Free Fugitive: A Bad Boy Romance (Northbridge Nights Book 2) by Jackie Wang

I was still hung up on him and his words and his spicy scent. His dark gray eyes and that unreadable face. He was an enigma I never had the chance to solve. A wildcard I’d never see again. A thousand-piece puzzle I unwrapped, but never got the chance to assemble.
    I felt a hand on the small of my back and flinched.
    “Relax, baby,” Rob said, guiding me towards the table. “You look nervous. Deep breaths, Rach.”
    We walked to the head of the table and Rob tapped his champagne glass. All eyes flew to him.
    As Rob delivered his welcome speech, I felt myself sweating from all the attention. Thirty-five pairs of eyes were trained on us. Thirty-five pairs of judgmental, unblinking eyes. What if I had lipstick between my teeth? Or crumbs on my face?
    A shoulder nudge. “Rach?”
    “Hm?”
    Rob smiled. “Would you like to say something?”
    “Oh right,” I said, reaching for my purse. I unfolded my crinkled speech. “Rob and I would like to sincerely thank you all for coming here tonight…” I read the entire thing without looking up at the audience once. I only paused to catch my breath twice, and by the end of it, I was literally gasping for air. My knees knocked together, and my ankles felt weak. If I had the jitters this bad now, what would happen on the actual wedding day? This audience was just family...while the real wedding included strangers I'd never met before. What would I do then?
    After we found our seats, Rob wrapped his hand around mine. “Are you okay, Rach? You seem pale.”
    “Just overwhelmed by all of it. Sorry—”
    “You don't need to apologize,” Rob said, squeezing my hand. “I'm a bit overwhelmed too. But we'll get through this together. Promise.”
    “Smile!” Mom said, holding out her smartphone.
    I plastered a smile on my face and leaned in closer to Rob. “Thanks for understanding, baby.”
    “What are husbands for?” Rob kissed me on the cheek and I heard Mom giggle. Mom slipped her phone back into her purse and said, “You two are just adorable.” Tonight, she’d curled her shoulder length hair and put on too much perfume. I didn’t like it.
    Dad and my future in-laws joined us moments later. My parents, Chris, and Rob's parents sat at our table. Rob’s parents, Lisa and Hang, were immaculate in their expensive, matching outfits. Teardrop diamond earrings hung from Lisa’s earlobes while Hang’s wrist sported a flashy Rolex. They were not ones to be modest about their wealth.
    “Excellent speech,” Hang said, beaming. “I can’t wait to call you my daughter.”
    “Thanks…” I paused. Should I start calling him “Dad”, or did I have to wait until after the wedding? I wasn’t sure. It was clearly rude to call him by his first name, so I just didn’t call him anything. “I really appreciate you saying that.”
    “So Hang…” Dad said. He proceeded to launch into an animated conversation with Hang about the stock market. Rob joined in. Mom began chastising Chris for using the wrong fork. Rob's mom, Lisa, turned and smiled at me. “It’s nice to see you again, Rachelle. You look wonderful.” She had a thick Chinese accent, and she was smiling so much her eyes were puffy slits. Her over-powdered face also did nothing to hide the deep grooves along her forehead.
    “Thanks. You too,” I said, faking a smile.
    “Robert, you look handsome as well.”
    “Thanks, Mom,” Rob said before turning his focus back on the stock market conversation.
    Lisa’s cold fingers brushed against mine. “Are all the wedding arrangements complete?” she asked. “Do you still need help with anything?”
    I nodded and forced my shoulders to relax. “Yes. No, we’re finished. All set.” Did my smile seem fake? All these people oozing money and status made my head swim. I wasn’t one of them. Fake! I could almost hear someone calling me out on it. I wasn’t one of them.
    “Good. There will be three-hundred of our closest friends and colleagues there. It has to go off