How to Lose a Fiancé Page 3

  Kaimbrey laughed.

  Brody strode determinedly toward her. The interest in his blue eyes sent a rush of sparks and excitement through her. This man was incredible. Too bad she couldn’t let herself fall for him, but at least she’d have this time to make him fall and enjoy being close. He extended his hand. “I need to apologize.”

  “You shore do,” Kaimbrey threw at him. She bent down and kissed their escort’s cheek. “Thank you, little man.”

  “Shore thing.” He grinned.

  Brody took Kaimbrey’s hand. Warmth pulsed through her, followed quickly by confusion. Was he the one for her, or was he a womanizer who just knew how to make a woman melt? It shouldn’t matter, as she wasn’t going to let herself fall. She had to remain focused on the objective: get him to pop the question and secure the money to start her charity. Still, the questions of Brody’s intentions and her own confused feelings bugged her a lot.

  They walked side by side down the beach, her heels sinking in the firm sand, the water lapping against the edge of the lake, and the crickets chirping. The air smelled like a strange mix of algae from the lake and Brody’s delectable cologne. She eased a little closer to focus on that cologne; it was citrusy and fresh with some musky undertones. Yum.

  Neither of them said anything until they were a fair distance from the party. Brody tugged her to a stop and turned to face her. It was dark without the lights from the party. Her eyes had adjusted to the night, but she couldn’t see the expression in his eyes as well as she’d like. “I’m really sorry that Jill kissed me like that,” he said.

  The anger and fear swelled in her chest, making her feel tight and awkward. She didn’t like that, so she lashed out. “Well, you should be.”

  Instead of responding in kind, Brody surprised her by smiling. “Jill honestly kisses everybody. It’s just her way of saying hello. You have to believe that it meant nothing to me.”

  “Wow. I didn’t realize the standard Utah greeting was a big smooch full on the mouth.”

  Brody leaned closer, and his voice lowered to a husky and awe-inspiring baritone. “Now that you know, how about we reintroduce ourselves for the evening?”

  Kaimbrey’s jaw fell open in protest; at the same time, her stomach swirled with heat. Dang. Her role of getting him to fall and pop the question while staying strong herself was not going to be easy. She wouldn’t mind kissing this man, not at all, but his comment just confirmed his player status in her mind. Stay strong, girlie. She tilted her head and playfully pushed at his chest. She’d need to rely on all her skills from drama class to succeed in the next two weeks. “I don’t think so. You have to earn a kiss in my book.”

  Brody pursed his lips. “What kind of criteria does it take to earn a kiss, in your book?”

  Kaimbrey really liked flirting with him. This proposal would be a cinch if she could stay strong, but then a disconcerting thought entered her mind. If he really was the ultimate player, how was she going to get him to propose with the intention of ending his playboy days? Hmm. She’d have to get him salivating for that kiss, and then, when she allowed it to happen, she’d have to make sure it was a wham-bam doozy.

  “Well …” She started walking back toward the party, and the sounds of the crickets was accompanied by the chatter and music from up the grass incline. If she was alone with him for too long, she’d probably forget her agenda and kiss him simply because he was so appealing. “I definitely don’t kiss on the first date.”

  “How about the second?”

  She glanced sidelong at him. “Depends how good the date is.”

  He grinned and took her hand again, squeezing it. “I’m the king of fabulous dates.”

  “I hope for your sake you are.”

  He laughed. “So … does tonight count as a date?”

  “No, sir. Tonight counts as a first meeting.”

  “What in your book constitutes a date?”

  “You ask me out and you put a little thought into it. I don’t care about you denting your fat wallet or showing me how impressive you are. It’s more about you showing you care enough to put in a little effort.”

  “I can do that.” He paused and then asked, “Kaimbrey, would you like to go to breakfast, lunch, and dinner tomorrow? With a few fun adventures thrown in between meals?”

  Kaimbrey giggled. She couldn’t help it. He was too cute. Dang, she was in trouble with this one. She thought she’d shut her heart after Cameron’s betrayal, but here was another man, who had all the signs of being a player, wrenching it back open. Time to slow him down. “Let’s keep it casual … for now. I’ll accept your offer of lunch and one fun adventure tomorrow afternoon. Then maybe the next day we’ll have another fun adventure or dinner.”

