[manhatten men 2] A Marrying Man (3 page)

Yeah. No. I got lost on my way to Hoboken. I feel blond. Good thing I am one, I have an excuse. I finally broke down and called Spencer, telling him where I was. He talked me to the address over the phone and I pulled up in front of a nice, old Victorian two-story home in a beautiful neighborhood. Spencer stood on the front steps wearing a smirk. Shit. I got out of the car and adjusted my jacket as I walked up the front steps.

“Well, it is natural then.”
I looked at Spencer sideways. “What?”
“You’re hair color,” Spencer snarked. “Come on, my

mom’s waiting.”
“Your mom?” I faltered on the steps and almost
knocked myself on my ass. Spencer grabbed my bicep before I kissed the concrete. A strong hand wrapped around my muscle and I was righted. I stood inches from
Spencer, breathing hard.

“Yes, I can.” I stared at him defiantly. “I was just surprised is all.”
Spencer looked at me funny, but shrugged and led me up the stairs — his hand still on my bicep.
“I won’t trip, I promise,” I said. Trying to get my arm back.
“What’s wrong, Blaine?” Spencer leaned into my face. “Do I make you uncomfortable or something?”
Thank God I was saved from answering that question. The front door opened and a woman looked out onto the porch. She smiled and I swear my eyes popped out of my head.
“Raquel Cassidy?” I knew I looked like a fish on shore the way my mouth was opening and closing.
“Yes, and who might you be?” she asked.
“Hey, Mom.” Spencer leaned in and kissed her cheek. “This is Blaine McKlintock. He and I are in charge of Kent and Terry’s wedding.”
Raquel looked horrified at the idea of us planning anyone’s wedding. I smiled and I knew I was blushing.
“Oh Lord, that could not have been Terry’s idea!” Raquel gasped.
“No, he doesn’t know Kent’s even proposing. So zip it lady!” Spencer pointed a finger at his mother.
“Well get in here! We have a lot of work to do,” she said.
“We only have until Christmas.” Spencer walked inside the house.
I was stuck on the porch in awe. Raquel Cassidy was a famous wedding planner from the seventies. Many a celebrity had been married thanks to her insight; they were covered in every tabloid. The woman could rock an affair. My mom had every People magazine Raquel had ever been in; she worshiped the wedding queen. A hand slipped around my waist and pulled me forward. I finally snapped out of it and smiled as Spencer’s mom led me inside.
The house was homey and comfortable. A horseshoe couch took up most of the living room with ottomans strategically placed around the room. A large TV sat on an even bigger entertainment center and there was a man in a recliner sipping a beer.
“Quinlan, come meet our guest!” Raquel singsonged.
The man in the chair put his beer down and stood up. I swore I was looking at an older version of Spencer. Dark hair cut short accentuated a strong face with a square jaw. Slate grey eyes looked me over.
“This is Blaine McKlintock, honey. He’s going to be planning Terry Barron’s wedding with Spencer.”
Quinlan Cassidy looked over at his son with a smirk. “A wedding , huh? Didn’t you say you weren’t going to follow in our footsteps?”
“I’m not; this is a one-time thing, Dad,” Spencer huffed.
“Uh huh, sure.” Quinlan smiled.
He stuck his hand out to me and I took it, shaking it firmly.
“So, who did you piss off to get stuck with sourpuss over there?” Quinlan gestured to his son.
Spencer sighed loudly.
“Kent, probably,” I shrugged my shoulders. “Every now and then he likes to get back at me.” I smiled wide at Spencer, who covertly flipped me off.
“Well! You said by Christmas?” Raquel sat down on the couch and opened the drawer in the side table. “Church or not?”
“Not,” Spencer and I said in unison.
“Well, if it’s Terry, I have the perfect spot!” Raquel flipped through her notebook. “It’s the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers. It’s just breathtaking! Terry would appreciate it. Floor–to–ceiling windows, a beautiful view of the Hudson and they cater! They also owe me a big favor, so I know we can get it.”
“I think we should have Gray’s Papaya hot dogs there,” I said. The room got really quiet and I felt all eyes on me.
“Excuse me?” Raquel said slowly.
“Um, well, you see, when Kent and Terry started dating, that was their thing. It was how they bonded in the beginning.”
“I like it,” Spencer said.
I thought I’d swallow my tongue.
“You do?” I asked in surprise.
“Yes, I think you’re right. I think there should be something there that reminds them of how they fell in love.”
“Yes, before the shit hit the fan,” Quinlan drawled.
“Quin!” Raquel admonished.
“What? It’s true.” Quinlan crossed his arms over his chest.
Raquel shot her husband a look and then turned her attention back to me and Spencer.
“I can get started making phone calls. You two will be fitted for tuxes. I’ll make the appointment for you. Also, your brother is coming home on leave for Christmas.”
“Slater’s coming?” Spencer’s eyes widened.
“Who’s Slater?” I asked.
“Slater is our youngest, he’s in the Army.” Raquel beamed with pride. “He’s a Ranger.”
“I didn’t realize you had a brother,” I said, looking at Spencer.
“Well, I have kept my private life, private, over the last few years.” Spencer raised his brows at me.
Raquel coughed and smiled at me. “So, I’ll give you the address of the tailor, the bakery for the cake, and the florist’s number.”
“Wait, what?” Spencer stammered. “I don’t know anything about cakes or florists!”
“Well,” Raquel grinned. “You will soon.”
Sitting around with Spencer’s parents was kind of weird. His mother would eye me now and then and smile at me. I felt like I was at an interview, and by the looks of Spencer’s dad, I was failing.
“So, Blaine,” Spencer’s father sat forward in his chair. “You were the guy who made the bet with Kent?”
I swallowed hard. God, for once I wished I had an invisibility cloak. I needed to stop watching Harry Potter at night obviously. I nodded slowly.
“Dad, lay off.” Spencer shot a glare at his father. “Blaine knows what they did was wrong.” Spencer looked over at me. “Don’t you?”
I did. After seeing the fallout and Kent’s devastation, I had learned a very hard lesson.
“Yes, I do.” I sat up straight and met with Quinlan Cassidy’s eyes. “I saw with my own eyes what happens when you think it’s a harmless prank. I’m not proud of my actions, and I know Kent isn’t either. I’ve changed quite a bit since then, and I owe a lot of that to Terry. Even though he’s filthy rich, he’s down to earth and genuine. More people should strive to follow his example.”
I finally took a breath.
Quinlan had a smile on his face, as did Raquel. Spencer’s mouth was somewhere around his ankles.
“Well, I’m glad to hear it. You seem like such a sweet boy.” Raquel beamed.
Spencer coughed into his hand and then looked at his watch.
“Well, it’s getting late. Thanks for all the help, Mom.” Spencer kissed her on the cheek.
“You know I love doing this!” Raquel enthused.
Quinlan stood and extended his hand to me.
“Pleasure meeting you, Blaine.”
I slipped my hand into Quinlan’s and he gave me a slight squeeze. I looked up quickly to find him smiling at me broadly, his eyes darting to his son. I peeked through my lashes to see Spencer staring at me.
“You as well. I hope to see you again sometime,” I said with a smile and withdrew my hand.
“Oh, me too.” Raquel winked at me, and then smiled at Spencer.

