The Bridesmaid's Best Man - Page 67

“Hey.” Angie bumped Cheryl’s hip with her shoe. “His name is Cole Foster and he’s a private investigator and a former cop.”

“What?” Cheryl said in a squawk. “Brittany didn’t say anything about this.”

Angie shook her head. “You’ve really got to stop using Brittany as your only source of information.”

Cole saw something gold glitter in the dirt. He bent down and picked up a thin bracelet.

“That’s mine,” Angie said, extending her hand.

Cole held her fingers gently and slid it onto her wrist. “How did you lose this in a fight?”

“Cheryl tried to take it.” She held up her wrist and let the sunshine gleam off the gold. “She thought she should have it.”

“You said I could be a bridesmaid,” Cheryl wailed.

“Cheryl, I may be just a close friend of the groom’s and I may have a bad attitude toward weddings, but I’m wearing this bracelet because I earned it.” She lowered her hand. “But don’t worry, Cheryl. You’re going to get a pair of metal, police-issued ones. You definitely earned those.”

19

“I CAN’T BELIEVE Brittany kicked you out of the wedding again,” Cole said as he carried Angie into her apartment. “After all you did for her.”

“I don’t mind,” said Angie as she lifted her arm and allowed the bracelet to sparkle under the hallway light. “I still got a bracelet out of this deal.”

“And least this time Tim and Steven argued on your behalf,” he stated, shutting the door behind them. “I thought they were going to go slide in the mud in solidarity with you.”

Angie smiled. “I think they wanted to blow off some steam. It had nothing to do with me.”

Cole wasn’t so sure. He knew Angie’s friends were impressed by her taking down Cheryl and finding out the real reason behind the accidents. They were very vocal in their displeasure when Brittany refused to have Angie continue being a bridesmaid based on her scruffy appearance.

“Cole, you can put me down now,” Angie told him as he brushed past the sofa and went straight to the bed. “My ankle is just twisted. And that wasn’t from Cheryl. That was from hurrying in these heels.”

“Obviously the only safe place for you to wear these shoes is in bed with me.” He laid her down. He took off his jacket and wrenched off his tie. Cole felt the anger and fear roll through him again as he cupped her jaw and studied her scratched-up face. “That is some black eye.”

She shrugged. “It’ll heal.”

He caressed her cheek. “I never should have left you alone in the church. I knew Cheryl was behind all this. I knew she was out to get you.”

“Don’t blame yourself, please. We had no proof. And I had everything under control. But I was glad I had you as backup.”

“I will always be there for you.” He leaned down and kissed her gently. “I, too, argued to keep you in the wedding.”

“Oh, I heard. The whole church heard. At least I got to see Patrick get married. That’s all I really wanted.” She pulled at the frayed hem of her dress. “The minute I saw these stains down the front of me, I knew there was no way Brittany would let me walk down the aisle.”

Cole couldn’t believe the bride’s ingratitude. “Like I said, after all you did for her.”

“I know, right?” Angie’s eyes twinkled. “It’s okay. I saved the day and the wedding went on. Patrick knows I did it for him. And I uncovered how crazy Cheryl really is. I wonder what will happen to her.”

“She was saying a lot when they took her away.” Cheryl’s excuses and explanations were not going to help her case.

“She felt invisible because the most important person in her life didn’t share her feelings. I thought I understood how she felt but I was wrong. You see me, even when I try to hide.”

“It’s pointless to hide from me.”

“It is,” Angie agreed as she pulled Cole down on top of her.

“Angie,” he warned as she rolled over so she was on top. “Forget it. You need to rest.”

“Later,” she promised as she placed a sweet kiss on his lips. “Right now, I need to be with you.”

And he needed to be with her. He realized that days ago but had been slow to act on it. Her pseudo-accident changed that.

Tags: Susanna Carr Billionaire Romance
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