Weekend Wedding Deception (Dangerous Millionaires Series) Read online

“I was trying to break it to you…that a few days ago he changed his plans and said he’d be here for the wedding, but I didn’t know he’d arrive four days before the wedding.”

  Trembling all over, Abby hugged herself and tried to catch her breath. “I’ll go home. I-I’ll come back right before the wedding. I promise I’ll be here for you on Saturday, Carly.”

  “Please, don’t leave. I want you to be here with me for all the fun activities, too.”

  Abby was torn. “I don’t know, Carly…” If she left now she would miss everything they’d planned for the long weekend. And thinking about her reaction to Jack, she’d probably only reacted so strongly because she’d been surprised. These past two years, she had learned to control her feelings, to be numb to the hurt he’d caused. Could she tolerate being in the same room with him at functions over the next few days for the sake of her best friend? Could she? She had been devastated by him, but it was time to grow up.

  “He doesn’t know you’re my Maid of Honor,” Carly confided. “When Miles’s brother David broke his leg, Jack’s plans had changed, and he was available again. You know we originally wanted Jack in the wedding party. He was unavailable with those contracts he had to fulfill in the Middle East. And he and Miles are such good friends…”

  Abby’s shoulders drooped. “You mean Jack’s the Best Man? That’s even worse, Carly! I’ll have to stand up with him at the ceremony and participate in some activities with him.”

  As she considered that, the pain of her loss and of how much she had loved him hit like a rogue wave again. Tears slid down her cheeks.

  Carly handed Abby a paper towel. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I was afraid to tell you. Thought you might bail on us, but you’re not a coward, Abby, are you? I need and want your support and I’ll make it up to you. Promise.”

  At the look on her friend’s face, Abby sucked in a deep breath to settle her nerves. “No, I’m not a coward…but I admit that seeing Jack is a stunner.”

  Carly seemed to relax on an exhale, as if she knew Abby wouldn’t desert her. “You’ll stay, won’t you?”

  Abby blotted her eyes and nodded. Then she smiled through her tears. “Do you think I can avoid him the entire weekend? Hide behind the houseplants perhaps, duck below tables of food?” she quipped lightly, trying to ease her friend’s concerns.

  “You’ll probably knock them over.”

  “I’m sorry I dropped the flowers.”

  “Don’t worry. Martha will clean up the damage, but I am worried about you.”

  Resolving that she would bolster her courage and her pride and get through this debacle, she straightened her shoulders. “We’re all adults here. We’re not in high school. If he can move on, so can I, Carly. I don’t know why I haven’t already.”

  And really, why hadn’t she? The big question was how would she get through this long, long, week of parties and the wedding on Saturday with Jack in the same house?

  CHAPTER TWO

  An hour earlier, Jack McAlister had arrived at the white brick mansion with his girlfriend, Monica, intending to be part of the week’s celebrations and then the wedding party on the weekend. They climbed the steps to the front porch that overlooked a sweeping lawn and a sparkling lake. A valet had driven off to park Jack’s rental car.

  After he and Monica settled their suitcases in their room, they proceeded downstairs. Monica saw this week as a way to be accepted into his large family, but Jack wasn’t so sure he wanted that. He feigned a smile to make Monica happy, but was uncomfortable as he felt the noose tightening...

  Monica’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as they entered the room. At least fifty people were gathered off the foyer.

  Jack crossed the floor to meet his cousins who stood at a large round mahogany table. All but a few had already arrived and were chatting together. They were a tall lot, like Jack, and sometimes could be rowdy—but they were also decent guys. A common ancestor, a long-deceased great-great-great-great grandmother and grandfather, William and Rebecca McAlister, related them all. As pioneers, that couple had traveled from the east coast to Ohio by wagon and on horseback, along with their young sons in the early 1800s.

  Although Jack and his cousins now lived all over the globe, Trent’s grandfather, James Farrington, kept them bonded together as a family as a tribute to his late wife, Eliza McAlister Farrington. While James Farrington had no blood relationship to Jack’s distant cousins, his love for his ‘dear Eliza’ and his goodwill had shaped them all into a family.

