Page 13 of Risk Assessment
Jenn was leaning on the bar a couple of feet away. The bride-to-be was dressed in a cornflower-blue, figure-hugging, hautecouture outfit that Raleigh was sure she’d seen on the runway during the Milan fashion week at the beginning of the year. Jenn looked stunning. Her blond hair shone in the light, and the dress brought out the blue of her eyes.
How long had she been standing there? And why the hell did she have that huge fake smile plastered all over her face? The whole situation made Raleigh uneasy. What was Jenn up to?
Jenn gave her an assessing look as she moved closer. Man, it was surprising how much jealousy could be packed into a tight designer dress. Raleigh almost didn’t have the heart to keep up the ruse. Almost. After all, if Jenn was still this hung up on Dylan, then she shouldn’t be marrying someone else.
“Yes, here we are,” Raleigh purred. “We were just—”
“Great,” Jenn cut her off. “Dylan, you need to come and say hello to everyone. They are as surprised as I am that you’re here.”
“Ah, sure.” He stood up, and Jenn immediately snagged one of his arms. He offered the other one to Raleigh, and they exchanged a look.Who was everyone?
She had no idea what Jenn’s sudden change of heart might mean, but she was sure it wasn’t good.
CHAPTER SIX
Through sheer force of will, Dylan kept his feet moving forward and his breathing even as he entered the room. His chest was tight, his hands balled into fists. The fight-or-flight instinct was strong, and for the first time in his life,flightwas winning.
This was a such a bad idea. Likedropping a plugged-in toaster into your bathwaterbad.
He wanted to do an about-face and get the hell out of there. The only thing holding him back was the fact that Raleigh was clasping his arm tightly. He glanced down at her, and guilt sucker-punched him in the gut. She was being terrorized by a supposed stalker and she was supportinghim.Man up, you lightweight.
Raleigh’s small encouraging smile suddenly froze over. Dylan followed her gaze. Lydia Harris. And she looked pissed.
Of course, with her it was hard to tell. Her face always seemed frozen. She got some sort of injections for her wrinkles or at least that’s what Jenn had said one time when he commented on it. But there was no mistaking the daggers jetting out of Lydia’s eyes, directed at him.
Her platinum hair was pulled tightly back from her face which only emphasized the frozen look. She was tall and abnormally thin, a fact accentuated by the tight sparkling purple dress she wore. The aggressive light in her eye and her slightly hooked nose always made him think of a bird of prey. It appeared that tonight he was her target.
Silently swearing long and loud, Dylan glanced at Raleigh, but her face had transformed to a mask of politeness.
“Dylan, you remember my parents, and Andrew.” Jenn had walked them right through the crowd to the main table. Now that they’d arrived at their destination, Jenn dropped his arm like a hot potato and moved around the table to stand between her parents and her fiancé. The physical weight of all the stares pinned on him was almost unbearable.
“Yes, of course.” His voice was squeaky like a rusty hinge.
This was so much bullshit. He’d never let these people intimidate him before no matter how out of place he’d felt, and he sure wasn’t about to start now. He wasn’t of their world, but he didn’t care. His mom had put him through hell with her drinking and mental illness more times than he could count. These people had nothing on the humiliation he’d been through as a kid.
Seeing Andrew with Jenn wasn’t fun, but he’d be damned if he let it get under his skin.
Clearing his throat and squaring his shoulders, he greeted the tall man who stood beside Lydia. “Bill.” He offered his hand.
Bill Harris was the quintessential Wall Street type with his high-end navy suit and red tie. All spit and polish. A suit of armor that hid the knife he’d bury in someone’s back if they weren’t careful.
“Dylan,” Jenn’s father said, as he pumped Dylan’s hand, then dropped it quickly. “Nice to see you.” His tone told him that it was anything but true.
Well, Dylan felt the same way. There was no love lost there. Bill had never accepted Dylan as worthy of his precious little girl. And he’d made it plain each time they were all together.
Dylan turned to Raleigh. “I believe you know Mr. Harris.”
She nodded and murmured his name by way of a greeting.
“Dylan, it’s such a surprise to see you here.” With that one sentence, Lydia Harris had made it perfectly clear to the whole room that he was as welcome as a cockroach, and she thought him no better. “At least you wore a suit, such as it is.” Her lip practically curled.
He ground his teeth. If there was any insect in this room, it was Lydia. Only she was a scorpion, always stinging with her words.
“Lydia. It’s a surprise for us both.” He registered the look of uncertainty that flitted across Lydia’s face, followed by a flash of anger. But her usual cool mask of indifference dropped into place.
Conscious of what Raleigh had said in the cabin, he had to make sure Lydia didn’t blame her for his attendance. Otherwise, it would be game over for her at her company.
Turning to Raleigh, he said, “I believe you already know my girlfriend, Raleigh Ross.”
