Authors: Samantha Chase
More of Me
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Copyright © 2013, 2015 by Samantha Chase
Cover and internal design © 2015 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover design by Dawn Adams/Sourcebooks, Inc.
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“We need your help.”
Looking up from the report he was reading, William Montgomery could not conceal his surprise. His ever-independent son Mackenzie was actually admitting he needed his help? Quickly masking his glee, William simply said, “Anything.”
Mac shifted uncomfortably. “Here's the thing,” he began and then growled slightly. “Gina got a call from her mother this morning. Apparently she fell and broke her hip. She's going to need surgery and someone to take care of her, so as soon as we can arrange it, Gina's heading to San Francisco to spend a couple of weeks there.”
William shrugged and smiled. “Okay. I don't see what that has to do with me, butâ¦okay.”
Mac shot his father a look of annoyance. “I have a trip scheduled that will have me in London for at least a week.”
Again, William simply shrugged and nodded. “I'm aware.”
“The wedding is only three months away, Dad. A lot needs to be done. We had scheduled a meeting with the wedding planner to go over venues and whatever else it is that you're supposed to do with wedding planners.” William was unsure exactly why Mac was involved at all. From what he had heard, Gina knew exactly what she wanted, and Mac would do anything to make her happy.
“So you need me to meet with the planner and help while you're gone? Is that it?” Mac nodded. “Consider it done. When do you need me to do that?”
“Now.”
“Now?” Mac nodded grimly, and William straightened in his seat and did a quick mental checklist of what he had planned for the afternoon. “It's a little short notice, Mac,” he admitted. “I'll get Rose to cancel my afternoon appointments, and we'll make this happen. Will you have time to sit with us for at least a little while?”
“Absolutely. As a matter of fact, Casey is here now, with Gina in my office. We can call them in here or go down the hall⦔
William stood. “We'll go to them.” William stopped to let his assistant know what was going on; then he and his son walked together down the wide hallway. At the door to Mac's office, the sound of female laughter greeted them.
“Ladies,” Mac said as he crossed the room to kiss Gina on the cheek. “My father has graciously agreed to help us out during our absence. Casey Peterson, may I introduce my father, William Montgomery?”
“It's a pleasure to meet you, sir,” she said with a smile and a twinkle in her blue eyes, standing to shake his hand. “I hear that you had a hand in getting Mac and Gina together.”
William gestured for her to sit back down and took his own seat. “While I'd like to take the credit for it, they were meant to be together.” He smiled at the couple who were sitting close together on the sofa before turning his attention back to Casey. “So, what can I do to help?”
“Well,” Casey began, looking for confirmation from Gina, “one of the first things we had planned for next week was to make a final decision on the venue. Mac and Gina have it narrowed down to two places, and it's probably a good thing that you can offer a third opinion, because they are having a tough time.” She smiled at them both before continuing. “Once that's settled, we will be making final decisions on menus, flowers, programs”âshe rifled through her folder to make sure she covered everythingâ“and of course the invitation will go to the printer immediately after all locations and times are confirmed. The sooner we get the information to the printer, the sooner we get our proofs back and can get them out in the mail.” She looked up at the three of them. “How does that sound so far?”
William's head was spinning a little. “So far? How much more is there?”
Casey went through the file again. “A lot of this can be done via email and over the phone with Gina, but I know she is going to be busy with her mother. We're making arrangements for her gown to be sent to a bridal shop in San Francisco, so she can get started on her fittings, and her bridal party will be taken care of here in Charlotte. From what I understand, Maggie Montgomery will be overseeing that, correct?”
Gina nodded. “She's Jason's wife and the epitome of organization.”
“Maybe Maggie would be a better fit for this,” William interrupted. “Or maybe your mother?” he suggested to Mac.
The couple both shook their heads. “Mom is taking care of coordinating all of the travel arrangements for family and friends, as well as all the pre-wedding activities that she wants to host. We don't want to add another thing to her plate, Dad,” Mac said. “Besides, with all the hard work you put into getting us together, we thought you'd enjoy being involved with the wedding.”
William gave a knowing smile. “You make it sound like it's a good thing, but I think you're trying to get some sort of revenge on me. This is not my thing,” he said apologetically. “Not that I can't do itâ¦It's just that I don't know if I can give it all of the attention it deserves.”
“If I can just interrupt for a second,” Casey said, leaning forward and placing a hand on William's arm. “There may be times that you're needed out in Wilmington, but I will be sure that it works for your schedule before I make any appointments. I promise to keep any disruptions to a minimum.”
“Wilmington?” William said, turning toward Mac and Gina with a bit of surprise. “When did the two of you decide to have the wedding in Wilmington?”
Mac and Gina looked at one another and smiled. “We always knew we wanted the wedding to be on the coast, so we spent a week scouting locations. We spent a weekend in Wilmington,” Gina said, “and we knew that was the place. We had a great time there,” she added with a blush.
