Free The Fairy Tale Bride by Scarlet Wilson Page B

light.
    Lisa’s eyes were wide. She looked in shock. He tried to remember what he’d heard about her. There was no recent ex. No skeletons he was aware of.
    He turned his back towards the couple. It just seemed too voyeuristic to keep staring. And anyway, he was far more concerned about Lisa.
    He reached up and touched her shoulders. “Who is he, Lisa? Is it someone you know?”
    “It’s…Jared,” she stuttered. “Jared Lovell.”
    Nope. Nothing. He still hadn’t a clue.
    He gave a shake of his head and she threw up her hands in exasperation. “Jared Lovell? From Sultry Suburbs ?”
    Now that sounded vaguely familiar, but he still wasn’t getting it. Guy. Girl. Drunken fumble in an alleyway. “Who?”
    Lisa shook her head. She looked mad. She pointed her finger. “That,” she hissed, “is the groom for the wedding I’m helping out with. You know – the wedding of the year.”
    Now, he got it. “Ahh…,” he glanced over his shoulders. “I take it that…isn’t the bride?” To be truthful he was wondering how on earth Lisa knew who it was. There wasn’t much to go on.
    “Not unless she’s dyed her hair and it’s grown by four inches in the last twenty-four hours.”
    Okay. The wedding of year wasn’t looking good right now. But why was Lisa so upset?
    He hesitated. “Is the bride a friend of yours? I thought you didn’t know her that well.”
    Lisa sucked in another breath. Her brow was furrowed. “I hate this. I hate things like this. Nancylynn loves him. She talked about him to me. She obviously trusts him.” She lifted her hand again. “And look at him. Look at what he’s doing. How dare he? This is her home town. How dare he come here and behave like that – as if Nancy means nothing to him?”
    She stepped forward, he could feel the fire sparking from her, see the momentum in her body and moved sideways – straight into her path.
    “Ooof!” She walked straight into him. “What are you doing? Get out of my way!”
    Adam shook his head and held her by the shoulders. “No way. You don’t know him, Lisa. You have no idea what he’s like. I’m not letting you put yourself in that position. He’s drunk. You’ve no idea how he’ll react.”
    Another peal of female laughter and mumbled voices sounded from the alleyway and he cringed. He shook his head. “The guy’s obviously not who he pretends to be.”
    He chose his words carefully. “Maybe Nancy knows? Maybe the marriage isn’t what you think it is? Aren’t some of these Hollywood marriages a sham, or a publicity stunt? Maybe this one is the same? Didn’t you say it was really short notice?”
    Lisa’s face paled. “Yes. Yes, it is.” She put her hand up to her throat. “Oh no. Maybe Nancylynn is pregnant. I never even thought about that.” Her eyes glassed over. “Maybe she’s pregnant and her husband-to-be is cheating on her. The jackass.” The determined glint appeared in her eye again and she tried to step around him.
    “No way.” He held her firmly. “You don’t know any of the circumstances. Don’t jump to conclusions.”
    “Don’t jump to conclusions? What other conclusion is there? Jared Lovell is a no-good cheating lowlife. And it’s about time somebody told him.” Now she was shouting and her voice carried easily down the street.
    There was an exclamation from the alleyway. An acknowledgement that something had been heard.
    Adam quickly put his arm around Lisa and steered her away. The last thing he wanted was the so-called bridegroom exiting the alleyway and causing a scene. Lisa would probably end up nose to nose with him right now.
    She shrugged off his arm. “Don’t,” she muttered and started walking quickly down the street. It was obvious she was upset. And although he understood, in principle, why she was upset, he couldn’t really understand why she was taking it so personally.
    It wasn’t like Nancy and Jared were her best friends. She didn’t know the guy at all, and she’d only