“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.”

One Night with
the Best Man
Amanda Berry

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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.

Contents

Cover

Excerpt

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

“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.

After a moment, Maggie gave Penny a worried-momma look. “Luke made it in last night.”

“Great.” Penny gave Maggie a grin, even though her heart beat a little heavier. “It would look a little weird if I didn’t have a best man to walk me down the aisle. Plus he’s going to be part of your family soon.”

“Are you sure you are okay with this?”

Penny took a deep breath and gave Maggie a reassuring look. “It was nine years ago, Maggie. Teenage puppy love. I’m sure he’s over it by now. I am.”

“So no drama?” Maggie raised her eyebrow.

“If there’s drama, I won’t be the cause of it.” Penny uncurled from the couch and stood, shaking any wrinkles out of the floor-length gown. The energy levels in her body had suddenly surged and she couldn’t sit anymore. Suppressing a whimper, she shoved her feet back in her shoes. She nervously checked the mirror. Her makeup hadn’t smeared. Her red hair had been pulled into a tight bun, and at least one can of hair spray had plastered it into place. With the extra few inches the heels provided, she’d at least be able to look Luke Ward in the chin after all these years.

The noise level in the hallway picked up. Someone knocked on the door.

“Five minutes, ladies.” The door muffled an older woman’s voice beyond recognition.

“He’s not seeing anyone,” Maggie continued. She picked up her veil and worked the comb into her hair.

“Too bad for him, I guess.” Penny held the end of the veil and straightened it to keep busy. “Seriously, Maggie, I’ll be okay. Luke is here for one weekend. The worst thing that could happen is that I’ll step on his foot during the bridal party dance with these fabulous heels and he’ll have to bandage himself up.”

“If you’re sure...” Maggie didn’t sound as if she believed Penny.

“I’m sure that if we don’t get out there soon, the groom will think you ran away.” Penny picked up the bridal bouquet and handed it to Maggie. “You worry about walking down that aisle and not about me.”

Penny gave Maggie a once-over before picking up her own flowers. The last thing her friend should be worried about today was what would happen when Luke and Penny were in the same room for the first time since she had driven him away.

It was not as if they had the type of love that would last forever. Teenage love never did. First loves never did.

Luke had been heading off to college, and she’d barely earned the grades to graduate high school. If it weren’t for What Goes Around Comes Around, the only work Penny would be qualified for was as either a gas station attendant or a fast-food worker. When she had inherited the quaint store along Main Street from her grandmother, it had been bleeding money, but the shop meant too much to Penny to let it fail. After her grandmother died, she had no family left to rely on. Her father had been a no-show since she was born, and her mother had ditched her years ago to continue boozing without a child in tow. But Penny was an adult now. She had managed to turn the shop around and make it a tourist attraction in their little one-stoplight town.

Through it all, she’d always had Maggie’s support. Maggie and her daughter, Amber, were her family, and she wouldn’t dream of making a fuss on one of the happiest days of Maggie’s life. Even if that meant putting up with Brady Ward’s younger brother.

The moment she stepped into the hallway, she saw him.

Luke stood about a dozen feet in front of her. The air around her crackled with energy. Dark hair, blue eyes, towering height, these were all features shared by the Ward brothers. Luke wasn’t as tall as Sam, the oldest brother, but he still towered over her even in her three-inch heels. The lankiness of high school was gone, replaced by a filled-out but trim figure his tuxedo suited just fine. His dark hair curled slightly at the ends, where it touched his collar. If this were any other man, Penny would be placing bets that she would have him in her bed before the night was over.

But this was her Luke. At least he had been hers. Behind the bleachers, in the backseat of her car, in the field on a blanket looking up into a night sky that seemed to go on forever. They’d made promises neither of them were old enough to keep. Things had seemed so clear to her then. He loved her. He’d promised forever, but she knew forever was just a word. Love didn’t matter. Back then it had been only a matter of time. And when—not if—he had left her, she would have been the one picking up the pieces. She straightened her shoulders and loosened the death grip on her flowers.

Plastering a smile on her face, she stepped forward.

“Penny!” Amber’s voice burst out from behind Luke and the speeding golden bullet of eight-year-old energy raced toward her. “Penny! Penny! You have to meet my uncle Luke. I have two uncles now. And he’s a doctor.”

Penny was powerless as Amber grabbed her hand and dragged her toward Luke. Not exactly the image she’d wanted to project, but Amber didn’t wait for graceful entrances.

“Amber, I’ve met your uncle Luke. We went to school together.” Penny managed to not fall off her heels as Amber stopped in front of Luke.

“She’s got quite the grip, doesn’t she?” Luke smiled down at Amber as Penny tried to compose herself.

Amber spotted Maggie and took off in the direction of her mother.

“You should see her with my puppy, Flicker.” Penny held her breath as Luke’s gaze floated over her dress up to her face. She wasn’t eighteen anymore. What if he didn’t like what he saw?

Nonsense. She never let a man make her feel insecure.

Luke finally met her eyes. “I’m supposed to walk you down the aisle.”

Her world was lost in a sea of blue, so rich and inviting that if she could, she would strip naked and dive into their warm depths. Warmth soaked through her body and her knees felt loose in their sockets.

She shook herself out of his spell and managed a smile that didn’t feel entirely plastic. “Yes, you are.”

“Or from the looks of those heels, keep you from falling on your ass?” That mischievous twinkle she’d always loved lit in his eyes.

“Oh, these little things?” Penny lifted her shoe to contemplate it.

Apparently the past was where it belonged: in the past. She smiled easier. Luke hadn’t changed much since high school, but his shoulders seemed less tight. Maybe he’d finally learned to let things go. When she’d first noticed him as more than just another classmate, he’d been filled with anger and grief after the death of his parents. She knew what it was like to be left by the ones you loved. And even though his parents hadn’t meant to leave, the pain he’d felt had seemed close to her own.

“Looks like we’ll be spending most of the evening together,” Luke said.

Penny blinked up at him as her stomach gave a little flip of joy at the remembrance of nights spent in his arms. Hot nights in the back of her beat-up Chevy. They’d laughed and forgotten about the rest of Tawnee Valley while they lost themselves in exploring each other. Fogged windows. Naked skin to naked skin. His hands and mouth had made her forget how to breathe.

“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 a she.” 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.”

His dark eyebrow lifted as if his train of thought had just arrived at the same station. A spark of awareness raced down her spine.

“If everyone could line up,” Beatrice Miller called out in her singsong voice. The kindergarten teacher helped out at the church for the wedding coordinator. She treated every wedding party like a group of five-year-olds who needed to get in line and wait patiently for their turn. Many of them had had her as a teacher, so it wasn’t hard for her to rein them in.

Luke held out his elbow, and Penny hesitated for only a moment before slipping her hand over his jacketed arm. They were to be the first down the aisle.

“Mom and Dad should be here,” Luke said so softly that she almost missed it.

Her fingers squeezed his arm and she leaned against him. “Yes.”

As they stood by the door waiting for the procession music to begin, the crisp, clean scent of Luke wafted over her. He pulled her in tightly to his side. His warmth penetrated her silk dress. He was as solid next to her as he’d always been. Almost as much a safe haven to her as her grandmother’s antiques store had been when she was young. Had he stayed in Tawnee Valley, would things have been different for them?

The doors to the chapel opened, and Penny straightened and put on her smile. This was Maggie’s day. The past was gone. Only right now mattered. The entire town had turned out for the wedding. And they were all looking at her walking arm in arm with Luke Ward.

