Deceived 4 - The Wedding Read Online Free PDF Page A

crook of his neck and wedged my body as close to his as possible. “I love you too, Patrick.”
    I felt like my life was on the threshold of something great. There are only a few times in one’s life that mark the great moments. Getting married is one of them and I was the happiest I had ever been in my life; I was about to marry the man of my dreams.

Chapter 3
     
    I t was hard to believe, only one more day until the wedding. My parents and Patrick’s parents were about to meet for the first time, at the rehearsal dinner at The Plaza Hotel. I just hoped it would go well. There was a lot of tension between Patrick’s parents. He had said it would be safer to seat his mom and dad as far from each other as possible at the table. Their divorce a few years ago had been pretty ugly and this was the first time they would be in the same room together for more than a year. I had come to know Patrick’s dad pretty well over the last few months; he was a very generous man but it usually came with a price. Like I had seen happen before, I anticipated he would dominate the conversation all evening. One of the reasons Gerald insisted on throwing this extravagant wedding for us was to show his ex-wife how successful he was now.
    A couple of days ago, Patrick and I had driven to the airport to pick up my parents and my brother, Scott. The minute I saw them I could tell my parents were a little overwhelmed by the big city. They had only been to New York City once before, shortly after our engagement, to meet the man who had so boldly stolen their daughter’s heart and asked for her hand in marriage. That meeting had gone well; my family loved Patrick and accepted him with open arms. I couldn’t exactly say the same thing for the reception I received from at least one side of Patrick’s family. His dad had accepted me, but I could tell I would never be his mother’s favorite. I just hoped the night would turn out well, but I feared the tension between Gerald and Elizabeth would be so thick you could cut it with a knife.
    I later learned t hat would be the least of my worries. Little did I know that that evening would turn out to be the worst of my life.
     
    ~*~*~
     
    “Chloe, you look worried. Are you okay? I hope you’re not getting cold feet,” Ryan whispered in my ear. “I swear that bachelor party was not my idea.”
    I had my two favorite men sitting next to me, Patrick to my right and Ryan to my left.
    I looked at Ryan, sitting there with a goofy smile on his face. “Funny, Ryan. What did happen at that bachelor party?” As soon as the words spilled out of my mouth, I regretted asking. “No, wait, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”
    Ryan opened his mouth to talk but nothing came out as he contemplated what to say. He decided that silence was the best approach.
    “ It’s okay, seriously, Ryan. I’m fine…really. Just a little nervous about how things are going to unfold tonight.”
    “Ah, don’t be. E verything is going great. So far, no arguments have erupted between Heckle and Jekyll over there.” Ryan winked at me and nodded across the table to where Patrick’s parents sat. He had heard all the stories of the ugly divorce from Patrick, back when it happened, and knew Gerald well from some business affairs.
    I gave them a pleasant smile. The problem with Patrick’s parents was that the two of them were too similar in personality. They could both be brash, cynical and a little antagonistic at times. His father was pleasant enough, but could be openly confrontational, while his mother was more devious, and both had their fair share of rudeness embedded in their souls. To say they annoyed each other was an understatement. I took a deep breath. In a few days, these people would be my in-laws and further down the road, my children’s grandparents.
    My brother , Scott, had been seated between the two adversaries and had the unfortunate assignment of being the buffer. He should have been able to handle