The Wedding Pact Box Set

by Denise Grover Swank

  “Thank you,” she said briskly.

  He leaned closer. “But I can tell you that there was a nugget of truth to what he told you. We are considering you for partnership.”

  Garrett expected her boss’s statement to make her relax, but she only seemed to get more tense. “I see. Are you sure I’m partner material? Are you sure I’m not too much of a bitch?”

  “What?” he asked, his face turning red.

  “You were right, there was some truth to what Ben said. Several truths. I made a few phone calls this afternoon, and it turns out I’ve been considered for partner before, but one of the senior married partners refused to vote for me because I wouldn’t sleep with him.”

  Her boss’s face grew even redder. “I assure you that’s not true.” He paused. “And even if it was, you don’t have proof.”

  She gave him a cold smile. “And that right there is proof enough.”

  “Blair,” he gushed. “I know we’d love to make you partner and offer you a nice signing bonus.”

  “I’m sure you would.” Her eyes sparkled with the look of a predator about to devour its prey, and Garrett found himself incredibly turned on.

  “Mr. Sisco, you can take your partnership and shove it up your ass. You’ll find my letter of resignation on your desk on Monday morning.”

  “Blair, I’m sure we can work something out.”

  “The only thing we’re working out is how quickly you can get out of my sight.”

  His jaw clenched with anger, and he stomped out of the sanctuary.

  She took a deep breath and let it out. “That felt good.”

  “I bet it did.”

  “But I don’t have a job. And Melissa . . .”

  “Blazer, I want you to be happy where you work. But for the record, if you had accepted, we might have had words. There’s no way I want my wife working for a bunch of sexist pricks.”

  She spun around to face him, lifting her hands to his face. “Your wife?”

  A lazy grin spread across his face. “I know. It’s going to take some getting used to.”

  “In a bad way?”

  “In the best possible way.” He pulled her to his chest and kissed her, thankful that she didn’t pull back, even though they were in a church full of people. “I think I’m underdressed for this reception. How about we swing by my hotel room and pick up my tux?” He grinned. “And do a few other things.”

  “Impatient again?” she laughed.

  “Are you kidding?” He shot her a look of disbelief. “I almost lost you forever. I’m scared to death to let you out of my sight for one minute.”

  She tensed. “You’re not going to be one of those clingy husbands, are you?”

  “I’ve thought of you nonstop for five years, and this morning you turned your back on me to marry my asshole cousin. You’re going to have to give me at least a couple of hours of clinginess to calm my anxiety.”

  “Then if you want to be clingy, I have the perfect idea for how we can make use of a few of those hours.”

  His hand dug into her hip, his eyes full of longing. “I need to find a car.”

  They showed up at the reception about an hour later, arriving to the cheers of Blair’s friends and family and some of Garrett’s family. Blair was still wearing her wedding dress since she didn’t have anything else to change into, but she’d let her hair down and removed her veil. “I like the idea of you not having a wardrobe,” Garrett had teased while he nuzzled her neck in his room when they were supposed to be getting dressed, “but it might not be a bad idea to keep a few articles of clothing around.”

  He wore his tux, and she warned him that this was the only wedding reception they would get, so he’d better dress the part.

  They ate and danced, and she found herself feeling more relaxed than she’d been in years. She looked up into the face of the man who had refused to leave her side all night, amazed that he was really there with her.

  He glanced down at her, a warm smile spreading across his face.

  “When you look at me like that,” she said, smiling coyly, “all I can think about is you naked.”

  His eyebrows rose, mischievousness dancing in his eyes. “Is that so?”

  “What are you doing next week?”

  He brushed his lips against hers, and that was all it took to make her blood hot. “Hopefully spending every minute with you.”

  She tilted her head. “How about spending the week with me in Costa Rica? I paid for a week at an all-inclusive resort for the honeymoon. Non-refundable.”

  His eyes twinkled. “So this is a practical invitation?”

  “I’m a practical woman.”

