Free Christmas With the Best Man by Ari Thatcher Page A

vacation we could give up the routine,” Bree said.
    “Sure,” Kenzi replied. “As long as we give up eating.”
    “And drinking,” Jasmine added.
    “Not likely.” Kenzi sidestepped some broken glass on the road without breaking stride. “Just think, running in the morning, snorkeling in the afternoon and dancing at night. We’ll actually lose weight!”
    “And sleep for the entire week when we get home.” Bree jogged ahead so they could move single file as a car passed.
    They followed the narrow road all the way out to the point before turning back. In the distance, Kenzi noticed a single runner coming toward them. A tall, slender guy, to be more precise. Creamy dark skin. Closely shaved hair. He had on large sunglasses, so who knew what he really looked like, but the rest of him was drool-worthy. Broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist, chiseled upper arms. She could easily picture that body poised above her on the sheets.
    He swiped the butt of his palm on the side of his face in a move worthy of an exotic men’s cologne commercial. His teeth flashed in a smile before disappearing behind full lips. Kenzi’s heart rate sped up. No way, it couldn’t be him. She only had Chaz on the brain because Jasmine mentioned him. This guy was leaner. Not scrawny, but wiry. Definitely buff.
    And he was wearing Spandex running shorts. The Chaz she knew would never be caught dead in those.
    The closer he got, the tighter her stomach muscles knotted. It was Chaz. Did he even remember her? Should she acknowledge him as a friend or play it cool? He was probably trying to avoid attention. Avoid cameras and shrieking fan-girls. She voted for cool. “Hey.” And kept jogging past.
    “Lady K?”
    Oh, shit. She turned and jogged in place. “Omigod, Chaz!” She sounded like a nerd. She felt like one. She had no makeup on. Her hair had last night’s mousse in it, yanked back in a ponytail to keep it from flapping in her face. And, her running shorts showed every ounce of the five pounds she’d gained since college.
    “I thought that was you. It’s so cool to see you.” He stopped running and put his sunglasses on top of his head. “Are you staying long?”
    “Until Sunday.”
    “Cool. Maybe I’ll run into you again and we can catch up.”
    “Sounds great.” She ignored the piercing stares her friends were giving her.
    “Great.” He turned and jogged away.
    Kenzi did the same. Hopefully she could outrun the questions she knew were coming.
    “Do you know who that was?” Jasmine nearly squeaked, her voice was so high.
    Here it comes. “Um, yeah, I did call him by name.”
    Bree trotted in front of Kenzi, spinning to jog backwards. “I’ve known you four years and not once did you mention him. He calls you by a nickname! ‘Lady K.’ What’s up with that?”
    Jasmine punched her arm playfully. “You didn’t even say anything when I said he was on the island.”
    Kenzi looked up at the crystal blue sky in frustration. “Will you guys keep it down? He can hear you. And how was I to bring up something like that without sounding like I was name-dropping? It’s not that big a deal.”
    Bree turned around again to jog forward. “Not that big a deal. Hello. Chaz-freakin’-Marino.”
    “Did you sleep with him?” Jasmine always got straight to the point.
    “What kind of question is that?”
    “I thought it was pretty straightforward,” Bree said.
    “All right. We dated in college. He moved away and I stayed to graduate. That’s it.”
    “Dated. Are we talking Cokes in the coffee shop or dinner followed by a little headboard banging?” Jasmine had such class at times.
    There was no way they were just going to let this die. Rolling her eyes, Bree spilled the truth. “God, you guys drive me crazy! Okay, it was a real relationship. Could have turned out to be something if we hadn’t been traveling different paths. Do I need to remind you he’s engaged to Vanessa? I have no intentions-nor do I think I could