Read Online Fiance by Friday by Catherine Bybee - The Weekday Brides 03 - Fiance by Friday - Free Book Online

kids could get more than pizza out of the deal…she was all in.

    “This was exactly what I needed,” Karen said from across their table.
    Gwen smiled and lifted her drink into the air. “Might be the closest thing you get to a bachelorette party if Michael moves as fast as I think he will.”
    Karen and Gwen sat across from each other at the Hard Rock Café on Sunset. Gwen had decided to take Eliza up on her suggestion. Put yourself out there. Date. Meet someone.
    If she wanted to meet someone other than a boring, responsible man who could be counted on to show up on time but nevermake her feel excited about his presence. She’d had predictable and utterly dull men in her life before, she needed to look outside of the ballrooms where she conducted her business.
    The bar was packed. The patrons were all drinking, laughing, and forgetting about their problems.
    “He’s really a nice guy. The kids loved him.”
    Gwen glanced around the room, but didn’t notice anyone watching them. “I’m sure his celebrity status will make the kids look up to you even more.”
    “An added bonus.”
    “To a successful relationship,” Gwen said, clicking her cocktail to Karen’s.
    “I can drink to that.” They sipped their drinks. “I can’t believe this is really happening.”
    “Wait until you see his house.”
    Karen smiled as she peered beyond Gwen. “Over here,” she said as she waved.
    Eliza joined them, tossing her clutch on the table. “I wasn’t sure I’d find you in this zoo. Could they pack more people in here?”
    “Probably.”
    “It’s good to see you,” Eliza told Karen. “I hear congratulations are in order.”
    “Not yet…but it is starting to look that way.”
    Eliza flagged down a waitress and ordered a martini. “I see not a lot has changed,” she said after the waitress left.
    “What do you mean?” Gwen asked.
    “We’re sitting in a bar and your giant shadow is lurking in the back of the building.” Eliza tossed a peanut in her mouth.
    “My shadow?”
    Eliza looked to the right of the bar. “Yeah. The man who acts like you’re a job but can’t seem to leave you alone. If it was anyone other than Neil I’d be afraid he was a stalker.”
    Gwen twisted around in her chair. Sure enough, perched at the edge of a seat on the far side of the bar, sat Neil.
    “What’s he doing here?”
    His eyes found hers for a brief moment before she looked away.
    “I think that’s obvious.”
    Her back teeth started to grind. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
    “I don’t know, Gwen. The last time we sat in a bar I remember a certain someone getting drunk and a couple other someones getting into a fight.”
    She’d never live that down. Gwen and Eliza went to blow off steam in a Texas bar. The cowboys were full of “yes, ma’am” and “howdy, darlin’.” They danced and carried on…and yes, she drank a little too much. When one of the cowboys mistakenly took her smile as an invitation for intimacy, Neil erupted from the bar to teach the cowboy the meaning of the word no.
    It was the first time Neil had defended her honor, and though she hated to admit it, she got a kick out of how ticked off he became when another man looked at her. “That was last year.”
    “What’s changed since then?”
    Nothing! It didn’t matter how much she flirted with the man, or how obvious she was about her attraction. Neil didn’t bite.
    “Everything.” Gwen stood, ready to put Neil in his place. “If you’ll both excuse me for a minute.”
    She pushed her way through the crowd as if on a collision course with Neil. He kept his lips in a thin line as she approached and gripped the longneck bottle at his side.
    Slipping between the woman on the stool next to him and Neil’s massive frame, Gwen slapped her hand on her hip and growled. “What are you doing here?”
    He blinked, once, and picked up his beer. “Having a drink.”
    She wanted to scream. “Having a drink,” she repeated.
    He tilted the