Page 6 of Rescuing Dr. Marian (Made Marian Legacy #1)

FOSTER

I woke up the next morning in a foul-as-fuck mood, with a head that felt like it had taken a solo ride down the Majestic River rapids without benefit of a boat or a helmet.

After being unable to fall asleep, I’d discovered a delivery just outside of my door of the world’s most seductive bourbon… and a cagey, piece-of-shit note from the world’s most alluring man.

The combination of the two had seduced me right into a pitiful midnight drunk the likes of which I hadn’t experienced in years, if ever.

After fumbling with the in-room coffee maker and throwing down a cup of black coffee, I showered and dressed in my clothes from the night before, then headed to the front desk to inquire if there was any news about my lost luggage.

In the lobby, I stopped short. There, looking even more unfairly beautiful than I’d remembered, was Dr. Marian himself. I opened my mouth to call out to him when I noticed several things at once.

First, that he was surrounded by his friends and family, staring at the ground and looking profoundly uncomfortable.

Second, that the moment I stepped into the lobby, nearly everyone but Tommy turned to look at me and did a double take.

And third, but most important… that he was wearing a black satin sash across his shirt with the word Groom emblazoned on it in sparkly silver letters, and standing next to him was a striking woman with olive-brown skin and shiny dark hair, wearing a matching sash that read Bride .

My stomach dropped and wobbled sickly.

Tommy had mentioned being here for a wedding. He hadn’t mentioned it was his own .

Jesus fucking Christ. I’d kissed a man who was about to be married.

As I stood there, stupid and frozen, an elderly, female voice from behind muttered, “What the actual fuck am I seeing, Irene? Let’s get him out of here!” and I suddenly felt myself being yanked back the way I’d come by a trio of white-haired ladies.

It said a lot about how the last twenty-four hours of my life had gone that I didn’t resist.

Just before they pulled me around the corner, I locked eyes with Tommy. His flared wide in surprise as he recognized me and possibly the old lady platoon attempting to abduct me.

My kidnappers muttered curses and fussed as they frog- marched me away from the scene and shoved me into an empty conference room.

“You got ten seconds to tell me how you got that shirt, Muscle Muffin,” the leader of the trio hissed, grabbing the front of my tee. “’Cause I don’t remember seeing you at the last reunion.”

I scowled down at my shirt—Tommy’s shirt—which read “I want to be” in a scripty font above block letters that spelled out MADE MARIAN. “A friend gave it to me last night.”

“A friend.” Her blue eyes narrowed in her wrinkled face, and her hot pink lips pursed. “I’ve heard that one before.”

The tallest of the trio shook her head in disappointment. “We should have anticipated this. I remember the day Tommy saw a picture of that vampire from Twilight ?—”

“Irene, Jesus,” the shortest of the three said. “Tom’s as straight as they come. He lost his virginity at the prom, for fuck’s sake. No self-respecting gay man would have held out that long.”

The leader shook her head at them and glared at me. Her fist held fast to the shirt fabric over my chest, pinching a chest hair or two in the process. “Which friend, Captain Deltoid?” She tilted her head toward the lobby. “The pretty doctor out there or somebody else?”

“Who wants to know?” I shot back.

Her eyes widened in surprise. “I’ll be asking the questions, Shoulders. You’ll be answering them. Capisce ?”

The little one darted closer as if to intimidate me. Her walker banged my knee. “Yeah! Answer her questions, asshole.”

I put my hand over my mouth to hold in a sudden urge to laugh when Tommy appeared. “For god’s sake, leave him alone, Aunt Tilly.”

My stomach lurched at the second sighting of the “Groom” sash.

“Tommy,” I said blandly, as if I hadn’t tasted the back of his throat last night with the tip of my tongue. “You left out a few details when we were… talking last night. It seems congratulations are in order. Who’s the lucky woman?”

If I accidentally put too much emphasis on the word “woman,” maybe I could be forgiven just this once.

“Knew it,” the leader—Tilly—said, shaking her head. “For fuck’s sake.”

The tallest of the three shook her head again, but this time, it seemed to be in wonder. “Thomas Marian. What a dark horse you turned out to be.”

“If dark horse is code for ‘dumbass who thinks with his dick,’ I agree,” the littlest one spat.

“Hey,” I snapped, stepping between Tommy and the woman. “Nothing happened. So whatever you’re upset with him about, you can stop now. And you can sure as shit stop with the name-calling.”

If anyone was going to give Tommy hell about last night, it was going to be me.

Tilly put her hand on the feisty little lady’s shoulder and squeezed.

“Take a breather, wildcat. I got this. Why don’t you and Irene go out and tell anyone who asks that the big guy here is with Jett, then find Jett and loop him in.

” She turned and gave me an assessing up-down.

