Leah groaned. “You know why I can’t leave. My publicist set this whole thing up six months ago and my book releases next month. If I bail out now, I’ll lose this promo opportunity and lose face with my publisher. My flight gets in on Friday, so I’ll only be gone another five days. It’ll go by fast, I promise.”
“You’ve already done a few stops,” Veronica pleaded, pulling back the floor-to-ceiling curtains. The Seattle skyline took her breath away. It wasn’t often she got to see it from this angle. “Can’t you come home early? Tell them you got sick or something.”
“I could, but dang it Veronica, I’ve worked hard for this.”
“My life’s fucking in danger and you’ve left me in the hands of a psychotic werewolf!”
“Keep your voice down,” Leah said, her tone flat. “You’ll wake the people in the room next door.”
“The werewolf lives next door, Leah! He lives right across the damn street!” She was really steaming now, charging from bathroom to windows. Cocoa gave a good stretch and coiled her feet around the front of her. Oh, to not have a care in the world! “You know how I feel about them, and you lied to me! I asked you point-blank whether Logan was one of you and you said no.”
“Hold the phone, bratty little sister. First of all, careful how you throw around those pronouns. I’m one of them now, so try to talk about them with a little less disdain. Second, I didn’t lie to you. You asked me if he was a werewolf and I said, and I quote, ‘No, Logan’s not a werewolf.’ It’s a double negative and totally not my fault that you didn’t catch it.”
Veronica chucked her cell onto the bed and kicked her bag to the corner of the room.
“That’s not even a double negative,” Veronica said, her entire body tightening as she clutched her phone once more. “You didn’t say Logan isn’t not a—ugh, whatever.” Totally irrelevant. “The point is, you knew what he was, and you didn’t say a damn thing to warn me.”
Leah sighed. “I guess I didn’t think you were going to take it this hard. I mean, so he’s escorting you to things and following you around. As long as he’s not getting angry with you or crossing some sort of line, I don’t see the problem.”
Words sat unspoken on Veronica’s tongue and silence stretched between them. She dead-bolted the door and put on a pair of flannel pj’s buttoned to the top. The mere thought of the stalker watching her while she was out cold the other night made her want to sleep in granny pajamas for the rest of her life.
“V?” Leah’s voice was soft. Questioning. “Did you…? Tell me you and Logan didn’t…”
Veronica nodded and smacked her hand against her forehead.
“Noooooo, Veronica!” Leah hadn’t even seen Veronica’s reaction, but she knew the truth. “You never do things like that! What were you thinking?”
“I don’t know!” Veronica jumped into bed and buried herself far beneath the covers. “I told you that you should’ve said something!”
“Well, I didn’t think you were going to hop in the sack with Logan! That’s so not like you!”
“Veronica and Logan?” Jake’s voice blared from the background. “And we’re paying him? While he sleeps around with your sister? Tell him I want my money back.”
“Jake!” Leah hollered.
“Okay, then tell him that he should be paying us!” he hollered back. “What the hell was your sister thinking?”
God, Veronica couldn’t disappear fast enough.
“My sister?” Leah turned on him, hollering over the line. “What the hell was your boy doing? Isn’t that what you call him? Your boy? You better get your boy in check.”
“Leah, I’m hanging up,” Veronica said, barely repressing an embarrassed groan. “I can’t listen to this anymore. I’m in room 1312 if you need me.”
“We’ll talk more when I get back. Jake has been in touch with Logan every day about what’s been going on with the stalker business, but I’d like to talk to you about other things, too. My plane lands Friday, right before the rehearsal dinner, and that’s only five days from now. Just lie low until then. But don’t forget to pick up my wedding dress for the final fitting. You’re close enough to my size that I told the people at the salon to do the final check with you in the dress.”
Veronica was drained. Completely worn-out. “I’m not even close to your size. You’ve got way bigger boobs than me.”