She could almost see the matchmaking gears in ole Bitsy Clemons’s head turning on overload. Bitsy had brought every eligible man in Tawnee Valley to Penny’s store. As if Penny would die if she didn’t marry soon.

It was bad enough to be walking down the aisle with an ex, but to do so in front of everyone who had known how hot and heavy they had been...

They made it to the preacher and split ways. As Luke went to the other side of Brady, she turned and their eyes met. She saw a hint of humor and speculation in those eyes. She could definitely lose herself in him for a night or two. After all, he could only improve with age.

Amber started down the aisle and tossed wildflowers on the path before her. When she reached the front, she turned and sat in the pew next to Sam Ward.

The music changed and the doors reopened to reveal the bride. The congregation stood as she walked slowly down the aisle with a smile filled with such love that Penny couldn’t stop the tears that sprang to her eyes.

As she reached the wedding party, Maggie passed her bouquet to Penny to hold and took Brady’s hands.

Brady looked as if he’d just been handed the most precious gift in the world. It hit something inside of Penny, and she had to look away. Luke came into sharp focus.

Years ago, she’d thrown away what they had together, but she’d never forgotten. Every man she had been with, she compared to him, never truly letting him go. Once tomorrow came, she’d have to let him go again, but tonight was filled with potential.

Chapter Two

“Thought you were going to miss it,” Sam said.

Luke raised an eyebrow but continued to stare out the truck window. “I was called to scrub in on a last-minute surgery.”

Sam grunted. “Family’s not that important.”

If the reception had been any closer to the chapel, Luke would have walked rather than get in the truck with his oldest brother. Sam had helped raise him after their father died when Luke was fourteen. Two years later, their mother had succumbed to cancer and Brady had gone off to college, leaving only Luke and Sam.

“Of course family is important.” Luke flicked a piece of lint from his tux sleeve. “Which is why I’m here today. When it matters.”

Sam gave a noncommittal sound as he pulled into the parking lot of the Knights of Columbus. The hall was a standard block construction on the outside. It might not be big-city classy, but Tawnee Valley didn’t offer much else in the way of reception halls.

The parking lot was already filled with trucks and cars. As soon as Luke stepped out of the truck, he could hear the music floating out of the double doors that were outlined with a pretty trellis of flowers.

“I don’t know why Brady didn’t just have the wedding in New York,” Luke mumbled.

“Because the people in this town are as much his family as we are.” Sam walked past and into the banquet room.

Luke followed him in and actually did a double take. If he hadn’t just driven up to the concrete building, he would believe that he’d been dropped into a grand ballroom inside a five-star hotel. The stage had had a face-lift since the last time Luke had been here, which had to have been almost five years ago. One of his high school friends had his wedding reception here, but it had been a potluck with lots of balloons, not an elegant buffet with waiters bringing guests drinks and appetizers. The room was decorated to rival the most elegant of ballrooms, down to the artful arrangements of wildflowers on every table.

“Kind of blows your mind, doesn’t it?” Penny appeared at his side.

“Definitely.” Just as she did. His pulse quickened. Penny hadn’t been at that wedding years ago, and they’d managed to avoid each other the few times he’d been back since their breakup. This was the first time they’d seen each other in nine years.

“Brady arranged most of it, but Maggie had the final say.” Penny was every bit as attractive as he remembered, from her coppery-red hair to her brown eyes to a body with curves in all the right places to her full lips that begged for his kiss. “Come on. I’ll show you the table and give you a quick walk-through of what you missed last night.”

Her fingers threaded through his as she pulled him forward into the crowd. The heat of her worked its way from their entwined fingers to the center of him. Her gold dress seemed like more of a long negligee made of slightly thicker material. His fingers itched to run over her silk-covered flesh.

“The DJ is one of the best in the industry.”

Luke followed her gaze to the DJ table. “Wyatt Graham?” Wyatt had graduated high school a few years after them.

Penny smiled and winked. “The local industry isn’t that diverse. He’ll be playing a mix of modern and oldies. We’ll be required to dance together at the end of the bridal dance and for the next few dances after that.”

As Luke glanced around, he noticed more familiar faces—from the waitstaff to the cooks in the opening to the kitchen. All local people, from either Tawnee Valley or the neighboring city of Owen.

“Brady could have flown the whole town to New York for what this cost.”

“That wasn’t the point.” Penny pulled him behind a large curtain thing that gave the room its illusion of class, and leaned against the old paneled walls of the hall. The scent of musty wood overwhelmed the small space. The lighting barely filtered through the curtain. It even deadened the low roar of the crowd and the soft music playing in the background. Everyone disappeared. It was just the two of them. His imagination went wild with possibilities, but he reined them all in.

He opened his mouth.

Penny put her fingers over his lips. “Just because you are a hotshot doc from the city doesn’t mean that everything should happen in the city. Brady wanted to give the people around here a chance to be part of the wedding. It was important to both of them, so not another word about anywhere else but here.”

The dim light caught and danced devilishly in her brown eyes. Her fingers were warm against his lips. They stood close together. It would take only a second to pull her into his arms and claim a kiss. He let out a breath across her fingers. Her breathing hitched, but she didn’t pull away.

“Now.” She sounded breathless, and his body reacted. “Do I have your promise to behave?”

The wicked glint in her eyes made her request comical.

“Do you want me to behave?” His words caressed her fingers.

He felt the tremor ripple through her. Her lips curled up in an invitation.

The music in the room suddenly changed and Penny’s eyes widened. “Oh, crap, it’s the entrance music.”

She grabbed his hand once again and pulled him out into the open. It had been so easy to forget about the whole wedding reception happening beyond the curtain. He was half tempted to pull her back and forget about the party altogether.

Maggie and Brady walked into the hall and the crowd burst into applause.

“Brady looks happy.” Luke couldn’t contain that little bit of skepticism from his voice. Luke’s memories of Brady were tainted with the death of his parents and the iron rule of his brother. Brady had been one of the reasons he’d finally calmed down enough to graduate high school. Penny had been the other reason.

“He should be.” She leaned against his arm. “She’s happy.”

A wistfulness he could have imagined had entered her voice.

Luke became aware that Penny was still holding his hand while they stood watching the couple work their way through the crowd. “Are you happy?”

She gave him a mischievous smile and squeezed his hand. “I could be happier.”

The suggestion was far from discreet. If it were any other time and any other woman, he might have walked away from her right then. He didn’t play games. His career was his primary focus and it didn’t leave time for anything else.

But tonight was his brother’s wedding in his hometown, and he was standing next to the girl who had rocked his world as a teenager before she ripped his heart out and threw it back in his face. Tomorrow he’d be on a flight to St. Louis to continue his residency and Penny would return to his past, where she belonged.

“I could always tell when you were overthinking something.” Penny’s finger reached up and traced a line between his eyebrows. “You know that’s going to form a wrinkle if you keep doing it, right?”

“So you’re saying I shouldn’t think?” Luke tried to read her facial expressions, but Penny had always been careful to mask what she was really feeling. He’d thought he had been behind her wall once, but he knew better now.

“Thinking is highly overrated.” Penny winked at him. “We need to go to the table now. Do you think you can turn off that mega-powered brain of yours for the evening and just enjoy?”

Did she mean that he should enjoy her again? Or was it just wishful thinking on his part? One thing was certain—he wouldn’t make himself a fool for Penny this time. “I’ll try.”

