The Accidental Boyfriend Read online

  Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she sorted through flights with a well-practiced eye. Her heart was racing with excitement. She would be alone with Benjamin in the most romantic place in the world.

  Her traitorous mind flashed on a certain villa in Tuscany. One of the most romantic places in the world, she mentally amended.

  She took a deep breath and hit “Buy ticket.”

  Paris, here I come.

  * * * *

  Sixteen hours and multiple cups of coffee later, Holly arrived.

  She’d gotten some sleep on the plane but she was still exhausted, jet lagged and feeling the after effects of that bottle of wine she’d downed the night before.

  She exited the train station near the Montmartre neighborhood, where she’d stayed the last time she was in Paris between teaching gigs in Prague and Istanbul. All symptoms of a hangover disappeared in a rush of excitement.

  The sights and sounds of Paris were invigorating—a noisy bustle of people and cars filled her senses, and the smell—oh, the smell. Holly inhaled deeply. She had learned that every city had a unique scent and Paris’s parfum was intoxicating, a heady mix of fresh baked bread and exhaust fumes.

  Holly had no trouble finding a room at a hostel. As soon as she was settled, she found a landline in the hostel’s common room and pulled out a pre-paid phone card. Ivy could spread the word to their parents; she’d always been the best buffer when breaking news to their parents. Like, for example, that she’d run off to Paris on a whim to find her future husband.

  “I need you to tell Mom and Dad something,” she started the conversation.

  Ivy groaned. “Oh no. What did you do?”

  Holly ignored that. “First, how are you feeling?”

  “Like a whale,” Ivy said. “A beached whale.”

  “Well, if you’ve gotta be beached, you could do worse than a villa in Tuscany,” Holly said. Ivy’s husband was newly reunited with his family in Italy and the couple opted to stay there after the wedding to give Daniel a chance to reconnect with his relatives.

  “True,” Ivy said with a laugh. “I’ve got a small army waiting on me, and they’re all being led by the General.” “The General” was Ivy’s affectionate nickname for Daniel.

  “Is he driving you crazy yet?” Holly teased.

  She could practically hear Ivy’s eyes roll. “The man is insane. He won’t let me do anything for fear I’m going to tire myself out. Holly, I swear to God…he tried to spoon feed me my cereal this morning.”

  Holly burst out laughing at the image. “That’s kinda sweet in a weird way.”

  “It really is,” Ivy said with a sigh that was so sappy and swooning, it was Holly’s turn to roll her eyes.

  “So what’s up?” Ivy asked.

  “Benjamin went to Paris for a conference,” she started.

  “Yeah, I know, Mom told me.”

  “Mom told you?” Incredible. Her mother had known he was going to Paris but he hadn’t thought to tell her.

  “Yeah, his mom told our mom and you know Mom calls every day to check in on the baby. I get all the juicy Oakdale gossip.”

  Holly took a deep breath and shut her eyes. “I followed him,” she said on a rush of air.

  “Wait, what? You followed who?” Ivy asked.

  “Benjamin. I followed him to his conference.”

  There was a moment of silence before Ivy said, “But, why?” The sound of complete and utter incomprehension was as comforting as it was annoying. Ivy had always been the good one—she would never, ever go running after a boy.

  “Because it’s romantic,” Holly explained.

  “Oh my God, you have got to be kidding me. Are you still on this kick? You can’t honestly believe that you and Benjamin are destined to be together, I thought you were moving on. I mean, when I saw you and Jack at the wedding, I thought—”

  “Nothing happened between me and Jack!” The phrase came out louder than anticipated and Holly rubbed a hand over her face.

  The echoing silence was as obvious as if Ivy outright said the words, “Yeah, right.”

  Maybe she was protesting a bit too much but every time Jack’s name was mentioned—and it seemed like it was mentioned daily in her family—it was almost always followed by some comment about how great they looked together or what a wonderful couple they’d make. Jack was exactly the type of guy she’d have gone for in the past but now that she’d turned over a new leaf? Never gonna happen.

  Benjamin on the other hand….

  “We would make the perfect couple,” Holly said.