  “So the next day counts as date number two, where I get my kiss?”

  They arrived back at the beach below Emma’s mansion. The smell from the wet wood of the dock and the algae of the lake washed over her. Kaimbrey couldn’t see Tate or Cally anywhere and wondered how her friend had ended up. “Counting your chickens before they’ve hatched, boy. Patience is a virtue.”

  He smiled, raised their clasped hands to his mouth, and gently kissed her knuckles. Tremors of pleasure radiated through her. If a kiss on her fingers felt that good, how would kissing those expressive lips explode her world? As he leaned closer, she savored the scent of citrus.

  “I love the way you talk, and I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.” He smiled and released her hand, walking back toward the party. He paused to give her one more wink over his shoulder.

  Kaimbrey watched him go, frozen. She was in so much trouble. That man was irresistible. If she didn’t rein in these feelings toward him, she’d be the one proposing before Bri’s wedding.

  Chapter Four

  Kaimbrey spent the night at Bri’s small basement apartment. She would be heading to her own cracker-box apartment in Ogden soon, but she wanted to spend as much time with Bri as possible before the wedding, and since it was the weekend, she didn’t have work today. There was also the fact that Brody was taking her out for lunch and … activities that would not include kissing. Yet.

  Bri and Colt were heading to Salt Lake for shopping. Bri was itching to decorate Colt’s house, and she begged Kaimbrey to come with them. Kaimbrey declined, saying she wasn’t going to third wheel, but the truth was that she didn’t want to let slip to Bri that she was going out with Brody. It would come as a shock to her friend when Kaimbrey got that proposal on Bri’s wedding night, or maybe even before. She smiled to herself.

  After breakfast, Bri headed off with Colt, and Kaimbrey went on a long hike up the canyon road east of Eden, past the Powder Mountain Ski Resort. It was a beautiful canyon and she enjoyed being outside in the crisp morning air, but she didn’t enjoy stewing about Brody. Was it wrong of her to trick him into a proposal? What if she couldn’t get him to propose? How would it feel when she let that beautiful man kiss her? How in the world was she going to stay detached when he was so incredible?

  Not long after she’d returned to the condo, still wearing a fitted T-shirt, running shorts, and tennis shoes, a rap came at the door. She glanced quickly at the clock. It was only eleven. Brody wasn’t supposed to drop by until twelve-thirty. Her heart leapt at the thought of him not being able to stay away and the idea of seeing him again, but she cringed when she remembered he’d be seeing her in workout clothes, not all dolled up like she’d usually be. Her mother would throw a fit, as she’d trained Kaimbrey that a Southern girl was always made up fancier than a showgirl. Actually, her mother would say princess or queen; Kaimbrey was the one who snidely substituted showgirl. Kaimbrey smiled. She liked to look nice but liked to spite her mother more.

  She hurried to the door and peeked through the peephole. Two men waited at the base of the stairs, as Bri’s apartment was in the basement of an older house but had this separate entrance. One man was hulking and blond; the other was squat and bald.

  Kaimbrey cracked the door open and peeked through i
t, leery of these two. “Yes?”

  “Hi.” The blond man gave her a very insincere smile. “We’re here for the pest control treatment.”

  Kaimbrey’s stomach squirmed. They weren’t dressed in worker’s apparel, and the pair of them put off an odd vibe. Besides, who worked on Saturday? “Sorry,” she said awkwardly through the crack, refusing to open the door wider. “The resident isn’t here. Can you come back on Monday?”

  The man’s smile grew. “I don’t think so.” Then his long fingers wrapped around the edge of the door and he flung it toward her, slamming it against Kaimbrey’s face.

  Stars filled Kaimbrey’s eyes and she cried out in surprise, pain, and horror. She fell back and would’ve hit the floor, but the blond guy grabbed her arm and yanked her toward him. Her head hurt from the impact with the door, and the terror racing through her made her feel lightheaded and disjointed. One guy grabbed under her arms, while the other swept her legs out from under her. They rushed her up the stairs.