I waved to them as I made my way to my car. I swore they were trying to set me up with Spencer. That was weird. Spencer was straight. The guy had been married. Wasn’t he straight?

I drove home with the GPS on. I was not going to get lost again. I pulled into the parking garage and trudged up the stairs to the elevator. My apartment looked like something out of an interior decorating magazine. I looked around slowly trying to find anything in it that screamed
Blaine
. Nothing.

I went to my room and fell back on my bed. I could see myself in the reflection from the mirror above me. I furrowed my brows and wrinkled my nose. That was the first thing to go in my room. Mirrors on the ceiling? God, I need to come out of the seventies porn flick.

I needed a change. A big one. I was being truthful with Quinlan Cassidy. I had learned a huge lesson with the bet. I remember all too well the look on Terry’s face in the men’s room when he found out about it. He was devastated. I also remember the look of unadulterated anger on Spencer’s face when Kent and I went to find Terry at the messenger office.

I rolled over on my side and sighed loudly. Besides Kent, I had no other friends until Terry welcomed me into his life. After everything I had done, he’d been a friend to me. I hadn’t grown up quite like him but I had the huge house, the servants and the car. Kent and Terry had taken me to Alabama with them a few months ago. That had been an eye-opener. Mary Sumners treated me like her own son. The minute she saw me, she called me Ken Barbie As in Ken and Barbie. Then Kent had told her I like Barbie and other Kens. Mary had just smiled at me and said both sexes were lucky then.

I did dishes, I mowed their lawn and I played with their huge, ginormous dog, Ajax, for a week. I loved every second of it. They were a family, one that laughed and played board games. They hugged each other and kissed each other fondly. I had never had that. I think I played naked twister once with one of our gardeners. That doesn’t count.

