by M. Malone
Bad Blood
M. Malone
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue
Epilogue
Also by M. Malone
About the Author
Bad Blood
Georgina Kingsley is off-limits. It’s better this way, really. Her brother is my best friend and business partner, the closest thing I have to family. Plus, she’s engaged to another man, one better for her than I could ever be.
But when Georgie is ditched on her wedding day, she needs someone to get her out of town. There’s bad blood between us but I’d do anything for her.
Except give her hot, rebound sex to get back at her cheating ex.
Tough choice. Loyalty to my best friend who has been more like a brother? Or to a woman with a history of driving me crazy and making me want things I have no right to ask for?
It’s a hell of time to realize I’m in love.
*Bad Blood is the fifth book in the LEFT AT THE ALTAR series, in a collaboration of six NYT Bestselling Authors: J. S. Scott, Ruth Cardello, Raine Miller, Sawyer Bennett, Minx Malone, and Melody Anne.
Chapter 1
As Georgina Kingsley stared at her reflection, she thought it should be impossible to feel anything other than beautiful when wearing your wedding dress.
Her mother floated nervously around her, fussing with her veil and adjusting her train. Meanwhile she stared at the bride in the mirror, trying to find recognition there. But all she could see was a young woman who looked faintly like she was about to be sick.
“Stop making that face, Georgina. You’ll get a crease in your forehead.”
Acutely aware of the other women in the room watching them, Georgie held her tongue. Not for the first time she wished she’d fought harder to have who she really wanted in the wedding party.
She could blame that one on her older brother though. King hadn’t been smart enough to meet his girlfriend Olivia until after the wedding preparations were almost complete and the wedding party already set.
It would have been so nice to have Olivia here to reassure her instead of feeling like she couldn’t speak her mind. She had no idea if the women in the room were actually her real friends or not. The maid of honor was actually Alex’s sister, Audrey, so she definitely couldn’t confide her fears to her.
Ever since college, she’d grown apart from her old crowd. They were able to catch up now and then on social media but Alex didn’t like it when she traveled without him and always seemed jealous of the time she spent with anyone other than him.
He always said he loved her so much that he wanted her all to himself. In the beginning, his possessiveness had seemed kind of romantic.
Now, not so much.
Finally happy with the minute adjustments she’d made to the back of the dress, her mother put her arm around her and squeezed.
“Look at you. Our little girl is all grown up and an absolutely beautiful bride. I’m so proud of you.” A chorus of voices chimed in, echoing her mother’s words.
Part of her wanted to ask where was her mother’s pride when Georgie got her degree? Or when she’d started her own business?
But after a lifetime as the daughter of Thane and Fiona Kingsley, she already knew where that conversation would lead.
“Is it almost time?”
Her mother glanced at the clock on the wall and nodded, suddenly frantic again. “Let me just go make sure that everything is on track.”
After she was gone, Georgie was suddenly hit with another bout of nerves. But she was ready. She’d been with Alex since college. It wasn’t an unusual story, she supposed. They’d dated for two years. He’d proposed at their graduation party. They’d had a tasteful yearlong engagement and were now getting married in a lavish ceremony on the grounds of her parents’ ten-acre Northern Virginia estate.
According to her mother, the Summerlands were a bit too “new money” to be completely acceptable. However after Georgie’s rebellious phase in high school where she’d lived to torment her mother with dramatic hair dye, too much makeup and talk of being single, Fiona was probably just grateful Georgina was getting married at all.
She smoothed a stray curl behind her ear and listened to the faint sounds of the harpist Regina, the wedding planner, had insisted on. It was normal to be nervous before walking down an aisle in front of three hundred people. It didn’t have anything to do with Alex. They had a great relationship and got along better than almost any other couple she knew.
Maybe it wasn’t the wild, passionate affair she’d dreamed of as a teenager but Alex was a good guy with a great career ahead of him working as a business management consultant for his father’s company.
Everything about her wedding day had been planned and coordinated down to the tiniest detail. It was perfect.
So why was she fighting the urge to tear this stupid veil off her head and run away?
“Can I get you anything? Water? Do you need to use the bathroom? We can hold your dress up for you.” Audrey tugged on the bodice of her dress.
The maid of honor wore a slightly different design than the other bridesmaids but all of the dresses were a deep rose color. Or at least Regina said it was deep rose. To Georgie, it looked like eggplant.
She’d never liked eggplant.
“No, I think I’m fine for now. Thank you for everything you’ve done to help us get ready for the wedding. And for my bridal shower.”
Audrey squeezed her arm. “Of course. We’re family now. Summerlands stick together.”
Her words echoed in Georgie’s mind. She was going to be a Summerland.
Georgina Summerland.
Suddenly, she shivered.