  “Only one of many things I love about you.” He lowered his head to kiss her, then he pulled back to look into her eyes. “So . . . if we’re going on a honeymoon, I think we should actually be married first.”

  Her breath caught, and she tensed. This was getting very real, very fast. Somehow the prospect of marrying Garrett was so much more frightening than her engagement with Neil had been. She had so much more to lose.

  But for once, she was going to ignore the voices of caution in her head. They had kept her from living for the last ten years, and Garrett had been the only one to truly quiet them. It was time to let her heart take the lead for a while.

  “Okay.”

  “Really?”

  “You thought I’d say no? You already proposed this morning. Trust me, that’ll be hard to explain to our kids if we have them.”

  He laughed. “When I proposed this morning, we didn’t discuss dates. I know how you like to plan things out. We can wait if you’d prefer. The last thing I’d want is for you to feel pressured.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “No more waiting. We’ve wasted five years, and we’ve got some making up to do.”

  “Then how about we get married on the beach in Costa Rica? Just you and me. Are you okay with that?”

  “That’s exactly how I want it,” she murmured as she kissed him. “But I want a different ring. This ring has been nothing but trouble.”

  “I’ll get you a new ring, but I’ll be forever thankful for my family heirloom. I wouldn’t be here right now if not for this stupid ring.”

  He wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her close. “Mrs. Blair Lowry. Or maybe Mr. Garrett Hansen.” His eyes twinkled. “Or is it Myers? Who can keep up?”

  “Shut up and kiss me, player.”

  “Gladly.”

  ***The Gambler (Libby’s Story)***

  The Wedding Pact #3

  ONLY YOU (Kevin’s story)

  (Bachelor Brotherhood #1)

  June 14, 2016 eBook

  October 2016 print book

  Read the the first two chapters now!

  Sign up for my romance news letter to get more information about new releases and free Wedding Pact/Bachelor Brotherhood short stories I have planned—but only to newsletter subscribers!

  The Gambler

  The Wedding Pact #3

  Chapter One

  No one had ever accused Libby St. Clair of being a practical woman. Not that she cared. The practical choice was often the safe one, the boring one. Libby St. Clair had also never been accused of being boring.

  She firmly believed in living life to the fullest.

  Ironically enough, the fact that she was now preparing to walk down the aisle toward a man she didn’t intend to marry was the first practical choice she’d consciously made, even if no one else realized it. Especially her two best friends.

  “Libby,” Megan gushed, staring at Libby’s reflection in the mirror. “You look gorgeous.”

  Blair gave her a warm smile. “She’s right, Libs. You’re stunning.”

  “And just think,” Megan said, fluffing Libby’s tulle gown. “Not a single mishap.”

  That was the part that shook Libby’s faith in her plan. Why was her wedding going so perfectly?

  Blair put her hand on Libby’s arm and stared into her eyes in the refl
ection. “I confess, when you called last month and told me you were marrying Mitch three days before your thirtieth birthday, I had my doubts. I thought this might be some scheme related to that stupid wedding curse, but I’m happy I was wrong. Mitch seems like a great guy.” She cringed. “Even if he’s gone a little overboard with the football theme.”

  Libby gave her a weak smile. “He is pretty great.” There was no denying it. Mitch was a fantastic guy in social situations. Of all the many boyfriends who’d come and gone in the past fifteen years, he was the only one who was both fairly dependable and accepting of her quirkiness. He even tried to understand her close friendship with Megan’s brother-in-law, Noah McMillan, which was more than she could say for Megan and Blair. That had to count for something, right?

  But something was missing with Mitch. It hadn’t really mattered at first. She’d never intended to marry him. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out that the woman in his life would always take a distant second to his sporting activities. But she’d needed a date to Megan’s wedding, and then Blair’s, and the fact that her friends kept expecting her to break up with him, that they were always so utterly shocked she was still with the same guy, started to chafe. And so she stayed with him, at first wanting to save face and prove she wasn’t as flighty as they thought. Then, because she had seen the curse come to life with her friends’ weddings, and she fully expected it to do the same with hers.

