Before You Say I Do Read online

  “Kenton?”

  Kenton came out of his daze to look up at Jarrod. “Uh…yeah. I know him. Do whatever you have to do to make sure Harvey gets what he wants.”

  “That’s all I needed to know,” Jarrod said, leaving the office.

  Meanwhile, Kenton finished the last of his now lukewarm coffee, trying to rewind back to Saturday. Was Lauren wearing an engagement ring? He couldn’t recall. He didn’t make it a business to go around looking at women’s left hands for rings. He was more interested in backsides and breasts. He did, however, recall that she had two boxes of takeout in her bag. One for her – the other for her fiancé, maybe?

  He didn’t like that thought. Though being a bachelor – more like a heartless playboy – required a degree of insouciance, even a jerk of a man knew when he messed up, and with Lauren, he had. She’d moved on, was possibly getting married and that irritated him. Who was this fiancé of hers anyway?

  Chapter 2

  “Guess what, Lauren?” Meadow asked as she sat at her well-lit vanity, applying concealer to her face, getting ready for date night with her husband, Joshua. The only garments she had on was a strapless black bra with a pair of matching undies. She’d slide into her little black dress after she finished her makeup.

  Lauren was standing behind her with her arm crossed, wondering if she’d be as excited to go on date nights with Evan. “I’m not doing any guessing? I’m too tired to guess. You’ll just have to tell me. And where’s Joshua? I don’t like being in other people’s bedrooms. It feels intrusive.”

  “No worries. Joshua’s not coming home right now. He’s meeting me at the restaurant.”

  “I’m meeting Evan for dinner later, too,” Lauren said, trying her best to sound excited. She was actually looking forward to some one-on-one time with him. They were sharing a hotel together, but she hardly ever saw him since they checked in. Dinner with her beau would be a nice change of pace.

  “Dang. Had I known that we could’ve doubled, girl.”

  Lauren raised a brow. “Why? So Evan could talk Joshua’s ear off about investments and whatnot.”

  Meadow chuckled. “Yeah. He does like talking business, doesn’t he?”

  “A little too much if you ask me,” Lauren said. She’d recognized that when they’d first started dating, but when you find a good, intelligent black man like Evan who’s not afraid of commitment, you don’t let his excessive yapping become a turnoff. You embrace it. Learn to love it. Eventually…

  “Anyway, back to what I was saying. I got good news.”

  “Okay, and that would be…”

  “We got The Mountain Chateau!” Meadow blurted out and did a little shimmy after she said it. “Whoop, whoop.”

  Lauren narrowed her eyes. We got The Mountain Chateau her sister said like she was the one having an engagement party. “So dad lets you know before telling me and I’m the one who’s engaged. How does that work exactly?”

  “Don’t know. Don’t care. I’m just glad he got it. You’re having your engagement party at a luxury, mountain resort, sis. Isn’t that exciting?”

  “It’s cool,” Lauren said languidly.

  Via the mirror, Meadow saw Lauren roll her eyes. Why was she rolling her eyes? Meadow immediately stopped blotting concealer with her beauty sponge and turned around and faced her sister. “That’s cool? That’s all you have to say? I would’ve thought you’d be jumping for joy.”

  “Chill, Meadow. You look all frazzled.”

  “And you look like you’ve lost your best friend or puppy.”

  “I don’t have to jump up and down or wiggle my breasts to be excited. I’m glad we got the resort, okay. I didn’t think we would, so…yeah. I’m…excited. Woo whoo. Yay, us,” she said dryly. She picked up a bottle of red nail polish.

  “Okay, for real, what’s going on, Lauren?”

  “Nothing’s going on—”

  “Oh, yes there is,” she interjected. “This is your freakin’ engagement party and I’m more enthusiastic about it than you are. Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet.”

  “About an engagement party? Hardly. I love Evan, but this party was his parent’s idea, and they convinced him and our parents to go along with it. Then Evan talked me into it. Neither of us wanted it. So, there.” She twisted the cap off of the nail polish and asked, “Why does this polish smell like strawberries?”

