Switched At The Altar

Desiree nearly choked. This was Alexander Stone? This giant of a man with the eyes of a warrior and the face of a dark angel? This man whose kiss had made her blood spin? He was Kevin’s uptight, stuffy, older brother?

Desiree caught her bottom lip between her teeth as she studied him more closely. Of course, she could see his resemblance to Kevin now. And if she hadn’t been so wrapped up in the play and her reaction to him, maybe she would have spotted the similarities sooner. After all, the two men did share those same dark, good looks. But where Kevin’s hair curled a bit and brushed his collar, Alex’s was stick straight and shorter, making that sharp jaw of his appear even sharper—and for some reason more appealing to her. And where Kevin’s eyes were a warm brown that had roused an immediate sisterly affection in her, Alex’s eyes were hard and as black as a moonless sky. And when he’d looked at her, when those midnight eyes of his had snapped to life with desire, she had in no way been inclined with feelings that were sisterly.

Nope, Alexander Stone didn’t make her feel the least bit sisterly, Desiree admitted as she continued to study him. In fact, she couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to really be kissed by him.

Like jumping from the frying pan into the fire, she told herself. Not only would it be stupid, but she didn’t have the time or the inclination to let her hormones get in the way. At least not now. Not when she had a dinner theater set to open in less than a month, and not when one of her players was still missing.

“And you are...?”

Desiree dragged her attention to Alex’s outstretched hand. As she placed her fingers in his palm, a shiver of awareness shimmied down her spine. Well, what do you know, she thought, a bit excited by her reaction to him. Ever since her sister Lorelei’s kidnapping and wedding a few months before to the man who’d been her first love, she’d found herself daydreaming and wishing she would meet someone special. And now here was Alexander Stone. “Desiree. My name’s Desiree.”

Alex’s fingers tightened around hers. “Desiree? You’re Desiree Mason?”

“Yes,” she said, surprised that he knew her full name, as well as by his quick release of her hand. “Did Kevin happen to mention me to you?”

“Oh, yes. He’s mentioned you all right.”

And judging by Alex’s chilled tone and the way his jaw had clenched, whatever Kevin had told his big brother about her hadn’t been to Alex’s liking.

“You’re the actress.”

He made the term actress sound as though it ranked right up there with the word thief. “Yes, I am.”

“I see,” he said coolly.

Talk about rotten karma. “It figures,” Desiree muttered. It was just her luck that the first man she’d been attracted to in ages would be a stick-in-the-mud Adonis in a custom-tailored suit with a chip the size of a boulder on his linebacker shoulders.

“What figures?”

“That you were just too good to be true.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Desiree doubted that Alexander Stone ever had to beg for anything—especially not from a woman. She shrugged. No way would she admit her foolish romantic thoughts to him or anyone else. “I was just thinking you’re a good actor,” she replied instead. “Too good for me to have mistaken you for a green drama student.”

“Thank you. I think.”

“If you ever decide to change professions, you should keep acting in mind. You’d be great on the stage.”

“I don’t think there’s much chance of that happening.”

Desiree grinned at his clipped reply. He looked as though even the thought of doing such a thing would be about as pleasant as a toothache. “One never knows. There are an awful lot of lawyers out there.”

“And according to statistics, there are just about as many would-be actors.”

“Probably because there are so many out-of-work lawyers. But I guess it’s to be expected.”

“And how do you figure that?”

“Well, from what I’ve seen of the legal system, there’s not a lot of difference between acting and lawyering. One uses a stage and the other uses a courtroom.”

“So what gives, Des?” Charlie, the play’s minister, called out. “We gonna rehearse anymore or not?”

“Not,” she told him. Lifting the train of her wedding dress, she brushed past Alex and stepped to the center of the room. She clapped her hands. “All right, everybody. Listen up. That’s it for today. But I want everyone here tomorrow morning at eight o’clock sharp.”

“Eight o’clock?”

“That’s right. Eight o’clock,” Desiree said, ignoring the groans. “And I don’t want anyone to be late.”

“What about breakfast?” O’Reilly, her groom, asked.

Desiree grinned. The only thing that O’Reilly loved more than the ladies was food. “I’ll see what Harry can scrape up for you guys. Just make sure you’re here on time.”

The old ballroom hummed with the sound of voices and shuffling feet as the cast began to file out. Try as she might to ignore him, Desiree was all too conscious of Alex standing right where she’d left him. She could feel his gaze fastened on her as she saw the others out, studying her relentlessly as though she were some strange new species of bug under a microscope.

She cut a glance to him and watched those dark eyes of his slide over her, then ease back up to linger on her mouth. Her traitorous pulse jumped as she remembered their kiss. Suddenly it was there again. That breathstealing awareness between them. Quickly she turned away and drew in a steadying breath. She must have taken leave of her senses. No way did she want to get involved with Alex Stone. The two of them would be like oil and water. For starters, from everything Kevin had told her, his brother liked the females and they liked him, but the man was definitely antimarriage. While she...she wanted to get married someday and find the “happily ever after” her parents and her sister had discovered. She started toward the mock church railing to retrieve the silk bridal bouquet she’d left there.

With a speed that surprised her, Alex was moving in front of her, blocking her path. “Aren’t you the least bit interested as to why I’m here, Ms. Mason? Or why I thought you were marrying my brother?”

At five feet eight inches Desiree didn’t have to look up to find herself on eye level with most men—especially not when she was wearing three-inch heels as she was now. But with Alex, she found herself tipping her head back. “I assumed you were looking for Kevin.”

“That’s right.”

“And as you can see, he isn’t here. But don’t worry, I’ll be sure to let him know you came by.” Reaching past him, she scooped up the bouquet with one hand, then picked up the skirts of her wedding gown with the other. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go change.”

Alex caught her arm before she could take a step. “Not so fast, Ms. Mason. I do believe you and I need to have a little chat.”

Desiree blew at the wisp of hair that drifted across one eye. “I don’t think there’s anything for us to discuss. That is, not unless you’re interested in auditioning for the play.”

“Afraid I’ll have to pass.”

She shrugged. “Your decision. And since I don’t have the time or the inclination to discuss the merits of acting with you, I’d appreciate it if you’d let go of my arm.” She looked down at the large hand circling her forearm and back up at him. “That is, unless you’d like to have me demonstrate some of the new moves I’ve learned in my karate class.”

Alex released her, but continued to block her path.

Exasperated, she said, “Mr. Stone, I’m a busy woman. And I’ve got a dinner theater to run. I strongly suggest you get out of my way.” Before she gave in to the impulse to kick him in the shins, she added silently.

“And I’m a busy man with a law firm and a major corporation back in Boston to run, but I—”

“Then I’d suggest you start for the airport,” she said. “You’ve got about an hour’s drive ahead of you.”

“As I started to say, I’m not leaving here until we have a little discussion about you and my brother and I get some answers.”

“Answers to what?”

“To questions like whose idea was it for Kevin to drop out of law school?”

Desiree hesitated, chewing on that bit of news. “I wasn’t aware that Kevin had dropped out.” In fact, Kevin hadn’t said a word about doing any such thing when he’d told her he was going to Chicago to visit his sweetheart and audition for a new show. He’d only asked if he could have his mail forwarded to her while he was gone.