  Back when they were kids, the friends had made a pact to find husbands before their thirtieth birthdays. They’d formed the agreement while in line to see a fortune teller, and mere moments later, Madame Rowena had assured them they would keep the pact, but their weddings would be disasters and each of them would marry someone other than their intended. The curse. Only Libby had taken it seriously, but there was no denying that Megan and Blair had both gotten married before their thirtieth birthdays, and neither of their husbands were the men who’d originally proposed to them. And God knew, the days leading up to their weddings had been filled with disaster after disaster.

  Just like the fortune teller had predicted.

  “In a week or two, maybe Garrett and I will have you both over for dinner.”

  “Listen to you, Blair Hansen-Lowry,” Megan gushed. “Dinner parties with other couples? Marriage definitely agrees with you.”

  The normally hard-assed Blair actually blushed. “Now that Garrett has moved to Kansas City and we’re starting our own practice . . .” Her blush deepened. “I just never expected to be so happy.” Then a mock scowl crossed her face. “If you ever repeat that to anyone, I’ll deny it.”

  Megan gave her a teasing grin, but she knew better than to make a big deal of their friend’s uncharacteristic sentimentality. “Just think. When Josh and I move into our house in Lee’s Summit next month, all six of us can hang out together. It’ll be like old times.”

  Libby had to admit, Blair looked happier than she had since high school. The curse had changed her life—and Megan’s—for the better.

  So what in the hell was Libby doing wrong? Staring down at her bare left finger, she tried to keep from wringing her hands. Because she’d never planned to walk down the aisle toward him, she’d refused to let Mitch buy her an engagement ring. She’d bought two cheap wedding bands at a superstore to avoid suspicion. The best man now had them in his pocket.

  The door to their room opened, and Josh McMillan, Megan’s husband of five months, poked his head in the room. “Hey, girls.”

  Megan glanced up in surprise. “Josh, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you seated?”

  Libby looked at him with a hopeful expression. Since Mitch had a tendency to tune out anything that wasn’t directly related to the Arkansas Razorbacks or the high school football team he coached and the school where he taught phys. ed., Libby had put Josh in charge of making sure the groom’s side of things ran smoothly. Perhaps this was what she’d been waiting for. Josh walked through the threshold and shut the door behind him.

  “Libs, I have some bad news.”

  “Mitch didn’t show?” She tried to keep the excitement out of her voice.

  His eyes widened, then he shook his head. “What? No. Nothing like that. Mitch is in the church office watching the Arkansas football game.”

  Figured. “Then what’s the bad news?”

  He grimaced, casting a glance at Megan, then back at Libby. “I’m sure you’re wondering why we haven’t started yet . . .”

  “You mean it’s not because Mitch doesn’t want to miss the end of the game?” Libby asked wryly.

  “Not entirely.” He looked concerned. “It’s because we’ve been waiting on one of the groomsmen to arrive.”

  There were only two groomsmen, and she could account for the best man, having seen Mitch’s cousin only a few hours earlier. That left one person. Josh’s brother. “Is Noah’s plane late?”

  “Not exactly…”

  She waited for him to continue, trying not to get upset until she had all the facts.

  “He’s not coming at all.”

  The blood rushed from her head. “What? Why not?”

  “Libs, I don’t know. He said something about Donna needing him this weekend.”

  His girlfriend of four weeks?

  Back in June, Libby and Noah had become instant friends in the lead-up to Megan and Josh’s circus of a wedding, and the two had schemed to make sure the new couple’s marriage was legit. Their friendship had grown closer over the following months, and Noah had quickly replaced Libby’s two best friends as her closest confidant.

  Noah was a notorious womanizer and Libby was known for her serial dating. Their relationship confounded everyone they knew. It was so unlike them, but then, maybe that was why it worked. It had only seemed natural to include Noah in the wedding party. After all, Mitch hadn’t minded.

