Page 51 of The Wedding Wrecker

Despite my better judgment, I wrapped both arms around his arm and hugged myself into him. “There you are!Casual kiss,” I whispered quickly.

To his credit, James handled the moment as smoothly as if it was completely real. He tucked his index finger under my chin, bent his neck, and placed a soft, tender kiss on my lips.

And then his tongue swiped between my lips playfully.

I jerked back, then forced a smile I hoped was natural. I talked through my teeth, keeping my voice low. “What the hell was that?”

“Just like we practiced,” he said. “The tongue was your idea. Remember?”

Bastard.

“I can’t get over how cute you two are together,” Lily said, rushing up and taking my hands in hers. Her smile was vibrant and her outfit was adorable. She had on a puffy white wool hat, a matching white scarf, and a white, pleated jacket that went all the way to mid-calf. Even her boots were white.

“Look at you,” I said. “Like a snow princess.”

“Beautiful, isn’t she?” Marcus said, sliding his hand around her waist as he joined us. He planted a kiss on Lily’s cheek, and she practically melted into him.

See?I thought, hoping James was taking careful note. They were perfect together. It was obvious how happy he made her. For the first time, I considered the possibility that this whole thingwould end up being a big nothing burger. James wouldn’t find anything, because there was nothing to find. The wedding would go beautifully. Happily ever freaking after. And I could blow a fat raspberry to James’ cynical face.

“Well,” James said, jerking his head toward the front doors. “It looks like our chariots await. Literally.”

I grinned. “This was one of the things I was most excited about when I decided on this venue.”

Richard Wellington, Dick, the three handsome brothers, and a few of the other Wellingtons I hadn’t met yet moved outside. Our family’s side of the wedding party was only me, Lily, my mom, my dad, and IguessJames counted.

My dad was the type to spend all day in his room doing crossword puzzles while muttering to himself, so I was hardly surprised I hadn’t seen him once since arriving. If he had his way, he’d probably stay hidden until the wedding day.

I’d spotted my mom at the hotel bar a few times, but she also seemed to be hiding out in her room as much as she could. If I had to guess, I’d say she felt guilty about having James here, and she was probably a nervous wreck about how the day of the ceremony was going to go. I didn’t blame her, but I didn’t have the luxury of getting to hide away and wait for the big day. As the wedding planner and the sister of the bride, I had to keep making appearances.

With James.

Charity Wellington came up to me as the men in her family headed outside. She was Dick and Marcus’ little sister. She had platinum blonde hair, big blue eyes, and pursed, full lips. Heroutfit was the kind of over-the-top ridiculous that probably cost a small fortune.

She came up to us and pulled Lily into a hug. “Lily! I’m so sorry we haven’t got to chat yet. I just got in last night. I work with a few fashion designers out of Paris, and they had some last minute emergencies they needed my opinion on. I know you understand!”

Humble brag, much?

“Oh, no worries,” Lily said, smiling up at the taller woman. To Lily’s credit, she didn’t look like she wanted to claw Charity’s eyes out or even kick her between the legs.

That was more than I could say for myself.

I always thought one of Lily’s best qualities was her innocent outlook. She was practically immune to female cattiness and jealousy. And why should any of that bother her? She was the girl everybody was always jealous of, and she never had to try to be the one people wanted to impress. That’s just how Lily was, and the effortlessness of it made it impossible to resent her for it.

“Who isthis?” Charity said, drifting toward me and James.

Oh, hell no.

Her long-lashed eyes fell to James legs and swept up his body slowly as her lips curved upward. She put her mouth into a playful pout. “Don’t tell me you’re taken. Let me guess, by, um…her?” she said.

Somehow, she managed to inject so much disdain, dismissal, and outright “ew” into the single syllable I wasalmostimpressed.

“This is my girlfriend,” James said. “Emma. We’re absolutely crazy for each other.” He added, lowering his lips to my ear. “Passionate kiss?” he whispered.

I didn’t wait. I just turned and cupped his face, launching into a hard, heavy kiss that was brief, but made absolutely no secret of the fact that we were together.

Except we weren’t together,I reminded myself as we pulled back and I delicately swiped the corner of my mouth with my thumb.

“Get a room,” Lily joked, but I saw her give Marcus a playful squeeze on the butt as the two of them headed outside, leaving us with Charity.

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