First Date - [Bridesmaid's Chronicles 01] Page 3

  COUNT SHEEP FOR CHEAP.

  Sydney winced and parked the car. She emerged, stretched her legs and took a deep breath of the murderously hot Texas air. August had never been this grim in New Jersey. Not even close. The oxygen seemed to clog in her nose before she could breathe it.

  Sure the sun was adding dozens of freckles per second to her unfortunate skin, Sydney hurried to the door and hauled it open to find Julia.

  Blinking to adjust her eyes to the dim interior, Syd locked eyes immediately with her younger sister, who sat behind the registration desk, her petite blondness dwarfed by a veritable mountain of fat, glossy bridal magazines. Uh-oh .

  Julia's mouth formed an astonished "O" before she jumped to her feet and surged around the counter to hug Sydney. "Syd! What are you doing here? Oh my God, it's so good to see you!"

  Same old sunny Julia. You had to love her. Syd hugged her back, inhaling a snootful of blond curls and J'Adore perfume. She was sure she herself smelled far less enticing after her day of traveling and specifically the hour or so spent stuck to the vinyl seats of the rental car while she tried in vain to lower the temperature.

  Julia danced her around in a crazy, upbeat circle while Sydney laughed and stumbled.

  "Syd, you Wild Thing! I can't believe you came down here! It's so impulsive so not like you! Let me guess! You came to tell me congratulations in person, didn't you?" Julia's eyes sparkled guilelessly.

  Uh. Not exactly.

  "I am so excited! You'll love him. Roman isn't that a sexy name? Makes me think of those buff warriors in the body armor"

  Oh, yeah. Those guys who conquered, killed and enslaved entire populations. What a turn-on, Jules.

  "He's a dream"

  A nightmare.

  " and I have to show you a bunch of dresses there's no way I'll be able to decide on only one"

  She rattled on, and though Sydney wanted to interrupt, take her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her, she found herself unable to rain on Julia's parade. She looked so happy, so pretty, so very Modern Bride .

  Syd bit her lip against both a rush of affection and an unwelcome coil ofbut no, ridiculous. She'd never dreamed of a big white wedding. Well, very rarely. There was that one fantasy she had with the tiara, but it could double easily as your average, run-of-the-mill control-freak vision. It didn't have anything to do with being swung into the arms of a handsome devil who promised to love her 'til death did them part. Really. In her dream, she was just the center of attention and everyone did what she told them to do. Not at all unreasonable.

  During her musings, Sydney caught a blinding flash of light somewhere in the vicinity of Julia's left hand. Holy cow! She grabbed her sister's wrist. "Is that a fallen star or a three-carat rock on your fourth finger?"

  Julia blushed, made a brief pretense of modesty and then threw it to the winds. "Isn't it gorgeous?" The ring was new enough that her tones were still awestruck. "It belonged to Roman's great-grandmother."

  "And most likely a czarina before that," said Syd ney. The ring blazed, even under Marv's cheap fluorescent lighting and against the lovely faux wood-grain of the reception desk. It was absolutely flawless. And it was completely without color. Syd had never seen such a perfect stonealmost too perfect, for a well-worn, antique ring. Roman's great-grannyor great-grampshad been either loaded or an accomplished thief.

  "Julia, I've never seen anything more beautiful." Ugh . There it was againthat tiny, shameful green coil of envy.

  Her sister lowered her voice. "I know, I can't believe it. And apparently Roman's sister is going to be royally pissed that I've got it. She's still mad it was left to Roman and not her."

  Sydney shrugged. "Welcome to the dynamics of your new family. They can't be weirder than the old one, can they?"

  Julia laughed nervously. "I haven't met them yet. I'm going to dinner at Roman's parents' house tonight."

  "How can you not have met them yet? This town almost fits in the palm of my hand."

  Julia's blush appeared again. "Well, they were visiting Roman's sister and spending time in New York for a couple of weeks. And then we were kind of, um, occupied for most evenings."

  Sydney raised a brow. Ah. Making like bunnies, in other words .

  "Don't look at me like that!" Julia said it defensively.

  "Like what?"

  "Like you're made out of fine china and have no physical urges or bodily functions." The crack was a warning that Julia's emotions were turbulent at the moment. Uh-oh .

