One Bride Too Many: One Bride Too Many / One Groom To Go

He squeezed the pool cue until his knuckles were white. He wanted out. He didn’t want to get married, especially not on his grandfather’s timetable. But he knew darn well his mother would be ousted as CEO unless the stock stayed in the family. A young hotshot MBA would come in and take Mom’s place. Even assuming Nick, his half brother, would get his share, he and Zack had to come through for her.

Balls moved on the bright green table, but his gaze was unfocused. His whole future could depend on Tess Morgan’s ability to push balls with a stick. If she introduced him to someone he decided to marry…

Or if she won and refused to help…

Cole forced himself to pay attention. He was in trouble. Two more shots, and she’d be the winner. He’d lose the game and the bet without getting another shot.

“Oh, no!” She sounded genuinely distressed.

She’d missed her shot. He’d been sure she was going to beat him, and it took a minute to realize he still had a chance.

He bit his lower lip, telling himself not to get cocky. He could still blow it. Wiping first one palm, then the other, on the sides of his pants, he tried to psych himself up to win.

“Number seven in the side pocket.” He called his shot as a courtesy of the game even though it was obviously his only option.

The cue ball banged the seven ball in with a satisfying thud.

“I knew you couldn’t miss that,” Tess said in a tone of disgust.

As the shooter, he could still miss the next shot and lose the bet. He didn’t like the angle between the eight ball and the cup. He’d made harder shots, but he’d missed easier.

Holding his breath, he went for it.

The thud of the eight ball going down the hole was music to his ears.

“Well, I guess you’re the winner,” Tess conceded.

She put out her hand to congratulate him. It was soft against his work-hardened palm, and he didn’t feel particularly elated at beating her.

“You shot a great game,” he said.

“Oh, sure, I lost two out of three, and I was trying hard to win,” she said with a look of disgust. “Getting a blind date for you of all people seems ludicrous. Tell me you were only kidding.”

“Not kidding.”

“Do you have a list?”

“List?” He reluctantly dropped her hand, but still felt a vague need to comfort her for losing.

“Shopping list, wish list, list of likes and dislikes.”

“No, nothing like that.” He laughed self-consciously.

“Everyone has some likes or dislikes. Give me a clue of what kind of person you have in mind.” She sounded grumpy.

“Well, I’d rather she didn’t pick her teeth in public.”

“Be serious!”

“I am. I went with a girl—briefly—who had a teeth fetish. The minute she finished eating, out came the floss.”

“None of my friends would be that gross.”

“That’s why I need your help. You know things about them. I trust your judgment.”

She was putting her stick in the case when two women walked up to the table.

“Are you through for the night?” A platinum blonde batted lashes heavy with mascara.

“The table is all yours,” Tess said. “I’m leaving.”

“How about a challenge match?” the other woman said to Cole.

He checked out her breasts—it would be hard not to notice them since they stuck out in all the glory silicone could produce—and backed away a step.

“Thanks, but I’m calling it a night,” he said.

“Pool isn’t the only game we play.” The blonde was wearing a skirt so short it looked like black leather underpants. She sidled up to Cole, took his arm and rubbed her hip against his.

“I’m leaving,” he insisted.

On his other side, the well-endowed friend wrapped her arm around his waist with the subtlety of a boa constrictor closing in on its prey. He tightened his buttocks when her hand crept downward.

“He’s with me.” Tess faced down the two predators, cue in hand.

Cole didn’t know whether to laugh or be embarrassed.

“Too bad.”

One of them—he didn’t know or care which—patted his butt. Any annoyance he might have felt was tempered by the fact that he’d tried to win a pool game by snuggling up to Tess’s backside.

“Let’s go,” he said, taking her cue and her arm.

Women, he’d learned early on, could be just as obnoxious as men when they were on the make. He had to credit Marsh for trying to protect him from the dregs of the female gender, but the old man should give him credit for some sense, not to mention taste in women.

“Well, that was fun,” Tess muttered as he followed her out to the parking area. “Where were those two when they could’ve done my game some good?”

“By taking my mind off mine? I don’t think so.” He didn’t tell her she was distraction enough. “How about stopping for something to eat?” He was reluctant to let the evening end although he didn’t know why.