  “Stop trying to change the subject,” Meadow said. “Whether you wanted the party or not is irrelevant. Dad’s already paid for the resort, and I’m pretty sure, if you show up with this sulky attitude, he will surely think he wasted his time and money. Do you know how much that place cost?”

  A few seconds passed before Lauren answered, “I know how much it cost, Meadow.”

  “Then you better snap out of this funk,” she said, snapping her fingers. “You know dad doesn’t like to waste money.”

  “Well, you can’t blame that on me. It’s his own fault for offering to pay for something Evan’s parents wanted.”

  “He was trying to impress them as a way of welcoming them into the Chandler Family.”

  “Okay, then send a bottle of wine—maybe even an Edible Arrangement for heaven’s sake. You don’t have to spend twenty grand to impress somebody.” Lauren placed the nail polish back on the counter.

  “You do if you’re the Harvey Chandler.”

  Lauren couldn’t dispute that. Their father was a well-known businessman – a legit investor who brought in considerable returns for his extensive clientele. What was 20K to a boss? “Well, whatever the case, that’s on him, isn’t it? Dad can’t possibly be upset with me for begrudgingly attending a function I didn’t want to have in the first place. Seriously, Meadow? Twenty thousand dollars? He may as well had opened the front door and thrown the cash out into the streets if he had an urge to squander money that badly.”

  “Oh, come on, sis. Money’s no object for dad. You know mom and dad are both super excited about you and Evan’s engagement.”

  “Yeah, super excited because they didn’t think I would get married, period. They only want grandchildren out of the deal. You do know that, right? They could give a crap about who the man is. They just want Evan to blow the dust off of my uterus so baby production can get off the ground. I bet they can’t wait to brag to all their rich friends that their grandbabies are coming over. It’s the next phase in their life—to enjoy their grandchildren.”

  Meadow chuckled. “You really are pissed about this party if you think, for one minute, our parents don’t care who you marry. They examined and cross-examined Joshua to the point where I thought he was going to give up on me altogether.”

  And yet, they didn’t do that with Evan, Lauren thought. She wondered why? Was he that good of a catch that he didn’t need to be vetted? Did her father find him appealing because they were both finance men and Evan liked to talk the language of dollars and cents just like him?

  Lauren exhaled a breath and said, “Meadow, don’t pay me no mind. I’m just so not in a partying mood.”

  “Which is weird because you were ready to twerk a week ago. What’s changed between then and now?” Meadow asked, turning around to look in the mirror again as she removed the cap from a tube of fire-engine red lipstick.

  Lauren didn’t want to bring it up, but she had to admit to herself that the idea of having this engagement party had gotten much worse since she saw him. Him, being Kenton. “I ran into someone.” And I wish I would’ve run into him with my car.

  “Who?”

  “Kenton.”

  Meadow dropped the tube of lipstick on the glass countertop of her vanity. “Kenton Lennox?” Meadow inquired.

  Lauren smirked. “Of course, Lennox. How many other Kenton’s do you know around here?”

  “Oh. Right.” She gave her sister a hard, intent look. Meadow knew how difficult it was for Lauren when she and Kenton split up. He was the man she wanted, the man she loved, but he wasn’t ready for marriage, and no matter how much Lauren may hav
e wanted to, she couldn’t make Kenton fall in love with her. No one could make someone fall in love with them. “Where did you see him?”

  “At Bryson City Barbecue of all places. He was there with his brothers and had the audacity to walk up to me and say hi.”

  “Wait…he walked up to you?”

  “Yes, like we were old kickin’-it buddies or something.”

  “Well, technically, you are old friends.”

  The frown that appeared on Lauren’s forehead said otherwise. “No, we’re not. We were in a relationship and he broke up with me. He’s my ex-boyfriend. Trust me, we’re not friends. I mean, even the way he came up to me…it’s like he did it on purpose with this super smug look on his face like ha ha, I broke your heart. Now, I’m going to come speak to you…like he’s taunting me.”

