“Allow me to take out the trash, Sam.”
Sheri jerked her arm out of Eden’s grip. “Don’t touch me, I’m going.”
As she watched the woman’s purple-colored ass leave, she considered kicking it, but she somehow managed to stop herself. Instead, Eden slammed the hotel door behind her.
Eden went over to try to hug Samantha, but she held out her hand. “Get me my phone. I need to do something. I need to call Kevin. I need to make sure my cousin isn’t lying.” Sam bit her lip. Eden could tell she didn’t hold out much hope.
Samantha made a facetime call to Kevin.
From the side, Eden saw Kevin’s smiling face pop up. Then Sam started talking.
“We’ve got a problem. Sheri just said you’ve been having a six-month affair. She’s pregnant. I think we need to call off the wedding, don’t you?”
Kevin’s face turned red, then paled, then crumpled. The weenie had the gall to start crying. What a fucking wuss.
“I’m so sorry, Sam. I’m so, so sorry. I can’t believe she’s pregnant. We were so careful.”
Samantha cut off the phone.
Eden moved so she could look at her best friend. She went to hug her, but Sam shook her head. She gulped. “Kevin would have never confessed if I hadn’t said the pregnant part. He would have tried to bluff his way through it.” Her face turned sour. “I guess that’s what happens when you decide to marry your college sweetheart—you know their weak spots.”
Eden wanted to go snap the slimy little asshole’s neck.
Eden leaned forward to give Sam a hug, but her friend held her off. “I can’t, Eden. Once I start crying, I’m never going to stop. I’m supposed to get married in twenty minutes. What do I do? People are already here.”
“You let me take care of it,” Eden said.
“Eden?”
“Yes, honey?”
“I want my mom.”
Eden lightly touched Samantha’s shoulder. “I’ll get her. She’ll be here in just a second, I promise.”
Eden headed for the door and prayed that she would see Kevin on the way to finding Sam’s mom. The man needed a good kick.
“There’s definitely something going on,” Asher said as he turned his head to look at the back of the church.
“Yes, it’s called a wedding,” Lawson replied easily. “Quit fidgeting. I can’t believe you’re thirty-one, you’re acting like a five-year-old who needs to pee.”
“It’s supposed to start in five minutes, why isn’t the groom in place? Where’s the minister?”
“So, they’re running a few minutes late. Haven’t you ever been to a wedding where that happens?”
“No. We’re military, we’re on time.”
Lawson chuckled. “Settle down, Brother. You look great. Your woman will be here. She’ll fall into your arms, you’ll have wild monkey sex, all will be good in your world. Okay, maybe not too wild, since she’s going to have to do most of the work because of your injury.”
An elderly woman who was seated in front of them turned around and winked. Asher bit back a laugh. He really needed to calm down.
He pulled out a hymnal and studied some of the lyrics to a hymn. Then he turned around again to see what was going on.
Nothing.
Now Lawson was laughing.
Asher shut the hymnal. What the hell is going on? When are things going to start? He’d been in Boise since last night. He knew where Eden had been staying—Kane had provided that—but A.J. had assured him that she was spending time with the bride and he couldn’t intrude. This was killing him.
His head spun at the sound of the back door opening. He didn’t care that there should have been activity up at the altar and not the vestibule. He needed to see Eden! Then, as if he had willed it, there she was.
In a vivid two-toned dress that swirled in purple and green. It cut off right at the knees and showed plenty of cleavage. Eden looked gorgeous. She blew him away as she strode up the nave of the church and stopped at the front row on the bride’s side. She crouched down to talk to the woman who had to be the mother of the bride. Immediately the woman stood up, and a man stood up beside her. Eden hugged the woman, then stepped out of the way so that they could rush down the aisle.
After they left out the back door, Eden took the two steps right up to the altar, then turned around to face the guests.
“By the look on your face, I’m assuming that’s your Eden,” Lawson said ruefully. “And if she isn’t, I call dibs.”
“She’s mine, hands off.”
“Can I have your attention,” Eden called out over the whispering. “I’ve got some news. The wedding has been called off.”
“What happened?” Someone shouted from the back.
“Yeah, what happened?” Someone else asked from the middle.
It was the first moment that Eden looked flustered, but then his lioness stood up straighter and thrust back her shoulders. “You can take back all of your gifts and save them for Kevin and Sheri Alderton’s eventual baby shower.”
Stunned silence met her words. Then the whispers started.
As straight and tall as a soldier, Eden started her walk back to the vestibule. Asher got up and slid out so that when she came to his pew he was there. Her eyes widened and her step faltered, but that was her only indication of her surprise. Asher held out his arm. She took it, and they finished the
