Valentine Wedding Hound: The Hart Family (Have A Hart Book 5)

by Rachelle Ayala

  “Or a reality show star,” Jenna said.

  “Right, but are you going to be a reality show star or are you going to be my wife?” Larry held his breath and watched the color rise in her cheeks.

  He was gently putting his foot down, but he wasn’t sure if she’d blow up and insist on getting her way. Feminism had evolved to the point where women Jenna’s age had grown up knowing they could do and be anything they wanted, and woe to any man who tried to hem a woman in the way Luca, the elderly gelato shop owner, did with his wife.

  “Your wife, of course.” Jenna moved her palms from his chest to his shoulders and massaged them. “We already got enough from the show. I know what I have to do.”

  “Are you sure?” Doubt beset Larry at the thought that she might regret it later and blame him for missing her fifteen minutes of fame and all of the promotional opportunities that came with being the winner.

  “I’m sure I want us to be happy,” Jenna said, cuddling against him. “I was having misgivings about actually wearing the Swiss cheese dress and having to lose five more pounds.”

  “You lose any more weight, and you’re going to disappear.” Larry felt a load lifted from his heart. “Of course you’d look fabulous in that dress, not that I know anything about fashion and style.”

  “It’s not finished,” Jenna said, pulling away from his arms. “Maybe if I’m not going to wear it, I need to at least finish it so I can sell it.”

  “What else do you have to put on it?” Larry scratched his head.

  “Cait and I bought illusion panels to cover some of the bare spots, and I also have to make a long train to go down the back to make it a real wedding dress. Meanwhile,” she gestured toward the ostrich dress, “I have to get Shelly in here for a fitting, so maybe you should steer clear the next day or two before the show.”

  “Wait. Does that mean you’re still going on the show?” Larry’s head whiplashed at her indecisiveness. “I thought you said you knew what to do.”

  “Of course I do.” Jenna winked and teased him with a one-sided smirk. “I’m going to lose the challenge, but there’s no way I’m going to quit now and spare Shelly the chance to wear this dress on TV.”

  “Good idea.” Larry gave her a thumbs up. “As long as you’re happy.”

  “Yep, and to show you how silly you are, I’m going to turn it around.” She put her hands on her hips in that bossy way of hers when she was going to issue a decree. “From now until our wedding day, I’m only going to be happy if you are.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Dead serious.” Jenna grabbed him by the shirt and tugged him close. “Then you’ll get to see what a big burden it is to carry two people’s happiness.”

  “Okay, so I get to do whatever I want from now until the wedding?” Larry double-checked to make sure he wasn’t overstepping.

  “Whatever makes you happy will make me happy.” She tapped her knuckles on his chin before reaching up and kissing him.

  Jenna worked night and day on the two dresses, barely sleeping four hours each night before rushing back to her studio.

  On the morning of the show, Grady collared her as she zombie-walked out of her bedroom for her morning wakeup coffee.

  “I heard you’re going to throw the show on purpose,” he said, taking a chair and sitting on it backward.

  “Who told you that?” Jenna stifled a yawn and popped her eyes wide to glare at her twin.

  Larry wouldn’t have talked, and she hadn’t said anything to Cait or Melisa. The only other person she dealt with was Shelly, but Shelly was more interested in showcasing her dancer’s body to promote her dance studio, so she wouldn’t want Jenna to be out.

  One thing was for sure, ostriches had thick and muscular thighs over long legs and large feet. Shelly would definitely fit the profile and in fact, would look quite awesome strutting around in it.

  “So, you are going to throw it.” Grady did the trick of acting like his suspicion was true. “I’m glad Larry finally got through to you.”

  “Larry had nothing to do with it.” If her brother thought she had to submit to Larry like a dutiful little wife, he had another thing coming. “I made my decision to keep the cameras out of our church for the sake of our family and guests.”

  “Oh, sure. Then why was he walking around the fire station all big-man-on-campus-like and telling everyone how happy he was, and what a wonderful wife you’re going to be?”

