Dating the Best Man Read online

  Her cheeks turned the most charming shade of pink. “Ordinary pants are fine. I think they’re calling you back for more pictures.” She checked her watch. “It’s also nearly time to go inside. The caterers are probably almost ready to serve the dinner. If you’re busy and I don’t see you later, I’ll see you tomorrow. We need to be there about three o’clock to listen to a few boring speeches. I can pick you up. Is that okay?”

  He tried not to grin like an idiot. Anything was okay as long as he could spend some time with her. “That’s fine. See you then.”

  Chapter 2

  Daphne pulled up in front of the address Rick had given her and drove into one of the assigned visitor spots. Rick lived in a high-rise building, probably more than twenty floors.

  She’d deleted most of the contacts in her cell phone after dropping off of everyone’s radar because she didn’t want to answer all their questions. And she’d had good reason: for those she did answer, they didn’t believe her. Now, for the first time in six months she’d actually added someone to her address book. Tomorrow she’d add back the people she’d seen again at the wedding who wanted to get back in touch. Texting was a good start, without getting too personal.

  She swiped Cory’s name. Rather than actually speak to him, she hit the prompt to text him.

  I M here in front.

  He answered within seconds.

  B rite out.

  Rick had told her that Cory lived on the seventh floor so she expected to wait for him to use the elevator, which would give her time to compose herself before she had to face him. She’d barely dropped her phone back into her purse when Cory walked out the main door.

  Somehow he looked even better in regular clothes than the tuxedo he’d worn yesterday. Yesterday it had been obvious he hadn’t been comfortable in the penguin suit, as Rick had called it. Today, Cory was definitely comfortable, walking with a long, easy stride that said he owned the space around him.

  Yesterday, after Rick dropping the bomb that Cory was going to be her escort for the chamber of commerce dinner she’d been somewhat in a state of shock, so she hadn’t been able to really look at him.

  Most really tall men tended to be thin, but not Cory. His husky, fit frame filled out his clothes well. As he raised his arms to straighten his sunglasses, the flex caused a bulge of definition as the muscles of his upper arms filled out the confines of his shirt-sleeves, for a few moments making the sleeves tight. The man had muscles on his muscles.

  Likewise, as he walked, the muscles in his thighs were clearly defined through the cloth of his pants.

  Six months ago she would have teased him and asked him to go back to change into his shorts just so she could judge for herself if indeed he did have nice legs for a man, as he’d claimed.

  She suspected he had been telling the truth.

  Not only was he big, he was also good-looking—the epitome of the clichéd fairy tale of tall, dark, and handsome, except he was probably taller than Prince Charming ever dreamed. His dark complexion could have given him an exotic appearance, but he was too thick to be exotic. Big, square-jawed, with dark brown eyes that matched his dark brown hair, he could have been a modern-day Paul Bunyan without the beard.

  She wished she could have been able to appreciate him from a distance, where she felt more comfortable. But that wasn’t going to happen, at least not today. With that confident stride, it only took a minute for him to arrive beside her car.

  He nodded to her through the window, then walked to the passenger door and opened it. Instead of sitting he looked in front of the seat and then looked at the back, then down to where his feet would be. He squatted and reached inside under the seat, engaged the lever and slid the seat back as far as it would go.

  Frowning, he maneuvered himself into the chair and fastened the seat belt, then closed the car door. With his knees bent sharply, resting against the bottom of the glove box, and his head nearly touching the roof, he didn’t look comfortable. He filled the seat completely, and then some.

  He turned and smiled graciously. “Not bad for a small car. I’d bet you get really great gas mileage, don’t you?”

  Daphne stiffened. She hadn’t had a passenger for a long time, and never one so tall or so broad. She hadn’t considered the possibility that he wouldn’t fit. All she’d thought about was that she wouldn’t be able to be a passenger in a man’s car, even if the man had been recommended by her brother. She needed the reassurance of having her own car—her means of escape if necessary.

