The Groom Came C.o.d.
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She closed her eyes and steeled herself for another blast of anger. When none came, she slowly opened her eyes. To her chagrin, he was regarding her with a hint of masculine approval.
“You sure have a great imagination, Melinda Carey. I’ll give you that much.” He studied her meaningfully until goose bumps rose at the back of her neck. “How could I have managed to forget you?”
She found herself staring back at him. His eyes were the blue of memory, only deeper and wiser. He’d matured into a tall, athletic man; he was even more sexy as a grown-up than he’d been as a boy. He’d been the subject of her dreams when she was a teenager. Now that she was older and more experienced, he was still the man she dreamed of.
Her youthful crush on him had been a boy-girl thing, an infatuation with the high school’s star athlete. What she felt for him now was pure woman-man attraction.
As if that wasn’t enough, one moment he was fit to be tied over some stupid mistake she’d made, and the next moment he was sending her a male seal of approval!
“Probably because you were too busy with that blond cheerleader who took you to that Sadie Hawkins dance,” she retorted before she stopped to think. At the look that came into his eyes, she could have bitten her tongue. How could she have said something so inane? So stupid? If he didn’t already think something was wrong with her, he was sure to think so now.
His eyebrows rose, a smile curved at his lips. “Ah, Melinda Carey, I may have forgotten you,” he said suggestively, “but it looks as if you haven’t forgotten me.”
She felt herself flush.
“Is that why you put the wedding announcement in the paper? To get even with me ten years later? And why pick now?”
She took a deep breath and started over. “No, of course not. I don’t even know why I remembered the dance, or why I even mentioned it. I haven’t thought about the dance in years.”
He looked incredulous. “So why did you do it?”
“The truth is, I was fooling around planning a make-believe wedding on the Internet when I saw your photograph on a dating Web site. I figured if you were available for a date, you’d be available for an imaginary groom.”
If he’d looked angry before, he looked furious now.
“A dating Web site?” He reared back and frowned.
“No way! You’re putting me on!”
“It’s true, honest. I chose you for an imaginary wedding, not a real one. Why would I lie about it?”
“Beats me. You haven’t made any sense up until now, either. How could I get on a dating Web site without my knowledge?”
“I don’t know, but it was there,” she protested weakly. “All I did was choose you for my groom for my wedding fantasy when I saw your picture.”
“Why me?” he repeated. “You could have chosen anyone!”
Melinda thought rapidly. How could she tell him he’d been her idea of a perfect mate ever since she’d first laid eyes on him in high school? That she had even dreamed of him as a perfect husband and father? Or that when she’d seen his image, she jumped at the chance to make him her fantasy groom.
He looked angrier than ever. She hurried to put out the fire growing in his eyes. “I’m sorry about the announcement. I just realized I must have pressed the enter button on my computer by mistake after I was interrupted by a client. It doesn’t mean anything. After all, it was only a fantasy wedding.”
“A fantasy wedding? You’ve got to be kidding! Whose?”
“Mine,” she answered defiantly. “But I swear I didn’t intend to put it into action!”
“You didn’t mean to do it?” He waved the newspaper at her. “Hell! That’s a weak excuse considering the possible damage you’ve done.”
She continued to protest her innocence, all the time knowing she was as guilty as hell. “Well, it’s true. I told you it was unintentional! I pressed the enter button by mistake.”
His eyebrows rose until they met. She smiled weakly.
He examined her thoughtfully. Under his studied gaze, her hormones stood at attention. She self-consciously checked the buttons on her blouse.
“About this dating Web site thing,” he finally said. “How could you believe I would have agreed to anything so stupid?”
“Maybe not, but your picture’s there!”
“So, take it off!”
“Quit hollering,” she said, with a glance over her shoulder. “I keep telling you I didn’t put you on there! Why can’t you believe me?”
“Because you haven’t made any sense since I got here.” He lowered his voice, but his frustration showed. “In fact the whole story sounds as if you made it all up.”
“Kind of, but I’m in no condition to discuss this any further.” She gestured to the door. “I have a splitting headache, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to be alone.”
“Alone to do what? Create more havoc on your computer?”
“No, I intend to have several cups of strong, ink-black coffee. Then I’m going to get dressed and try to go to work. If you insist, I’ll get back to you later.”
“You mean that’s not your working outfit?” His gaze roamed over her with blatant honesty. It was obvious he liked what he saw and was man enough to show it. She shook her head and fought off an urge to cover herself. It was her territory, wasn’t it?
“Too bad.” He glanced at the mahogany staircase. “You live here?”
Melinda nodded carefully. “With my Aunt Bertie. She owns the shop.” The dull ache in her head had turned into a crescendo of pain. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her holding her head to keep it from falling off. Things were bad enough.
His gaze swung back to her. He glanced at the newspaper and raked his fingers through his hair. “I hope you realize you may have blown it big time. How are you going to get us out of this mess.”
“There is no ‘us,”’ she protested. “It was all a mistake. I’m sure everyone will understand when I tell them so. Now, please leave. I honestly can’t discuss this right now.”