My parents were constantly working when I was growing up. Most of the time, I was eating dinner by myself. I closed my eyes and exhaled loudly. I’d made small changes in my life since the bet. Now it was time to make more.

God, this was so bad. I know nothing about putting a wedding together. That was my parents’ bread and butter when I was growing up. Slater had stayed far away from not only the wedding business, but college as well. He went straight into the military at eighteen. Sometimes I really envied him.

Blaine had almost run to his car after we ended for the night at my parents. I guess I couldn’t blame him. I had been an exceptional ass. I smiled wide into my bathroom mirror. I made Blaine McKlintock nervous, I know I did. My only question was why? I’d have plenty of time to figure that out. I was taking a few days off from work to not only deal with the wedding, but to try and see my daughter. I had to come clean with Terry about Valerie. Part of me was ashamed I hadn’t done more to see my daughter, but it always felt like I was giving in to Vanessa’s demands and my male pride just wasn’t having it. Over the years I realized it was more important to spend more time with Valerie. Now I was going to do something about it.

I hailed a cab and sat back watching the city fly by. My apartment was close to work, but I hated walking in the early morning hours and I hadn’t so much as looked at my bike in weeks. I had a feeling my ass was expanding.

Terry was already there when I walked in, as was Drakon. Drakon smiled at me as I came around the counter and looked at all the messages from the morning. I had a few missed calls from Vanessa. Ugh. I had purposely turned off my cell phone last night and it was still off now. I knew it was going to explode when I turned it on.
“Morning, Drakon.” I glanced over at him. “Morning, Boss.”
“I’m going to need you to put in some overtime over

the next two weeks. Think you can handle it?” I knew he needed the money and Drakon wasn’t the type of guy for handouts.

“Probably,” Drakon grinned. “But you know the fee.”
I chuckled. “I’ll have to get in touch with my dealer; you know that shit’s expensive.”
“I’m worth it though, aren’t I?”
Drakon smiled at me and I swear his whiter than white teeth lit up the office.
“Yeah, you are. You and Terry have become irreplaceable.”
“Well, that’s nice to hear.”
Terry strode through the front office and flipped the sign from ‘closed’ to ‘open’. He turned and regarded me closely. “What’s up?”
I took Terry by the elbow and led him into the back to my office. I sat him down in the chair and leaned against my desk.
“I need you to take charge for the next couple weeks.”
Terry’s eyes bulged. “Why? Is something wrong? Are you sick?”
“No, none of the above. I…need to spend time with my daughter.”
Terry’s eyes went from bulging to almost exploding.
“You have a child? Why am I just hearing this now?”
“It’s a long story. You’ve seen my ex-wife.”
Terry shivered.
“Yes, so,” I went on. “I need to put my foot down. Valerie has spent almost every Christmas with her mother and it’s my turn. I need to see Valerie.”
“Do I get to meet her?” Terry smiled shyly at me.
“Yes, you get to meet her.” I leaned forward off the desk and met eyes with Terry. “You’re not just my employee, Terry. You’re my friend, too.”
“Really?” he whispered.
I stood up and pulled Terry into my arms. He
was
more than just an employee to me. Although we hadn’t had a sleepover and braided each other’s hair, he meant a lot to me. A short cough interrupted us and I looked up to see Drakon smiling at us.
“I don’t mean to interrupt your bromance, but you’ve got a call on line one.”
“Thanks.” I narrowed my eyes at Drakon with a grin. I pulled out of the embrace and patted Terry on the back. “So, you’ve got this?”
“Yeah, I’ve got it.” Terry smiled at me.
“Call me a wanker,” I teased.
“Get out!” Terry laughed.

My mom was calling me to send me to the florist. Gah. I knew nothing about flowers except that some of them caused seasonal allergies. I contemplated taking my own car, but then reconsidered. I didn’t like driving around New York very often; it was just easier to take a taxi.

I hopped in a cab headed for Hawke Advertising. I was going to pick up Blaine instead of meeting him there. I couldn’t afford for him to get lost. I was contemplating buying cheese and placing it strategically all over New York for him. I snickered at the vision that brought to mind.

Hawke Advertising was one of the biggest buildings on Broadway. You couldn’t miss the large Hawk, wings spread, at the top of it. I took the elevator up and got off on Blaine’s floor. I knew where his office was, I’d been to Kent’s enough times to remember. A young man was seated at the secretary desk. He looked to be maybe in his early twenties. He looked up as I approached and smiled.

“Mr. Cassidy?”
“That’s me. You can call me Spencer, though.” “Go right in, Mr. McKlintock is expecting you.” A loud voice full of laughter came from behind the