Read Online It Happened One Wedding by Julie James - Free Book Online Page B

said, drying himself off after a quick shower. “Huge mansion on the lake, in-ground swimming pool, guesthouse, the whole works. Isabelle’s father runs a hedge fund. Obviously quite successfully.”
    “And you approve of your future sister-in-law?” Cade asked.
    “Sure. Isabelle seems great.”
Her sister, on the other hand . . .
    Huxley studied him as he slid on his boxer briefs. “What’s the ‘but’?”
    “No ‘but,’” Vaughn said. “I like Simon’s fiancée.”
And, fortunately for him, she inherited all the good-natured genes in the family.
    Cade furrowed his brow. “There it is again—that look. Like you want to say more.”
    Vaughn scoffed at that as he pulled on his clothes. “There’s no look.”
    Cade pointed. “Huxley just put on his underwear. Not once, in the two years that you two have been partners, have you ever missed an opportunity to smirk at the fact that the man
irons
his boxer briefs.”
    “Hey. They fold neater that way. It saves space in the drawer,” Huxley said.
    Cade gave Vaughn a look.
I rest my case
. “So? What gives?”
    Vaughn took in the tenacious expression on his friend’s face and knew that any further denials would only bring on more questions. He sighed. “Fine.” He thought about where to begin. “Isabelle has a sister.”
    Huxley rolled his eyes. “Here we go.”
    “No, no.
Not
here we go. She and I are not going anywhere,” Vaughn said emphatically. “The woman’s a . . .” He paused, trying to think of the right word. He caught sight of another agent, Sam Wilkins, passing by their row of lockers. The man was a walking dictionary. “Hey, Wilkins—what’s that word you used the other day, to describe the female witness who kept arguing with you?”
    “Termagant,” Wilkins called over. “Means ‘quarrelsome woman.’”
    Vaughn nodded at Cade and Huxley in satisfaction, thinking that definition perfectly captured Sidney Sinclair. “There. She’s a termagant.”
    “It can also mean ‘vixen,’” Wilkins shouted from the next aisle over.
    “Thank you, Merriam-Webster,” Vaughn called back, with a half growl. “I think we’ve got it.”
    Cade raised an eyebrow teasingly. “So. Does the
vixen
have a name?”
    Yep, Vaughn had walked right into that one. “Sidney.”
    “You just met her this weekend,” Huxley said. “What could you two possibly have to quarrel about?”
    “Actually, we met the weekend before last. Simon and Isabelle invited us both to dinner to tell us about their engagement.”
    “And you and Sidney had some sort of falling out then?” Cade asked.
    Vaughn hedged. “Technically, the falling out happened before dinner, at a coffee shop around the corner.” He paused. “When I hit on her.”
    “You hit on your future sister-in-law’s
sister
?” Huxley asked, his tone clearly indicating that this was a big no-no.
    “I didn’t know she was Isabelle’s sister at the time,” Vaughn said, in his defense. “I saw a hot single woman and I acted. That’s what I
do
.”
    “How did you know she was single?” Huxley asked.
    “I could tell that she was on a first date. Things didn’t work out between her and the other guy, so I walked over and tried to pick her up,” he said matter-of-factly.
    “How’d that go?” Cade asked.
    “Not well.” Vaughn zipped up his fly, and saw his friends fighting back grins. “She profiled me.”
    Cade let out a bark of laughter. “Get out of here.”
    Vaughn grabbed his duffle bag and shut his locker with a resounding clang. “I’m serious. There was a speech and everything. She told me that I run around with my ‘obviously healthy ego’ and compared me to a kid in a candy store when it comes to women—trying to get my hands on as many ‘shiny treats’ as possible.”
    Cade’s mouth twitched. “How dare she. That’s just so . . .” He trailed off, as if thinking about how best to respond.
    “Dead-on balls accurate,” Huxley finished.
    The two of them began