  Kaimbrey screamed for help and fought to break free. At the top of the stairs, she managed to get one leg free and kick the bald dude in the head. He shouted in surprise, but he quickly recaptured her leg and held on more tightly. They hauled her to a sport utility with the back hatch open, and the blond guy tried to hold her while the other dude tied her up. Kaimbrey was able to bite the blond guy and spit at him and claw the other dude with her vicious fingernails, screaming the entire time.

  Unfortunately, the people who lived in the upstairs of the older house Bri rented must not have been home, because no one seemed to hear the ruckus she was causing.

  When her hands and legs were bound and she was completely, awfully helpless, she thought they’d tape her mouth as she alternated between screaming for help and cussing them, but instead the blond guy yanked the phone from her pocket, grabbed the hand that was tied behind her back and forced her thumb print onto the screen to unlock it. He took a video of her yelling at them, and then pushed buttons as if sending the video to someone.

  “What are you doing?” she stopped yelling long enough to ask.

  “Sending a call for help to mom and dad.” With a wink, he turned the ringer off on her phone and chucked it out into the hayfield behind the house. Somewhere under her panic, Kaimbrey thought that eventually the police would track it and find it, but that wouldn’t be happening anytime soon, especially if a swather came through in the next day or so.

  The man shoved her into the cargo hold and slammed the door. Kaimbrey writhed and tried to get her hands free, but they were tied securely behind her back. There was no reason to call for help anymore. Besides her throat being raw and her calls ineffective, nobody was out there to hear her.

  The world outside whizzed by as they drove east toward the mountains. She prayed and prayed, but she didn’t see any hope of a rescue. Her parents were so ticked at her. What if they wouldn’t meet whatever demands these guys had? Even if they did, would the men let her live after she’d seen their faces and could identify them? And what about Brody? He’d think she’d ditched him.

  She rested her throbbing head back against the window. Tears made their way down her face, dripping off of her trembling chin. She clenched her hands, which were bound behind her back, to stop them from shaking so hard. She’d never been so terrified.

  Chapter Five

  Brody drove into the gravel drive of the house north of Eden; Kaimbrey had texted him its address. He hadn’t stopped smiling since last night. Kaimbrey was so spicy and funny, and he had a chance with her—he could feel it. Brody loved to flirt with and date different women, but Kaimbrey was unique. She could out-flirt him, that was for sure, yet she had a depth about her that he couldn’t wait to delve into. The first thing that had drawn him to her, the fact that she was exquisitely beautiful, was a bonus, but it wasn’t nearly as important as her fun personality.

  He bounced out of his truck and down the rear steps to the basement apartment. There was no bell, so he rapped his knuckles on the wooden door. Waiting impatiently, he could hardly wait to see Kaimbrey. He smiled, thinking about their banter from last night. She was great, and he really, really liked her.

  He glanced around at the covered stairwell. The concrete was crumbling in spots, and while it was clean, it felt dank. This was Brikelle’s apartment? Moving into Colt’s huge house would be a nice step up for her.

  He didn’t hear any movement, so he knocked again. Folding his arms across his chest, he drummed his fingers on his arm and waited. Was she just taking extra long getting ready? He should tell her she would be gorgeous without any makeup on, but he knew how women liked to look nice.

  He knocked again and then pulled out his phone and called her. It rang and rang and finally went to voicemail. He quickly texted her to let her know he was at her door, then sent her a Snapchat with a picture of him pointing at it. When there was no response, he called Brikelle.

  “Hey, little brother,” Brikelle said by way of greeting.

  “Hey. I’m just at your apartment to pick up Kaimbrey for lunch and a hike, and she’s not answering. Do you know where she is?”

  “You’re taking K to lunch?” Her voice was full of surprise.

  Brody frowned. Why wouldn’t Kaimbrey tell her best friend and his future sister-in-law they were going out? “I thought so.”

  “Oh, well, that’s … nice. She should be there. Unless she went back to her apartment in Ogden. Did you try to call or text her?”

