His Christmas Bride Read online

  As if conjured up from his memories, she appeared in the doorway of the Grand Ballroom. Lucas stood up straight to get a better view.

  No. This wasn’t the Erin Tanner he’d known. That Erin had long, blond hair, almost always pulled back with a rubber band to keep hair out of her face while she worked in the stables or had her head buried in a book. Back then, she’d worn glasses and no makeup, a few freckles on her nose popping out in the summer from the sunshine.

  The Erin that stood in the doorway now was like an angel in a dream. Her hair was short, sitting right at her shoulders. Waves of gold framed her face. Her long skirt covered legs that went on for days—that he did remember—and hugged her curves—those were new. The top she wore reminded him of his favorite red wine. Her blue eyes searched the room. For who? Was there a guy in her life? Was she married? No. He would know if she’d married. McKenna kept in touch enough and would have told him.

  She found who she was looking for and moved toward her. Cynthia. The wedding planner. He’d met her that week to talk about the engagement party as well as the fact that the Tanners had agreed to let them use the ranch. When Vanessa had decided she’d wanted it for their wedding, Lucas thought for sure they’d be dealing with Clayton Tanner. He tamped down another wave of guilt at not even thinking that Erin might be involved. For some reason, she was forever an eighteen-year-old girl in his mind.

  The woman he watched now was anything but. She smiled at her friend and he could’ve sworn the twinkle lights got brighter. The makeup she wore made her eyes stand out and the red of her lips matched her top. She freaking glowed.

  Lucas shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Mesmerized, he made his way through the room to her. Guilt or not, he wanted nothing more than to talk to her, to make sure she was real. It had to be her.

  “Erin? Erin Tanner?”

  She turned and their eyes met.

  “Hello, Lucas.”

  A sense of coming home filled him at the sound of her voice.

  Cynthia stepped beside Erin. “Lucas, I see you already know Erin.”

  He nodded, his eyes never leaving Erin’s face.

  “She owns Tanner Ranch where you’ll be having your wedding.”

  His wedding. His wedding. His gut dropped to the floor. Hell, he was getting married. Right.

  He blinked. “Yes. We’ve met.”

  Erin smiled at him and nothing existed but the two of them.

  He motioned toward a table near the bar. “Would you like to join me for a drink and we can talk?”

  Erin looked at Cynthia then back at him. He thought for sure she was going to turn him down. Relief flooded him when she said, “Sure,” then walked to the table he’d indicated.

  Any feelings of frustration he’d had disappeared.

  Chapter Five

  Lucas took the chair opposite of Erin. A waiter appeared, placing a champagne glass in front of each of them. Erin thanked him and he turned to leave.

  Lucas couldn’t take his eyes off her. To say the years had been good to her was an understatement. He’d always thought her cute, beautiful even at times, but the woman who sat before him now blew away the image he’d carried of her as a teenager. The band began to play the song, “The Way You Look Tonight,” summing up his feelings in that moment.

  “It’s good to see you, Lucas.” She took a sip of champagne and set the glass back down. Her hands clasped together in her lap as she leaned back in her chair. One thumb fiddled with the thumbnail of the other. It was something she did when she was nervous. Why would she be nervous around him?

  “It’s great to see you, too. How have you been?”

  He winced a little, the question coming across wrong. Too common and superficial, considering all the questions he really wanted to ask. But hounding her in the first few moments after not talking to her for so long wasn’t right, either. It could take months to catch up with her the way he wanted.

  “I’ve been great, thanks. And you? You must be happy.” She gestured to the room, couples now moving along the dance floor. “Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and marriage.”

  He winced at that, too. But why? Before he’d come to Montana he’d been content with his life. Happy to be getting married, confident in the decisions he was making. Ever since he’d told his family about Vanessa and the wedding, doubt had begun to creep in. But that was only because they were his family and their opinion mattered. It didn’t mean he was unhappy or he’d made the wrong choice. Did it?