“No, thanks. I’ve had enough excitement for one evening.” She wasn’t exactly sarcastic, but she made her point.

“Coffee then?” He knew he was a glutton for punishment.

“I don’t think so.”

“I’m pretty busy at work,” he said, slightly miffed by her refusal, “but I can be free next Saturday.”

“Free?” She seemed distracted as she got into the truck.

“To meet someone. You know, a date to pay off your wager,” he said, after climbing in on his side.

“I’m surprised the barflies back there didn’t interest you.”

“You think bimbos are my type?” She’d scored a point there.

“No, I guess not, but in high school you did—”

“That was ten years ago. Even the Bailey boys have to grow up eventually.” He wasn’t so sure about Zack, though.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.”

“That’s okay.” He was still disgruntled, but he wanted to close the deal on the blind dates. “Maybe one date Saturday and another Sunday.”

“How many friends do you expect me to serve up?”

He didn’t miss the distaste in her voice, and he felt like squirming on the seat of the truck. But she’d lost the pool match, and he wasn’t going to let her welch on the bet.

“Even though I won, I’ll be more than happy to give you a tour of the factory,” he offered, hoping to soften her resistance.

“And a sneak preview of the new product line?”

If seeing a bunch of baby stuff would make her less reluctant to help him, it was a small price to pay—even though it meant deluding his grandfather into thinking he cared a rat’s ass about the business. He couldn’t show the new line without going to his mother, and she was sure to mention it to the almighty chairman of the board, Marsh Bailey. Damn, life was complicated for a guy who only wanted to build houses.

“Yes, a sneak preview,” he promised. “I’ve heard about a baby-wipe warmer that plays a lullaby. And remember how happy my mom will be if I finally meet some nice girls.”

“I suppose anyone you’d go out with has to be good-looking,” Tess said.

He’d only managed to mollify her for a minute.

“Not conventionally pretty. I can appreciate an interesting face.” He felt challenged not to sound shallow.

“Tall, short, blond, brunette?”

“Personality is more important.” She was making him sound like the blurbs on women’s magazines by the checkout counter at the supermarket.

“How do you define nice?” she pressed.

“Be reasonable, Tess. It’s not about defining anything. It would be nice if she doesn’t sleep around. Is that nice enough for you?”

“I’ve never really thought about it.”

She sounded so prim he wanted to shock her pants off by planting a good, hard, lip-smacking kiss on her disapproving lips. Wouldn’t that be a good way to scuttle the whole plan? Just make his little matchmaker so mad she’d get him the blind date from hell.

“I’m sure any friend of yours is a good person,” he assured her.

“Except maybe Lucinda,” she said thoughtfully. “That was the worst bridesmaid’s dress in the history of weddings.”

He laughed in agreement. “But you did look cute with those curls.”

She slapped his thigh. A little gasp told him she’d acted on impulse and surprised herself.

“One of the deadly duo in the bar slapped my butt as we were leaving,” he said, wanting her to know women stepped out of line as often as men, herself included.

The high moral ground was a sweet perch, he discovered. He wasn’t sure whether his comment would help or hurt his cause, but even in the dark he could tell Tess’s cheeks had flushed apple red.

3

WHEN SHE’D HAD the chance to play pool with Cole Bailey, why didn’t she play for stakes that were fun? She thought of male pool players’ favorite come-on, a bet to see who made coffee the next morning, not that she still had a thing for one of the bad-boy Bailey twins.

Tess continued glumly rearranging the display of Kozy Kountry bedding and accessories, not one of the best merchandising decisions she’d ever made. Baby Mart customers hadn’t snatched up the comforters quite the way she’d hoped, not surprising since the cow looked more comatose than cute. One thing she’d learned early on—it didn’t really matter that infants could see black and white better than pastels. The product had to appeal to grandparents and other gift-givers. That meant adorable designs and clever gimmicks.

She really wanted a jump on Bailey’s new line so she could stock the most promising items ahead of her competition. But she was having a hard time convincing herself it was worth finding a date—or maybe even several dates—for Cole. A little winged cupid would make a cute quilt design, but she couldn’t see herself in the role.

