Page 93 of A Little Luck

“I was invited to this wedding.”

Taking a step closer, I look him straight in the eye. “Consider yourself uninvited. Now get moving.”

He hesitates, studying me, and I almost wish a bitch would. The pain in his jaw must change his mind, because he backs down.

“You Stones don’t own Eureka.”

“Never said we did.”

I wait as he turns and stalks to his Escalade. When he’s good and gone, I head back inside to find Piper.

* * *

“This wedding is a disaster,and I wanted it to be so perfect for Cass!” I finally find my girl in Alex’s office sitting behind his desk with her head down on her crossed arms. “I wanted to have everything she loves, and instead we have no flowers and fights and drunk emcees…”

I walk around the desk and slide my hand over her shoulder. “Not to go all Jemima on you, but I think you’re taking this the wrong way. It’s a good thing. No one will ever forget Cass and Alex’s wedding.”

She only lets out another wail, not taking her head off her arms.

“Come here,” I laugh, reaching down and lifting her out of the chair.

Her lips are pouty, and I put my finger under her chin, forcing her pretty amber-green eyes to meet mine. “This wedding was a hugely entertaining success, and even in the face of wrecked vans, clumsy waitstaff, and inappropriate hosts, you pulled it off. You’re incredible.”

“Don’t forget offensive ex-boyfriends.”

I wrap my arms around her, chuckling. “Drake claimed he was invited, but even if he was, who goes to their ex-girlfriend’s wedding?”

“We reused Britt and Aiden’s old guest list,” she groans, dropping her head forward against my chest. “Wasn’t he on it? I am so cursed.”

“You’re busy, not cursed.” Sliding my hand along the bare skin of her back, I thread my fingers in her hair, looking around my brother’s cozy, mahogany-wood and leather office. “I seem to remember Alex and Cass sneaking in here during Aiden’s reception. I wonder if that door locks.”

Naughty eyes blink up to mine, and she tilts her head to the side. “What are you thinking, Adam Stone?”

“I think you know what I’m thinking.” Leaning down, I pull her lips with mine, but she skips back, circling the large desk.

“Hang on.” She laughs softly. “I’ve got kitten breath.”

“I didn’t notice.” Neither did the boner in my pants.

She reaches for her purse, but it falls face down onto the floor. “Dammit!”

“I’ve got it.” I bend down to pick it up, doing my best to keep the contents from spilling out.

I don’t succeed, and four small, Polaroid photos spread across the Persian rug. I realize as I collect them, they’re the pictures from her damaged house, the ones she scooped up so quickly.

They’re lying facing up, and it only takes a blink for me to see what’s in them. My stomach churns at the sight, and with every blink, my rage grows hotter.

One is of Piper in her underwear showing her upper rib cage. Another is a photo of the same place, only close-up. The next is of her inner thighs, and the final one is under her arms.

In every photo, ugly dark purple or red marks stripe her skin where she was either cut or burned, I can’t tell which. All I know is she was wounded badly, and over a period of time from the look of it.

“Oh!” Her voice is a sharp whisper, and she snatches the photographs from my hand, clutching them to her chest.

My brow is lowered, but I hold it back. I’m not sure what I’m seeing, and clearly, there’s something here I don’t know.

“What are those?” Swallowing the burn in my throat, I nod at them. “Did you… do that to yourself?”

“No!” Her eyes blink wider, and the anger I’m barely holding down turns into an inferno in my chest.

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