However, his eyes travelling down her body, hesitating over her cleavage, grew distracting, and despite keeping the conversation strictly platonic, Jamie couldn’t ignore the sexual tension between them. It grew so thick she was sure that if someone tried to cut it with a knife, the blade would break clean off. She was sure he felt the same by the way his hand lingered whenever it accidentally brushed hers and the way he held her gaze with his own intense stare.
When he held open the car door for her, Jamie’s stomach clenched tight with nerves, not just because of the wedding, but also because Alex was so close to her. Not wanting him to know what he was doing to her, she babbled nervously, “My mother is going to have a coronary when she sees this dress. I’m not sure going to the wedding is a smart idea. It’s Christine’s day.”
“And she’d want you there.” He opened the limo door and reached for her hand again. “Relax,” Alex squeezed her hand gently, “it’s going to be okay. I’m going to be at your side the entire time. You also know your father’s also on your side, even though he might not show it.”
She nodded. She couldn’t blame her father. He had to live with his wife every day. “My mother is freakin’ scary.” When Alex’s eyebrows popped up, she laughed. “You know the evil stepmother in Cinderella?”
“Jamie!!” He tried to look horrified but the corners of his mouth curled up. He joked, “She’s not that mean.”
“No.” She squeezed Alex’s hand tightly. “I think she’s worse.” She laughed and winked at him. She straightened her shoulders and looked straight ahead, the fun of the moment fading. “Okay. Let’s get this thing over with.”
Chapter 18
The limo drew plenty of stares when it pulled up in front of the little church. Almost immediately, guests from inside started meandering out to see if it was the bride. Jamie spotted her dad in the crowd and took a deep breath. Instead of letting Alex open the door, the driver went around to let them out.
“If we’re going to put on a show, we might as well do it right,” Alex murmured in her ear.
She giggled nervously. “We’re not supposed to show up the bride.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Relax. You look incredible. Unbelievably, undeniably, hard core sexy.”
The door opened and he slid out first, smiling politely at the crowd with all the confidence of someone who had done this a million times already, or owned millions of dollars. He held out his hand and helped her out of the limo.
Jamie kept her eyes on the ground and focused on not doing something mortifying, like tripping or accidentally giving the crowd a peek of her undergarments. Shit! I’m not wearing any. Murmurs rippled through the small crowd as they stared at Jamie and her rich date.
That’s right. The prodigal daughter returns… without panties. She smiled defiantly back at all of Christine’s and Stephen’s friends. They could judge her all they wanted. She wasn’t going to care what they thought.
Her eyes rested on her father, who had a grin on his face, but he wasn’t looking at her at the moment. He was looking at Alex. She looked at her escort, who was smiling back at her father, and she immediately became suspicious. What the hell did they know that she didn’t?
Alex kept a firm grip on her hand as they approached the church. The onlookers parted, whispering behind their hands like middle schoolers.
“She actually had the nerve to show up her sister.”
“I heard she tried to seduce Stephen. It looks like the poor, desperate thing couldn’t contain herself.”
“It’s so sad that she had to hire an escort just so she would have a plus one. Is that an escort? He’s awful hot.”
“Idiot, that’s her boss,” some guy said loudly to his wife. “Why don’t you wear a dress like that?”
“Ignore them,” Alex whispered in her ear. “They’re all idiots. Except the guy muttering about the red dress. He’s right on that one.”
Jamie laughed and relaxed slightly.
Her father joined them on Jamie’s other side, acting as a shield between her and the other guests. “You look beautiful, Jamie,” he said, grinning at her. “I’m glad Alex could make it as well.”
“What are you two up to?” Jamie whispered. “Are you guys planning a robbery? You’re thick as thieves.”
“Your father and I have reached an understanding,” Alex said, a smile obvious in his voice.
Jamie stared hard at him. One thing for sure: she was not going to stop until she figured out what they were up to. When had her father and Alex started talking? And when had her father started liking Alex?
If her father noticed Jamie’s inner conflict, he didn’t let on. “The wedding is just about all set up. The wedding planner was very efficient with everything.”
“Son of a bitch,” Jamie said. “They hired a wedding planner.”
“Yes,” the older man rolled his eyes, “apparently, Christine thought it would be less stressful on Scarlet, the new maid of honor, if a wedding planner took care of it all.”
It would be less stressful on Scarlet, who had been planning parties since she was twelve and didn’t have a job and all the time in the world with her workaholic husband constantly fleeing the country to avoid her, but heaven forbid Christine think about hiring a planner when her sister, with a full-time job, was the maid of honor. She took a deep breath. “That was nice of Christine to help Scarlet.” She tried to sound sincere and hoped it didn’t come out sarcastic. She hadn’t come here to get angry. Jamie and Christine would never see eye to eye on most things, but this wasn’t the day to argue about it. For better or worse she would support her sister today and not ruin anything. This wasn’t about her. “Where is Christine?” Jamie asked. “Is she still getting ready?”