Wedding Bells in Christmas Read online

  “I don’t know.” She tugged her cell from his hand as they got off the shuttle and headed for the escalators. “But what I do know is we don’t have to go through with the plan now. She’s not trying to set us up.”

  “Yeah right. The two of us being on the same flight was no coincidence. Pretending that we’re together is the only way to stop whatever she’s up to now. Unless you’re interested in dating Dr. McSexy? I wouldn’t want to put a crimp in your love life.”

  “Of course I’m not interested. I’m not interested in dating anyone.”

  The muscles in his shoulders loosened at her response. Okay, that reaction had nothing to do with her not wanting to date, he assured himself. His relief was because he needed her to go along with the plan for his sake. “Good. We’re on the same page. You tell Nell we’re involved, and I’ll do the same.”

  She gave her head a slight, worrisome shake. “The more I think about it, the less I like the idea. We’ll get everyone’s—”

  Before he had an opportunity to address whatever excuses she’d come up with, he heard his father call his name. He looked up to see his dad making his way toward them with a relieved smile on his face. A twinge of guilt knotted Chance’s gut. He’d disappointed his dad a lot over the last five years. The smile Chance offered in response faltered when he spotted the woman following behind his father.

  An icy cold sensation flooded Chance’s body, weakening his limbs.

  Vivi touched his arm. “Are you all right?”

  At least that’s what he thought she said. He couldn’t be sure with the sound of his heart pounding in his ears.

  His father pulled him in for a hug. “It’s good to see you, son. Welcome home.”

  He managed to return his father’s greeting, then forced himself to look at the sun-streaked blonde hanging back with a nervous smile on her heart-shaped face. Natalee. Kate’s baby sister. Jesus. His heart rate slowly returned to normal. He hadn’t seen Natalee since the funeral. She’d been a mess that day. They all had been. But she’d been only sixteen at the time and had worshipped Kate. Natalee hadn’t been able to look at him at the funeral. She’d blamed him for her sister’s death as much as he blamed himself.

  “Look who I’ve got with me.” His dad stepped back, watching Chance closely as he waved Natalee over.

  “Hey, Nat.” Chance worked to keep the emotion from his voice as he walked past his father to draw the young girl into his arms. “You’re all grown up, kiddo.” Hardly a day had gone by that Nat hadn’t been with him and Kate. He’d come to think of her as a little sister.

  Wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, she buried her face in his chest as a sob shuddered through her delicate frame. “I know, kiddo,” he said quietly, patting her back. “I know.”

  Chapter Three

  Vivi recognized the younger woman from the wedding photos that lined the mantel at Dr. McBride’s. An unfamiliar burn stung her eyes as Chance drew his sister-in-law into his arms. Vivi prided herself on her ability to stay unmoved, unemotional in the face of human drama. As a journalist, that detachment served her well. Of course, there were editors who would disagree with her. Over the years, she’d been told that the one element her stories lacked was heart.

  At that moment, Vivi’s cool detachment seemed to have abandoned her, her throat tightening painfully at the shredded expression on Chance’s face when his sister-in-law started sobbing in his arms. His deep voice quiet and gruff as he consoled her.

  Vivi looked away. She couldn’t do it. Couldn’t watch as a man who’d been trained to use his powerful six-foot-four body as a lethal weapon and deal with life-and-death situations without blinking an eye, struggled to contain his grief. And maybe if she was honest, she’d admit the emotional punch came not only from watching him battle against his pain and heartache. It was due to the evidence of his deep, abiding love for his wife. After five years, Chance’s feelings for Kate still had the power to shatter him.

  Vivi stuck out her hand. “Hi, Dr. McBride. Thanks for offering to give me a lift to Christmas.”

  It took a moment for the dark-haired man with a touch of silver at his temples to acknowledge Vivi’s greeting. He was obviously worried how Chance would deal with the unexpected reunion with his sister-in-law. Dr. McBride turned navy-blue eyes on Vivi. The sixty-something man was still as head-turningly gorgeous as his sons. And as Vivi knew from visiting Christmas, he was also a kind and loving father. Maddie adored him. But at that moment, Vivi wanted to shake her best friend’s father-in-law because, along with the concern in his eyes, she saw the guilt. What had he been thinking forcing a public reunion on his son?

