Wedding Bell Blues Read online

Touching her.

  “Okay, Janis, give Brendan the line. Slowly.”

  So Janis read.

  And Brendan touched.

  He swept her hair aside, and his fingers moved smoothly over her skin. Slick, fragrant with the lotion. Warm, soothing, rippling along her shoulders and spine, touching her flesh, massaging her, moving down her back. She couldn’t breathe. She could only feel him. His touch, his body, behind her. Close. His every breath touching her flesh where it was slick and smooth and cool with the lotion…

  “Brendan, that’s wonderful. Kaitlin, what the hell is the matter with you?”

  “What?”

  “That would have been it! A one-shot wrap. Kaitlin, this is your lover, your best friend in the world, the man you travel the globe with. Smile! You like him, remember? Loosen up! Glance his way over your shoulder. You like it! Got it?”

  She gritted her teeth. “Got it.”

  “Okay, Jerry,” Lenny called to the cameraman, checking the angle himself. “Action, please.”

  Janis began to read.

  And Kaitlin found herself being bathed in lotion once again. She felt his fingertips. Felt the trembling they created deep down inside her. She moistened her lips and closed her eyes. She felt the sun, and she felt his touch. Stroking, his head bent close to hers. And she heard his barely breathed whisper. “Like it, Kaitlin?”

  She didn’t snap; she didn’t break. She turned and smiled, just as she had been told, her eyes alive, her gaze as wicked as his fingertips….

  Lenny groaned. Kaitlin had been fine this time, but a kid running on the sand had caused the fly-up that the camera would surely catch. And then Netty suggested that when Brendan was done, he should give the lotion to Kaitlin, who could apply it to him as the shot faded away.

  They went for seven takes in all.

  On the last take, Kaitlin thought she would scream if she had to do it one more time. Had to feel his fingers moving against her flesh and muscle. Had to sense him behind her. Had to feel the strength and bulk of his body, smell his scent, feel the warmth of his breath caress her against the coolness of the lotion. Had to feel him stroking the length of her spine, stroking her shoulders, massaging her nape…

  She was trembling when she turned. Smiled. Murmured a low, sultry thank you and took the lotion from his hands.

  Then she touched him. All over his back. His broad, rippling, bronze and sexy back. She touched him from just above the buttocks, and swept upward, sheeting his back in lotion, and nearly touching him with the length of her body. Then he turned suddenly and her fingers were in the mat of hair on his chest and she was looking into his eyes. And her fingers were spreading the stuff outward, upward and downward, and she was still staring at him…

  “Cut!” Lenny cried. And he jumped up and down. “That’s a wrap. Perfect, damn, but that was perfect, Kaitlin, you can’t imagine how perfect!”

  His eyes were still on hers. It was over; people were moving. The cameraman was picking up his equipment, Lenny was hugging Janis, and Brendan was still staring at her with his magnetic green gaze. She couldn’t seem to pull away from it. She was still trembling.

  Then he smiled slowly. “Perfect,” he said softly, turning as Netty came up to him.

  Suddenly, on the beach, with the sun beating down on her, she was cold, shaking with it deep inside. Then Janis was behind her, whirling her around and whispering. “Dear Lord, I have never—never!—seen something so simple become so sensuous. I’m telling you, Kaitlin, this spot is mesmerizing. I could barely breathe right, just watching!”

  “Janis! Please, stop!” Kaitlin said, her cheeks flaming. Just how sensuous had it appeared? And in front of all these people, too!

  “But, Kaitlin, it was sexy. This product is going to walk off the shelves, I’m telling you. Just imagine—”

  “Imagine what?” Kaitlin demanded.

  “Why, we’ve just begun. Now he gets to carry you into the suite. Oh, it’s wonderful that things didn’t work out with Cissy and Mark! You two have such chemistry!”

  Chemistry. Damn chemistry! Kaitlin thought. But Janis was right. It was there.

  And they still had more to do.

