Free Substitute Bride (Beaufort Brides Book 2) by Noelle Adams Page B

her. “I didn’t want to be mean, but you’re not giving me
any other choice. It’s over between us, and I don’t want to see you again.”
    She stared at him, disbelieving. He wondered if she really
couldn’t understand that she couldn’t manipulate everyone the way she normally
did.
    She’d manipulated him plenty of times before. He could see
it now. He’d been clueless enough to fall for it. But the blinders were off
now, and he wasn’t going to be led around again.
    Since Genevieve wasn’t moving, he wrapped the coat around
her and then urged her to the door of his office with a hand on her back. “If
you don’t leave, I’m going to call security,” he said, finality in his tone.
    “You can’t do this to me,” she whispered, still clearly
shocked.
    “I can, and I am. Please leave.” He closed the office door
to shut her out.
    He smothered a groan and ran a hand through his hair,
feeling like he needed to shake off what had just happened. He waited about ten
minutes to make sure that Genevieve had cleared out of the building, and then
he headed down to his car and drove home.
    ***
    “What do you mean they’ve broken the
engagement?” Deanna asked, her voice sounding confused over the phone line.
    Rose stretched out on her bed, making herself comfortable
for the talk with her sister. “I mean they broke up. James—Mr. Harwood finally
got a clue, and he broke it off with her.”
    “When did this happen?”
    “Two nights ago. After that big scene at the house—Kelly
told you about it, didn’t she?—I guess he did some thinking and realized she
wasn’t a good choice for him. She never did like Jill and Julie, and I think
he’d finally began to see that. Anyway, they broke up.”
    Deanna’s voice was a little raspy. “Are you sure it was two
nights ago? Not last night?”
    “No, not last night. Last night we had pizza and he told the
girls.” Rose didn’t add that, after the girls had gone to bed, she’d fallen
asleep with James on the couch.
    “But…but…” Deanna trailed off.
    “What’s wrong with you?” Rose demanded, recognizing
something strange in her sister’s response. “Why is it so strange about him not
wanting to marry that woman?”
    “It’s not strange. I’m glad if he realized she wasn’t for
him. But Mitchell and I were at a party last night, and she was there. She came
late—at about nine-thirty—and she was telling everyone about the wedding
plans.”
    Rose took a moment to process the words. “What?”
    “She was telling everyone about the wedding plans—about how
she and James were getting married in June, how they were going on a honeymoon
to the Caribbean, about how happy the girls’ grandparents were about the match.
She was showing off her engagement ring big time.”
    “What?” Rose repeated, the room blurry before her eyes.
“They were already broken up then. Why was she talking about all of that?”
    “I don’t know, but she sure didn’t seem to think they were
broken up. Maybe you should say something to James.”
    “What am I supposed to say? That his ex-fiancée is off her
rocker? Do you think something is wrong with her?”
    “I don’t know. Could it be some sort of strategy? Is she
planning something to get him back?”
    “But how would that even work?”
    “I don’t know. But she was going on about this sob story of
how he was crushed when his first wife died and he finally opened up to her,
but she was afraid he would start to feel guilty about moving on. Maybe she was
trying to get a lot of people on her side.”
    “But that wouldn’t work with James! Does she think he’ll let
himself get bullied into a marriage he doesn’t want?” Rose had sat up straight,
so upset and outraged over this piece of news.
    “Who knows what she’s thinking?” Deanna paused. “You seem to
be pretty upset about something that doesn’t really have to do with you.”
    Rose fought a wave of self-consciousness. “Well, if he got
married, it