Free Bedded Then Wed by Heidi Betts Page A

shouldn’t. You’re his brother, and I’m sure I’m just overly nervous and emotional about the wedding.”
    “But…” he prompted. “My brother has obviously done something typically stupid or insensitive.”
    “That’s just it,” she said quietly, glancing at the handkerchief she was worrying with her fingertips. If it had been made of tissue rather than a sturdy cotton weave, she’d have shredded it into a million pieces by now. “He hasn’t done anything. Ever since he proposed, he’s been acting like he doesn’t even want to get married. He hasn’t shown a single bit of interest in the wedding plans or our future or even this party that your mother is so excited about and put so much time and energy into.”
    She waved a hand toward the crowded house, then dabbed once again at her flooding eyes. “I thought that being engaged to Mitch, being married to him, would make me happy, but now I wish we’d stuck to just sleeping together.”
    Chase’s eyes widened at that declaration, but she ignored it. Obviously, Mitch wasn’t the only person in town who expected her to be an innocent virgin until her dying—or wedding, as the case may be—day.
    “Look,” Chase said, rubbing her arms, left bare by her sleeveless dress, in a comforting gesture. “The reason for all of this is simple. My brother is an ass. His first mistake was hooking up with Suzanne, which anyone who was paying attention could have told him was a situation that had disaster written all over it. His second mistake was wasting so much as a minute being sorry when she left. And his third mistake…”
    He paused to brush a lock of hair behind her ear and offer a gentle smile. “His third and by far largest mistake, was making you cry when he should be holding on to you with both hands and letting you know every minute how much you mean to him.”
    At that, Emma’s lungs hitched and tears started rolling down her face again.
    Chase pulled her into his arms and patted her back. “Shh. He doesn’t mean to hurt your feelings, he’s just a little mixed up right now. You know what a number Suzanne’s infidelity did on him. He doesn’t know what he wants anymore.”
    She understood what he was saying, but it didn’t make her feel any better. She was still in the distressing predicament of being engaged to a man she wasn’t at all sure wanted to be with her.
    Behind her, she heard the side door of the house open and footsteps echo on the wooden planks of the porch floor. Pushing away from Chase’s embrace, she wiped her nose and cheeks, embarrassed to have been caught crying at her own engagement party.
    When she turned, it wasn’t a random guest standing a few feet away, but Mitch, who was glaring at her with dark, angry eyes.
    “Well,” he drawled, his voice as sharp as a knife edge, “I guess it’s a good thing I found out about this before the wedding rather than after. It would be pretty stupid of me to marry another liar and cheater.”
    She felt Chase tense behind her a second before he growled, “Now, wait just a damn minute—”
    “And with my own brother.” Mitch stared past her, a sneer twisting his mouth.
    “Mitch…” she said quickly, hoping to diffuse the situation before it got any worse “…it’s not what you think.”
    Taking a step forward, she stretched a hand toward his chest only to drop it when he moved back and gave her a look that could have cut through glass.
    “It never is, is it?” he replied nastily.
    “Watch it, Mitch,” Chase murmured from behind her in a threatening tone. “I’m not above bloodying your nose at your own engagement party.”
    Mitch took a menacing step forward, his furious gaze locked on his brother, completely ignoring Emma, who stood between them. “You’re not above making time with my fiancé, either, are you?”
    “Enough,” she snapped, turning sideways and holding her arms out to stop both men in their tracks. “That’s enough. Chase, I appreciate your