Once Upon a Wedding / Accidental Princess. Nancy Robards Thompson

met Matt.

      Oh, who are you kidding? a mocking inner voice asked. She would never have noticed Matt if Connor had been around. But for all their differences, Connor and Matt had one glaring similarity.

      “Kelsey, please,” her ex-boyfriend practically whimpered. “You’ve gotta talk to Emily and tell her she can’t marry that guy!”

      Even without glancing in Connor’s direction, she could feel his gaze. Heat rose to her face. She wanted to ignore both men at the moment, but she focused on Matt who was suddenly, oddly enough, the lesser of two humiliations.

      “Emily’s in love with Todd, and their wedding is going to be perfect.” Determination rang in her voice, but Kelsey wondered who she was hoping to convince.

      “You don’t understand!” Matt took a single step in her direction, but froze when Connor uncrossed his arms. Keeping a nervous eye on the other man, Matt weakly finished, “I love her.”

      “Believe me. That is one thing I do understand.”

      He’d offered the same pitiful excuse as an explanation for using her, for taking advantage of her feelings, for making love to her and imagining Emily in her place.

      Her ex-boyfriend had the grace to hang his head in shame but not enough sense to know when to give up. “Maybe if I could talk to her—” Matt pressed.

      “Oh, for Pete’s sake, get over it!”

      His eyes widened in surprise, but Kelsey felt a shock when the words sank into her soul, and she realized the real object of her anger. She was tired of feeling like a fool for believing his lies. Of accepting his unacceptable behavior. Of shouldering the blame for the failure of their relationship when Matt was at fault.

      “Let it go, Matt, and move on. I have.”

      Maybe that wasn’t entirely true. As far as love was concerned, she certainly wasn’t ready to take the plunge again, but might it be worthwhile to test the water?

      “The lady asked you to leave.” Connor crossed his arms over his broad chest, suddenly seeming to take up twice as much space and ready to literally enforce her advice for Matt to move on.

      With a single, pitiful glance at Kelsey, Matt shrank back into the shadows. She didn’t know if he’d heard a single word she said, but it didn’t matter. She’d listened.

      “Man, you’ve had your work cut out for you, haven’t you?” Connor asked, once Matt had left. “How many of Emily’s exes have you had to deal with?”

      Emily’s exes. Kelsey crossed her arms over her stomach, some of her earlier pleasure fading. The toe she’d stuck in the deep end felt chilled by frigid water. “So far, you’re the only one. Matt isn’t one of Emily’s ex-boyfriends. He’s mine.”

      Kelsey didn’t know why she spilled that bit of information. It wasn’t as if she wanted Connor to feel sorry for her. She didn’t know what she wanted from him.

      He kicked at the asphalt and glanced in the direction the other man had disappeared. “Hell, Kelsey, you shoulda told me that before. I wouldn’t have been so gentle.”

      The unexpected comment startled a laugh from her. It bubbled inside, shaky at first but growing stronger until she felt lighter, buoyed by the emotion and perhaps the chance to let go of the past. “How exactly do you throw a man gently against a wall?”

      “Gently means he gets to slink off under his own power. Not so gently requires an ambulance.”

      “I guess Matt doesn’t know how lucky he was.”

      “You’re right, Kelsey. Something tells me he has no idea.”

      Certainty filled Connor’s deep voice. Just listening to him made her feel free from the shame and embarrassment that had held her down for so long. Stepping closer, he crooked a finger beneath her chin. “You okay?”

      She nodded, feeling his finger slide along the sensitive skin beneath her jaw. “Yes.”

      Concern gave way to relief and then anger. “You should have had someone walk you to your car. You have no idea what could happen—”

      “Connor, I’m okay,” Kelsey interrupted, worried by the tension that was evident in the set of his shoulders. A tension that seemed rooted in a different incident from a different time. “I wasn’t in any danger.”

      Exhaling a breath, Connor seemed to release the pressure building inside and shake off whatever memories had caught him in their grasp. “You still need to be more careful.”

      True, Matt had startled her, coming out of the shadows the way he had, but he’d lost the power to hurt her long ago. And despite Connor’s warning that she should be more careful, he was the most dangerous threat around. His lethal charm tore through her defenses, and a question that should have come to her much, much sooner sprang to mind. “What are you doing here, anyway? How did you even know we’d be having dinner tonight?”

      Connor glanced at the front of the restaurant. A frown darkened his expression before he shook his head and blew out a breath. “Well, I was following Todd.”

      “What!”

      “That’s how I knew he was at the restaurant,” he explained slowly, as if she had trouble keeping up. “So, tell me about dinner.”

      “Not so fast. You first.”

      “Okay,” he said agreeably. “I haven’t had dinner yet, and I’m starving!”

      “I meant, tell me what you found following Todd.”

      “I will, but I really am starving. Come on.” With a last look at the now-empty spot in front of the restaurant, he caught Kelsey’s hand and said, “Let’s go.”

      “Go where?” she demanded even as she followed alongside, far too aware of the tingle that raced up her spine as his fingers entwined with hers. The innocent touch certainly shouldn’t have weakened her knees, but Kelsey could barely concentrate beyond the heat of his skin pressed to hers.

      “To find someplace to eat.”

      Despite the extreme heat during the day, the temperature had lowered with the sunset. A gentle breeze carried the scents and sounds of nearby shops: gourmet coffee, decadent chocolate, the rise and fall of laughter and the faint strains of jazz music.

      A group of girls walked toward Kelsey and Connor, heading in the other direction. Tall and beautiful, long limbs left bare by short skirts and tank tops, their not-so-subtle glances at Connor quickly turned to confusion as they shifted to Kelsey.

      She didn’t need a thought bubble over their heads to know what they were thinking: What is he doing with her? And after the run-in with Matt, Kelsey couldn’t stop that question from digging deeper and deeper.

      “Hey.” Connor tugged at her hand. “You still with me?” he asked, as if he had somehow lost her interest.

      “I’m here,” she said. Now if she could only focus on why she was there. “Did you find anything on Todd?”

      Connor took his time answering, waiting until he’d found a casual dining restaurant with outdoor seating. Cooling misters hissed overhead, the sound blending with the distant strains of an acoustic guitar being played on an outdoor stage. After giving the waiter his order, Connor leaned back in his chair and said, “If I’d found anything, you’d be the first to know. Unfortunately, all he did was shop.”

      “All afternoon?”

      He laughed at her startled response. “I thought you’d be impressed.”

      “Surprised is more like it,” she muttered, thinking of Todd’s excuse. Still, she hesitated before confessing, “Todd was late for dinner. He said it was because of a business meeting.”

      “What?