My Best Friend's Bride (19 page)

“This isn’t Manhattan. I’ll have to drive to Parkland.”

“Then I’m coming with you.”

“You…what?” Morgan didn’t know why Owen appeared to like her so much, but he obviously did and it absolutely thrilled her. Morgan hadn’t been this excited by interest from a man since…since she didn’t know when!

“I said, I’m coming with you,” Owen repeated. “This is too big a job for one person.” Perhaps he felt guilty that he had distracted Morgan from her pet-sitting duties, but Morgan didn’t care what Owen’s motivation was for helping her. At the moment, she needed all the help she could get. This was a disaster! Jill and Hunter were returning tomorrow!

“All right,” Morgan said. “But I should probably feed the cat and disinfect the closet first.”

Owen held the garment bags at arm’s length, his nose crinkling. “Where should I put these?”

Morgan quickly scanned the room. “Definitely not on the bed! Or on that chair! Wait…” she told him. “Just stand here while I grab a couple of black garbage bags to wrap around them. Then, we’ll put them in the trunk of my car.”

When Jill walked into her living room, the first thing she saw was the television. A gargantuan flat-screen television that took up nearly the whole expanse of a wall. It blocked her bookshelves and access to the more normal-size TV settled on the entertainment center behind it. “Oh, my.”

To her dismay, Hunter grinned. “Looks great! Doesn’t it?”

“I, uh… Well…”

Morgan strode in from the kitchen wearing a happy grin. Fifi was leaping and bounding in front of her. “I thought I heard the front door open,” she said as Fifi practically tackled Jill, pouncing up on her with eager pants and licks.

“Fifi, down!” Jill commanded. When the dog dropped onto her haunches, she knelt to hug her pudgy neck. “I guess she missed me,” Jill said, giving the top of Fifi’s head a kiss.

Mimi padded out of the kitchen and beelined toward her with a sulky whine. “Sounds like Mimi missed you too,” Hunter said, covering his nose as it twitched.

Jill shot him a look. “You did take your medicine?”

“I’ll be fine,” he replied, his eyes already turning red.

Morgan studied them one at a time, then together as a couple. “How was your trip?”

“Fine…good…uh-huh,” the two of them said, their words overlapping each other’s.

Morgan lifted an eyebrow. “Well! Isn’t that great news!”

“How did things go here?” Jill asked her.

Mimi wound himself around Jill’s legs, protesting loudly. For some reason, the color drained from Morgan’s face. “Great! Just super! We all got along like peas in a pod.”

The doorbell rang and Hunter answered it to find a deliveryman from a laundry service. “Your suits, sir?” he said, handing several items over.

Hunter turned to Morgan with surprise. “You had my suits dry cleaned?”

Her face turned bright red. “There was a minor incident with the movers.”

“Oh?” Hunter responded. “Did something happen in the truck?”

The cat meowed forcefully.

“Uh, not in the truck,” Morgan spewed. “It just happened!”

Jill and Hunter exchanged looks.

“That’s all right,” Hunter said mildly. “Whatever the problem, I appreciate your taking care of it, Morgan.” Then he addressed the deliveryman, asking him how much he owed.

“No worries,” the guy said with a parting smile. “All taken care of!”

After Morgan departed, Jill and Hunter retired to their separate rooms to unpack and settle in. Hunter was relieved for the respite. That cat dander was driving him wild. Thankfully, Jill had assured him that she’d cleaned out his room and the pets hadn’t been allowed in there in weeks. Yet the moment he walked through the door, Hunter sneezed vehemently. Wow, he thought, nabbing a tissue to wipe his nose.
Worse than I thought.
He pulled a medicine pack from his duffle bag and took another allergy tablet, but knew two was the limit. Perhaps he just needed time to adjust to his new environment.

Hunter carted the freshly laundered clothes he’d temporarily laid on the bed to the small closet. When he opened it, a wave of some unpleasant scent wafted in his direction.
Whoa!
He stuck his head in the door and sniffed around, but upon closer examination all he smelled was heavy-duty disinfectant. Hunter’s eyes traveled from the empty closet to the pressed suits and shirts on the bed and back again. Then, after some thought, he decided to knock on Jill’s door.

She’d already changed into more comfortable clothes and was in the process of taking things out of her suitcase and piling them on the bed. “Everything all right?” she asked him.

