Always The Best Man

“What if he doesn’t? He’s so special, but he’s not like other boys his age.”

“He’s different in some ways, but kids manage through those things. I didn’t have the greatest childhood or any real friends until I met your brother. I was too tall, too skinny and too poor. My dad was the town drunk and everyone knew it. But it made me stronger. I swear. Once I met Noah and your family took me in—”

“I didn’t.”

“No. You hated me being in your house.”

“It wasn’t about... I’m sorry, Jase. For how I treated you.”

“Em, you don’t have to—”

“I do.” She stepped forward, so close that even in the pale streetlight he could see the brush of freckles across her nose. “I haven’t been kind to you even since I’ve come back. It’s like the nice part of my brain short-circuits when you’re around.”

“Good to know.”

“What I said to you the other day on the football field about putting on your shirt.”

He winced. “My bony bod...”

“Had nothing to do with it. You’re not a skinny kid anymore. You must know...” She stopped, looked away, tugged her bottom lip between her teeth, then met his gaze again.

Something shifted between them; a current of awareness different than anything he’d experienced surged to life in the quiet night air.

“The women of this town would probably pay you to keep your shirt off.” She jabbed one finger into his chest. “All. The. Time.”

He laughed, because this was Emily trying to be nice and still she ended up poking him. “I’m popular at the annual car wash, but I figure it’s because most of the other men on the council are so old no one wants them to have a heart attack while bending to soap up a front fender.”

She didn’t return his smile but eased the tiniest bit closer. “I didn’t want you standing bare chested in front of me because I wanted to kiss you.”

Jase sucked in a breath.

“I wanted to put my mouth on you, right there on the sidelines of the high school field with half of our friends watching.” She said the words calmly, although he could see her chest rising and falling. He wasn’t the only one having trouble breathing right now. “That’s something different than when we were young. You make me feel things I haven’t in a long time, and I don’t know what to do about it. But it doesn’t give me the right to be rude. I’m sorry, Jase. I can’t—”

He didn’t wait for her to finish. There was no way he was going to listen to the word can’t coming from her, not when she’d basically told him she wanted him. In one quick movement, he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers.

So this was where she hid her softness, he thought. The taste of her, the feel of her mouth against his. All of it was so achingly sweet.

Then she opened her mouth to him and he deepened the kiss, threading his fingers through her hair as their tongues glided together. It was every perfect kiss he’d imagined and like nothing he’d experienced before. He wanted to stay linked with her forever, letting all of his responsibilities and the rest of the damn world melt away.

The moment was cut short when a dog barked—the sound coming from his house, and Emily pulled back. Her fingers lifted to her mouth and he wasn’t sure whether it was to press his kiss closer or wipe it away. Right now it didn’t matter.

“You have a dog?” she asked, glancing at his darkened front porch.

“A puppy,” he said, scrubbing a hand over his jaw and trying to get a handle on the lust raging through him. “My former secretary Donna had a female Australian shepherd that got loose while in heat. They ended up with a litter of puppies, part shepherd and part who knows what?”

The barking turned into a keening howl, making him cringe. “Maybe elephant based on the size of their paws. But Ruby—my pup—was the runt. She was weaker than the rest and her brothers and sister tended to pick on her. They kept her, but it wasn’t working with their other dogs. I went for dinner last week and...” The barking started again. “I need to let her out to do her business. Do you want to meet her?”

Emily shook her head and a foolish wave of disappointment surged through him.

“I need to get back to the farm. Mom thinks I was running to the store for...” She broke off, gave an embarrassed laugh, then looked at him again. “You rescue puppies, too? Unbelievable.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Tell that to Ruby.” She reached up on tiptoe, touched her lips to the corner of his mouth and then moved away. “You’re damn near perfect, Jase Crenshaw.”

“I’m not—”

“You are.” She shook her head. “It’s too bad for both of us that I gave up on perfect.”

Before he could answer, she walked away. He waited, watching until she’d gotten in the SUV and pulled down his street. Until her taillights were swallowed in the darkness. Then the silence enveloped him once more, and he wondered if he’d dreamed the past few minutes.

An increasingly insistent bark snapped him back to the land of the wide-awake. He jogged to the front door and unlocked it, moving quickly to the crate in his family room. Her fluffy tail wagged and she greeted him with happy nips and yelps. He led her to the back door and she darted out, tumbling down the patio steps to find her perfect spot in-yard.

He sank down to the worn wood and waited for her to finish, lavishing praise when she wiggled her way back to him.

“I’ve got a story for you,” he told the puppy as she covered him in dog slobber. “It’s been quite a night, Ruby-girl.”

* * *

Early Tuesday morning, Emily pasted a bright smile on her face before opening the door to Life Is Sweet, the bakery Katie owned in downtown Crimson. The soothing scent of sugar and warm dough washed over her as she automatically moved toward the large display case at the front of the shop.

The ambiance of the cozy bakery cheered her, even with the hellish morning of job interviews and application submissions she’d had. No surprise that businesses weren’t lining up to hire an overqualified, single-mom college dropout who could only work part-time hours and needed to be able to take off when her son had a bad day. Yet it felt personal, as if the town she’d so easily left behind wasn’t exactly opening its arms to welcome her back.

Life Is Sweet was different. With the warm yellow walls and wood beams stretching the length of the ceiling, the shop immediately welcomed customers both new and familiar. A grouping of café tables sat in one corner of the small space and the two women working the counter and coffee bar waved to her.

Katie pushed through the door to the back kitchen a moment later, carrying a large metal tray of croissants that she set on the counter.