  But he’d suddenly decided not to come? Just on a whim?

  What the actual hell?

  Josh gave her a sympathetic look. “Libby, I’m sorry. I warned you he could be . . . unreliable.”

  It was true. But Libby had never seen that side of Noah. Somehow she’d thought their friendship had changed him. It had definitely changed her.

  Libby put a hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes at the innocent McMillan brother. “Let me get this straight. He agreed to be in my wedding, then he decided not to come because his girlfriend of four weeks has something she wants him to do?”

  In a show of solidarity, Megan crossed the room to her husband and placed a hand on his arm. “Josh has told me stories of Noah’s epic fails in the past, but he hasn’t acted like this since I’ve known him. And he’s taken on so much responsibility with the merger of Dad’s company with Josh and Noah’s . . . Josh really did think he had changed.”

  Libby wiped at the tear falling down her cheek. This wedding might not be real, but Noah still should have been here for her. The amount of grief she felt over his absence caught her by surprise.

  But what did it matter if they were short a groomsman? The wedding wasn’t going to take place anyway. After all, there was no way that the curse would strike for both Megan and Blair and miss her. Her knight in shining armor—her one true love, her soul mate—would show up at any minute to sweep her off her feet and marry her before her birthday on Tuesday.

  Only she had no earthly idea who he might be. The only thing she knew was what the lines on her palm told her—he was creative and would shower her with the love she’d longed for her entire life.

  A cold sweat broke out on her forehead. What if this didn’t work?

  “What do you want to do?” Blair asked, her jaw set. She’d barely tolerated Noah in the past, so these shenanigans weren’t bound to make her any fonder of him.

  One hundred people were sitting in that church, waiting for her to walk down the aisle.

  What the hell was she going to do?

  Faith. Libby just needed more faith. She’d had enough faith for Megan and Blair when their lives and weddings had begun to
fall apart. Since they hadn’t seemed to understand what was really going on, Libby had needed to have enough faith for all three of them.

  She gave them a dazzling smile. “Go ahead with the wedding, of course.”

  “What about the missing groomsman?” Megan asked.

  Libby shrugged. She refused to show her friends how upset she was that Noah wasn’t there. “Have Josh stand in for him.” She gave him a pointed glance, disappointment seeping into her voice. “Haven’t you spent most of your adult life cleaning up his messes? What’s one more?”

  “Oh, Libby.” Megan threw her arms around her friend. “I’m so sorry.”

  Libby pulled loose. “I’m okay. I should have known better. I just thought he was beyond this sort of thing.”

  “We all did.”

  “Does that mean you’re ready?” Blair asked, holding out Libby’s wildflower bouquet.

  “I guess.”

  Her response drew worried glances from her friends, but she was too busy trying to figure out what she would do if the curse didn’t work.

  No. No. No. Stop thinking like that. She just had to believe.

  Libby reached for the bouquet and took a deep breath. When she released it, serenity washed through her. This was going to work.

  It had to.

  Megan gave Josh a lingering kiss, then pulled back and smoothed his lapel, staring into his face with adoration and love. Both Blair and Libby had been jealous of their connection, even if neither woman had ever admitted it. But Blair had found that same deep love and contentment with Garrett. So where was Libby’s soulmate?

  Josh left to get the groom and the other groomsman up to the altar while the three girls waited. The door flew open again, this time with more force. Libby’s mother waltzed in with a theatrical flounce. “They’re ready for you, my princess.”

  Irritation set Libby on edge, quickly followed by a stab of guilt as she studied her mother. Gabriella St. Clair was a stunningly beautiful woman. Her rich dark brown hair was thick and long, and her olive complexion was flawless and nearly wrinkle-free, even though she had to be close to fifty years old, not that she’d ever admit to it. Libby had no idea how old her mother actually was since the elder St. Clair would never confess the year of her birth. Not that it mattered. Gabriella St. Clair’s face and body defied time, and she and Libby were often mistaken for sisters.