“Boobs aside, we’re so close to that same size that it won’t really matter. The fitting is more to make sure the dress is seamed correctly with no showing threads or beads falling off. They know what they’re looking for and it’ll be fine. Like I was saying, lie low and get my dress, and the week will be over before we know it.”
“Uh-huh. Sure thing.” Veronica started as Cocoa jumped onto the bed and nestled into the crook behind her legs. “See you then.”
“V?” she said softly.
“Yeah?”
“Not all werewolves are bad. I was attacked by a bad one, and a bad one is following you, but Jake and Logan have a pack full of werewolves who are just the sweetest people if you’d get to know them.”
“Do you even hear yourself anymore?” Veronica mumbled.
“If you gave Logan a chance before you found out he was a wolf, what’s changed so much between then and now?”
“Everything,” Veronica said, and ended the call.
Chapter Fourteen
Bright and early Monday morning, Veronica waited in the lobby of the hotel for the valet to bring her car around. She was more nervous to be on her own than before. Since the attack, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the stalker was closer. Watching her at all times.
Maybe she was safe here. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to find her if Logan’s name was the one attached to the reservation. It was the only thing keeping her nerves in check.
As her Lexus pulled up in front of the hotel, Veronica walked out and met the valet at the hood.
“Thanks,” she said, and handed him a five-dollar tip.
“No problem, ma’am,” he said, but instead of taking the money, he handed her a small white envelope. “I found this beneath your windshield wiper. Didn’t want it flying away.”
He handed her the keys and walked inside to help another hotel guest, leaving Veronica on the sidewalk, struggling to catch her breath.
She knew what the envelope was and whom it was from before her fingers curled around the edges. Flipping it over, she read: “The future Mr. & Mrs.…”
“Oh my God…”
He found me.
It was Leah and Jake’s wedding invitation. She recognized the red-ribbon decal lining the envelope right away. It was the same size. With the same rose bundle stamp that she’d ordered a month ago, specifically for Leah’s wedding.
Hands beginning to shake, Veronica bent the edges of the envelope and peered inside. No wolf hair. No red bloodstains. No emerald jewelry.
She sighed and pulled out the wedding invitation.
It was exactly how she remembered it. But there was another card inside. The RSVP card. Slowly, she pulled it out.
The will attend line was checked, and written at the bottom of the card was the word “soon…”
“Damn it all to hell.” Veronica hopped into her car and put it in gear.
Was the stalker watching her now? Waiting for her to leave so he could follow her to her next stop? She checked down the street, scanning both directions. Nothing. She glanced in the rearview. Everything was quiet.
Without thinking, she dug her cell phone out of her purse and started scrolling for Logan’s name.
No.
What was she thinking? Were her instincts totally out of whack?
She’d have to take care of herself. Look over her shoulder everywhere she went. Maybe after the dress fitting she should buy a can of mace or a knife. Better yet, maybe she’d stop by an ammo shop and see if they stocked Tasers.
Thinking about her course of action, Veronica took off as fast as she could into town.
Once
she pulled into the Bridal Beat parking lot, Veronica got her things ready before opening her door. She took a deep breath and darted inside the building. The place was located in west Seattle, and had a Victorian theme going on with its gold-tinseled marble columns and long swags of fabric draped in front of the windows. She pushed through the glass front door and let it close quickly behind her.
Logan.
He was sitting on a puffy chair against the far wall. A rack of bridesmaid dresses stood to his right, towering well over his head, and a pedestal had been set up on his other side providing the perfect place for brides to spin and twirl in front of their entourage. He wore jeans and a mocha-colored sweater that really made his light eyes pop.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, repressing a sigh at the sight of him.
“My job.”
“Yeah, well, this was stuck to my windshield this morning. Looks like the guy knows how to sneak into parking garages.” She tossed him the invitation. “Should make your job a little easier.”
