Love and Other Surprises (2 page)

“I appreciate the thought, but I plan to carry flowers just a tad bit fresher than those,” she said with a teasing note in her voice.

Matt followed her gaze down to the ridiculously battered bouquet still in his hand, which by now was little more than a batch of dried stems tied with pink and white ribbons.

Ali laughed, and Matt looked up to find himself the focus of a smile so bright it could have caused a power outage. Or power surge, Matt thought as a jolt of attraction raced through him. His eyes traveled the length of her, taking in the way the dress clung to her slender waist and revealed a delectable glimpse of cleavage. Her dark chestnut hair was swept up in some sort of tousled arrangement, her eyes were the color of a stormy sky and her complexion somehow reminded him of magnolia petals. He had a sudden urge to touch her cheek to see if it felt as soft and velvety as it looked.

Disconcerted, Matt rubbed his jaw. He hadn’t thought about her in these terms before.

Thought about her in
what
terms? His train of thought must have completely derailed, Matt told himself irritably. Ali wasn’t
a—a—woman.
Well, she obviously was, but not like that. Not a woman with a capital
W.
At least, not to him.

She was more like trouble with a capital T. Ali was a nuisance, that was all, and he was here to keep her from making another of her infamous mistakes. Instead of standing here ogling her décolletage, he needed to be figuring out a way to tell her she was engaged to a total cad.

“We need to talk,” he said in a voice that came out harsher than he intended. “Change into something more sensible and meet me at the coffee shop on the corner.”

Her brow knit into a worried frown. “Is something wrong?”

Oh, something was wrong, all right. Several things, in fact. For starters, he wasn’t supposed to be having these lascivious thoughts about his late partner’s sister. And he hated the fact he had to tell her the truth about her fiance. It was sure to be an emotional scene, and he made a point of avoiding those almost as much as he avoided matrimony.

But his biggest immediate problem was that he was too darn distracted by the way she looked in that dress to even think straight.

For the umpteenth time since the accident, he wished Robert were here. “You and I have some business to discuss,” he evaded.

Ali studied his face for a moment. He was relieved when she nodded without asking any further questions. “I’ll meet you in ten minutes.”

Matt watched her shapely pink back disappear into the rear of the shop, then tossed the bouquet on a counter and strode out the door. Outside, he drew a deep breath of fresh air and headed down Main Street to the Cattlemen’s Cafe. The cold March air felt good on his face. He’d gotten overheated in that stuffy little shop—and the way Ali had looked in that dress hadn’t helped in the least.

Ali wriggled out of the organza gown and distractedly handed it to the elderly saleswoman who’d insisted on accompanying her into the cramped dressing room. She was too absorbed in her thoughts of Matt Jordan to pay much attention to the woman’s rambling chatter.

Ali hadn’t remembered that Matt was so tall—or so good-looking. Of course, she’d only met him once before, and that had been at Robert’s funeral. She hadn’t been in any shape to notice anyone or anything then.

Matt had positively discombobulated her today, standing there with that ragged bouquet in his hand, his dark eyes raking her body. Her skin had warmed under his gaze and her heart had started racing. Her pulse still hadn’t returned to normal.

“I’ll adjust the hem and have your gown ready by tomorrow afternoon,” the saleslady was saying.

The words jarred Ali out of her reverie. “Thank you. That’ll be fine,” she replied. “Is Lauren’s dress finished yet?”

The woman nodded. “She came by for it this morning.”

Ali smiled at the thought of her oldest and dearest friend. “How does she look in it?”

An expression that could have been a smile added more wrinkles to the saleslady’s crinkled face. “Beautiful. Miss Connors will make a lovely bride, and you will make a lovely maid of honor.” The woman swept out of the cubicle, bearing Ali’s dress as if it were a precious artifact.

Ali pulled on her sweater, a vague wistfulness overtaking her. She was delighted that Lauren was getting married, but there was something about her best friend’s impending wedding that stirred up all kinds of thoughts and feelings and longings. It made Ali think about things like home and family and roots—things that made up a successful life, things that weren’t measured in dollars or business titles.