  “Maybe you just took it that way.”

  “No. It was that way because he didn’t have to say a word to me. I knew he was there, but do you think I broke my neck to skirt across the dining area to his table to speak?”

  “Why do you still let him get to you? It’s been two years since you broke up with him, right?”

  Lauren shrugged. “Something like that,” she said dismissively. But it was like that and she knew it.

  “So, how is a man who you broke up with two years ago still able to get under your skin if you don’t still have feelings for him?”

  “I don’t, but you have to understand, Meadow. He broke it off just like that.”

  “Why? You never did tell me what happened exactly.”

  “You don’t need to know every detail to get the gist of what happened.”

  “I need something more than the broad overview you gave me.”

  Lauren pulled in a breath and leaned against a tall dresser. “Okay, we were coming up on a year of dating and he wasn’t giving me any signs that he wanted us to be more serious than what we were. We enjoyed each other’s company, got along well—but I needed a commitment and he wasn’t willing to give me one.”

  “How do you know that?” Meadow crossed her legs.

  “Because I asked him to, and that’s when we fell apart. I told him I wanted to get married and if he wasn’t there yet, we needed to go our separate ways.”

  “So, if I’m hearing this correctly, you broke up with him?”

  “No. I presented him with my feelings. He could’ve taken what I said and realized he wanted to be with me and didn’t want me to be with anyone else. Instead, he chucked up the deuces and walked out like the year we’d spent together meant nothing.”

  “He threw up a—”

  “Okay, I’m exaggerating a little,” Lauren said, interrupting. “He didn’t actually throw up the deuces. He just left.”

  “Maybe he needed more time. It took Joshua two years to pop the question.”

  “Yeah, well if I would’ve wasted another year on Kenton, I’d still be miserable. But whatevs…at least I have Evan now.”

  At least I have Evan…

  Meadow frowned. She heard what her sister said, but translating it, this is what it sounded like to her: The man I wanted wasn’t ready…didn’t want me, but at least, in Evan, I found my fallback guy. And he’s willing to marry me. So, I’m going to marry him. That, she didn’t like. Her sister was too smart, too beautiful, too kind-hearted to settle for a mediocre man she wasn’t sure she wanted just because he was willing to marry her. That would be a recipe for disaster in any marriage. “Lauren, are you one-hundred percent sure Evan’s the one?”

  “Of course, I am. Evan loves me and he’s not afraid to show it. Anyway, I need to get going so I can get all prissy and cute like you. I’m meeting Evan at Sullivan’s. Where are you meeting Joshua?”

  “The Renaissance.”

  “Nice. Joshua spending big money like that?”

  Meadow laughed. “Please. I think Sullivan’s is more expensive, but we all know Evan likes to do it real big.”

  Lauren nodded. “Just like dad.”

  “Yep. Just like dad,” Meadow agreed. “Hey, I wonder why dad didn’t throw me an engagement party.”

  “You have to wonder? It’s hard to throw an engagement party for someone when you don’t even know they’re engaged.”

  “Oh, that’s right, isn’t it?” Meadow chuckled. She and Joshua had probably the shortest engagement in history. They dated for two years but were engaged for all of two weeks and had flown to Vegas to get married. “Well, I’ll continue living vicariously through you. Don’t ruin this engagement party for me, Lauren,” she joked.

  “Bye, silly.”

  “See you later.”

  Chapter 3

  Lauren found it hard to believe that she arrived at Sullivan’s before Evan. After leaving Meadow’s house, she’d gone back to the hotel, taken a shower and took her sweet time applying makeup and picking out the perfect red dress that shaped to her form. Since he had an important meeting to attend, Evan told her he’d meet her at the restaurant. Only thing was, she’d been sitting alone for well over thirty minutes nursing a glass of wine, and he had yet to show. And she couldn’t get him on the phone.