  Chapter 3

  It was his fault. The whole damn thing was his fault, and Brendan knew it. He had never meant to say yes to her. And then, if he was going to agree to make an idiot of himself on camera, what had ever possessed him to demand that she join him, just so he could spend hour upon hour of torture, touching, stroking, caressing everything that he had vowed to himself—and to her—he wasn’t going to have?

  What a fool he had been.

  Seashell Sunblock. Great. Wonderful. What on earth had gotten hold of him? After all these years, he should never be in such a position now.

  Holding her. Dancing with her. Looking into her eyes, feeling the sway of her body, in the sweet heat of the night….

  It had been bad enough at the beach. Touching her. Rubbing his fingers over her back, her shoulders. Sweeping her hair aside, inhaling her sweet scent. Touching her in front of all those people. Just how sensual could it have been?

  Too sensual. The people had faded away, and he’d had trouble hearing. She had looked great in the blue two-piece bikini, tan, lean, compact, beautifully built.

  Why couldn’t she have gained about fifty pounds, accrued a few rotten teeth—or lost a whole mouthful of them—and maybe gone bald?

  Then he wondered whether even those things would have changed anything.

  He had wanted her all his life. Why should anything have changed?

  They were off the beach now, and things were even worse. It was dark, and they were out on the patio. The moon was out, and they might have been alone, staring into one another’s eyes. His fingers were curled around hers, his hand at the small of her back.

  It shouldn’t have felt so natural; it shouldn’t have been so easy.

  And he shouldn’t have been waiting for so much of his life. He should have gotten married by now. He should have made damn sure he was at least seriously involved with someone so that she couldn’t slip back into his life.

  And she was in his life, all right. In his arms. In a strapless deep maroon cocktail dress with a skirt of some silky fabric that moved and swayed with every step. Her shoulder couldn’t have been softer. They’d been bathed in sunblock all day long, and now her skin felt just like an angel’s wings. And they were dancing close together. So close that he felt the tension rising in his body, so close that he felt every curve of her.

  Curves he knew well. He could close his eyes, in fact, and summon up a memory of every curve and dip and nuance of her body. Colors and shapes and scents and essences, he could remember them all.

  He had to quit remembering. It was embarrassing, because they weren’t really alone.

  There was a camera crew not ten feet away. And good old Lenny. And Janis, still rapt, still staring at him intently, still stuttering when she tried to talk to him. He liked her. She had an honesty that wouldn’t allow her to pretend she’d never heard of him.

  But exactly what had she heard? He didn’t know.

  And he couldn’t begin to tell from looking into Kaitlin’s eyes. Blue eyes. Wild, and anything but innocent. He would never forget the first time he’d seen her. She’d been flirting away, and the guys had all been panting after her like puppy dogs, just about tripping over their tongues. She had been defiant, challenging…and watching him in return. It had been fun at first, because he had known she was after him, making a bid for his attention.

  And then she’d gotten it. He wasn’t sure if it had been before or after he had taken her into his arms and danced with her—just like this—that he had realized he was interested, that he could never let her go.

  He felt his jaw tightening. She was looking at him just as she had looked at him that night so long ago. With eyes that could melt steel. With a never-ending cascade of strawberry blond hair rippling down her back in lush waves of fire and gold.

  He told
himself that it was a commercial. A damn commercial and nothing else. There was no honesty in her eyes, none at all. It was over between them, all over, and it had been for a long time. She talked to him only when she wanted something from him.

  Last time he’d made sure she hadn’t gotten it. And this time…

  Well, this time, they had to make peace. And they might have done it, if only he didn’t have to touch her. If only he didn’t feel just like a teenager—with his tongue on the floor this time.

  No, it wasn’t his tongue he was worried about.

  He’d promised her he wouldn’t seduce her, and she’d told him he didn’t have the power. Not anymore. That he’d only been able to seduce her before because she had wanted him to.

  Want me now, he thought. Want me.

  Good, O’Herlihy, good, he told himself sarcastically. Let’s start this whole thing off panting. It should make everything move right along.

  It was just that when he held her like this, it was hard not to believe there was still something between them, no matter how much time had passed.

