One Bride Too Many: One Bride Too Many / One Groom To Go

“Dead serious.”

“Then you have to give me some idea of the kind of person you’d like to meet. And why!”

“I’m not into lists.”

“Or explanations?”

“Object—matrimony. Isn’t that enough? I’d just like to meet some nice women.”

“Nice meaning pure, untouched, unsullied, sweet, virtuous, kind, generous…”

“You talk too much!”

He moved so fast she didn’t have time to protest…or time to enjoy the quick kiss he planted on her parted lips.

“Just serve me up a smorgasbord of eligible women. I’ll do the rest.”

Sure, she should sell him to her friends so he could break their hearts Bailey style.

5

HE COMPILED the list. Actually, he cheated a little by picking Zack’s brain. They agreed on the basics—a sense of humor, pleasant personality and appealing looks. Truth to tell, they both favored lush breasts and a backside that didn’t sag or spread, but what man didn’t? Cole could have included lips like Tess Morgan’s on his wish list, but he prudently decided to omit physical attributes.

He shouldn’t have kissed her. Friends didn’t smooch, especially not when the male friend wanted the female friend to find dates for him, a chore not to her liking. That was strange. Women he knew were usually so eager to play matchmaker, he’d assumed it was genetic.

He hadn’t planned to drive all the way to the Rockstone Mall on Monday when he had a full crew to supervise at the site, but he needed to make a trip to a home and garden superstore. He decided to run into the mall first, ask Tess to lunch, pick out what his crew needed, then eat and give her the list she insisted was necessary. What could be more efficient? He wouldn’t be making a special trip through heavy workweek-morning traffic just to see Tess.

This time he surveyed the situation before he barged into the Baby Mart. A blue-haired grandmotherly type was paying for some clothes at the counter, much better choices than the silly cow stuff. He should’ve been warned off Jillian when she took his caustic comment seriously and actually bought those dumb-looking quilts. Come to think of it, Tess owed him for helping her get rid of them.

The clerk looked about seventeen, round-faced with blunt-cut dark hair. No doubt Tess survived by using less expensive part-time help when she could. It was the only way a small business could make it today. He had the financial head in the partnership with Zack, and he was in awe of Tess’s success. Just keeping the door open in a retail store was a major accomplishment, and the Baby Mart seemed to be thriving.

“Can I help you, sir?”

The employee was prettier than the sum of her parts, too young for him, but…

“Cole, I didn’t expect to see you today. He’s not a customer, Dawn.” Tess shooed the young girl away.

“Have to make another trip to Builder’s Supply.” Not that he hadn’t bypassed a dozen sources closer to their construction site. “I thought maybe we could grab lunch. I have the list.”

“Okay, I guess.”

He’d expect the same degree of enthusiasm if he asked her to bait a hook with a live worm.

“Let’s go.” He stepped halfway behind the counter, took her hand and started to lead her out of the store.

“Wait, I need my purse.”

“No, you don’t. I’ll buy.”

“My comb…”

“Be serious, you look great.”

It was true. If he didn’t know her from way back as prim and proper Tess, he’d be fooled by the way her glossy reddish-brown hair fell forward on her shoulders and her lips formed a sultry pout. She looked like a good time waiting to happen.

He’d be glad when this wife hunt was over. He didn’t much like the way it made him feel to assess women as if they were beauty pageant contestants.

“I’ll be right back after lunch, Dawn,” she called as he steered her out of the store.

He drove from the mall parking lot to another equally crowded one at Builder’s Supply. Cole was impatient with traffic and in a hurry to get back to work.

“Just as I remembered.” He nodded at a little lunch wagon with a red-striped awning that sold spicy Italian sausages on hard rolls. “We can shop, eat and talk about the dates you’re arranging for me.”

To her credit, she waited patiently while he matched some trim for the twelve-unit condo he and Zack were building. After he loaded it on his truck, they walked to the lunch wagon, then carried paper sacks and disposable drink containers to the patio tables adjacent to the store’s garden center.

“Just like Trocadero’s—their parking lot, that is,” she teased.

“Wait until you taste the lemon-pepper mustard. This is more fun than fancy food with Jillian.”

His face suddenly felt hot. Why shouldn’t it? They were picnicking beside a couple of acres of asphalt paving that simmered under the intense heat of the noonday sun.

“I’ll test it.” She peeled the paper wrapping on the sourdough bun and dipped the end into a little cup of sandwich spread.

He watched, fascinated by her technique. Her tongue curled out and touched the yellowy mustard, then she savored the little dab with slow relish.

“You’re right!” She smiled impishly. “I can feel the buzz all the way to my toes.”

She bit into the sausage and roll with so much gusto he forgot about eating his sandwich until she finished and was sipping daintily at a cola.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Do you want mine?” he asked.

“No, thank you. I just wondered why you’re not eating.”

He wondered himself. It’d been six hours since he grabbed a bowl of cereal for breakfast, and he was usually famished by noon.

“I’ll show you my list first,” he said.

He had to stand up to extract the folded yellow legal-pad paper from the left pocket of his jeans. Frowning skeptically, she watched him so closely he almost checked to see if he was unzipped.

“This is pretty silly,” he grumbled, sitting back on the flimsy plastic chair. He took a huge bite of sausage and roll, vigorously chewing it to mask his discomfort.

“Not at all. I have some people in mind. In fact, I have the list in my purse, but you didn’t give me time to get it.”

“Why bring your list to work? You weren’t expecting me.”

Her cheeks heated up, and he remembered how much he used to enjoy baiting her. He didn’t quite manage to hide a grin when she picked up one of the paper napkins and scrubbed at her mouth, removing the last trace of lipstick.