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  “I’d ask exactly what that means but I don’t think it’s necessary,” Mac said. “She’s a great girl, Ry. I have no idea what your history is with her, and really, it’s none of my business, but from what I know of the both of you now, I think you’re perfect for each other.”

  “I agree,” Ryder said and smiled warmly when Casey turned and smiled at him, her eyes full of promise. He needed to get off the phone. Now. “So listen, are we good? Are you okay with Casey going ahead and booking the date?”

  “Gina said you were the tiebreaker so I’ll call her now and let her know you’ve made your decision, and tell Casey to take care of the rest.”

  “Will do, Mac. Good luck with the rest of your trip. When are you heading back home?”

  “I’ve got another couple of days here in London and then I’m meeting up with Christian on Wednesday.”

  “Really? For business?”

  “Nah, we haven’t seen one another in years, and you know how this family is,” Mac said with a hint of humor. “We have more cousins than we can count, and it’s rare that we’re in the same place at the same time. I looked him up before I got here and Wednesday worked for the both of us. We’re going to hang out for a bit, and then I’m catching a flight to San Francisco to meet up with Gina.”

  “Well, tell our wayward cousin that I said hello,” Ryder said. “Will he be coming for the wedding?”

  “We have two hundred people coming, and I think a hundred of them are Montgomerys!”

  “So Gina doesn’t have a big family, I’m gathering.”

  “Luckily, no; otherwise we’d have had even more trouble finding a location.”

  “Well, my work is done, Cousin,” Ryder said, even more anxious to get off the phone when he saw Casey bend over to pick something up. “Gotta go.”

  “I know that tone,” Mac said. “Tell Casey I said hello and thank her for all she’s doing.”

  “Consider it done,” Ryder said as he hung up. He knew there were calls that Casey needed to make, but his need for her was too great. Walking up behind her, Ryder wrapped his arms around her and gently nipped at her neck. “You look really good in my shirt, Case.”

  She purred and arched into him. “Thank you. Wanna see what I look like out of it?”

  It was as if they were of one mind. “Sweetheart, you have no idea how much,” he growled as he let his hands roam up and down her torso. “But I don’t want to feel rushed, so make that call and book the place, and then I’m turning the phone off.”

  Casey looked over her shoulder at him and smiled a wicked smile. “One mind.”

  * * *

  By Wednesday, Ryder was more than a little frustrated with the direction of his life. After finding Casey again after all this time, he didn’t want to be apart from her. They spent every night together, but her days were full. If he was working, he was sure that it wouldn’t seem so bad, but with nothing to do but sit around and wait for her to come home, he was slowly losing his mind.

  The one thing he had managed to do was call his uncle William and tell him that it wasn’t necessary for him to come to the coast, that he had it all under control. Even now Ryder chuckled at how pleased his uncle had sounded.

  “Are you sure, Ryder?” William had asked. “I managed to clear a couple of days in my calendar so Monica and I could drive down and help Casey out.”

  “It’s really not necessary,” Ryder had assured him. “The venue is booked, and Gina and Casey have already talked and emailed and Skyped to go over the invitations and programs. They are supposed to have another Skype meeting with the florist today, so really, it all seems under control.”

  “You seem to know an awful lot about how it’s all going,” William said with a hint of amusement in his voice. “I thought you were simply taking care of the venue. Have you been talking to Gina?”

  Ryder knew his uncle was fishing, and although the stories making their way through the family told Ryder everything he needed to know about his uncle’s matchmaking abilities, Ryder wanted to tease him a little more. “I actually talked to Mac. I hear he’s meeting with Christian today before coming back to the States. It’s going to be great to have all of the cousins together for the wedding, don’t you think?”

  “Yes, yes,” he said absently. “It’s going to be wonderful. I haven’t been with my brothers in far too long. And the thought of all of you kids in one room is enough to make my head spin. Maybe you should tell Casey that we’ll need to put the resort on high alert. You all can be a handful!”

  “Uncle Will,” Ryder began lightly, “we’re not kids anymore, and we all know how to behave ourselves. Maybe you should tell Gina to handle that.”

  “Oh, I’m sure that Gina has enough to deal with. Her mother’s surgery went very well and she seems to be recovering nicely. I’m hoping that she and Mac won’t have to stay out in California for too long. But surely you and Casey will have everything under control for them. Heck, you’ll probably be an old pro at it by the time the big day comes! Maybe even pro enough to plan your own wedding!”

  It was hard to simply not bust out in laughter. “Wedding? Oh, you’ve got the wrong guy, Uncle. Once this wedding is done, I’m heading back to San Diego.”

  “What? But…but…you said that you were going to take a step back from the company. We’ve all been discussing which of your cousins was going to take your place! You can’t tell me that you’ve changed your mind. What on earth is going on down there, Ryder? What about Casey?”

  “Casey? What about her? She’s the wedding planner and she’s doing one heck of a job, but…well…that’s it. We took care of the venue, and she didn’t need my help on anything else. She’s pretty efficient at what she does.” Ryder smiled at the images in his mind of how efficient Casey was at nearly bringing him to his knees on a daily basis by simply being in the room.