  "Excuse me?" Syd tried to neutralize her expression. Had her face really been that sour?

  "You know, The Look. You've perfected it over the years." Julia ran a hand through her perfect tousled curls and retreated behind the registration desk. "Your nose goes up, your eyes narrow, your mouth pinches. It's the do-I-have-to-put-a-leash-on-her-again look."

  "I didn't give you any such look," said Sydney, who did indeed feel the urge for a leash.

  "Yes, you did." Julia's pink lips flattened mulishly.

  "Did not." And just like that, they'd regressed to ages five and three. Except that three-year-olds didn't usually get engaged.

  "Roman is differenthe's the most amazing man I've ever met," announced Julia.

  Sydney dropped her heavy leather bag and sank into a mustard velour club chair. Step carefully . "Jule, you said that about Santiago. And that Somers creep, too."

  Her sister's eyes flashed and she folded her arms. "Why did you really come all this way, Syd?"

  Avoid the question or this will flare into ugliness . There was a looong history between them of Sense driving Sensibility crazy. And vice versa. Syd said cautiously, "I want you to be happy."

  "I'm happy."

  Deep breath . "I want you to be careful."

  "Caution is overrated, in my opinion, and this is real. Roman is The One."

  Don't let this escalate into an argument . Sydney counted to three. But I've got to say what needs to be said. Otherwise, what was the point of coming down here ? "Aren't you afraid you're rushing things? Riding some crazy romantic high?"

  "I knew you didn't come down here just to help me celebrate! That would be completely out of character for you. No. I am not riding some crazy romantic high. I mean I am, but I know what I'm doing! And it really ticks me off that you just assume that I don't! Did Marv put you up to this? Is he out there in the car?"

  Syd shook her head. "Pop doesn't know. Trust me, if he did, he'd be down here throwing a fit."

  The phone interrupted their uneasy chat. "Marv's Motor Inn, may I help you?" Julia sang. "Yes, sir." A gurgle of faux laughter. "Where you count sheep for cheap, exactly, sir. We absolutely have a room for you on the nineteenth and twentieth. Will that be smoking or non? Double, queen or king? And would you like turn-down service?"

  Syd blinked. Turn-down service? Since when ?

  "You get turned down all the time already? Well, sir, that's a shame. You sound like such a nice gentleman." Julia rolled her eyes at Syd.

  "Well, no, sir, I couldn't do that. I just got engaged and my fiance would not appreciate it. Yes, well, we do look forward to seeing you on the nineteenth, sir. Thank you!"

  "You're just scary," Sydney said. "I would have hung up on him."

  "And that's why you're not in customer service. You stay on the numbers side, okay? He's just a lonely old geezer and he thought he was being incredibly witty. Besides, Marv wants this location's receivables up twenty percent, and I'm not going to accomplish that by being rude to potential guests."

  True. "Okay, whatever. To return to our discussion, how exactly did you meet this Roman guy? What do you know about him and his past?"

  "Oh, here we go. The Syd Spinelli Inquisition! Forgive me, Boss, for not asking your permission before getting engaged. Pardon me for falling in loveI know, it's just so impulsive and ill-advised!"

  Syd tried to interrupt, but Julia forged ahead.

  "Before I agreed to marry Roman, I should have extracted some of his DNA and had it test
ed for genetic mutation, had him fingerprinted and run through the criminal justice system, made him get a physical, and drawn blood for analysis of any irregularities. Let me guess, I also should have run a financial check on him and hired a private investigator to dig into his past!"

  Sydney winced. She had been thinking along the lines of at least a blood test and a PI.

  Furious, Julia glared at Syd and folded her perfectly tanned, moisturized arms over her trendy Juicy Couture top. Her nails were healthy, shiny and polished, too.

  Sydney told herself to keep control of her temper and sat on her bare, ragged, unbuffed nails, reminding herself that she didn't have time for such frivolities. Yep, that was it. Nothing to do with gnawing. She took a deep breath.

  "I'm not trying to put you through an inquisition. All I asked was how you met him, okay?"

  "I met Roman because he's renovating the place next door," said her sister, calming down a bit.

  "Mr. Three-Carats actually performs manual labor?"

