“There you are!” Amanda said, a reprimand tinging her words. She disconnected herself from Greg to rush toward them. “Oh, you brought your...friend. He looks just as good in clothes. Are you ready?”
“Ready as I will ever be,” Charlie said under her breath as she noticed how many chairs had been brought in on both sides of the aisle. Were that many guests really coming?
She must have asked the question aloud.
Mugging a face at her, Amanda grabbed her arm forcefully and said, “Greg has a lot of friends and associates and I have a few friends.”
“Just not one you wanted to ask to be your maid of honor,” Charlie said under her breath as Amanda squeezed her too hard.
They both turned toward where Greg was standing, waiting with the preacher. Charlie did her best not to meet Greg’s eyes as she let Amanda lead her toward the preacher. “Where’s the best man?” she whispered.
“Late. As usual,” Amanda replied just as quietly. They reached Greg, and Amanda let go of her.
“As soon as the best man arrives...” Greg said. “I don’t believe we’ve met,” he said as Shep started to take a seat in the front row. “Not formally, anyway.”
“Shep, this is my boss, Greg Shafer,” Charlie said. “And this is Westly Shepherd, my—”
“I’m the man who’s going to marry Charlie,” Shep said and smiled at her. “That is if she’ll have me.”
She felt a little light-headed.
“Really?” Greg said. “I didn’t realize it was that...serious.”
“Oh, I’m very serious,” he said, not taking his eyes off her. Charlie felt her cheeks flare.
“Of course she’ll have you!” Amanda cried. “Look at her, she’s practically glowing. I wish I’d known,” she said, hurrying to hug Charlie. “If I’d known, we could have had a double wedding.”
Charlie couldn’t speak. Shep had practically asked her to marry him. And just the thought of a double wedding with Amanda... She mentally slapped herself. Shep was just doing this to keep Greg away from her. It wasn’t like he’d just asked her to marry him. Yet when she met his gaze again...
She flushed as her heart hammered in her chest.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you,” Greg said, shaking Shep’s hand. “You’re a very lucky man. I can’t tell you how much I admire Charlie. We love having her on our team. Don’t we, Amanda?”
“Absolutely,” Amanda said, sounding bored.
Charlie was relieved when the door swung open and a man hurried in.
“Who the hell moved up the rehearsal?” Royce Braden demanded before laughing and grabbing Greg in a bear hug.
The man was bigger than life, tall, broad-shouldered, jovial and handsome. He also looked younger than Greg and much more athletic. If Charlie had wondered what had possessed Amanda, she no longer did. She was still shocked at Greg’s attitude about the...affair.
But then that brought up the question of why Royce would sleep with his best friend’s fiancée when he could probably have his pick of women.
“You really are anxious to tie the knot, aren’t you?” Royce said as he looked past Greg’s shoulder. His expression sobered as he took in Charlie. “This must be Charlie Farmington, the amazing designer I’ve heard so much about.”
Greg made the introductions while she wondered if it had been Amanda or Greg who’d been singing her praises. That ridiculous stray thought made her laugh to herself.
“Glad I finally got to meet you,” Royce said as he looked past her to Amanda who hadn’t moved, who didn’t even seem to be breathing.
The preacher cleared his throat and asked. “Wasn’t there more in the wedding party?”
“Yes, a bridesmaid and another attendant,” Greg said. “But they couldn’t make the rehearsal. Don’t worry. They’ll be here tomorrow.”
“I guess we’d better get to it then,” the preacher said. “I’m sorry to have moved up the rehearsal. I appreciate you all for being such good sports.”
So it hadn’t been Greg who’d moved up the rehearsal, Charlie thought, and kept her eyes on the floor as the pastor began.
Things went quickly until the end.
“And,” the pastor said, joking, “we might as well see if anyone wants to object before the real thing tomorrow.”
A tense few moments seemed to steal all the oxygen out of the air before the man continued to the part where he would pronounce Greg and Amanda husband and wife.
* * *
SHEP WAS RELIEVED. In the end, the wedding rehearsal was quick and relatively painless. He did notice one thing though, when the preacher asked if there was anyone who objected to this marriage...
Greg had looked at Charlie and so did Amanda, then Amanda turned slightly and looked at Royce. A thick fog of tension seemed to fill the room before the pastor moved on and it was over.
Greg suggested they all go to the bar where he’d ordered some champagne. Shep started to say that he and Charlie had other plans, but the man insisted.
“You’re coming to the rehearsal dinner as Charlie’s plus-one, aren’t you?” Amanda asked him. “Or is there someone else she’s invited?” She looked around as if she thought another man might materialize. “With Charlie, I just never know.”
Shep held his tongue as they all headed to the bar for one glass of champagne. Amanda scuttled off to make sure the staff had heard about dinner being early to accommodate night skiing. At least that was the excuse.
Mostly, he worried about why Greg had come to Charlie’s room. What had he been about to tell her and why did all of this feel like it was being rushed? What was the hurry?
Shep just hoped that Greg had gotten the message that Charlie wasn’t available. Had he really thought she might be interested in him? Why else would he want to tell her about his past love life? Maybe he’d planned to ask her advice about marrying Amanda.
Whatever it had been, Shep planned to keep an eye on Greg and do his best to keep him away from Charlie—at least while he could. But what about after she returned to work at Greg’s company? Somehow he didn’t think that a marriage license was going to keep the man from pursuing Charlie.
Shep’s cell phone rang. He slowed to let the others get a little ahead, but still in sight. Royce was walking beside Charlie, trying to engage her in conversation. From this distance, he appeared to be flirting with her. Shep knew he could be reading more into it than there was—until he saw Amanda’s expression when she rejoined them. She was livid and not doing a very good job of hiding it.