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  Copyright © 2017 by Kianna Alexander

  Cover and internal design © 2017 by Sourcebooks, Inc.

  Cover design by Michael Rehder

  Cover images © XiXinXing/Getty Images, I2egulas/Getty Images

  Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor in this book.

  Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.

  P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410

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  Contents

  Front Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  A Sneak Peek of Couldn’t Ask For More

  About the Author

  Back Cover

  Chapter 1

  Imani Grant stood on the balcony of her hotel room, taking in the marvelous view. The seventh-floor suite allowed her an unobstructed look at the wide, sandy band of beach below as well as the soft, rising waves of the Atlantic lapping at the shore. The late-afternoon sun steadily crept toward the horizon, and she shielded her eyes with a hand. Knowing her girlfriends would be expecting her for the rehearsal dinner, she drew in one last deep breath of the salt-tinged air, then withdrew into the room, closing the French doors behind her.

  Since coming to Atlantic Beach earlier that morning, she’d been holed up in her room reading, relaxing, and girding her loins. This was the third time in fourteen months she’d been asked to serve as a bridesmaid for one of her friends. At this point, her nerves were beyond frazzled. If her mother inquired just once more about whether she was seeing anyone, she was pretty sure her head would explode.

  She’d only reluctantly agreed to stay in this hotel with the wedding party. She had tired of all the pre-wedding madness, having done it twice in the last year, but she did want to be there for the bride, in case she needed anything. Georgia had been her college roommate and constant companion through four years of undergrad at Spelman. Imani was sick of weddings, but she would do anything for Georgia, so there she was. Luckily, neither the bride nor the coordinator had summoned her today, allowing her plenty of time to prepare herself to go through the motions once again.

  She knew there would be questions from the well-intentioned older ladies present for the joyous event about why she was still single. She thought of Xavier, her first love, who’d crushed her heart like a bug beneath his shoe. She’d thought that was the pinnacle of pain until she’d lost her father to violence. Now, her focus was on her new business venture. She’d worked hard to reach her goal, and she didn’t have time to deal with the inevitable drama relationships brought.

  Adjusting the strapless, yellow maxi dress she’d chosen for the occasion, she put on a little makeup and a pair of gold, heart-shaped stud earrings. Standing in front of the full-length mirror on the wall, she pulled her hair up into a high ponytail and secured it. Satisfied with the results, she grabbed her purse, stuffed her keys inside, and left.

  A brief walk through the hotel’s paisley-carpeted interior took her to the private suite where the rehearsal dinner was being held. Georgia had opted to have all her events inside the hotel for the sake of convenience, which was easily accomplished due to the vast size of the property.

  Waiting near the suite’s open door was Georgia’s mother, Diane. Seeing Imani approach, the older woman smiled, then stood to give her a big hug. “Hey, Imani. How are you doing, sweetheart?”

  She returned the hug, giving the older woman a squeeze. It had been ages since she’d last seen her best friend’s kindhearted mother. “I’m fine, Diane. And I’m so glad to be a part of Georgia’s special day.”

  Diane nodded. “We’re all so excited. I’ll see you inside.”

  As Imani turned to go into the room, Diane gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. “And don’t you fret, sweetheart. We’ll all be getting together for your wedding sometime soon. I just know it.”

  Imani stiffened a bit at the well-meaning remark but shook it off. A false smile stretched her lips as she turned back long enough to nod to Diane. Then, she strode into the large suite and looked around to get the lay of the land.

  The enormous room had one long, rectangular table set up in its center. Above the table hung a beautiful crystal chandelier, the bulbs designed to look like the gas lamps of centuries past, casting a decidedly romantic glow on the whole room. Along the far wall, the buffet was so filled with silver-covered warmers and trays of food, it looked in danger of collapsing at any moment. Imani picked up one delicious scent after another, and her stomach rumbled in anticipation.

  Most of Georgia’s close relatives, as well as those of the groom, Tyrone Fields, were either already seated, or standing in various nooks and crannies around the room, carrying on lively conversations. She waved to the other two bridesmaids, as well as the matron of honor, Georgia’s older sister, Gail. Seeing that they were all seated at the end of the table where Georgia was, Imani walked over to join them.

  London and Julia, also classmates at Spelman, gestured to the empty chair between them.

  “Squeeze in,” London said as she slid her chair back to allow Imani room to sit down.

  Georgia, sitting at the end of the table, was beaming so much Imani couldn’t help smiling in her direction. “I assume from that grin that everything is going as you planned, Georgia.”

  Georgia nodded, still smiling. “It sure is.”