  “Thanks.” He took a sip of champagne to avoid having to say much else. He glanced at the dance floor then back to her. “How about a dance?”

  Her eyes widened in shock. Or horror. He couldn’t tell. Neither was the kind of response a guy wanted when asking a girl to dance.

  “Or not…”

  “No, no.” She waved a hand at him and smiled, recovering from her initial reaction. “I’m sorry. A dance sounds nice.”

  He stood and held out his hand. She took it and let him lead her to the dance floor. They found a spot in the corner and he pulled her into his arms. Having his arm around her waist, their bodies up close, brought back images of kissing her all those years ago. It also conjured up images of warm afternoons on horseback, laughing as they raced across the meadow, but different because her eyes now held secrets, stories he didn’t know. He longed to hear every detail. He cursed himself for having lost touch all this time. The woman in his arms was someone he wanted to know again. Better.

  “I can’t say I ever pegged you for a dancer.”

  He laughed at that. “Well, my mom made us all learn when we were young.”

  “I always liked your mom.” She smiled up at him.

  He nodded his head in agreement, recalling that Erin was one of the few people in his life who’d known his mom. Marian St. Claire had chosen to live out her final years in Marietta, and since people floated in and out of Lucas’ life so much, few of his current crowd had ever met her. It had never occurred to him before that his friendships moved as fast as his life did in New York.

  His true friends were few and far between. Closest to his brothers, he didn’t stay in touch with too many high school or college friends. He saw Jeff when he was in Marietta, a buddy the St. Claire boys had befriended in all their years visiting. He’d let Erin fall by the wayside though. Something he was fast regretting.

  “How’s your dad doing?”

  Her question brought him back to the moment and away from his thoughts. “He’s good. Best I’ve seen him since Mom died.”

  Erin nodded. Her hair brushed against his arm. It was such a different look than before, but it suited her. It made her eyes stand out. He liked that. He’d always liked her eyes. They looked right at him, saw through his crap every time. Always honest. To the point. No games. Man, what a gift that was as a teenager. Girls were always playing mind games. Sheesh. So did the women he knew now. He had a feeling Erin hadn’t changed. No games. All honesty.

  “Montana was a good choice for him.”

  It wasn’t a question.

  “How’s your brother?”

  The fact that she tensed in his arms didn’t go unnoticed.

  “He’s about the same.”

  “Does he still live in Marietta?”

  She shook her head, her eyes cast down. Her body leaned into his a bit more.

  Lucas had never clicked with Erin’s twin. A hothead who thought he knew it all had become testy when their dad had told him he thought Erin was better suited to help run the ranch than he was. Lucas remembered the day he’d found Erin crying, the first and only time he’d seen her do so. She’d been sitting on a hay bale by the barn.

  It was the summer before their senior year in high school. He’d sat beside her as she’d told him about the conversation with her dad and brother. She wanted to go to Montana State then return to help her dad. Eric had gotten mad saying he was the boy and the oldest—only by three minutes—and he deserved to be in charge over Erin. She’d tried to rea
ssure Eric that they’d work together as a family, but he wanted more.

  He’d stormed out and Erin had gone to cry things out by the barn. Lucas had held her as she soaked his shirt and leaned on him. It took everything in him not to chase down her brother and knock some sense into him. But, in true Erin fashion, she’d wiped her tears and moved forward.

  “He lives in Bozeman. He stops by sometimes.”

  Based on her tone and the fact she still hadn’t met his eyes again, that wasn’t a good thing.

  “Let’s not talk about me. We’re in this beautiful room dancing to lovely music. Tell me about your wedding. Cynthia says it’s going to be unlike anything she’s planned before.”

  She smiled up at him again, but it was forced, the glimmer in her eye he’d looked forward to seeing, now gone. Her body straightened, no longer leaning into him. It was the slightest step away from him, a whisper of a move, but enough for him to sense she’d put a guard up, the vulnerable friend from a few moments ago gone. But why?