  “Because it’s the truth.” Jenna folded her arms over chest. “But it doesn’t mean I’m giving up my career or my design studio.”

  “He isn’t asking you to, is he?” Grady narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

  “He didn’t ask me to. As for the wedding, we agreed to cut off the show because this is not just my wedding, but his also. He told me his perfect wedding is a private ceremony with family and friends.” Jenna was too groggy to wonder why she should answer to her brother.

  “Good for him. I’m glad he’s finally putting his foot down. Women these days are too used to wearing the pants, and it’s about time he lays down the law.”

  “What business is this of yours?” Jenna got up from the kitchen table and made shooing motions at her brother. “You know what you are? A big chicken. You should go out and find yourself a woman to butt heads or bottoms with.”

  “Larry’s the chicken, not me.” Grady’s eyebrows lowered into a deep scowl.

  Jenna blinked once, twice, and she got it. “You’re jealous of Larry. You’ve been picking on Larry since the day you came home. He’s not man enough, or he’s a big scaredy-cat, or he’s insecure, not rich, not powerful, just an average Joe, letting me ride him.”

  “Are you nuts?” Grady shoved himself from the chair so hard it toppled. “I happen to be your twin brother, and I know you, inside and out. I only want you to be happy.”

  “By being a jerk and not wishing me well on my wedding?” She slapped the table in front of her. “I’m tired of your attitude. Whatever is going on with you? Why did you take a leave of absence?”

  “None of your business.” He glared at her like she was an enemy. “All I’m trying to do is help you out. Larry’s a strong guy, but he’s been knocked down by the burns and his ex dumping him because of his scars. What he doesn’t need is you riding him around and turning him into a doormat. What I don’t need is you coming to me years later crying on my shoulder because both of you are miserable.”

  “I’ll never cry on your shoulder.” Jenna shoved her brother aside. “We might be twins, but we’ve left each other a long time ago when we moved away. You’re no closer to me than Connor or Cait. I don’t need you to look after me or run my life, so get over your twin connection business and go find something constructive to do.”

  “None to get over, sis.” Grady pushed his hair over his forehead like he was some sort of movie star and swaggered out of the kitchen, his boot heels thudding toward the door

  The door slamming reverberated in Jenna’s lurching heart. Grady was a loose cannon. He was so angry at the world, there was no telling what he’d do.

  She put her hand over her forehead and closed her eyes. The truth was much more complicated, of course. She loved Grady more than she should. He was the brother who understood her, and never turned stool pigeon like Cait, or tried to bully her like Connor.

  Some woman had hurt him, and he wasn’t sharing it with her. Whatever happened was eating him up inside, and she’d love to get her hands on the woman who’d messed with her badass brother.

  It would take a very special woman for Jenna to concede her brother to, and Jenna wasn’t going to rest until she helped him find her.

  He was just that special to her, and he deserved to be happy.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jenna wished she could stick a pin into Shelly. The woman wiggled and squirmed while primping and chattering a mile a minute.

  They were in the dressing area at her design studio, and Jenna was busily stitching up a rip in Shelly’s dress
caused by her bending over after being told not to.

  The show was going to be filmed in the lobby area of her studio, and all of the mannequins and furniture had been pushed to the side to give Shelly room to show off her dance moves.

  “How am I supposed to do all those sexy tango moves if I can’t even bend down without this dress ripping?” Shelly flicked her wrists and got onto tippy toes like a ballerina.

  “Will you stay still?”

  This wasn’t the first time Jenna had to literally sew a dress over a live body, but Shelly was definitely the most difficult. Professional models knew to stay so still that she could imagine them as flesh and blood mannequins.

  They also had less muscular thighs than Shelly. Thighs that had wrapped around Larry back in the day.

  “Ouch!” Shelly shrieked, jerking her leg. “You pricked me.”

  “Well, sorry. Now you know why I asked you to stay still?”

  “Fine, but I need to figure out which dance step to show when the judges ask. Obviously, I can’t dip myself.”

  “No, you definitely can’t dip yourself.”

  “And there aren’t any strong shoulders for me to waltz with.”