* * *

Penny sat between Maggie and Amber, and Luke sat on the other side of Brady next to Sam at the hour-long gourmet dinner. Penny wanted to continue flirting with Luke during the meal, but it was fun talking with Amber and teasing Maggie. Her wineglass never seemed to empty and she lost track of how much she’d actually had. She felt a bit tipsy but not drunk. With her family history, she tried to be careful with alcohol.

When Maggie, Amber and Brady got up to go visit guests at their tables, Penny scooted over into Maggie’s chair and leaned across Brady’s.

“Having fun yet?” She batted her eyelashes at Luke in mock flirtation.

“I can say the view definitely just got better.” Luke’s gaze rested on her cleavage and her gaping neckline.

She didn’t make any move to cover herself or even to sit up straight. “Do you have your toast ready?”

He patted his jacket. “Color-coded index cards and all.”

“You really know how to get a girl’s motor going.” She purred and moved back to her seat. She straightened the top of her dress and winked at the elderly man sitting at the table in front of the head table. He blushed and turned away.

Penny and the town of Tawnee Valley hadn’t always been on the best terms. As one of the juvenile delinquents most likely to be pregnant at sixteen and most likely to have an arrest record by the age of twenty, she’d surprised them all with the success of her store. But that didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy poking at the town’s notions of propriety now and then.

The wedding coordinator, Rebecca, directed Maggie and Brady over to the cake. Rebecca had performed miracles to turn this old men’s club into a ballroom worthy of Maggie. Given it was the woman’s first time coordinating an effort this big, she had done an amazing job. Penny was impressed with the transformation of the hall, and even the chapel had been given an overhaul.

Everyone watched Brady and Maggie cut the cake while the photographer took at least a dozen photos. When they gave each other bites, they were respectful of each other and didn’t goof around as Penny would have.

The couple returned to their seats as the waitstaff brought everyone a piece of cake and poured champagne into their flutes. Down the table, Luke picked up his spoon and clinked it against his glass as he rose to standing.

“I’d like to say a few words.” Luke reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of index cards. He glanced her way slyly as he fanned through the colored cards.

Penny stifled a laugh. She’d thought he’d been joking.

“I could tell you lewd jokes or make fun of my brother for the way he used to run around the farm in his underwear and a cape when he was seven, but I won’t. I could talk about the fights we three used to get into and the trouble we helped each other out of, but I won’t. I could tell you about Brady’s adventures overseas or his high life in New York City, but I won’t.” Luke set the cards on the table and his gaze went over the crowded room.

Penny found herself leaning forward to listen to whatever he was going to say next. When Luke spoke, even back in grade school, he commanded his audience’s attention. He made sure to meet everyone’s eyes in the audience to make them feel included. His even tone and that deep voice kept her mesmerized. His raw emotion and honesty bonded him with the audience.

His gaze briefly met hers before settling on Brady and Maggie.

“Everyone in this room is aware of the struggles our family has had to endure. We didn’t always make the right decisions, but in the end, it looks like Brady found the one thing that matters most. Someone who loves him and wants to share a life with him. A hidden treasure waiting for him to come home.”

Penny could feel a thickening in her throat and blinked to hold the tears back.

“We brothers have lost so much, but Brady has finally found his family. Here’s to many years of shared joy and love. To Maggie and Brady.”

The crowd repeated, “To Maggie and Brady.”

A pause lingered while everyone took a drink. Penny met Luke’s eyes over the rim of her glass. As the crowd applauded the speech, Penny smiled at Luke before standing.

She waited for the noise to die down and then cleared her throat. “I may not be as eloquent as our doctor, but I’ll give it my best shot.”

She turned to Maggie. “When I was a little girl, there was one place I always knew I’d be welcome. Maggie has been my best friend, my confidante, my family for as long as I can remember. She’s always been there for me and I’ve always tried to be there for her.”

Maggie reached out, took Penny’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. They both had the battle scars on their hearts to prove their long-standing friendship.

“If anyone is capable of loving forever, it’s Maggie, and I know I’m not the only one in the room thinking that Brady is the luckiest man alive.” Still holding Maggie’s hand, Penny looked at Brady. “There aren’t many people I would trust with my best friend’s heart, but I trust you to keep it safe and to love her until you are old and gray and need to yell at each other to be heard. I love you both and wish you happiness.”

Clearing her throat, Penny blinked back the tears that had snuck up on her again. She turned to Amber. “Amber made me promise to wish you one more thing.” She held up her glass and gave a grin to the rest of the hall. “To a wonderful family, and may they be blessed with a little brother or sister for Amber.”

The crowd chuckled as they clinked glasses once more. Penny sank into her seat and took a drink. The DJ put on some background music and the low din of conversations grew again. Maggie and Brady were lost in their own little world. Amber had wandered off to the kids’ table to be with her friends.

Suddenly Penny felt isolated. Maggie had always been the person she talked to at these types of things. Not that she needed constant attention. Lord knew she spent more than her fair share of evenings at home with no one to talk to but the dog.

She used to see Maggie everyday. But now... Brady, Maggie and Amber would be leaving to go on their two-week vacation slash honeymoon at Disney World in a few days. It would be only a few weeks, but Maggie had been preoccupied with the wedding and Brady for months now, giving Penny a lot more alone time than usual. Penny was happy for her friend, but it didn’t make her miss Maggie any less.

“I think this empty chair is a better conversationalist than Sam.” Luke sat in Amber’s seat. His smile warmed her down to her toes.

Her heart pounded a little harder. The champagne must be going to her head because all she could do was smile at him.

“The chair has definitely improved since you arrived,” she said. She could spend hours just listening to the sound of his voice. Her whole body flushed with heat and tingled in anticipation of just the slightest touch.

It was crazy. For years, she’d avoided the emotional and clung to the physical. But with Luke, it had been different. Still, that was a long time ago. They were adults now. She was more than happy to bask in the warmth of his smile for the hours they had together.

Chapter Three

“Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Ward for their first dance,” the DJ announced.

Luke stood next to the dance floor with his hands in his pockets as the strains of some slow song pounded out of the speaker behind him. This was how Penny and he had started. A school dance. It had been the social hour after a football game. The student DJ was set up in the cafeteria. No fancy lights had lit the floor then. In fact, most of the lights had been turned off, making the small space feel even tighter. He’d been standing on the side with the other football players, and Penny had appeared out of nowhere in a pair of cutoffs that would have gotten her sent home from school and a T-shirt that hugged her young body.

He knew Penny Montgomery. They’d shared classes since fifth grade. In high school, she’d transformed into the kind of girl who was hard for a teenage boy to ignore. From her red hair to her smoking body to her devil-may-care attitude, she was a high school boy’s fantasy.

“Dance with me.” She’d smiled with her red lips and pulled him onto the dance floor before he could say anything. The music had heavy bass and a bump-and-grind rhythm.

“I don’t dance,” he’d managed to protest once they were in the middle of the floor.

She gave him a pout and the wicked glint in her eyes had made his pants tighten. “Don’t worry. I’ll show you what to do.”

A touch on his shoulder brought him back to the present. Penny stood there with a smile on her lips. Her makeup was softer now, but she was just as beautiful. The slow song was about halfway through.

“Would the rest of the wedding party join in?” the DJ said over the speaker.

Luke shook off the past and held out his hand to Penny. She slipped her hand in his and followed his lead out to the dance floor. She moved into his arms like a missing puzzle piece.

