One Night with the Best Man
A BRIDE FOR THE BEST MAN?Running into his first love at his brother’s wedding isn’t the homecoming Dr Luke Ward imagined. Bridesmaid Penny Montgomery should have been his bride. And now, the former bad girl has made him an offer he’d be foolish to refuse.Eight years ago, Penny lost the only man she ever loved. Spending the weekend together is risky – and the only way to see if she’s really over Luke. But a family emergency turns their passionate reunion fling into a deeper attachment. Does Penny have the courage to say “I do” to her best man?
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“I’m the best man,” he said, slowly. “And you’re the maid of honor …”
“Of course.” She tried to laugh it off, but it came out stilted as she tried to control the heat bubbling within her. “I’d hate to keep you from your date, though.”
“I didn’t bring one.”
“She couldn’t make it?” Penny fished just a little, knowing that if there was a she, Penny needed to shut down this attraction. She didn’t mess with taken men.
“There isn’t one.” He looked over her shoulder briefly before returning his gaze to her eyes. “What about your date? Won’t it make him jealous that I’ll have you in my arms most of the night?”
“If he existed, it probably would.” The men she hooked up with were always free agents and never more than that. “I guess that means I’m yours tonight.”
After an exciting life as a CPA, AMANDA BERRY returned to writing when her husband swept the family off to England to live for a year. Now she’s hooked, and since returning to the States she spends her days concocting spicy contemporary romances while her cats try in vain to pry her hands off the keyboard. Amanda moved from the Midwest to the southeast coast with her husband, two children, two cats and a beagle/Jack Russell mix. For more about Amanda and her books, please visit www.amanda-berry.com.
To my husband and children, thank you for helping me follow my dream.
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“How’s the bride?” Penny Montgomery stepped into the church dressing room, where her best friend since childhood, Maggie Brown, was getting ready to walk down the aisle. This church, one of five in the small town of Tawnee Valley, was the one Maggie’s mother had dragged Maggie and Penny to when they were growing up.
“Nervous. Excited. Trying to remember to breathe.” Maggie hadn’t stopped smiling. Her gown was lovely and simple. Classically A-lined styled with no train. Her light hair was pulled up in a loose knot with tendrils left to play around her neck. She looked stunning and had the truest heart of anyone Penny had ever known.
“You look beautiful,” Penny said. “Your mother would have loved to see you like this.”
Maggie nodded. Tears sparkled in her eyes but they didn’t fall. For years, Penny and Maggie had been each other’s rock. Now Maggie had found her dream man and was forming a family. Penny had Maggie and that was enough family for her.
“Mom would be happy.”
A lump formed in Penny’s throat and she coughed to clear it. “Brady wanted me to give you this.”
She held out the little gift-wrapped box.
“Thank you, Penny.” Maggie held on to Penny’s hand. “I mean it. For everything. For being with me when everything was so hard and for nudging me in the right direction when I needed a shove.”
“What are best friends for?” Careful of her long slip dress, Penny stepped back and sat on the antique couch. The pale gold silk gown slid against her skin.
She ran a finger over the worn velvet of the couch. If it were refinished it might fetch a nice price in What Goes Around Comes Around, her antiques store, but it suited the old chapel the way it was. Years of wear from weddings to funerals to christenings had made this couch unique. The story behind antiques always made them more valuable in Penny’s eyes.
“Well,” Penny prompted, needing to lighten the mood. “Open the gift. I bet it’s a ring. Probably the kind that vibrates. You know, the kind that goes on his—”
“Penny!” Maggie was too serious for her own good sometimes. Penny just smiled and shrugged. She hoped that she helped to corrupt her friend just a little.
“Just because that would be something you’d like for a gift...” Maggie took off the ribbon and opened the box. She drew out two diamond drop earrings. “Oh, my.”
“Looks like someone is making up for lost time.” Penny smiled, kicked off her heels and drew her already-aching feet under her. The devil himself had made those heels, but she wouldn’t tell Maggie that.
“Brady being here now is all that matters.” The light caught in the facets of the diamonds and burst into tiny dancing lights around the room. “They are so lovely.”
“I’m so happy for you.” And Penny meant it. If anyone deserved a happy ending, it was Maggie.
Penny wasn’t made for marriage. Whenever she wanted a man, all she had to do was go out and find one. The clubs were only an hour away in Springfield. And if she just wanted to stay warm at night, Flicker, her new shaggy puppy, could help her out.
Maggie put the earrings on and turned to face Penny. “How do I look?”
“Like you are in love. Glowing. When Brady sees you, he’s going to be the happiest man in the world.” Maggie’s bliss was contagious. It radiated from her like the brightest star. Maggie had made it through all the suffering and losing her mom.
