Once Upon a Wedding / Accidental Princess. Nancy Robards Thompson

he said, “What else?”

      “It was dinner, Connor, not an inquisition,” she said as Connor dug in with both hands.

      Truthfully, Kelsey hadn’t wanted to find anything. She wanted to believe Todd and Emily would have a beautiful wedding followed by a happy marriage. “It’s probably nothing but—” she paused, not believing her own words “—none of Todd’s family are coming to the wedding.”

      “Did he say why?” he asked, sliding his plate of fries her way.

      Kelsey shook her head at the offer and said, “His parents already had a trip to Europe planned, and his sister is pregnant and didn’t want to travel.”

      Connor shrugged. “So it could be nothing.”

      She blinked. Connor had jumped on even the slightest inconsistency in Todd’s behavior. She couldn’t believe he was letting this one go. “Are you serious? Can you imagine my aunt and uncle not showing up to Emily’s wedding?”

      “Not every family is like yours.”

      “Okay, fine. Forget the Wilsons. You might be the P.I. expert, but I’m the wedding expert, remember? And families always come to weddings!”

      Connor’s gaze cut away from her as he balled a paper napkin between his fists, and Kelsey knew. This wasn’t about Todd’s family or her family or families in general. It was about Connor’s. A family she knew nothing about, one she couldn’t recall Emily ever mentioning.

      “You know, I don’t think Emily’s ever talked about your family.”

      “Why would she?”

      Because, at one time or another, Emily had told Kelsey nearly everything about Connor. So much that Kelsey felt she’d known him long before she first caught sight of him at the airport. But she certainly couldn’t tell Connor how she’d listened to those stories the same way a teenager might pore over celebrity magazines for the latest gossip on the current Hollywood heartthrob.

      “I don’t know. Maybe because if things had worked out like you’d planned, they would have been her family, too.”

      Connor gave a rough bark of laughter. “Emily had enough family to deal with without adding mine to the mix. Besides, my parents died before I met Emily.”

      The abrupt comment hit Kelsey in the chest, and she felt ashamed for pushing. She ached for his loss, an echo to the pain she still felt over the death of her own mother.

      “Oh, Connor.” Her defenses crumbled to dust, and with her heart already reaching out, her hands immediately followed. The heat of his hands—strong, rawboned, and masculine—sent an instant jolt up her arms. Her heart skipped a beat at the simple contact, but it was the emotional connection that had her pulse picking up an even greater speed. For a second, as their eyes met, Connor looked as startled as she felt.

      Taking a breath deep enough to force her heart back into place, she focused on the reason she’d dared touch him in the first place. “I’m so sorry. I lost my mom when I was sixteen. Do you want—”

      “It was a long time ago,” he interrupted, jerking his hands out from hers in a pretense of reaching for his wallet to pull out a few bills. “I should get going. I’ll walk you back to your car.”

      Stung by his abrupt withdrawal, Kelsey ducked her head before he could see the embarrassed color burning in her cheeks. Focusing on her purse, she searched for the keys she knew perfectly well were in the outside pocket.

      “No need. I’ll be fine,” she insisted, and started walking. But if she thought she could out-stubborn Connor, he quickly proved her wrong.

      “You will be fine,” he agreed, his light touch against her lower back a complete contrast to the steely determination in his voice. “Because I’m walking you to your car.”

      Kelsey didn’t argue, even though Matt was probably long gone. Thanks to Connor, he’d learned his lesson. Too bad she had yet to learn hers. Because no matter what Connor said about how beautiful she was, actions spoke louder than words, and all the compliments in the world couldn’t erase the hurt of reaching out to Connor only to have him pull away.