Beth, on the other hand, was doing pretty well for herself. Things had been tight when she’d first moved to L.A. The exorbitant cost of living on the West Coast, in addition to school loans that still had to be paid off, hadn’t been easy to swing for a girl who didn’t even have a job yet. She’d made ends meet at first by waitressing and temping at a few law firms.
Then she’d lucked out in finding a friend and fellow attorney who did have some cash to spare and was willing to form a partnership with her. Danny Vincent was a great guy. He came from money, so he’d been the one to foot all the start-up costs of Vincent and Curtis, but she’d done her best to pay him back by scouting out the talent, wooing new clients, and even stealing a few from other, more well-established firms.
The first few years had been backbreaking. She’d worked nonstop not only to prove herself, but to build the business so Danny never had a chance to think he’d made a mistake.
And now, they were pretty much set. They had high-profile celebrities and sports figures on their clientele list, with others waiting in line for their expertise, and the firm was operating well into the black on an annual basis.
She wore designer clothes, designer shoes, designer jewelry. A single trip to the salon cost her more than Karen probably spent on her hair in a year.
Which only served to make Beth feel even more removed from the small Ohio town where she’d been raised. She missed it sometimes…the friendly faces, the slow pace, her family. But that’s what telephones and e-mail were for. She’d grown up and moved on. She was happy with her life.
The song ended and Nick started to let her go. One of the caterers had just placed a fresh bottle of champagne on the bridal table, and she wanted to get back to refill her glass.
“You’re not running off already, are you?”
It wasn’t her brother’s voice that made her heart drop to her knees. Mentally, she closed her eyes and banged her head a couple of times against the nearest wall. But she’d been working with Hollywood big-wigs too long to let anyone see that she wasn’t calm and one hundred percent in control of her emotions.
Licking her lips to buy an extra second, she forced herself to smile and turn in the direction of the loaded question.
“Hello, Connor.”
He looked as handsome as ever. Better even, in his best-man tuxedo, when his usual uniform was well-worn blue jeans and soft flannel shirts. His hair was still barbershop short, no signs of gray in the brownish-blond strands. And his brown eyes twinkled as though he carried a secret no one else knew.
He did, of course. He knew what they’d done after the football game all those years ago, up at Makeout Point. She doubted he’d ever told anyone, though. She certainly hadn’t.
“Hey, Beth. I meant to tell you earlier that you’re looking good. L.A. must be treating you right.”
She nodded. He didn’t need to know about the small ulcer she’d developed from eighteen-hour workdays and a demanding clientele, or the antacids she kept in her purse for the occasional flare-up.
As far as the residents of Crystal Springs were concerned, she’d gone off to California and become a huge success. There was no sense in telling them things weren’t always as silver lined as they seemed.
“Would you like to dance?” Connor asked when another slow song began to fill the reception hall.
With him? Definitely not. She opened her mouth to politely refuse, but he already had his hand curled around her upper arm, steering her into his embrace, and her brother seemed more than willing to pass her off.
“Great,” Nick said. “You dance with Connor, and I’ll get back to Karen.”
“She’s got you on a tight leash already, huh?” Connor joked, throwing her brother a guy-to-guy grin.
“You should try it sometime,” Nick replied, tossing his friend an equally teasing smile before sauntering off.
It would have caused a scene if she’d pulled away and returned to the table at that point, even though that’s exactly what she wanted to do. Instead, she continued smiling and allowed Connor to put an arm at her waist, entwine his fingers with hers.
Because she didn’t have a choice, she slid her free hand up to rest on his shoulder. The heat of his body pulsed through the fine wool of his tuxedo jacket, setting her palm to tingling.
She muttered a colorful oath under her breath, annoyed that he could still have any sort of impact on her, even a purely physical one.
And that’s all it was—the physiological response of her female body to the nearness of such an attractive, obviously male body. Their shared history added to her body’s response, but it didn’t mean anything. Nothing at all.
“How have you been, Beth? I hear you’ve done well for yourself out there in la-la land.”
“I’m doing all right,” she said shortly. “And you?”
“Couldn’t be better. Nick probably told you the company’s doing well, keeping us both busy. Things slow down in the winter, of course, which is the only reason I’m letting him take off on this two-week honeymoon of his.”
He shot her a wide, sparkling grin. She didn’t respond.
“So what do you think about your big brother finally tying the knot?”
“It’s about time, I say. They’ve only been dating since they were in diapers.”
“Yeah. Makes you wonder, though, how much longer he’d have put it off if Karen hadn’t surprised him with her little announcement.”
“I don’t know,” Beth told him, trying not to get too drawn in to the conversation…or the warmth of his hold on her…or the lulling sensation of the music and moving around the dance floor with him. “I think Nick just needed an excuse to jump in with both feet. He’s been wanting to marry Karen since they were teenagers, but he had all those typical male fears and insecurities. They fell into a comfortable pattern after high school that kept him from having to put his heart on the line until now.”
Connor was still smiling, that stupid boy-next-door smile that reminded her of exactly why she’d moved as far across the country as possible after her graduation from law school.
“That’s awfully philosophical for a gal who spends her days reading contracts and suing production companies,” he remarked.
“Lawyers can be philosophical,” she volleyed back. “We just prefer not to show that side of ourselves during billable hours.”
Connor threw back his head and laughed at that, and Beth couldn’t help but laugh with him. She’d forgotten how infectious his sense of humor was. How his low chuckle or full-belly laugh washed over her like a warm sea breeze.
When the moment passed, she found herself dancing even more closely to him. He’d somehow tightened his grip and brought her flush with his tall, muscular frame without her noticing. He took the lead as they swayed to an old Air Supply ballad, keeping a firm grasp on her so she couldn’t slip away or even put space between them again.
Her breasts were pressed against his chest, and her damn, traitorous nipples began to pucker beneath the satin bodice of her lime green and hot-pink maid-of-honor gown. She only hoped he wouldn’t notice through the thick material of his own formal attire.
“Remember that dance back in junior high,” he said, “when your folks wouldn’t let you go unless Nick and Karen and I went along?”
How could she forget? She’d convinced herself it was a real date, while to Connor, it was nothing more than a favor for his best friend’s sister and her parents.
“We danced half the night just like this,” he continued.
Not exactly like this, she thought as his pelvis brushed against hers,