Page 12 of My Real Love Affair

“Maybe if you’d given your family any reason to trust you, I wouldn’t need to be here.”

I laughed, sharp and humorless. “Yeah, there it is. Thanks for the reminder of what everyone thinks of me.”

The chairs around us held my brothers and their wives, various cousins, business associates of my father’s, and enough Old Money New Yorkers to fund a small country.

I couldn’t wait to get to the open bar. And there better fucking be an open bar. If Summer dared to limit my alcohol consumption, she was going to find out how much of a dick I could really be.

“You’re fidgeting,” Summer said with exasperation.

I turned to look at her with disbelief. “Just how serious are you taking this babysitting bullshit?”

“Very.”

“Then did you bring me snacks? A juice box? Oh, maybe one of those quiet books to keep me from fidgeting?”

She rolled her eyes. “I had no idea you would be this obnoxious. I should have asked for more.”

I smirked. “You thought it was going to be easy to babysit the notorious Austin Bancroft? Clearly, I need to do a better job ruining my reputation.”

“Will you please just behave?”

“You know, if this were any other situation, I would offer to let you spank me for being bad, but I’m not interested.”

She made a sound. A growl. A sigh. I wasn’t sure. But clearly I was pissing her off.

Good.

The ceremony was already running twenty minutes late. Of course it was. Girls like Sophie were never on time. It was part of their charm, apparently. Everyone was supposed to sit here and wait with bated breath for her grand entrance.

I checked my watch. Summer immediately tensed beside me.

“Don’t even think about it,” she said quietly.

“Think about what?”

“Leaving. Cash said you’d try to bolt.”

“Cash says a lot of things. Like how I need a babysitter at a wedding. Like how showing up here with you on my arm is somehow going to fix my reputation.” I slouched deeper into my chair. “So much for getting laid at this thing.”

Summer’s cheeks flushed. “That’s not—that wasn’t the point.”

“Wasn’t it? Bancroft bad boy shows up with a beautiful woman, looks like he’s settling down, everyone’s happy. ExceptI’m not getting any of the actual benefits of having a beautiful woman around, am I? Just the surveillance.”

“You’re impossible.”

“That’s what they tell me.”

Movement near the entrance caught my attention. Heads were turning and a ripple of whispers spread through the crowd.

“Finally,” I muttered. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

But it wasn’t Sophie. The wedding march wasn’t playing.

A woman was making her way down the aisle, looking for a seat. She was alone, walking with her chin up despite the very obvious stares she was getting. And God, she was stunning. Curves for days, thick sandy blonde hair that caught the late afternoon light, and a dress that hugged every inch of her in a way that made my mouth go dry. Those were the kind of lady lumps that had a man’s hands twitching to feel.

I liked her immediately.

She found a seat close to where we were sitting. I couldn’t help but notice how she kept her composure even as people whispered. There was something defiant in the way she settled into her chair and stared straight ahead.