Christine Scott - I Do? I Don't?

The offer of a partnership in a small but prestigious firm in downtown St. Louis couldn’t have come at a better time. As a partner, he could pick and choose cases he felt had merit. Moving back home, being close to family and friends, had sounded like a dream come true. He glanced at his parents. Only now, he was beginning to question the wisdom of his decision.

At twenty-eight, he’d been living on his own for nearly ten years. Ten years of not having to account for his comings and goings. And in just a few weeks of being home, he felt as if he were stuck in a time warp, being expected at family dinners, receiving daily phone calls. How could he explain to his mother that he had grown up? That he couldn’t always be available, no matter how much he loved them?

The doorbell saved him from having to make an excuse.

“I wonder who that could be,” his mother mused as she headed for the back door. Her tone brightened. “Oh, it’s Niki.”

Niki? Jack sat up straighter in his chair. Niki Adams? A picture formed in his mind of the freckle-faced, chubbycheeked, pigtailed kid who lived next door. Slowly, a smile teased his lips. She was a carrot-topped redhead with a temper to match. She was the closest thing he’d ever had to a little sister.

His smile faltered as an unwanted memory crowded his mind. The last time he’d seen her had been almost a year ago, at her father’s funeral. He’d been in the middle of the most important trial of his life and had been forced to cut the visit short. Leaving her looking so lost and vulnerable had been the hardest thing he’d ever had to do. He’d never forgiven himself for not being there when one of his best friends had needed him most.

The thought of her here alone in Webster Groves, while he was nearly three hundred miles away in Chicago, had haunted him. In truth, it was one of the reasons why he’d quit his job.

“I hope I’m not interrupting your dinner, Mrs. Sinclair. Mom wanted me to run this pie pan over. She said you wanted to do some baking?”

The deceptively sweet voice sounded familiar, like a whisper from the past, conjuring up memories of the pesky little kid who used to torment him in his youth.

Realization settled over Jack like a wet blanket. For as long as he could remember, Niki was the girl his mother dreamed he would marry. Now he understood the reason behind his mother’s unexpected dinner invitation.

He’d been set up in yet another of his mother’s matchmaking schemes.

“Of course, you’re not interrupting, Niki. I’m glad you came. You saved me a trip. I finished with your mother’s blender. You can bring it back home with you.” His mother paused. In an encouraging voice, she added, “Jack’s here. Come in and say hello.”

Jack unfolded his six-foot-three frame and stood, anxious to greet his old friend. The sight of her stopped him dead in his tracks. The last time he’d seen her, their mutual grief had been all-consuming. He hadn’t had the time or the inclination to notice the changes that had occurred in his childhood friend over the years.

He’d been expecting a kid with braces and skinned-up knees. What he saw was a young woman with long, shapely legs and a slender, yet gently curved body. The lacy cream-colored blouse and the slender green skirt that she wore did little to dispel the womanly image.

Still, there was a sprinkling of freckles dusting her heart-shaped face. And the mass of copper-colored hair curled about her shoulders with a mind of its own, reminding him of the young girl he used to know.

But he had to admit…the kid next door had grown up quite nicely.

An unease settled in his chest, making it hard to breathe, to think, to move. He stood there, staring at her for a long moment.

A bright welcoming smile lit her face, quickening his pulse. “Hello, Jack.”

He nodded. “Niki.”

“It’s been a long time.”

An understatement if he’d ever heard one. It felt as though he’d been gone an eternity. Long enough for a nymph to be transformed into an alluring woman.

“Too long,” he admitted.

Aware of his parents’ curious gazes, Jack forced himself to move. With feet that felt like lead, he closed the distance between them and enveloped Niki in a quick, brotherly hug.

During the brief encounter, however, his mind registered three important facts: the soft womanly curves were real, he’d indeed been gone too long, and his body was reacting in a most nonfraternal way.

Guiltily, he stepped back, ending the embrace.

“Well,” she said, looking flushed and sounding somewhat breathless. “It’s great to have you back home, Jack.”

“Yes, well…”

Jack winced inwardly. He was acting like a tongue-tied teenager trying to impress the prom queen. This was Niki, for Pete’s sake. The tomboy who used to play baseball with him and his friends. Though he had to admit, it felt as though he’d just been thrown one of those mean curve balls of hers.

He forced himself to assume a relaxed tone. “So, how have you been, Niki?”

“Busy…with school—teaching, that is,” she said, looking as uncomfortable as he felt.

At that moment, Jack regretted the time he’d spent living in Chicago more than ever. He never thought he’d see the day when he and Niki Adams would feel discomfitted in each other’s company.

She continued, oblivious to his troubled thoughts, “I’m working at St. Agatha’s now, teaching their fourth-grade class.”

“School isn’t the only thing keeping her busy. Niki’s getting married,” his mother informed him.

“Married?” Jack stared at Niki, not bothering to hide his surprise. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “You can’t be getting married. You’re too young.”