Sam and Amber followed them onto the dance floor, drawing everyone’s attention. Amber put her feet on top of Sam’s and he held her hands. It was strange watching Sam with a child. As Luke’s pseudo-parent, Sam had been distant but controlling. Now he seemed perfectly at ease talking with his niece, even if he didn’t smile.

Luke’s attention returned to the woman he held in his arms for the first time in almost a decade.

“Looks like someone’s been practicing,” she said. That flirtatious tilt was back in Penny’s smile.

“I try to maintain appearances.”

“I’m sure you have your admirers.” A teasing glint in her eyes and a soft smile on her lips betrayed nothing of what she really felt, but that was Penny.

“I do love compliments.” He led them toward a darker area of the dance floor as other couples joined in.

“I bet you do.”

Years ago, that first night, when the music had slowed down she’d moved into his arms and her breasts had pressed against his chest, her body close to his. Hormones had flooded him, making it hard to think... Why was he getting wrapped up in the past?

His fingers tightened into the softness of Penny’s waist.

She closed the slight gap between them and whispered, “Stop thinking, Luke.”

“Why aren’t you with someone, Penny?”

“I’m with you right now.” Her eyes may never reveal her inner thoughts, but he noticed a slight hesitance in her words. Her body pressed slightly closer until there was no more than a whisper between them.

“You know what I mean.” Luke tried to hold on to the thoughts in his head as his body tried to make them all vanish. Her light perfume smelled like spring flowers, the scent’s innocence at odds with the seductive woman. It surrounded him, begging him to bend down and breathe in. To touch the warmth of her neck with his lips.

“Who should I be with? The town drunk, the divorcé with the ex from hell—”

“Sam.”

She stopped dancing and her lips drew tight. “Sam?”

Penny was in his arms and he wasn’t about to back off. Not when her soft curves filled in his rough patches. This was important. He didn’t want to step in between his brother and anyone, even if that anyone had been the only girl Luke had ever given his heart to.

“You two were pretty tight last time I saw you.” The last time he’d seen Penny, at his graduation party, she’d been kissing Sam.

She pushed against his chest, but he didn’t budge. Her eyes flashed up at him. Was that hurt? It had been there for a moment, but it was gone so fast he must have imagined it. It felt as if she was going to push again, but instead she softened. The walls closed in her eyes.

“Sam never meant anything to me.” She placed her hands back on his shoulders. “We never had more than a kiss. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you.”

“Why would he?” Some of the tension released from his grip. Luke’s brain was quickly losing the battle with his body’s needs. It shouldn’t matter why she kissed Sam or even that she did. It had been years ago. It had stopped him from making a major mistake.

Sure it had hurt then, but he’d brought it up now to draw out the woman he’d known from this seductress before him.

She shrugged. “You don’t really want to talk about Sam, do you, Luke?”

He didn’t know what he was trying to prove. He looked around the dance floor. Now wasn’t the time to rehash the past. No time would be the right time. “No.”

“How about a drink?” she said. Her gaze flicked over his face.

“A couple of glasses of wine between old friends? Why not. Wait here.”

* * *

Penny’s heart pounded as she sank into a chair and watched Luke walk away. Her knees had barely held her up. Without Luke’s arms around her, she would have been down on the ground. She watched him move through the crowd.

Sam had been a means to an end. She’d hated herself for using him, but it had done exactly what she needed it to. Luke had to leave for college without her.

As the DJ cued up some fast dance music, Penny took a deep breath. Tonight had turned out perfectly for Brady and Maggie. They were dancing with Amber in the circle of people on the dance floor.

If her knees recovered, she might go join them. A glass of wine appeared over her shoulder and Luke’s breath teased the hairs on the back of her neck. “I had to turn down a lot of eligible ladies to get back here.”

Glancing over at the bar, she took the wineglass and felt him sit in the chair behind hers. All of her cells were attuned to whatever frequency Luke gave off. At the bar stood a gathering of white-haired women all giving Luke come-hither looks and finger waves.

Penny choked back a laugh. She tried her hardest to look serious when she turned to Luke. “I hope you let them down easy. It’s just as hard to find a man at their age as mine.”

Leaning in so he could speak in her ear and be heard over the music, Luke’s cheek rubbed against hers, sending a wave of heat through her. “I always try to be gentle.”

“I’m sure you do.” She could feel his cheek lift in a grin. A shiver rippled down her back.

He moved back until they were eye to eye. “They were actually encouraging me to hit on the wedding coordinator.”

Penny glanced over at Rebecca in her peach suit. She was a few years younger than Penny and looked as if the pressure of this wedding was about to make her explode.

“I suppose you could go for Rebecca....” Penny put on a pretend thoughtful look.

The music changed to a slow song again. “Come on. You can tell me all about what that look means on the dance floor.”

Luke pulled her out of the chair and guided her into his arms. She’d given up on love songs when Luke left, preferring the rawness of modern rock. Slow songs messed with her brain and made her think about things she couldn’t have.

“So are we for or against chatting up the wedding coordinator?” Luke raised his eyebrow as he looked down at Penny.

“I think she’d have an aneurysm if ‘we’ approached her.” Penny mocked Luke’s look.

Luke laughed. “Fair enough. Besides, I’m only here until tomorrow. Wouldn’t be fair to get anyone’s hopes up.”

“No, you wouldn’t want to do that.”

He pressed his hand into the small of her back and she allowed herself to move closer to him. To breathe in his scent. To feel the heat of his body against hers. The song didn’t matter as long as it didn’t stop.

“Besides—” he leaned down as if he had a secret to whisper in her ear “—I always heard that the best man was supposed to hook up with the maid of honor.”

Penny’s breathing hitched as she met his eyes. “I think it’s actually a written law somewhere that if both parties are single, it’s required.”

“So we’d be in a lot of trouble if we didn’t at least attempt to...” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“Heaps of trouble.” Her heart beat hard against her chest as she tried to keep a teasing tone.

“We wouldn’t want that.” Luke gave her a cocky smile. “But then you were never the type to follow rules.”

“I’ll have you know I’m one of the upstanding citizens in Tawnee Valley now.”

“Really?” His sarcastic tone made her laugh.

“I’m a valued member of the Chamber of Commerce. My shop brings in tons of tourists.”

“I guess that nails it, then.” He made a serious face even though his eyes were twinkling. Still dancing, he led her to the side of the dance floor. “Rules are rules, after all.”

She swallowed as liquid heat flooded her system. Her fingers locked around the back of his neck. “I suppose after the reception...”

The heat in his blue eyes made her breath catch. He didn’t have to say he wanted her. It was there and it scorched her through to her soul. She didn’t want to wait. It had been too long since she’d held him, since her skin had brushed against his.

His smile grew cocky. “Why wait?”

Penny glanced around them. The music had shifted to a fast song again. Most everyone was on the dance floor. Amber was dancing with her parents. Sam was brooding in a corner with a glass of liquor. The older folks were on the other side of the dance floor gathered around a few tables. It looked as if they were shouting to talk above the music.

His hand closed firmly around hers and she met his eyes. Apparently they’d reached the same conclusion. No one would miss them if they ducked out at this moment. She doubted anyone would even think anything of it if they did disappear.

Luke started backing up, pulling her with him. Giddiness welled inside her, the same feeling she used to get in high school when Luke would pick her up for a date. Anticipation mixed with the knowledge that no one would know what they were doing. Something hidden that was hers alone.

“You know, I’m not this type of guy.” He stopped and pulled her hard until she stumbled into his chest. His teasing smile made her heart skip a beat. “I usually require dinner and wine first.”

