One Bride Too Many: One Bride Too Many / One Groom To Go. Jennifer Drew

wiggled her shoulders under a champagne silk blouse that matched her skimpy skirt, and it occurred to Tess that banks were open by now.

      “I’ll write them up fast,” she promised. “You must be expected at work.”

      “Oh, my boss is so understanding,” Jillian assured her. “The shower is tonight, and this is absolutely the only time I have to shop today.”

      Cole caught Tess’s eye as Jillian carried her selections to the counter.

      “Her?” He mouthed the question.

      “No way.” She spoke in haste, then wondered if this could be a way out for her. It would almost certainly save one or more of her friends from the pain of being dumped by a Bailey.

      “Her!” he said in an emphatic whisper, nodding.

      Convenient or not, Tess didn’t like it. If he could come into a baby store and find a woman he wanted to date, why bother involving her at all?

      He chatted up Jillian while Tess tallied the purchases. She should have been delighted to get rid of the cows, but the inane conversation at the counter was so distracting she had to check the total twice.

      “Actually, I came here today because Tess promised to do me a small favor,” Cole said.

      “What’s that?” Jillian’s tone questioned whether there could possibly be anything a hunk like Cole needed from a drab shop girl like Tess. Or maybe Tess only wanted her to have nasty thoughts. Perfect people should have noble, uplifting thoughts. If Jillian’s were unpleasant, then she didn’t qualify as perfect.

      “She promised to fix me up for Friday.”

      Jillian’s jaw dropped. She recovered quickly, but Tess had seen what she’d seen.

      “I thought you said Saturday.” She didn’t want any part of this pickup.

      “Change of plans. You will vouch for me, won’t you?” he asked.

      “I vouch,” she said, disgruntled by how pointless it had been to worry about finding him a date.

      “I didn’t know Tess had such a beautiful friend.” Cole focused those dark smoky gray eyes on Jillian’s pert little face. She giggled.

      “Do you want a date Friday?” Tess asked Jillian.

      “Well, I don’t know. I never accept blind dates, but I have seen you, haven’t I? And Tess vouches for you.”

      Whatever that meant, Tess groused to herself.

      “I had in mind a late dinner, maybe pick you up at eight,” Cole suggested.

      “That would be very nice.”

      Tess had to give her credit for not showing too much eagerness. Jillian scooped up two big plastic bags and power walked to the exit, feet perfectly straight so there was no suggestion of a duckwalk. In a fair world, she would at least have had thick ankles or saddlebags on her hips

      “I guess you’re not here to buy a baby gift,” she said to Cole when they were alone. “Jillian is probably planning to have a set of twins with you as the daddy after that come-on.”

      “Doubt that, but thanks for…”

      “I know, vouching for you.” Whatever that meant. “She’s perfect. I don’t know why she’s still single except she has a dynamite career. I hope you have a good time.”

      “Thanks, I probably will, but I doubt she’s perfect.”

      Oh, come on, Tess wanted to say.

      “She’s a petite blonde with a perfect haircut.” There was that word again—perfect. “Plus she has porcelain skin with a flawless complexion, sky-blue eyes, a really tasteful wardrobe…”

      “Whoa, I meant it when I said it’s what’s inside that counts.”

      “Oh.” This was a new side of Cole Bailey. “Well, she works with a lot of volunteer groups including the Humane Society, so she must care about animals and people.”

      “Well, you’ve helped me without even picking up the phone. Thanks, Tess. But I came here about the new products. I have to go to a builders’ supply place east of here, so I stopped on the way to tell you I’ll set up a sneak peek as soon as possible.”

      “And to check whether I’d arranged a date for you yet?”

      “That, too.” He grinned broadly. “But I knew I could trust you to keep your word. I’ll let you know how it goes with…” He hesitated.

      “Jillian. Jillian Davis. You can call her at Industrial Savings and Loan.”

      She watched him leave, surprised that his long, sexy stride still seemed so familiar. She didn’t know how the date would go, but at least some of the comatose cows were gone.

      COLE QUIT WORK early, which for him still meant putting in a twelve-hour shift to take advantage of the long summer day, and pulled up to the brick building that housed the research department and administrative offices of Bailey Baby Products. He’d called ahead to make sure his mother would be there, not that she ever left her office at a normal quitting time. If workaholism was inherited, everyone in the family but little brother Nick, Junior, had gotten it from Marsh, although with the twins it was more a matter of survival for their fledgling company than a compulsion.

      He took the elevator to his mother’s third-floor office suite, hoping Marsh wasn’t in the building. How many kids were expected to call their grandfather by his first name as soon as they started talking?

      It didn’t much matter what Cole called him after the big blowup they’d had when he and Zack started their construction business. It’d been nearly a year since either twin had been at the plant, although for their mother’s sake, they were civil to their grandfather during occasional dinners at her house. Still, Cole didn’t want to bump into the old man. If he saw Cole, he’d harp on wanting him to take an interest in the family business.

      The outer office was deserted. Sue Bailey worked long hours because she loved it, but didn’t expect her employees to sacrifice their home lives for the company.

      “Mom?”

      The door to her inner office was slightly ajar, and Cole stepped into the cool interior. Somehow his mother had managed to make an efficient working office seem warm and inviting. She loved aqua, and the deep pile of the carpeting was a vibrant, dark shade of her favorite color. The tinted windows of the corner office were flanked by lighter aqua drapes. White walls and sleekly modern white metal furnishings left no doubt that this was a place of business, but one side of the room had a low round conference table surrounded by comfortable chairs with seats upholstered in a geometric pattern of black, white and aqua.

      “I’ve got a date with a nice girl Friday night,” he said without preamble.

      His mother always looked happy in her work environment, but when she looked up at him she was positively glowing. He and Zack were doing the right thing—or rather, he was. His twin’s turn would come soon enough. Their mom had been rocked by the death of Nick, Senior, her husband, a good man who gave his stepsons as much attention as his own son, Nick. She put all her energy into running the business to forget her sorrow, and it helped her immensely. After two years of widowhood, she was like her old self again, Cole thought. But if she lost control of the plant because of her father’s high-handed manipulations, she’d be devastated.

      “That’s wonderful, Cole!” She gave him a hug and walked to a table where a big pitcher, damp with condensation, was on a tray with two tall glasses. “Would you like some iced tea?”

      It wasn’t his favorite beverage, but he was thirsty enough to drink Detroit River water.

      “What’s this thing?”

      Cole examined a gizmo on her desk while she poured tea for both of them. He wasn’t sure whether it was supposed to entertain babies or make them want to crawl back