Jules Bennett – From Best Friend to Bride (страница 1)
This was his best friend, yet with the way she was all but spilling out of her barely there black dress, his thoughts weren’t very friend-like at the moment.
Hadn’t he just pep-talked himself into trying to keep his thoughts out of the gutter?
“Wh-what are you doing here?” she asked.
Why was her voice all breathy and sultry?
Cameron dropped his hands, took a step back, but that didn’t help his hormones settle down. Now he was able to see just how hot she looked wearing that second-skin dress that hit her upper thigh at a very indecent level.
Jealousy ripped through him. “Where the hell are you going like that?”
The St. Johns of Stonerock: Three rebellious brothers come home to stay
From Best Friend to Bride
Jules Bennett
Award-winning author JULES BENNETT is no stranger to romance—she met her husband when she was only fourteen. After dating through high school, the two married. He encouraged her to chase her dream of becoming an author. Jules has now published nearly thirty novels. She and her husband are living their own happily-ever-after while raising two girls. Jules loves to hear from readers through her website, www.julesbennett.com, her Facebook fan page or on Twitter.
There’s nothing like spending all of your days with your best friend. This book is dedicated to not only my best friend, but my real-life hero. Love you, Michael, and I love our very own happily ever after.
Contents
“You know how to please a man.”
Megan Richards desperately wished those words coming from her best friend’s kissable lips had been said in a different context. Alas, Cameron St. John was only referring to the medium-well steak she had grilled, and not a bedroom romp.
One day she would shock them both when she declared her desire, her need for the man she’d known since kindergarten, when he’d pulled her pigtails and she’d retaliated by taking her safety scissors to his mullet. A mutual respect was instantly born, and they’d been friends since—sans pigtails and mullet.
“I figured you’d been eating enough take-out junk and needed some real food,” she told him, watching in admiration as he picked up their dinner plates and started loading her dishwasher.
Since his back was turned, she soaked up the view. The man came by his rippled beauty honestly, with hours dedicated to rigorous workouts. She worked out, too—just last night she’d exercised with a box of cookies—which would be the main reason his body was so perfectly toned while hers was so perfectly dimpled and shapely.
Cameron closed the dishwasher door and gave the countertop a swift swipe with the cloth before turning to face her. With his hands resting on either side of his narrow hips, he might have looked all laid-back and casual, but the man positively reeked of alpha sexiness. His impressive height and broad shoulders never failed to send a sucker punch straight to her active hormones.
Too bad he was married to his job as chief of police in Stonerock, Tennessee. Besides, she was too afraid to lose him as a friend to really open up and let years of emotions come pouring out. Well, that and Cameron and his family had been the only true stability she’d known since her parents were killed in a car accident during a snowstorm when they’d been traveling up north to visit friends. Megan couldn’t risk damaging the bond she had with Cam.
Oh, and he’d made it perfectly clear on more than one occasion that he wouldn’t get into a committed relationship. Not as long as he was in law enforcement, thanks to an incident involving his partner when they’d been rookies.
Yup, he didn’t do relationships; just like he didn’t do healthy food.
“I don’t eat junk,” he defended himself.
Megan tipped her head, quirking a brow.
“I’ll have you know that Burger-rama is real food, and they know my order without me even repeating it.” Cameron crossed his arms over his wide chest and offered her that lady-killer smile.
Laughing, Megan came to her feet. “I rest my case.”
With a quick glance at his watch, Cameron pushed off the counter and sighed. “I better get going. I need to rest before heading out tonight.”
She had no clue what he was working on; she rarely did. He was pretty adamant about keeping his work absent from their conversations. He’d tell the occasional funny drunken-fight story, but when it came to a serious investigative case, he was pretty tight-lipped.
Whatever he was working on must be major, seeing as how he’d been heading out to work at midnight several nights a week—not something a chief normally did. The new lines between his brows and the dark circles beneath his eyes spoke volumes about his new schedule.
“You’re working yourself to death. You know that, right? Between all the crazy hours and the junk food. You can’t be getting enough sleep.”
One corner of his mouth tipped up in a smile. That cocky, charming grin always had the same heart-gripping impact. How many women had been mesmerized by that beautiful, sexy smile?
“I’ll be fine,” he assured her, pulling her into a friendly hug. “This case should wrap up soon, and I’ll be back to somewhat normal hours, complete with sleep. The junk food remains, though.”
Two out of three wasn’t too bad. Besides, normal for him meant ten-hour days instead of twelve or fourteen. Reminding him of his father’s bypass surgery last year would do no good. The St. John men were a stubborn bunch. She should know; she’d been the family sidekick since grade school.
Megan kept her mouth shut and wrapped her arms around his waist as she slowly inhaled his familiar scent. Closing her eyes, she wished for so much. She wished Cam would wake up and see how deeply she cared for him, she wished her brother would straighten his life out and she wished she knew what to do about the out-of-town job offer she’d just received.
None of those things were going to happen right now, so she held on tight and enjoyed the moment of being enveloped by the man she’d loved for years. If friendship was all they were destined for, then she’d treasure what she had and not dwell on the unattainable.