You May Kiss the Groomsman Read online

  Across from her, Leanna slowly got to her feet and whispered, “I’m on to you,” but didn’t hover for too long. With a small wave, she turned and walked out of the cafeteria.

  And Josie settled in for a lengthy and frustrating conversation with the demanding bride.

  This was not the way he wanted to spend his evening.

  Glancing around the hospital cafeteria, Daniel Alexander fought hard not to sigh with boredom. He’d tried explaining to his two business partners that taking a field trip to the hospital to meet their security team wasn’t sending the right message. If they were going to get their own security business off the ground, he wanted potential clients to come to them.

  The only problem with this plan was that they didn’t have an office or anywhere for people to come to yet.

  Minor details…

  Still, this tour of the hospital had been going on for two hours and all he wanted to do was sit down and have a cup of coffee and not listen to their head of security drone on about how they don’t need help.

  Then what are we still doing here?

  His gaze landed on a pretty brunette sitting alone and talking on her phone. She was fairly animated and a little intense as she spoke, and she fascinated him.

  As if sensing his thoughts, she looked up and their eyes met briefly before she blushed and looked away.

  Interesting…

  Since arriving back in Raleigh all of three days ago, Daniel had been going non-stop and the only people he’d been in contact with were his buddies–and now business partners–Knox and Xander. They chose North Carolina to start their business based on his recommendation. They’d served as Navy SEALs together for the last fifteen years and had known one another since boot camp. For years they’d talked about when they would return to civilian life and what they wanted to do, and it was amazing that they were all on the same page. Starting their own security firm seemed like a distant dream but they were finally making it happen.

  Daniel had made a lot of arrangements before even arriving back in the state and the only thing he hadn’t done was reach out to his family.

  There was definitely going to be some hell to pay for that one, but he’d deal with it.

  Actually, it was his plan to call his parents this week, but he was toying around with just surprising them and knocking on their front door. The thought of it made him smile.

  So did the girl who was sneaking glances at him from across the room.

  But for completely different reasons.

  “Why don’t I show you the parking garage where we keep the golf carts?” Mel, the security manager, suggested.

  It was quite literally the very last thing he wanted to do, and he tapped Xander on the shoulder and quietly told him so. Fortunately, they were on the same page.

  “We appreciate the offer, Mel,” Xander said with a smile, “but we’ve taken up enough of your time. If you have any questions for us, please feel free to email and let us know.” They all shook hands with him, but Daniel didn’t breathe freely until the guy was gone.

  “I’m glad you finally put a stop to that,” Knox said, frowning, as he ran a hand along his buzzed head. “We should have done that an hour ago.”

  “I kept waiting for it to get interesting,” Xander said wearily. “Although I guess hospital security isn’t exactly the place for action unless there are special circumstances. I still think they can benefit with some of the training we’ll offer.”

  “Maybe,” Daniel said, sneaking a glance over at the brunette. This time she gave him a shy smile and he felt it in a way he hadn’t in a long time.

  His friends–who were just as overly observant as he was– noticed where his attention kept going and grinned at him.

  “I’m thinking of hitting that pub we drove past on the way here,” Xander said to Knox. “You interested?”

  “Definitely,” Knox replied before laughing softly. “But I think our boy here has some plans of his own.”

  That got his attention. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “It means go and talk to the girl already,” Knox said, as if it were obvious. “Loosen up a bit and maybe have a little fun tonight.”

  “And remember to tell us all about it tomorrow,” Xander said before they walked away, leaving Daniel standing by himself and feeling more than a little self-conscious.

  Jerks…

  Acting quickly, he walked over to the food counter and ordered himself a coffee. Once he paid, he slowly turned around and prayed he wasn’t about to make a fool out of himself. Sadly, she was still on the phone, so he took a seat two tables away and simply sipped his coffee and checked his email on his phone. A few minutes later, his patience was rewarded by the soft sound of a female clearing her voice. When he looked up, his heart kicked hard in his chest.

  There she is…

  “Hi,” she said quietly, with a hint of shyness. “Mind if I join you?”

  “Not at all.” He straightened and motioned to the seat beside him. She sat and the scent of peaches washed over him. It was hard to fight the urge to lean in and confirm whether it was her perfume or her shampoo. “I’m Daniel,” he said gruffly, and immediately cleared his throat.

  “Josie,” she said, blushing again like she had minutes ago. “So…um…I saw you talking with the security guard. Is everything okay?”

  With a nod, he told her, “It was business-related and incredibly boring. What about you? Are you here visiting someone?”

  Great question, dumbass. Why else would she be in a hospital cafeteria?

  “My brother and his wife just had a baby,” she said. “The room was a little crowded, so I came down to give them some space and then ended up on a business call.”

  “Are you planning on going back up?” he asked and silently prayed she wasn’t. It had been a long time since he’d asked a woman out in any real capacity and he was hoping to ask this particular woman to dinner.

  Tonight.