  Cory checked his watch, forcing her to notice the breadth of his wrists and the size of his hands—something else she hadn’t noticed before.

  She felt herself breaking into a cold sweat. More than ever, she questioned if she was doing the right thing.

  “It’s nearly two-thirty. I guess we should be going.” He turned back to her. “You look nice. I wasn’t sure if this is the kind of event where a man would buy a corsage for a lady, but since it’s a business thing, I didn’t. Maybe next time.”

  Unless it was her imagination, she thought Cory stiffened a bit and held his breath for a few seconds, until she replied.

  “No. No corsage.” She wasn’t sure what he meant about a next time. As far as she knew, her boss would be able to attend the next chamber dinner, and she wouldn’t need Cory to go with her. But just in case, she said nothing. Regardless of how she felt, he was doing her a favor by giving up his time and she needed to appreciate it.

  While she drove to the restaurant Cory limited conversation to small talk, something she also appreciated. Not just because that meant he wasn’t going to pry, but the unimportant chatter helped prepare her to interact in a crowd of strangers—something she hadn’t done for a long time.

  Since they arrived at the banquet hall fairly early, the lot had many empty spaces. He didn’t comment when she circled three times to find the spot closest to the door.

  Daphne remained seated while Cory extricated himself awkwardly from the car, mentally kicking herself for not finding a parking spot that would have allowed him to open the door all the way to give him more space. She told herself it would never happen again. Not because she would be more careful to park in the last spot of a row, but because she would never be going out with him again.

  When he made it out, Daphne hustled around the car to stand beside him so they could walk to the door side by side. After all, they were together. Because they would be standing for a long time before they were seated for the dinner and speeches, she’d worn her most comfortable shoes, which were almost flat.

  Standing across from Cory she’d obviously known he was very tall, but now, walking beside him, she felt like an elf. Even if she’d worn her tallest shoes and made her feet suffer through the affair, that wouldn’t have made any difference. She would still have been a foot shorter than him. Even if he were barefoot, it wouldn’t have helped.

  The way he took steps that were unnaturally short for his size made her feel even worse that she couldn’t match his pace. If he’d been walking with his normal long stride, she would have to jog to keep even with him.

  “Don’t worry,” he said as he looked down at her. “I’m used to walking with people shorter than me.”

  “Do you know anyone taller than you? How tall are you, anyway?”

  “Six four.” He sighed. “I’ve met people taller. Just not many. Like, two.”

  Her guess had been off by an inch. It was hard to judge when looking up so high. She waited, anticipating him asking if she knew anyone shorter than herself. She had the same answer. She was the shortest in her circle of friends. Or the people she used to call friends.

  As they walked in and waited for their turn to sign the register as invited guests, she felt the stares of people around them. She hoped they were just looking at Cory because he was so tall and good-looking, and not because they looked ridiculous together.

  When she signed them in he looked at the growing crowd around them, then down at her. “I’d ask if
you’d like to go sit down, but I have a feeling the reason we’re here is so you can do some schmoozing.”

  “I suppose that’s one way to describe it. Yes. I need to schmooze. Is that really a word?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea. I see people holding drinks. Are you thirsty?”

  “Yes, but I only want an iced tea, no alcohol. You can have both tickets.” She held the drink tickets toward him, but before she’d raised them high enough for him to take them, he raised one palm to stop her.

  “No, thank you. I’m going to have a soft drink. I’ll be right back.”

  After he left her side, Daphne scanned the room. She saw a few people she knew and immediately felt more comfortable. While she continued to search the crowd for more familiar faces her attention kept being drawn back to Cory, standing in the short line at the bar. While he spoke with those around him he often glanced back at her, smiling whenever they made eye contact.

  She didn’t know if he was watching for her on his own, or if her ever-protective brother had told him to keep an eye on her. She wasn’t sure if she’d be annoyed or comforted if that were the case.