“Should you be carrying pastries in your condition?” Emily asked with a laugh. Last weekend during dinner, Noah hadn’t let Katie bring any of the serving bowls out to the table on the patio or clear the dishes. In fact, he’d all but insisted she sit the whole time they were at their mother’s house. No matter what any of the women had told him about Katie and the baby remaining healthy despite normal activities, he couldn’t seem to stop fawning over his wife-to-be.

Katie rolled her eyes. “I would have never guessed your brother had such an overprotective streak. He wants me to cut back even more on my hours at the bakery.” She waved to one of the customers sitting at a café table, then looked at Emily. “I’ve hired a manager to run the front, but I’m still in charge of most of the baking. As long as my doctor says it’s okay, I want to keep working.”

“He’ll get over it. I’ll talk to him. Dad’s death made him funny about keeping everyone he loves healthy.” Her whole family had felt helpless when the pancreatic cancer claimed her father, and it had taken years for Noah to get over the guilt of not being around to help those last months.

When their mom had her health scare, Noah had returned to Crimson right away and remained at Meg’s side for the duration of her recovery. But losing one parent and being scared for the other had taken a toll on him, and Emily understood his reasons for wanting Katie to be so careful.

“I know, and I love him for it.” Katie sighed. “The morning sickness is done, so I feel great.” She put all but two of the croissants in the case. “I’m just hungry all the time. Can I interest you in a coffee-and-croissant break? They’re chocolate.”

“How did you know I need chocolate?”

“Everyone needs chocolate.” Katie set the remaining pastries on a plate, then poured Emily a cup of coffee and handed it to her. “You look like you’ve been through the job search gauntlet today.” She got the attention of one of the women working the counter and mouthed “Five minutes.” There was a line forming at the cash register so the worker gave her a harried nod. “Let’s go to the kitchen. More privacy.”

“You’re swamped right now. I’m fine.”

“Never too swamped for a snack,” Katie answered and picked up the plate. She led Emily through a heavy swinging door into the commercial kitchen. “I’m going to sit on a stool while you take my picture and text it to Noah. You’re the witness that I’m not working too hard.”

Emily snapped the photo, sent it to her brother and then pulled off a piece of the flaky dough. “Fresh from the oven?” she asked as she popped the bite into her mouth. She climbed onto a stool next to Katie, trailing her fingers across the cool stainless steel counter.

“The best kind.”

“If my brother becomes too much of a pain, I’ll marry you,” Emily said when she finished chewing. The croissant melted in her mouth, buttery and soft with the perfect amount of chocolate in the middle.

“Don’t distract me with flattery,” Katie answered but moaned as she took a bite. “What happened today?”

“No one feels a burning desire to hire the woman who publicly ridiculed the town on her way out.”

Katie made a face. “It was a well-known fact that you had no plans to stay in Crimson any longer than necessary.”

“Or maybe I got drunk one night and announced to a bar full of locals that I was too good to waste away in this...”

“Hellhole mountain slum, I think you called it.”

“Right. Classy.”

“And endearing,” Katie agreed, clearly having trouble keeping a straight face.

“I’m stupid.” Emily pressed her forehead to the smooth stainless steel, let it soothe the massive headache she could feel starting behind her eyes.

“You can make this better,” Katie said, placing a hand on Emily’s back. “Crimson has a long history of forgiving mistakes.”

“And an even longer one of punishing people for them.” She tipped her head to the side. “Look at how hard Jase has worked to make amends for trouble he didn’t even cause.”

“But people love him.”

“Because he’s perfect.”

“Why are you so hard on him, Em?”

Emily shook her head, unable to put into words her odd and tumbling emotions around Jase.

“You could work for him,” Katie said with a laugh.

“For Jase?” Emily asked, lifting her head. “What do you mean?”

“I’m joking,” Katie said quickly. “From what I can tell it bothers you to be in the same room with him.”

“That’s not exactly true.” Emily had really liked Jase kissing her. It had been easy to lose herself in the gentle pressure of his mouth. His hands cradling her face made her feel cherished. She’d wanted to plaster herself against him and forget she was alone, at least for a few minutes. She was definitely bothered by Jase, but not in the way Katie believed. “Is he hiring for his campaign?”

“No,” Katie answered slowly, as if reluctant to share what she knew. “His secretary retired a few months ago.”

“The one with the litter of puppies?”

“How did you know about that?”

Emily ignored the question. “Why hasn’t he hired someone?”

“He won’t say, but as far as I know he hasn’t even interviewed anyone for the position.” Katie took another bite of pastry. “There are plenty of people who would love to work with him.”

“Plenty of single women,” Emily clarified.

“He’s pretty hot,” Katie said, her smile returning. “Not as handsome as Noah, of course. He makes me—”

“I’m working on being a good friend.” Emily held up a hand. “But I draw the line on listening to you ruminate on the hotness of my brother.” She hopped off her stool and took a final drink of coffee. “Break’s over, friend. I just got a tip on a job opening.” She picked up the plate and walked it over to the sink.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Clearing my plate?”

“Asking Jase for a job.”

Emily straightened her suit jacket and smiled, pretending the nervous butterflies zipping through her belly didn’t exist. “I’m not sure, but when has that ever stopped me?”

She gave Katie a short hug. “Thanks for listening. You’re a pro at this whole supportive girlfriend thing.”

Katie returned her smile. “Good luck, Em.”

“I’ve got this,” Emily answered with more confidence than she felt. But bluffing was second nature to her, so she squared her shoulders and marched out of the bakery to get herself a job.

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