The big question was, who, who, who? Even her friend Mandy, who was practically paranoid about blind dates, might be tempted to go out with Cole, but Tess had even less enthusiasm for matchmaking than she did for dopey-looking cows that weren’t selling. And she hadn’t even had the presence of mind to put a limit on the number of dates she was willing to arrange. Her choice would have been zero, but as her sister, Karen, had pointed out when she talked it over with her on the phone, at least Tess would get to see Cole again herself.

Did she want to stay in contact with him at any price? Her saner self said forget it, but she’d had such a wild crush on him in high school, she didn’t want him to disappear again without giving her a chance to see how wrong she’d been to idolize him. Face it, she’d been using him as a standard ever since, and it was time to get him out of her system for good. Certainly this matchmaking scheme would do the job. She hated it already.

She slapped another red label with a reduced price over a cow’s lolling tongue and thought about the way Cole had plagued her in high school. He’d been a stinker but so cute she’d welcomed any attention from him, even his devilish teasing. She’d had a tremendous crush on him but had never deluded herself into believing they’d ever be a couple. Cole dated cheerleaders and party girls who, if not exactly brainless, were definitely dedicated to having a good time.

Imagine, Cole Bailey wanted her to find a woman for him. He had a pretty vague idea of what made a girl nice, though. Thank heavens she’d fully recovered from her girlish infatuation! Cole had walked away from the women in the bar, but she was still convinced boys like Cole grew into men who were heartbreakers. Reformed or not, he wasn’t going to make her suffer the pangs of unrequited love again.

Already he had her thinking like the heroine in a Victorian romance novel. So he was gorgeous, lean, hard-bodied and darkly handsome. She could see men like that any day for the price of a movie ticket. The person she’d like to meet had to be sweet and reliable, a good companion for the long haul. She wasn’t a love-struck adolescent easily impressed by a good-looking exterior.

Oh, he’d be easy to fix up, she thought crossly as she finished marking down the slow sellers in the baby-bedding display, but she didn’t want to set up any of her friends for a big disappointment. Cole might think he wanted a nice girl, but how may hearts would he break before he found the right one—if such a person existed? He’d gone this far without committing himself to anyone. She’d expect a cow to wander off one of the quilts before a bad boy like Cole settled down with a nice girl.

Unfortunately, she’d lost the bet. Cole had distracted her in the first game—had he ever! But she’d blown the third and decisive one on her own. It was too late to complain about his underhanded tactics. Anyway, she’d never admit to him that having his arms around her had ruined her concentration.

She owed him, but she hated to put any of her friends at risk. Should she issue a medicine-bottle warning with every offer of a date? Beware—this hunk may be dangerous if taken seriously. If she did, who would accept?

If she flashed a picture of Cole, every single friend she had would beg for the opportunity to go out with him. Maybe she could lay a high-school yearbook on the coffee table and casually point out his senior class picture. He’d only improved with maturity.

Much as she hated to admit it, her big sister had been right about one other thing. Not only did she owe Cole for losing an admittedly foolish bet on pool, but he’d gotten her out of an embarrassing situation with Freddy at the wedding. He probably would’ve moved in on her like a snake after a mouse—her least favorite scenario.

Her clerk, Heather, was busy showing car seats to a customer, so Tess stayed out front. She spotted a petite blond woman flipping through a rack of infant outfits and hurried over to offer assistance.

“Tess, how are you?” the woman asked when she turned and recognized her.

“Jillian, hello.” Tess smiled automatically as she did with any customer. “Can I help you with something?”

“I hope so. I’m so excited! My sister is having twins, two girls if the doctor is right. Naturally I need something special for her baby shower.”

Jillian Davis was in kickboxing class with Tess and was so good she could easily have been the instructor, except she already had a supergood job as a bank loan officer. She was one of those adorable women who made other women feel as if they had spinach stuck in their teeth and a run in their panty hose. In her spare time, Jillian volunteered for community causes and usually ended up as chairperson.

“We have some darling stretch jammies, almost like aerobics outfits for infants,” Tess suggested.