  At first, it had seemed that Georgia was simply staring off into the distance. Now, Imani realized that she and the other women were all looking in the same direction. Confusion and curiosity knitting her brow, Imani turned to see what had captured everyone’s attention.

  That was when she saw Xavier Whitted striding across the room. There was no way she could have missed him—his six-foot-three-inch height made him tower over most of the people in attendance. Her heart began pounding so loud she was sure everyone in the room could hear it. What in the hell is he doing here?

  She tore her eyes away from the
handsome man from her past and looked at Georgia with a questioning gaze. At first, Georgia didn’t seem to notice, but their gazes met after Imani loudly cleared her throat.

  Georgia responded this time but still watched Xavier with appreciative eyes. “Isn’t he fine? He’s Tyrone’s best man, one of his TDT brothers. His name is—”

  Imani interrupted her. “I know his name. Xavier Whitted.”

  All the female eyes at that end of the table turned on her. The question hung in the air for a long second before Julia all but shouted, “Where do you know him from?”

  “He was my high school boyfriend.” Imani stood as she answered the question, because it now seemed Xavier had spotted her and was approaching fast.

  “Small world.” Gail winked.

  Georgia made a sound of discovery. “Oh! So that explains why he was so eager to take you out. He must still be carrying a torch for you.”

  Imani walked over and stood behind Georgia’s chair and placed a hand on each of her shoulders. “Georgia, please tell me you didn’t.”

  “What?” The bride-to-be feigned innocence.

  “Georgia, did you set me up with him?” She uttered those words in a rushed whisper, because Xavier’s long legs were bringing him closer at an alarming speed.

  “I might have.”

  The noncommittal response was all Imani needed to know that her proverbial goose was cooked. She squeezed Georgia’s shoulder. “I gave you a really nice wedding gift. I think I want it back.”

  It was all she had time to say before Xavier appeared next to her.

  He smiled, showing off teeth so straight and white, they were almost too perfect. “Imani. It’s so good to see you.” He reached for her hand, capturing it in his much larger one.

  It was the first touch she’d had from him in a decade, yet the shivers still danced across her skin. Aware of the four sets of nosy female eyes trained on them, she smiled, hoping to mask her nervousness. “It’s good to see you again, too, Xavier.”

  He watched her for a few silent seconds, as if trying to read her. Then, he dipped his head and placed a soft kiss against her cheek. “I have to go sit with the boys at the other end of the table, but we’ll chat later, okay?” He gave her hand a squeeze, then slipped away.

  She’d been totally unprepared for the kiss, and while brief and chaste, it reminded her of other encounters they’d had, which were much the opposite. Tingles ran through her entire body, careening and colliding like a jar full of angry hornets. Recovering her senses as quickly as she could, she retook her seat and found everyone staring at her.

  Glancing around at her friends, she fished around in her purse for her cell phone. “What? Why is everyone looking at me like that?”

  Finally, Gail asked pointedly, “Did you bring a shawl or a jacket?”

  Embarrassment heated her cheeks when she realized what Gail was referring to. She didn’t have to look down to know that her nipples were standing like two pebbles inside the confines of her dress. Folding her arms over her chest, she cursed to herself. Apparently, even after a decade apart, Xavier Whitted still held the same magical power over her body.

  * * *

  During the rehearsal dinner, Xavier tried to appear interested in the conversation at his end of the table while stealing glances at Imani. Tyrone Fields was his closest friend, and Xavier didn’t want to shirk his duties as best man. He’d spent the better part of the last week running errands all over the Tar Heel state, taking the burden off Ty’s shoulders so Ty could concentrate on getting ready to marry his dream girl. It seemed pretty slack of Xavier now to ignore his buddy’s words, but Xavier couldn’t help it. Seeing Imani tonight had him so off-kilter, it was all he could do not to drag her out of the room to some dark corner of the hotel, where he could kiss her full lips the way he needed so badly to do.

  Around their end of the table were all the boys from Central, who’d pledged to Theta Delta Theta fraternity ten years before. This was the first time they’d all been in the same place in nearly five years, when they’d come together for the funeral of their old TDT advisor, Dr. Mitcham. Among them, Xavier was the eldest by a matter of months and had been nicknamed “the Activist,” based on his passionate pursuit of community and charity work. Over the years, they’d kept in contact and seen each other whenever possible, as each brother came into his own success as an adult. Each man had lived up to his nickname in one way or another.

  Between mouthfuls of food, Tyrone was going on about his latest case in family court. “This York case is getting ugly, and there are children involved. It really makes me wonder why people don’t spend more time getting to know each other before they fall into bed and make a baby.”

