Read Online Love Me by Cheryl Holt - Free Book Online Page B

contention for them.  Amy didn’t have any siblings and had virtually raised herself and her two younger sisters, so she was relentless when family was involved.   
    She and Dustin had argued about sending an invitation to Brittney.  Dustin had insisted it was a waste of time, that Brittney would ignore it.  He claimed she’d heard too many negative stories from his mother about Amy being a gold-digger and mercenary who was simply after Dustin’s money.  He’d worried that Amy would be hurt by Brittney’s disregard.
    But Amy was a tenacious optimist.  She’d sent the invite anyway, then had fussed and pouted over it, wanting to call Brittney, to introduce herself, then pester the poor woman until she agreed to attend.  She’d restrained herself, though. 
    “Ha!  She’s here, and I didn’t even have to badger or bribe her.”  She elbowed him in the ribs.  “I already know her better than you do.”
    “Don’t get a big head.”
    “Who’s the hunk with her?”
    “He must be her fiancé, Andrew.  I haven’t met him yet.  Come on.”
    He took her hand, and they wedged their way through the horde of guests.
    “I thought he was a New York banker,” Amy said.  “He doesn’t look like a banker.”
    “What does he look like?”
    “Not a banker.”
    Amy studied the man with a heightened female interest, not bothering to conceal the fact that she found him to be yummy.
    Dustin scowled, making her laugh.
    “You’re drooling, Amy.”
    “I can’t help it.”
    “If you keep staring at him like that, he’ll think you’re loose and easy.”
    “I am loose and easy, but just since I hooked up with you.  I’ve been completely corrupted.”
    “Aren’t I lucky?”
    He swooped in and stole a quick kiss that had her grinning like an idiot, and she wanted to pinch herself.
    She still couldn’t believe that she—plain, ordinary, small town Amy Dane—had snagged Dustin.  She still couldn’t believe that he loved her, that he’d married her, that he’d abandoned his glamorous bachelor’s life in LA so he could live happily ever after with her up in the middle of nowhere.
    As they pushed nearer to the front of the room, they passed Lucas and his wife, Faith. 
    “Brittney came,” Amy told her. 
    “Brittney?”  Faith grinned too.
    “Yes, with her fiancé from New York.”
    “Oh, that’s so great!”
    She and Faith rushed on, leaving the two brothers trailing behind.  They burst out of the crowd, and Amy marched right up to Brittney, her hands extended in welcome.
    “Brittney!” Amy gushed.  “Hi!  I’m Amy.”
    Brittney hesitated, giving Amy’s outstretched fingers a fleet squeeze, then she let go.  Now that Amy was closer, Brittney’s confidence wasn’t quite as evident as it had been from a distance. 
    She appeared nervous, as if maybe she’d been worried she wouldn’t be welcome, and Amy sighed with exasperation.
    Merriweathers!  Weren’t they the weirdest people ever?
    “This is Lucas’s wife, Faith.”  Amy gestured to Faith, and Faith smiled.
    “Hello, Brittney.”
    Faith didn’t bluster up exuberantly as Amy had done, but there were reasons for her reserve.  Brittney had likely heard even more horrid gossip about Faith than she had about Amy.
    Amy had simply married a Merriweather son.  Faith had taken a Merriweather son’s money and then married him.  So she’d committed a double sin.
    “Hello,” Brittney said to Faith.
    Her brothers approached, and it was almost humorous to watch them.  They could have been polite strangers, and Amy wanted to grab all three and bang their stubborn heads together.
    Didn’t they realize how lucky they were to have each other?  Didn’t they understand that they could move beyond the barriers that had been imposed during childhood?
    It was a wedding, for pity’s sake.  It was the perfect occasion for everybody to celebrate, for everybody to start over.
    “Hey guys,” Brittney said to her brothers.
    They murmured