Once Upon a Wedding / Accidental Princess. Nancy Robards Thompson

he covered Kelsey’s hand, intent on claiming her complete attention. Only when her eyes widened perceptibly did Connor realize he’d nearly erased the two-foot distance separating them. He was close enough to count the freckles dotting her upturned nose, to catch hold of her cinnamon scent. Her startled gaze flew to meet his, and as the spark of attraction he saw in her brown eyes flared to life inside him, Connor was the one having a hard time staying focused.

      “The, uh, thing is—when I look at Emily now, I see that same panic. She’s in over her head, letting herself get pushed along because she’s too nice to stand up for herself.”

      “So you rode back into town, ready to play the hero.”

      “I’m no hero,” Connor stated flatly, leaning back in the booth and pulling his hands from Kelsey’s. The softness of her skin threatened to slip beneath his defenses, making him weak. The passion in her eyes when she spoke about everlasting love and dreams coming true made him want to believe though he knew better.

      Even if he didn’t have countless professional examples of love gone wrong to draw from, he also had his parents’ as proof of love’s fallibility. During their short-lived marriage, his parents drifted so far apart that in the end, neither his father nor Connor had been able to pull his mother back to safety.

      If only she’d listened—Helplessness roiled in his gut, but he’d learned his lesson.

      It would take more than words to keep Emily safe; he had to have proof. But right now, words were all he had to convince Kelsey. The only way to do that would be to open up and be completely honest. “I didn’t expect to like Todd when I met him. I walked into that restaurant in San Diego knowing he’s the Wilsons’ golden boy and everything I’m not.”

      “Now who needs the lesson about being himself?” Kelsey murmured.

      “Nothing like having my own words shoved back in my face,” he said with a smile, which fell away as he realized how much they did have in common, how easily Kelsey understood him. Their gazes caught and held, the spark of desire running on a supercharged emotional current.

      A touch of pink—sunset pink—highlighted Kelsey’s cheeks, and she dropped her gaze. “Not shoving, exactly. More like gently tossing.”

      The waitress arrived with their food, breaking the moment and giving Connor a chance to refocus on what he wanted to say. “This is about more than disliking Dunworthy on sight. It’s about the way he treats people he thinks are beneath him.”

      “Like who?”

      “Like the valet he was pushing around after we left the restaurant.”

      “What?”

      “I was pulling out of the lot when I saw Todd grab the kid and shove his face an inch from the bumper to show where he’d dented the car.” Leaning forward, Connor added, “It was a rental, Kelsey. You can’t tell me he had any clue whether that scratch was there before or not. But he’s the type of guy who likes to intimidate people, especially people who can’t or won’t fight back.”

      “What did you do?”

      “Jumped out of my car and pulled him off.”

      “And Todd actually grabbed this kid in front of Emily?”

      Connor snorted. “No. She’d left her sweater in the restaurant and had gone back for it. By the time she came out, Todd was wearing a crocodile grin and the valet had pocketed a tip the size of his monthly paycheck.”

      Something else Dunworthy had in common with the Wilsons—thinking money could make anything or anyone disappear. Not that he blamed the kid for taking the cash. How could he when he’d done the same thing ten years ago?

      “You don’t think Todd would hurt Emily, do you?” Kelsey asked, disbelief and worry mingling in her expression.

      “I don’t know,” he said. “All I know is that he thinks he can do whatever he damn well wants as long as he pays for the privilege.”

      “Kelsey! Where have you been all day?” Emily rose from the table in the middle of the Italian restaurant. “I’ve been calling you since first thing this morning.”

      Kelsey braced herself against Emily’s exuberant greeting, hesitantly patting her cousin’s slender shoulder blades. First thing this morning, Emily had been with Connor. Kelsey seriously doubted she’d been on her cousin’s mind. “I’ve, um, been busy.”

      “What have you been doing?” Emily demanded as Kelsey slipped into a seat next to her and across from Aileen and her husband.

      “I was—” Kelsey’s mind blanked as she met her cousin’s curious gaze, and she couldn’t think of a single excuse.

       I was with Connor. We spent the day spying on your fiancé, which was possibly the craziest thing I’ve ever done, right up to the time I thought Connor might kiss me.

      “Kelsey!”

      She jumped at the sound of her aunt’s voice, terrified for a split second that she’d said the unbelievable words out loud. “What?”

      Charlene frowned with a question in her eyes. “You paid the florist, didn’t you?”

      “Yes! Yes, I did.” As if the forty-minute errand explained her absence during most of the day.

      “Good. I hope it wasn’t a mistake going with such a small shop. As worried as that woman sounded, you’d think she was down to her last dollar.”

      Irritation buzzed like a rash under Kelsey’s skin. “Her name is Lisa Remming, and she’s an amazing florist. A deposit is standard policy. We signed a contract stating she could cancel the order if it wasn’t paid on time,” she added, knowing her friend would never have considered canceling such an important order.

      “All right, Kelsey. You’ve made your point,” Charlene said. Kelsey thought she might have caught a hint of respect in her aunt’s expression.

      But Emily’s eyes widened, and she grabbed Kelsey’s hand. “Lisa wouldn’t do that, would she?”

      “No, of course not,” she reassured her cousin, feeling like a jerk for worrying her cousin just to make a point with Charlene. “The flowers are going to be beautiful.”

      Emily smiled, relieved someone else had solved the problem. “Thank goodness. I can’t imagine getting married without the right bouquet.”

      Kelsey, personally, couldn’t imagine getting married without the right groom. She wanted to believe Todd was that man for her cousin, but ever since Connor had rolled into town, doubts had swirled through her mind like a desert dust devil.

      “Emily, darling!” a masculine voice called out. Dressed in designer slacks and a slate-blue silk shirt, Todd Dunworthy approached, his perfectly groomed blond hair glinting, and his teeth flashing in a blinding smile.

      Sheep’s clothing, Kelsey thought suddenly. Expensive, designer-crafted sheep’s clothing…if she believed Connor. But that was the question. Did she believe him?

      “Sorry I’m late,” Todd apologized without looking away from his fiancée. “My meeting ran late.”

      “Your meeting?” Kelsey didn’t realize she’d spoken the words out loud until all eyes turned her way. Tempted to blurt out that he’d spent less than five minutes at the office, she choked back the words. She couldn’t say that without revealing her own presence. And, as she’d told Connor, Todd’s meeting could have changed locations. Hoping Todd would reveal that was the case, she pressed, “I mean, what meeting, Todd?”

      He waved his hand carelessly, and his sleeve pulled back to show a hint of the gold watch he wore. “Just business. You wouldn’t be interested,” he said, flashing a wink that was more condescending than charming.

      “Oh, but I am,” Kelsey interjected, when Todd would have changed the subject.