she’d been looking for in a man, everything her friends expected her boyfriend to be, everything her parents wanted her to marry.
Until, impatient for a ring after dating exclusively for so long, she’d brought up the M-word. Marriage. And suddenly her perfect boyfriend wasn’t ready for a serious relationship. He’d accused her of being too selfish and too self-reliant to make a permanent commitment. Oh he’d wanted to keep seeing her, she remembered bitterly. They looked good together and his boss liked her. But he’d wanted to take a serious step backward in the commitment department. Maybe, he’d suggested, they should start dating other people, too. Serena had said no, thinking he only needed a push to get their relationship back on track. Rupert had said goodbye. Proving once again that if she didn’t do what others wanted, she wouldn’t get what she wanted.
His parting words had stung.
You don’t need me, Serena. You don’t need anyone.
In the months since, she’d come to realize he was right. They were better off without each other. She didn’t need him. She hadn’t loved him the way a woman should love the man she wanted to marry. She hadn’t wanted him as much as she liked how he’d fit into her plans. So much for her perfect dress. Her perfect groom. Her perfect life.
She forced herself to breathe. A setback, yes. A total failure, no. Serena James didn’t fail.
Regina grinned, as if she’d found the perfect Kodak moment to capture with her camera. “Rupert will have to adjust his travel schedule once you get married.”
Serena’s stomach roiled. Her temples throbbed. She hated keeping secrets from the women she cared most about in the world, women who were more like family than coworkers, but what else was she supposed to do?
Julie had been thrilled about getting engaged. The other Belles were excited to be giving her a dream wedding. Serena couldn’t let her bad news affect everyone else’s joy. When Callie had fallen in love with Jared, Serena hadn’t wanted her breakup to take anything away from the couple’s happiness. And after Regina and Dell’s marriage had become a love match, Serena couldn’t find the right time to tell everyone she’d been dumped.
Now wasn’t the right time, either.
Natalie and Audra Green, the company’s accountant, were down on men. Telling them the truth about what had happened would only reaffirm their belief that Mr. Right didn’t exist. Serena wouldn’t do that to her friends. They’d already faced too much disappointment and heartache.
Besides, her friends expected more from her. Everyone did. Serena worked hard on her polished image, kept a positive attitude and was always there in a pinch. People counted on her. They expected her to find Mr. Right.
That was exactly what she intended to do—find someone to give her the perfect love, family and life she dreamed about. Just because she’d been wrong about one man didn’t mean her one true love wasn’t out there somewhere. Maybe even in Seattle.
“So about the bridal show—” Serena leaned back in her chair “—what else do I need to bring with me in addition to the wedding dresses?”
Kane Wiley ducked around the business jet’s engine to place his bags in the plane’s exterior storage compartment. His breath steamed in the November air.
“Is that all you’ve got?” his father, Charlie, asked.
“Yep.” Not only for this flight. All Kane owned—besides the business jet itself—could fit into two bags. He traveled light. And liked it that way.
“I appreciate your making the trip, son.” Wearing faded jeans, a black turtleneck and down vest, Charlie looked younger than his fifty-six years, even with his salt-and-pepper hair.
“Just hold up your end of the deal, Dad.”
“I will.” Charlie picked up a box containing soda, water, ice, boxed lunches and a plate of cookies and brownies. “I will leave you alone. No more questions. No more badgering you to come home.”
Home. That was a good one. Kane nearly laughed. There hadn’t been a real home to come back to since his mom had died suddenly from a heart attack three years ago and his dad had quickly remarried…and divorced. Now his father looked poised to make the same mistake again.
“But—” Charlie pushed the box of food through the doorway of the cabin “—I still expect a card or e-mail or phone call at Christmastime.”
“I can manage that.” Easter and Father’s Day, too. Even his dad’s birthday. Kane would do anything to get away from Boston and never have to return. He didn’t want to watch his father woo and wed yet another woman who could never take the place of his mother.
“Just remember, I love you, son. I’m here if you need me. For anything. Money, whatever.”
Kane nodded once. He glanced at his watch. Damn. “Where is she?”
“Belle?” Charlie asked.
Kane fought the urge not to wince at his dad’s newest “friend’s” name. “The one I’m flying to Seattle.”
“Serena will be here,” Charlie said. “Traffic is always bad at this time.”
Norwood Airport was twenty-five miles north of Boston. That meant she could be really late. Kane wanted to get in the air.
“Try smiling, son,” Charlie said. “You might have fun. Serena James is a beautiful young woman.”
“There are lots of beautiful women out there. No need to settle on just one.”
Though a cross-country romance might not be too bad. As long as it was over by the time they returned home.
Charlie shook his head. “You just haven’t met the right woman to love yet.”
“I meet lots of women.” Kane grinned. “Love them, too.”
Charlie frowned. “I mean the forever kind of love. The kind I had with your mother.”
And with his second wife.
And with what’s-her-name. Belle.
Forever was a joke. And love—the kind his dad was talking about—was nothing more than a pretty word for convenient sex and companionship.
A white van pulled through the gate and honked its horn.
Charlie turned toward the sound. “They’re here.”
“Great.” Kane had been hoping “they” would be a no-show.
A woman with silvery-blond hair and a beaming smile drove. She waved. Her passenger held a cell phone to her ear and wore dark, round sunglasses that hid much of her face.
The van stopped. The driver’s door opened. The older woman, wearing brown pants and a colorful jacket, slid out gracefully.
“Good morning.” She greeted Charlie with a handshake. The woman stepped toward Kane, extending her arm. “You must be Kane.”
He shook her hand, noting her warmth and strong grip. She was
