Get in the bridal spirit with this prequel novella to the fabulous new Mills & Boon Modern Tempted contemporary romance series, The Wedding Season!
Bridal shop owner Amber Davis dreaded the moment sheâd run in to Parker Robinson while working on his sisterâs wedding. Sheâd spent every summer in the Hamptons with his family as a kid, fantasizing about kissing him. But sheâs shocked to discover that the confident boy whoâd given Amber her first taste of love has become a man who mocks its very existence.
Parker canât believe the girl who used to follow him around has grown into a beautiful womanâone with some very naughty ideas when she fits him for his tux. But Amber also knows why heâs shut everyone out of his life. Sheâs not the kind of woman Parker gets involved with...even if he canât keep his hands off her.
Amber doesnât do one-night stands or casual hookups, but sheâs wanted Parker long enough to make him an exceptionâespecially if she can convince him he needs love in his life, too.
Look for all four books in the Wedding Season series from Mills & Boon Modern Tempted: The Unexpected Wedding Guest by Aimee Carson, Girl Least Likely to Marry by Amy Andrews, Maid of Dishonor by Heidi Rice and Last Groom Standing by Kimberly Lang.
One
âCan I get you a drink?â
The busty brunette behind the bar at the exclusive Manhattan restaurant was addressing the guy at the end of the counter. And, when Amber spied the man, she did a sharp double take that would surely leave her with a crick in her neck.
Parker Robinson.
Blinking, Amber adjusted to the sight as the sounds of Reeseâs engagement party faded.
When Parker didnât respond, the bartender repeated, âCan I get you a drink?â
Attention finally caught, Parker drew the sexy smirk like a gun from a holster. No doubt he wasnât even aware. It was more like an automatic response, like most people would say please or thank you or mutter an excuse me when they accidentally stepped on someoneâs toe.
âWhy, yes, you can,â Parker said.
The brunette puffed up her chest, clearly pleased sheâd finally earned an attentive smile, and Amber resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Apparently Reese hadnât exaggerated; her half brotherâs attitude toward women hadnât changed much since adolescence. Amber had witnessed that grin directed at girls often enough, that knowing twinkle in his eye communicating that females liked what they saw, and he knew it.
A cocky confidence that, on Parker Robinson, was more endearing than annoying.
The sun-streaked blond hair of his teens was now a light brown with leftover golden highlights, like keepsakes from his childhood. He still wore it tousled with soft spikes up front, and the little-boy, rough-and-tumble look totally suited him, hair begging to be tugged. Years ago sheâd longed to do just that, to pull him in for a kiss. Had fantasized about him teaching her how. And while his hair hadnât changed much, his masculine features were better defined, cheekbones and jaw now sharp enough to cut cold butter. Yet he straddled youth and maturity with an ease to be envied, that cocky teen housed in the bad-boy adult making a killer combination.
His gaze collided with Amberâs and held, and a pit yawned wide beneath her stomach. The brilliant green eyes hadnât faded with time. Pulse pounding, she realized, belatedly, that heâd caught her staring, and the shameful memory barreled into her. The day when heâd called her out on exactly that. But she wasnât the besotted little preteen anymore, the one that had followed him around like an adoring puppy.
âYou a friend of Reeseâs?â he asked.
Amber was proud she didnât laugh out loud. Amazing. Ironic that the guy sheâd spent every summer in the Hamptons with from the ages of seven to twelveâthe guy sheâd loved from the ages of eight to fifteenâdidnât even remember her.
Though, in his defense, sheâd been in the sixth grade the last time he saw her.
In jeans and a leather jacket the color of burnt butter, Parker picked up his glass and came closer, moving with that easy earthy stroll that came with a confidence few could dream of. It had been captivating on Parker the teen.
On Parker the man, it was absolutely breathtaking.
He slid onto the bar stool next to hers and leaned his elbow on the counter, facing Amber. Parker cleared his throat and lowered his head a little to look up at her faceâmost likely a stupefied faceâas if worried her lack of response meant she wasnât completely sane.
Parker seated this close was definitely threatening her sanity.
âAre you a friend of Reese and Dylanâs?â he repeated.
It had been fifteen years since sheâd seen him, had been close enough to touch. She gripped her glass and sipped her wine, hoping she looked more sophisticated than she felt.