  "Sydney, stop it. He likes doing that stuffit relaxes him. Anyway, it was a Sunday, and I was laying out in back by the pool"

  That explains it. One look at Julia in her tiny bikini and it was all over for the poor son of a bitch.

  " and I hear this deep voice saying that he's never wanted so bad in his life to count sheep for cheap." Julia giggled. "So I open one eye behind my shades, just to see where the voice is coming from, but there's nobody around.

  "And then there's a big hearty laugh, and the voice says, 'Yeah. And Jack, my cabinet guy, would love for her to spill out of that top.'

  "At that point I got mad. The voice was coming from an open window at the house next door. So I walked over there to tell him I didn't appreciate the running commentary, and this heart-stopping, shirtless hunk in a tool belt opens the door! Tool belts are beyond sexy, don't you think?

  "Well, I gaped at him and he gaped at me, and he said into his cell phone, 'I gotta go,' and that was that."

  Huh? They'd smushed into each other, like chocolate and peanut butter ? "What do you mean, 'that was that?"

  Julia shrugged. "I told him that I was nowhere near falling out of my top, thank you very much." She smiled, all innocence. "And he said, very respectfully, 'No, ma'am.' He said he could see that, and he apologized most humbly for making me feel uncomfortable and he was really sweet about it."

  I'll just bet he was.

  "Then he dropped this monster cordless drill right on his toe and we had to come over here and get some ice for it."

  What a coincidence.

  "We just started talking and never stopped until morning. We talked through a pizza, some sundaes and even donuts at seven a.m. And don't look at me like that, I did not sleep with him. Not that night," Julia said, looking a little guilty.

  Sydney didn't want to think about her baby sister sleeping with anyone. She shuddered. It was almost as bad as imagining her parents doing the deed.

  There were some things in the world too grim to be contemplated, such as Marv chasing Myrna around a heart-shaped bed. Syd closed her eyes and blinked the image away.

  In a tone that came out harsher than she'd meant it to, she said, "So your relationship with this Roman guy is based on great pecs and pizza?"

  Julia snapped a Bride magazine closed and stood up again. "I should have known you wouldn't understand! You don't have a romantic bone in your body"

  "Oh, thank you very much." Stung, Sydney wasn't about to admit the accusation hit close to home.

  "It's true, Syd. I still remember you asking David Whatshisface to your senior prom just because he was tall enough!"

  "That's a total lie."

  "Oh, really? You're going to tell me that you were madly in love with that dorky bag of bones? Have you ever even been in love, Syd? Are you capable of it?"

  "Julia!"

  "Or are you just a human calculator?"

  "That is beyond insulting. You have no right"

  "Because I also remember you dating that law student freshman year because he'd be able to help you on some paper. And"

  "You know what," Sydney yelled, "we weren't talking about me!" And unfortunately her mouth just took over. What was it about siblings that they could get you to screaming point within one minute? "No, Juliawe're talking about you and snap judgments and basic flightiness"

  "Oh!" Julia stamped her Stuart Weitzman-clad foot.

  "and screwing up your life for the sake of some jackass in a tool belt! Julia, I don't care how well-heeled or well-hung he isyou don't need to marry the guy. Marv would be all too happy to buy you a ring with even more bling than that one if it'll blaze some sense into your head!"

  "Sydney, you can take your high and mighty tone and shove it"

  A male throat cleared behind them and both sisters spun around. "Ladies! Ladies, what's going on here?" He set a small cardboard box down on a nearby mustard-colored chair, nodding at Julia. "Service with a smile: your bud vases from my Aunt Susie."

  Bud vases , at a Marv's Motor Inn?

  Julia snapped her mouth closed and blushed a disgustingly becoming shade of rose. Sydney narrowed her eyes upon her target. How much had he heard?

  He was obviously amused. The deep grooves at the corners of his eyes, the jaunty tilt of his mouth told her that. Even the dark stubble at his jaw seemed to vibrate with humor.

  Sydney swallowed as she took in all six and a half feet of him. Shoulders broader than Marv was tall. A chest wide enough to easily seat three naked vixens. Legs that would practically span the panhandle.

  The guy was made to model snug denim, born to command, and could likely seduce the sun from the sky. Roman Sonntag was one hundred percent smiling bad news. No wonder her sister was one smitten kitten. Sydney felt a meow rising in her own throat.

