The CEO's Seduction (A Hamilton Family 1)

Nina shrugged, but didn’t drop her attention from Anna. “Brett’s walking you down the aisle. He won’t let you fall.”

Oh God. Shoot me now.

How could she have forgotten Brett would be walking her down the aisle?

“Uh. Right. Of course not,” she said quickly.

Nina set her coffee down. “Now I know something is wrong. You should have smiled and looked happy. Instead, you look like you want to cry. Did you get in a fight with him or something?”

Anna bit down on her lip. “I’m not talking about this today. It’s your wedding day. How excited are you?”

“Yeah. Excited. Thrilled. I love him so much.” Nina waved a hand. “Now spill it. What happened?”

Anna shook her head. “No.”

“Look, I’m very excited, but the wait is killing me. If you tell me what happened, maybe I won’t check the clock again. It’s ten-oh-one. Last time I looked? Ten-oh-one. I just want to marry the man of my dreams, but the time is creeping by.” Nina blew out a frustrated breath. “So if you have a juicy story to spill, you aren’t doing me any favors by holding it back. It’s a distraction, and God, I need a distraction.”

“Fine.” Anna flopped down on the bed next to Nina and took a deep breath. “I slept with him.”

Nina choked on her coffee and turned red in the face.

Anna went to pound on her back, but Nina shook her head. “I’m f-fine. Just tell me everything. Don’t even think about skipping over any details. This is exactly what I need.”

“Well, it all started on the day he came back…”

Anna told her every sordid little detail. Every fight. Every kiss. When she reached the part where he didn’t show up at her room last night, even though he’d insisted he would, she faltered. “I told him from the beginning that if he decided we weren’t good together, we’d go back to being friends, with no harm done.”

“And he didn’t show up last night?” Nina asked quietly.

Anna nodded.

She pressed her lips together. “That asshole.”

“I’m not surprised. He started avoiding me after the beach, so I knew it was coming.” She forced a shrug. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”

Nina pulled her close and hugged her tight. “I feel like we’re missing something here. It doesn’t make any sense. He told you he was coming up, right?”

“Yes.” Anna sat back and swiped the tears away. “But he never wanted a relationship or love. He came to his senses and remembered, is all. End of story.”

Nina narrowed her eyes. “Well, it’s a crappy ending to the story. Want me to change the lineup so you don’t walk with him anymore?”

“No. I’ll hold my head up and act like I’m not upset. I told him he could change his mind and I’d be fine, so I will be.” She clenched her fists in her lap. “I’ll smile and be nice. I’ll act as if I don’t care, so he can go back to his life in Atlanta with a clear conscience. And then once he’s gone, I’ll leave him alone. Just like he wants.”

“That sounds like a lovely plan.” Nina dropped back against the headboard. “But can you do that?”

Anna sniffed and stood up, straightening her spine. “I’ll have to, because I don’t have a choice. I’m the one who chased after him, even when he told me not to. When everyone told me not to. I got a couple of amazing hours in his arms, and now I can move on without wondering ‘what if’ my whole life. I’ll be fine. It’ll be fine.”

Nina smiled and stood up. “Yes, you will. But I’m going to start working on your makeup right now.”

“Do I look that horrid?” Anna touched her cheeks, under her eyes. Definitely still puffy and swollen from crying. “Oh God.”

“Nah.” Nina started riffling through her purse. “You look fine, but I intend to make you look so gorgeous he’ll doubt his decision. He’ll come begging for more, and then you can send him away.”

Doubtful. “What are you looking for?”

“My phone. I can’t find it.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Can I use your phone? I want to text my makeup person to come a little earlier.”

Anna shook her head. “My phone’s dead, and I forgot a charger.”

“You could have used mine,” Nina said.

“No, I can’t. Mine’s not an iPhone.”

“Oh.” She returned to digging in her purse. After a few muttered curses, she cried out in triumph, “Aha! Found it.”

Anna smiled and sat down, pulling a piece of croissant off the plate and nibbling on it. She wasn’t the slightest bit hungry, but if she didn’t eat something she would never make it through the primping and the wedding without dying of hunger.