Read Remember Me (Men of Honor Series Book 1) for Free Online

deck, staring at the ocean. Mike had asked Ben if he wouldn’t mind making sure Tess was up and moving. Emma was almost ready to go.
    He knocked again, this time a little louder. Walking to the edge of the deck, he leaned on the railing. The sound of the waves was now a calming force for him. Hearing the glass door open behind him, he turned.
    Tess rubbed her eyes. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders in waves but mussed by her head where she’d slept on it. As she ran her hands through her hair, he noticed her cheeks were rosy from sleep. Not an ounce of makeup on. Beautiful. He couldn’t keep his eyes from wandering to the overly large T-shirt she wore. It came almost to her knees, but definitely showed enough of her muscular, shapely legs. A runner’s legs.
    When his eyes made it back up to meet hers, they were perfectly round. Her arms wrapped around her middle.
    “I…I’m sorry. I thought you were Emma coming to get me.” She pointed over her shoulder, her hand shaking a bit. “Let me go get dressed real quick. I’ll be right back.”
    She took off into the house and up the stairs before he realized he hadn’t taken a breath since she opened the door. Running a hand across his beard, he forced himself to face the water again. Oh yeah, it would take every ounce of self- control not to fall for Tess.
     
    ***
     
    “I was mortified!” Tess said through the dressing room wall. She was trying on her bridesmaid dress while Emma had her gown altered.
    “It wasn’t that big a deal.” Emma’s attempt to encourage her fell flat.
    Tess came out of the dressing room, picked up the skirt of her apricot-colored gown, and plopped down in a chair. Her finger wrapped around a small ribbon hanging from the bodice. Horrified when Emma first told her the color of the dress, Tess thought she might need to find a new best friend, but Emma said it would look great and she was right. Emma stood on a pedestal in front of what seemed liked twenty mirrors, while two women fussed around her and stuck pins in every part of the dress.
    “I opened the door in nothing but a T-shirt, Em.”
    “Oh please, he’s seen you like that before. And in that exact T-shirt, right?”
    “Yes. But Emma, you know we never slept together. We were waiting for our wedding night.”
    “That’s not what I meant. Didn’t you say you wore it just to hang out in or after you went surfing? For crying out loud, Tess, you wear less when you surf. That T-shirt covers more than a bathing suit top and board shorts.” Emma eyed her in the mirror, her glare all but forcing Tess to look her in the eye.
    “Fine. You’re right,” she conceded. “But that doesn’t make it any less embarrassing.”
    Emma laughed. “Yes, it does. You’re just wigged out because he’s back and he’s nice to you and, might I say, even better looking in person than in the pictures you’ve shown me.” She winked.
    Tess sat up in her chair. “Hey, now. You’re about to be married. You’re standing there in your wedding dress even. Don’t go dissin’ Mike,” she teased. “You’ve got quite a looker on your hands as well. And a doctor to boot!”
    “Oh, please. You know how much I love Mike. I’m just saying, as your friend, you had a mighty handsome one, and if he is back, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.” She shrugged, causing one of the seamstresses to stop and give her the evil eye.
    “You must stop moving, ma’am.”
    “Sorry,” Emma whispered as she stifled a giggle.
    Tess sat back in her chair again. Maybe Emma was right. Maybe she needed to be open to the idea of letting Ben back into her life. When she saw him standing on her deck, his beard trimmed like it used to be, memories invaded, and for a moment, she wanted it all back. She wanted him back. But what if she did let him in her life and he never remembered? She would have to tell him at some point, and then he might never forgive her. Or she could give him her heart again, only to have him