Page 40 of Always a Bridesmaid

Besides their numbers and last names, they were interchangeable. Their race suits were unzipped and slung down low, riding their hips. Underneath they had on their team body-armor shirts with their sponsors’ names and logos running the length of the arms and upper chest. They were also wearing team ball caps.

The event had yet to begin, so they were sitting in one of the private offices drinking coffee and eating breakfast, waiting for an assistant to call them out.

“I decided not to give it to her, but then she found it.”

“Before or after you made love?” Enzo asked.

“Who told you?”

Enzo smiled. “You just did.”

“Bollocks,” Henry mumbled. “Don’t say a word to anyone.” That’s all he needed was for Elle to think he went bragging to his friends. It was bad enough she thought he’d used her as a passing fancy.

“Jake already has his suspicions after you left with her and didn’t come back, but your secret is safe with me, Amico.”

Henry ran a hand down his face. “It’s a mess. I was going to ask her out. On a real date, and then she found the papers and walked out on me. She’s so mad she brought some guy here today to take the piss out of me.”

Enzo laughed. “She’s a—what would Jake call her—a firecracker.”

Henry had to bite back a grin. She was more than a firecracker. She was turbocharged with a stubborn streak the size of the English Channel. She was also more fragile than she let on—something he’d seen last night. Beneath that impenetrable mask was a soft and vulnerable woman he’d hurt.

“I have to make this right.”

Jane purposefully stoodat the back of the room behind the crowd, waiting for Finn’s family to arrive. She didn’t realize just how many people would be there. Everyone from the engineers and mechanics to corporate, family, and press. Had she known the last she would have absolutely gotten out of it.

Anonymity was crucial to her business. How could she go undercover as a bridesmaid for hire if everyone saw her at a high-profile wedding as Elle, the famous socialite?

Today was risky. But it was a risk she’d have to take. Plus, it was too late to back out now. Not to mention, she refused to let him think he’d scared her off. It was bad enough that, in a weak moment, she’d walked away last night rather than kicking him out; no way was she letting him win today.

So she’d stand there and stare him down as if nothing had happened.

“Elle?” a woman said, sounding relieved and placing a hand on Jane’s shoulder. She was dressed in an Apex red shirt and holding the hand of a very excited young boy who was decked out from head to toe in Apex gear. “Are you Elle?”

“You must be Mary,” Jane said, then squatted down to address the boy, who was on the thin side and looked way too small for his age. “And you must be Finn. I have a gift for you.”

Finn had just been cleared to leave his home after a lengthy recovery and his only ask had been to see the famous Henry Norris. When Jane had explained who her plus-one had been to Sarah, the bride-to-be had immediately set up a first-class day, including a limo ride for the boy and his family and a ton ofswag, shirts and team jackets for the whole group. Turned out Henry’s store credit came in handy after all.

Jane held out a bag overflowing with swag. “It looks like you’re already pretty set on Norris gear, but all of this came from the official team shop. It’s shirts and hats and things you can’t get anywhere else.”

“Really?” The boy’s eyes lit up as he took the bag. Dropping his mom’s hand, he opened it and glanced inside. “Thanks!”

“Yes,” Mary said, her eyes wet with what appeared to be a mix of exhaustion, gratitude, and relief—the kind of relief that came from getting a second chance with your child’s life. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Of course. When Georgia called, I knew I wanted to help. I was just glad that I could.”

“This means everything to him,” Mary said, getting choked up, which had Jane choking up too. She knew what it felt like to lose a loved one. But she couldn’t imagine the fear and impotence that came with almost losing a child. “Henry Norris is his hero. So being here…”

Mary waved her hand as if unable to continue and Jane’s heart doubled at the emotion in the woman’s words until it nearly pushed through her ribcage. Jane pulled her in for a comforting hug.

“Thanks. I needed that.”

“Me too,” Jane said honestly.

“Do you think I’ll get to meet him?” Finn asked. He’d already swapped out his ball cap for the new one.

“I’m not sure,” Jane answered, and the kid’s smile didn’t even falter.

“It doesn’t matter. This is so cool. I can’t wait to tell my mates.”

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