggled through the crowd trying to catch the sallow-faced man with sweat-plastered red hair. This time he wasn’t spooked by a kid, and the guy’s actions were suspicious as hell. Before Nick could confront him, the guy doubled back into the aquarium and tried to lose himself in the crowd.

  Checking to be sure Stacy was close behind him, he followed.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Nothing. Just thought I saw someone...”

  He spotted the redhead wiggling his way through a bunch of Cubs who were making faces at the electric eels.

  “Hey, Percy!” he shouted loudly, hoping the guy would give himself away by responding.

  Instead the red-haired man sidestepped through the Scouts and made a dash for the exit again, holding up a dripping ice cream cone.

  “Hey, don’t I know you?” Nick yelled, racing to head off the guy.

  He charged and had to jump over a blob of melting chocolate ice cream that spilled from the soggy cone and hit the pavement.

  “Gosh, mister, I’m sorry. I didn’t know taking ice cream into the aquarium was such a big deal!” the man cried. His voice was high-pitched, nothing like the masked kidnapper’s.

  “I thought you were following us,” Nick said lamely, all too aware of Stacy a few paces behind him.

  “Hell, no, why should I follow you? I thought I was in trouble for taking the cone inside.” He looked down and scowled at the remains of his ice cream.