  “Yeah. I got nothing.”

  “Oh.”

  “What’s with the ‘oh’?”

  “Nothing. She just … is really great to respond quickly.”

  “To you, maybe,” Brody mumbled. “Thanks, Bri.” He hung up before she could ask him any more questions.

  Dang, he’d been ghosted. It shouldn’t hurt so much—he barely knew Kaimbrey—yet he’d allowed himself to get attached quickly and to have all kinds of dreams and hopes for her, for them. Dumb, dumb, dumb. He knew better than to put too much trust in a woman he’d barely met. Had he learned nothing with Jessica? During his senior year of college, he’d met an absolutely gorgeous pre-med student who he’d believed was the love of his life. He’d fallen hard, planning to propose at Christmas and be married after they both graduated with their bachelor’s. She’d dumped him as soon as football season was over at Weber State and moved on to the star basketball player. Turned out she’d only wanted the glory of dating a well-known student athlete.

  Brody growled low in his throat and stormed up the stairs. That would teach him to be so rash and think he’d found the one. He must be thicker than a bowl of oatmeal, though, because as soon as he reached his truck, he pulled out his phone again, hoping she’d responded to his text. His phone hadn’t beeped or buzzed, but sometimes phones had glitches, right? He put his thumb on the pad and stared at the text and Snapchat icons. No new messages. Well, dang.

  Jumping into his truck, he sped back to his parents’ house. He made it there without having a police car see him and give him the ticket he deserved. He stewed in his truck, checking the texts and Snapchats, checking for a call back, and then called himself all kinds of names as he tried to call her just one more time. As it went to voicemail, he dropped his phone, and banged his head against the headrest, and said a prayer for some help.

  A few seconds later, Tate’s truck pulled in. Maybe the good Lord did answer prayers. At least, his brother would be some distraction. Tate had always been there for him, and he really needed his friend and older brother right now. Brody popped out of his truck and waited for Tate to climb out.

  Tate must’ve seen the storm clouds in his eyes, because he warily asked, “What’s up?”

  “I don’t get women.”

  Tate rolled his eyes. “Join the club, bro.”

  Brody folded his arms across his chest and glared out at the lake.

  “All women, or a particular one?” Tate asked.

  “You know that beauty I was hitting on at the party last night
?”

  “Kaimbrey?”

  “Yeah. We totally hit it off, and I was supposed to take her to lunch, then on a hike to the waterfall up North Fork, but she totally stood me up. I waited at Bri’s, where she’s staying, for forever, called her phone, texted her, sent a Snapchat, called Bri. She’s disappeared. It ticks me off.”

  Tate didn’t say anything. He seemed distracted.

  “Why is it that when I finally find the girl I think might be the one, she ditches me?”

  Tate shrugged. “Maybe something came up.”

  “Why is she not answering calls, texts, or Snapchats?”

  “Sorry, man. What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know.” Brody shook his head. “I think I’ll just head back home. I love Momma, but I made the mistake of telling her all about Kaimbrey when you left with Cally this morning. She was all lit up, thinking another of her sons had found his ‘angel.’” He grimaced. “I’ll never hear the end of this. She’ll want me to stake out the apartment and wait for her. I already waited … way too long for a man with any pride,” he muttered. “How desperate do I have to get?”

  Tate shrugged again. He was a heck of a lot of help.

  “Maybe I’ll just go home.” Brody had a beautiful home in Morgan, the next canyon over from this one. He loved the outdoors and didn’t mind the drive into Ogden to meet with his high-roller clients four days a week.

  “Why don’t we do something to get our minds off of women?” Tate suggested. “Rappelling, rock climbing, go jump off the cliffs at Causey.”

  “Let’s do the cliffs. I haven’t been up there all summer.” Doing something active sounded a lot better than stewing about Kaimbrey. He glanced at their parents’ house. “Do we have to go change, or should we just go in what we’re wearing and avoid Momma’s questions?”

  Tate laughed. His phone rang, and he ripped it out of his pocket.

  Brody’s eyebrows shot up. “Expecting someone?”