by Odette Stone
Table of Contents
Untitled
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chpater Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Chapter Thirty Five
Chapter Thirty Six
Chapter Thirty Seven
Chapter Thirty Eight
Chapter Thirty Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty One
Chapter Forty Two
Chapter Forty Three
Chapter Forty Four
Chapter Forty Five
Chapter Forty Six
Chapter Forty Seven
Contents
Untitled
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chpater Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Chapter Thirty Five
Chapter Thirty Six
Chapter Thirty Seven
Chapter Thirty Eight
Chapter Thirty Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty One
Chapter Forty Two
Chapter Forty Three
Chapter Forty Four
Chapter Forty Five
Chapter Forty Six
Chapter Forty Seven
Chapter Forty Eight
Chapter Forty Nine
Epilogue
Message From Odette
About the Author
My Fiance’s Brother, The Guilty Series, Book 2
Copyright © 2017 by Odette Stone
www.odettestone.com
ISBN: 978-0-9950200-1-6
First edition, June 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, things, living or dead, locales or events is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design: Letitia Hasser | RBA Designs
To Pam.
You’re one of the greatest friends anyone could ask for. This book wouldn’t be here without your help. Thank you.
Prologue
I stood in the room in the back of the church staring in the mirror. My red hair was piled up on the top of my head. My sleeveless wedding dress had a tight embroidered bodice that nipped into my waist before the skirt fell out in an expanse of tulle to the floor. It felt way too tight. I guess that is what happens when you are ten weeks pregnant. Your wedding dress starts to feel like a straight jacket on your rib cage. I took a deep breath, hating how I was unable to completely expand my lungs to full capacity.
“You look like a princess,” Beth breathed from beside me.
We stared at our reflections in the mirror. I looked so serious. So young and uncertain. How had I ended up here? My indecisiveness and my inability to speak my mind had brought me to this point. Now I was on the brink of making the biggest commitment of my life and I was still wracked with uncertainty.
The problem was I felt numb. I didn’t even have my gut to rely on because I could feel nothing. It was like my entire being had been whitewashed and there was no colour, no feeling, no sense of what was right and what was wrong.
“Do you think I should marry Matt?” I asked Beth.
The champagne flute hovered halfway to her lips. Our eyes met in in the mirror.
“Don’t tease me with your rhetorical questions.”
“It’s a real question.”
I watched as she drained the entire glass. “Oh God.”
I waited as she poured herself another glass. And then downed that one.
She squared her shoulders and looked at me. “You can’t hold what I say against me if you don’t do what I think you should do.”
I nodded.
“I think marrying Matt is the biggest mistake you could possibly make in your life. And I think from the moment you say ‘I do’ to the moment you get your inevitable divorce, you are going to regret it every day of your life.”
“Oh.”
She poured herself a third glass. “You promised me that you wouldn’t hold that against me.”
“I won’t.”
“And I will be there for you every single day if you decide to go through with this.”
“Thanks.”
“And if you do marry him and you end up deliriously happy you won’t hold this conversation against me.”
“I won’t.”
There was a knock at the door. Was that Jackson? I swear my heart almost stopped.
It was an usher. He wanted to let us know that all the guests were seated. Matt was about to take his place at the front and the string quartet was ready to start the ceremony the moment they got their cue.
Beth looked at me and I widened my eyes at her.
Beth looked over her shoulder. “Tell them that the bride needs five more minutes. For some last minute primping.”
He nodded and shut the door behind him.
“Do you think Jackson is here?” my hands were shaking so hard my bouquet was fluttering.
“You want me to go check?”
I nodded. Neither of us mentioned the fact that I was still obsessing over Jackson when I was supposed to be focusing on marrying his brother.
“I will be right back,” she said, as she slipped out of the room.
The door opened and the entire
room shrunk and the world took on colour again. Jackson slowly shut the door behind him. He stared at me and I stared back. He was wearing a black suit that faultlessly fit his huge form. He had shaved for the wedding and I realized I had never actually seen him without some form of beard on his face. The effects were stunning. He had the most beautiful jawline I had ever seen and he had cheekbones that were so angular they looked like they could cut glass. He was impossibly handsome and I thought I was going to melt beneath his intense stare. His eyes roamed over me, taking in my hair, my dress, my trembling lips.
