at all.
His gaze moved over her like a caress, lingering on her bare shoulders and the low bodice of her dress. Why look at her meager cleavage when she stood next to a Grecian goddess like Brenna? And yet he didn’t even glance at the redhead, although he addressed them both. “Ladies.”
“Dr. Jameson,” Brenna said. “Have you seen Josh? Is he okay?”
Nick’s shoulders twitched stiffly in a tense shrug. “I don’t know. He’s looking for TJ and Buzz.”
Brenna smiled, and her green eyes softened with affection. “The boys are with my parents. I’ll let Josh know.”
Colleen reached out, trying to catch her friend’s arm, but the maid of honor slipped away, leaving Colleen alone with Nick Jameson. He closed his hand around her outstretched one, entwining his long fingers with hers. Colleen drew in a deep breath as indescribable sensations raced through her. She tugged on her hand, but he didn’t release her.
“Let’s dance,” he said, leading her toward the crowded floor before she could sputter out a protest.
And she would have protested. She didn’t want to dance with a man who’d called her sister flaky. Hypocrite. She didn’t want to dance with a man who’d seen her any number of times but had never noticed her before.
Until today. Until she wore the red dress Brenna had picked out for the bridesmaids to wear. Despite the fact that she was the bride, Molly had made none of the arrangements for her wedding. Given her apparent disinterest, maybe no one should have been surprised that she’d backed out of the marriage. But Molly wasn’t flaky, as Nick had said. Once she set her mind on something, she followed through—like becoming a doctor. While Colleen liked volunteering at the hospital, she would never have been able to handle the studies, as Molly had, taking time off from medical school only for her wedding. Her wedding-that-wasn’t.
Josh’s wedding, too.
“How is the groom?” she asked, as Nick led her in between the other dancing couples and kids to a remote corner of the floor.
“Groom?” he snorted as he pulled her into his arms.
“Groom implies that there was a wedding.” His jaw taut, he ground out his words. “There was no wedding. There was no bride. So no, there is no groom.”
Colleen’s reluctance to dance with him had nothing to do with her wounded ego. She couldn’t dance with a man this angry with her sister. He acted as if he were the jilted groom. She stopped moving and tried to pull away, but his hands continued to hold her close.
His breath shuddered out, stirring her hair. “He’s my best friend.” Emotion cracked the deep smoothness of his voice. “I hate to see him go through this again.”
“Again?” Oh, God, the poor man…
“He didn’t get left at the altar before. But when the twins were babies, their mom, Josh’s first wife, just took off.”
Like Molly had. Probably not out a window, but still she’d abandoned her husband and children. Colleen knew what it felt like to be abandoned. Shortly after her dad died, Molly and Brenna had left for college, Eric had enlisted in the Marines and Abby had just…left. Colleen had never felt so alone. She lifted her hand to Nick’s shoulder and settled back into his arms, moving her feet to follow his lead as the music played, low and smoky. “I’m sorry.”
Nick shrugged, muscles rippling beneath her palm. “He says he’s staying in Cloverville.”
Waiting for Molly. Men waited for Molly. They didn’t even notice Colleen. Usually.
NICK SHIFTED HIS HAND against her back. Moving his palm over the smooth red satin, he longed to touch her, to see if her skin was as silky as the dress. She was so slender his hand nearly spanned the back of her waist. He nudged her closer, so that she settled against his chest. His pulse leaped as he breathed in the scent of lilies from a small sprig of flowers clasped in her hair. Some of the chocolate-colored strands brushed his chin and throat. He’d never felt anything as soft except for the kitten he’d once bought the twins. But the boys’ rambuctiousness had scared the little thing so much he’d had to rescue it from them.
When he tilted Colleen’s chin, she stared up at him with enormous dark eyes, as vulnerable and frightened as the kitten had been. Why did she fear him? Did she feel his barely controlled anger over how her sister had humiliated his best friend?
Or did she feel the desire he could hardly control at this moment—for her? “Colleen…”
Something about her, that vulnerability, her youth and air of innocence, suggested she needed rescuing and compelled him to step up and save her. But Nick knew, the only one from whom he could save her was himself. His anger still simmered, but he couldn’t hurt her.
As she blinked, thick black lashes brushed her cheekbones. She had the face of a model, with huge expressive eyes, exquisite cheekbones, delicate nose and generous lips. Kissable lips.
He jerked up his chin, tearing his gaze from her face. Over her head he glimpsed another couple on the dance floor, and watched as the tall man leaned over the petite woman in his arms. Clayton McClintock was kissing the blond bridesmaid with hunger and passion. The way Nick wanted to kiss Colleen.
What the hell was he thinking? Even if her sister hadn’t left Josh at the altar, he wouldn’t want to get mixed up with some young girl from Cloverville. Small-town women expected commitments. They wanted husbands and kids. He couldn’t give Colleen McClintock any of those things. He would never put himself in that position, being so vulnerable to another person. If Josh, if Bruce, hadn’t picked the right woman to love, how could he?
“Dr. Jameson?” she said, her voice soft and tentative rather than haughty as it had seemed at the church. Which voice matched the real woman? Her change in attitude reminded him that he couldn’t trust his instincts, not regarding women.
“Use my first name,” he told her. He didn’t want this woman calling him Doctor. He wanted to hear his name on her lips, but she didn’t say a thing. She just stared up at him, those deep eyes so fathomless they were impossible to read. Did she really not know his name? Maybe she didn’t. He hadn’t known hers, either. “Nick.”
“Nick,” she repeated, her voice breathless as her gaze held his.
His heart pounded and adrenaline rushed through his veins with the heat of desire. All she had to do was say his name and he nearly forgot his anger at the way her sister had treated Josh.
“Nick.” She said his name again. “You were going to tell me something.”
That was before he’d been overcome with the urge to kiss her. He drew in a deep breath, remembering his decision. “Since Josh is staying in Cloverville, so am I.”
COLLEEN REACHED FOR THE glass of punch she’d left on the head table next to her purse. She hadn’t had time to take a sip, for the mingling and the desperate calls she’d been placing to Molly’s turned-off cell. And the dancing. She shouldn’t have danced with the best man.
Fortunately, the slow song had ended just as he’d told her of his intention to stay in town. She’d been able to pull away without drawing attention to them. Then she’d lost him in the crowd of dancers. Or maybe he hadn’t tried to follow her. Why would he? Just because
