CHAPTER 2
“I’m so sorry, Sarah. I can’t walk down the aisle for your wedding on crutches,” Kristin Moore moaned woefully to the other four women in her living room.
Mara frowned at the cast on her best friend’s leg, the result of a bicycle accident during the rain. She and Kristin, Dr. Sarah Baxter’s office manager, had been best friends since grade school, and her heart ached for the vivacious redhead. Mara knew how much Kristin had been looking forward to being a bridesmaid in Sarah’s wedding. She also knew how restless her friend could be. Keeping Kristin down for even a short time was going to be hell. “I’m sure Sarah understands,” she told Kristin adamantly, shooting a look at Dr. Sarah Baxter from across the room and seeing the pretty blonde nod emphatically.
“Of course I do. It’s not your fault, Kristin. It will be fine. You just need to worry about your injury and healing,” Sarah replied soothingly from her seat on the couch beside her best friend, Emily, Grady Sinclair’s wife. Emily was Sarah’s maid of honor. Randi Tyler, the pretty, dark-haired teacher seated on the floor, was one of the two bridesmaids for Sarah’s wedding.
Mara tried to hide her frown, knowing that Kristin, the second bridesmaid for Sarah, was likely to cut off her own cast and limp up the aisle if she had to. Her flame-haired friend was just that stubborn and unwilling to let anybody down after she’d made a commitment.
Folding her arms in front of her doggedly from her position on a recliner, her casted leg propped up on the leg rest in front of her, Kristin muttered adamantly, “I am not going to ruin Sarah’s wedding by making a spectacle of myself. Nobody wants to see some crazy redhead taking five minutes to struggle down the aisle on crutches.”
“Nobody is going to care,” Randi answered kindly.
“I care,” Kristin replied, annoyed. “It’s Sarah and Dante’s big day.”
Mara watched Kristin’s unyielding expression from her own seat on the carpet. Kristin’s tiny apartment didn’t have much furniture, and seating was limited. She tried not to frown as she saw the obstinate look on her best friend’s face, an expression she’d seen many times over the years. “You can’t have the cast off before the wedding,” Mara told her firmly. The accident had just occurred yesterday, for God’s sake. But Mara knew Kristin was already looking for a way to get rid of the inhibiting plaster mold on her leg. “Not happening.”
“Sarah’s numbers won’t be even. Grady is the best man, and Emily is the maid of honor. Evan is a groomsman with Randi, and I’m supposed to be across from Jared.” Kristin sniffled, tears springing to her eyes from frustration. “Dante can’t cut out his own brother from the wedding. Jared is already here. And he can’t walk up the aisle alone.”
“He most certainly can,” Sarah replied decisively. “You, my friend, need to rest that ankle. Doctor’s orders.” She used her stern doctor’s voice to make her point.
“What about Hope?” Randi asked inquisitively. “Can she do it?”
Sarah shook her head slowly. “Nope. We just found out that she’s pregnant, and Jason is hovering over her like a mother hen because she’s having really bad morning sickness that seems to be carrying over throughout most of the morning hours, and sometimes into the afternoon. She’s miserable. He’s bringing her to the wedding, but she isn’t feeling well right now.”
Mara grimaced as she heard the news that Dante Sinclair’s sister was pregnant and sick. As the sister of the groom, Hope Sinclair-Sutherland would have been the perfect solution to the dilemma.
“Damn!” Kristin exclaimed. “There has to be somebody—”
Mara cringed as Kristin stopped speaking, her best friend’s eyes landing on her with a calculating smile. Oh, God. No.
“Mara can replace me,” Kristin said triumphantly.
“No, Kristin.” Mara’s eyes flew to the other women, who were all looking at her curiously and nodding. “I’ve never been in a wedding, and Sarah and I don’t really know each other that well. I’m sure she’d rather have a friend.” Honestly, they hardly knew each other at all. It wasn’t that Mara didn’t like the brilliant, friendly physician, but she couldn’t exactly call her a friend. She’d thought about using Dr. Baxter as her physician if she ever needed one, since her longtime family physician had retired. But she hadn’t needed a doctor in a while, and she barely knew Sarah. The only reason they were all together at Kristin’s place at the moment was to visit because she was injured. She knew Randi Tyler casually because she volunteered as a tutor at the Youth Center, and Mara taught a class there occasionally on basic crafts during the winter. She knew Emily slightly better because Grady’s wife was in charge of the Youth Center and arranged the classes.
I don’t know any of these women well. I can’t be a substitute in a wedding where I barely know any of the wedding party.
Oh, hell no. Kristin had led her into so many crazy things in the past, and she’d followed her vivacious friend willingly. But not this time.
“You’re perfect to fill in. I already have my dress, and it will only take a little alteration,” Kristin said excitedly.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Emily seconded.
“Me too,” Randi agreed with an emphatic nod.
“I’d be honored if you’d do it, Mara,” Sarah said, her tone genuine and slightly cajoling. “I know we haven’t had the chance to get to know each other that well because I haven’t lived in Amesport very long, but I’d like to be your friend. Honestly, I don’t really have any other friends here.”