  Jack had been about to say hello to his cousins when he turned his head and saw a vase of red roses crash to the floor. A woman—an angelic vision with long, sun-streaked blond hair—whirled away before his eyes.

  And a sledgehammer hit Jack’s heart.

  Abby? It couldn’t be.

  He stared at the woman who hurried away to the kitchen in a violet blur.

  Neither Carly, nor Miles, had mentioned that Abby would be here. They knew he never wanted to see her again—they would have warned him.

  Jack took in a deep breath to recover. Like he had so many times in the past two years.

  He hadn’t seen the women’s face from the front, but perhaps it was only a resemblance to Abby... That had to be it—she was just another beautiful woman who resembled his ex.

  His shoulders sagged in relief. He thought he’d put Abby and the past behind him, and he’d be happy never to see her again.

  It was only natural, wasn’t it? That now, when he was back in Ohio, his memories of Abby would be stirred to the surface—that he would see her in other women who bore any kind of resemblance. He should have come alone so he could focus, but Monica had begged him to take this next big step, and introduce her to his large family. And he knew she would expect a ring to follow. The thought of being engaged to Monica agitated and depressed him.

  At thirty-one years old, however, it was time to make his plans for his future, and it wasn’t fair to string Monica along and remain in a relationship if it wasn’t going to go anywhere. During the first three months he was away in the Middle East, he thought—rather, he hoped—that she would grow impatient with him and break if off, but she’d called and said the opposite: When he came back she wanted to make their relationship official. That’s when he extended his contract for two months, hoping she’d grow tired of waiting and she’d go out and meet someone else. She hadn’t.

  Now he was back and it was time to make decisions.

  Needing some support after the reminder of Abby, he took a detour to the bar and ordered a Scotch on the rocks. Jack took a few gulps and thanked the bartender. Monica was checking out the finger food so he joined several of his cousins and dropped into a chair. He swirled the ice in his glass and barely heard their conversation while his thoughts circled back to Abby.

  When they’d been together, Abby told him that she wanted everything, the whole package in a lasting relationship: meaning, romance and a white knight. And she hadn’t lied. To the contrary, he found out later that she’d wanted many white knights, not just him. When he found out about her unfaithfulness, it reminded him of his mother who had cheated on his father.

  That was something Jack couldn’t tolerate, something that made his stomach roll over whenever he thought about Abby’s indiscretions, even two years after they’d broken up.

  There was a time when he’d thought Abby the most beautiful, genuine, woman in the world and perfect for him. She had always been hot in bed, demanding too, so perhaps that should have been a sign, an indicator that she couldn’t be satisfied by just one man. While he’d sometimes been too busy to see her, while he worked twelve-hour days to acquire the money to buy and build a business, he had believed she was content. He thought they’d been happy, until he discovered evidence that he wasn’t enough for her. That was something he couldn’t live with. All he wanted after her betrayal was to be alone.

  Later, he realized it was better to connect to someone cold, than to face another hurt down the road. He needed a wom
an who wouldn’t lust after other men.

  That worked in his relationship with Monica… for a while. Monica was the cold to Abby’s hot. While Monica kept her personal appearance immaculate, her looks seemed to be her only interest beyond her next designer handbag or her next pair of shoes. Life had become routine with Monica, not hot and romantic. That suited Jack just fine after a life totally entwined with Abby’s. But lately he wasn’t so sure.

  He was a realist, and no matter what Abby had said, he definitely knew fairytales did not happen. Abby had proved that.

  Monica was a realist, too, and for a while they got along just fine, even if their life was a little bland. Monica didn’t even mind his workaholic life.

  While he’d never had the same feelings for her that he’d had for Abby, he and Monica were comfortable and that was probably a good thing. He never again wanted to go through the pain he’d experienced with Abby.

  Monica had not demanded a lot from him or distracted him while he worked to buy back McAlister Construction. She hadn’t even pressured for them to move in together, although recently each time she visited him, she brought a few more of her things to his condo. As if she were slowly moving in. As if she thought theirs was more than the casual relationship Jack had thought he was getting into.