  I know I didn’t squeeze my poor toes into these high heels for nothing. She took a sip of wine and covered her face with her hands, trying to convince herself to stay another ten minutes. When her phone vibrated, she quickly answered it, taking the call from Evan.

  “Where are you?” she asked, not attempting to mask the frustration rattling her voice.

  “Sweetie, give me another twenty minutes and I’ll be there. I promise.”

  “Evan, I’ve already been waiting here alone for a half hour, looking silly like I’ve been stood up, and now you want me to wait another twenty minutes?”

  “Yes. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

  “Are you on the road already?”

  “No, but I will be. I’m just wrapping up here—”

  Lauren brought a hand to her temple. “You know what—take your time and handle whatever it is you have to do because I’m sure it’s important. I’m going to head on home.”

  Evan sighed. “Okay. I’ll make it up to you, Lauren.”

  And get stood up again? No, thanks. “No worries,” Lauren said when deep down, she wanted to scream, or better yet, choke him. “I’ll see you back at the hotel.”

  “Yep.”

  She hung up the phone and was about to signal the waiter for the check, but when she looked up, she saw him – Kenton Lennox – walking straight for her table wearing a tan suit. What was he doing here? Probably meeting with his flavor-of-the-month, but did he have to look so good while doing it? That’s one thing she used to love about Kenton – he always dressed nice and kept himself sharp. That was probably more for the ladies than for himself. He could rock a suit better than any man she’d ever seen.

  “Good evening, Lauren,” he said, pulling out a chair at her table and taking a seat without being invited.

  She hated to do it but she forced herself to look up at him, connecting to his amber gaze. Seemed the light from the candles did something enchanting to his already beautiful eyes. “What are you doing here?” she asked him, picking up her wine glass. She wasn’t going to finish it before but seeing as how she needed a little liquid courage right about now, she picked it up.

  “Oh, don’t run calling the cops. I didn’t follow you here. I just so happened—” He paused to concentrate his attention on her parted red lips touching the wine glass. “I saw you sitting here alone. Thought you could use some company.”

  “Then you thought wrong. I was just getting ready to leave.” She signaled for the waiter again and he saw her this time.

  “Madam?” the waiter said, attending to her.

  “May I have the check, please?”

  “Sure,” the waiter said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Lauren took her phone from the table and slid it back into her purse. All the while, she felt Kenton’s eyes on her with every move she made. He wasn’t shy about staring at her. He wanted he
r to know how much he’d missed her – missed having moments like this to take in all of her beauty. The neckline of the red dress she wore dipped just low enough to show the perfect amount of cleavage, and the matching red lipstick had her lips looking full and strawberry-ripe. She had her normally straight black hair in loose curls that draped her shoulders and framed her soft-toned, pretty face.

  “You look beautiful,” he told her, and he meant it.

  She ignored his compliment. Ignored him.

  Deciding to ask her a question to unnerve her a little, he asked, “Are you leaving because I’m here or because your fiancé didn’t show up?”

  She smiled, intent on not letting him get under her skin as Meadow claimed he still had the ability to do. “I guess news travels fast in this neck of the woods.”

  “It does, but as big as that ring is, I should’ve seen it when I saw you on Saturday at Bryson City Barbecue. A rock like that must’ve set your man back a pretty penny.”

  She almost glared at him but caught herself. “Doesn’t matter if it did or didn’t. It just proves how much he loves me.”

  Kenton chuckled. “Is that right?”

  “Yeah. That’s right.”

  “Because I heard, the bigger the ring, the more pretentious the marriage.”

  She laughed, letting his words roll off of her back, then responded, “This coming from a man who doesn’t know the first thing about love and commitment.”

  “Oh, but I know you, Lauren, probably better than your fancy-ring-buying fiancé does.”

  Lauren focused her attention on the waiter as he was approaching the table, handing her the black billfold. “Thank you,” she told him.

  “You’re welcome.”

  As soon as the waiter walked away, Kenton stood up and took the billfold right out of Lauren’s grasp.