A familiar flash of anger lit Niki’s green eyes. He felt an odd sense of relief at the show of emotion. This was the girl he remembered. The one with the volatile temper that could explode with the least bit of provocation.

“I’m twenty-three, Jack.” The sweet voice took on a frosty tone. “I’m certainly old enough.”

Twenty-three? He felt a tiny jolt of surprise. Well, sure, she’d have to be that old. She was five years younger than him. He just didn’t realize she’d grown up. In his mind, she’d always be that kid who’d made a pest of herself by tagging along everywhere he went.

She turned to his mother, her voice softening. “Nothing’s official yet, Mrs. Sinclair.”

His mother raised a speculative eyebrow. “Still thinking over Greg’s proposal?”

“Greg?” Jack’s shoulders stiffened. The hairs on the back of his neck lifted as he felt a premonition of impending doom.

“Greg Lawton.” His mother narrowed a glance at him. “I’m sure you must remember him, Jack.”

The tiny jolt of surprise turned into a lightning bolt of shock. Jack was stunned by the news. “Greg Lawton? From Webster High? The Greg Lawton who was in my class?”

“Yep, that’s the one,” his mother said, looking much too pleased by his shocked appearance.

Niki glanced at her watch. “Would you look at the time? I’m meeting Greg for dinner. And I’m already late.”

“Niki—” he began.

“I’ve really got to go, Jack.” She gave him a nervous smile. “Now that you’re back in town, don’t be such a stranger.”

“The blender,” his mother said, hurrying to collect the appliance. Her face softened into a smile as she handed Niki the blender. “Now you and Greg have a nice evening.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Sinclair.”

With that she was gone, leaving Jack standing in the kitchen openmouthed and feeling numbed. Seconds passed like hours before he collected his composure. He glared at his mother. “She can’t be serious. She’s really considering marrying Greg Lawton? That stuffed shirt who made my life miserable in high school?”

“That’s right, Jack. While you’ve been busy filing lawsuits for your clients, your ex-classmate has been stealing your girl.”

Jack moaned, running a frustrated hand through the thick tangle of his dark hair. It wasn’t a secret that his mother and Mrs. Adams had been hoping for a match between him and Niki. The two of them had been scheming to get their children married since the day Niki was born. The whole idea was ridiculous, of course. A fantasy cooked up between the two women that neither he nor Niki had ever encouraged.

“Mom, Niki is not my girl,” he said slowly, enunciating each word with care so there would be no misunderstanding. “We’re friends. Just good friends.”

“Well, if Greg Lawton has anything to say about it, that’s all you and Niki ever will be,” she said, giving a disgruntled snort. Raising her chin at a stubborn angle, she moved to the sink, leaving him to brood alone.

His father rose to his feet, his chair rasping against the tiled floor. “The Cardinals are on TV tonight, Jack. Ready to watch some baseball?”

“In a minute, Dad.” Scowling, Jack strode to the window, which had a view overlooking the Adamses’ house. Lifting the ruffled curtain, he peered outside just in time to see Niki disappear into the house next door. He couldn’t believe it. He’d left town for a few years. And in the short time he was gone, all hell seemed to have broken loose.

Niki Adams all grown up and getting married. Who’d have thought it possible?

Getting married?

His scowl deepened. She was twenty-three years old, barely starting her life as an adult. What was her rush?

And why in the hell would she pick Greg Lawton as a husband?

Greg Lawton was the last man Niki should marry. He was a self-centered, egotistical, arrogant jerk with a chip on his shoulder the size of the state of Missouri. A poor kid who’d made good, Greg had beaten the odds. He’d worked his way through school to become a doctor. But for as long as Jack had known him, Greg had never let an opportunity pass to extoll on his own virtues.

Jack refused to believe his objections had anything to do with the fact that throughout their school years he’d been forced to play second fiddle to Greg Lawton. Greg had bested him in nearly everything they had tried. In football, Greg had been lead quarterback. Jack had been his relief man. In the race for student council, Greg had beat him out of the presidency by two lousy votes. Even graduation had been a disappointment. Greg had been valedictorian. Jack had been salutatorian. He’d lost the top honor by a mere hundredth of a point.

Greg Lawton had made his school years a living hell. After high school, they’d gratefully parted ways. Jack to law school, Greg to medical school. And that was the last he’d heard of him.

Until now.

Now the man he’d considered the nemesis of his youth wanted to marry the girl—correction, the woman—he’d always considered to be a sister.

He’d always known Niki’s impulsiveness would get her into trouble some day. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d had to rescue her from one mishap or another when she was growing up…just because that stubborn head of hers was always stuck somewhere in the clouds, looking ten feet above reality.

When she was five, she’d nearly drowned in the neighborhood pool, all because she’d wanted to prove to him that she could swim. Jack felt a familiar twinge of aggravation at the memory. If he hadn’t pulled her out of the deep end, she’d have been a goner.

He dropped the curtain and shoved fisted hands into his jeans pockets. Beneath Niki’s reckless demeanor, there lay a certain naivete, a trusting innocence that could easily be taken advantage of by the wrong man.