Winter's Kiss

Her face heated. No fair throwing her own words back at her. “I loved Ricky—at the time—and thought marrying him was the right thing to do. Turns out I was wrong.”

“I hate to say I told you so—”

“Not as much as I hate to hear it,” she said in a faux sweet tone.

“But I did suggest you might be rushing things with him. You were too young to make such a huge commitment.”

“I wasn’t too young. But I did let it happen too fast.” She and Ricky had met at the end of her junior year at Rice, where he’d been a teaching assistant. Being with him had been easy. Maybe too easy. Too...comfortable. When he’d proposed on Valentine’s Day she’d thought it cheesy and romantic and had let herself get swept away with the idea of being in love.

And she had loved Ricky. Just not enough. And not in the way a woman should love the man she’d agreed to marry. When he’d accepted a position at a small, private college in Dallas and asked her to move there with him, she’d realized her mistake. She’d broken off their engagement but had told everyone he was the one who’d ended things between them.

It had seemed the lesser of two evils at the time. Her family and friends were all very supportive, very sympathetic. But she hadn’t fibbed to get sympathy. She’d done it to protect herself.

If the truth came out, she’d have to explain why she broke up with Ricky. And it wasn’t as simple as her making a mistake in accepting his proposal in the first place.

She’d done it for Oakes.

She’d realized that if she went with Ricky to Dallas, if she let herself get swept along with wedding plans and building a future with him, she’d have to give up her dreams of being with Oakes.

She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t let Oakes go. Not without knowing, for sure, whether or not they were meant to be.

She squeezed Oakes’s hand then slid free of his grasp. She didn’t need his pity, even if Ricky had moved on rather quickly. “Not that I don’t appreciate your advice—”

He snorted. “You don’t appreciate my advice.”

“True. Mainly because I don’t need it. What I need is a favor.”

“Why am I suddenly nervous?”

“Don’t be such a baby. I’m not asking for a kidney. I came up with the perfect solution to my problem. In order to stem any gossip or speculation, I attend the wedding...”

“That’s your perfect solution?” he asked after a moment. “I have to tell you, I really thought you’d come up with something a bit more...inspired. Or at least interesting.”

“You didn’t let me finish.”

“You stopped talking.”

“I was pausing for dramatic effect.”

He leaned back, waved a hand. “Then by all means. Continue.”

“As I was saying, I go to the wedding...”

“You want me to do a drumroll?”

“No need. I’m imagining one in my head. Anyway, my point is, I go with you as my date.” She lifted her arms in a gesture of ta da!

“You want me to take you to your ex-boyfriend’s—”

“Ex-fiancé.”

“—wedding?”

Men. So clueless. “Yes. If I go alone, I’m either the humiliated, sad, pathetic ex, there to weep over the loss of the groom, or I’m there to win him back. Neither option is appealing. But if I show up on the arm of one of Houston’s most eligible bachelors—”

“I thought we agreed to never mention that again,” he muttered.

And he was blushing. Gorgeous, smart and humble? He really was a dream come true.

“It’s not like I’d bring along copies of the article or anything.” Last winter a local magazine had run a piece on the city’s hottest bachelors under thirty-five. Oakes, to his chagrin, had come in at number two. “Though I might bring it up in conversation. Only if there’s an opening.”

“Daphne,” he said in warning.

“I’m kidding.” Sort of. “Look, if you go with me, it helps me save face and gives both Ricky and me closure.”

No one would ever doubt she was over her ex if she showed up with Oakes. Including Ricky and Jenny.

But more importantly, it would be a great chance for her and Oakes to spend some quality time together.

He studied her, as if trying to sense any hidden meaning behind her request. She kept her gaze on him, her expression open. Hopeful.

“If you think it will help,” he said, “then sure. I’d love to take you to your ex’s wedding.”

She gave a soft whoop of delight. “Hooray! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you have a good time.”

“I don’t doubt that.” He began clearing the bar. “And I’ll do my best to play attentive date. Just tell me when and where to show up.”

“The ceremony and reception are both taking place at the Sam Houston Hotel the day before Christmas.” She got to her feet and set her silverware on her plate. Noticed his frown. “What’s the matter?”

“I can’t go with you,” he said, sounding regretful. “Kane and Charlotte are getting married that same weekend.”

“Oh,” she said, wondering why she hadn’t known the date of his brother’s wedding. Probably because she wasn’t invited to it and Zach had never mentioned it was taking place on Christmas Eve.

The depth of her disappointment surprised her. It wasn’t as if she’d never see the man again. But her spontaneous plan had been so perfect. She’d take Oakes as her date to the wedding, saving face with Ricky and spend a lovely evening with Oakes as nonfriends. The romance of the wedding, she was sure, would help loosen Oakes’s inhibitions where she was concerned.

Oakes patted her arm as he passed by, his other hand carrying his dirty plate. “I’m sure you’ll find someone else to go with you.”

She made a noncommittal sound. It wasn’t as if she had low self-esteem—Zach often accused her of having too much. Finding a date wasn’t the problem. Both men from last night had given her their numbers, telling her to call if she changed her mind. But she couldn’t imagine asking a man she barely knew to attend her ex-fiancé’s wedding with her.

That screamed of desperation and by God, she wasn’t there yet.

Besides, if she asked them to do this favor for her, she had no idea what they’d want in return. With Oakes, she didn’t have to worry about how much payback would cost her.

Plus, and this was a biggie, she didn’t want to be with any other guy—not any more. Not even for an evening. She wanted Oakes.

And suddenly a new plan, an even better one, started to take shape in her mind, and she realized that she could still have him.

“Eureka!”