Naked Truth (Crimson Romance)

Avon, Massachusetts

Copyright © 2014 by Tami Lund.
All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by

Crimson Romance

an imprint of F+W Media, Inc.

10151 Carver Road, Suite 200

Blue Ash, OH 45242. U.S.A.

www.crimsonromance.com

ISBN 10: 1-4405-8360-9

ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-8360-5

eISBN 10: 1-4405-8361-7

eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-8361-2

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in this novel are either the product of the author's imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The resemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.

Cover art © iStockphoto.com/LesByerley

For Mom, the original cheerleader.

Kennedy St. George stepped up behind her cousin who stood in front of an ornate full-length mirror, staring at the big, white dress reflected there. “Hey, you coming? We can’t exactly have a wedding without the bride.”

Sabrina blinked rapidly until her eyes focused, until, Kennedy suspected, the tears receded. “How are you doing?” her cousin asked instead of answering the question.

“I should have known better,” Kennedy murmured. No point in pretending she didn’t know what the bride was asking. “There were hurricane warnings on my wedding day.”

“The weather is not an accurate predictor of happily ever after,” Sabrina gently chided. Kennedy pointedly looked at the window, which framed a gloriously beautiful, late spring day. Sabrina rolled her eyes.

“You and Cullen are perfect for each other,” Kennedy responded. “Jerry and I … weren’t.”

“We are hardly perfect for one another, although Cullen is the perfect guy.” She absently twisted the engagement ring on her finger, a dreamy smile on her lips.

Cullen was often gruff, swore like a sailor, and quite possibly did not own a razor. He was lousy at small talk and awkward at family functions. But he was loyal to a fault, adored Sabrina to the point of obsession, and if one liked scruffy guys, he was definitely handsome.

Sabrina laughed. “You don’t think so. I can tell. Which is okay, because he’s about to be my husband, not yours. What’s your version of the perfect guy?”

“No guy is perfect.”

“Fair enough, but what type of guy would make you happy?”

“Anyone besides Jerry.”

That earned her a stern look from Sabrina’s reflection in the mirror.

“Okay, okay,” Kennedy relented. “I’ll play your game. Let’s see … perfect guy …”

“Someone who doesn’t cheat.”

“That’s a given,” Kennedy pointed out, although she understood why her cousin mentioned it.

“What else?”

“This is hard.” She pondered the question. “I guess I’d like someone who proves he cares by his actions instead of just saying it all the time.”

“That’s reasonable.”

“And I’d like someone who has his own life, too. You know I work a lot of hours at the hospital, and I like what I do. I imagine I’d come to resent a guy who expects me to work a nine-to-five schedule just because it fits his needs.”

“Considering I’m marrying an FBI agent, and agents definitely don’t work regular hours, I get that. Anything else?”

“I’m not into going out on the town all the time, clubbing and such. So when we would get to spend time together, I’d want to do it at home, cooking together or watching a movie or, I don’t know, just hanging out—that’s my idea of a perfect evening.”

“So no party animals for you.”

“Nope. But he still has to be—” she cut herself off.

“Good in bed?” They shared a laugh. Sabrina abruptly sobered and said, “I think you should start dating again. In fact, Joey, one of the groomsmen, is single, and he’s really sweet. Good looking, too. I bet he fits at least some of your criteria.”

“Don’t even think about setting me up at your wedding.”

“Weddings are the perfect place to meet someone.”

“Weddings are the perfect place to meet a one-night stand, and if I’m not interested in dating, I’m sure as heck not interested in
that
.”

“Why not? Not about the one-night stand necessarily, but about dating at all?”

Sabrina’s earnestness invited an honest response. But Kennedy didn’t know how to respond. Five years ago, she’d married a man who’d swept her off her feet, who’d given her empty promises about rainbows and unicorns. Two years later, he’d stolen every last nickel and charged her credit cards to the max before disappearing out of her life.

The official story was that he’d cheated on her, so she’d demanded the divorce. That was humiliating enough, but she figured if everyone knew the truth—that he’d literally stolen everything while she’d been stupidly unaware—that would be ten times worse. Cheating was, unfortunately, a fact of life. It happened, you moved on, and you hoped to find someone new, someone who wouldn’t cheat. But your own husband leaving you with literally no recourse whatsoever? There was something far more … embarrassing about that, at least in Kennedy’s mind.

“How can I?” Kennedy asked, sticking with the lie she’d told everyone, even her cousin and best friend. “How can I trust someone again?”

Sabrina adjusted her veil and squeezed her fist around the white-with-blue-embroidery handkerchief in her hand. “You just do. I don’t know how to explain it. You just reach a point where you realize this man is the one, and you are going to put all of your trust in him because you are so in love you don’t really have a choice.”

“I did that with Jerry, remember?”

“Did you, really?” Kennedy averted her eyes. What her cousin implied was right. The hurricane on the day of her wedding hadn’t been the only warning sign. She had just been a fool and refused to pay attention.