Mara swallowed hard as she met Sarah’s compassionate, understanding look. Since she’d spent most of her adult life taking care of her mom and running the doll shop, she hadn’t had a lot of time to make new friends, or spend time doing anything with her old ones from high school. It was one of the reasons she valued her friendship with Kristin so much. They were tightly connected and hadn’t ever drifted apart, even though Mara rarely had the time or money to do anything except hang out with Kristin. “Okay, I’ll do it.” The words popped out of her mouth before she could stop them, and she shot Kristin an I’ll-get-you-for-this-later expression. Her best friend knew her all too well. Mara could never say no to somebody who needed something or had a problem to solve.
“Thank you. I really am delighted,” Sarah commented with a gentle smile.
“It’s going to be great,” Randi agreed. “Dante hired a wedding planner, and it’s going to be quite a party.”
“Fantastic,” Emily added.
“I think the dress is going to take more than a little alteration,” Mara warned the women bluntly. While Kristin was slightly curvy, Mara was curvier, and Kristin was a good inch taller than Mara’s five-foot-three height.
“It’s not a problem. I’ll have it altered,” Sarah offered.
Kristin laughed merrily. “Mara is an incredible seamstress. She’s just used to sewing very small doll sizes.”
Mara nodded at Sarah. Because of her mother and her gran, there was very little she couldn’t do when it came to sewing. “I can do it.”
The other women all rose to their feet except for Kristin, and Mara got up hastily to accept hugs and expressions of gratitude for filling in for her best friend at the last minute. It felt strange to suddenly be pulled into this circle of friends, but it felt so very good to break her solitude. She liked all of these women, admired all of them, and her heart warmed as they each hugged her kindly.
“I guess I’ll be paired with Jared?” Mara asked curiously.
Randi snorted. “Yep. I don’t think it will be that much of a hardship. Just being paired with Jared Sinclair is worth the trouble. You have to admit, if you’re standing through a wedding ceremony, he’s great eye candy to have across from you.”
Emily smiled knowingly at Randi as she commented, “I don’t think you’ll find Evan difficult to look at, either. Seeing all four brothers together is damn near breathtaking, although Grady is the best-looking Sinclair brother.”
Sarah shot Emily a displeased expression. “Excuse me. I think you meant Dante.”
Randi burst out laughing as she watched Emily and Sarah giving each other belligerent looks. “You two are pathetic. I think we can just leave it at the fact that all of the Sinclair brothers are hot. And I saw Evan at your wedding, Em. He’s gorgeous, but obviously obsessed with his job. He dashed in just as the wedding started, and left right after the toast at the reception. I’ve never actually met him.”
Emily sighed. “I know. Our wedding was planned so fast, and Evan had meetings he couldn’t cancel. I’m glad he’s coming to actually participate in the wedding party this time. Grady’s afraid he’s working himself into an early grave.”
“Dante thinks so, too,” Sarah admitted glumly. “Like Dante can talk about workaholics? He worked nearly every hour of the day when he was a homicide detective in LA. But he swears that Evan is even worse, that he never takes a break and has absolutely no sense of humor. I have to admit I’m a little nervous about meeting him. He sounds more than a little daunting.”
Mara watched and listened as the women continued to banter about the four Sinclair brothers. To be honest, she didn’t know any of them well, although she had to admit that Grady, Dante, and Jared were three of the handsomest men she’d ever seen. She had no doubt that the oldest brother, Evan, was just as hot.
How can any family be blessed with such incredible genetics?
She didn’t know their baby sister, Hope Sinclair—now Hope Sutherland—but Mara was willing to bet she was as gorgeous as her brothers. Since Hope had recently married one of the most eligible and good-looking billionaire bachelors on the planet, she had to be a pretty extraordinary woman.
Mara tried not to think about her strange encounter with Jared Sinclair yesterday. Unfortunately, no matter what she tried to think about to wipe out the memories, it didn’t help. So she was working on convincing herself that he had been kind to her, and that was all. She didn’t want to remember how his damp shirt had clung to his broad shoulders and muscular biceps. Or how, for the first time since she’d met him, his smile had actually reached his incredibly sexy jade-green eyes.
Don’t forget that he’s a womanizer.
Jared Sinclair’s reputation with women was well-known, and it was said that he was never seen with the same woman more than once. Mara knew that, but she somehow had a difficult time imagining Jared as completely wicked. She sensed he was restless, and he almost seemed . . . well, for lack of a better word, lonely. It was pretty much a ridiculous notion since Jared had four siblings, and apparently plenty of women to keep him company. But Mara couldn’t shake off the notion that he was somehow . . . haunted. The bleakness she could see in his eyes even when he was outwardly smiling had made her wonder if there wasn’t way more to Jared than people could see on the surface. Strangely, the only women she’d seen him with since he’d arrived in Amesport had been Elsie and Beatrice. The other times she’d happened to spot him around town, he’d either been alone or with one of his brothers.
