Tara Randel - The Bridal Bouquet

Since then, having gone on too many bad dates to count, Kady decided she and dating were like oil and water. Didn’t mix well. She accepted that. Why couldn’t her friends? Running her business and building a brand were the most important relationships in her life right now.

“You two are disgustingly happy and I’m thrilled for you both—truly I am. But not everyone is looking for their soul mate.”

Nealy leveled a glance at Lilli. “That is true. Things weren’t smooth sailing for either of us when we started out with our guys.”

“But they are now.”

Lilli’s smitten expression made Kady laugh. “Spoken like a bride-to-be.”

“The bride-to-be who has venue choices to make,” Nealy reminded her. As her event planner, she’d been after Lilli to make decisions so she could get the wedding ball rolling.

“And flowers to select,” Kady added.

“I will.” Lilli’s eyes went all dreamy. “We’re enjoying the moment.”

Nealy sputtered, “You’re making Max crazy. The PI is ready to drag you down the aisle.”

“There is that, too.”

Kady smiled at her childhood friend. She was delighted about the upcoming nuptials, especially since she’d be doing the flowers for the wedding and all the other related events. If Lilli ever set a date, that was.

“Hey, look. Dane’s waving at me.” Nealy stood, waving back to the man who owned the Grand Cypress Hotel, home to this year’s florist convention. “I should see what he wants.”

Lilli followed, brushing sand off the seat of her jeans. “And I should find Max.”

“Nice,” Kady mumbled, still seated. “You drag me down here then dump me.”

“We’ll be back,” Nealy assured her as the two took off. Yeah, right. From past experience, she knew once those two got with their men, there was no separating them. She smiled.

The wind picked up again, blowing the acrid smoke in Kady’s direction. Her nose burned and she blinked back fresh tears. Pushing up from the sand, she was ready to call it a night. The entire population of Cypress Pointe might enjoy the revelry of a bonfire on the beach, but Kady was not one of them.

Zipping up the jacket she’d layered over a sweatshirt and jeans, she coughed again as she weaved through the crowd, headed to the parking lot. She passed a group of laughing guys, swerving out of their way when she heard a deep male voice.

“Kady?”

She swung around, her foot sliding in the damp sand. Her pulse jumped as the hunk from the wedding headed in her direction.

“Hi. Dylan, right?”

“Yeah. Enjoying the bonfire?”

She brushed ash from her sleeves and answered, tongue in cheek. “Sure.”

His metal-colored eyes sparkled with humor. “I’ll take that as a no.”

She laughed. “You’d be correct.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Friends dragged me out. You?”

“Family dragged me out.” His smile, somewhere between sad and amused, reminded her of just how attractive she found him.

“Part of the wedding festivities?”

“Apparently.” He rubbed his leg and tried to hide a grimace.

She nodded toward his leg. “Are you okay?”

“Injury. Been standing out in the cold for too long.”

“There’s a bench over there.” She pointed. “You can have a seat.”

“If you’ll join me.”

Her stomach fluttered at his invitation. Trying to act nonchalant, she shrugged. “Why not? I was only planning to go home and take a nice warm shower to get the stench out of my hair.”

“Bet you’re loads of fun on a camping trip.”

“Never been.”

“Fun times.”

Kady slowed her pace to match Dylan’s gait. He’d changed into a jacket over a Henley shirt, with jeans and boots. Shedding his formal wear hadn’t made him any less attractive.

When they reached the bench he eased down gingerly. Not sure how to act around him, she perched at the far end, leaving plenty of space between them. Not that she had to worry—it seemed like the entire town surrounded them. If he started anything sketchy, she’d yell at the top of her lungs.

“I promise you, I have no evil intentions.”

Great. Obvious much? “A girl can’t take chances.”

“Very wise of you.”

She sat back and relaxed a bit. “And kind of insulting to you?”

“Nah. I get it.”

His easy acceptance made her loosen her tense shoulders. Here she sat, on a bench, curious about the good-looking guy who’d not only kept her from ruining a flower arrangement at the reception, but was also the man she’d been thinking about all day. Why not enjoy it?

“Do you have these public bonfires on the beach often?” he asked after a few moments.

“Yes. It’s a tradition. They’ve been part of Cypress Pointe history for as long as I can remember.” She drew up her leg and turned to angle herself in his direction. “Kids used to start the fires on their own, so instead of banning them, the town council decided to set up specific nights for the fires so the authorities could monitor the crowd.”

“Smart. Although starting fires when you’re not supposed to is more fun, it is more dangerous.”

She tilted her head inquisitively. “Is that a guy thing?”

He chuckled. “Just an observation. Our family gatherings are usually barbecues, so we always say fire fixes everything. Well, except for the time my brother Dante accidentally set the field behind our house on fire. We all ran outside to contain it before the fire department arrived. On the way, he grabbed an heirloom quilt my great-grandmother had made and used it to try to smother the flames.” He shook his head, a crooked grin lighting up his face. “My mother was not happy.”

“I imagine.” She bit her lip, then asked, “How many brothers do you have?”

“Three.”

“Wow. Your mom must be wonderful to put up with your antics.”

He glanced at the crowd. Looking for his mother?

“She is.” He turned his attention back to her. “You have any siblings?”

“A brother. But he hasn’t started fires or destroyed heirlooms.”

“Why not?”

She silently chuckled at his serious face. Like fire and destruction were normal parts of life to him.

“My brother is too upstanding and too good at everything he does to engage in troublemaking.”

“Oh. Sorry to hear that.”

Her eyes went wide. “Seriously?”

“I’m just saying, my brothers and I have lots of great stories.”

She shook her head, trying not to laugh.

“So you’re saying your brother is a decent member of society?”

“He is.” Her eyes narrowed. “What’s with all the questions about my brother?”

“Nothing. Just making conversation. Family is usually a safe topic.”

And why had she suddenly gotten so prickly? Because Will always ended up being part of the conversation, no matter where she was. With her folks. On the job. People always wanted to know how Mr. Wonderful was doing, even people who didn’t know him well. She hadn’t realized how defensive she’d gotten about her brother until just now.

“Okay,” Dylan said, bracing his arm along the top of the bench. His fingers were mere inches from her shoulder, which she found very distracting. “We’ll switch off the topic of family. So, the bonfire. Do folks from surrounding towns join in as well?”

“It’s usually just Cypress Pointe.”

“Seems like you have a nice town. Safe place?”

“Why, are you planning on moving here?” Now, wouldn’t that be interesting, running into this hunk around town.

He chuckled. “No. Since my cousin lives here I’m curious.”

“Well, not much crime. A nice tourist spot. Not much traffic. Good restaurants. Awesome beach views.”