She smiled up at him. “Good thing we came to a wedding, then. Dinner, check. Wine, check.”

“I wouldn’t want you to think less of me.” He was joking around, but her heart wouldn’t let her say something flippant. It demanded she let him know this much.

“Nothing would make me think less of you.”

He glanced over her shoulder toward the rest of the party as they approached the exit. “Where should we go?”

When he turned back to her, she forgot to breathe, let alone think. She knew that in Luke’s eyes, they were equals, but she’d always known she wasn’t as good as he was. During sex was the only time she felt like his match.

“Follow me.” She led him past the curtain and into the darkness behind it. The closet door opened easily and she slid in with Luke behind her.

“Classy,” Luke muttered. The door closed and the small space seemed to close in on them. Even the music was muffled beyond recognition. The smell of lemon cleaner tinged the air.

“If you’d rather go out in the parking lot and risk causing Bitsy heart palpitations when she sees me straddling you in your brother’s truck—”

“Stop thinking, Penny.” In the darkness, he moved closer until she felt his whole body pressed against hers. Her breath quickened as she waited. For his next move. For his touch. For his kiss.

She felt the brush of his arm next to her and caught her breath. The click of the lock could barely be heard over the sound of their breaths. The warm, clean scent of Luke filled her.

“You don’t have to do this.” Luke’s whispered words caressed her earlobe. “Just because we’re here at a wedding doesn’t mean we have to have sex.”

“Are you trying to give me an out, Luke Ward?” She laughed, releasing some of the tension that had been welling within her. “I must be pretty darned good if you think this is all your idea.”

He chuckled and his knuckles brushed over her jaw, ending her own laughter. “I don’t want you to think I only want sex.”

“What else would you want?” She didn’t bother trying to hide the breathiness of her voice.

His forehead pressed against hers and his hands ran up and down her arms. “I don’t know.”

Her heart beat with his quickened breath. Once, twice, three times.

She slid off her heels and lifted onto her toes. Pressing a kiss to his jaw, she could feel his heart beat in time with hers against her palm. “I want you.”

His lips closed over hers. Sparks rippled through her as he pulled her in close. Relief spiraled out of her heart even as her pulse quickened. Her memories of his kisses collapsed under the weight of this one. It wasn’t the technique that had her clutching at his dress shirt—though the technique was definitely good. It was the man.

In an instant, she knew if it were ten years from now, even a hundred, and Luke kissed her, it would still feel like this. Explosive, powerful, soul shattering.

Desire pulsed within her, and that little piece of her that would always belong to Luke throbbed with satisfaction. He was kissing her as if they had only moments to live. Maybe they did. Maybe she felt alive only when Luke was here. Kissing her.

His hands clutched at the fabric around her hips, slowly easing the silky material up her calves and over her thighs. It was as if the silk were his fingers trailing ever higher, stealing her breath.

She unclenched her fingers and started undoing the buttons of his shirt. The need to feel his skin against hers was overwhelming. His warmth beckoned beneath the fabric. The cool air caressed her legs as her dress slipped up over her hips. The crisp fabric of his tux pants brushed against her skin.

Pulling his shirt free of his pants, she opened it. His fingers brushed under the edge of her panties at her hips. She leaned back against the door as his lips left her mouth and trailed kisses along her jaw.

The warmth of his chest beckoned. She ran her fingers over the muscles, making a mental picture in the dark. Memorizing the contours. As her hand slid down his abs, he sucked in his breath and nipped at her neck.

Power coursed through her veins as she eased down his zipper and brushed the hardness underneath. He grabbed her hands and pushed them against the door, reclaiming her mouth.

The silk dress rushed down her thighs, but caught as his knee moved between her legs. The door and Luke had her captured, unable to escape. Not that she wanted freedom. If she could, she would spend eternity in this little closet with Luke.

This wasn’t like a one-night stand or even a booty call. Luke wouldn’t fill just her need for an orgasm. She craved relief, but she didn’t want this to end.

She’d made a mistake.

Having Luke one more time wouldn’t fulfill some need for closure. The sound of his pants dropping filled the space between them.

Even knowing this was a mistake, she wanted him. Even though it would only widen the hole he’d left behind. Even as her body hummed from his touch, she wanted to cry.

She’d take what she could from him and he’d leave. That would be the end of it. She’d survived before and she’d survive this time.

“Are you okay?” He kissed her next to her ear as his fingers teased the edge of her underwear.

She sucked in a breath as his hand slipped under the fabric and touched her skin. Wrapping her hands behind his head, she pulled his mouth to hers. She was beyond being okay. She needed to shut down her brain and feel. Brand him the way he branded her.

He slid off her underwear. Her dress remained bunched up around her waist. His bare skin brushed against hers. Rough against soft. She heard him open a condom packet.

After a moment, his hands returned to her hips and his mouth returned to hers. He lifted her against the door and she wrapped her legs around his waist. In the darkness all she could do was feel. The real world was far away. The fact that they were in a closet at a wedding didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he was with her now.

“Say my name,” he whispered against her ear. The darkness engulfed them. They could only feel and hear. But she knew it meant more to him. It was his way of claiming her, of making sure she knew it was him and not any number of guys.

She wanted to please him, needed him to know that it was only him. That it had always been only him.

“Luke.” Her world came unhinged as he entered her slowly. His hands held her hips. The tears she’d been holding back pressed forward. She repeated his name and muttered words she couldn’t be held accountable for as he moved within her, the only thing she could allow herself from him.

The tears edged over her eyes and trailed down her cheeks as her body rejoiced. It felt like coming home and like nothing she’d ever felt before. Dangerous and tempting. Something she never should have messed with. He lifted her higher and higher until she fell over the edge into bliss. He joined her with her name on his lips.

She choked back a sob and held him tighter, never wanting to let go.

Chapter Four

Luke fought to steady his breathing in the dark room. Penny fit against his body perfectly. He wanted to continue to hold her, but the noise of the party beyond the door told him that they needed to get back. Her breath shuddered in and out. Lowering her gently to the floor, he stepped back. In the dark he couldn’t see her, but it sounded as if she was crying. “Did I hurt you?”

“No.”

Suddenly the dark that had wrapped them in an intimate fog pissed him off. He could tell she was lying but couldn’t prove it.

“Something’s wrong.” Luke felt the wall next to the door for a light switch.

“Nothing’s wrong.” She reached past him and the light blinked on. For a moment he was blind as his eyes adjusted to the brightness.

Penny had bent down and retrieved her underwear. “We need to get back out there.”

“Nothing’s wrong, my ass.” Luke pulled up his boxers and pants.

“What do you want me to say?” She turned her back to him as she fixed her clothing. “It was fantastic, wonderful, the best thing ever.”

“What’s gotten into you?” The lightness in his chest grew heavy. Trying to recapture the mood, he dropped a kiss on the nape of her neck.

Her shoulders tensed but then relaxed. When she turned around, the plastic smile was in place. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Whatever had made her upset, she wasn’t going to tell him.

“I’m fine. Really. We just need to get back.” Her flirtatious smile returned. “I had a really good time.”

She moved to open the door, but he grabbed the knob to hold it closed.

“Fine? You are far from fine. You can act all you want for the revolving door of men you have, but I know you.” The anger raging within was tempered by the orgasm he’d just had. After he’d left all those years ago, he’d heard about her escapades from classmates and folks around town. They had acted as if he should step in and do something. He didn’t tell them that he’d heard the rumors of her with other guys the entire time they’d dated.

