Page 45 of Heated Rivals
Carrigan didn’t cry. Especially at weddings. Especially at weddings whose planning had been a giant pain in her ass for the last few months and had been arranged by her parents.
But the second Callie started down the aisle in her gorgeous white dress, its train like something out of a fairy tale, and Teague’s eyes shone, Carrigan damn near lost it.He’s so happy. That’s all I ever wanted for him. None of her problems mattered today. They could wait. Teague and Callie’s happiness took priority, and she was more than content to temporarily shelve her own baggage for a while.
She clutched her miniature bouquet while Callie’s father handed her off to Teague and the priest began to talk about love and Christ and marriage. It couldn’t be more obvious that neither of the two people at the altar gave two fucks about his words. They only had eyes for each other.
Even Carrigan could admit that the wedding was gorgeous. Her mother had gone all out, and all the headaches and badgering had resulted in a picture-perfect ceremony. The bridesmaids all wore long blue gowns the same color as Callie’s eyes, and they all had lily bouquets instead of the traditional roses, which complemented Callie’s lily and rose bouquet. All Carrigan’s remaining brothers were there, polished within an inch of their lives, and they all looked genuinely happy for the first time in longer than she caredto remember.
It seemed like she wasn’t the only one putting aside her baggage for Teague’s big day.
Teague and Callie exchanged their vows and were announced as Mr. and Mrs. Teague O’Malley. No one seemed to care that they’d already been married for several months—including them. And then they were down the aisle and disappearing through the huge doors, and Aiden was there, offering his arm to Carrigan. “You managed to be on time, I see.”
“Don’t be a dick.” She spoke through teeth clenched into a smile. Aiden’s attitude might stem from legitimate worry about her, but that didn’t mean she was going to roll over and play dead for him.Hewasn’t the one being forced into a marriage he didn’t want. Oh, she knew their father had his eye on several candidates for her older brother, but the sad truth was that ultimately it’d be Aiden’s decision on both the time and the person. Carrigan didn’t have that luxury.I’m not worrying about it today.
Easier said than done.
They made it to the end of the aisle, and Carrigan walked over to hug Teague. “I’m so happy for you. For both of you.”
“Thank you.”
And then their mother was there, ushering them all out of the church and into the waiting limo. It was a squeeze with all of them, but they managed. Carrigan ended up sandwiched between Keira and Aiden. He frowned at their younger sister. “Have you been drinking?”
“It’s called celebrating.” She reached around to grab a bottle of champagne that had been stashed in the bucket of ice in the corner, and took a swig. “We’re at a wedding,after all.”
From the look of her, she’d beencelebratingfor a while before they got to the ceremony. Aiden must have come to the same conclusion. “Keira, we’re going to talk about this.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sure thing, Dad. I’ll get right on that.”
For the first time, Carrigan wondered if maybe this was more than their sister just working her way through grief over Devlin’s death. She tried to remember the last time she saw Keira sober and came up blank. It could be chalked up to her being busy with her own drama… but what if that wasn’t it at all? She exchanged a look with Aiden, their earlier bickering falling away in the face of what might be a real problem. Carrigan shook her head.Not today. Not on Teague’s wedding day.
Aiden nodded and sat back, causing the tension among the three of them to decrease dramatically. Across from them, Teague and Callie were lost in their own world, and Cillian and Sloan were talking quietly. No one had heard or paid attention to their exchange with Keira. It was probably for the best. If Teague knew something might be wrong, he’d set aside everything except for solving the problem. They’d put it on the back burner so that he could be happy without strings attached today.
They pulled up to the reception hall—the same one that had been used to announce Teague and Callie’s wedding—and everyone piled out of the limo. Half the guests had somehow beaten them there, and the tables were filling up as they made their way up to the main table on the platform. Carrigan gave the crowd a cursory glance, and then almost tripped over her feet when shecaught sight of a familiar blond head of hair.No way. She touched Sloan’s arm. “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay. Don’t be too long, though. I think our mother has dinner set up to go off immediately, followed by the toasts.”
One of which Carrigan was giving. She nodded without taking her eyes off the blond man. That wasdefinitelyJames. “I know. I won’t miss it.” She moved away before her sister could say something else, winding through the tables and trying to get a better look.This is stupid. Just walk over and tap him on the shoulder and then you’ll see that it’s not James, because there’s no way James could be here.But then he looked over his shoulder, caught her eye, andwinked. She changed course, determined to drag his ass out of here before one of her brothers or, worse, her father, realized he was in the room.
James stood and walked toward the door leading deeper into the building—not the exit.That’s it. I’m going to kill him. Carrigan checked to make sure no one was following, and then ducked after him. She barely made it three steps when an arm wrapped around her waist and a hand over her mouth cut off her curse.
“Relax, lovely. It’s me.”
She damn well knew it was him. It wasn’t like she was wandering down the hall for her health. She elbowed him and slipped free. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Nothing. Why do you ask?” He rubbed his stomach with a grimace. “You sure do like beating me up.”
“I don’t respond well to being grabbed without warning.” She waved it away. “Back to more important things—whyare you here?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I was invited.”
“You were invited.” She hadn’t realized it was possible to actually feel her blood boil. “You’re a smart man, James.”
“Why do I feel you’re about to use that as a backhanded compliment?”
She ignored the question. “And, as a smart man, you have to be aware that the invitation was a gesture only. No one wants you here, and just by being here, you’re upping the chances of causing a conflict that will jeopardize the peace.”
“Ah, lovely.” He grinned, his total lack of concern making her blood pressure spike. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re sweet on me.”
“I’m not. I don’t believe in caring about idiots who have death wishes.” She smacked his arm. “You need to leave. Now.”