  Every ounce of color had drained from Chance’s face when he saw the younger woman in a pink sweater with matching leggings and wedge sandals, a large white bag over her shoulder, standing behind his father. Natalee with her delicate, winsome beauty looked so much like Kate McBride that Chance must have thought he’d seen a ghost. If he expected his family to pull crap like this when he came home, no wonder he stayed away.

  Chance’s father grimaced as he clasped Vivi’s hand. No doubt her anger showed on her face. “That was unfair, you know. He deserved a heads-up.” She didn’t worry Chance would overhear her; he was focused on the small black-and-white dog Natalee had just removed from her bag.

  Dr. McBride appeared taken aback by what she’d said, then he slowly nodded and squeezed her hand. “You’re right. Nell thought…” He lifted a shoulder, glancing once again in Chance’s direction.

  She patted his arm. “Take my advice, Nell is the last person you should be listening to.” Vivi nodded at the baggage claim. “I’ll give you guys a few minutes alone and get my luggage.”

  As she began to walk away, Paul rubbed the back of his neck, something his son Gage also did when he was nervous. Vivi lifted her eyes to the airport ceiling, blowing out an aggravated breath. Obviously Chance had another unwelcome surprise in store for him courtesy of his great-aunt. Unwanted sympathy filled Vivi, and for all of a second, she reconsidered her decision not to go along with his plan. She’d started to tell him she’d had a change of heart, but his father’s arrival interrupted her.

  If Chance hadn’t kissed her on the plane, maybe she’d feel more disposed to helping him out. But he did, and his mouth on hers felt as incredible as she remembered. With the familiar feel of his big hand cradling the back of her head, all that hard muscle beneath her, and his clean, manly scent, she’d lost herself in his kiss. So lost that she forgot he’d lied to her, that he’d kicked her to the curb without a backward glance. Until he eased her out of his arms and his perceptive gaze roamed her face.

  There was no way he’d mistake her passionate response for anything other than what it was. He’d turned her, a woman who hated public displays of affection, into a quivering mass of desire… on a plane. Surrounded by people who no doubt heard those stupid needy sounds she’d made. It was then that she’d decided what he could do with his plan. But just as she’d opened her mouth to tell him, he’d put his damn Stetson over his face and fallen asleep.

  As Vivi dug through the mound of luggage beside the carousel, she decided today ranked in the top ten of her life’s most embarrassing moments. The neon floral suitcase near the bottom of the pile drew her attention. Like her yellow rubber boots, the suitcase was one of Skye’s castoffs. Yep, walking around with a sparkly piece of luggage was the perfect way to cap off her craptastic day. Vivi tugged and shoved until she finally retrieved the suitcase. Pulling up the handle, she gave the hard frame a kick to get its wheels in motion as she contemplated the cost of taking a taxi to Christmas.

  A large hand closed over hers. “Cute luggage, Slick. Never would have taken you for a girly girl,” a familiar male voice said as he took the suitcase from her.

  For a big man, Chance had an annoying ability to sneak up on her. She sighed and looked at him. His comment and his tone of voice had been lighthearted; the emotion carved into his face was anything but. “Are you okay?”
she asked, unable to keep the sympathy from her voice.

  “Fan-freaking-tastic,” he muttered as he took her hand and headed toward his father and Natalee, who were waiting by the exit doors.

  Vivi’s gaze moved from Chance to his father, who was looking at her like she walked on water. Oh, good God, he’d told his dad they were dating. “Ah, Chance, I don’t think—”

  “Dad and Aunt Nell got my place ready for us, Slick. Isn’t that great?”

  She froze. “What?”

  He let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her, holding her tight against him. His arm felt like a band of steel. She couldn’t move if she wanted to. And there was no doubt she wanted to. Because while pretending to be his girlfriend would be difficult, living under the same roof with him would be sheer torture. “No, no way, I’m not…” She trailed off as he looked down at her.

  And in response to the pleading look in his grass-green eyes, the tension bracketing his beautiful mouth, Vivi, the most unsympathetic person north of Wall Street, did the unthinkable: she caved. But not without some attitude. “Fan-freaking-tastic,” she muttered.