  The last time he had held her this way had been almost four years ago, down in the Keys. The moon had been full and beautiful, and she had been in his arms, looking at him, her eyes very blue and very wide. He had been determined then that she wouldn’t get away that night, that he would listen to her, that they would talk…

  Then he had touched her, and when the music ended, he had carried her away…and refreshed his memory about her curves.

  The scene felt so much the same now. No words between them, just the patio, the moonlight and Kaitlin in his arms. The only woman who both infuriated him and made him feel whole. He could lift her into his arms and sweep her away and—

  “Brendan! Wonderful!” Lenny called. The people in the background suddenly came crashing forward. “You two look wonderful. Janis is going to give you the line now. Just listen to it and keep up the good work. The camera is rolling.”

  Janis began to read huskily. “If you touch her this afternoon, touch her with Seashell Sunblock and be sure that you can touch her again tonight.”

  Kaitlin was still staring into his eyes. Her lips were soft, gleaming. She had never seemed more beautiful.

  He wanted to shout, It was my fault, damn it! When Sean died, the things that happened were my fault. I didn’t stop loving you. It just seemed like everything else was so trivial. He’d been my best friend all my life, and he’d had so many hopes and plans and dreams, and suddenly they were all dead. I didn’t know how to explain how I felt, how to cope with it. So I blocked you out, and then I lost you. I didn’t even realize it until I saw you with another man. I thought it was my pride, but I really just didn’t have the guts to admit that it was my fault, and I wanted to hurt you.

  “Okay, cut! That’s a wrap!” Lenny was clapping his hands together.

  Kaitlin dropped her hands and stepped away from him, a foot away. None of it had meant anything to her. It was just a commercial. A game. A tease.

  Suddenly Lenny was there between the two of them, excited. “Kaitlin, I can’t tell you how great the two of you look together!” He swung around to pump Brendan’s hand. “You’re wonderful. A natural. You should go into this for a living—”

  “Oh, I’ve got a job, thank you. I’m a pirate,” Brendan said, flashing a smile to Kaitlin, who didn’t smile in return.

  Lenny flashed Kaitlin a quick glance, then smiled at Brendan again. “We’re almost finished here. We just need to go up to the hallway toward the suite. Pretend you’re carrying your beloved off to bed. Think you can handle that as smoothly?”

  Brendan met Kaitlin’s eyes. “I can’t wait,” he said dryly.

  She smiled sweetly. He could almost hear her teeth grating. “Oh, neither can I,” she assured him.

  “Okay!” Lenny called. “Let’s wrap it up here and move upstairs, okay?”

  Janis gathered up her papers, and the cameraman and his assistant began collecting their lights and equipment. Netty Green, who had been there all day, was still smiling. She placed a hand on Brendan’s tuxedo-clad arm. “I must thank you again. You’ve been just what I wanted.”

  “Don’t thank me, Mrs. Green,” he said, his eyes still on Kaitlin. “Thank Kaitlin. She’s always known how to get just what she wants.”

  “I just wish I knew how to repay you—” Netty began.

  “Please, don’t worry about it. Kaitlin pays very well. Very well, indeed.”

  Again he could almost hear the grating of her teeth. But she was still smiling. “He’s a sucker for minimum wage, Netty. But it’s nice to hear that you’re so pleased.” She turned to Brendan. “Thank you for working so hard. By the way, I think you need to fix your makeup. Your nose is shiny.”

  “My nose is shiny? Oh, no,” he said with mock concern.

  “It’s the lights,” she said sweetly. “They make us all perspire just a bit.”

  There went that tongue of hers as she moistened her lips again. She was shaken, as shaken as he was. If only there weren’t so many people around.

  “I think it’s lovely that you two managed to part and remain such good friends!” Netty exclaimed, her thin fingers twining together, her eyes alight.

  “Oh, yes, such friends,” Kaitlin murmured. “Excuse me, Netty, will you? I’m going to run up and check a few things.”

  She was going to get away from him for a while, and they both knew it, Brendan thought. Maybe that was all right. He didn’t seem to have a whole lot of control over his own reactions.