  One day she would have to get over it, but that day wasn’t today.

  “Daphne?” A female voice sounded from behind her. “Is that you? I haven’t seen you for a dog’s age. How are you?”

  She spun to face a woman who worked for one of the other merchants in the strip mall where she worked.

  She struggled to remember the woman’s name. She couldn’t. All she knew was that the woman worked at the book store at the other end of the strip.

  The woman smiled. “It’s Susan. I can see you didn’t remember my name. That’s okay. I know you don’t go to many of these things.”

  Daphne smiled. “Actually this is my first time here. Usually, I’ve seen you at the mall merchants’ meetings. I’ve been to a few of those with Frank.”

  Susan nodded. “I remember the last one, yes. When I saw your name today, I switched the name tags at the table so you’ll be sitting with us. So tell me, how are things doing at the pet supply store?”

  She didn’t know if this was the time to announce her promotion from customer service to the marketing department, but then, it wouldn’t matter to Susan, so she didn’t. “Things are going well. How about you?”

  “Great!” The sudden chorus in Susan’s tone made Daphne flinch, and she hoped Susan hadn’t noticed. Apparently she didn’t, because Susan held out her left hand to flash a brilliant diamond ring at Daphne. “Xavier and I are getting married! We’re going to have a big party at the store, and everyone from all the stores in the mall is invited to drop in to celebrate with us.”

  Automatically, Daphne looked around for Xavier, who owned the book store where Susan worked. Last she’d seen, he’d been talking to Cory in the bar lineup, and now they were coming back together.

  Cory handed her the iced tea she’d requested and Xavier handed Susan a glass of wine.

  “Congratulations,” Daphne said as all four clicked their glasses in a toast.

  “And who is this?” Susan beamed as she looked up at Cory, gaining a stern look of reproach from Xavier when she nearly started to drool.

  “This is Cory,” Daphne said.

  At the intro, Cory smiled and nodded at both of them.

  “And he is your…?”

  The question mentally smacked Daphne. She’d seen it before—newly engaged women wanting to spread the joy of romance to everyone they met. Sadly, not every supposedly happy relationship ended with a happily-ever-after ending.

  She looked up at Cory, obligated to fill in the blank. She really didn’t know what to say. Officially he was her escort assigned by her brother. Not a date. She didn’t even know him all that well. She’d only spent time with him as part of a group with her brother’s friends. She’d talked to him one-on-one a few times, but it hadn’t been often, mostly only within the group. To say something that didn’t lessen the generosity of him giving up his day for her, she had to say something.

  “Friend. Cory is my friend.”

  Sparing her from being prompted to say more, the manager from the sporting goods store joined Cory and Xavier, starting another one of his famous fish stories. The second he had their attention Susan nudged her. “What happened to that blond fellow you were going out with? I thought you’d be here with him. Word had it that you were on the verge of getting engaged, too.”

  At the mention of Alex, Daphne’s world started collapsing around her. Her vision narrowed, her breath became tight, and she felt herself starting to shake.

  Before she fell and embarrassed herself, she reached for Cory. Once she had the best grip she could on his wide arm, she tried her best to smile politely at Susan while she cleared her throat, trying to pull herself together. “We split up.”

  As her fingers began to go numb, her glass disappeared out of her hand and Cory’s deep voice whispered in her ear. “I’m going to put my arm around your waist and take you away, where you can sit. Would you like that?”

  All she could do was nod.

  “Excuse us,” he said to everyone around him. “I think Daphne and I need to talk.”

  “Oh, dear,” Susan muttered. “I hope I haven’t gotten you in trouble with your new boyfriend.”

  “Don’t worry,” Cory replied. “Everything is fine. We just need a little time alone. Excuse us.”

  Cory led her to a table in the corner, where he helped her sit. “Do you need to put your head down? Do you need to go home?”