She didn’t even bristle. She reached up to fix his collar as if they were discussing the weather. “Is that what you are worried about? That I’m comparing you to other lovers?”

“What I’m worried about is the fact that you don’t seem to feel anything anymore.” Luke brushed her hair away from her face. “Does anything matter to you?”

Her smile didn’t show even a hint of anger, which just made him more determined to break through that wall. To what end? He didn’t know.

“You’re leaving tomorrow?” Her brown eyes lifted to his.

He nodded, not really wanting to be reminded of that at this moment.

“Let’s go out to the party and afterward...” She held on to his shoulders as she slipped her feet into her shoes.

His imagination could do a lot of things with afterward.

She kissed his jaw. “Afterward.”

The background noise changed. It had been so subtle he hadn’t even noticed the music and laughing beyond the door, but the sudden lack of it gained his attention. He thought he heard someone call his name.

“Something’s happening.” Luke opened the door and found his way out from behind the curtain. The overhead lights were on and everyone was hovering near the dance floor.

Luke’s heart pounded against his chest as he saw someone lying on the floor beyond the crowd. His training kicked in as he rushed forward.

Breaking through the crowd, he froze when he saw Sam unconscious on the ground, his face ashen. Luke’s world lurched. “What happened?”

“He just fell over,” an old man who looked familiar said.

“Everyone back up and give him some space,” Luke ordered. “Has anyone called 911?”

“Yes. The ambulance is on the way.”

Luke checked Sam’s pulse. He was still breathing, but his pulse was faint. “Bring over a chair.”

Luke pulled Sam’s bow tie off and unbuttoned his collar. When Amber dragged over a chair, Luke lifted Sam’s feet up onto the seat.

“Where are Brady and Maggie?” Luke asked the nearest woman.

“They just left.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Tears ran freely down Amber’s cheeks. Penny kneeled next to Amber and held out her arms. Amber collapsed against her but kept her big blue eyes on Luke and Sam.

“We need to get him checked at the hospital.” Luke met Penny’s eyes and saw the worry there.

He tried not to think about it as he worked on evaluating Sam’s condition.

“The ambulance is here,” someone said.

The paramedics came in and Luke gave them a rundown of what he knew, which wasn’t much. Sam had fainted and hadn’t regained consciousness.

“Should I call Brady and Maggie?” Penny asked as Luke stepped out of the way to let the paramedics work.

“Not yet.” Luke ran a hand over his face. “They just left for their wedding night, and we have nothing to tell them. They’d just worry or, worse, spend their wedding night in the hospital waiting room.”

She nodded, still holding on to Amber. “Maybe I should take Amber home.”

“No.” Amber shook her head. “I’m going with Uncle Sam.”

“It’s late. We can go wait at my house with Flicker, and your uncle Luke will call with any news.” Penny’s gaze met Luke’s, looking for his support.

He nodded, but that wasn’t enough for Amber.

“I’m supposed to stay with Uncle Sam tonight,” Amber said. If Luke knew anything about his family, it was that stubbornness definitely ran in it. But he had only just met his niece.

“What if—” Penny looked up at Luke “—we go to the hospital and see that Uncle Sam is taken care of, then you and I will go get Flicker and drive out to check on the farm?”

Luke nodded in agreement. What else could he do until he knew what was going on with Sam?

“I wanna ride in the ambulance.” Amber turned her stubborn little chin up at Luke.

“No,” Penny said, her voice more firm than he’d ever heard it before. “You ride with me or the deal is off, kiddo.”

“Okay.” Amber pouted but went to grab her flowers and sweater from their table.

“Did you want to ride with us or with the ambulance?” Penny’s presence actually calmed his racing heart for a moment.

“I’ll drive Sam’s truck and meet you there.” Luke watched as the paramedics wheeled Sam out the door. He felt lost, as if he could have prevented whatever was happening.

Penny wrapped her arms around him in a hug that had nothing to do with sex. “He’ll be all right.”

He returned her hug and breathed in her floral scent. The knot in his stomach loosened slightly.

She released him before he wanted to let go, but things had to get done. “We’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m going to talk to the wedding coordinator and make sure everything is taken care of before we head to the hospital.”

Amber came back over with tears in her big blue eyes. “Can I ride with Uncle Luke? Please?”

Penny gave him a questioning look, leaving it up to him. He looked around at the people waiting and the chaos beyond. It might take Penny a half hour or more to finish up here and Amber would be left sitting alone. He remembered how that felt when his father had been rushed to the hospital. No one had taken the time to tell him what was happening. He was just left waiting.

Luke held out his hand to Amber. “Sure. Let’s go.”

* * *

An hour later, Luke sat in the waiting room of the hospital in Owen with his niece fast asleep against his side. Sam had woken during the ambulance ride and had been cranky as ever. When he arrived at the hospital, the doctor ordered several tests to make sure he hadn’t had a heart attack or wasn’t on the verge of having one. The doctor had insisted Luke go to the waiting area since Sam didn’t look to be in any eminent danger.

A flicker of gold caught Luke’s attention. He lifted his head in the direction of the hallway. Penny sauntered toward him with her heels in one hand and a soft smile on her lips. It had been only an hour or so since he’d held her in his arms, but it felt as if an eternity had passed.

Careful not to wake Amber, she sat gently on his other side and whispered, “How’s Sam?”

Luke took a deep breath and released it. “No word yet. Apparently a few months ago, he had an X-ray that showed an enlarged heart, but he skipped his follow-up with the cardiologist. The fainting could mean a number of things, from cardiomyopathy to hypothyroidism to hemo—”

Penny took his hand between hers. “Lots of doctor mumbo jumbo. Is he going to be okay?”

“I hope so.” He ran his other hand through his hair. Their family history of heart disease was the reason Luke had gone to med school and why he’d specialized in cardiology. If Luke had known at fourteen what he knew now, maybe he could have prevented the heart attack that killed his father. The warning signs had all been there. No one had pushed Dad to get checked out. Not that his father could have been pushed. A trait Sam inherited.

“I guess I should take Amber home and get her into bed.” Penny didn’t move and he felt her eyes on him. “Unless you want me to stay.”

Luke didn’t know what he wanted. Earlier it had been easy to just pull Penny into his arms and forget the past and future. He would definitely prefer to argue more with Penny instead of sitting in a waiting room with months-old magazines and a news channel on a muted TV. If his niece weren’t here, he might even flirt, if only for the distraction.

As if sensing his hesitation, Penny leaned forward to look around him at Amber. “If I wake Amber now, she’ll be a bear to get back to sleep. Why don’t I just keep you company while we wait to hear about Sam?”

“Why are you being like this?” Luke stared at the television in the corner. There was no reason for Penny to be here for him now. Not even after what happened in the closet. They weren’t anything more than exes thrown together at a wedding. She didn’t have to be nice to him.

She settled next to him, pulling her feet up under her and leaning her head against his shoulder. “Being like what?”

He looked down at the top of her auburn head. “It doesn’t matter.”

She shrugged. “When should we call Maggie and Brady?” A yawn followed as she squirmed herself into a more comfortable spot.

“It’s late. We’ll wait until morning and give them a call. No reason to disrupt their wedding night. As long as Sam remains stable, there’s nothing they could do but worry anyway.” Sam was only thirty and relatively healthy, but fainting was serious...especially with an unknown heart condition. Luke needed to get up and do something, but he couldn’t without disturbing Amber. His leg started to bounce.

