Just One Scandal (The Kingston Family 2)

He nodded, his expression somber. “You do.”

She lifted the bottle to her lips only to find it empty. Oh, well. There was more where this had come from. At least the bubbly liquid was beginning to do its trick, going to her head and lifting her mood.

Linc looked relieved and she chose not to enlighten him that, by the time the night was over, champagne would be the lightest drink she consumed.

“I’m sorry, Chloe. Owen’s a bastard.”

“Yes, he is. He should have told me sooner, and he should have done it in person. But he didn’t and I have to handle the cards I’ve been dealt.

Linc nodded. “I’ll go out and tell everyone to go home.”

“No. Well, you can tell some of the guests to go home.”

She pushed herself up from her chair and ignored the light spinning in her head. She hadn’t had much to eat today, but there were appetizers galore almost ready to be served. At least that had been the post-ceremony agenda, followed by a three-course meal.

“What are you talking about?” Clearly concerned, Linc walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. “Mom wants you to come home with her. She and Aurora want to be there for you.”

She thought about spending her wedding night in her mother’s mansion-like house, her mom wringing her hands and trying not to cry for all Chloe had endured. “No. I want you to take Mom home. Take everyone in the family home.” She stepped aside and his hand fell to his side.

Linc narrowed his gaze. “What about you?”

Her brother wasn’t stupid and he knew her well. No doubt he saw the wheels in her mind spinning.

“You sublet your apartment and moved out. The boxes are in storage because you were supposed to live with Owen after your honeymoon.” He winced at the mention of more plans that wouldn’t be happening.

Plans she had no intention of thinking about yet.

Chloe drew a deep breath. “I have the honeymoon suite booked in the hotel tonight. I’ll stay here. After my friends and I take advantage of the party that’s already paid for. I’ll just call it my non-wedding party.” She let out a champagne-induced laugh and spun around, grabbing for the counter before she fell over.

“Chloe,” Linc said in his stern, big-brother voice.

Ignoring him, she sat down, hiked up her gown, and unhooked the straps on her too-high-heeled, glittering sandals. “I can’t dance in these,” she said, kicking them across the room.

Her brother, who always had an answer and a solution, appeared concerned and at a loss. Before Chloe could reassure him, he strode to the door, pulled it open, and yelled for his fiancée. “Jordan! Get in here!”

“Reinforcements won’t help,” Chloe warned him, letting out another laugh, this one more of a giggle. Apparently she’d had more to drink than she’d realized, and she’d always been a lightweight.

Jordan, a gorgeous woman with jet-black hair, wearing an exquisite emerald-green gown, which Chloe knew had had to be let out to accommodate her early-pregnancy belly, rushed inside. “Is everything okay?”

“Chloe thinks she’s going to party with her friends tonight. She wants her family to leave. Tell her she needs to go home with Mom and let us all take care of her,” Linc ordered.

His frown would scare off most people, but Chloe had grown up with him. He’d do his best to exert his command, but she’d made up her mind. And he’d never been able to intimidate Jordan, who glanced at Chloe.

A silent understanding passed between them, woman to woman.

Jordan had grown up the daughter of the Kingston family’s housekeeper, yet she and Linc had been best friends for years, and she’d been his personal assistant since he’d joined Kingston Enterprises after earning his MBA. Of everyone, Jordan knew how to handle him best. She always had.

And Jordan also understood the need to make her own choices. Chloe had faith her soon-to-be sister-in-law would support her.

“Linc,” Jordan said, walking up to him and wrapping an arm around his waist. “I think Chloe knows what she needs. You can’t just order her around and expect her to listen.”

He blinked in shock. “You think her getting drunk is the answer to what happened here?” he asked.

“I think,” Jordan said slowly, “it couldn’t hurt. Let her do what she wants, and you can step in and play big brother tomorrow.” She ran her hand over Linc’s back. “I know you want to make it all better, but you can’t. Not right now.”

Chloe shot Jordan a grateful glance. “I owe you,” she mouthed to her.

Chloe wished Jordan had taken her up on her offer to be a bridesmaid after she’d gotten engaged to Linc. But Jordan had issues with feeling like an outsider thanks to their very different backgrounds, and she felt she’d be coming in late and hadn’t wanted to rock the boat. Chloe intended to make Jordan feel more like family than the closest family member. She still would do that after she celebrated her un-wedding.