“Shit.” He read quickly, then met her eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Of course I’m okay.” She pushed out a laugh, but it came out tight and much too chipper. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because now you have a definite meeting date,” Logan said, checking out the RSVP card. “Soon…”
“Soon could be any time,” she said. “Not necessarily the wedding.”
“Which is why you should be extra vigilant.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. He looked as if he hadn’t slept a wink last night. “I don’t know when he could’ve put this on your car. I was up all night.”
“What good would that do when I’m staying across town?”
“I slept across the street from the hotel. In my truck.”
“Oh.” That was sweet of him. Selfless, too. The truck couldn’t have been comfortable to crash in. “I guess he found another way in.” Veronica tried to keep her tone light, but her insides shook. “I’m getting so tired of this. I just want this to be over so life can go back to normal.”
“It’s all right to be afraid.” Logan’s voice was a melody of deep rumbles. “Anyone would be under the circumstances.”
“If I’m afraid of anybody, it should be—”
“Can I help you?” the saleswoman behind the counter asked. She was blond and young. Too perky for 9:00 a.m. Monday morning.
Veronica spun around. “I’m here to try on and pick up Leah Vale’s wedding gown and the bridesmaids’ dresses.”
“I see the dresses right here.” She pointed to the computer screen. “Go ahead and meet me in dressing room A and I’ll bring the dresses right in.”
“Okay, thanks.” Veronica watched as the blonde swept by the rack of dresses near Logan. He winked as she walked by, souring Veronica’s stomach. She shouldn’t have skipped breakfast. She was getting sick. “I don’t mean to cut in front of you, sir,” she said to Logan. “Were you trying on dresses today, too?”
Logan smirked and his dimple returned full force, making Veronica want to kiss his cheek and lick the sexy indentation. Wolf, she reminded herself. Not sexy. Hairy, foul, growling werewolf.
“I still have a job to do, Veronica,” he said, “and now that I know what the guy looks like, I’ll have a better shot of finding him.”
Striding past the pedestal, Veronica entered the dressing room and stripped down. “I feel awkward doing this knowing you’re sitting right there,” she said, stopping at her white lace bra and matching panties.
“What’s there to feel awkward about? Are you touching yourself in there or something?”
“If I were out there I would smack you.” She covered up. “If you have to be here, couldn’t you at least wait outside in your truck? You’d be annoying either way, but that way I wouldn’t have to look at you.”
“Don’t want me to see you in a wedding dress? Don’t worry,” he said, much too confident. “I won’t be getting any ideas. I don’t like weddings, remember?”
“Oh, you don’t need to remind me of any of your shortcomings. I remember them perfectly well on my own.” She knew better than to rile him, but couldn’t seem to stop herself. He was probably like every other born werewolf she’d come into contact with: completely incapable of controlling his anger. He hadn’t shown any aggression toward her so far, but who knew what would happen if she pushed him too far? The blonde knocked on the door, opened it, and came inside with a long, opaque bag. She put her arms over her head and let the girl work. “I’m just curious…how much did Jake offer to pay you to sleep with me?”
The woman gasped, then covered it with a cough, and gently guided the wedding dress down Veronica’s body. Even though Veronica was sure that Jake didn’t pay Logan to seduce her the way he had, Logan did sleep with her while getting paid for his “services.” Now she wanted to know how much those services cost her future brother-in-law. Just how much was her safety worth to him?
“Too little, in my opinion,” Logan said. “You’re worth way more.”
“Sweet-talker,” Veronica mumbled to the blonde. She smiled and got to work crisscrossing the straps on the back. “How much?”
“Five.”
“Five hundred dollars?” Veronica pursed her lips and watched the dress take form in the mirror. “You’re right. That wasn’t enough.”
“Thousand,” Logan said, his voice low. “It was five thousand.”
The blonde’s hands stilled.
“Oh,” Veronica said, feigning indifference. “That’s…more than I expected.”
“Still not enough.”