“No, something more feminine, I think. By the way, I’ve almost decided to drop kickboxing.” Jillian gave a cursory glance at the outfits Tess pointed out. “I’m absolutely fascinated by yoga. It enriches the total person, and the yoga academy looks like a wonderful place to meet Mr. Right.”

When Jillian started moaning about how difficult it was to meet the perfect man, it usually meant she’d had a bad date the night before.

“How about quilts? I have a really good sale on them today.”

Jillian took a quick look at the cutesy cows and shook her head.

Darn, thought Tess, all those attributes and good taste, too. Did the woman have no flaws?

She looked up to offer another suggestion and saw Cole striding through the mall entrance to the store. Someone could make a fortune by devising a calendar with no Mondays if they were all as bad as they were today.

He was wearing jeans so threadbare she was afraid to look closely for fear of learning the color of his underwear. His ensemble included dusty tan work boots and a faded blue T-shirt with a Detroit Lions football logo. Jillian perked up so much she looked two inches taller and a shade blonder.

“Hi, Tess,” Cole said offhandedly, eyeballing Jillian with slightly narrowed eyes. “Don’t let me interrupt with a customer.”

“Oh, I’m a friend of Tess’s, not a customer.” Jillian was quick with the smile.

Wrong on the first count, Tess thought, ready to write off any sale she might have made to her non friend.

“Nice to meet you.” Cole was quick with the handshake.

They both had good people-meeting skills—glad hands, big smiles, eye contact.

“I’m Jillian Davis.”

“Cole Bailey.” Still pressing her hand.

“Actually I’m a customer today, too. I need two baby gifts because my sister is expecting twins.”

“No kidding? I’m a twin myself.”

“What a good omen! I’m sure to find perfect gifts here.”

“Looks like Tess has anything you might want for babies. What’s this?” He picked up a Kozy Kountry crib sheet. “Cows. Cute.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Jillian looked at them again. “Look at all the things that match it—a quilt, a bib, even a wall hanging! I couldn’t be more excited about twins if I were having them myself. Of course, I’m not married…not even involved with anyone right now.”

“Hey, you’re in luck,” Cole said. “Tess only has a few quilts left, and they’re marked way down.”

One word from Cole, and Jillian was grabbing up cows without even checking the prices.

“I think this will do it,” she said a little breathlessly. “I can just see the little darlings cuddling up with these adorable cows.”

Jillian wiggled her shoulders under a champagne silk blouse that matched her skimpy skirt, and it occurred to Tess that banks were open by now.

“I’ll write them up fast,” she promised. “You must be expected at work.”

“Oh, my boss is so understanding,” Jillian assured her. “The shower is tonight, and this is absolutely the only time I have to shop today.”

Cole caught Tess’s eye as Jillian carried her selections to the counter.

“Her?” He mouthed the question.

“No way.” She spoke in haste, then wondered if this could be a way out for her. It would almost certainly save one or more of her friends from the pain of being dumped by a Bailey.

“Her!” he said in an emphatic whisper, nodding.

Convenient or not, Tess didn’t like it. If he could come into a baby store and find a woman he wanted to date, why bother involving her at all?

He chatted up Jillian while Tess tallied the purchases. She should have been delighted to get rid of the cows, but the inane conversation at the counter was so distracting she had to check the total twice.

“Actually, I came here today because Tess promised to do me a small favor,” Cole said.

“What’s that?” Jillian’s tone questioned whether there could possibly be anything a hunk like Cole needed from a drab shop girl like Tess. Or maybe Tess only wanted her to have nasty thoughts. Perfect people should have noble, uplifting thoughts. If Jillian’s were unpleasant, then she didn’t qualify as perfect.

“She promised to fix me up for Friday.”

Jillian’s jaw dropped. She recovered quickly, but Tess had seen what she’d seen.

“I thought you said Saturday.” She didn’t want any part of this pickup.

“Change of plans. You will vouch for me, won’t you?” he asked.

“I vouch,” she said, disgruntled by how pointless it had been to worry about finding him a date.

“I didn’t know Tess had such a beautiful friend.” Cole focused those dark smoky gray eyes on Jillian’s pert little face. She giggled.

“Do you want a date Friday?” Tess asked Jillian.

