Read Online When Honey Got Married by Kimberly Lang, Ally Blake, Kelly Hunter, Anna Cleary - Free Book Online Page B

heartbreaking.
    No one would have guessed that little more than a year ago Brent had kissed her late at night in the piano bar of the InterContinental hotel in Dallas and ignited her girlish heart with a helpless adoration. And that he’d slid his hand up her dress and stroked the silky secret terrain of her inner thigh.
    No one, except for maybe Rainer Delacroix. Oh, and Aunt Minna evidently, who had some sort of supernatural second sight when it came to sex.
    Not that Eve and Brent ever had come to sex. Unfortunately. That was one of Eve’s worst regrets. Often fantasized, never realized.
    If only they had, this unfortunate situation right here and now would be happening in reverse.
    “Eve.” Smiling like a rattlesnake, Rainer turned his gleaming gaze upon her. “Why don’t we leave this happy couple to welcome their other guests. Let me find you a drink.”
    In all the excitement she hadn’t noticed the queue waiting to snag the bridal couple’s attention. With no polite way of resisting, she was forced to surrender the ground to Honey.
    Again.
    Rainer steered her through the crowd, pausing here and there along the way. Friends stopped to shake hands and inquire about his travels. “Weren’t you in Somalia just recently, feller?” she heard one old guy say.
    “Interesting place,” Rainer said. “Though I was mainly in Djibouti.”
    “ Interesting, you say?” his interrogator exclaimed. “It’s a wonder you lived to tell the tale, boy. Those goddamned pirates show no mercy.”
    “Just making a buck,” Rainer said. “Like everybody else.”
    Approval was showered on him from all directions, folks applauding him for having saved the lives of some sailors who’d been held for ransom, apparently.
    Eve turned her head to study him. “Congratulations. I had no idea you were a hero.”
    His hard eyes glinted. “I’m no hero, Eve. I just got lucky in a little negotiation.” He directed her gaze to where some of Eve’s old friends were gathering around an ornately mounted placard. “What are those folk peeking at?”
    Eve looked and her heart sank like a stone. Fantastic. They were all clustering around the bridal photo collage—though this one was bigger, glossier and more professionally finished than most wedding couples’ humble little productions. People were crowding to peer closely, searching for themselves.
    Not caring to appear rude and ungracious, Eve steeled herself to take a glance. Naturally there were pictures of Honey and Brent, dating back to their births. From nursery school onward a surprising number showed them together in the same shot. Bellefleur Elementary. Bellefleur High. And there was that old one of Honey’s college graduation, Brent’s arm around her.
    Hadn’t the guy had any other place to be?
    Sure, everyone knew they’d been sweethearts on and off forever. But these pictures didn’t show all the off-times. The times they broke up and Brent wanted to kiss someone else. And had.
    As far as Eve was concerned, there was just a tad too much Honey in this collection.
    Rainer peered over her shoulder, then moved around her to take a closer look. “Is this you? This kid with the braces on her teeth?”
    “I guess. A long time ago. ” It was a poignant shot, considering the degree of hope and joy radiating from her eyes back then.
    She avoided looking at Rainer in case he noticed the difference.
    “Hey, look here. Is this really you dressed as a nun?” His amused little chuckle twisted her insides with the careless cruelty of a corkscrew.
    She said coldly, “It was a theatrical production.”
    He glanced quickly at her. “Sure. Sure it was. And you look great. Real convincing. I’m willing to bet you were— incandescent . So…do you do much theater in New York?”
    For mercy’s sake . Was the guy trying to torture her with her failures?
    She crushed him with a glance. “Are you kidding? They have real actors in New York.”
    Not to mention that the guy at the Village