  “You and Jack?” Ivy asked. She honestly sounded confused.

  Holly gripped the phone tighter. Why was everyone so obsessed with that man? “No, keep up. Me and Benjamin.”

  Ivy’s sigh was borderline condescending. “You were the perfect couple—in eighth grade. Times have changed. You’ve changed. There’s a whole big world out there filled with—”

  Holly raised a hand to interrupt her sister as though Ivy was in the hostel room and not lounging on a veranda in Tuscany with half of Italy waiting on her hand and foot. “I’ve been out in the world, Ivy. I’m not some kid who’s never left Oakdale, okay? I’m older than you.”

  “By one year,” Ivy said, most likely out of habit more than anything else. When she spoke again, her voice was softer. “What’s this really about, Holiday?”

  There it was. Her old nickname, the one that made her feel like a seven-year-old with skinned knees and a deep desire to live in a treehouse. She considered telling her sister about what had happened the year before, the reason she’d returned to Oakdale. But then she pictured Ivy with her big belly and her doting husband and shut her mouth—there was no way she could understand. Ivy might be able to sympathize but she could never understand.

  “Listen, I’ve got to get going. Just tell Mom and Dad that I’m in France and I’ll check in every few days so I don’t miss the big announcement, ‘kay? Tell them that I’ll meet up with you all in Italy—”

  She heard Ivy start to protest, “Wait, France? But, Holly, Benjamin—”

  Holly hung up with a grin. She’d known her sister would argue, it’s what sisters do—especially her sister.

  Chapter 2

  Jack was fairly certain he was hallucinating when Brunelli placed the open magazine in front of him and Daniel. After a month of seeing Holly constantly in his mind’s eye, he was sure he’d conjured her up.

  Daniel cursed under his breath in a way that suggested Jack should fear for his life. No, he definitely hadn’t made this up. He and Holly were featured prominently in the center spread, she looking ethereal with her blond curls and pale blue gown, and him looking…well, smitten, was the only word to describe it. He leaned in to take a closer look. Good God, it almost looked like he was—

  “You’re in love,” Brunelli declared, smacking the magazine with the back of his hand as though his words were a decree from above. The third partner in EverTech, the old Italian was the biggest romantic Jack had ever met.

  “What? I am not in love,” Jack protested.

  Daniel did not look amused. “How did this happen?”

  “What do you mean, ‘how did this happen’? We were having fun.” Jack gestured toward the veranda as though the photographer was still out there. “How was I supposed to know there was somebody taking our picture?”

  Daniel, who had been more and more on edge as his wife’s pregnancy progressed, looked just about ready to throttle Jack.

  “Wait a second,” Jack said, feeling a tad defensive in the face of Daniel’s wrath. “Who am I dealing with here, overbearing business partner or overprotective brother-in-law?”

  Daniel opened his mouth to answer but stopped as though stumped. Jack looked from Daniel to Brunelli, who just shrugged.

  “I did nothing wrong here,” Jack said, pointing to the picture.

  “Are you sure? Because it looks like you’re about to,” Daniel said. At that Brunelli nodded his agreement. Jack looke
d back at the picture. It did look incriminating. But for once, he could tell the truth, even though the truth sucked.

  “I’m positive,” Jack said, giving them his best look of innocence. “I wouldn’t lie to you guys. We shared one innocent kiss”—okay, that was a stretch, it was passionate as hell and about as innocent as the devil—“but that’s where it ended.” He pointed to the beautiful blonde with blue eyes and the face of an angel. “We had a fun night together but even I wouldn’t try to seduce an innocent. She’s a second grade teacher from Ohio, for God’s sake, give me some credit.”

  That much was true and Daniel knew it. The type of women Jack got involved with were worldly and experienced—the type who knew what they were getting into and had no delusions of happily ever afters. Jack didn’t do commitments; he wasn’t built that way. People who counted on him had a tendency to get hurt and he’d figured out long ago that it was best to keep his distance. The press may have declared him a heartbreaker but he had no intention of actually breaking hearts.