  “Nope, my shoulders are definitely not square enough for you to hang onto.” Jenna spoke out of the side of her mouth. If she had her way, Shelly would be wrapped with a ribbon and pulled like a giant top, twirling her ostrich feathers until she toppled to the ground—just like that poor ostrich who got caught by the cheetah on the video she watched while doing research for the dress.

  “I’d love to do the tango, but then, that requires a partner too,” Shelly talked out loud to herself. “So does the foxtrot and the Charleston.”

  Yep, not only would she be known as the dancing ostrich, she was also the chatterbox ostrich. Heck, she talked almost as much as Grady, although no way would Jenna want to inflict her on dear Grady.

  “I suppose you’ll just have to strap on your ballerina slippers and twirl.” Jenna made spinning motions with her hands. “Think of all the publicity you’ll get for your dance studio.”

  “True. Now that my main rival is out of business, this show should catapult Sweet Toes Studios to the top.”

  “Just hold still.” Jenna gritted her teeth and tugged at the threads holding the seam together. “Now, make sure to take baby steps.”

  “Oh, no, I should have put on my ballet slippers first.” Shelly waved her arms in a panic. “Now I can’t bend over to tie them.”

  “I’ll tie them for you.”

  “All my dancing shoes are in that suitcase. Make sure to keep every pair in their own separate compartment.” Shelly strutted to lean against a clothes rack.

  What a diva. And whatever had Larry seen in her?

  Jenna held her nose while she put Smelly Feet, er Shelly Sweet’s ballet slippers on. She had to tie and retie, pull and tug, because Shelly just wasn’t satisfied.

  That Amy Suzuki had better have something real humiliating in store for Shelly to make this worthwhile.

  Of course, there would be a prize, and the exposure for her Stinky Toes Dance Studio would be epic.

  Jenna stepped back to admire the black and white feathered bridesmaid dress she’d created in less than a week.

  All in all, the dress wasn’t too bad at all.

  “Show time, show time.” Amy’s assistant paraded through the dressing area, walking by Jenna’s wedding dress. “Oh, looks like you covered up some of the naughty parts in your Swiss cheese dress.”

  Great, whose loose lips had been flapping? The worst thing that could happen would be for the unfortunate nickname to get around, branding the dress forever.

  “Actually, it is a beaded keyhole design,” Jenna corrected the assistant.

  “Swiss cheese with beads. Got it.” She sauntered off, pushing the mannequin stand.

  “Don’t worry about the nickname,” Shelly said. “I know everyone’s going to call this the ostrich-in-heat dress, but you know what they say about publicity.”

  “No publicity is bad publicity.”

  “You got it. All publicity is good.” Shelly raised her palm for a high five, and Jenna caught a whiff of her smelly armpits.

  She’d bet all her winnings Shelly used to be called Smelly Shelly in school.

  Poor Larry. At least he hadn’t had a dog with a sensitive nose back then. Harley would have died from an overdose of odor.

  “Jenna, hustle, hustle,” another assistant stage whispered. “Amy’s doing the introduction.”

  Jenna checked her hair and the white, bell-sleeved slim fitted silk dress she wore that could be used as a city-hall wedding dress. She slipped into a pair of nude ankle-strapped heels, and started her carefree model walk even before exiting the dressing room.

  Last year, she was curvy. This year, she was almost first lady material, and she was going to rock the fashion world with her wedding gown—at least for the show, if they asked her to model it.

  The gathered crowd clapped and cheered as Jenna made her way to Amy’s side.

  “We are down to the semi-finals of this season’s She Wouldn’t Dare: Wedding Edition,” Amy chirped in her fake-sweet voice. “Today, contestant Jenna Hart will present to us her fiancé’s ex-fiancée, Shelly Sweet. The two women have been working closely for this week’s episode. Before we bring Shelly out, let me ask you, Jenna. How was it working with the woman who your husband-to-be was engaged to?”

  “I’m a professional,” Jenna answered. “I treated Shelly like any other client. I did my level best to design a dress that would suit her style and take her personality into account.”