  * * *

  Chance sat in the passenger seat while his father regaled him with news from Christmas. For a small town, there was a hell of a lot of news. Paul had been talking nonstop since they dropped Nat off at a friend’s place twenty minutes ago. It was a nervous habit of his father’s. He knew he’d screwed up forcing a face to face with Nat.

  Chance expected more from his father. Out of anyone, his dad should have known what today would cost him. Paul had lost his wife—Chance’s mother—nine years ago to breast cancer. But maybe it was different when you did everything you could to save the woman you loved. When you weren’t the one who put her in danger in the first place.

  His father cast an anxious glance in the rearview mirror. “You’re sure Vivi didn’t hit her head when she fell? She was out cold fifteen minutes after we left the airport.” Ever since his wife’s death, Paul had turned into an overprotective worrywart. You couldn’t get so much as a scratch or a headache without him jumping to the worst-case scenario.

  Chance smiled at the memory of trying to hand Vivi the dog so he could load her luggage into his dad’s SUV. In her panic to get away from an eight-pound Yorkie, she’d tripped over her suitcase. Leave it to her to make him laugh when he hadn’t thought he’d get through the next ten minutes without losing his shit.

  “She didn’t hit her head, Dad. She landed on her ass. And believe me, she wouldn’t feel a thing. That part of her body is well padded.” He waited for a reaction from Vivi. Sure enough, his seat bounced with what he imagined was a kick from behind him. He knew she was faking it. She’d tried a couple of times to engage Nat in conversation. When she’d failed to draw anything more than monosyllabic answers from his sister-in-law, Vivi had yawned loudly and told the three of them she needed to catch some shut-eye.

  “You’re lucky she’s asleep or you’d be paying for that comment, son.” His father smiled. “You made me a happy man today. Vivi’s a wonderful young woman. I couldn’t have picked better for you myself.”

  From the backseat came a muffled groan. Chance didn’t want to get his dad’s hopes up any more than he already had. More importantly, he didn’t want Vivi to bail on him. As she’d proved earlier, she was great at distracting him. And if he was going to survive this week, he’d need all the distraction he could get. “Dad, don’t read more into it than there is. We’re dating. That’s all.”

  “Son, I may be getting up there, but even I know when you date someone it means you’re thinking of a future with them.”

  “No, it means we enjoy spending time together. Leave it alone.”

  “I want you to be happy. I’ve been worried about you. We all have. You haven’t had anyone in your life since—”

  “Don’t, okay? I’m not you, Dad. I…” He trailed off when Princess barked and scratched at the door. “What’s wrong, girl?” Chance patted the dog, who’d been sleeping in his lap for most of the drive, and looked out the window to see what had caught her attention on the desolate mountain road. There was nothing, only the yellow guardrail running along the serpentine curve above the rocky gorge. He briefly closed his eyes. He hadn’t realized where they were.

  His father shot him a concerned glance. “Sorry, son. I should have taken—”

  “I’m fine. Just drive, okay?” He was so far from fine it wasn’t funny. His heart hammered against his rib cage, echoing in his ears. He needed… He shifted in his seat, stretched a hand out to Vivi, and patted her thigh. “Hey, Slick, time to wake up.”

  She sat up, rubbing her leg. “Geez, you’re rough. It’s not my butt you’re patting, you know. My big butt with all the padding.”

  He stared into her grumpy, pissed-off face. He could kiss her right now. Instead he laughed.

  Paul shot Chance an I-told-you-so look at the same time a smile spread across his face. Princess went crazy, growling and snapping at Vivi.

  Eyes wide, she put up her hands. “Don’t you dare let her go, McBride.”

  “Are you afraid of dogs, honey?” his father asked as they turned onto the long gravel road leading to the cabin.

  At the sight of the copper roof peeking through the trees, the roaring in Chance’s ears drowned out Vivi’s response. He hadn’t been back since the morning after the funeral. The cabin had been their dream home—his and Kate’s. They’d spent more than a year planning everything, from the type of wiring to the hardware for the cabinetry. In his mind’s eye, he could see her curled up on the couch knitting a small pink sweater by the fire, standing by the window with her hand on her rounded belly as she looked out over the frozen lake, waiting for him in their bed with a sweet smile on her face, laughing in the kitchen as she set off the smoke detector for the hundredth time.