Penny kept hold of his hand in her lap. He should ask to look over Sam’s chart and figure out if they were doing all the necessary testing. EKG, echocardiogram, CBC. Maybe he should talk to the doctor about a transfer to the nearest medical school hospital. He wondered if they could Life Flight him to his hospital in St. Louis.

“I hear you got into one of the better programs for med school,” Penny said.

“What?” He pulled his gaze from the doors the doctor had vanished behind recently.

“Med school. Good program?” Penny repeated and looked up at him.

“Yeah. It took a lot of cramming, but I got the grades to get in.” If he could figure out a way to slide out from under Amber without waking her, he would go through those doors that said “Authorized Personnel Only.” Surely they missed something on the chart. Most hospitals generally had rules against working on family. But they probably didn’t have a cardiologist on staff.

“I was glad to graduate high school with a C average,” Penny scoffed. “You always were the smarter of the two of us.”

“That’s not true. You were just a misguided youth.” He smiled at the memory.

“Remember when we were studying for my final in Geometry? If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t still have the useless phrase SOH CAH TOA in my head.”

Luke chuckled. “Do you even remember what it means?”

Penny screwed up her nose. “Of course not. If it had been useful, then I definitely would have remembered it. I bet I haven’t used half of what they forced us to learn in high school.”

“You probably use more than you think.” Luke sank farther into his chair. His legs relaxed out in front of him. “If we’d been together longer, I bet you would have received straight As.”

“You definitely made studying fun.” She rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand. “Do you remember that one night we walked all the way to Owen to The Morning Rooster to have breakfast at 2:00 a.m.?”

“I remember heading back and having to carry you piggyback half the way.”

“I didn’t know we were going to walk eight miles each way when I decided on my shoe choice for the evening. Most nights I didn’t even need my shoes.”

“I remember talking about everything that night. Philosophy, love, family, sex, shoes.” He squeezed her hand. “We were quite the rebels.”

“More like trendsetters. Apparently it’s a new dare among the kids in Tawnee Valley. How far are you willing to walk to breakfast?”

Luke laughed. “Not like there was much else to do on Saturday nights. Especially when Sam would take away my car privileges.”

“And my car was in the shop. You know, I kept that old beater until it finally coughed its final gas fumes into the air about five years ago.”

“I’m surprised it made it that long.” This was the part of Penny he’d missed the most. The quiet times when it was just the two of them talking. That piece of her that only he got to see.

The doors swung open. Dr. Sanchez came into the waiting area and walked their way. “Don’t get up.”

Luke had automatically started to rise without thinking about Amber and Penny leaning on him. She smiled down at the three of them. Penny released his hand and he missed her warmth.

“So far the test results have been promising. It doesn’t look like he suffered from cardiac arrest, but we can’t rule out a future one. We’d like to keep him overnight for observation.”

Luke breathed out as if he’d been holding his breath for days. No cardiac arrest was good, but Sam wasn’t out of the woods yet. “What’s the plan once he’s released?”

“Until we have a few more test results, we won’t know for sure the type and extent of damage. I can’t give you any more information until tomorrow.”

“But he’s going to be okay?” Penny asked, straightening in the chair.

“We’ll know more tomorrow.” Dr. Sanchez smiled that doctor smile Luke was all too familiar with. The one that said we don’t know all that much and all we can do is hope for the best. “For tonight, I suggest you go home and get a good night’s sleep. We’ve already given Mr. Ward something to help him sleep.”

“Thank you,” Luke said. Because of privacy laws, the doctor wouldn’t tell Luke much more, so he didn’t push. Besides, until the tests were completed, the doctor wouldn’t know any more than he did.

Dr. Sanchez disappeared behind the doors again.

“Why don’t I drive us all out to the farm?” Penny stretched like a cat. “It’s closer to the hospital and Amber won’t pitch a fit if she wakes up there. I asked Bitsy to look in on my dog when she left the reception.”

Luke hesitated. It felt odd to invite Penny back to Sam’s house. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer—”

“I wasn’t doing it just for you.” She stood and looked down her nose at him. “Maggie is family to me. That makes Brady family and Sam by extension. I need to take care of Amber and make sure things go smoothly so those two can take their daughter to Disney World on their honeymoon and make me more babies to take care of. I’m tired and I just want to crash and be there when Amber and Maggie need me in the morning.”

Luke stood and picked up Amber. Thinking of Penny with babies did something strange to his heart. “I just didn’t want you to think that I needed you—”

“Trust me. I know you don’t need me.” He saw a flash of hurt in Penny’s eyes. “Maggie and Amber need me.”

“I’m sorry, Penny. I didn’t mean...” Oh, hell, what did he mean? If it meant avoiding a fight and not disappointing Amber, who was he to care whether they stayed here or went to the farm? They could work out the details when they arrived. Right now, he just wanted to look at something besides these four walls. “Look, we’re both tired. Why don’t I drive us out to the farm and we’ll work on it from there? It doesn’t look like I’ll be flying out tomorrow.”

“If you are talking about staying for Sam, maybe I can help.”

Help? She was the reason he hadn’t been out there to help Sam in the first place. His brother might have been showing signs that he could have picked up on if he hadn’t been too busy making eyes at the pretty woman in front of him. “He’s my family. For now, let’s go home.”

“He’ll be okay.” Penny rested her hand above his heart.

Penny’s touch comforted him in a way he’d almost forgotten. For a long moment, he searched her eyes. With Sam’s condition unknown, Luke couldn’t just leave. Depending on what was wrong, he might need surgery or just bed rest. His mind shuffled through all the possible diagnoses, but he didn’t have the chart to see what they’d uncovered when they’d examined him today. He trusted the doctor to make the right call regarding Sam’s treatment.

Regardless, his brother might be here longer than a night. What happened after tonight with Penny? They hadn’t promised more than tonight because that wasn’t an option. Maybe it still wasn’t an option. He didn’t know Penny that well anymore, but from what he heard she rarely made a habit of any man.

He needed to get out of his head. There was plenty to worry about tomorrow. First he had to get through tonight. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Five

Penny shut the door of the bedroom. Amber had taken very little coaxing to fall back to sleep in Brady’s old bedroom. Reassuring her that Sam would be okay and they’d see him in the morning was all it had taken. The old wooden stairs creaked under her feet as she returned to the first floor. It was past two in the morning, the lights were all still on and she didn’t feel tired at all.

The sound of a chair scraping across the linoleum in the kitchen drew her that way. She stopped in the doorway and leaned against the doorjamb. Luke sat at the kitchen table, his head in his hands. If she had stayed with him after high school, would things have turned out differently? Would he have made it through med school with her dragging him down? Where would she have been when he left her? Stuck in some city where she wouldn’t know a soul and Maggie would have been here all alone dealing with her mother’s illness and raising Amber.

She could play the what-if game, but she had decided a long time ago to live in the present. And presently, the weight of the world was on Luke’s shoulders. He’d always taken on too much. All she’d ever wanted to do was take some of that weight off him. In high school, it had been easy. Nothing takes a man’s mind off his problems like sex. Now they were adults with a complicated history. She had no idea of the problems he was facing in his day-to-day life, but Sam’s collapse was one more thing to deal with.

Even though it had been years since they’d been together as a couple, she’d known at the hospital that he needed her to be there with him. To keep him out of his head.

“Hey,” she said and shoved off the wall to join him in the kitchen.

He lifted his head and gave her a weary smile. “Hey.”