Oh, hell, maybe she was just seeing what she wanted to see because Jared Sinclair was hot enough to melt almost any woman into a puddle at his feet—her included. His usual impeccable, sophisticated appearance had been blown away yesterday, his expensive shoes ruined by the sand and rain, his auburn-streaked hair mussed and damp instead of tamed into its usual sleek style. His shirt had been rumpled and dark with moisture, so green it had actually matched his eyes. For once, he had seemed so human, almost . . . touchable.
Sighing inwardly, Mara tried to concentrate on the female conversation going on around her and stop fantasizing about Jared Sinclair. A guy like him was definitely not for her. Granted, she wasn’t exactly ugly. She saw her own face in the mirror every day. But she wasn’t particularly attractive, either, and his words had been just that: words. Jared Sinclair had been born rich, and had made himself even richer by owning one of the biggest commercial real estate companies in the world. Obviously he knew how to be charming when he needed to, even though he denied it, and equally as ruthless when it was warranted for his business.
“Nobody knows why Jared has hung around Amesport for so long. Dante thinks some woman here has caught his attention.”
Mara’s heart skipped a beat at Sarah’s offhand comment, wondering if Dante’s fiancée was correct and Jared had stuck around for a female conquest. “Do you think that’s true?” Mara asked breathlessly, cursing herself for sounding so interested. She wasn’t dying to know, dammit. She wasn’t. Who Jared Sinclair had sex with was absolutely none of her business.
“I’m not sure,” Sarah answered, looking curiously at Mara. “If he’s interested in somebody, he’s hiding it well. I haven’t seen him talking to anybody in town except Elsie and Beatrice, and I’m pretty doubtful he has his eye on either one of them romantically.”
Mara let out a startled cough, and it turned into a delighted laugh before she answered, “They both adore him, but I don’t think either one has realized he’s a grown man. They refer to him as a sweet boy.”
“That’s truly mind-boggling since we all know he’s anything but sweet,” Randi said thoughtfully.
“He’s always been nice to me,” Mara replied, for some reason feeling she needed to defend Jared. After all, he had sat with her in the rain and listened to her problems. He’d even offered to help solve them, an act of kindness she hadn’t expected. Of course, it was an offer she couldn’t accept. Jared was almost a stranger, and she needed to make some major changes in her life. Still, just the fact that he had offered had been thoughtful and amazingly . . . sweet.
She squirmed as four sets of curious, feminine eyes focused on her.
“How nice has he been, exactly?” Sarah asked, smirking as she crossed her arms in front of her, pinning Mara with a questioning gaze.
“No. Oh, no. Jared isn’t interested in me in that kind of way,” Mara told the women hastily, knowing exactly what they were thinking from their expressions. “He just asked for some information on the history of the Sinclairs in Amesport.”
You’re exactly the type of woman a man wants beneath him naked.
Mara had to suppress a shudder as Jared’s words from yesterday drifted through her mind. Really, he hadn’t meant a word of it. She was fairly certain that it was a line he used without really thinking about it. Just the thought of Jared Sinclair really finding her fuckable was ridiculous. They were from two different worlds, and the type of woman he usually took to his bed was no doubt beautiful, privileged, and pampered.
Nothing like me.
Unfortunately, her face had flushed a bright pink just from thinking about Jared, which, unfortunately, made the women scrutinize her expression even more carefully.
“Um . . . I have to run. I have a million things to do.” She grabbed her purse hastily and hightailed it out of Kristin’s apartment as quickly as she could, giving Sarah her e-mail and phone number on the way out so she could contact her about the wedding events.
Mara took a shaky breath as she stepped outside Kristin’s apartment building, hoping nobody had noticed how awkwardly she had handled the Jared discussion.
They noticed. I know they did.
Taking another deep breath, she trotted down the steps of the building quickly. She headed back to her home and shop, hoping no one ever figured just how uneasy Jared Sinclair could make her when he focused those hungry, liquid green eyes on her like he had for a few moments the day before.
Don’t think about him. Don’t think about him at all. You have a lot bigger issues to think about at the moment.
Mara sighed as she quickened her pace, anxious to get back to her house. She had a ton of work to do before she attended the Amesport Farmers’ Market early in the morning. It was imperative that she make as much money as she possibly could. Very shortly, she’d be homeless, and she needed to gather the funds to find another place to live.
I’m going to help you.
Jared’s promise floated through her mind automatically.
“I don’t need help,” she whispered softly. “I’m used to doing everything myself.”
She blinked to keep her tears at bay. Crying wasn’t going to resolve her problems. If only she didn’t feel like she was failing her mom by losing the shop and the home she’d lived in since she was born.
Chin up, sweetie. Everything will look better in the morning.
She swore she could actually hear her mother’s voice in those words. It’s exactly what she would have told Mara if she were alive right now. Unfortunately, her mom was gone, and unable to give her advice on exactly how to handle her problems. Her life was going to have to change drastically. She needed to change careers, and probably leave the familiar atmosphere of Amesport. She’d been a doll maker from an early age. What kind of job did that qualify her for?
I’ll find something. I’ll have to.
Mara felt more alone than she had in her entire life, and it was going to be hard not to let the profound emptiness she was feeling swallow her whole.