  “No. I’ll be okay. I just need a couple of minutes.” Alex wasn’t here, and he wasn’t coming here. She repeated that to herself a number of times, and told herself she was going to be fine. She could carry on. She needed to get on with her life, and this was the day she was going to make that happen.

  Slowly the world returned to normal, except for her feeling of profound embarrassment. “I’m fine now. I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I’ve seen panic attacks before. Do you want to talk about it?”

  She didn’t really, but she’d put him in a spot, and she’d been told talking about it would help. She’d just convinced herself that today was the day she was going to start moving forward. Now was the time to put her money where her mouth was.

  She cleared her throat. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”

  He reached forward as if to grip her hands, looked down at them and then folded his hands in front of himself on the table.

  “If you want to talk, then I’d like to listen. Go ahead.”

  * * *

  Cory waited in silence while Daphne struggled with her thoughts. From the way she went into a panic attack when her ex’s name was mentioned, he had a bad feeling the story was going to be about a very bad breakup. But the longer she took to think about it, the picture in his mind grew worse and worse.

  Rick’s words, and his instructions not to let Daphne out of his sight, played in his mind. Now Cory could see why. She was terrified. The moment the other woman had innocently mentioned her ex’s name, he’d thought Daphne might crumple to the floor.

  When she finally spoke, her voice came out in barely a whisper. “Before you think the worst, he didn’t actually rape me. But it was close. Very close.”

  Rape. Just the word tightened his gut. It was worse than he’d thought it would be. He couldn’t think of anything to say, so he remained silent.

  “We’d been out for a late dinner and, as Susan said, he proposed to me at the restaurant. It was classically romantic. He even gave me a ring. By the time we were done we were the last people out. He’d parked in the back corner of the lot saying at the time he didn’t want to risk anyone banging the paint on his doors.”

  Right away, Cory got the mental picture of why, and it had nothing to do with paint. Sometimes when a guy did a romantic thing for a woman in public, often he had plans for what she would now do with him in private.

  He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to r
emain silent.

  “Instead of driving away, he wanted to do other things. He made it very clear that since we were officially engaged, I owed it to him to do everything he wanted. When I refused, he forced himself on me. It was awful. I thought I loved him, but he was hurting me.”

  Cory couldn’t stay silent any longer. “You don’t have to say more. I can’t imagine how hard this is for you to talk about. Especially here.”

  She shook her head. “No, I need to get this out. I’ve been told I need to talk about it, but I haven’t been able to. It’s actually easier here. I think it’s because I know I’m safe in the crowd, yet there’s no one close enough to hear what I say. If you want to listen.” She cleared her throat and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

  Cory’s stomach did a nosedive into his shoes. He didn’t really want to listen, but something inside made him. Like arriving at a train wreck, when people couldn’t do anything but still stayed to watch the carnage. “Go on.”

  “Since we were so late, Rick, being Rick, was worried, so he phoned me. Of course I didn’t answer my phone, I was trying to defend myself and not succeeding. Rick was worried we’d had an accident, so he tracked the GPS signal on my phone. When he got there the windows were all fogged. He couldn’t see in and I couldn’t see out. I was trying so hard to get away, but I couldn’t. Alex had me totally overpowered, and he was totally out of control. He was hurting me, and I was screaming, but he wouldn’t stop. At the last second before…you know, the side window shattered. It was Rick.”

  The picture in his mind made Cory grip the side of the table so hard he thought it might crumble. Words failed him.

  “He hauled Alex out and started punching him until I scrambled out of the car. Rick took one look at me and threw Alex to the ground and left him there. Rick wrapped his jacket around me to cover me up and then he tried to stop the bleeding. Alex scrambled back in his car and took off, and Rick took me to the hospital. The next day, Rick was on duty so he went to Alex’s place in uniform, but Alex was gone. Rick knew where he worked, so he went there, but he’d called in sick that morning. And soon after that, Alex was completely gone.”