Page 101 of The Baby-whisperer and the Brute
Epilogue
Wilder Lowe
Until Sully handed me the guest list, it hadn’t occurred to me thatshemight attend the wedding.
Yes, Jade, aka Jessica Bailey, was a celebrity, and thiswasa star-studded event. And yes, she was from Eastport Bay. But she hadn’t been back to town for a long, long time—not as far as I knew anyway.
At least her brother, my friend Hap Bailey, hadn’t mentioned anything about his sister being home recently.
Not that Hap would even think to bring it up to me. He had no idea his best friend had such aninterestin his baby sister’s comings and goings.
And that was how it was going to stay.
Whenever Hap made the occasional mention of his pride over Jessica’s music industry success, I simply nodded and replied with a bland remark of congratulations. Whenever he worried over her latest celebrity romance, I nodded and kept my mouth shut.
I didn’t ask any questions about her.
Icertainlydidn’t comment on how much she’d grown up.
And I never—ever—mentioned what had happened between us one night years ago.
When I’d spotted “Jade’s” name on the elite guest list, my heart had stuttered and stopped before resuming the work of circulating my blood.
On the outside, I’d simply nodded to Sully and launched the appropriate protocol for protecting a high-profile guest of her caliber.
As head of the security for the wedding, I was responsible for the safety of all the guests.Thisone however, might give me a nervous breakdown. All throughout the ceremony, my eyes had drifted to her empty reserved seat in the third row of chairs.
Instead of paying careful attention to the minister’s words, I’d wondered whether her plane had encountered storms on its way from California or whether there had been some holdup with her ground transportation on this end.
As soon as the happy couple had kissed, I’d slipped out of the on-site chapel and made some calls, confirming her plane had taken off late and landed in Rhode Island safely. I’d kept an eye out for her arrival ever since, making excuses to stay outside—checking in with the guards, walking the perimeter of the property, and inspecting the blackout screens and thick artificial hedges that had been erected as privacy barriers against the paparazzi and curious locals.
Now it was almost time for the toasts, and I had no choice but to make my way back to the mansion’s central courtyard. Reaching it, I pulled a folded sheet of paper from my tuxedo jacket pocket and went over the lines I’d written once more.
A door opened from the mansion into the central courtyard. Alert as always to any change in the environment around me, I homed in on the doorway.
It filled with the outline of dark hair flowing down to smooth, slender shoulders, feminine hips, and long legs sheathed in a slinky silver gown so eye-catching it seemed every head at the reception turned in her direction.
The dress moved like liquid silver over Jade’s curves as she entered the courtyard, exchanging hugs with those she knew well and less touchy-feely greetings with those she’d just met.
All the while, I watched. In fact, I couldn’t have looked away if I tried. It had been twelve years since I’d seen her in person, not since I was a senior in high school, and she was a sophomore, still a little girl for all practical purposes. I could hardly believe the difference in her.
In the past, I would have put her beauty in the category of “adorable” or merely “pretty.” I’d seen her on television since then, but the cameras hadn’t done her justice.
Jessica Bailey had turned into a certified bombshell.
Unfortunately, it felt like I was the one who was about to explode. What was I going to say to her? Should I own up to having bought all her albums or keep that to myself?
After a while it seemed like it was going to be a non-issue. She didn’t approach me or even wave from across the room. Only once did she meet my gaze, her much-celebrated green eyes flashing my way then flickering away again.
Does she not remember me?
My belly sank in disappointment. I didn’t often feel at a disadvantage with a woman. I hadn’t met one I cared enough about to actuallyworryabout whether she was out of my league.
But this one… she was in a league all her own.
Suddenly, I wasn’t sure it was such a great idea to talk to Jessica tonight. With the way she looked, I wasn’t certain I’d be as successful at disguising my attraction to her as I had been in high school.
Back then, I’d had my bad-boy persona to hide behind. Now I felt naked, exposed in a way I’d never allow one of my bodyguard clients to be.
