AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I grit my teeth when the last straw walks through the double doors of the room. I place my solo cup on the table and walk over to the groom, who is in the middle of a poker game. They stop playing when they notice my approach.
“Ready to join the fun?” Matt asks with a grin.
He’s shirtless with a bottle of beer in one hand and a card in another. I suppose I should be glad that he’s having a good time.
“Cora doesn’t mind that you have strippers at this thing?” I question, pointing at the barely clothed women filing into the room.
As soon as they spot them, the faces of all the men at the table light up. I raise an eyebrow at my brother.
“They’re not for me, asshole. They’re for you and the rest of the guys. I already promised my baby. I have a strict no-touching policy,” he states with a grin, then
gets to his feet and blocks my view.
“What has you in such a crappy mood lately, Mike? You’re my best man, you’re supposed to bring the fun.”
“You weren’t looking for fun when you chose me, little brother,” I tell him with a frown.
“No, but I was hoping you’d pull that stick out of your ass.”
I flip him off before moving to the bar and ordering some whiskey. He’s right. I am in a crappy mood, even more so than usual. I should be happy. My brother’s getting married. My father entrusted me to take over his very successful real estate investment firm even before he fully retired, and I bagged a really hard-to-get multi-million-dollar deal. I should be over the moon celebrating, but every time I think about Christine, I’m hit with a feeling of dread.
I’m not a superstitious man. But why do I have a feeling that shit is about to go down?
* * *
“I present to you all, Mr. and Mrs. Crane,” the priest announces.
And just like that, my family grows.
Applause rings out and everyone in the church gets to their feet. The ceremony was beautiful. Cora looks lovely in her flowing wedding gown, and my brother is dapper in his navy-blue suit. My mom cried, my aunt cried. I did my job and stood behind my brother in a suit of my own while he read his vows to his wife.
The newlyweds walk down the aisle together, and I follow with the maid of honor. It’s then that I see her. She’s in the very last pew, sitting beside her parents. I still in my steps before quickly recovering. A part of me thought she might still come, but another part was hoping she wouldn’t.
Her hazel eyes shift nervously. Then our eyes meet and hers widen. I look away almost immediately and grit my teeth. She shouldn’t have come here.
I go through the rest of the wedding motions subconsciously. I recite the speech at the reception, make a toast, take the pictures. I do it all while making sure to keep my eye on her at all times.
Christine Lawson is quite literally one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. It’s in the way she looks, the way she carries herself—with grace, with elegance, with confidence.
She has glowing skin with pretty, almond-shaped hazel eyes. She has legs for days and her boobs are at least a C cup, not to mention her jutting ass. She oozes sex appeal, with her long, dark silky hair and beautiful smile. And she’s fucking smart, too. I used to think she would have been perfect if it wasn’t for her temperament.
She and her parents are having a heated conversation about something, and Christine’s best friend, Tia, sits with them. My mom is friends with Christine’s parents, but I would have thought Christine would have stayed far away from here.
I’m not sure what’s going on, but my eyes narrow when Christine gets to her feet and walks in the direction of the head table.
Oh, hell no.
I cut her off and grab her wrist before turning her toward me. Her eyes are wide in shock. I don’t know if Matthew already noticed her before, but he has now. He raises an eyebrow at me from his seat beside his wife. I shake my head and look down at Christine.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I hiss.
She wrenches her hand from my grip and smooths down her short blue dress.
“Hello to you too, Michael,” she says under her breath, looking up at me.
“What are you doing here?” I ask again.
“You know I was invited, asshole.”
