Northern Rebel Daring in the Dark - By Jennifer Labrecque Page 0,7
about his wedding to the unknown Tansy should make her feel kind of queasy. So, he was yet another man who wanted to flirt with her while his woman waited in the wings. They all made her sick.
“So actually, planning the wedding has been a nightmare. But I’m here now. And the ball and chain ceremony is tomorrow. I’m kind of surprised she didn’t decide to have it at the airstrip when the plane lands.”
Ball and chain ceremony? She felt a load of sympathy for the unknown Tansy if that was how he felt about marrying her.
“My brother’s been trying to get married for almost a year now,” he said to Delphi in explanation.
An inexplicable sense of relief trickled through her. Ah, okay, the ball and chain comment wasn’t quite as offensive and the bride-to-be was no longer a woman to be pitied, at least not based on Delphi’s current knowledge.
“We’re twins and I’m the best man but the military kept deciding otherwise,” he continued with a grin, which caused Delphi’s toes to tingle. “I think his fiancée will actually believe the wedding’s on when she sees me step off the plane.”
“She knows you’re on board,” Juliette said, saving Delphi from answering. So, he was coming for his brother’s wedding. Okay.
Delphi looked out the window. Even though it was mid-May, snow still capped the mountains. The view was fantastic at this altitude. Still, she hadn’t come for the scenery. What she’d craved was some solitude to get her life together and a job in her chosen profession. When Merrilee Swenson contacted her with the travel arrangements, Delphi had noticed the town tagline on the correspondence—Good Riddance, where you get to leave behind what ails you. That sounded very good to her.
“I brought your mother in yesterday,” Juliette offered, still obviously interested in the wedding details.
“I’m sorry,” Lars said, and if Delphi wasn’t so determined to be engaged by the soldier, she might’ve smiled. Once upon a time, she would’ve laughed outright. However, she simply looked out the window.
“Hey, how’d you like to be my date for the wedding?” Was there no end to what would come out of the man’s mouth? Now he was hitting on the pilot, knowing full well Delphi was listening in. Oh, brother.
“Hey, Blondie, I’m talking to you.”
Delphi was so startled she whipped her head around. Surely, Blondie? What the...? “Are you talking to me?”
A snort of laughter, which Juliette quickly tried to mask with a manufactured cough, resounded through the headset.
“Of course I’m talking to you. Juliette and her husband might object. You’re the only blonde on board and I forgot your name so... What do you say? Wanna be my date? It’s a great way to meet everyone in town and besides, you’re the only woman I’ve ever met who’s prickly enough to deal with my mother. She scares most women to death. Hell, she scares me to death.” He eyed her appraisingly across the aisle. “But you know, I think you could hold your own with Janie. So, what do you say?”
For one second she thought her head might explode. He’d answered her unspoken question. Apparently there was no limit to what he would say. She was momentarily rendered speechless. Her mind, however, raced. She was prickly enough to deal with his mother? It was small wonder the man was reduced to asking a total stranger to accompany him. She wouldn’t go with him to, well, anywhere.
She glanced over at him. If she hadn’t been so annoyed with him—and under different circumstances—she might have found his brash approach charming in a humorous sort of way. But it would be a tremendous mistake to give this man even a toehold because he’d just steamroller on through and that wasn’t part of her plan. She decided instead on consistency and merely uttered, “No, thanks.”
Juliette suffered another “coughing” paroxysm.
Delphi turned her head once again to look out the window, ready for this endless plane ride to end. And saying no was much easier when she wasn’t looking into his brown eyes alight with devilishness. It was nearly impossible to maintain a vestige of gloom, much less wallow in it, in the company of such an outrageous man.
He was altogether too much.
* * *
SHE’D ALMOST DETONATED. He’d almost set her off. He had to admit that Delphi Reynolds—of course he remembered her name—had livened up the last leg of his seemingly endless journey immeasurably. Calling her Blondie had been a stroke of genius.