“You can’t have it both ways, Grace. Either I was serious about you or you were an accessory,” he drawled. “Which is it?” She flushed angrily. “I only meant that you haven’t dated any woman more than once since I broke things off with you.” He made an exaggerated expression of surprise. “You flatter me. I had no idea you were so interested in who I date. I would have thought my brother kept you too occupied to monitor my love life.”“Bring your date, Damon. But you know and I know she isn’t me. She’ll never be me. Don’t think you’ll take anything away from my wedding day.” Grace hissed. With that she stalked out of his office, leaving Damon to shake his head. He really ought to call his cousin and thank him profusely. He had dodged a bullet. He sank into his chair and opened his day planner. Maggie kept meticulous records of all appointments for just such rare occasions that

Worry knotted her stomach. Tagging along to a family wedding seemed entirely too personal even if the purpose was solely business. Not to mention it was hard enough to battle her attraction for him in a business setting. But something as intimate as a wedding?  “How long would we be…..away?” she asked.  The question came out more as a squeak than a concise, professional query. She sounded like a scared little girl facing the big bad wolf. Oh, but Damon made such a yummy wolf. It was all she could do not to put her head on the table and bang a few times. Focus, Wendy focus.  “We’d fly out Thursday evening. Rehearsal and dinner on Friday, wedding Saturday with reception to follow and since it will likely go well into the night, we’d return Sunday.” he replied.  It would only require one missed day of work. No one but Ev

Behind her, a grim faced older gentleman flanked by a younger woman and a man who looked slightly younger than Damon, walked slower but with no less purpose in their direction.  To her surprise, Damon took her left hand in his and held it close to his side. He fumbled with her fingers even as he looked up with a welcoming smile. It looked completely forced to Wendy, but the woman didn’t seem put off. Debbie went past them.  The woman, who Wendy recognized as Damon and Debbie's mother, threw her arms around Debbie. "Oh sweetheart, you are here!" the woman said.  "Yes mom, we are here" Debbie replied, smiling and hugging her mother tightly, then she moved to hug her father too.  The woman threw her arms around Damon, and still, he didn’t let go of Wendy's hand. He returned her embrace with his free arm and said, “Hello, Mom. I told you I was co

“I have had it with people trying to make me do things that I don't want to do. That's the reason why I left my dad's company. It's the reason why I came here. But you don't care about that, do you? As long as you get what you want. But listen to me, I'm not going to let you use me to lie to your mother because your fiancée humiliated you by dumping you for your cousin. Here’s another thing you should know. Crap happens. It happens all the time. Get over it.”Damon's hands closed over her shoulders. She tried to flinch away, but he held tight. There was honest regret in his eyes, but there was also determination. Stubborn determination.“Sit down, Wendy,” he ordered in a low voice.She gaped at him.“Please.” he said. It was the please that did it. Or maybe it was how tired and resigned he sounded. Or maybe it was the bleak light that entered his eyes. Or maybe she was just a flami

She looked down at her hand that was still underneath his. His thumb pressed into her palm, and his fingers lay still over hers, but the warmth of his touch spread up her entire arm and into her chest.She liked this man. Genuinely liked him, stupid ambush aside. He hadn’t sugarcoated any of it. And above all else, she liked honesty. He hadn’t shied away from how the entire situation made him look. It certainly didn’t make him appear very noble, but she couldn’t get beyond thinking he was just that. Noble and honest.The ring on her finger sparkled and glinted in the light. For just one moment, she allowed herself to imagine what it would be like if it were all real. Two seconds later she mentally slapped herself silly and told herself to get over her foolishness.She had a job to do. She had to impress this man with her brains and her creativity, her drive and her determination. She could do all that. And if it meant she had to go beyond the