Page 6 of Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

"I don't like that he thinks we're thieves."

"Who cares what he thinks?" Andrew challenged. "We know who we are. And since the Carringtons are paying for everything, they get to have whoever they want at our wedding. If they believed we were thieves, they wouldn't have put us in the marketing campaign. Ignore him."

"You're right. Obviously, he told Victor what he thought about us, and Victor didn't care."

"Exactly. It's all good. Look at this beautiful restaurant we're standing in. We're about to be served dinner by a Michelin-starred chef. This is a wedding most people could only dream about. You should be smiling."

His words brought a smile to my lips. "You're right. I'm just starting to feel like I'm getting married in front of strangers."

"You have friends and family here, too. Try to relax and enjoy yourself."

I felt bad for dragging down his good mood, because he seemed irritated by my comments.

"I'm going to do that," I promised, but as soon as I saw the woman he'd been speaking to earlier re-enter the room with Andrew's friend Colin, I felt my entire body stiffen. I had to say something, but I didn't want to sound accusatory. "Who's that woman?" I asked, trying not to act like I cared that much. "The one with Colin."

"Allison McGuire," he replied without a trace of emotion in his voice.

"Is she with Colin?"

"Not as his date. She's a mutual friend of ours."

"I don't think I've heard you mention her."

"She's an interior designer we work with. We've known each other for years. She's been traveling in Europe the past few months, so I wasn't sure she could make it here this weekend."

And because she'd been traveling, it was probably why I'd never met her. I felt stupid for having felt even an ounce of jealousy about her. "That makes sense."

He gave me a speculative look. "What do you mean?"

"Mr. Stark told me Allison is your ex-girlfriend, and that she was staying in the room next to yours in the hotel the night we met."

An angry light flickered in Andrew's eyes. "She's not my ex-girlfriend. But she was at the conference. She works with a lot of real-estate developers." He paused, giving me a pointed look. "I'm in love with you, Lauren. I can't believe you would let some investigator make you think otherwise."

"I didn't believe him. I'm just telling you what he said."

"Good. Because you and me—that's all that matters."

"It is," I agreed as he drew me in for a kiss, his warm lips reassuring me more than any words could.

He was right. We were the only two people who mattered.

And if he wasn't right…Well, it was probably too late to be wrong.

ChapterTwo

Thirty minutes later, as the waiters discreetly asked our guests to be seated for dinner, Andrew and I made our way to the front of the room, where a tall, silver-haired man with bright- blue eyes was waiting for us to join him at the microphone. Victor Carrington, the CEO and owner of the Carrington Hospitality Group, was in his mid-sixties and was a gregarious, handsome man who loved luxury and sophistication. He also liked adventure, which was why this new coastal retreat would offer guests hiking trips, kayaking, and boating adventures, as well as a five-star restaurant and spa.

I'd only met Victor three times in my life, once at my first company picnic six months after I'd started working at the company and twice during the past three months when Andrew and I had met with the executive team before being selected to be the couple featured in the marketing campaign.

While Andrew and Victor had hit it off immediately, I'd felt a little intimidated by him. But then, he was my boss, and I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize a job I loved. Andrew, on the other hand, had relished the opportunity to connect with Victor. Andrew was a real-estate developer, and while his small business was far from the scale of operations of the Carrington Group, Andrew had big ambitions and admired Victor immensely.

"Here's to our beautiful couple," Victor said, stepping up to the microphone, as he waved his hand toward us.

His gesture brought forth a wave of applause, and my nerves ratcheted up a notch as I looked out at the crowd. There were so many people I didn't know. So many people who didn't seem that supportive, like Ethan Stark and the beautiful redhead who was giving me a very speculative look. Or maybe that was only in my mind.

I'd never been good in groups. I felt more comfortable in the background. I liked my work to show how creative and interesting I was, but there was no work tonight. This was all personal, and yet it felt very impersonal, too. I wished Andrew and I had eloped. It wouldn't have been my dream wedding, but this dream wasn't turning out exactly as I'd imagined.

"Thank you all for coming," Victor said. "I'm honored to be hosting the wedding of Lauren and Andrew. This weekend is going to be very special, and my family is thrilled to be a part of it. My wife, Paula, will arrive tomorrow. But I have my son, Bennett, here." He waved his hand to the thirty-two-year-old brown-haired man standing off to the side.

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