BEAUTY AND THE BEST MAN Read Online Free PDF Page B

come.”
    “Me, too,” Angie said, “but he’s still seeming so...fragile to me lately.”
    Her father’s health had affected all of the Lassiters in one way or another. J.D. was a legend in Cheyenne, and seeing someone so much larger than life suddenly becoming almost frail was hard. For everyone.
    “On another note entirely,” Angie continued, “I noticed you and Matt haven’t been fighting lately. No arguing, no snide comments...”
    “We’ve come to an...understanding,” she said without giving away too much information.
    “Which is?”
    “I’m not sure.” Frowning, Kayla thought back over the past couple of weeks. They’d spent so much time together, yet Matt hadn’t once tried to seduce her. Hadn’t even kissed her. What was he up to? After that frenzied night they’d shared, he’d completely backed off. But he hadn’t gone away, either. True to his word, he was inserting himself into her life, making it impossible to ignore him.
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    Kayla lifted her coffee cup for a sip, then cradled the mug between her palms, letting the heat slide into her skin. “It means having him back here is good. But it’s also confusing.”
    Angie smiled. “From everything you’ve told me—and by the way let me say again that you should have told me all of this nine months ago—”
    “I know,” Kayla agreed. Two weeks ago, she had finally confessed the whole truth about her and Matt’s relationship to her friend. After being furious at having been kept in the dark all those months, Angie had been supportive. “You’re right. Again.”
    “Thank you,” Angie said. “I think Matt’s trying to let you get used to the idea of him being with you with none of the sexual tension.”
    “That’s what you think,” she muttered.
    Angie laughed. “Ooh, interesting. So there’s still tension. But the question is, are you enjoying having Matt around?”
    “Absolutely.” The word had popped out before she could even think about holding it in.
    Angie grinned. “That’s the good news. Now the bad news?”
    “That’s easy. How can I trust him?” Kayla set her coffee cup down on the table. “He lives in L.A., Angie. And I live here. What will I do when he leaves again?”
    “How can you trust him? People do occasionally learn and grow, Kayla,” her friend said quietly. “And it sounds to me like he discovered he really didn’t like his life without you in it and so he came back home.”
    “For how long?”
    “You want guarantees?” Angie asked, shaking her head. “There aren’t any. Even as wonderful as Evan is, as happy as we are together—there’s no guarantee for us, either.”
    “And that doesn’t worry you?”
    “If I focused on it, it probably would,” Angie admitted. “I choose to focus on the fact that I love him. And I know that he loves me.”
    Which was something Kayla didn’t know about Matt. He had never said those three specific words. The words that would maybe make taking a chance just a little easier.

Six
    I t was a great party.
    Matt looked around the room at the friends and family gathered
for Evan and Angelica’s rehearsal dinner. Sage Lassiter was standing against the
wall, nursing a single beer and looking as though he’d rather be anywhere else.
Marlene Lassiter, Angie’s aunt, brought J.D. a tall bottle of water, and Matt
was sure the older man wished it was a beer. And J.D.’s nurse Colleen looked
fabulous in a red dress that gave the society women here tonight a run for their
money.
    Angie was cuddled in close to Evan and as the happy couple
whispered together and shared a secretive smile, Matt frowned to himself. Where the hell is Kayla? As the maid of honor she had
attended the rehearsal but when he’d tried to give her a lift to the dinner,
she’d insisted on driving her own car. Had she gone home? Was she trying to
avoid him?
    Scowling, he took a sip of his scotch. If she didn’t show up in
a few minutes, he’d go looking