William grinned from ear to ear. He knew that Mac and Gina were perfect for one another, and watching the two of them together gave him endless pleasure. He only wished Gina's father had lived to see this day. “Okay, Wilmington it is!” Just as he was about to address Casey about getting things scheduled, William had a brilliant idea. “You know,” he began, “your uncle Robert has a couple of houses at Wrightsville Beach and he mentioned to me that Ryder was spending the summer there. Maybe he can help with some of this whenever I'm not available.”
“Dad, that's a lot to ask of a cousin. I mean, we've always been close, but from what I understood from the last time he and I talked, Ryder was on sabbatical because he's exhausted. I can't ask him to give up his much-needed vacation time to help plan our wedding.”
“Ryder Montgomery is your cousin?” Casey asked in a weak voice.
William's head snapped around. “You know Ryder?”
With a slight blush, Casey nodded. “Weâ¦umâ¦his family rented a home on the beach some years ago just down the road from mine. We datedâ¦brieflyâ¦when he was there. It was a long time ago. I thought he lived in California now?”
“He does,” William said, suddenly pleased with the direction of the conversation. “He moved there right after graduation.” He turned and smiled at Mac and Gina. “Isn't this a small world? With Casey and Ryder knowing one another, it will make their working together that much easier! I'm sure Ryder won't mind helping out when he knows that it's Casey he'll be working with.”
“Dadâ” Mac began as a warning.
“Nonsense,” William cut him off. “It's great how things work out sometimes. Don't get me wrong,” he said, addressing Casey again. “I'm still here to help where you need me, but my nephew will be able to take care of things that require immediate attention.” Clapping his hands together, he stood. “I love when a plan comes together. Now if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to call my brother and then get Ryder on the phone. It was a pleasure to meet you, Casey, and I'm looking forward to working with you.” He kissed Gina good-bye and hugged Mac on his way out the door.
For a long moment, no one said a word. Finally Casey broke the silence. “Wow, he certainly is a force of nature isn't he?”
Both Mac and Gina nodded. “You have no idea.”
“What have I gotten myself into?” Casey mumbled to herself later that day as she climbed into her car. She had been thrilled at the opportunity to coordinate this wedding; Mac and Gina had been dream clients. They were well organized and had a clear vision of what they wanted their wedding to be, and Casey had seen nothing but blue skies ahead.
Until now.
While she knew it wasn't fair to blame anyoneâespecially not Gina's mother for falling and breaking her hip, or Mac for needing to be out of the countryâbeing faced with the prospect of seeing Ryder Montgomery again, the need to blame someone was strong.
Blame
yourself
for
still
allowing
even
the
thought
of
Ryder
to
make
you
crazy.
Casey hated when her inner voice was right. Twelve years later, and just the mere mention of his name had her body tingling. When the heck was that going to stop? The drive back to the coast was long, and with no one for company other than her inner voice, she knew there was no avoiding it.
Normally Casey had all of her clients come to her; the three-and-a-half-hour drive to meet with Mac and Gina had been an exception. When Gina had called her and told her their lives were in a state of chaos, Casey had taken pity on them and offered to drive the nearly two hundred miles to get to them. Her clients' happiness always came first, but this was the first time that, in making that happen, Casey would be making herself miserable.
Destination weddings were all the rage, and although coastal North Carolina wasn't exactly what most people envisioned as a destination, Casey still liked to make sure that every wedding felt like a dream come true.
Mac and Gina were textbook in theory, and there was no doubt how in love they were; however, the distance that they were willing to travel was certainly an issue. As much as Casey hated to admit it, having someone local available to help with the major decisions would have been a big bonus. But why did that local someone have to be Ryder Montgomery? Why now, after all these years, did he suddenly have to return to the North Carolina coast? Why couldn't he just have stayed thousands of miles away and left her alone?
Even
if
he
had, he's related to the groom, and you would have run in to him eventually.
“Oh, shut up,” she cursed herself. “No one likes a know-it-all.” Flipping on the radio to block out any more words of wisdom from her subconscious, Casey let herself settle into the long drive and did her best to focus on singing loudly to every song rather than on what was going to happen when she came face-to-face with Ryder again.
* * *
Being on the beach before sunrise was nothing new to Ryder Montgomery. He'd been living on the beaches of San Diego for more than ten years and taking an early-morning run along the coast was part of his routine. As he stood and inhaled the scents of the Atlantic Ocean, Ryder knew that for some reason, Wrightsville Beach would always be home.
He hadn't made a whole lot of time to come home since he'd left, but that didn't mean that everything wasn't still familiar, comforting. Stretching, Ryder tried to decide which direction to head in, and then, as if it had been yesterday and not years ago, he took off in the one direction that had always called to him.
The sun was just starting to make its debut as he made his way down the beach all by himself. No one else was privy to the start of this day, and that was the way he liked it. Soon the sand would be covered with residents and tourists alike, and Ryder knew that by that time, he'd be safely ensconced back in his home. Not that he was antisocialâfar from it. It was just that right now, at this point in his life, he needed a little quality alone time. Work had been brutal for the last several years, and as the one heading up the West Coast branch of Montgomerys, a lot of heavy responsibility had been placed on his shoulders.
