Free JCastle - H1 Bridal Jitters by aka Jayne Ann Krentz Harmony Series

  She    coughed   and    sputtered.   Heat    infused   her   cheeks.
    Unfortunately, she reflected   glumly, bright   pink was not   her best   color,
    especially   on her face. She glanced wildly   around to make sure no one else
    had overheard Adeline's   outrageous question.   The offices of   Gage &   Burch
    were   crowded   with   friends and   colleagues,   some   of whom   she   could not
    recognize because, even though they   were here to celebrate her   engagement,
    most   wore masks and   costumes. It was Halloween   week, after all; otherwise
    known here in Cadence as party-till-you-drop week. She wondered if the   fact
    that her friends had cho- Charmed
     
    sen   to throw a surprise   engagement party with a   Halloween theme was a bad
    omen. Not that she needed any more to warn her that her forthcoming marriage
    was   probably a huge   mistake. Luckily someone had   cranked up the volume of
    the music. The throbbing beat of a rez-rock song created a blanket of   white
    noise   that effectively shrouded conversations. As far as she could tell, no
    one    had   overheard    Adeline's   question    about   the    sexual   habits   of
    ghost-hunters.
    "Uh,"   Virginia   said. To   buy herself   some time,   she groped   for a napkin
    decorated with a   cartoon picture of   a woman in   a pointy black   hat and   a
    cape, riding a broomstick. "Uh, well--"
    "I've   heard the stories," Adeline   continued, eyes gleaming. "And if you'll
    recall, I dated that good-looking hunter for a while. The one with the   blue
    eyes and the curly black hair. I can't remember his name."
    "Brett."   It   was   hard to   keep   up   with Adeline's   ever-changing   list of
    boyfriends, Virginia thought. But Brett had been memorable mostly because he
    had   been   a swaggering   braggart. Of   course, a   lot of   ghost-hunters were
    swaggering braggarts.   But not   Sam. Whatever   else   he was,   he was   not   a
    typical   hunter. She   glanced across the   room to where   her new combination
    fiance/business partner   stood talking   with   one of   the guests.   Sam   Gage
    didn't   have to   do any   bragging, she thought   wistfully. You   knew just by
    looking at   him that   he   could take   care of   himself   and any   ghost   that
    happened   along. She was pretty   sure he'd be terrific   in bed, too, but she
    was beginning   to think   she might   never find   out the   truth of   that   for
    herself.
    "Oh,   yeah, right," Adeline said. "Brett. That was his name. At any rate, he
    made some   very   interesting   claims and   promises.   Ghost-hunters   are   not
    exactly shy when it comes to B R ID A L J I T T E R S 5
    telling   you about   their sexual   prowess. But our   relationship didn't last
    long enough for me to run an experiment. Anyhow, I'm curious. I realize it's
    none of my business--"
    "No, it's not."
    "But   I am your very best friend in the entire world," Adeline reminded her.
    "If you can't tell me, who can you tell?"
    Virginia cleared her throat and decided to   be honest. "Sorry, I'm not in   a
    position to answer your question."
    Adeline looked dumbfounded. "You're not? But you're going to marry Sam Gage.
    He's a hunter. This is your engagement party."
    "Oddly enough, it looks more like a Halloween party to me."
    "Okay, okay, so we   decided to give   it a theme. All   the best parties   have
    themes. I read it in last month's issue of Harmonic Home & Garden."
    "I   can't   believe   Harmonic   Home   &   Garden   told   you   that   Halloween is
    considered an appropriate theme for an engagement party."
    "Personally, I thought it was kind   of original." Adeline looked across   the
    crowded   room   to where   Sam   stood. A   speculative   light glittered   in her
    deceptively innocent eyes. "Are you telling me that you two haven't done