Page 18 of The Bad Wedding Date

That entitled sleaze-ball had been trying to get into my underwear ever since Lucas and Emmie hooked up, and he didn’t seem to understand why a girl like me wasn’t willing to throw myself onto my back and spread my legs for him. Surely, a Grant hooking up with a Neeson was music to the high society’s ears?

Fraser leaned closer, creating a safe space between us around the table.

“So,” he said with a wry smile. “You have me here at your disposal. What do you need me to do for my hundred an hour?”

I winced at the mention of the money, a small wave of shame washing over me. “About that. Is there any room for negotiation on that hourly rate I agreed to?”Fraser laid a confused look on me. “It’s just… I work in care. I don’t exactly have a large cushion of money to fall back on.”

He glanced around the room—this grand, opulent space where no money had been spared—before his attention came back on me again.

“Their money isn’t mine,” I said, making sure there was no room for confusion on that front. “If that’s why you’re here, I mean.”

Fraser laughed, rolling his shoulders in his suit jacket before he sat back in his seat without a care in the world. “Charlotte, I can leave anytime you need me to. Relax. Money isn’t the be all and end all of everything. Maybe I’m here because I enjoy your face.”

I managed to roll my eyes, but I hid my smile before the master of ceremonies demanded our attention.

After a bellowing declaration of my sister’s newfound marital status, the room erupted with applause—every man, woman, and child rising to their feet like the king and queen of England had arrived. Nobody was as full of their own self-importance as those who weren’t that important at all. I’d much rather rise and clap for a nurse or a doctor, a firefighter, policeman or woman who put their lives at risk every day, but that was my bitterness showing again and, apparently, I had to keep that under control for the day. So, I smiled brightly as the newlyweds took their seats in case anyone happened to be watching me, waiting for another reason to throw narrowed eyes my way.

Soon the glasses of wine and champagne were being topped up by the hotel staff, and the chatter around us grew as everyone else got lost in their own conversations, with the string quartet from the ceremony also flaring to life again.

When the first course was placed in front of us, Fraser’s nose curled up at the dainty portion of pea puree and scallops.

I dipped the small fork into the first scallop, watching Fraser, who was scooping it up like he was digging into a tub of ice cream.

“Fine dining.” He sighed, shaking his head.

“Yeah, with those biceps, I’d say you were more of a steak and fries kind of guy.”

“Quit checking me out. That wasn’t in the rules.”

“I can be observant without being leery.” Another lie. It was impossible not to check him out.

Fraser eyed me and raised an accusatory brow for just a moment before his food distracted him again. He investigated it like it was diseased, and then he wrapped his plump lips around that lucky fork.

“Nice?”

“Very good, actually.” He nodded slowly.

I sighed dramatically. “Fine dining, hey?” I shook my head, only to earn another sly smile from Fraser that could have pureed my control.

He continued to eat, and so did I, at least until I felt the need to fill the silence between us with something a little more serious when I caught my mother watching me.

“If my parents find out that we don’t actually know each other…”

Fraser’s eyes narrowed as he took another bite from his fork. His giant hands wrapped around delicate, ornate cutlery only emphasised the size of him. He looked like a dapper gladiator placed in the middle of a world made of china plates.

“How will they find out?”

“I sometimes have a loose mouth when I’ve had several glasses of champagne. Especially in highly charged situations.”

“Ah, good girl by day, reckless demon by night.”

“Add that one to the list of things you’re finding out about me. By the end of all this we might actually know a thing or two about each other. At least enough to say hello if we pass each other by in the streets sometime.” I cringed before returning to my food.

It was a tiny portion that didn’t last long. Before I’d even taken my last mouthful and placed my fork down, the servers were rushing to clear it away.

My sister laughed, catching my attention, and I looked over to see Lucas with his arm around her shoulder, whispering something in her ear that had the two of them grinning like this was the perfect wedding day they’d always planned it to be. Memories of Emmie and I growing up together invaded my mind—tiny flashbacks of two people born of the same blood, yet total strangers, unable to connect in a way that had made me think I must have been born broken.

“In another bid to get to know you, tell me…” Fraser reached for his glass of white wine. “Why are you so different from your sister?”

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