  She toyed with her coffee cup before shaking her head. “Um…no. I don’t think so. I was thinking of grabbing something to eat.” Then she laughed softly. “Not here, though.”

  That made him laugh too. “I’m not sure I’d opt for hospital cafeteria food either, but…would you be interested in joining me for dinner?”

  When she looked up at him, her dark eyes went a little wide. “Really?”

  All Daniel could do was nod.

  “I…I’d like that,” she said, her blush making another appearance.

  “You’ll have to help me out,” he said. “I’ve only been back in Raleigh for a few days and it looks a lot different since I last saw it. Where would you recommend?”

  Josie didn’t even hesitate. “There is a great pub not too far from here–Flanagan’s–that has really good food and a casual atmosphere. Or we can hit the Ale House. Equally good food and also close by.”

  He was familiar with the Ale House but leaned more toward Flanagan’s–mainly because it was the first place she suggested and that told him it was her preference. “Let’s do Flanagan’s. I can follow you,” he said and then realized that sounded a little creepy. “Or I can just GPS it.”

  They stood and walked over to throw out their drinks before heading out. Conversation consisted of her new niece and how good the food was at Flanagan’s, and once they were in the parking lot, they agreed to meet up there.

  The drive only took fifteen minutes, but he found he was really looking forward to sitting and getting to know Josie. Their extremely brief conversation wasn’t anything special, but he remembered how she looked while talking on the phone and he hoped he’d get to see that side of her again while they got to know each other.

  He parked next to her and they walked in together while Daniel talked about all the ways the city was different to him, but before he could go any further, they were inside and being seated.

  “This almost never happens,” she told him as they sat in a corner booth. “There’s usually a bit of a wait. Maybe because
it’s still kind of early?”

  “Maybe.” All he knew was he was thankful because now she was here beside him and it was a little private and he couldn’t wait to dive into conversation with her. The waitress took their drink orders and left them with menus, and when they were finally alone, he smiled at her. “So…”

  “So…”

  “You mentioned the call in the cafeteria was for business. What is it that you do?” he asked, feeling completely lame.

  Her whole face lit up. “I’m a wedding planner,” she began. “I am part owner with my two best friends at Meet Me at the Altar. We help plan weddings and other large events, but primarily weddings.”

  “Wow, that is very cool. How long have you been doing it?”

  “Five years and it is very cool but it can also be very frustrating. That call I was on was with a very demanding bride-to-be and sometimes I have to remind myself to breathe and keep a smile on my face.”

  “I can understand that for sure.”

  “And what do you do?” she asked.

  “I just retired from the Navy. I was a SEAL for the last fifteen years and now that I’m home, I’m…” He was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, frowning at the phone before ignoring the call. “You were saying?”

  Their waitress returned with their drinks and then told them the specials and asked if they were ready to order. He was hungry and so was Josie, so they took quick glances at the menu and placed their order. Once the waitress was gone, she apologized again for the interruption.

  “Was it a work call?”

  “Sort of,” she said vaguely. “And you know what? I really don’t want to talk about work. I wish I could turn my phone off, but I can’t, so maybe we just not…talk about it. Is that okay?”

  He nodded and then realized he was in the middle of talking about his work so maybe they should talk about something else.

  Then her phone dinged five times in a row with incoming texts and it was hard not to be a little annoyed.

  Josie let out a small groan and when she looked at the screen, he swore he heard her growl before stuffing the phone into her purse. When she looked up at him again, he knew she was going to apologize and he felt bad for her.

  Reaching out, he boldly took one of her hands in his. “No apologies. This was all unplanned and maybe the timing wasn’t great. If you need to take the call or answer the texts…it would be really crappy of me to stop you.”

  Her shoulders sagged. “I really want to ignore them, but…”

  Squeezing her hand, he offered her a reassuring smile. “But you can’t. I get it.”

  Pulling out her phone, he watched as she typed out a response at a scary fast speed. A minute later, the phone rang and she slid out of the booth with another apology and a promise to be right back.

  With a sigh, he sat back and hated that he had acted so rashly in inviting her to dinner because clearly, this wasn’t going to work. She seemed really nice, and he was definitely attracted to her, but it was obvious her work was a major distraction. It shouldn’t bother him, but for some reason, it did. It was probably wrong for him to want a woman to give him all her attention while they were on a date, but…he did.

  Oh, well…

  Now he figured they’d have dinner, make small talk, and go on their way. Five minutes later he spotted her walking back toward him and let out a long breath. He was attracted to every inch of her–from her long dark hair to the sassy sway of her hips–and was seriously contemplating being the world’s biggest douche and asking her if they could skip dinner and just go to the nearest hotel so he could fuck them both into oblivion. At any other time in his life, he wouldn’t give it a second thought–he’d just do it–but Josie didn’t look like the type of woman who’d do that.

  Unfortunately.

  “Okay,” she said breathlessly as she slid back in beside him. “This time I did shut off my phone and I seriously cannot apologize enough for the interruptions.”

  He shrugged. “It happens.”