  “To hell with being efficient,” William said. “You mean to tell me that the two of you worked together and then that was it? No sparks? No lingering chemistry?”

  “Not really.” Ryder wasn’t sure how he was keeping it all together.

  “Well, then you’re clearly doing something wrong, Ryder!” his uncle yelled. “I hope you didn’t treat Casey as some sort of colleague or—”

  “But she is a colleague of sorts. She’s handling Mac and Gina’s wedding, and as such, it would be inappropriate for me to make some kind of move on her.”

  “Nonsense. She’s a beautiful woman and clearly at one time you thought so too. What’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing,” Ryder said as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “People change; they grow up. I did meet a very cute cocktail waitress at the first venue we looked at.”

  “Maybe I do need to take a ride down there,” William muttered. “Honestly, it’s like not one of you boys can see what’s right in front of your face.” He continued to mutter to himself before announcing to Ryder that he was definitely coming to the coast.

  “Okay, okay…I confess,” Ryder finally said. “I looked up Casey before you and Mac even called me. I went out for a run and found myself at the foot of the stairs leading to Casey’s parents’ house. It’s her house now and so I was lucky there.”

  “And…?” William prompted.

  “And…” Ryder began, “there were still the sparks and the chemistry.”

  “I knew it! Ha-ha! Four for four!”

  “Uh-uh,” Ryder said, tsking at his uncle. “I searched out Casey before you called, so you cannot take credit for this match. Sorry.”

  “Well, that’s just ridiculous,” William snorted. “If it wasn’t for me, you two wouldn’t have worked together.”

  “I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t need a reason to seek Casey out. Even if there wasn’t a wedding to be dealt with, I would have done whatever it took to make her see that we belong together.”

 
“You just can’t let me have this one thing, can you?” William teased.

  “Absolutely not. Mac has filled me in on all of your antics with him and Lucas and Jason, and while the intention was there, it wasn’t needed. The girl is mine, and I’m not letting her go.”

  “Atta boy! I am so happy for you! Does this mean that you’re moving back East?”

  Ryder nodded even though his uncle couldn’t see it. “Yes.”

  “Does Casey know?”

  “I told her that I want to be wherever she is. I’ve been feeling a little lost for a while now, but once I stood on the deck that morning and saw Casey again, I knew exactly where I wanted to be.”

  “Well then, I guess it’s all right that I don’t get to add you to my list of successful matches, because the end result is still the same.”

  “Don’t worry; if it means that much to you, it will be our secret. When everyone’s together for Mac and Gina’s wedding, you can brag about your streak as a successful matchmaker.”

  “You were always my favorite, Ryder,” William said.

  “Remember that when you’re faced with another dozen Montgomerys in a couple of months.”

  “Oh, don’t you worry. I’m sure I’ll have my hands full with all of them.”

  And Ryder had no doubt that he would. “You don’t plan on playing matchmaker to all of them, do you?”

  “Me? Would I do something like that?” His voice was laced with mischief, and if Ryder knew one thing about his uncle, just like all the Montgomerys, he never stepped away from a challenge.

  Chapter 8

  Ryder finally settled into a routine of sorts over the following weeks. Without much discussion, he had essentially moved into Casey’s home. He liked being there. The house was smaller than his, but it felt more like a home. Plus, his parents had come down for a weekend, along with Uncle William and Aunt Monica, so it was better for everyone for him to simply stay at Casey’s for privacy’s sake.

  Luckily, William hadn’t gloated too much. It was beyond obvious how pleased he was to see his nephew and Casey together, but he had managed to rein in his giddiness at the turn of events when they had all gone out to dinner together.

  Casey’s work schedule was never the same twice, and Ryder had to learn to go with the flow a little more than he was comfortable with. At the same time, it allowed him to have some time alone to figure out his own future. Casey was his future, of that he was certain, but he needed to figure out what he was going to do with himself career-wise.

  There was no appeal to having to go into an office on a daily basis, and if he was being honest with himself, Ryder didn’t need to work. Financially, he was more than secure, and he would always draw an income from Montgomerys. The problem was that he needed something to do. Sitting around the house all day was fast losing its appeal. When he had set out on his little sabbatical, he had been looking forward to doing nothing all day, but the reality wasn’t nearly as fun.

  “You’re frowning again,” Casey said as she walked in the door and found Ryder sitting on the sofa. “You are going to have to find some sort of job or project to keep you busy, because all of this sitting around is clearly starting to get to you.”

  He rose and walked over to kiss her hello. “I can’t help it; being without you all day makes me cranky.”

  “Aw,” she cooed, wrapping her arms around him. “Poor baby. Whatever are we going to do with you?” Before she could even blink, Ryder had reached down, lifted her up and over his shoulder, and began to head toward the bedroom. “Ryder!” she shrieked with laughter. “What in the world are you doing?”

  He threw her down onto the bed and gave her a wicked grin. “It’s been a long day. I had way too much time to think of all of the things that I want to do with you.”

  “Ooo,” she purred. “I like the sound of that.”

