Page 14 of Always a Bridesmaid

“Maybe,” Roxy whispered with a hint of concern in her voice.

“This could ruin us.” She massaged her temples. “God, I am so stressed.”

“You’ve come to the right place,” Roxy said. “I want you to repeat these words: I am a boss bitch.”

Roxy went silent and Jane knew her friend wouldn’t let it go until she said it aloud. “Fine. I am a boss bitch.”

“That’s my girl. Now, after you’ve charmed the crowd and get back to the hotel room, there is a gift waiting.”

“A gift? Is it chocolate?”

“Better. There’s a brand-new smut book in the side compartment of your suitcase along with The Clitorator, the best vibrator money can buy. Happy endings all around for you, girl.”

“Didthe famous Henry Norris just strike out with a lady?” Jake said, casually resting his elbow on the bar top while sipping fifty-year-old Scotch from a crystal tumbler.

“Hard to strike out when you weren’t swinging,” Henry said, using American slang.

“Oh, you were swinging, whether you knew it or not,” Enzo Rossi said. He was dressed in a sleek silk tux that was made from the finest Italian silk money could buy and carried an air about him that said,Ladies, I am open for business. Please apply here for a night of unadulterated fun. Position ends when the sun comes up. Velcro women need not apply.

Enzo smacked Henry on the back. “And the miss was spectacular.”

Henry scanned the ballroom for Little Elle who wasn’t so little anymore. He’d seen a few pictures of her over the years pinned to Sarah’s corkboard. She had seemed taller, willowier.But Elle was a pint-sized pinup with all the right curves and angles. She was also an entitled trust fund globetrotter, at least from what he’d gathered from Sarah.

Henry had dated women like that. His ex had been a trust fund baby. He’d assumed that because she’d come from money, she’d love him for who he was beneath the wealth, but it had been his status she’d been after. Namely, the kind of spotlight he could provide.

When things started getting serious and he was thinking of settling down, he wanted to take things more private. His ex wasn’t having it, still wanting to live the red-carpet lifestyle. And when he grew bored with that, the arguing started and they grew distant. Until one day he read an article detailing the problems in the relationship. Details that could have only come from her. So he’d called it quits and avoided serious entanglements since.

He’d rather stay single, have casual flings with other celebs who understood, than put himself in that kind of position to get played again.

“Trust me I wouldn’t even swing the bat,” Henry lied.

He might not like her, but he loved getting under her skin. Watching the way her freckles crinkled when she got good and bloody heated. He’d pay good money to see her lose her shit, even for a second. Because he knew,just knew, that beneath that poised and prim posture she showed to the world was a hothead ready to explode. All it took was the right accelerant.

And Henry would figure out what lit her fuse because he was determined to be there when she blew. Call him a sick bastard, but deep down he had a feeling that he’d like Raging Elle a hell of a lot more than Debutante Elle.

“I haven’t seen either of you making much headway with the ladies,” Henry said, trying to take the spotlight off him.

“I don’t chase. They chase me,” Enzo said.

“The cute brunette in the corner has been eye fucking me for the past twenty minutes,” Jake said, pointing out a woman in a skintight red dress. “Just because I came stag, doesn’t mean I’ll leave alone.”

His friend wasn’t bragging, he was stating a fact. They didn’t call him Jake “Every Time” Evans for nothing. So Henry smacked him upside the head.

“Ow! What the hell?”

“That’s my cousin. What did I say? All family and bridal party are off-limits.”

Henry felt like a hypocrite. Elle was a bridesmaid, and that hadn’t stopped him from looking his fill. Or wondering what it would feel like to get his hands under all that silk.

There were a lot of perks that came with being a professional athlete. Fame, money, women, the lifestyle, but lately none of it had been as appealing as it used to be. Henry felt as if there were some kind of void in his life. Unless he was on the track, he felt a little lost. A little bored with it all. But he hadn’t been bored a few minutes ago, he’d been stimulated—and not just physically. Elle had given even better than she got, and something about that turned him on.

“That didn’t seem to apply when you were staring at Elle’s ass sway as she stormed away,” Jake said.

“Elle? So you knew she was a bridesmaid when you made the wager?”

Jake grinned from ear to fucking ear. “I thought you liked a challenge, bro.”

He looked at Jake. “Why the hell are you coming at me?”

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