  “Was there any friction between you and Larry when he heard that his ex would be in the bridal party?”

  Jenna was prepared for this line, so she delivered her answer with a laugh.

  “The only trouble we had was lining up another groomsmen from the fire station for her. Seems like the men at the station are very loyal to Larry, and there were no takers.”

  “Oh, that’s horrible. And Shelly is so attractive, too.” Amy made a long face. She turned to the audience. “We may have to help things along here. But before we do, let’s see Shelly Sweet, owner of Sweet Toes Studio, wearing Jenna Hart’s latest bridesmaid design.”

  The drum machine rolled, although in real life, nothing sounded, and Shelly did that tippy-toed walk that ballerinas did—what was it called? Jenna racked her brain to her preschool ballet class, but drew a blank.

  In any case, twinkle toes tipped herself back and forth. Every time she lifted a leg, Jenna held her breath, cringing and praying that her seams would hold.

  At the end of the routine, Shelly did a graceful half bow that almost had Jenna fainting.

  Fortunately, no wardrobe mishaps happened, and the audience as well as Amy clapped for Shelly, who tiptoed her way to Amy’s side.

  “Wow, that is a dress no one could forget,” Amy said. “Everyone, what did you think? Text your thumbs up or down. Now, it’s time for a special She Wouldn’t Dare challenge—this time, for Shelly. Jenna, don’t worry, yours is still to come.”

  Jenna wasn’t the least bit worried. Whatever happened, she was going to bow out, so she and Larry could have their own private wedding.

  Amy placed her hand on Shelly’s sweaty shoulder. “Do you like your dress?”

  “Oh, I love it,” Shelly shouted a little too loud. “It fits me perfectly.”

  “Great, now we want to know from your side, how did it feel to have your ex’s fiancée work on a dress for you? Were you afraid she’d purposely make you look bad?”

  “Not at all. Whatever I wear, I wear it proud.” Shelly puffed out her chest like she was a mating ostrich.

  “Great. Now we want to get a little personal. Seeing Jenna here about to marry your former fiancé, do you have any regrets? I mean, you were engaged to him when he walked into that burning building to save those children.”

  “Yes, I was, but it was a mutual decision for us to break up.”


  “Do you get criticism from people saying you should have stood by your man while he was so gravely injured? Especially a hero of his caliber?”

  “I don’t pay any attention to it,” Shelly said. “Haters will always hate. He was no longer able to do and enjoy the things we liked to do together, and I didn’t want to put any pressure on him.”

  “Oh?” Amy’s eyes widened with the whiff of potential controversy. “What were the things you liked to do together?”

  Jenna bit her tongue and prayed Shelly would have an ounce of horse sense to not mention Larry’s shortcomings.

  “We were a very physical couple, if you know what I mean.” Shelly wiggled both of her eyebrows.

  Apparently, this woman needed a horse tranquilizer. Jenna fumed under her breath and swore she’d loosen a few threads before the actual wedding. Except there wasn’t going to be a televised wedding if she lost. Darn.

  “In what way?” Amy asked, as if she had no clue where this was going.

  “We danced a lot. Things like that,” Shelly said.

  “Great. Then I’m sure you’ll have no problem with this next dare,” Amy said with an expectant voice, alerting Jenna that something shocking and good for ratings was about to happen.

  “Shelly Sweet, I dare you to dance for us, with a partner, with your former fiancé, Larry Davison. You might not have noticed, but he has healed completely from his burns. So how about it? Take a twirl for old time’s sake?”

  “What’s the prize?” Greedy Shelly rubbed her hands together.

  “Wait, there’s no downside for Shelly,” Jenna cut in. “You should ask me if I’ll allow my fiancé to dance with his ex.”

  “Your dare is coming next,” Amy snapped at her. “Besides, Larry gets a say in this one, too.”

  What the eff? Jenna corralled her jaw from dropping, knowing she was on TV. Had Larry agreed to this scheme? And if so, what happened to their agreement to fail the show?

  If the show had contacted him, why hadn’t he told her?