Page 33 of Undo Me

Reason number two why people were better than books: No matter how well you think you know them cover to cover, people can and will still surprise you. Allegra, who’d been a virtual stranger only days ago, was now a fierce ally. Michelle, who’d always been all about living for the moment and jumping in with both feet, was the voice of caution. And Bethany was going to a wedding in a dress guaranteed to attract attention.

She left the bridal party and headed out to the garden to sit in one of the folding chairs that had been set up for the occasion. Ben had taken the lead, and he’d done a great job putting this together so quickly. The trees were filled with fairy lights, and gardenias and magnolias were blooming everywhere.

A white runner lay across the grass between the chairs up to the gazebo, which was freshly painted, draped in white silk and lit with small spotlights at the base. The workers had even built a temporary bandstand off to the side, where a small jazz band was playing softly for the crowd.

There were two giant tables laden with food on either side of the garden, one covered in white, the other in purple. One to feed the living and one to honor the dead, she knew. Later, there would be a celebration of All Saints’, but for the moment, everyone was silently waiting to celebrate Rousseau and Allegra. It was a wonderful night for it. There was even a rare, cool breeze.

She felt a tug on her hair and turned with an automatic apology on her lips, certain her loose locks had snagged some poor victim already, but no one was sitting behind her yet.

“Manuel, is that you?” Another cool breeze. “Wanted to see the wedding, too, did you? Well you’re welcome to sit with me. Just don’t play any tricks tonight, okay? Allegra deserves her happy ending.”

Her fingers slipped beneath the halter of her dress, adjusting the locket she shouldn’t be wearing. “I wore it for luck,” she murmured to the ghost. “Just one more time, and then I’ll share everything with Michelle.”

Share it? It doesn’t even belong to you.

But she was invested now. If several love letters, a diary, and a nameless mausoleum were all the woman left behind, it might break her heart. There had to be more to the story.

“If only you could tell us what happened,” she whispered to Emmanuel.

The music changed, and she saw Rousseau and Ben gather on the steps of the gazebo. She turned her head with the other guests and spied Mambo Toussaint and Elise Adair on the other side of the aisle, holding tightly to each other’s hands.

Michelle came out first, holding a small bouquet of magnolias as she walked toward them, her eyes on Ben. Bethany followed her gaze and sighed. You’d think it was his wedding, with that goofy grin on his face. He even stepped forward when Michelle reached the gazebo, but when several people chuckled, he shrugged and stepped back, allowing her to take her place on the bride’s side.

With the baby reveal she knew was coming tomorrow, and Ben Adair’s impatience, Bethany had a feeling she’d be invited back sooner than she’d planned.

A wave of gasps and people rising to their feet let her know that Allegra and BD had entered the backyard. Bethany heard the feminine whispers and knew they weren’t discussing the bride, despite how ethereal she looked.

They were for him.

She forced herself to keep smiling, wishing she’d convinced him to purchase a Halloween costume, complete with cosmetic scar and eyepatch, instead of his current attire. Something to distract from his beautiful face. But she’d be selfish beyond measure if she took this away from him. How long had it been since he’d truly been seen in the flesh?

She looked away, catching a man a few rows behind her ogling her breasts. Her eyes widened. She wasn’t used to getting looks like that. Ever.

She glanced at BD and noticed him noticing. His eyes narrowed dangerously on the bearded stranger before meeting her sudden smile with a grumpy glare. He was jealous? Of her?

Bethany glared and straightened her spine, the move pushing her breasts out more than she was comfortable with, but he deserved it. He was the one who wanted her to wear the stupid dress in the first place.

As he drew closer to her, he got his first full view of the consequences of that decision. His jaw tightened, not with irritation this time, but need. She could see it. Feel it. Bethany had never felt anything like it. For tonight, at this moment, she was a siren, the woman in red that no man could resist. Not even Bone Daddy.

She watched him hand the bride to Rousseau, placing a gentle kiss on Allegra’s forehead. Her heart pounded as she waited for him to come to her, to sit beside her as they watched the culmination of their unusual love story.

Instead he turned, avoiding her gaze as he walked toward the other side of the aisle, finding an empty seat beside a woman in a slinky black dress who, if her expression was anything to go by, was thinking she’d just won the man lottery. The harlot immediately placed her arm across the back of his chair, using the excuse of speaking in his ear to press her obviously fake breasts against his side.

Her cheeks on fire, Bethany glanced around to make sure no one had witnessed her epic embarrassment and sat down with a thump. What the hell? Had he decided after the incident in the dressing room that she wasn’t worth the trouble? That he didn’t want to waste what was left of his day on her?

Had he decided he wanted someone else?

Catherine warned you.

No. No Michelle had warned her. And she’d dismissed her like an idiot.

Ignoring the frantic tugs on her hair, she fought to get her anger under control. She held herself stiffly, determined not to let him see how badly his public brush-off had hurt her.

He’d never loved her. He’d never been faithful.

The tugs got harder.

“Not now, Manuel,” she hissed from the corner of her mouth. “I’m busy.”

Thinking of ways to unman a Loa. Painfully.

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