  "Nothing's going on," said Julia unconvincingly.

  "What's going on," said Sydney, deciding to take the bull by the horns, "is a frank discussion of how crazy this snap engagement is! You two barely know each other"

  Sonntag opened his mouth to say something but she overrode him.

  "and Julia has a history of"

  "Sydney! Don't you go there"

  "rushing into things without thinking very hard about them"

  Sydney had to pause for breath and Sonntag had a chance to say something. "Jersey, you are waaaay outta line, here."

  "What?"

  "Calm down."

  "I can't calm down, okay? And I am not out of line. If you're going to be a member of this family you may as well get used to me right away"

  He held up a big hand and talked over her. "Are you proposing to me, darlin'?"

  Sydney blinked at him. "Huh?"

  "You've got the wrong guy. I'm not Roman. My name is Alex Kimball." His eyes danced.

  "Not Roman," Sydney repeated. Oh, shit . Her face caught fire. "Julia! Why didn't you tell me?"

  Her sister put her hands on her hips. "You didn't give anyone a chance to tell you anything!"

  Syd took a deep breath. "Sorry." She met the man's mocking gaze reluctantly. "Urn. Nice to meet you?"

  "Oh, the pleasure's all mine," he drawled, and clearly meant it. Pleasure at her expense.

  How to recoup from here?

  But it appeared she wasn't the only plainspoken one in the crowd. "So, you don't seem to have a very high opinion of my friend Roman."

  Syd felt the heat in her cheeks flame impossibly higher. What had she said? Well-heeled and well-hung? She raised her chin. "I don't even know the guy-"

  "But you've already formed a negative opinion of him. 'Jackass in a tool belt,' I believe you called him."

  Oh, yeah. That, too . She groaned inwardly while Julia aimed a vaporizing glare in her direction. "There's no need to, er, share that opinion with him," she said cautiously.

  "Roman's not stupid," Kimball told her. "He'll pick up the nonverbal cues. Not that you seem shy about the verbal ones."

  Sydney put her hands to her cheeks. "Can we just start over?"

&
nbsp; "That might be a good idea." He stuck out his hand. "I'm Alex Kimball, a friend of Roman's since grade school."

  She touched her fingers to his and felt a weird spark shoot up her arm and then down her spine. "Sydney Spinelli, Julia's sister."

  "You got a cute Northern accent there, Jersey."

  Indignation rose to join her blush. "You're making fun of my accent?"

  He just grinned.

  Oh, don't do that. You're impossibly hot with your mouth closed. You're lethal when you smile Sydney might not have a romantic bone in her body, but she had to acknowledge some ninety-proof lust and a shameful spiral of relief that Alex was not, after all, her sister's propertyso she didn't have to feel guilty basking in the supremely male wattage of that grin.

  "Oh, stay down here long enough and we'll teach you the right way to talk. So when did you get in?"

  "I just drove here from the Austin airport."

  "Decent flight?"

  She nodded.

  "Good. Listen, if you'd like to meet Roman, I'm on my way out to the Sonntag place and I'd be happy to take you."

  Julia looked alarmed. "I don't think that's a good"

  "I'd love to, thanks." Sydney smiled.

  Alex turned to Julia and said reassuringly, "I'll keep things under control, don't worry."

  "I'd come with you, but there's nobody to cover for me right now" Julia bit her lip.

  "It won't be necessary for Alex to keep anything under control," Sydney said stiffly.

  "Probably not," he said. "After all, Roman might really enjoy being called a jackass in a tool belt."

  Hateful man . And Julia didn't have to smirk like that, either. I flew all the way down here to talk to her and this is the thanks I get! What's in store for me next ?

  * * *

  Chapter Four

  Alex winked reassuringly at Julia, whose big blue eyes were troubled. Then he held the door open for the Difficult Sister. Accent and meddling notwithstanding, Difficult had a flawless ass. Who knew Jersey turned them out so shapely? Neat little waist in that tailored, if damp, white blouse. Then the hips flared gently into cheeks curved like the bowl of a good crystal wineglass. Proportion was everything. Size didn't matter nearly so muchhe was indifferent to whether a derriere was a size fourteen or a size four, as long as the specs were correct.