  Her smile fell along with her shoulders. “I really messed this up, didn’t I?” It wasn’t really a question.

  The polite thing to do was lie, but…

  “Just unfortunate timing,” he said instead. “I imagine it’s a problem being spontaneous when your work is always with you.”

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve been spontaneous,” she admitted. “Like a really long time and clearly I’m out of practice.”

  They sat in silence for a moment and then their food arrived. “The service here is really fast,” he murmured, but counted it as a blessing. The sooner they ate, the sooner they could leave and he could put this behind him.

  Conversation was a little stilted after that. Daniel opted not to tell her about his business, and they talked about the city, the changes he noticed about it, some of the places he traveled to while in the military…the basics. Josie talked about some of her favorite places in Raleigh and he couldn’t help but smile when he saw her animated side come out.

  I wish I could see her talk like that about me…

  Yeah, he really needed to start socializing more and even start thinking about dating because if he was feeling this strongly about Josie, maybe he was just yearning for companionship.

  She laughed and placed her hand on his arm and that shot his theory to hell because all he could think about was having her hand on other parts of him.

  Not gonna happen…

  Conversation flowed, but Daniel had sort of checked-out because…well…just because. Josie was a beautiful woman and maybe if things had gone a little differently…

  And if I wasn’t being such a selfish prick…

  Yeah, that.

  Either way, they finished eating and he paid the tab and he walked her out to her car.

  “I hate that I ruined this,” she said as she looked up at him with a sad smile. “Just my luck that a really hot guy who is super nice invites me to dinner and I blow it.”

  Then he felt bad for being judgmental.

  “It wasn’t all you, Josie. I probably shouldn’t have gotten so bent out of shape.” Pausing, he studied her face and it was crazy how much he wanted to kiss her. “Like I said earlier, it was just bad timing.”

  Ask for her number…

  “I’d say I’d like to see you again, but…this is my life, Daniel. It’s crazy and right now, it’s even crazier and more complicated than I can even explain.”

  That was a little cryptic and he wanted to know more, but…

  “Thank you for dinner and for sticking around even when I’m sure you would have preferred to leave,” she went on, and he couldn’t correct her because it was pointless. “It was very nice to meet you, and I hope you get settled back here in Raleigh and have a good life.” She held out her hand to him and he took it, but as soon as he did both their expressions changed.

  He was a risk-taker. He had no fear. And yet right now seemed bigger and scarier than anything had in a long time.

  There was no way he’d ask her to go to a hotel with him, but damn did he want to.

  “If this is all we’re going to have,” Josie said, interrupting his thoughts, “I know I’ll regret it if I don’t do this.” And then she moved in close, raked her free hand up around his neck and pulled him down for the deepest, wettest, and sexiest kiss he’d ever had.

  Reaching up, he cupped her face and kissed her back with just as much heat and need as she was giving him, and just when he was prepared to say screw it and offer to simply take her home with him, Josie broke the kiss.

  And took a step back.

  “Bad timing,” she whispered, one hand touching her lips. “It really was nice meeting you, Daniel.”

  He was too stunned to speak or move or…anything, and before he knew it, she pulled away and was gone.

  2

  “Real love exists. Don’t ever give up your search for it. Your soulmate is somewhere out there waiting for you.�
�

  Unknown

  For two days, Josie agonized over her dinner with Daniel and cursed herself for being so stupid.

  And awkward.

  Oh, and really, really stupid.

  Yeah, she’d kicked herself and called herself every name in the book after leaving him in the parking lot and had been pretty much doing it ever since.

  Why didn’t she fight harder for him to give her a second chance? Why didn’t she invite him home with her for a wild night of sweaty sex? But most importantly, why did she have to meet him now?!

  Seriously, why now? If she hadn’t looked at her phone–her stupid, annoying phone–the night would have had a much more satisfying ending.

  Tyler was the one texting and calling and she wanted to strangle him for it. When she left the table to call him, she was absolutely furious. Then he told her why he was calling, and she felt…awful.

  He was calling with great news and she had been selfishly thinking about how he was ruining her night instead of being happy for him and congratulating him. He seemed fairly confident that he was getting his promotion and said he had something important to talk about with her. She’d been too distracted to talk to him in the middle of the restaurant–and he said he wanted to do it in person–so they agreed to have dinner together tonight.

  And she wasn’t looking forward to it at all.

  A sense of deep dread filled her because she knew where the conversation was going to go and as much as she’d been on board with a paper-only marriage, now she wasn’t so sure. As much as she wanted to blame Lea and the conversation they had at the hospital, the truth was she put part of the blame on Daniel.

  Maybe it was foolish, but…clearly she had thrown in the towel too soon. There were decent guys out there who were interested in her; she just hadn’t waited long enough.

  “And then I find one and my phony almost-fiancé cockblocks me,” she murmured as she studied her reflection in the mirror. She’d left work early so she could go home and change and, luckily, no one asked any questions. Lea was on a cake delivery and Skye obviously wasn’t in the office, so she was able to leave undetected.