Page 19 of Shattered Hearts
Which can’t be true. He’s engaged to my sister. Mymissingsister.
The alarms going off inside me get louder, but I don’t fully snap out of it until the growing bulge near my waist jolts me out of my haze.
I tear my lips away from his.
Mouths ajar, both of us panting, we stare hard at each other. Lust and anger burn me up, razing my insides from top to bottom.
I know I don’t deserve the Sister of the Year award. Hell, neither does Harper. But the five percent of me that’s still a caring, overprotective sister cannot believe Finn just did that. He could’ve faked it. Could’ve given me a quick peck. Could’ve kissed my cheek.
Why the hell did he kiss me likethat?
Maybe I’m a little out of my element at this wedding, but I do know clinking silverware against a champagne glass doesn’t meangive your sister-in-law-to-be a tonsillectomy with your tongue.Finn’s many things, but I never imagined he was the kind of jackass who would fool around with his bride’s sister, regardless of the circumstances. Even worse, I let him.
And enjoyed every last second of it.
“All right, lovebirds.” Rory’s face splits into a shit-eating grin as he speaks into the microphone. “Save some for the honeymoon.”
Cheeks heating, I release Finn at once, though his body’s on a ten-second delay. His grip on my waist lessens like he’s tentative, almost as if he doesn’t want to let me go.
Then he releases me and walks away.
The chaos Finn unleashed inside me remains, even after he’s removed himself from the dance floor, leaving me in his wake, hot, bothered, disturbed, and alone.
But I made it. I got through the wedding, the dance, and not one but two freaking life-altering kisses. Now I just have to?—
“Next, the bride would like to share a dance with her father.” Rory’s announcement jerks me back to the present.
Masking my absolute disgust requires Herculean effort.
I can’t even rememberhuggingmy father once in the last twenty-three years.
Everything in me wants to back away as he approaches with that calculating look on his face I know all too well, as if thinking up all the ways he could put my half-dressed body to use.
When he steps into my personal space, the two little words he utters twist my stomach. “Smile pretty.”
Then, he opens his hand to me. Music strikes up around us, but I don’t accept his hand. I’m too horrified by the song Harper picked.
You Raise Me Up?More likeYou Beat Me Down.
When my father realizes I have no intention of doing this with him, he seizes my hand and squeezes tighter when I attempt to snatch it away. He drops his other giant, meaty paw onto my hip and yanks us in a circle.
I want to throw up. Want to antagonize him and show him I’m not as weak as I once was.
More than anything, I just want this dance to be over.
“You seem…comfortable in your sister’s place.”
I don’t bother to respond.
“It’s a good thing too.” He crowds me with his body, oppressing me with his sheer size. “Because you’re going to continue playing Finn’s happy little wifey until we find her. Wherever and whenever needed, you’re going to fill in. You’ll move back into the mansion for the time being.”
My fingers constrict inside his fist, anxious to rip his throat out. “Over my dead body.” If looks could kill, I swear I’d glare at the bastard until he was a smoldering pile of ash on the floor. “I agreed to todayand today only. After that, you’re on your own.”
“Is that how you show respect to your father?” Hetsksin my ear. “What if I sent you a little wedding present and cut up those neighbors you love so much? Old Chinese couple and their grandkid…”
Fuck.
My stomach plummets. Just when I think when I think he can’t stoop any lower, he outdoes himself. Before this moment, I’d never considered patricide, but right now I could happily murder him for threatening the Zhangs. Their beautiful, innocent faces flash in my mind.