  Their bodies moved to the music, unaware of others around them. He hated to admit it but, for the first time in weeks, he didn’t want to think about or talk about the wedding. Listening to Erin tell him about her life was all he wanted.

  “If you talk to Cynthia then you probably already know all the details.”

  “She’s been so busy planning this as well as the wedding. We’ve only really talked about using Tanner Ranch for the ceremony. A decision I still can’t quite wrap my head around.”

  “It’s a great property. You know that. If we clean out the barn and spruce it up some, it will be just right.”

  “It will be December in Montana, Lucas. You really think a barn wedding is a good idea?”

  If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was trying to talk him out of things the way his brothers had. But her teasing smile told him otherwise.

  “We’re bringing in heaters, and we’ll serve lots of hot chocolate and coffee. It’ll be great.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “You haven’t changed much have you? Still Mr. Optimistic. If there’s a will, there’s a way, right?”

  “Exactly.”

  Her laughter sounded like a song in his ears.

  The band stopped playing but he didn’t let her go. He didn’t want to. Looking in to her eyes, the glimmer having returned, he wanted nothing more than to stay there as long as possible.

  “You haven’t introduced me to your friend, Lucas.”

  Vanessa’s voice snapped him from his trance. Erin stepped away from him and out of his arms as if his touch had burned her. A fake smile was now plastered on her face and she blinked as if returning back to the room herself.

  The spell was broken.

  *

  “Vanessa.”

  Lucas said his fiancée’s name, and Erin’s heart dropped to the floor. She pasted a smile on her face and held out her hand.

  “I’m Erin. Erin Tanner. My family owns Tanner Ranch. You must be Lucas’s bride-to-be. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  Vanessa shook Erin’s hand and smiled wide. “All good things, I hope.”

  “Of course.”

  How she’d come up with the words or even a voice to speak, she had no clue. Her heart was racing in her chest. This was not how she imagined meeting the future Mrs. Lucas St. Claire. When the night began, she’d had every intention of making an appearance at the party, saying a quick hello to Vanessa to do her duty as the lead contact at Tanner Ranch, then going home. Avoiding Lucas had been in the plan, as well. Dancing with him, being in his arms, was one hundred percent not a part of how she’d envisioned the night.

  Vanessa moved beside Lucas and placed her hand in his, entwining their fingers together. “We’re both so happy to meet you. Your family’s property is exactly what we’ve been looking for. A country wedding has always been our dream.”

  Lucas made a face and looked down at Vanessa but didn’t say anything.

  “Although it looks as if you and Lucas already know one another.”

  Erin’s gut clenched as Vanessa looked from Lucas back to Erin. She’d seen that look in a woman’s eyes before. Well, in the eyes of a teenage girl who wanted nothing more than to stake claim to her own territory.

  Erin fought back the urge to roll her eyes. Seriously? Was high school ever over?

  “Our families know each other from years ago. That’s all.” Erin answered since Lucas still had a somewhat stunned and clueless look on his face and hadn’t been able to speak.

  They scooted off to the side of the dance floor, couples wanting the space to move as another song began to play.

  “I’m so glad you could come tonight, Erin.” Vanessa wrapped her arm around Lucas’s waist.

  It made Erin think of a koala clinging to a tree. Lucas had his arm around Vanessa’s shoulder, but stood stiff as if the moment was as uncomfortable for him as it was for Erin.

  That was debatable.

  “I appreciate the invite. Cynthia said you wanted us to meet.”

  “And I’m so glad we have.” She gave Erin that look again. The one that said, “He’s mine. Back off.”

  Before Erin said or did something stupid, she put her hand out once more for Vanessa to shake. “Well, I’m glad we have as well. It was nice to meet you. With Cynthia in charge, I’m sure the wedding will be a success.”

  Vanessa shook her hand while Lucas lifted one side of his mouth in a weird smile. With that, she nodded to both and turned to leave, moving as if a fire were at her heels. The man working the coat check took little time to find the long, heavy wrap she’d also borrowed from Cynthia and, with a word of gratitude, Erin flung it around her shoulders and almost ran out the front door.