Hunter lifted the collection of clothing in his hands. “I was wondering if there was any extra room in your closet?”

“My closet? What’s wrong with yours?”

“To tell you the truth, I’m not sure.”

Jill indicated for him to drop his clothes on her bed, then followed him into the guest room. All it took was one whiff for Jill to understand. “Eww! Oh my gosh, Hunter! I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize it smelled that stale.”

“Given that they’ve been dry cleaned and all—” he began.

“No, you’re right,” she agreed. “Absolutely.” Jill led him back into her room, which was much better appointed than his and twice as large. “You can put them in that second closet.”

“So nice to see you have two.”

Jill shrugged. “This is the master bedroom.”

“I don’t want to have to trouble you,” Hunter said, “every morning when I’m getting ready for work.”

“Then don’t,” she said reasonably. “Just pick out what you’re going to wear the night before.”

“That sounds a whole lot like fashion planning.”

Jill loudly cleared her throat. “This from the clotheshorse who can’t fit his stash in his own room.”

“It’s the closet!”

“Even if it wasn’t. Everything you’ve got would barely fit.”

“Since when has dressing well been a crime?”

“Not ever,” she told him. “I’m just saying that you’re different from the other men I’ve known.”

“Seeing that I’m going to be here a year, and not six weeks, that seems a huge advantage.”

“That was mean.”

“So were you.”

Jill twisted her lips in thought. “You know, Hunter. I think we’re both tired. It’s been a long day. We probably both need some rest.”

“Oh, that will be easy,” he said, “given my room’s stacked floor-to-ceiling with boxes.”

Jill wheeled on him. “Yeah? And whose fault is that?”

“Yours!”

“Mine?”

Hunter looked around. “Why can’t I stay in this room?”

Jill huffed.

“It’s bigger,” he continued. “Plus, the animals apparently don’t come in here.”

“You can’t blame me because you overpacked!”

“Overpacked? Jill, I moved in!”

“You’re raising your voice.”

“Well, so are you.”

“I think I’m going to bed.”

Hunter’s face was a sea storm of emotion. “Great. Then I am too.”

He walked out the door and Jill shut it behind him, catching her breath. This wasn’t going to be nearly as easy as she’d hoped. In fact, it might not be easy at all. Two seconds after he’d left, Hunter knocked at the door. Jill cautiously cracked it open.

“My clothes for tomorrow,” he said in a flat tone. Jill stepped aside with a sweep of her hand and Hunter ambled toward the closet. After selecting a few items coated in clear laundry sacks, he strode out, not bothering to give Jill a second glance.
Well, fine! Pleasant dreams to you too.

The next morning, Jill awoke feeling bad about her and Hunter’s little spat. They’d both been weary from travel, and each had a lot to adjust to. Jill also understood Hunter wasn’t putting on his discomfort due to pet dander. She’d barely slept a wink hearing him sneeze all night, which meant Hunter likely hadn’t gotten much rest either. She quietly padded to the kitchen in her slippers, deciding to make coffee as a peace offering. Fifi and Mimi had been sitting outside her door in the hall and waiting for her to wake up. They followed her eagerly now, occasionally leaping in front of her and nearly causing her to trip over them as they all made their way to the kitchen. “I know you’re hungry too,” she told them. Anything concerning the words
food
or
hunger
made Fifi start to drool. Mimi meowed pitifully, as if he hadn’t eaten all week. Was it her imagination, or had the fluffy gray cat lost weight?

Jill started the coffee, then fed the animals. When she went to take Fifi outside, she caught the dog naughtily trying to eat the cat food. The yellow Lab had already gobbled down her kibbles in record time and now was after Mimi’s crunchies. “Why, Fifi!” Jill said, setting a hand on her hip. “I’m surprised at you!” The dog stared up at her with a big happy grin, not the least bit embarrassed. Now that Jill thought of it, it actually appeared as if Fifi had been
gaining
weight, particularly around the middle. “Hmm,” Jill said, giving the dog a new perusal. “It seems someone I know has been double-dipping.” She scooped up the cat dishes, deciding to put them on the laundry folding table. She hefted Mimi off the floor and placed him there as well, and he leaned over his bowl eating ravenously. Jill cocked an eyebrow at the dog, thinking she’d never had this problem before. Then again, Fifi was an opportunist. Perhaps the Lab had used the opportunity when Jill was away to start a brand new culinary routine for herself? One that benefited her own tummy more than the cat’s.
 