  Ryder placed a knee on the bed and reached out to take her shoes off first. His hands traveled up her calves and lingered on the sensitive spot behind her knees. Casey was wearing a black pencil skirt and white blouse, and where she had looked all crisp and neat a few minutes ago, she was quickly looking thoroughly mussed.

  And very sexy.

  “Ryder,” she said breathlessly as his hand continued to travel up her thighs until he found her panties. He lingered only a moment before hooking a finger on them and quickly pulling them off.

  “I missed you,” he said huskily, coming to lean over her. “I don’t know how I made it through my days all the time I was away from you, but now that we’re here together, I can’t seem to stop wanting you.”

  “I don’t want you to stop,” she said.

  “Good.”

  And that was the last thing he was able to say before claiming her lips with his.

  * * *

  “So I was thinking,” Ryder began later that night, as they sat and watched the sun setting from the deck, “the wedding is only a couple of weeks away and everything seems to be in place. Why don’t we invite Mac and Gina down for the weekend so I can actually meet my cousin’s fiancée, and you can take care of any last-minute business with them?”

  Casey turned to him and smiled with surprise. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.” There wasn’t really much else to go over with Gina that couldn’t be done over the phone, but since she was now back in North Carolina, Casey was sure a last-minute get-together couldn’t hurt. “I’ll call her in the morning and see if they can do it.”

  “I was thinking that they can either stay here with us or down the road at my parents’ place. Which do you think?”

  “It could be fun to have them stay here with us, but they may want a little more privacy. We’ll give them both options and let them decide. I hate the thought of your place up the road sitting there empty even though it’s like that most of the time.”

  Ryder shrugged. “It’s a great house, but it was always meant as a vacation home. When we were younger, I couldn’t understand why my parents kept it, but now I’m glad they did.” He reached out and took Casey’s hand.

  There had been quite a few things on Casey’s mind lately that she wanted both to talk about and to avoid. Things had been going so perfectly—almost too perfectly—and she was afraid of rocking the boat. But sitting in the cool night air, watching the sun set, she couldn’t help but voice her thoughts.

  “What about your house back in San Diego? Have you thought about what you’re going to do with it?”

  Once again he shrugged. “Not really.”

  “I mean, I know you said that you want to be here with me, but you have to be realistic, Ryder; you can’t simply walk away from your life in California. You have a home, a car, an office…you’re going to have to deal with them at some point.”

  “And I will,” he said agreeably.

  “I’m just saying that it seems to me like you’re not dealing with it.” Casey wasn’t sure why the topic was nagging at her, but it simply was.

  Ryder turned his head and looked at her. “What’s this all about, Case? I had planned on being here for three months. I made sure everything was being taken care of back home. Why is this such a big deal all of a sudden?”

  Casey sighed. “I don’t know. I guess there’s a part of me that’s still a little insecure. I think right now everything is fine and good and right, but what happens when the wedding is over and you have to go back to California? What if the transition doesn’t go the way you want it to? What if you suddenly decide that you need to stay there a little bit longer? Or not come back at all?” God, she hated how needy and clingy she was sounding, but it was hard to let go of old insecurities.

  “Hey,” Ryder said softly when Casey looked away from him. “Where is this coming from? You know I want to be here with you. I don’t want to go back to my life in California. It was empty and meaningless. This is where I want to be, Casey.”

  “You said t
hat once before,” she whispered.

  “I know,” he said. “I was a kid back then. I thought I was invincible and could control every aspect of my life. I really thought I’d be able to have the career and come back here to you. I made a mistake; I’ve apologized. I don’t know what else I can do to make you believe me.”

  Her eyes were filled with tears when she faced him again. “I know you think I’m being silly,” she sniffled. “It’s just that I can’t help but make comparisons to how things were before. Everything seemed to be going so perfectly, and then you left and didn’t come home. Now I know that you have to go back to San Diego after Mac’s wedding, and I can’t help but fear that the same thing is going to happen.”

  “Baby,” he said softly, coming to sit beside her on her chaise, “nothing is going to keep me from coming back to you. This is where I want to be. I want us to finally have a life together. I want to marry you, have babies with you.” It certainly wasn’t the way Ryder had planned on proposing to Casey, but right now felt exactly like the perfect time.

  “You do?” she asked with quiet surprise.

  “I do,” he said, leaning his forehead against hers. “You’re everything to me, Case.” He wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I don’t ever want to be the reason for you to cry. I’m sorry that I ever was. I love you.”

  A smile grew across her face at his words. In all of their time together in the last weeks, neither had spoken the words out loud. Casey knew for sure that she had never stopped loving Ryder, but fear of what the future held kept her from saying those three little words to him. “I love you too.”

  Slowly, Ryder leaned in and kissed her with all the pent-up passion he had inside. “I never want to leave you again.”

  Casey sighed as she relaxed into Ryder’s arms. “I don’t want you to leave me again,” she said quietly. “I know you’ll have to travel for business and go back to San Diego to take care of things, but I like knowing that you’ll always come back.”

  “Always, Case. It just took me a little longer this time.”