  In the safety of her truck, the heater blasting as well as the music, Erin’s heart began to return to a normal state of beating. Able to drive the roads home in her sleep, she relaxed against the leather seat and began to come down. What a night! Tears reared their ugly head but she blinked them away. She’d already cried too many tears over Lucas St. Claire.

  Jana Kramer sang on the radio about the guy she loved but that had left her showing up, being nice and looking good. No kidding! Why couldn’t Lucas had gained fifty pounds and lost all his hair? Oh no. He had to come up to her in a dark blue suit cut to fit him like a glove, his arms around her still as muscular as they were years ago, even more so now. His blond hair longer than before, the hints of red more prominent. And why were his blue eyes filled with affection when he looked at her? Why couldn’t he have turned into a jerk Erin could have taken one look at and gone, “Nope. Not at all what I’ve dreamed of,” allowing her to move on and never look back.

  But that was the problem right there. She’d spent so much time looking back. Clinging to the memories she had of her and Lucas. Ones that meant so much more to her than they ever had to him. After all, he’d fallen in love with, and was marrying, someone else.

  She pulled into the drive of Tanner Ranch and cut the engine. Slamming the door of the truck after she climbed out didn’t help relieve her frustration any. Dropping her keys and purse on the table inside the door, she went straight to her room, not wanting to talk to her dad about the evening just yet. The TV was on in his room so he was settling in for the night anyway.

  She closed the door of her room behind her and sat down on the bed. After kicking off the gorgeous shoes she’d borrowed from Cynthia, she tossed them aside. Standing once more, she peeled off the skirt and top and was in her favorite sweats and long-sleeved t-shirt in no time. In the bathroom, she scrubbed her face of makeup and took out her contacts, grateful that with each moment a sense of her true self returned.

  “You fool.” Her reflection in the bathroom mirror agreed.

  She shook her head and returned to her room, berating herself for thinking anything good could have come from this night. Cynthia meant well, but Erin’s Cinderella moment for sure hadn’t happened, and it wasn’t ever going to, at least not with Lucas St. Claire.
/>   Curled up under her favorite throw blanket on her bed, she put on her reading glasses, opened a book, and spent the rest of the night the way she should have all along. Lost in a story that ended well, not trying to make her own story be something it was never going to be.

  Chapter Six

  Lucas lounged on a sofa in the family room of the St. Claire house. He’d done enough brooding in his suite, going over and over in his mind what had happened at the engagement party. Since then, it had been all about wedding plans, but at this point, Vanessa was doing most of it and spending almost all her time at the Graff.

  If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was avoiding him and his family, but even in New York, she was that way. Independent. Busy. Focused on work or her current task. Which at the moment was their wedding. He’d never thought it odd that, although they loved being together, he and Vanessa didn’t see one another all that much.

  They’d met through mutual friends while at an art gallery opening. They’d talked all night about their families, about what was required of them growing up with the intent to someday run the empires their fathers had built. In a rare moment of vulnerability, Lucas admitted feeling as if he was always “on” with the world watching him, expecting a person who wasn’t really him. Vanessa had let her guard down as well and agreed that her role in her family forced her to live the same way. By the time he’d driven her home well after midnight, he’d fallen for her.

  They had similar backgrounds, which was something he hadn’t realized was important until he’d met Vanessa. Most women in his world either had money and only wanted to marry to keep their status secure, or wanted money and were fine to marry for that reason alone. He and Wes had talked about it quite a bit before Wes had found Noelle. It was one of the reasons Wes had been all work and no play. Well, and his oldest brother was wired with more ambition than most people knew what to do with.

  Lucas thought for sure Wes would fall for someone not unlike Vanessa. Driven. All business. But knowing Noelle, he could see why Wes had tripped head over heels for her. She was driven, but in a different way. Scarred by heartache in her past, she’d pulled herself up by her bootstraps and begun again. She was an angelic force to be reckoned with.