  She’d be there. He’d feel her presence everywhere he turned. And all that gut-wrenching longing, the fucking pain and guilt that he had been able to keep locked away, would escape once again.

  Chapter Four

  I’ll see you later, Dad,” Chance said, his face a hard, inscrutable mask. He didn’t spare Vivi so much as a glance as he swung his duffle bag over his shoulder and strode toward the luxury log home’s garage with the dog in his arms.

  Dr. McBride set Vivi’s suitcase on the gravel drive, his worried gaze following his son until he disappeared from view. Paul gave Vivi a weak smile. “I guess he doesn’t want me to stick around.”

  She drew her gaze from the triple-car garage. “I wouldn’t read too much into it. He knows you have a lot to do with the wedding.”

  “No, he’s angry I made him come here.” He looked around the heavily wooded, secluded property. Small patches of snow were still in evidence as the sun tried to shine through the leafy canopy where birds chirped overhead. Paul returned his attention to her. “I know I went about it the wrong way, but he can’t go on like this. He hasn’t dealt with Kate’s death. He blames himself, you know. It’s time for him to let her go, and this is where he has to do it. The two of them loved this place as much as they loved each other. They were happier than—” He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. It must be tough on you to hear about Chance and Kate.”

  About as tough as lying to his father. Their fake relationship was a bad idea on so many levels. If they continued the charade, Paul would be even more upset when the truth eventually came out. And an upset Paul meant an upset Maddie. Chance might not agree with Vivi, but it was time to end the deception. “Dr. McBride, Chance and I aren’t—”

  “Paul. You’re a member of the family now.” He gave her another one of his you-walk-on-water looks. “I’m glad you’re here to help him through this, Vivi. No one should have to face this alone. He needs you. You make him happy. And my son deserves to be happy. He’s a good man.”

  Given her past experience with Chance, she could legitimately challenge the “good man” part. Good men didn’t lie to women.
But Paul was right about one thing: Chance shouldn’t have to deal with this alone. No one should. And since he was as alpha as alpha gets, he wouldn’t want anyone to see his vulnerability. But Vivi had witnessed his suffering today and, she reminded herself, he’d asked for her help. Though she was pretty sure this wasn’t exactly the kind of help he had in mind. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him, Paul. You have enough on your plate with the wedding.”

  “Don’t remind me. Liz has a list as long as my arm of things that I have to accomplish today,” he said with a rueful grin. Liz O’Connor was his wife-to-be and Skye’s mother-in-law. “We’ll see you both at Gage and Maddie’s tonight.”

  Right. Maddie and Skye had e-mailed her a schedule of duties and events. Tonight they were making up the wedding favors. Vivi couldn’t believe she’d let them rope her into doing this crap. Between that and babysitting Chance, she deserved a nomination for sainthood.

  “Sure thing. See you there,” she said as he got in his SUV. Watching him drive away, she debated whether she should give Chance a couple more minutes alone. An ominous rustling in a nearby bush made up her mind. She hightailed it up a stone walkway to the front door. Just as she raised her hand to knock, a door slammed. Moments later, a black truck kicked up gravel as it peeled out of the garage. “Wait, wait,” she called to Chance, running down the walkway, waving her arms. He stopped, and the passenger-side window rolled down.

  He looked beyond her, his face ravaged. “I’ve gotta get some food. There’s nothing in the fridge. Don’t let the dog out.”

  Dog? No way. “Chance, you can’t just leave—” She began, but he didn’t hear her. He gunned the engine, his tires spinning as he tore down the road without a backward glance.

  Pressing her fingers to her temple, Vivi tried to remind herself that she felt sorry for the man. Instead, her grandma’s words came back to her. Whenever Vivi couldn’t hide her tears—like the time her grandma’s Chihuahua Tinkerbell bit her and when the kids teased her for wearing clothes their mothers donated to charity and the day her father died—her grandma would say, “Sympathy is between shit and syphilis in the dictionary.” Something Vivi needed to remember, she decided as she stomped up the walkway.