Ali hadn’t made a lot of time for those things in the last few years and her brother’s death six months ago had made her keenly regret it. Lauren’s wedding had brought it all into focus. As her friend’s wedding plans had progressed, so had a vague idea Ali had harbored since Robert’s funeral.

It was a great idea, one that would allow her to fulfill a personal goal as well as a professional one. Besides, it made perfect sense. All that remained was to convince Matt.

Matt.
Ali’s heart rate soared again at the thought of him.

Judging from the way he’d scowled at her, she might have her work cut out for her there. All she knew about him was what she’d heard from her brother. “We think exactly alike,” Robert had said. That could only mean one thing: she was dealing with a left-brained, uber-logical, just-the-facts-ma’am pragmatist.

It also meant Matt undoubtedly shared her brother’s view of her as an impractical scatterbrain. Robert had loved to regale his friends with tales of her mishaps and Matt was sure to have heard the gory details of every single one. It wouldn’t be easy convincing him she was capable and competent.

Thinking about being competent made Ali glance at her watch, then hurriedly scramble into her jeans. Robert had said Matt was a stickler for punctuality and she didn’t want to keep him waiting.

Matt was swallowing a gulp of coffee when Ali pushed open the glass door of the Cattleman’s Cafe, jangling the cowbells overhead. He set the green mug down hard on the Formica tabletop and watched her scan the room. Draped in a black wool cape with a vivid red lining and toting a large black bag, she looked like a sexy version of Little Red Riding Hood. She pushed back the hood, ruffling her hair, and Matt felt a surge of attraction.

Quit ogling her like the Big Bad Wolf,
he reprimanded himself.

Ali spotted him and quickly made her way to the table, flashing him a friendly grin as she slid onto the booth seat across from him. “What’s up?”

Matt eyed her uncertainly. While he’d been waiting for her, he’d mentally run through half a dozen ways to broach the subject. None of them made the topic more palatable. Might as well go with his usual straightforward approach. “We have a serious situation we need to discuss,” he began.

Ali smiled companionably. “It must be quite a situation to bring you to the bridal salon looking for me. How did you know where I was?”

“I, uh, overheard Justin Townsend mention it.”

Her grin widened. “I didn’t know you knew Justin. Are you coming to the wedding?”

The question caught Matt by surprise. Weren’t guests supposed to receive written invitations to weddings? From what he’d heard about how AIi usually operated, though, he wouldn’t be surprised if she’d invited guests telepathically.

“Tm not sure,” he hedged. “When is it?”

“This Saturday,” she replied.

Saturday! Derrick wasn’t wasting any time. Matt decided he’d better not beat around the bush, either.

He placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “Let me get right to the point. How well do you know Derrick Atchison, Ali?” he asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. “Fairly well, I guess. I went to high school with him.”

“Have you seen much of him since then?”

“Well, no.” Ali paused to order an ice tea from the waitress. “I hadn’t seen Derrick since graduation until I ran into him at a party last weekend.”

Matt stared at her incredulously. “You hadn’t seen him in years until last weekend? That must have been some reunion.” He couldn’t keep an edge of irony out of his voice. “Yessir, I’d say you two must have really hit it off.”

Ali shot him a quizzical look. “What’s this all about, Matt?”

Matt set down his coffee so hard that it threatened to slosh out of the cup. “Look, Ali, I know this is none of my business—but how can you walk down the aisle with someone you barely know?”

Ali regarded him strangely. “It’s no big deal. People do it all the time.”

She’s even goofier than I thought.
Matt ran a hand down his face and decided to drop the questions. “I have a few things to tell you about Derrick that might make you change your mind.”

“I doubt there’s anything you can tell me about him that I haven’t already heard,” she said with a serene smile. “Hillsboro is a pretty small town, and I’ve stayed in touch with my old friends here.”

Matt felt his mouth fall open. He closed it with an effort and rubbed his jaw.
Try another approach,
he told himself, but he had no idea what might work with a person as completely devoid of common sense as Ali seemed to be.

The waitress delivered Ali’s tea, and Matt watched her squeeze a lemon slice into the glass as he considered his next move. Maybe if he could figure out why she was marrying Derrick, he could figure out a way to stop her.

He forced what he hoped was a composed expression onto his face, deliberately trying to keep his voice low and controlled. “Why are you doing this, Ali?”

Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Because I was asked,” she replied in an overly patient tone, the kind one might use when explaining something obvious to a halfwit. “Besides, it’s an honor.”

Matt shook his head in disbelief. Of all the absurd, inane, ridiculous things he’d ever heard, this took the cake. “Robert told me you were unpredictable. I didn’t realize that was code for flat-out crazy.”

Ali’s back stiffened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I don’t appreciate being addressed in that fashion.”

What would Robert do if he were here? He’d probably lay down the law. Matt slammed his hand on the table, his jaw tightening into a stubborn set. “Well, I won’t allow it.”

Matt realized too late that his voice was loud enough to make the other patrons in the cafe turn and stare at him. But that was the least of his worries; a pair of indignant gray eyes were boring a hole through him.

“I beg your pardon?” Ali asked in a tone was chilly enough to freeze lava.

“I won’t let you do it,” Matt said flatly. He leveled what was meant to be a cool gaze at her, but a slight twitch in his jaw gave away his effort to control his temper. “I was Robert’s best friend, and there’s no way I’m going to let his sister pull a damn fool stunt she’ll regret for the rest of her life.”

Ali eyed him icily. “Who the heck do you think you are, telling me what I can and can’t do?”

“I’m a person who owes it to Robert to keep his sister from marrying a con artist who’s only interested in her inheritance.”

There! He’d said it—although not as delicately as he’d originally intended. He watched her eyes widen, and decided to press on while he had her attention. “If I have to truss you up and take you across the state line on Saturday to prevent you from making the mistake of a lifetime, I’ll damn well do it.”

Ali stared at him for a moment, her eyes round and her mouth open in a perfect little ‘o.’ Then, to Matt’s total discomfiture, she burst into laughter.

“I don’t see what’s so funny about this,” he snapped. “If you don’t think I’m serious, just try me.”

Ali only laughed harder—so hard, in fact, that she clutched her stomach and doubled over, laughing until tears rolled down her cheeks.

Matt watched her in confusion. Of all the reactions he’d imagined she might have, he’d never thought of this one. He was vaguely aware that the entire cafe was regarding them with undisguised interest. Was she hysterical? Maybe she needed medical attention. Matt was wondering if he should call for help when she pulled herself together enough to speak.

“You think I’m going to marry Derrick Atchison,” she finally gasped.

Matt eyed her suspiciously. “What am I supposed to think?”

She gripped the edge of the table and succumbed to another fit of giggles.

Matt reached across and grabbed her hand. It felt warm and soft and surprisingly slight under his fingers. Touching her made him adopt a gentler tone. “Are you saying you’re
not
marrying Derrick?”

Ali’s eyes fell on her captured hand. The physical contact seemed to have a sobering effect on her. “Of course not. Lauren Connors is marrying Justin. I’m going to be the maid of honor, and Derrick is the best man.”

Matt knit his brows together. “But I distinctly heard Justin say you and Derrick are walking down the aisle together.”

“We are—after the ceremony, behind Lauren and Justin.” Ali’s voice once again had that be-patient-with-the-idiot quality to it. She withdrew her hand, picked up her napkin and dabbed at her cheeks. “The maid of honor and the best man always follow the bridal couple out of the church. We practiced it at the rehearsal last night.”

Matt wished he could slither under the table. He squirmed on the vinyl booth and clenched his knuckles on the tabletop. “I see. I thought—well, it’s pretty obvious what I thought.”

Ali reached over and patted his arm. “Actually, it’s very sweet of you to be so concerned,” she said softly, “even if you were awfully high-handed. But you and I need to get two things straight if we’re going to work together. One—I happen to have a pretty good head on my shoulders, regardless of what you may have heard. And two—I don’t need another big brother.”

Matt’s head jerked to attention. “Whoa. Back up a moment. Did you say work together?”

Ali nodded. “I intended to come talk to you next week, but since the subject has come up, we might as well discuss it now.”

“Discuss what now?” Matt’s orderly life suddenly seemed to be careening out of control.

Ali took a sip of her ice tea, then reached for the sugar. “Well, Robert left me his half of your company. My attorney tells me that most of the assets are tied up in the Victorian Village housing development that’s now under construction.”