“Are you cold?” Audrey asked. “I’ll go see if I can find the thermostat. It is a little chilly in here.”
A knock sounded at the door before it opened. Her mother came back in, with Regina following close behind. The wedding planner’s mouth was twisted into her usual sour expression.
Georgie immediately felt guilty for the catty thought. Regina was a little… strong in her opinions but she was one of Fiona’s best friends and had done a phenomenal job planning the wedding. She just wished the other woman had been a bit more open to hearing her ideas. But what did she know? Apparently the wedding wasn’t really for the bride. It was for her parents and all the people they wanted to impress.
“Audrey, what is that hideous thing?” Regina shouted, clutching her clipboard tighter.
Audrey froze and looked down uncertainly at the sweater in her hands. “Georgie was cold so–”
“It’s black. It’ll shed all over her dress.” Regina snatched the offending sweater and handed it off to one of the bridesmaids. “Twenty minutes everyone!”
The announcement sent the previously calm room into a tailspin with women adjusting their stockings, hurrying to put on one more coat of mascara and fixing their hair. Since she couldn’t risk messing up the train of her gown, Georgie couldn’t do anything other than allow the chaos to swirl around her.
“Mom, can you make sure Dad isn’t at the bar? You know how he gets when he’s nervous.”
Her mother stood immediately. “Yes, I’d better check. I’m sure he’s a bit emotional about giving his baby girl awa
y.”
She turned to Audrey. “Can you check that all of the groomsmen are in place? They had their bachelor party last night so hopefully no one is missing or too hung over.”
Audrey nodded, suddenly looking like a drill sergeant now that she had a mission.
One by one, Georgie asked each of the bridesmaids to check on something different just to buy herself some time alone. Even though they meant well, she couldn’t think with all the other women chattering around her. And she needed to think.
Because she only had twenty minutes until her life changed forever.
James Hamilton, III stalked down the hallway following his best friend, King. It was a true testament to their friendship that he was present for the wedding of King’s little sister.
He was the last person who should be there.
There was the obvious truth that he hated weddings. They were expensive, overblown affairs so that people could flaunt how much money they had in a socially acceptable way. He’d been married before and had known almost immediately that it was a mistake.
But more importantly, there was his complete and utter inability to be happy for the people getting married. Alex Summerland was a dick and he didn’t deserve to marry anyone, let along Georgina Kingsley.
The only consolation in this fucked up situation was that he knew he wasn’t alone in his thoughts. King had been ranting ever since the prior night when they’d both endured the agony of attending Alex’s bachelor party. It was considered good etiquette to invite the male members of the bride’s family apparently but Jamie had never been able to figure out who the hell thought that was a great idea.
Yes, invite your bride’s family members to watch the groom get drunk and grind all over half-naked strippers. Sounds like a grand idea.
Just more evidence that the entire wedding industry was a farce.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. Annoyed, he pulled it out and made a face when he saw it was another voicemail.
“What’s wrong?” King asked.
“It’s just my parents again. Helen and Jim being Helen and Jim.”
To anyone else that wouldn’t make sense but King understood. After spending so many holidays with the Kingsleys, his friend had wanted to know why they never visited Jamie’s parents. He finally invited King to the modest brick rancher in south New Jersey where he’d grown up.
His father spent the entire visit trying to convince his son’s “rich friend” to invest in his new business idea to sell inflatable beer cozies.
He had never taken King home again.
“How long has it been now?” King growled.
His grumpiness made Jamie smile, despite the circumstances. No matter how pissed off he was at the situation, he wasn’t as mad as King.
“The ceremony should start in about ten minutes.”
“If it starts on time,” King muttered. “Maybe she’ll change her mind.”
“I doubt it won’t start on time. There is a very scary woman with a clipboard walking around barking orders at people. I’m pretty sure if anyone is off schedule, she has a whip handy.”
A man walked by wearing a tuxedo. Jamie figured he must be one of the groomsmen. It hit him then that another tradition was for the siblings of the bride and groom to both be in the wedding party.
“How did you get out of serving as a groomsman? Did Alex ask you?”
King shrugged. “He asked. I said no.”
His tone of voice indicated that was all that was needed. If his face when asked looked anything like it did now, Jamie doubted anyone would be foolish enough to ask again.
King had always been very protective of his little sister and it didn’t sit well with him at all that she was marrying so young and to someone that he didn’t approve of.
Not that there was anything overtly wrong with Alex Summerland. And King didn’t care about how new his family’s money was the way his parents did. To King, money was money and all that mattered was whether you were smart enough to keep earning it.
A huge part of why they got along.
No, the reason King didn’t like Alex was because the guy didn’t seem all that into Georgie. When they were together, Alex was often talking to everyone else around her and didn’t spare much attention for his bride-to-be at all. He didn’t act like a man who was head-over-heels in love.
