The Best Man's Plan

“I doubt that mine would be half as interesting as yours.”

“Maybe we’ll compare notes someday.”

She decided to let that suggestion pass.

Looking over his shoulder, she said, instead, “I see that your father is dancing with the senator’s wife.”

A muscle twitched in Bryan’s jaw. “Is he?”

“You find that surprising?”

“Not really. My father has always had a knack for staying on friendly terms with his exes. Too bad I didn’t inherit the talent—my relationships always seem to crash and burn.”

“You and Chloe have certainly remained good friends.”

“But Chloe and I were never involved in what you would call a real relationship,” he reminded her in a murmur.

Because other couples were dancing nearby, she said no more about her sister, asking instead, “So your father dated the senator’s wife before he married your mother?”

Bryan lifted an eyebrow. “That’s an uncharacteristically naive comment, coming from you. That lovely lady was still in junior high when my parents married.”

“Oh.” She looked again at the attractive blonde dancing with Richard Falcon, and felt foolish for not immediately realizing the truth.

“My parents have a very modern and sophisticated marriage,” Bryan added dispassionately. “Discreet dalliances are allowed—even encouraged—as long as they’re conducted quietly and carefully.”

Grace gave Bryan a hard look. “If that’s what your family considers a marriage, I’m even more relieved that Chloe met Donovan.”

“I said it was my parents’ idea of marriage, not mine.”

She thought about that as the music ended and they moved a few steps apart. Bryan implied that he wanted a more traditional marriage than what his parents had, and yet he’d never pretended to be in love with Chloe, even when he proposed to her. He’d described a marriage based on friendship, affection, a mutual desire for children—but romance had nothing to do with it.

From what she’d seen of his parents, it was no wonder he was confused about what a real marriage was supposed to be. She thought of her own parents, who had recently celebrated their thirtieth wedding anniversary. They had married for love and had kept the promises they’d made to each other through good times and the inevitable hard times. And they were still the best of friends.

That was the type of marriage Grace wanted for Chloe and Donovan. It was what she had hoped for when she’d become engaged to Kirk—until she’d belatedly realized that his idea of a wife was someone who stood on the sidelines cheering him on. Someone who catered to his every whim, and made herself over to suit him. Grace had found herself incapable of becoming that person—not even to please the man she’d thought she loved.

“All this dancing has made me thirsty,” Bryan commented. “Why don’t I find us a couple of glasses of champagne?”

She nodded. “I’d like to freshen up a bit. I’ll rejoin you in a few minutes.”

His wicked smile made a sudden reappearance when he caught her hand and lifted it to his lips. “I’ll be counting the moments until you’re with me again. Hurry back, darling.”

She sighed. “Stuff it in your ear, Falcon.”

His low laugh followed her as she turned and marched away.

She was standing in front of a gilt-framed mirror in the crystal-and-marble appointed ladies’ lounge, a tube of lipstick in her hand, when a tall brunette approached her. “You’re here with Bryan Falcon, aren’t you?”

After recapping the lipstick, Grace dropped the tube into her tiny black evening bag. “Yes, I am.”

“I’m Katherine Stanley.”

“Grace Pennington. Are you a friend of Bryan’s?”

“Oh, no. I don’t travel in his circles. I’m a financial reporter for the state newspaper. I’ve written quite a bit about his business ventures, and I met him once at a business seminar, but I doubt that he would even remember me.”

“You might be surprised. Bryan has a phenomenal memory for names and faces.” Especially, Grace would guess, if the face in question was this pretty.

Katherine shrugged modestly. “Perhaps. Anyway…what’s it like being involved with a man like Bryan Falcon?”