  Daniel looked unconvinced. “If you mess with Ivy’s sister and she gets hurt, there will be hell to—”

  “Daniel!” Ivy’s voice called out from the hallway.

  All three men scrambled to hide the magazine as Ivy approached. Jack wasn’t the only one terrified of her reaction—the baby was due in a matter of weeks and her emotional stability was in something of a free fall.

  She came waddling in with Brunelli’s eldest granddaughter, Lucia, following closely behind her. Lucia was shaking her head and giving Daniel a wide-eyed look of warning.

  Jack exchanged looks with the other two men. Oh no, she’d seen the picture.

  When Ivy came to a stop before them, out of breath from the long walk inside, Jack was ready to confess.

  “I swear, Ivy, I didn’t know—”

  “Daniel, we have to go to Paris,” Ivy said at the same time.

  Jack stopped midsentence and turned to Daniel, whose jaw had dropped open in surprise. Daniel got to his feet and gently ushered her into a chair at the table. “Sweetheart, what are you so worked up about?”

  “I need to get to Paris,” she said as Daniel propped up her feet and poured her a glass of lemonade. Watching Daniel, the coldhearted, ruthless tycoon, become a doting nursemaid over the past few weeks had been a constant source of amusement for Jack and Brunelli.

  “Honey, you know you can’t fly in your condition,” Daniel said.

  “Then you need to go to Paris,” she told him.

  Daniel sat back in his chair and, in a calm voice of reason, said, “I was rather hoping to be present at the birth of my first child.”

  Ivy let out a sigh but she nodded her agreement.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Maybe we can come up with a solution that doesn’t involve either of us flying to Paris today.”

  “It’s Holly,” Ivy started.

  Brunelli’s eyes shot to Jack, who subtly shifted in his seat so he could run away, if necessary. No one in this room knew his tendency to love ‘em and leave ‘em as well as Ivy did and if she thought for one second that her sweet, innocent sister was another notch on his bedpost, well she’d be a very pregnant, but very frightening, force to be reckoned with.

  “What about Holly?” Brunelli asked, his gaze still locked on Jack.

  Ivy blew an errant auburn curl out of her face. “She’s on a wild goose chase in Paris.”

  “Holly’s in Paris?” Daniel said.

  “Paris, France,” Ivy clarified, as though there was some doubt as to where Paris was located.

  “I thought Holly was coming back to Italy to meet the baby next month,” Jack said. Not that he’d given it much thought or anything. He’d just rehearsed what he would say to her about six thousand times. Every time, it started with an apology. He was still ashamed of the way he’d ended things that night.

  “She’s still coming here, but she decided to go to Paris first so she could chase after some guy.”

  Jack’s brain went black. Before he could come up with a nonchalant way of asking why the hell Holly would be chasing after anyone—the woman was a goddess—Ivy was off on a tangent.

  “This is just like her. Act first, think later. No, more like act first, think never. And now I have to tell my mom and dad that Holly ran away. I mean, she’s a grown woman, sure, but they still worry and it’s not like—”

  Daniel put a hand over hers and it seemed to bring Ivy back to the present. She got a dreamy look on her face as she gazed adoringly at her new husband for a moment. Then she was right back to her old self.

  “I’m worried about her,” she said. Her lips pressed together in a thin line as she crossed her arms over her chest.

  Jack couldn’t take it anymore. “Who’s the guy?”

  All eyes turned to him and he cleared his throat a bit. Perhaps that had come out a tad more…intense than he’d intended.

  He tried again. “I mean, why is she chasing after this guy?” Leaning back in his chair he tried to project calm indifference but he didn’t miss the odd looks he got from the others at the table.

  “Benjamin,” Ivy said his name on an exasperated sigh.

  “Who’s Benjamin?” Now it was Daniel’s turn to sound a touch too angry, but it didn’t seem to strike anyone as odd coming from the overprotective brother-in-law.

  “Is she in trouble?” Brunelli asked. The old man’s wrinkled brow was creased more than usual in concern.

  “No, not really,” Ivy said.

  Jack let out a pent up breath.

  “She just wants to marry him.”