Right now, the only responsibility he wanted was deciding what to eat for breakfast and nothing more.
Up ahead, a flash of bright green caught his eye. Not breaking stride, Ryder did his best to focus on it. One more person out on the large expanse of coastline shouldn't have been an issue; it was the placement of that person that had his nerves more than a little on edge.
There was no way that it was possible.
It was both too much to hope for and everything that he dreaded all at once.
The closer he got to the house at the end of this particular section of the beach, Ryder knew that all of his hopes and fears were about to collide.
Casey
Peterson
.
Ryder slowed his pace as his mind raced to what he was supposed to do. She was standing out on the deck on the back of her house, looking out at the waves and the sunrise. The wind was blowing her wavy brown hair out behind her, and his fingers actually twitched as he remembered how silky it was. Soon, his other senses jumped on board the memory train, and he could no longer smell the surf, only the scent of vanilla. Casey always smelled like warm vanilla, and he had enjoyed nothing more all those summers ago than tasting every inch of her.
This was so not the relaxing morning run that he was used to. Now, every inch of him was on alert, and Ryder considered doing a quick about-face back toward his home before she saw him. Who was he kidding? Chances were that Casey wouldn't even remember him, and if she did, she'd either ignore him or find something heavy to throw at his head.
He was hoping for option one but had a feeling that she'd definitely go for option two.
He'd been a royal jackass back then. Cocky to the point of being obnoxious. Even though he knew that she was too good for him, Ryder had no choice but to get involved with her.
And then to let her go.
Twelve years was a long time to hold a grudge though, he thought to himself. What would happen if he continued on his run, stopped at the base of the stairs that led up to her house, and said a quick hello? In business, Ryder was the poster boy for confidence, but suddenly, when faced with having to confront an ex-girlfriend from way too long ago, he felt as if every ounce of that confidence had been left back in San Diego.
How bad could it be? Wasn't it better just to rip the damn Band-Aid off all at once? Casey lived less than a mile from his family home, they were bound to run into one another eventually. Why not just get it over with so they could move on with their lives?
Because
she
may
be
pint-sized compared to you, but she has the ability to knock you on your butt.
Truer words had never been spokenâor thought.
When Ryder had told Casey that he was leaving right after graduation, the look on her face had nearly destroyed him. While the Montgomerys had money and a secure social status, Ryder had been determined to make a name for himself on his own, far away from where anyone knew who they were.
Even if it meant leaving Casey behind.
Hell, her blue eyes, so full of hurt and disappointment, still haunted him. Looking back, Ryder knew he had done the right thing. But now, as he got closer to the base of those steps, he found that he was more than a little afraid to face the woman who had been everything to him.
Never one to walk away from a challenge, Ryder jogged the last few yards to the foot of the stairs and looked up just as Casey was looking down. He knew the instant she recognized him because her face went from serene to wary to disgust in a matter of seconds.
“Hey, Casey,” he said, hating the uncertainty in his voice. Where the hell was the cool confidence that was always with him?
“Wow,” she said with barely concealed disapproval. “You certainly didn't waste any time.”
Ryder looked at her with confusion. “Waste any time? What are you talking about?”
“Mac and Gina's wedding? Your uncle said he'd be calling you, but I figured you'd at least wait until I actually needed to involve you before showing up here. And even then I figured you'd just come to the office.”
That did nothing to alleviate his confusion. “I'm afraid you've lost me, Case,” he said and saw her stiffen, Everyone used that nickname, but when he called her that, it had always made her melt.
“Didn't William call you?”
“No.”
“How about Mac?”
Ryder shook his head.
“What are you doing here, Ryder?” Wariness laced her voice.
“I'm on sabbatical⦔
Casey shook her head. “No, what are you doing
here
?”
Ryder took a deep breath and then just shook his head again. “I don't know. I came out to do my usual morning run and this is where I ended up.”
She looked at him with disbelief. “So this is all just a weird coincidence?”
“I don't know,” he admitted honestly, and before he knew what he was doing, Ryder found himself walking up the stairs toward her. When finally they were face-to-face, Ryder knew he was in deep trouble. The years simply faded away; Casey was just as beautiful as he remembered. Maybe even more so. Her big blue eyes stared up at him. “Hey,” he said softly, his own dark gaze captivating hers.
* * *
She was in trouble. Deep, deep trouble. One look at the man that Ryder had become and Casey was almost ready to melt into a puddle at his feet. He was taller than she remembered and much more muscular. Standing before her in a pair of black athletic shorts and a gray T-shirt, she knew without a doubt that he was in prime physical shape. But once her gaze settled on his face? His whiskey-colored eyes, his disheveled sandy brown hairâ¦and that dimple barely making an appearance in his right cheek made one thing abundantly clear.
Her perfectly organized world was about to be turned upside down.