Always A Bridesmaid (Left At the Altar) Read Online Free PDF Page A

attention back to him. "After everything you'd been through, I couldn't believe you took her back again!"
    He wasn't exactly proud of being Chantal's doormat. He couldn't explain, even to himself, the hold she'd had over him for so long. Some of it was her beauty, and a lot of it was the sex, but no one really understood how sweet and vulnerable she could be. All he knew was that there had always been something magical between them.
    But it was over now. For the sake of his sanity, it had to be. That's where Dani came in.
    "Chantal and I were engaged twice and she let me down both times. You know that old saying, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me? I'm the sucker who got fooled twice and I'm not looking for a third time."
    "At least now I know why Chantal's acting so hostile towards me," Dani said with a grimace. "So, what do you expect me to do? Ward off the evil seductress with a string of garlic and a crucifix?"
    "Actually, I think that's for vampires, but you never know, it might work."
    "Be serious, Zach."
    "I'm very serious. I don't want to get mixed up with Chantal again, and she can't seem to take no for an answer. And what about you? You could have refused to go along with the idea."
    "You didn't give me a lot of time to think over my answer."
    She was right. He hadn't given her feelings much thought when he'd grabbed her like a cave man and kissed her in front of Chantal. He'd felt her shock as he held her in his arms, and he'd tried to quell her astonishment by gentling the kiss. It seemed to have worked. She'd relaxed into the kiss enough to kiss him back, and perhaps even enjoy it. What he hadn't expected was to enjoy kissing her as much as he had.
    He suddenly felt overcome with remorse. Manipulating her this way made him no better than Chantal.
    "I'm sorry. You're right. I was way out of line dragging you into my problems and putting you in this awkward position. It's not too late to go back downstairs and tell everyone the truth."
    "Maybe that's the best thing to do before you both get in too deep," his mother said with a sigh. Her face was full of worry. "I just hope it doesn't make Chantal think she's got a green light to pursue you."
    "Wait a minute," Dani said. "Let's not do anything rash. Let's think about this for a moment."
    "What are you saying?"
    "If we go downstairs and say 'Just kidding. We aren't really dating', we'll both look like idiots. And besides, I don't want anything to embarrass Fiona or to take away from her wedding. This is her special time."
    "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" He couldn't believe she'd be willing to help him. It was way beyond what most friends would do for each other, and they hardly knew each other.
    A smile tugged at her lips. "Maybe I owe you one for lending me your jacket in my time of need. Or maybe I enjoy the fact that for once Chantal isn't getting what she wants."
    He breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully this time he wouldn't fall into the trap of thinking Chantal had changed, if Dani was around to remind him to keep his head above water. He didn't want to admit it to his mother, but he'd never really gotten over her. He knew she was a spoiled rich girl who liked to get her own way. But she could also be the girl who cried over sad movies, loved puppies and little kids, and was generous to her friends and family. And it was that girl he'd fallen in love with so long ago and couldn't quite give up, even though he knew he had to for his own self-preservation.
    "Thank you, Daniella. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. We'll spend the weekend holding hands and making eyes at each other, just enough to convince Chantal to back off. And when the weekend is over, we'll tell everyone we've decided to go our separate ways. I promise I won't make any more Neanderthal moves on you. So, how good an actress are you?"
    "Oh." Something suspiciously like disappointment crossed her face, but it quickly disappeared, replaced by a