  Jack froze. “What?” Luckily his not-so-manly screech was drowned out by similar outburst from everyone at the table. “So are you telling us that Holly has a boyfriend?” His voice sounded strange to his own ears. Oh God, he sounded like a jealous lover.

  Daniel and Brunelli both turned to him with a glare and Brunelli gave a short nod toward the magazine, which was currently jutting out from beneath Jack’s behind.

  Lucia answered this one, a hint of a smile hovering on her lips. “Had a boyfriend. He’s the one that got away.” She reached over to grab a grape from the fruit bowl in the middle of the table. “I think it’s romantic that she’s going after him.”

  Ivy rolled her eyes. “Benjamin is sweet and all, but….”

  But? Jack waited for her to continue but she just shook her head and sighed. But what? Was he a bad influence on her? Was he a player? Would he break her heart?

  “It doesn’t matter why she followed him, the problem is, Holly followed him to the wrong Paris.”

  Daniel frowned at her in concern. “Have you gotten too much sun today, sweetheart?” He reached over to place a hand on her forehead to check for a fever but she swatted him away.

  “Holly is in Paris, France,” she stressed again, “and Benjamin is in Paris, Texas.”

  There was a quiet beat as everyone digested the fact that Texas had a Paris of its own.

  Lucia’s eyes widened in horror. “So Holly is alone in France and Benjamin is—”

  “At an IT convention in the lone star state,” Ivy finished. “Yeah, that sums it up.”

  “Can’t we call her?” Daniel asked.

  Ivy shook her head. “Her phone is off since she’s out of country. She won’t check in again for days, maybe a week. And she’s terrible at checking email.”

  “Do you know where she’s staying?” Brunelli asked.

  “No, she didn’t say. But calling would do no good. She always uses different names when she travels.”

  Jack and the others looked at one another in confusion and Ivy added, “You know, like celebrities use?” At their silence she mumbled, “You guys don’t know Holly very well, do you?”

  Jack opened his mouth to protest but stopped himself. Of course he didn’t know her well, they’d only spent one night together. One incredible night—but still.

  Daniel reached over to grab his wife’s hand. “Don’t worry, honey, I’ll go to Paris and m
ake sure your sister is safe.” Ivy gave him a grateful smile.

  Jack’s heart was pounding faster than usual and he was suddenly sweltering despite the air conditioning. Holly was close. Well, closer than the States, at least. She was on the continent, just a short plane ride away. The words were out of his mouth before he could think it through. “No, I’ll go.”

  * * * *

  Everyone turned to Jack in surprise and he shifted uncomfortably under their stares. “What? We all know Ivy could go into labor at any moment and nobody wants her or Danny stressing out about him not making it back in time.”

  Ivy and Daniel shared a look that said he was right.

  “Are you sure?” Ivy asked.

  “Of course. I’ve been meaning to take a trip to Paris to visit my brother and his wife.” That was an outright lie but it sounded good and made his sudden eagerness to head to France slightly less bizarre.

  So he was excited to see her. He could admit it to himself. He liked her. There. He admitted it. They didn’t have a future together, obviously, and there was a good possibility that she hated him right now but still, he liked her. He wanted them to be friends.

  They would be in one another’s lives forever thanks to Ivy and Daniel and the new little baby on the way. He might as well get this apology over with and start making amends.

  Ivy seemed happy with this new solution but Daniel was eyeing him. Jack could practically see the gears turning. When Ivy and Lucia left, happy in the knowledge that Holly would be found and not be left wandering the streets of Paris, France, for eternity, he was left alone once again with Daniel and Brunelli.

  “What’s this all about?” Brunelli asked.

  “Don’t tell me you suddenly developed an urge to eat croissants,” Daniel said.

  “I told you, my brother moved there with his wife and—”

  “Since when are you and your brother on speaking terms?” Daniel asked.

  Jack grabbed some fruit and ignored the comment, focusing instead on juggling the apples and orange he held in his hands. “What’s your solution?” he asked. “You don’t want to leave Ivy. Are you really going to ask Grandpa here to go on this wild goose chase? No offense, Brunelli.”