Page 12 of Shattered Hearts
Beyond the darkened limo glass, wedding guests pour out of the church applauding and waving. The limo starts moving, and with every mile we put between us and the cathedral, more oxygen seems to fill the backseat.
Finn hasn’t said a word yet, and I’m terrified to break the silence.
I drop Harper’s bouquet and tear off her lace gloves. I’m so hotbeneath this mile-long veil, I do everything short of ripping out my hair to get the thing off.
As soon as I’ve done everything I can to be comfortable, my eyes glide over to Finn, who sits adjacent to me while doing the same thing. Veins in his fist bulge as he yanks off his bow tie, tearing the silk with angry fingers. Next, he claws at his torso until he’s freed himself from that too-tight albeit sexy as hell tuxedo jacket.
Finally, he undoes the top buttons of his tuxedo shirt, revealing the cliffs of his collarbones beneath his taut jaw.
He’s pissed.
Why does an angry Finn have to be so hot?
I don’t realize my heart is galloping in my chest until Finn rolls his head around. While his eyes aren’t on me, I take the opportunity to touch my lips. No drool. At least I don’t have toadd drooling over my sister’s fiancé post kissing him to the list of this already disaster of a day.
Up close, his allure overwhelms me. I sense his body heat from all the way over here. The robust, masculine, and slightly sweet bonfire-like musk of his skin creeps into my nose.
I can still feel the imprint of his rough hand in mine as we sprinted out of the church like we were running for our lives. My brain starts to imagine the feel of his hands all over me, until I shut the thought down with all the strength I have.
“Hey.”
I jump at his low, suspicious rumble. His gaze was so vacant back there at the altar, and now, his brown eyes have become laser beams locking on my face, ready to melt my brain.
“Start talking.”
My mouth falls open without my consent, obeying him like a little lap dog.
Finn interrupts me almost as soon as I begin. “Harper’smissing? What the hell happened? And when was someone going to clue me in?”
“I don’t know.” I exhale in an attempt to clear my frazzled head. “This morning, my father called me to the church and told me I needed to fill in for her. I thought someone would have told you all this before the ceremony.”
He shoots me an irritated,obviously no one enlightened meglare that makes my hackles rise. “Someone took her?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. She left a note that saidI’m sorry.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. Someone could have forced her to write that. Or maybe she got cold feet.” The edge in his voice broadcasts his disappointment to me loud and clear, stabbing a few extra needles into my pin cushion of a heart.
Of course he’s disappointed. He expected to kick off his happily married life to my sister and instead got stuck with me.
And he doesn’t want me. He made that perfectly clear three years ago. There’s no reason for the knowledge to still sting.
“Why don’t you know if she ran or not?” He growls. Actually growls. “You’re twins.”
“We share a birthday, not a brain.”
Asshole.
Why’s he getting upset with me? I didn’t leave him at the altar.
His eyes flash up to mine. “This is serious.”
“Gee, you think?” I snap back.
He scowls, the muscles in his hands and arms pulsing, like he’s itching to strangle someone, and I’ll do just fine.
Affronted disbelief swells inside me.Thisjackass is the guy I crushed on all through high school and college?
When his voice drops an octave, fear crowds my disbelief. “Tread lightly. I’m really not in the mood today.”