I realized in that very moment that the only reason I hadn’t called off the wedding was that I had needed to see this man one last time. I was so in love with this man I was heartsick. How could I feel so much for him and he felt nothing back? How was it possible that a love this big, this real, this intense could be so one sided?
His jaw tightened. “You look perfect.”
I worked my throat, trying to find something to say, but I could only stand there and stare back at him.
Moments ticked by.
He cleared his throat. “I got my papers. I am being release from the outpatient program and they are sending me for training in a couple weeks. I will probably be gone by the time you and Matt get back from your honeymoon.”
I dropped into a crouch and put my face in my hands. His words felt like knives in my heart. I wanted to curl up in a ball and never get up.
“Are you okay?” he was crouched down beside me.
“Why are you telling me this?” I looked up at his face. I felt like my heart was breaking into two.
“I wasn’t sure if I would have a chance to say good bye to you.”
My eyes squeezed shut. I took several big breaths. “I don’t want to say good bye.”
“Emily.”
A sharp rap on the door and then Beth stuck her head in. “They are about to cue the music.”
She glanced at me and Jackson and then backed out and shut the door behind her.
“You ready?” his voice was low.
My mind was racing. This was such a monumental mistake. He gave me his hand and pulled me to my feet. I looked up at his face and willed him to look at me. I needed to see what he thinking. I wanted to know what he was feeling. One flicker of emotion in his gaze and I would be picking up my skirts and running for the doors.
He avoided my gaze and instead offered me his arm.
I laid my shaking hand on the solid muscle of his forearm. This man had somehow become my rock. When I let go of him, I would simply be washed away.
We stood at the entrance of the sanctuary. The music changed to Canon in D and then there was a soft rumble as a hundred people stood up and turned to look at me. I could see Matt standing at the front of the church beside the minister.
I was shaking so hard, I almost couldn’t walk. I clung to Jackson and slowly we started up the aisle that seemed to be a thousand miles long. We just kept walking and walking and like a bad dream, we never seemed to reach the front.
I can do this, I told myself. Just get through this.
We got to the front and Jackson held my hand so I could walk up the steps. I got to the second top step and looked back into his face. And then I saw a flicker of something in his expression. He tried to let go of my hand, but my fingers clung to him. He was my life line. My protector. The person I loved. The father of my child. I did not want to let go of him. I felt his grip retighten around my hand.
The audience shifted behind us. Whispering started. Matt cleared his throat and then he stepped down towards me and offered me his hand. I looked at it and then looked back at Jackson’s face. Green eyes were watching me.
I looked back at Matt and shook my head.
Matt whispered. “Sweetheart, come on. Let go of poor Jackson. You are embarrassing him.”
I felt tears prick the back of my eyes. I started to let go of my lifeline, but then Jackson’s hand tighten around mine. Our eyes met again.
I swallowed, staring at the man I loved. Unable to look at the man I was supposed to marry.
Matt stepped down beside me, his grip tightened like a vice around my other wrist. “Come.”
“I can’t marry you Matt.”
Matt gave me a beguiling smile, his tone was soothing. “Emily, come on.”
I shook my head.
Matt’s grip on my wrist tightened and he tugged at me hard. Like he could physically drag me up to that alter.
Jackson stepped up so he was standing beside me. “She said no.”
Matt stepped up to Jackson’s face and hissed. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“She said no,” Jackson repeated, still holding onto my hand.
People in the audience were opening talking. The music continued to play.
“Is there a problem,” the minister stepped forward and looked between the three of us.
“Emily is having some wedding jitters,” Matt said between clenched teeth. “We just need to get her to let go of my fucking brother here and then we will be on our way.”
The minister walked around to my side and spoke quietly, “Are you nervous? Do you need a few minutes?”
I looked up at the minster’s kind face. His warm brown eyes were giving me the most sympathetic look imaginable.
