Page 37 of The Bad Wedding Date

I side-eyed whoever had arrived only to see Mitchell staring across the dance floor at his daughter. His hands were behind his back, and because of my height, I got a good view of the bald patch on his crown before he looked up at me with eyes similar to those of Charlotte’s.

“Mitchell Grant,” he said with a smile.

“I know who you are.”

“Wish I could return the acknowledgement.”

“Fraser.”

“I heard that from my daughter’s introduction. I must have skipped the surname. You do have a surname, I assume?”

“I do.”

His smile didn’t falter. This guy was well-rehearsed in keeping his cool, which was no surprise considering his demanding wife, as well as his closest associates. In this life, you didn’t get far unless you had a strong poker face.

After a moment, Mitchell chuckled to himself and looked at Charlotte.

“Whatever you’re called, my daughter seems to come alive around you. That’s a pleasure to see. Finally.” He paused. “I take it the two of you are fairly new.”

“What makes you think that?”

“She’s still making an effort with you.” His longing smile turned sad. “Charlotte doesn’t suffer fools, and she doesn’t waste her time on people. To quote my own daughter, ‘anyone you’ve known for longer than a month is usually a huge disappointment to what you thought they’d be when you first met them’. It’s rare for her to latch onto someone without them proving their worth, and since she doesn’t look at you like you’re a disappointment yet, I have to assume it’s still new.”

“Or that I haven’t given her a reason to doubt me.”

“But will you?”

“Probably.” It was a truth I hadn’t meant to set free.

“Hmm. With that kind of honesty, maybe she will keep you around.” Mitchell turned his back on Charlotte, rested his hand on my bicep and stared off into the distance behind me. “Keep my girl safe, please, Fraser. That’s all I ask.”

“Why wouldn’t she be safe?”

His eyes met mine, but only briefly before he walked away.

I should have grabbed his arm and forced him to answer my question, but I was a big guy, and I saw the eyes of those around me wondering who the hell I really was and why I was there.

Keep my girl safe, please, Fraser.

Charlotte stood out like a sore thumb on the dance floor—a prime candidate for the sleazier of the male species. She was an outcast. Nobody had any faith in her. Nobody cared enough to help or save her from being the loner she’d come to be.

The predators could keep their eyes on her.

Watch her when she leaves…

Without me here, they could follow her home, offer to share a taxi...

I closed my eyes as memories of the first girl I’d ever saved in that dark alley came back to me. Ten years of seeing that demon’s eyes flaring to life with lust and dirty greed as they stalked towards that fourteen-year-old girl, ready to steal her innocence for a single second of gratification for themselves.

“Hey,” Charlotte said, making me flinch and look down on her to see her pressing a hand to my arm. Wide, innocent eyes stared up at me. “You look in pain. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I cleared my throat.

“You’re lying.” She smiled. “That’s okay. I know this whole night is weird and overwhelming.”

“A little.”

“Fraser, if it’s getting too much—”

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