  Unlike Abby who’d always been a handful, Monica demanded very little attention. Once, Monica had told him, ‘I won’t bother you when you’re working. I don’t care how hard you work because I want you to be successful.’ That was well and good because he had worked himself to death these past four years, and even harder these last two years so he could buy back McAlister Construction, the family company his Uncle Peter had lost.

  And working so hard had helped him forget Abby—though she still haunted his dreams.

  Monica—who would become his future wife if she had her way—sashayed up to him and took a seat beside him at the large table. Her platinum-blond hair hung to just above her shoulders and she wore a low-cut white dress. While she sipped champagne, she gave him a sideways glance, her hazel eyes peering out beneath blunt cut bangs. Her freshly reddened lips curved into a smile, and it wasn’t hard to read her thoughts. She thought this weekend and this wedding would seal the deal and convince him they should take the next step.

  Uncomfortable, he ran his fingers around the inside of his collar, then noticed her face looked odd, a bit different. He frowned…trying to figure out what was different. Her forehead seemed a little frozen. He frowned again. Had she done something different with her makeup? Or had she gone under the knife again?

  Yes, that was it.

  And that was when he realized he hadn’t really looked at her since he’d picked her up from her apartment that morning or during their flight to Ohio together. And he hadn’t missed her during the five months while he’d been away.

  Disturbing for a man who was considering tying the knot. He swirled his drink. The ice cubes rattled against the glass. This was not the first time Monica had plastic surgery. Although she’d denied it, breast implants weren’t easy to hide.

  Good Lord, Abby had such firm natural breasts. He remembered times he’d lowered his mouth to her nip—

  “Jack, aren’t you going to introduce me to your cousins?” Monica asked.

  Glad to be distracted from of his thoughts, which had spiraled out of control again, Jack gazed at his girlfriend over his drink. “Sure.” He cocked his head toward Alex. “Monica, this is my cousin, Alex Drake. Alex is an actor. He’s from England and has just been offered a lead role in the U.S. We’re all very proud of him.”

  Handsome Alex with his golden, movie-star good looks always made women swoon. He was an up-and-coming actor who appeared in several movies, but there was one downfall in his otherwise “golden” life: Five years ago, at twenty-two, Alex married a woman a decade older than him—an internationally renowned actress.

  The family had one word for his wife Vanessa Caine—bitch. No, make that two words: royal bitch. Alex had been nothing more than her trophy. He was now separated and he was fighting to legally get out of the marriage.

  Next in the introductions, Jack swept his hand toward the cousin who resembled him the most because of their dark hair coloring. Trent.

  “This is Trent Farrington. His grandfather, James, is the owner of Farrington Enterprises and Construction.”

  Jack noticed Monica’s eyes brightened. “James Farrington—the billionaire?” she gushed.

  “Yes.” Trent’s dark eyes narrowed.

  Jack hoped Monica wouldn’t say more because Trent disliked gold diggers and that’s what Monica appeared to be at the moment. “Trent’s grandfather bought and restored the McAlister estate after one of my uncles had to sell. His grandfather, my Uncle James, is our host for this house party and the wedding.”

  “Which uncle had to sell? You mentioned you have several.”

  “It was my Uncle Peter.” Jack indicated his uncle on the other side of the room, but didn’t go into details with Monica.

  The family all knew Uncle Peter had let the estate run to ruin and was going to sell the house to a developer who planned to tear it down. Uncle James stepped in and bought the place. Then there were other issues before that, because of mismanagement, his Uncle Peter had lost the construction company to an outside buyer. They temporarily owned the business for a short time, and now Jack had bought back the company and was bringing it back into the family.

  His Uncle Peter saw himself as the eternal player and ladies’ man. At forty-something, he had curling brown hair— still not gray—and with his dark-rimmed glasses, he brought to mind one of those old-time movie stars. Peter had some charm, but he’d been spoiled most of his life. Unfortunately, common sense was not his strong suit.