“Well, I don’t know. I never accept blind dates, but I have seen you, haven’t I? And Tess vouches for you.”

Whatever that meant, Tess groused to herself.

“I had in mind a late dinner, maybe pick you up at eight,” Cole suggested.

“That would be very nice.”

Tess had to give her credit for not showing too much eagerness. Jillian scooped up two big plastic bags and power walked to the exit, feet perfectly straight so there was no suggestion of a duckwalk. In a fair world, she would at least have had thick ankles or saddlebags on her hips

“I guess you’re not here to buy a baby gift,” she said to Cole when they were alone. “Jillian is probably planning to have a set of twins with you as the daddy after that come-on.”

“Doubt that, but thanks for…”

“I know, vouching for you.” Whatever that meant. “She’s perfect. I don’t know why she’s still single except she has a dynamite career. I hope you have a good time.”

“Thanks, I probably will, but I doubt she’s perfect.”

Oh, come on, Tess wanted to say.

“She’s a petite blonde with a perfect haircut.” There was that word again—perfect. “Plus she has porcelain skin with a flawless complexion, sky-blue eyes, a really tasteful wardrobe…”

“Whoa, I meant it when I said it’s what’s inside that counts.”

“Oh.” This was a new side of Cole Bailey. “Well, she works with a lot of volunteer groups including the Humane Society, so she must care about animals and people.”

“Well, you’ve helped me without even picking up the phone. Thanks, Tess. But I came here about the new products. I have to go to a builders’ supply place east of here, so I stopped on the way to tell you I’ll set up a sneak peek as soon as possible.”

“And to check whether I’d arranged a date for you yet?”

“That, too.” He grinned broadly. “But I knew I could trust you to keep your word. I’ll let you know how it goes with…” He hesitated.

“Jillian. Jillian Davis. You can call her at Industrial Savings and Loan.”

She watched him leave, surprised that his long, sexy stride still seemed so familiar. She didn’t know how the date would go, but at least some of the comatose cows were gone.

COLE QUIT WORK early, which for him still meant putting in a twelve-hour shift to take advantage of the long summer day, and pulled up to the brick building that housed the research department and administrative offices of Bailey Baby Products. He’d called ahead to make sure his mother would be there, not that she ever left her office at a normal quitting time. If workaholism was inherited, everyone in the family but little brother Nick, Junior, had gotten it from Marsh, although with the twins it was more a matter of survival for their fledgling company than a compulsion.

He took the elevator to his mother’s third-floor office suite, hoping Marsh wasn’t in the building. How many kids were expected to call their grandfather by his first name as soon as they started talking?

It didn’t much matter what Cole called him after the big blowup they’d had when he and Zack started their construction business. It’d been nearly a year since either twin had been at the plant, although for their mother’s sake, they were civil to their grandfather during occasional dinners at her house. Still, Cole didn’t want to bump into the old man. If he saw Cole, he’d harp on wanting him to take an interest in the family business.

The outer office was deserted. Sue Bailey worked long hours because she loved it, but didn’t expect her employees to sacrifice their home lives for the company.

“Mom?”

The door to her inner office was slightly ajar, and Cole stepped into the cool interior. Somehow his mother had managed to make an efficient working office seem warm and inviting. She loved aqua, and the deep pile of the carpeting was a vibrant, dark shade of her favorite color. The tinted windows of the corner office were flanked by lighter aqua drapes. White walls and sleekly modern white metal furnishings left no doubt that this was a place of business, but one side of the room had a low round conference table surrounded by comfortable chairs with seats upholstered in a geometric pattern of black, white and aqua.

“I’ve got a date with a nice girl Friday night,” he said without preamble.

His mother always looked happy in her work environment, but when she looked up at him she was positively glowing. He and Zack were doing the right thing—or rather, he was. His twin’s turn would come soon enough. Their mom had been rocked by the death of Nick, Senior, her husband, a good man who gave his stepsons as much attention as his own son, Nick. She put all her energy into running the business to forget her sorrow, and it helped her immensely. After two years of widowhood, she was like her old self again, Cole thought. But if she lost control of the plant because of her father’s high-handed manipulations, she’d be devastated.