Blame It on the Bachelor. Karen Kendall

He extended it to her. “By the way, I put my phone number inside.”

      She snatched it from him and then hit him with it, hard, on the arm.

      “Ow!”

      “That’s for eating the food on my plate.” Then she hit him again, even harder.

      “What the fu—”

      “And that’s for making me dance with Wilton Grubman!” She glared at him.

      He said nothing. He didn’t even laugh. He just evaluated her.

      “What?” she yelled.

      “Do you feel better, now?” Dev asked. There was actual concern in his eyes, and something appallingly like kindness in the curve of his mouth. It was horrible, unfair, the last straw. The convenient target of her hostility was being nice to her and that blew all her defenses.

      “N-n-no!” And Kylie’s face crumpled despite her very best efforts on behalf of Grace Kelly poise. Forget the minor leakage in the supply closet—now the waterworks started in earnest and great, wracking sobs overtook her body.

      This should have been her wedding. She’d held in her emotions for eight long months, and now they wouldn’t be denied.

      “Oh, honey,” Dev said, and folded her into his arms. “Oh, my poor little psycho … it’s okay … whatever this is all about, it’s gonna be okay.”

      His arms felt so good, so comforting, so right. How long had it been since a man had held her? The thought made her sob even harder as Dev walked her backward and to the left, and then backward again. She heard a ding and then they were inside an elevator.

      “Not s’posed to be nice,” she howled into his jacket. “S’posed to be a d-d-d-dick.”

      “I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Dev said, with just a quiver of humor in his voice. “I do my best.”

      “S’posed to be a d-dick so I can yell at you!”

      “I can see how my behavior frustrates you, then. I’m sorry.” He smoothed her hair, which disarmed her further, which produced more sobs, except they sounded like wild hog snorts on the inhale. Which was even more mortifying, if that were possible—which it wasn’t. But it was.

      “So,” Dev said, his chest rumbling under her forehead. “Is it me in particular that you want to yell at … or will any old dick do?”

      She only cried harder. He couldn’t possibly understand how painful the long months of withdrawal and rejection by Jack had been. How he’d changed under her very eyes from the man with whom she’d wanted to spend her life to a drug-addled internet-porn potato.

      “I’m going out on a limb, here,” he continued, “but I’m going to guess that you’re very upset with some guy who isn’t here right now … so you decided to use me as a stand-in punching bag?”

      “I’m sorry,” she wailed, punctuating the words with a great deal of mascara and—worse—snot. “I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve this.”

      He actually kissed the top of her head. “If it makes you feel any better, sweetheart, I probably do. At least in terms of karma.”

      She began to laugh, then, on top of the sobs, because she figured he was right, but that didn’t make her behavior any better.

      She felt his hand cover hers, then take the purse back.

      “I assume that you’re staying here in the hotel?”

      She nodded, smearing more makeup onto his jacket.

      “And that you have a key card to a room in here?”

      She nodded again.

      “If you’d care to tell me the number, then I can push the relevant elevator button and take you there.”

      “Six-twelve,” she mumbled. “Thanks.”

      He hit the button, keeping one arm still around her. She was amazed and grateful.

      The elevator rose, thankfully without anyone else trying to get on. They stepped out onto the sixth floor and her room was only a few short steps away.

      Dev slid her card into the slot on the door and opened it for her. “There you go.”

      She stepped out of his arms, feeling suddenly bereft, and went inside.

      “Can I suggest a hot bath?” he asked.

      Kylie smiled wanly.

      “And maybe a bottle of wine from room service?”

      She nodded.

      “Okay, then.” He stepped forward, took her chin in his hand, and dropped a quick kiss on her mouth. “Whatever this is all about—this emotional storm—it will pass. You’re gonna be okay, Kylie. I promise.” Then he turned and headed for the door.

      The spiked hair with the gel in it that she’d thought was too Miami-stud yesterday suddenly looked right on him. His shoulders filled out the black tuxedo jacket to perfection, and the posture that she’d dismissed as cocky … well, who’d have known that it disguised real empathy?

      “Dev?” she asked tentatively.

      He stopped. “Yeah.”

      “How would you like to share that bottle of wine with me?”

      He turned to face her, one eyebrow raised.

      “Please?” she added.

      He hesitated.

      Perhaps it was underhanded, but she really didn’t want to be alone. So she fixed him with one of those you’re-the-only-man-who-can-save-me-from-certain-disaster looks.

      “Hmm,” he said. Not yes.

      “I swear not to hit you with anything.”

      He grinned at that and seemed to relent. “Will you promise not to yell?”

      She swallowed and pushed her hair out of her face, then struck a mock-sexy pose. “No. But I’ll save it for when you get to … you know … the good parts.”

       7

      DEV CLOSED THE DOOR behind him and leaned against it, shoving his hands into his pockets. “The good parts, huh. And what might those be?”

      Kylie was, truth to tell, a woeful sight. Her nose was pink and shiny, her eyes red and ringed with black. But her mouth was still sexy, even under the smeared lipstick. And her vulnerability, especially after the whole ice-princess routine, did something funny to the male protective streak in him.

      A smart man would have been so outta there, leaving not so much as a skid mark behind. But Dev had always been known more for his wick than his wit.

      “You, of all people, Dev, know what the good parts are,” she said.

      “Show me.”

      She hesitated, but then reached back and unzipped the blue dress she wore, shrugging her shoulders out of the short sleeves and letting the bodice fall around her waist while Dev took in the smooth perfection of her unblemished skin and the bra that hid her breasts from him.

      “Show me more,” he suggested, his voice a little hoarse.

      Kylie reached behind her again and unhooked the pale pink confection, letting him look his fill as she slid the straps down her arms and let the bra drop to the floor.

      D cups. Perfectly formed. Not store-bought. His mouth went dry and the pal in his pants saluted her small, budlike pink nipples—exactly the same color as the bra.

      “How about the really good parts?” he asked, feeling a little light-headed. “Er, not that I’m complaining about these. They’re … spectacular.”

      Kylie