Page 5 of Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

"She must be one of Andrew's friends," I murmured.

"You haven't met her?"

"Not yet."

"Interesting. Did you know Allison had been staying in the room next to Andrew's for the three days prior to the hotel fire?"

"No. But he was there for a conference. I assume she was as well."

"She was registered for the conference."

"There you go."

"But they were more than friends back then, which makes me wonder why he'd invite his ex to his wedding, especially since you don't even know who she is."

My palms started to sweat. I felt like he'd just dropped a bomb, and he'd done it deliberately. He was looking for a reaction, and I really shouldn't give him one.

"How do you know they were more than friends?" I asked carefully. "Or is that another theory?"

He pulled out his phone, clicked on the screen, and turned it around to show me a photo of Andrew and Allison embracing outside the hotel. They were gazing into each other's eyes, and the hug definitely felt more intimate than friendly. The image hit me like a physical blow. Andrew had never mentioned he'd been at the conference with anyone he was involved with. But then, he hadn't really talked about his past at all. He'd told me he couldn't remember anyone he'd met before me, that everyone else had faded from his mind.

"Maybe you should ask him about Allison before you say I do," Ethan suggested.

"I don't need to do that. I trust Andrew completely. I don't care about his past relationships. He's with me now. Whatever happened before we met doesn't matter. And that photo was taken before the fire, which was before he met me."

"But isn't it odd that she's here at your wedding? Especially since he never mentioned her to you. It seems like you might want to ask yourself what else you don't know."

"Why are you trying to stir up trouble, Mr. Stark? You told me the investigation is closed."

"It's officially closed. Unofficially, I'm still looking for answers, and I'm going to find them."

"You won't find them here." I walked away. I couldn't listen to him for another second, but his words lingered in my mind. And somewhere beneath my anger was a whisper of doubt.

Why hadn't Andrew told me about Allison? He'd never even mentioned her name to me.

When I reached Andrew, Allison and his groomsmen had disappeared, and he was looking at something on his phone. As I joined him, he gave me a smile and put his phone into his pocket.

"I was just about to come looking for you, Lauren." He paused, his gaze running down my very expensive, form-fitting, navy-blue beaded cocktail dress that, according to the stylist, was the perfect shade for my dark-brown hair and light-blue eyes. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks. It took a village," I said lightly, still feeling like an imposter. I wasn't a sophisticated woman. I preferred jeans and sweaters, very little makeup, and barely running a brush through my shoulder-length wavy brown hair. But tonight, I looked like someone else, and maybe that was okay, because Andrew was looking at me with so much pleasure and longing that it made spending time in the makeup chair all the more worthwhile. "You look great, too. We clean up pretty well."

"We do." He gave me a speculative look. "Is everything okay? You seem…nervous."

"Ethan Stark is here."

"Really?" He turned his head, perusing the room, his gaze landing on Ethan, who was standing across the room, sipping his drink, and making no pretense of not watching us. "Did you talk to him?"

"Yes. He's still very suspicious of us. He can't seem to shake the idea we had something to do with starting the hotel fire and stealing Victor's paintings."

"He's never been able to prove that, and the investigation is over. I wouldn't worry about him, Lauren."

"He said the official investigation is completed, but he's still digging."

Andrew shrugged. "Well, he won't find anything, because there's nothing to find."

"I wish he wasn't here. He's very annoying."

"Don't let him get to you, Lauren."

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