“Not exactly how I thought this night would end.” She flashed him a smile and leaned against the counter, putting one bare foot on top of the other. She’d ditched her killer high heels next to the door as soon as they’d walked in. They looked a little obscene next to the work boots and sneakers stacked there.

Her feet felt only half as weary as Luke looked. She wanted to go over and pull him into her arms and just hold him, but she needed to let him dictate what he needed. Whether it was just to talk or...

He rubbed his hand over his hair. “You want some coffee?”

“Nah, I should sleep at some point tonight, so I can wake up when Amber gets up.” A knot formed in her stomach. He probably thought she was pushing for him to invite her to sleep with him. For once she felt awkward. This was one of those situations she avoided for just this reason. She didn’t sleep over and she didn’t let anyone near her bed. She was all for sex, but cuddling wasn’t her style.

He started to rise from his chair. “I can set up the guest bed—”

“Is that really necessary?” She put on her best brazen-it-out smile. Typically she didn’t “sleep” with anyone except her puppy, but the last thing Luke needed to do tonight was worry about making her comfortable in his family home. She’d be fine whether he wanted her in his bed or on the couch. “I can crash wherever.”

When she shrugged so that he would know it wasn’t a big deal, the strap from her gown slid down her arm, drawing Luke’s gaze. She felt it like a physical caress. The air in the room was suddenly charged.

“You always liked to finish what you started.” His gaze met hers and his eyes flamed with desire.

Her body responded with all the repressed heat she’d sidelined since their closet interlude. Her body always would react to his. But she didn’t want to push him, not with everything else weighing on his mind. “You know me. I’m always game. But I leave the decision up to you. I know you have a lot on your mind right now—”

“I’d rather not think at all.” Luke crossed the kitchen floor and pulled her into his arms. Her toes brushed against the warm, soft fabric of his socks. “I’d rather forget everything outside of these walls for the rest of the night. Stop my mind from circling around what I’ll need to do to be able to stay here with Sam. Stop from worrying that he might not be getting sufficient care. Stop trying to figure out—”

“Just stop,” she whispered and drew his head down to hers. “I won’t ask you for anything.”

“I know,” he said before claiming her mouth.

* * *

The creak of the bed woke Luke from a deep sleep. He automatically reached for his phone on the nightstand but hit only air where his nightstand should be. He blinked into the darkness and squinted at the dim light coming through the window. Instead of city lights, he saw the moon lighting up the fields rolling into the distance. The crops swayed slightly in the breeze.

The night came rushing back to him. The wedding. Sam’s collapse. Inviting Penny into his bed. A shadow moved in front of the window.

“What are you doing?” Luke sat up and rubbed his face.

She flinched and turned around to face him. He couldn’t see her features, but his eyes were quickly adjusting to the darkness. Her light skin glowed in the moonlight that managed to sneak through the curtains. Standing only in her underwear, she held the rest of her dress at her waist like a shield in front of her. “I was...going to get a drink of water. Do you want some?”

“No, I don’t want some water.”

“More for me, then.” She started to move away.

“Enough bull. What is really going on, Penny?”

She glanced at the door to the hallway and then back to the side of the bed that was still warm from her body. “I just thought...” She shrugged.

“That there isn’t enough room? I snore too loudly?” He shifted off the bed and flicked on the lamp, casting the room in soft light.

She blinked but didn’t move to cover herself. “What does it matter?”

“Just get back into bed, Penny. I swear we’ll only sleep.”

“Isn’t it the woman’s job to be needy and clingy?”

“Far be it from me to stop you.” He stepped away from the bed and held his hand out. “I just thought you might want to be comfortable for the night. The last thing I’d want to do is make you feel needed.”

Penny’s shoulders pushed back and her chin tipped up. “Contrary to popular belief, a woman does not need a man to need her to feel complete.”

Though her words and actions were angry, saying them nearly naked was having the opposite effect on his body. “I made you feel complete at least three times if my count is correct.”

She threw her dress at him. He caught it and dropped it to the floor.

He strode across the room and grabbed her elbows, pulling her flush against his chest. “Unless you plan to traipse around the farmhouse in your underwear.” At the devilish glint in her eyes, he added, “Remembering that my niece could wake up at any moment, I suggest you come back to bed.”

Her body was tense against his and fire crackled in her eyes. “Maybe I don’t want to sleep with you.”

His hands rubbed her back. “If you don’t want to sleep with me, I’m sure I could be convinced to stay awake.”

Apparently he was starting to speak her language because she softened. Her curves molded into his and the heat that had pooled in his stomach flooded his system. “I’ve never been good at sleepovers.”

“I doubt there are many people who would accuse you of being good at all.” He lifted her into his arms. Penny was a puzzle. One he would be better off not trying to solve. One he should be pushing away instead of carrying back to his bed.

He lowered her onto the mattress, never releasing his hold on her body.

“Good is overrated.” Penny pulled him down to her. “When has being good ever gotten you what you wanted?”

At one point, the thing he’d wanted most had been her. He’d been willing to do anything to keep her, except share her with anyone else. He lowered his head to hers. “Being good has gotten me nothing.”

Chapter Six

Waiting rooms weren’t nearly as bad as sitting in a patient’s room, especially when the patient was Sam. Luke had taken the recliner, whereas Amber had chosen to sit at the end of Sam’s bed. Apparently Sam was confident that he wasn’t staying there because he’d been dressed in his tux, minus the jacket and tie, and ready to go as soon as they’d come in. When Luke had given Sam a bag with some of his clothes from home, he’d grunted a thank-you and immediately changed.

“I made sure to give the baby calves their bottles.” Amber had been listing all the chores she’d insisted on helping with this morning. “I’ll walk the fences this afternoon to make sure there aren’t any breaks.”

“I knew I could count on you.” Sam smiled at his niece, if you could call the slight curve to his lips a smile.

Luke still couldn’t understand Amber’s loyal devotion to hardheaded Sam. This morning at the breakfast table, she’d run off a list of all the chores that she did when she stayed at the farm. While Luke had been amused with the list, he’d barely been able to keep his eyes from the woman who had kept him up all night.

Penny had moved around the kitchen with ease, as if she made breakfast there frequently. For all he knew she did. She had said she and Sam had had nothing more than that kiss years ago, but how could he believe a word that slipped past those wicked lips?

Wearing one of his T-shirts and not a whole lot more, she’d slipped out of his room. He’d assumed she’d join him after using the bathroom, but when he woke a few hours later from little feet creaking down the stairs, Penny was not in his bed.

He’d found her on the couch with an afghan pulled over her, fast asleep.

“Can I name the new piglets? Please?” Amber brought his attention back to the present. They were waiting for the doctor to talk to them and discharge Sam. Penny had excused herself as soon as they got to the hospital to go check on her puppy and to change out of Luke’s oversize T-shirt and sweats.

“We can just call them Pork Chop, Ham and Bacon.” Sam rested against the elevated back of the hospital bed. Luke couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard Sam tease someone. Maybe when Luke had been Amber’s age. Before Dad... Before Mom...

“That’s not very nice, Uncle Sam.” Amber gave him a look that reminded Luke of their mother when she’d scolded them even though she wanted to laugh at their antics. Sam just chuckled lightly, drawing Luke’s questioning gaze to him. Sam shrugged.

“When am I getting out of this place?” Sam looked toward the door as if willing the doctor to appear with his release instructions.

“I’m sure the staff is just as anxious for you to go,” Luke said before standing. “I’m going to go find a cup of coffee. Do you want anything?” He looked at Amber.

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