the weeper tried to regain control of herself, before dissolving once more into tears.
The second bad sign.
âGet everyone out of the house,â he ordered Janice. âI need to be alone with Leigh.â
Nodding, Janice picked the box of wineglasses off the floor.
âIâll come back in an hour to pick her up. Is that enough time?â
Bryce thought about the possibilities; what he could do, what he should doâ¦
âMore than enough. But Janice?â
âYes?â
âKnock first.â
Janice took Leighâs ten-year-old niece by the hand.
âI hope you know what youâre doing.â
Two other women, Leighâs best friend and her favorite coworker, both barely glanced at him as they pulled on coats around puffy blue dresses.
âDonât worry,â Bryce said, already halfway up the stairs. âI do.â
Bryce found his fiancée in a pile of white satin underwear on the floor, her mascara running in miserable rivulets down her otherwise beautifully painted face.
âNo. No, no, noâ¦â Leigh covered her face with her hands. âYou arenât supposed to see me. Not now. Not like this. Not ever.â
Sighing, Bryce squatted in front of her and cupped her chin with his hand, forcing her to meet his eyes.
âIâve seen you in white before. Iâve seen you in tears before. Seeing you right now isnât going to doom the wedding.â
âButââ
âBut the bride having a nervous breakdown two hours before the ceremony might.â
She gave a little pathetic laugh and hiccuped on her tears. Had she ever looked smaller, more vulnerable, more desirable? If so, he couldnât remember when.
âShoes? This is over shoes, young lady?â He let his voice
turn stern. She always responded best to his most fatherly tone.
âTheyâre greenâ¦â She grabbed a high heel and brandished it in his face.
âSo?â
âThe dresses are blue. The dye jobâsâ¦itâs totally wrong.â
âSo? Go barefoot. You. The bridesmaids. Everyone. Hell, Iâll go barefoot. People will think itâs sweet, eccentric. Weâll pretend itâs on purpose.â
âButââ
âWill our marriage be null and void if the shoes donât match?â
Leigh only stared at him a moment before shaking her sad head. Long chestnut curls fell across her shoulders.
âNo.â
âThen fuck the shoes.â
âButââ
âOne more âbutâ and Iâm going to fuck the bride, too.â
Leighâs breath caught in her throat. She always gasped when he used such language with her.
âBut you arenât even supposed to see me before the wedding, much lessââ
âAnd that was another âbut.â Up.â
Bryce stood up and waited. She didnât move.
âIâm not kidding, Leigh. Get off the floor right this second.â
For a woman in seven layers of white petticoats and four-inch high heels, Leigh got to her feet with impressive speed. Careful of the fabric, Bryce peeled it off her body until she stood naked in front of him.
Taking her by the wrist, he pulled her to the bed and she lay on her back. Leigh crossed her arms over her chest and stared up at the ceiling. He loved when she played martyr like this, played the innocent, scared virgin to his wicked ravishing rake.
Bryce grasped her ankle and yanked her to the side of the mattress. From underneath the bed he pulled out a suitcase and quickly unzipped it.
âGlad your mother didnât go digging under our bed while she was here.â
âI told her thatâs where I kept the naked pictures of you.â
Bryce smiled his approval at her lie. There were no naked pictures of him in the house. And the naked photos of her werenât under the bedâthey were on his iPhone.
âDid you have to explain that?â He pointed to the hook screwed into the