Goody Two Shoes (Invertary 2)

“That was before I fell in love. Now I think it might break me to spend a lifetime wanting his love back.” She groaned. “Oh my goodness.” Caroline sat up straight. “I just had a thought. What if he falls in love with someone else?”

Kirsty scoffed. “I wouldn’t panic yet. I thought the whole point of this wedding was that he didn’t believe in romantic love.”

“Just because you don’t believe in something, doesn’t mean it isn’t real.”

Kirsty sat on the arm of the chair and patted Caroline’s shoulder. “Don’t go through with it. Call it off. You deserve someone who loves you back.”

“Do I really? Does anyone? None of us deserve to be loved. That’s why it’s so special. We don’t do anything to earn it. The people who love us give it freely.”

“Fine, you deserve romance, then. You deserve hearts and flowers. After the way you’ve spent your life taking care of everyone around you and making things special for everyone else, you deserve a man who’ll do that for you.”

Caroline let out a long, heavy breath. “I don’t need that stuff.” She clenched her fists with determination. “Ignore my moaning. This is a case of pre-wedding jitters. Everyone gets them. Heck, Josh is probably going through exactly the same thing right now.” She stood up and tugged at the corset. The window was open, but where was the air? “I need to be realistic. I’m thirty-one. I want a family. Josh is promising me one. He’s promising a glamorous life. Not that I want a glamorous life, but it was nice of him to offer. At the very least, I’ll never have to worry about paying bills. It’s a good deal. He’ll be kind to me. And he’s great in bed.” Caroline flushed. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” She stopped dead. “What if he goes off me? I’m a novelty right now, but what if he decides he wants other women? If he doesn’t love me, what’s to stop him?”

She bent over and gasped for air. Why, oh why, was she getting married on the hottest day Scotland had seen in a hundred years? There was no blooming air!

Kirsty rubbed her back. “Take slow breaths. Everything is going to be okay.”

“I need to get out of this corset. It’s strangling me.”

“I don’t think it’s the corset, sweetie, but I have other lingerie sets for you to try. We’ll find something that feels comfortable.”

“Yes. Different underwear. That will fix everything.” Caroline gave her best friend a grateful smile.

“Normally, I would totally agree with you, but in this case, I’m thinking not so much.”

Caroline frowned. “Just get me out of this thing. I need to get ready. I’m getting married in less than five hours.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Kirsty mumbled as she dug around in the huge bag full of lingerie she’d brought with her.

Josh was rocking his tux—even if he did say so himself. He looked around the packed church and felt smug. He was getting married. Not only that, he was getting married to Caroline Patterson. He’d hit the jackpot. He was a walking advertisement for why you should get your best friend to find you a wife. It was the best idea he’d ever had. He was a damn genius.

As he stood at the front of the church, he eyed the packed pews. His side of the building was full of friends and distant family members. There were a few famous faces, but nothing along the lines of some celebrity weddings. Josh liked to think he’d invited only those he actually considered friends, and not just anyone he thought should be there.

He wished he could say the same of Caroline. She’d felt it was her obligation to invite practically everyone in town. While his side of the room sat in a dignified manner, quietly chatting. Caroline’s side of the room was raucous. Not only that, but he could see folk pointing at his more famous friends, and he could have sworn at least one person was sneaking photos.

Caroline had given Lake strict instructions about confiscating cameras and phones. Josh signalled to Lake, who was dressed in a black suit and shades. He had a wire tucked discreetly around the back of his ear, and Josh saw him talk into his wrist once or twice. You would have thought he was guarding the president.

Lake strode over to Josh like a man on a mission. “What?”

“Some of the Invertary mob have cameras.”

“Who?” He was a man of few words.

“The one in tartan.”

Lake hitched one eyebrow. “Is that supposed to be funny? Point out one person on that side of the church who isn’t wearing something tartan.”

Yeah, he had a point. “Four rows in, three people along.”

“Better.” He strode off.

“Nervous?” Mitch came up beside Josh.

“Nope.”

“Second thoughts?”

“No way.”