  At this moment, Uncle Peter was cozying up on a sofa next to a redhead who appeared a decade older than himself. Judging by her demeanor and chic accessories, she had money.

  Jack raised his glass in another cousin’s direction and continued his introductions around the table. “This is my cousin Chris McAlister, from Australia. He has a brother who isn’t here, but they could pass for identical twins.” Chris was more golden in looks, like Alex. “So, Monica, we’re from all around the globe.”

  Jack indicated with his thumb toward another dark-haired cousin across the room who leaned on the fireplace mantle. “That is Tristan Knight, a very successful New York doctor. He’s also a bit of a workaholic.”

  Monica leaned toward him and her lips curved. “The harder you work, Jack, the more money I’ll have to spend.” Then she eyed all the guys. When no one responded or paid her any attention—and Monica was used to attention—she shrugged and said, “It was nice to meet you all. Excuse me. I’m going to the ladies’ room.”

  After she left, Jack glanced around the table at his cousins. “So what’s going on?”

  “We were going to ask you the same thing,” Trent said dryly. “But it seems obvious. It looks like you could be next in line, Jack. You’re all dropping like flies. I’d say we, but I plan to avoid the curse.”

  “Did I say I was getting married?” Jack asked through tight lips.

  Trent lifted his glass. “That’s the rumor flying around the family for the past month, that you’re about to become engaged to Ms. Monica Stevens. I’d say it’s your funeral, Jack. Frankly, I’m happy it’s not me. I’m warning you that marriage is for fools. Most women aren’t in it for love.”

  Frowning past Jack’s head, Alex folded his arms over his chest. “Looks like Tristan might be set to make a fool out of himself as well, and even sooner than you, Jack.”

  They all glanced across the room to their cousin Tristan as his fiancée slithered up to him and put her arms around his waist.

  Jack shrugged. “I don’t know, Alex. She’s a pretty girl. What is there to be a fool about? Maybe they’ll be happy.”

  “You think so?” Alex blew out a deep breath. “I met Tristan’s fiancé on the upstairs landing. She stopped me, put her hand
on my chest, then slipped her card into my jacket pocket. She told me that if I was ever in New York to look her up for tea, then she moved on. I don’t know if wearing my wedding ring keeps them away or attracts them. I felt like some kind of stud service. That she thought I would be someone safe and discreet. I don’t think his fiancée has any idea that Tristan and I are cousins.”

  Trent blew out a deep breath and slumped back in his chair. “Marriage is for fools. So what can we do? We can’t say anything to him. Like the rest of us, Tristan won’t appreciate any interference in his life.”

  Alex shoved his chair away from the table and rose to his feet. “Bloody hell. And I’m one of the married fools. I should have listened to you, Trent—about marriage—before I met my own doom.” Alex turned and walked away.

  “He doesn’t look too happy,” Jack muttered as he watched Alex’s retreating back.

  Trent leaned across the table. “Can you blame him? His wife is a damn shrew. If things go well for him, he’ll be divorced soon though. He feels she won’t let that happen, however, unless she gets a bundle—of his money. That’s another issue about marriage for some of us. We have to watch for gold diggers. Don’t suppose you have to worry about that, Jack. I’m assuming Monica is well off herself?”

  Jack raised an eyebrow. “Not really. Her dad works hard as a dentist, but she’s not rich.”

  “So that explains why she has such perfect teeth,” Chris interjected, in his Australian accent, and with a sardonic curve of his mouth.

  Although Jack had at one time seen a few of Monica’s early childhood photos and suspected at least her teeth were capped, he ignored Chris’s comment and changed the subject.

  “I’m doing well in my business now,” Jack said, narrowing his eyes, “but it’s been a hard, uphill climb.”

  Chris swirled the ice in his drink, a slight smirk on his lips. “I was surprised when you and Abby broke up. Is she here for the wedding? From what I remembered she was beautiful, delightful—and a friend of Carly’s. And now that she’s no longer with you, I’m wondering—”