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“Mom thought you could use some help.” The cute blonde with a sprinkle of freckles across her nose and face ignored her sister’s obvious upset and held her hand out to Marley. “Hey there, I’m Kendall, Sonora’s younger sister.”
“Hey, I’m Marley, an old friend of Sonora’s.”
Kendall’s forehead knitted. “Oh yeah? She’s never mentioned you. How do you know—”
“I met her in rehab,” Sonora snapped.
Marley’s eyebrows shot up. That was not the cover story she’d been given. They were supposed to have met at summer camp when they were kids and kept in touch.
“Oh.” Kendall’s smile was a little strained. “Sorry. It’s really great to meet you. Is it okay if I join you?”
Marley started to say, “Of course,” but Sonora broke in. “No, we’ve got stuff to talk about before Brent gets here.”
An awkward silence shifted over their booth and Marley noticed the way Kendall’s hands clenched. She wouldn’t blame her for punching her big sister. Hell, Marley was tempted to do the honors.
Then again, it probably wasn’t a good idea to fraternize with anyone close to Sonora. Getting intimate with friends and family of clients was frowned upon.
“Fine, I’ll sit at the bar. I’d hate to cramp your style.”
Kendall walked away and Lucy brought their food over. Marley didn’t say anything to Sonora about the exchange, but she really wanted to. Instead, she devoured her onion rings with gusto until she caught the disgusted look on Sonora’s face.
What, do I have sauce on my face? “What’s wrong?”
“You eat like a starving gorilla.”
Marley stared at her, her temper blazing. That was it, she was going to kick this snotty little princess’s ass—
“Hey ladies.” A handsome brown haired man stepped next to their table. “Sorry, we’re a little early.” He held his hand out to Marley. “I’m Brent Harwood, Sonora’s fiancée . You must be Marley.”
Drawing in a calming breath, Marley took his hand with a polite smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I’v
e heard a lot about you.”
Not from Sonora, of course. Her sources had been Kelly’s file on Brent and several Google searches. She knew that he ran his family’s company with his two older brothers, was involved with several charities, and had been featured in People Magazine as one of their thirty under thirty to watch.
On paper, she had no idea what he was doing with this diva. In person, well, he was either incredibly shallow or a blind idiot.
“All good, I hope.” Brent slid in next to Sonora and kissed her cheek. “How’s the food? We didn’t have time to eat before we came.”
Sonora shot a sour glance toward Marley’s plate. “Fine, if you like lots of saturated fat and slow service.”
Marley was too concerned with what Brent had said to react to Sonora’s sneer. “Who is we?”
“His Neanderthal best friend.” Sonora gave Brent a feminine, glossy pout. “For the record, I agreed to have dinner with you. Luke is just an unfortunate addition.”
Marley’s heart started pounding.
No. It couldn’t be her Luke.
“Could you try to get along with him for one night? I know you two got off on the wrong foot, but he’s been my best friend half my life. It would mean a lot if you would try to be civil.”
Marley was too busy having a panic attack to listen to Sonora’s response. The blood thundered in her ears as she craned her neck toward the door.
Would it be too weird if I just made a run for it?
“I have the beers and she said she’d be over to take our order—hey!”
Too late. Marley turned and found herself staring up into Luke’s dark surprised eyes.