“I won’t ever make that mistake again,” she vowed.

“Certainly not if you never date again.”

She smirked. “It’s safer that way.”

“Safe isn’t fun. Live a little. Enjoy yourself today. Dance with Joey. Flirt with him. See where it leads.” Before Kennedy could protest again, Sabrina turned away from the mirror and lifted the billowing, white skirt. “Now come on, I want to get married.”

Kennedy grabbed the train to make it easier for Sabrina to walk.
I can’t take the chance
, she thought as she followed her cousin out of the bride’s room.

• • •

They met the groomsmen in the lobby, just outside the chapel. Cullen’s brother, Marshall, was the best man, a less scruffy and slightly shorter version of the groom. When he saw the bride, he smiled widely and spread his arms as if he intended to hug her, but caught himself and squeezed her hand instead, murmuring that she was beautiful and Cullen was a hell of a lucky guy.

Cullen’s FBI agent partner, Jack Boudreaux, wasn’t nearly so couth. When he saw the bride, he gave a loud wolf whistle and pulled her into a bear hug, lifting her off her feet and causing her to squeal. Kennedy expected the bride’s uptight sister, Vanessa, to snap at him for crushing the bride’s dress, but she simpered instead.

Kennedy supposed she could understand. Cullen’s partner was an incredibly attractive man. Although Cullen and Sabrina had been dating for a year now, Kennedy hadn’t yet met his closest friend. Now that she was admiring him from only a few feet away, she was sort of glad she hadn’t. He was James Bond with thick, blond hair and a clean-shaven jawline, and he looked damn good in a tux.

Damn good
.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t come across hot guys throughout the course of the last three years, so why was her heart racing? Why did she feel flushed? She forced herself not to fan her face, even as she worried that she was breaking out in a sweat and might ruin her makeup.

Not going there
. Jerry had been good-looking, too, and look where that had gotten her.

He wasn’t this good-looking
.

Kennedy wanted to tell her inner voice to shut the hell up. Besides, Joey was the groomsman Sabrina had suggested she get to know better. Sabrina had said precious little about Jack over the course of her and Cullen’s courtship, other than the occasional comment about him being a playboy. Which explained why she wouldn’t have suggested Kennedy break free of her self-induced, nun-like lifestyle with him. Another cheater wasn’t on the agenda.

“I was just informed that you and I are walking into the chapel together.”

Kennedy shifted her focus to the man who was speaking, the very man she had just been salivating over. “Uh, we are?”

He did that slow perusal thing with his eyes that guys did when they wanted a girl to know they liked what they saw. A slow smile curved his lips. “Yep.”

She recognized that look. She may have been out of the dating game for far too long, but she still understood the process. What she didn’t know was how to respond.

“No, no,” Vanessa interrupted, as she wedged herself between them. “You and I should walk down the aisle together.” She batted thickly mascaraed lashes and smiled coyly. Kennedy resisted the urge to stick her finger into her mouth in a gagging motion. They weren’t in high school anymore, even if Vanessa was acting like a lovesick teenager.

“Cullen told me he’ll kick my ass if I don’t do what the wedding planner tells me,” Jack commented. “And she said I’m supposed to walk in with the hot brunette.”

Hot brunette? Was he talking about her?

Vanessa brushed a perfectly coifed blond curl off her shoulder and lifted her chin. With an audible sniff, she said, “The pictures will look better if you and I are in them together.”

Jack arched his brows. “I could’ve sworn this wedding was about Cullen and Sabrina. Not you.”

Vanessa opened her mouth to retort, but the wedding planner grabbed her arm in a vise-like grip and dragged her away to stand alone at the end of the processional.

“Where’s the best man?” Kennedy asked, as she watched Vanessa argue with the wedding planner.

“Already inside with the groom. Cullen was looking a little panicked, so the priest suggested his brother be up there for moral support.”

“Oh no. He isn’t having second thoughts, is he?”

Jack chuckled. “Hell no. If he could’ve had his way, Cullen would’ve carted her off to Vegas a year ago. Sabrina wanted this dog and pony show, and he’s doing it because he loves her, but he hates being in the spotlight like this.” He abruptly changed the subject. “So Cullen tells me you’re the bride’s BFF.”

“Yes. We’re cousins as well.”

“How come stalker woman is the maid of honor?”

“You mean Vanessa? She’s Sabrina’s sister.” Kennedy giggled, taking herself by surprise. When was the last time she’d giggled in the presence of someone of the opposite sex who wasn’t related to her?

“She’s scary as hell. I haven’t been pursued like that in a long time.”

“Vanessa has been pursuing you?”

Jack nodded. “She practically attacked me as soon as I walked into the church. I’m not really into that. I’m into more subtle women.”

She ignored the last bit and blurted, “She’s married.”

Jack arched those sleek, blond brows again. “Now I’m really glad I didn’t let her catch me. I’m not into married women either.”