The coffee beeped that it was ready and Jill let the pets out into the yard before pouring herself and Hunter a cup. She knew Hunter was feeling grumpy last night, but perhaps he’d be in a better frame of mind this morning? She carried his cup down the hall, stopping right outside his door. Jill knocked lightly at first and then a little harder. When she got no response, she gently turned the knob. The door creaked open, revealing an immaculate bedroom with a couple of unpacked boxes still stacked in the corner. Sunlight poured through the window, shimmering in between the slats of the open blinds. But the bed was made and Hunter was gone.

Chapter Nineteen

Brad set his mug down on the bar beside Hunter’s and surveyed his best friend. “I’ve got to say, pal. You look rough.”

Hunter knew his eyes were bloodshot and there were bags under his eyes. He’d had to face his reflection in the mirror each morning when he’d shaved at dawn, then had gotten out of Jill’s house just as quickly as possible. Hunter lifted his beer with a groan. “It hasn’t been easy.”

“I thought you had a great time on your honeymoon?”

“We did. You might even stretch it so far as to say we had fun.”

“Platonic fun, you mean.” Hunter was quiet a moment too long and Brad’s brow shot up. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Not anything you need to know.”

“But you did have separate rooms?”

“Hey,” Hunter said defensively. “Do I ask you details about your relationship with Susan?”

“No, but that’s because I
have
a relationship with Susan, an authentic one.”

“Well, maybe Jill and I have a relationship too.”

Brad angled toward him with a whisper. “Seriously?”

“Not like that. Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Okay. Like what, then?”

“Like…” Hunter put down his beer to snag a fistful of bar peanuts and chew on them contemplatively. “It was almost like we were friends. In Niagara Falls, I mean. I can’t really speak to much of a relationship since we’ve returned.”

“Why not?”

“I barely see her.”

“But you’re living together!”

“I work late at the office and have dinner there. Take-out or delivery, something easy. In the morning, I’m up and out of her place before she’s even awake.”

“What about keeping up the appearance of a happy marriage? Doesn’t Abrams wonder—”

“Abrams commends me for my dedication to the new account. We landed Kaleidoscope Kids, did I tell you?”

“No, that’s fantastic. Congratulations.”

“Anyway,” Hunter continued, “my work success aside, my personal life is killing me. I mean, look at me. That guestroom is murdering my sinuses. I don’t know how long Jill’s pets have slept in there, but whatever cleaning she did wasn’t enough to prevent me from having problems. Truthfully, I’m thinking of moving back to my place.”

Brad latched on to his arm. “You can’t do that. That would ruin everything.”

“I’m falling apart, Brad. Not sleeping, no downtime to speak of. I can’t keep living like this.”

“So talk to her.”

“And say what?”

“That you want to switch rooms?”

“I already did and she said no.”

Brad sadly shook his head. “I’m sorry, man. When I asked you to do this, to step in for me, I had no clue things would be this tough.”

“Me either.”

They both studied the game on the bar television a few minutes before Brad asked him again, “So, the honeymoon was good, huh?”

“Shut up.”

“Did I tell you about Morgan and Owen?”

“Who’s Owen?”

“Susan’s big brother.”

“Oh, that’s right. What about them?”

Mirth danced in Brad’s eyes. “They’re an item.”

“No way.”

“I mean it. The two of them got together when you and Jill were out of town.”

“How sweet. I bet Jill’s happy about that.”

When Brad shot him a puzzled look, he continued. “Everyone wants their best friend to be happy. You know what I’m saying?”

Brad gave him a compassionate sigh. “Yeah.”

“I think that’s fantastic about you and Owen,” Jill said, refilling Morgan’s mug. Morgan sat at Jill’s kitchen table and had been reviewing Jill’s draft of an outline for her new book. Jill poured herself more coffee as well, then went to join Morgan at the table.

“Yes,” Morgan replied. “I guess you could say it caught both of us by surprise.” Morgan sat up a little straighter, appearing pleased with herself. “He said that I’m the first woman who’s turned his head in months.”

“And you haven’t looked at anyone since—”

“Zip your lips and let’s not go there, all right? Who wants to think about dreary things when I’ve got a New York vacation to look forward to?”