Page 25 of Always a Bridesmaid

Somehow he doubted that. Just look at that dress. Whenever she was in the room, he couldn’t look anywhere but at her. He’d caught other guys looking as well. Not that he blamed them, but it didn’t explain why it made him want to punch them.

“Good to know. Her ex was. But, for the right price, he found another spotlight to stand under.”

Her jaw dropped to the floor. “You paid off Sarah’s ex to leave?”

Henry winced. Maybe she wasn’t the only one who’d let the wine loosen their lips. “I paid him off to keep his mouth shut. He was going to post compromising photos of them together.”

“Oh, Hank, I am so sorry. No woman should have to go through that. Did you try to pay off Wayne?”

“Yup, but he wouldn’t take a penny.”

“I can tell he really loves her.”

“You think?”

“I know. And I’ve seen a lot of brides and grooms walk down the aisle, so I can gauge these things. Your sister and Wayne will make it. I just know it.”

“What are you, a professional gambler on weddings?” he asked, and her entire demeanor changed. Her back went stiff, her mouth pressed into a thin line, and her eyes went wide with, well he didn’t know, but she looked shaken. “Hank, we didn’t get off on the right foot, and we definitely aren’t going to be braiding each other’s hair any time soon.”

“Too bad, I am an excellent braider. French is my specialty. I can get you references if you like.”

Not even a laugh. Whatever just happened had transformed her back into the uptight princess. “I’ll pass.”

“A test drive then?”

“Hard pass.”

He laughed.

“What I can give you is a promise that I am the best bridesmaid for your sister, and I am going to do my best to make sure that she has the wedding of her dreams, even if it means slumming it with you for the day.”

8

“Do you think you can hack into his files and make sure there isn’t a backup somewhere that Henry didn’t know about, and delete them?” Jane asked Roxy.

The second she’d returned to her room, she’d set up a video conference with her friend to see what Roxy could do about those compromising pictures. She couldn’t believe someone who once claimed to love you could then go and do something so damaging. Then again, Henry said her ex had never been in it for love. He’d been in it for the money. Poor Sarah.

And poor Henry, having to be placed in that difficult position. Not that he’d even hesitate to get those pictures under lock and key, but having to tell his sister the hard truth must have been painful and difficult.

“You give me permission and I could put that dickhead himself in the delete file,” Roxy said.

“While I am sure Henry would approve, I don’t think there is a story big enough to weave to get you out of premeditated murder. Plus, BrideBuddy—singular—doesn’t have the same ring.”

Roxy sighed. “That’s the problem with you. There are so many rules.”

Jane thought of earlier that afternoon and how many rules she’d broken. From staring at Henry’s mouth while he’d been sipping wine to watching his large, masculine hands wrap all the way around the glass with a gentle strength that had her head spinning stories about just how good those hands would feel on her knee, her thighs, higher. To sharing memories about her past.Her past!Not Elle’s!

She shoved a spoonful of chocolate lava cake into her mouth. “Rules are there for a reason,” she said around crumbs.

Roxy leaned in to the monitor and studied Jane as if she were a new species of bug trapped under a microscope. “Says the woman who plays dress-up for a living.” Roxy grinned from ear to ear and sat back in her chair. “Something happened. Something that has to do with a male. Still no orgasm, that stick is firmly lodged up your ass, but something is different.”

“Just doing my job,” Jane said, casual as casual can be.

“Then why are you mainlining chocolate like it’s porn?”

There was no point in lying to Roxy. Her friend was like a wolf on the hunt, once she sank her teeth into something she would tear it apart until only the carcass remained. Plus, as her business partner, she deserved to know the truth.

“Fine. It’s no big deal, and completely business related, but I spent the day wine tasting with Henry and I might have gotten a little tipsy.”

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