  Xavier half listened, picking up on key words and nodding occasionally in a show of interest. In reality, though, his attention was on Imani. There she sat, at the opposite end of the table, looking even more beautiful than he remembered her. When they’d dated in high school, she’d been a quiet, shy teenager, and she’d owned his whole heart. Nearly ten years had passed, and he hadn’t seen more than a brief glimpse of her since they’d both gone away to college.

  He’d wanted to contact her so many times over the years, but he knew she would never have taken his call. After the way he’d ended things between them after their senior year of high school, he understood why. He knew he’d hurt her and still lived with the regret. His last relationship with a woman had left him with scars of his own. His ex had shown him just how conniving women could be. Imani was different, though. The Imani he knew would never do those things to him.

  He could still see signs of the shy young girl he’d known all those years ago, but now she was all woman. It was hard to ignore the regal lines of her face, the glossy hair, and the yellow sundress that clung to her feminine frame in all the right places. There was nothing short of an act of God that would have made him miss his best friend’s wedding, but having Imani there made this weekend even more important.

  Orion MacMillan, dubbed “the Young’n” since he was the only freshman to pledge TDT that year, shook his head. “Damn, Ty. We all love you, but you are boring us to tears with all this legal talk. You don’t hear me going on and on about Young-n-Wild.” The popular preteen hip-hop duo was Orion’s latest babysitting job as the head of A&R for Wilmington-based Fresh2Deff Records.

  Bryan “the Legacy” James, grandson of one of TDT’s founding members, snorted. “Actually, hearing about those little roughnecks would be way more interesting.” Bryan, a marketing executive for Royal Textiles, made ass-loads of money while traveling the globe but rarely burdened his friends with the dull details of his work.

  Devers Architectural Development’s CEO, Maxwell Devers, “the Bad Boy,” reclined in his seat, his arms folded and tucked behind his head. “We’re all suffering through Ty’s monologue here, but somebody at this table isn’t even pretending to be interested.” Max shifted his gaze pointedly.

  Xavier became aware that all eyes at that end of the table were focused on him. Loosening the top button of his light-blue shirt, he groaned. “Come on, now. How you gonna call me out like that, Max?”

  Maxwell shrugged, his default reaction to a direct question he had no interest in answering.

  Tyrone slugged Xavier in the shoulder. “I knew you weren’t listening. I was hoping if I kept talking, you might eventually give a damn about what I was saying.”

  “He’s only got eyes for the honey in the yellow dress.” Orion made the observation as he took a draw from his mug of beer.

  Bryan chuckled as he swiped his finger across the screen of his smartphone. “Who could blame him? The sister is fine.”

  Xavier felt a bit of jealousy creep into his mind but pushed it aside. His Theta brothers were his closest friends, and he knew none of them would pursue a woman he was so obviously interested in. “We dated in high school. I’m just admiring the woman s
he’s become.”

  “What time are we supposed to meet tomorrow and where?” Maxwell effectively changed the subject.

  The groom looked to his best man, deferring to him.

  Xavier cleared his throat. “Four o’clock sharp, in the lobby. We’ll get dressed in one of the meeting rooms and then go to the shore for the ceremony.”

  “By the way, I saw the tuxes. Nice touch putting us in the green and silver, bro.” Orion nodded his approval of their attire while taking in the scene around them.

  Tyrone grinned. “Of course. The Theta colors were the natural choice for me. I’m just glad Georgia was willing to go along with it.”

  Their banter was interrupted by Misty, the high-strung, blond wedding coordinator. Her pointer finger extended, she pretty much stabbed Tyrone in the shoulder. “We’re wrapping things up, Mr. Fields. It’d be a good time for you and Georgia to give a quick speech. You know, expressing your gratitude and whatnot.” Her words were a bit disingenuous, but in Misty’s thick Southern accent, everything sounded that way.

  Tyrone stood. “All right, boys. Duty calls. I guess that’s it until tomorrow.”

  Xavier watched his friend walk away and drape his arm around Georgia’s waist. He listened while the two lovebirds expressed their thanks to everyone who’d traveled in to attend the wedding or contributed in some other way. Once the speech was over and the applause and cheering died down, the crowd began to disperse.

  Saying a quick good-bye to his fraternity brothers, Xavier wove his way through the crowd, intent on getting to Imani before she disappeared for the evening. He knew he would see her tomorrow at the ceremony, but he really wanted to see her tonight.

  Alone.

  She floated around the room for a few moments, and he got the sense she was avoiding him. But as more people left, effectively emptying the room, she had fewer places to hide.

  He strode up to where she stood by the crystal punch bowl, her glass in one hand and the ladle in the other. When she saw him, her eyes widened. To his mind, she had the look of a deer facing down a set of oncoming headlights.