Page 151 of The Bad Wedding Date

“What the hell is going on?” Emmie cried out, stepping forward from her place next to a champagne tower, only for Lucas to grab hold of her arm and hold her back. A move she didn’t approve of, according to the narrowed eyes she shot his way before she shrugged him off.

I glared at every self-indulgent person in the bar, daring them to challenge me as I held Matteo by my side like a dog.

When silence had descended over the private party, Wade carried Charlotte forward in his arms, causing another gasp to fall from the guests’ lips.

Mitchell took a step towards us, and I let my eyes settle on him.

“Charlotte,” he said quietly.

“She’s safe,” I assured him. “Because of us.”

Mitchell glanced down at Matteo’s bleeding form, and I saw the contempt flash across his face.

“Is this the kind of person you invite into your midst to be around your daughters?” I asked him, the muscles in my jaw fighting to keep me in control. “A predator like him.” I shook Matteo by the neck, not looking away from Mitchell. More whispers passed over the crowd as everyone looked around in confusion. “A man willing to take anything and everything from whoever he sees fit.”

“Fraser,” Mitchell said carefully, passing his glass to Laurie and holding his hands in the air in surrender, as though he was the bad guy here. “You need to tell me why my daughter is unconscious.”

“Because this bastard here tried to drug and kidnap her, Mitchell. Just like he’s done with so many before her. But I think a few of you in this room already knew that, didn’t you?”

A few women around me gasped, the men’s mutterings not far behind them.

“Someone help me,” Matteo croaked, trying to lift his head to look at the people around him. “This thug attacked me. What he’s telling you are lies.”

I held Mitchell’s gaze, waiting for him to do what any father should do.

“We need to call the police!” someone from the crowd shouted, only for Matteo to snap his head up to the people in front of him.

“No!” he cried, putting a lame hand in the air. “No. We don’t want to draw attention to this private affair. Someone just needs to get this idiot off me.”

As though Mitchell was seeing Matteo for the very first time, his eyes narrowed in on him, and he took a step closer, his face turning sour as that reaction I’d been waiting and hoping for finally kicked in.

“I think drawing attention to it is exactly what we need to do,” he said, his voice threatening. “I think it’s what we’ve needed to do for a very long time.”

When Mitchell’s eyes rose to meet mine, an understanding passed between us.

I had a feeling that this wasn’t unexpected news to him at all because when he gave me a nod, I saw sympathy there, too.

That’s when I knew… Charlotte had told him everything.

Including what Matteo had done to my mother.

51

Charlotte

My eyelashes fluttered, revealing bright lights that instantly made me want to shut my eyes again. A groan of discomfort left me as I curled up against something hard yet comforting. Something that smelled familiar. Delicious. Warm.

A hand ran up and down my spine, and I moaned, appreciating the way it made me feel.

Then I heard his voice in my ear.

“You’re safe,” he whispered. “I’m here.”

The fact I’d been unconscious only seconds earlier didn’t matter. My eyes flew open to look up at his face, and when I saw his sad gaze and soft smile, my heart tried to escape my chest.

This had to be a dream.

Blinking rapidly, I kept waiting for him to disappear, but Fraser just held me in his arms, as though there was nothing but the two of us left in the whole world.

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