King saw it and he wasn’t the only one. Jamie shared his feelings about Alex, although not for the same reasons as his best friend. His reasons were much less altruistic.
He hated Alex Summerland because the man had the one thing Jamie wanted and could never have.
Georgie.
King was vaguely aware of his feelings, in the way that best friends often knew things about each other without discussing them outright. But there was also an unspoken understanding between them that certain things were off-limits. It was a known fact among men that you didn’t mess with each other’s mothers, sisters or close friends. As many women as there were in the world, no guy needed to fuck a woman related to a friend.
And they both knew that with Jamie, it would just be fucking. He didn’t know how to do anything else, even if he’d wanted to. King knew his depraved taste better than almost anyone. Hell, he’d had a front row seat to most of it. They were very much alike. And the last thing King would ever want was for Georgie to end up with a guy like them.
“There you are, King.” They both turned at the sound of Mrs. Kingsley’s voice. “Darling, your father is having a bit of a moment. Can you go and talk to him? He’s down at the bar. And don’t let him have any more brandy.”
Fiona Kingsley, although the mother to three children, never looked a day older than thirty-nine and kept her ice-blond hair in a sharp bob. She’d been like a second mother to him, which basically meant she felt free to nag Jamie the same way she did King.
“And Jamie, thank goodness you’re here. I need someone to check in with the groom and make sure he has everything he needs. They’re in the study.”
“I’m not really sure–”
She patted his cheek. “Thank you, darling.”
His jaw ached as he clamped his teeth together. He knew coming to the wedding had been a mistake and now he was being sent right into the heart of the fire. Jamie walked in the direction Fiona pointed, resolved to his fate. King had already walked off and he definitely wasn’t going to go sit outside with the other guests.
It was one of those errands that women sent men on because it made them feel better. It was doubtful anyone in the groom’s party actually needed anything. What could a guy need before getting married? All they had to do was show up, wear their tux, and make sure they had the ring.
As a matter of fact, maybe he would take this opportunity to slip out. Jamie had already been seen by everyone he cared about so he could easily leave and no one would ever be the wiser. In fact, King’s father had the right idea. As soon as he turned the corner, he changed course.
Hitting the bar before he left sounded like as good an idea as any.
As he walked back down the hall, one of the doors opened and Georgie’s face appeared.
“Psst. Hey, Jamie!”
Despite everything he couldn’t resist a chuckle. Georgie was so animated that King used to tell everyone she was his pet terrier and not to feed her treats because it made her hyper. Jamie had always enjoyed her antics, even though he knew her mother in particular was always trying to get her to be more demure. Ladylike.
Or something like that.
“You rang?”
“What are you doing here?” She glared at him suspiciously.
“It’s in the guy code handbook that you must attend family weddings. Even if it’s for your best friend’s bratty little sister.”
“Oh har-har-har. You’re such a comedian. Really you’re just here to pick up bridesmaids.”
Jamie chuckled evilly. “That’s not the reason. But it’s definitely a reward.”
If it was possible for steam to come out of someone�
�s ears in anything other than a cartoon, he would have expected to see smoke streaming from her ears. Georgie poked him in the stomach right beneath the ribs.
“Ow! What the hell? That hurts.”
“Good. Maybe it’ll remind you to stay away from my bridesmaids! One of them is my future sister-in-law.”
“Is she hot?”
“Jamie!”
“I’m joking. No boinking bridesmaids. No sexing up the sister-in-law. This wedding is boring already.”
“You’d better behave.”
“Or what? What are you going to do? Tell the scary clipboard lady on me? Although I admit she is kind of terrifying.”
Georgie grinned. “I might have to accidentally sign you up for Furniture Barn emails again. Enjoy your spam.”
He stopped laughing. “Brat. The tech department had to give me a new laptop last time you did that.”
“Just leave Audrey alone.”
He held up his hands. “She’s not my type anyway.”
“I thought your type was female. Breathing. Preferably blonde.”
“Surprisingly, I have a thing for mouthy brunettes. Ones that look like heaven and probably taste like sin.”
Jamie wasn’t sure what made him say it. It was completely inappropriate considering it was her wedding day and all. But there was something about that smart mouth that made him forget all the rules.
He leaned closer until he could hear the little gasp she made. “You look beautiful, Georgie. Alex is a lucky bastard.”
Then he walked away before he did something truly crazy. Like tell her not to get married. To give him a chance instead.
Chapter 2
Alone again, Georgie took several deep breaths and did the visualization exercises she’d read about in a self-help book the prior week. With her eyes closed, she imagined a beautiful white sand beach and colorful drinks with little umbrellas in them. Her heart rate slowed finally as she thought of the gorgeous resort they would be flying to the next day.
