My Fiancé Called Me Boring, So I Slept With His Uncle novel · Chapter 3 of 24

Chapter 3: The Missing Groom

In the hall Sadie names the apartment where Colby is hiding, he is dragged in with lipstick on his collar, and she is alone in the fitting room with a zipper that will not close when someone comes in behind her.

My father took my arm above the elbow and walked me into the hall.

People were crowding toward the ballroom doors and whispering behind their hands.

"Is that really him?"

"I heard he got back from abroad last month."

The doors opened, and Ezra walked in.

Black suit. Wide shoulders. Dark eyes that did not smile at anyone.

Last night came back to me all at once.

His hand on my neck. His breath on my mouth. His voice in the dark, saying last chance.

Heat ran up my spine, and I bit the inside of my cheek until it stopped.

Not now, Sadie.

I put on the face I had worn for twelve years.

Plain. Calm. Easy to forget.

If it had ever mattered, it mattered now.

Gerald Maddox got to him first.

Gerald was Colby's father, my future father-in-law and the head of the family on paper.

He owned half of Harlow Bay, and grown men went quiet when he walked in.

Now he hurried across the marble with both hands out, sweat shining on his forehead.

"Ezra! You came. It means so much to the family."

Ezra looked at the offered hand and did not take it.

He checked his watch.

"It's almost noon, Gerald. Where is the groom?"

Gerald's smile cracked.

"Colby is running a little late."

"How late?"

Nobody answered.

My father studied the carpet and said nothing.

Then Gerald remembered I existed.

"Ezra, this is Sadie Brannigan. Colby's fiancée."

Ezra's eyes moved to me.

They were dark and steady, and there was nothing in them of last night.

"Miss Brannigan."

"Mr. Maddox."

We sounded like strangers.

Eight hours ago he had been inside me.

His gaze stayed on my face one second too long.

I kept my face empty.

I was doing beautifully.

"What exactly are we waiting for, Gerald?" he asked.

"For Colby," I said.

Every head turned.

"He isn't coming," I said. "He doesn't want to marry me, so he's hiding."

My father made a noise in his throat.

Gerald went pale.

"Sadie, that is not true. Colby had something to deal with, and he..."

"I can tell you where he is," I said sweetly. "Daphne Ames's apartment, tenth floor."

Dead silence.

Ezra did not move.

But one corner of his mouth shifted, very slightly, and I only saw it because I was staring at his mouth for reasons I refused to examine.

Gerald snapped his fingers.

Half his staff ran for the elevators.

Twenty minutes later, two of them marched Colby into the ballroom.

His shirt was buttoned wrong.

There was lipstick on his collar, and his hair stood up on one side.

It was a look.

"Dad, I told you!" He pointed at me. "I'm not marrying her! Look at her! I can't even stand next to her without checking the exits! My friends will never let me hear the end of it!"

I almost applauded.

It was rude, but it was efficient.

"You will marry her," Gerald hissed. "Take him upstairs. Dress him. This engagement is happening today."

Colby rounded on me, eyes bright with hate.

"You told them! You little snake!"

"I prefer helpful," I said.

He never once looked at his uncle.

That was a mistake, and I was not going to be the one to mention it.

Ezra watched the whole scene without a word, with his arms folded.

His face gave away nothing.

Then a staff member touched my elbow.

"Miss Brannigan? Your fitting room is this way."

Before anyone else could touch my face, I did it myself.

Flat foundation. Dull cheeks. Tired eyes.

Ten minutes later, the mirror showed me exactly what I wanted, a woman nobody looks at twice.

It had been my mother's trick, and it had just helped me out of a wedding, so I gave her credit.

The dress was a disaster.

Ivory satin, twenty pounds of beads, and a zipper that quit halfway up my back.

I fought it for five minutes.

The zipper won.

I was reaching for the phone to call someone when the door opened behind me.

Perfect timing.

"Can you zip me?" I said, sweeping my hair aside. "I think this dress hates me."

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