“They’ll buy it. Jett likes ’em muscle-bound and bossy. ”

Tommy’s nostrils flared. “Absolutely not! Foster’s not with Jett.” His cheeks heated. “I mean, he’s not with anyone . You’re all overreacting. Foster lost his luggage, and I loaned him a shirt. That’s all.”

I bit my tongue and stared at the ground to keep from spouting off. Yeah. Nothing to see here. Just a loaned shirt.

Tilly barked out a laugh. “You’ve been a bad liar since infancy, Tommy.

Tell me you didn’t kiss this man. Tell me right now, and swear on my…

” She paused and gave me that up-down look again.

“Actually, scratch that. Tell me you did , ’cause life’s too short, and Chesticles seems like he’d be a hot piece of?—”

“Tilly!” Tommy snapped. “Please go back out to the lobby and tell K—” He stopped and swallowed. “Tell Kari I’ll be right there, alright? I need to talk to her.”

Tilly’s face softened into something like empathy. “Fuck. This isn’t a prank, is it, kiddo? I almost wondered if you and your parents were pulling one over on Blue and Tristan with the shirt.”

He shook his head, looking acutely miserable. “No. Please go. And leave Foster alone. It’s not his fault. None of this is his fault.”

“Hmph. Have it your way. But I’ve got my eyes on you, Beefcake.” She jabbed two gnarled fingers at her own eyes, then at mine.

Once Tommy and I were alone, an awkward silence fell, so different from our previous easy connection.

He was visibly, wildly unhappy, and my chest went tight with the urge to wrap him in a hug and reassure him it would all be okay.

But I wouldn’t. No fucking way.

I had no right to touch him the way I wanted to when he was engaged to someone else… and he had no right to let me.

And the truth was, it wouldn’t all be okay. That instant connection I’d thought I’d felt with him had been a lie. The man I’d thought I’d been kissing didn’t exist. And I was a fucking idiot who’d once again gotten starry-eyed for a guy who didn’t think the concept of loyalty applied to him.

“I don’t entirely get what’s happening right now, but you probably want this back.” I yanked up the hem of my borrowed shirt and reached behind my head to pull it off, but Tommy darted a hand out to hold the shirt down.

Even that small touch—the barest brush of his knuckles against my stomach—caused goose bumps to prickle over my body. The shampoo and soap scent of him made me want to lean in closer for a better sniff, preferably one close enough to stick out my tongue and feel the rasp of his stubble.

What a dumbass I was.

I stepped back as Tommy cleared his throat.

“It’s not about the shirt. Not exactly. My uncle Blue met his husband at a family wedding weekend in kind of a similar situation.” Tommy waved a hand dismissively. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’m sorry about all of this. About, well, all of… everything.”

Everything? Meeting me? Talking with me? Kissing me?

I told myself it didn’t matter.

I hardened my heart and my gaze. “I’m sure. Especially since you almost got caught.” I folded my arms over my chest. “Maybe next time you cheat on that beautiful lady out there, you should clue in the guy you’re kissing so he can help you keep it on the down-low.”

Tommy’s face flushed beet red. “That’s not… I didn’t… There won’t be a next time. I?—”

“There sure as fuck won’t be with me,” I gritted out. “But if you want, I can give you Matthew’s number. Took me ages to figure out he’d been hooking up with my deputy behind my back, and I’m sure he’d be happy to meet up with you and give you some pointers.”

His eyes flashed to mine. No twinkle in the hazel now, I thought with vicious satisfaction. Just anger and confusion and hurt.

Well, join the fucking club.

“I don’t cheat,” Tommy said in a low, tense voice. “I’ve never cheated. But you kissed me, and?—”

“Oh, I kissed you ?” I shot back, incredulous. “So it was all me, then? I just imagined your tongue in my mouth, kissing me back?”

His hands clenched into fists. “That’s not what I?—”

“Tell me this,” I cut in. “Have you told your bride about what happened?”

“No. But I will,” he added quickly. “I told you in my note?—”

I shook my head. I’d heard everything I needed to hear.

I’d come on this vacation looking for a no-strings hookup, but somewhere along the way, I’d bought into Daisy Sunshine’s bullshit about kismet and The One .

And it turned out she was right: the worst part was, I never saw it coming.

“Take care, Tommy. Congratulations, I guess.” I turned to move past him, to leave him to his nosy family and awkward explanation about why a stranger was wearing his shirt, when he stopped me with a hand to my chest.

“Wait. Please, Foster.”

The warmth of his palm through the cotton went straight to my dick. I looked down at his hand before meeting his eyes.

His expression nearly brought me to my knees. Regret. Confusion. Exhaustion. I wanted to think there was even a little bit of hope there, but I knew that was ridiculous wishful thinking.

One thing I knew for sure was that whatever Tommy Marian’s future held, it had nothing to do with mine.

I reached for the hand on my chest and removed it. “Good luck to your bride, Dr. Marian. She’s gonna need it.”