Page 27 of The Bride's Secret

Miss Spagnoli stiffened. “What’s he talking about?”

“Here, I’ll introduce you. That’s the woman I mentioned. “Carisa, this is Bellami Spagnoli, and this is Carisa.”

“And I’m Max.”

Wyatt shook his hand again. “Yes, thank you.”

Watching Bellami and Carisa shake hands was like watching Cinderella and Mulan try to play nice.

They all stopped dancing for a moment to talk in the middle of the floor.

Bellami sidled up next to Max. “So, is this your fiancé? I hear there’s an interesting story with you two.”

He looked to Wyatt in alarm. “Oh no, no. She’s married. To him.” His point to Wyatt drew Belami’s eyes, wide and furious. “Pardon me?”

“Yes, I was confused at first too, but they’re pretty open and social with others. Anyway, would you like to dance?” He held out his hand to take hers, but she snatched it out of reach. “I’ll be going.”

She didn’t even look at Wyatt as she stormed past him.

“Oh boy.” He took off after her. “Miss Spagnoli, wait.”

As soon as they were outside the loud club, she whirled on him. “If you think for one minute I want to do business with a lying cheat, you have another thing coming.”

“It’s not like that at all.”

“Seemed pretty like that. If you ask me.”

“We aren’t married.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“No really, we aren’t. I met her at a wedding. She ran away on the day of, instead of getting married, and I escorted her here.”

Bellami put a hand on her hip.

“I told you it was complicated. But trust me. I’m not married.”

“No, you’re just cheating with another man’s fiancé.” She marched away.

And he didn’t have anything to say to that. So he went the other direction to catch the elevator.

His shower and bed never looked so good. But he waited because he knew he needed to have words with Carisa as well. He dropped his head in his hands, while he sat on the couch. Hours went by, and she never came. Wyatt eventually tipped to the side and spent the rest of the night on the couch.

Chapter 12

Carisa didn’t know what to think or how to feel. A part of her was horrified she’d ruined something for Wyatt. They weren’t married. He would never cheat on his wife like that. He didn’t deserve to be thought of in that way. But then a part of her was almost happy their situation had ruined things with this woman. She was stunning, poised. Perfect for Wyatt. The two of them together could have been on the cover of any magazine as the world’s most beautiful people. Both with thick dark hair, light eyes. Ugh. She had felt supremely frumpy next to her, and unprepared to see them. When she hadn’t found Wyatt anywhere, he hadn’t answered his phone, then she saw him in the lobby with that goddess of a woman, she did what any self-respecting woman would do, got herself a date.

And went where she didn’t think she’d see Wyatt. Ugh.

She’d stayed in her hotel room last night and wandered back up to Wyatt’s suite to get her things. Obviously their situation was not working for him. Who knows what Carisa ruined with that woman last night. Maybe nothing. Maybe he explained it all, they laughed at her emotional vulnerability and then she stayed the night. Perhaps Carisa should wait before she went knocking on the door.

But she wanted her things, her makeup wipes and her lotions, her own toothbrush. She stepped up to the door and was about to use the key to open it when Wyatt pulled the door towards him. His eyes were red, tired, his hair mussed, his gym shorts crooked. He looked like he’d rolled out of bed and opened the door.

“Hello Wyatt.”

“You didn’t come home.”

His voice, his worry, use of the word home, everything about this image was so incredibly homey and sexy at the same time, Carisa wasn’t sure how to respond. So she said, “No, I didn’t know your plans for the room, so I stayed in mine.”

---