If he didn’t stop the sweet-talking soon, Veronica was going to have to invest in earplugs. And if they didn’t clarify what they were really talking about, the assistant was going to think Logan was a high-class hooker.
“You’re finished,” the blonde said. “It looks like it was made to fit you.”
Veronica wouldn’t have agreed, since she and Leah were so different, but when she studied the dress in the mirror, she couldn’t argue about a thing. The dress was mermaid style, satin, strapless, with a corset in the bodice and an exaggerated flared bottom. Wrapping around her waist on the right side, a cluster of diamonds dipped toward her hip. It was simple. Elegant. Somehow very couture with its unique accents. Veronica wouldn’t have picked the dress for Leah—it was more her style than her sister’s—but Leah must’ve loved it regardless.
“Go show him,” the blonde said, and urged Veronica out of the dressing room. “Then demand ten. You’ll get it in this dress.” She winked, and Veronica’s mood instantly lightened.
…
As Veronica tiptoed to the podium, the air seemed to evaporate from the room. Logan couldn’t take a solid breath—his lungs kept coming up shallow. The assistant flared the bottom around the podium to show the full effect of the dress, then stood back.
“What do you think?” the blonde asked.
“I, ah…”
Veronica caught Logan’s gaze in the mirror. He was staring at her backside, at the straps of the corset that crisscrossed down her back. How could he not? She was drop-dead gorgeous. Literally. He wouldn’t be surprised, not one bit, if his heart stopped.
“…it’s good,” he said, very matter-of-factly. He had to get out of here. “Yup, it’s good. I think I’ll wait in the truck.”
She spun around. “But you haven’t seen the bridesmaid dresses yet.”
His gaze studied the front of her dress, from the whimsical fluffy bottom, to the smooth, shiny fabric curving around her hips, to the straight-edged neckline that accented the soft swell of her breast. His mouth dropped, and he sucked some saliva off his bottom lip.
“I don’t think I want to see those, the bridesmaid dresses, nope.” He stood and started to walk out…and burst through a door into empty dressing room B. Confused, he spun around and strode toward the exit. “That’s the one you’re going to be wearing when you marry…I mean, that’s not going to be the one you wear at your sister’s wedding, r
ight? When you walk with me down the aisle?”
“Ugh.” She put her hands on her hips. “I forgot I had to do that with you.”
“Go put that dress on.”
He wanted her out of that wedding dress as quickly as possible before notions of weddings and vows, taking her hand and slipping a ring on her finger, invaded his brain.
Too late.
His knees shook as he waited for Veronica to come out of the dressing room in something different. He needed to cleanse his visual palate. Forget all about the white dress and the way it hugged her body, and the fluffy bottom that made him want to crawl between her legs and—
She emerged from the dressing room and stopped his heart.
The dress was satin, tight and black, with a layer of lace over the top. The lace had intricate designs crisscrossing down her arms and across her back. While the top was high-collared and long-sleeved, the bottom was cut short, showing off her legs, their strength and beauty and flawless tan.
“That’s no better,” he said, squelching the desire to lick one of those fine stems. “Where’s the other part of the dress? The bottom half?”
“This is it.” She spun around. “What’s the matter, Logan? You look pale.”
He blinked quickly, trying to return the moisture to his eyes. It didn’t work. His lids stuck, making blinking at all highly painful. He rubbed them with the side of his hand. “I’ll be waiting in the truck,” he said. And as he strode around the building, Logan could’ve sworn he heard the sound of two women laughing their asses off.
Chapter Fifteen
It was Wednesday when Veronica got the call: Forever Delicious had hired a new baker who wanted to try a different flavor of cake for Leah and Jake’s wedding. If Leah could just come in, taste, and approve the change, Forever Delicious would throw in the traditional groom’s cake for free, in hopes that the uniqueness of it would get people talking about the cake and the company. It was a good deal…if Leah was willing to do some sampling.
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