Matt leaned in and hissed, “Emily, you are embarrassing yourself and me. All of our friends and coworkers are watching.”
The minster put his hands up. “Calm, please, let’s remain calm. We want to handle this in a very calm fashion.”
“I don’t want to marry you,” I said in a tiny voice.
We all watched as Matt walked away. He grabbed the edge of the table and did some deep breathing. He turned and a flower vase was sailing towards my head. Jackson’s arm reached in front of me and deflected the vase. It hit the side of the pulpit spraying water, flowers and glass in every direction. The audience gasped.
Matt picked up a silver offering plate and it was sailed towards me like a frisbee, but at the last moment it veered off and hit the minister in the head. The minster looked at me, his eyes wide. He brought his hand up to his forehead and then looked at his hand. There was blood on his fingers. He moaned and kind of staggered off the the side and sat down on the steps. I stood transfixed as someone from the audience ran up to him.
“You are not doing this to me,” Matt announced, pointing his finger me.
I stood there staring at him. All I could think was that Jackson was still holding my hand.
“You are such a frigid little bitch. No one but me is every going to want to marry you,” he ranted, as he picked up a hymnal and fired it towards me. Jackson reached and deflected that too.
My eyes were wide.
Jackson’s voice was low. “Matt shut up.”
Matt came charging towards us and then he hauled back and punched Jackson in the face. Someone in the audience screamed. Jackson’s head snapped back as Matt’s fist connect with his face but he didn’t react. His hand still held my own.
Matt was winding up to hit Jackson again and I just couldn’t take it anymore. It had to stop.
“I’m pregnant,” I said out loud.
Matt and Jackson looked at me with equally stunned expressions on their face.
“I’m pregnant,” I repeated.
You could feel the entire audience freeze. Canon in D continued to play softly in the background. No one breathed. Except for Matt who was breathing so hard he was panting. “Well that is impossible since you and I have never slept together.”
No one moved a muscle.
“Who’s the father?” he said, his voice was low, full of rage.
I swallowed and just stood there.
“Who the fuck is the father?” he screamed.
They both looked at me.
“Jackson.”
Green eyes widened. Matt’s mouth dropped open.
Then he pointed at me. “Fuck you.”
He pointed at Jackson. “And fuck you too. You’re dead to me.
”
He looked out around the audience and said in a loud voice. “My fiancé is a stupid slut who got herself knocked up with my brother. My alleged brother. Who is just some white trash asshole that my parents brought home one day like a fucking stray dog.”
I was frozen to the spot. Matt gave an exaggerated bow and then walked out the side door.
Jackson was completely still. He didn’t move. I looked up at him.
I felt him drop my hand.
“No,” I whispered.
His gaze looked my face over, his expression was unreadable. His lip was bleeding. His eyes were blank. He turned and then he was walking down the aisle.
The stunned congregation looked on.
The music started winding down and then went completely silent.
And then he was gone.
100 pairs of eyes swung back to me. I stood there frozen, in a trance for the longest moment of my life. And then I did the only sane thing that a person can do in that situation. I picked up my skirts and I ran.
Chapter 1
I stood in the lobby and Beth came skidding up beside me.
“Are you okay?” Her eyes were as wide as saucers.
“I need to get out of here.”
“Just let me get our bags,” she said, turning to run towards the back room. “Meet me at the car!”
I pushed into the bright sunshine and ran down the steps of the church. I started searching through the parking lot for Beth’s Corolla.
A huge black truck pulled up in front of me. Stunned, I looked up to see the passenger door swing open.
“Get in,” Jackson ordered.
I looked behind me. “Beth is going to drive me.”
“Emily,” he ground out. “Get in the fucking truck.”
I climbed into the truck. Organza fabric billowed in a cloud around me as I fought it to shut the door. The moment it closed, he was driving.
I sat there as quiet as a church mouse while he ground through the gears of his truck. Had I really just ended my marriage to Matt in front of a church filled with our friends and colleagues by announcing that I was having Jackson’s baby? The whole train of events was so shocking, I could barely wrap my head around it.
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