  We never talked, he thought. And now, if I started talking, I wonder if she’d even remember what the problems were.

  She was gone, and he gave himself a shake. “I guess it’s going to take a few minutes for them to move all this stuff around, right?” he asked Netty.

  She nodded, smiling and taking the arm he offered her.

  “Can I buy you a drink, Mrs. Green?”

  “Let me buy you one.”

  “No, thanks, I’m an old-fashioned guy at heart. What can I get you?”

  She decided to have a glass of white wine. He sat with her at the bar and listened to her talk about her brother, and the growth of Seashell Products, and why it might seem that she was being petty, but all she really wanted was to protect her product. He half listened to her.

  And he half ignored her, dreading, anticipating the moments to come.

  He’d come here today to talk about arranging a special party for Barbara and Joe. Instead, he was in a tux, drinking Scotch in hopes that it would numb his fingers.

  He hadn’t seen her in almost four years, and it didn’t matter, not one bit. It felt as if it had been yesterday. Maybe that was because he had seen too much of her when he had seen her.

  He finished his drink. “I hear I need more makeup. I guess I’d better head up.”

  “Yes, yes, of course,” Netty agreed.

  They took the elevator up to the suite. Lenny was talking to the cameraman, but he turned when he heard Brendan approaching.

  “Kaitlin will be right with us. Brendan,” he said, smiling ruefully, “you need to powder your nose.”

  “So I hear,” Brendan said wryly. He excused himself and went into the suite. The woman doing makeup was set up in one of the bedrooms, and he hesitated, knowing that Kaitlin was there, too.

  Then the door opened and she came out. For a minute they were alone. Really alone.

  Then her eyes narrowed, and her smile wasn’t the least bit sweet. “Thanks a lot, O’Herlihy. You made me feel really cheap out there.”

  He swallowed the feelings that had been growing throughout the long day. “Sorry, O’Herlihy. But then again, if the shoe fits…”

  “The shoe is just about to fly in your face, Brendan. I shouldn’t pay you a thing! I should opt out of these weddings myself. And don’t you dare call me O’Herlihy like that again. Don’t—”

  He stepped forward, clamping his hand over her mouth before she could go on. Her eyes rose to meet his in a
cool blue fire of unreasonable fury.

  “Kaitlin, may I remind you that you chose to keep the name. For your business, you said. And then you wanted an annulment from me—after all those years of keeping my name! So if I want to call you by it, I damn well will! And let me remind you of something else, too. You were willing to pay a hell of a lot to have your way the last time I saw you.”

  She tried to bite him, but he moved his hand quickly, then pulled her against him. “Damn you, Kaitlin!”

  “Brendan, stop it! Let go of me! There are people right outside. We have to finish this shoot.”

  “Oh, great! You’re about to bite me, but when I fight back, you scream about propriety. You don’t fight fair, lady, so don’t expect fairness from me.”

  “I didn’t know that we were fighting,” she snapped.

  “I walked in, and you attacked.”

  “You haven’t been attacking all evening?”

  All evening. She had been in his arms all evening. And she was in his arms now. He was growing tenser and hotter by the minute. It was worse than ever here. Worse, being alone.

  He shook his head slowly, then he released her. “Let’s go. Let’s finish your damn commercial.”

  She went very still, then she swept by him. When he started to follow her, she swung around and hissed, “Go powder your nose!”

  He stopped, staring at her, as she continued. “If I’m paying you so damn well, I want my money’s worth.”

  He arched a brow, smiling. “Oh, honey, you already have gotten your money’s worth,” he assured her.

  But he swung around and stepped into the bedroom to have his makeup retouched, slamming the door behind him. When he came out, he allowed the door to slam behind him again. Then he was sorry he had. The girl, Janis, was obviously waiting for him. She jumped sky high at the crack of the door.

  “Mr. O’Herlihy, they’re ready for you. If you’re ready, that is.”

  “Brendan. And I’m ready. Thanks.”

  She smiled nervously, still staring at him as he opened the outer door of the suite for her. She flushed. “How could she have divorced you?” she whispered.