Christy McKellen – Bridesmaid with Attitude (страница 1)
‘If we’re going to do this thing we really ought to know each other’s names.’ Stepping forward, she put out a hand. ‘Hi, I’m Emily Applegate.’
He took her hand, enveloping it in his own work-roughened one, and squeezed hard, coating her hand with grease so their fingers slipped against each other.
‘Theo Berkeley.’
‘Okay, Theo, if you promise to pull out all the stops and let Lula hold her wedding here—including the use of your family chapel to hold the ceremony in if she wants to—we’ve got a deal.’
He gave her a discerning look. ‘I’d have to square that with the vicar.’
‘Then square it.’
He snorted in incredulity. ‘She must be a very good friend.’
‘She is.’
She’d swear that she glimpsed the glimmer of a smile in his eyes. So there
The idea of breaking through the frigidity to uncover it made her whole body tingle with excitement.
‘Okay, Theo, let’s do it. Let’s get romantic.’
This is the second part of the first duet I’ve ever written—and I had so much fun with it! After she made a rather striking appearance in FIRED BY HER FLING, as Lula’s best friend, I was desperate to give Emily her own happy-ever-after, and in BRIDESMAID WITH ATTITUDE I got my chance.
Emily is the epitome of an anti-heroine: she’s bolshie, a little on the self-centred side, and very determined to get what she wants—no matter what it takes to get it. And I
In order to force her out of her self-protective bubble she needs a hero with a determination to equal her own—and in Theo she finally meets her match.
These two challenge each other in ways they’ve never experienced before, and through dogged persistence—and some truly testing events—together they finally manage to overcome their worst fears and emerge on the other side as stronger, more confident and much happier people.
I hope you enjoy their journey as much as I did.
With best wishes
BK (Before Kids), CHRISTY MCKELLEN worked as a video and radio producer in London and Nottingham. After a decade of dealing with nappies, tantrums and endless questions from toddlers, she’s come out the other side and moved into the wonderful world of literature. She now spends her time writing flirty, sexy romance with a kick (her dream job!).
Christy loves to hear from readers. You can contact her at christy@christymckellen.com, through her website, www.christymckellen.com, via Facebook, www.facebook.com/christymckellenauthor, or on Twitter, www.twitter.com/christymckellen
Bridesmaid with Attitude
Christy McKellen
This one is for my fabulous courtesy cousins, Vanessa and Fiona, two of the strongest, smartest and kindest women I’ve ever had the pleasure to know.
Table of Contents
EMILY APPLEGATE SWUNG her motorbike in through the open gates of the grand Buckinghamshire estate and screeched to a halt in the car park allocated to visitors, snatching the keys out of the ignition and dismounting in one smooth, practised movement.
Leaving her crash helmet swinging from the handlebars, she marched up the sweeping driveway towards the imposing Elizabethan mansion that sprawled like a hubristic monarch before her.
The heels of her biker boots dug into the golden gravel with a satisfying crunch as she made a beeline for the front entrance.
She was going to have someone’s head—namely the stuck-up
Ignoring the glares of the two imperious-looking stone lions that guarded the door, she raised the heavy brass knocker and hammered it down hard three times, the tension in her fists matching the determined clench of her jaw.
You did not
She knew from numerous tipsy conversations with Lula over the years that her friend had been dreaming about her wedding day for ever. In fact the fantasy of
Their miserable childhoods had actually been the common denominator they’d bonded over after meeting at university, and the fact that they understood and identified with each other’s pain had kept them bound together ever since.
It was funny how they’d reacted to their loveless childhoods in totally different ways: Lula had been determined to marry well, and was convinced her life would be complete once she did, whereas
The men she’d had relationships with over the years had only ever been interested in her as a good-time girl anyway; but that suited her fine. All she wanted were good times. There had already been enough bad to last her a lifetime.
And, anyway, she dealt with enough stress fighting to maintain her public profile as host of the popular TV show
Not that she believed
She missed their closeness now that Lu had Tristan to confide in. Lula was the only person in the world who really knew her—who really loved her for who she was—and she wanted her friend to know just how much that meant to her.
How much
She waited for a few more tense seconds before hammering on the door again, the noise making a dull reverberating echo somewhere deep in the heart of the building.
It sounded very empty in there.
A bit like its owner’s head.
After another minute of frustrated knocking she became aware of a low rumbling noise coming from somewhere behind her. Turning to locate its source, she noticed an open door in one of the mews buildings that must have once been the stables for the estate.
Perhaps there was a groundskeeper in there who could point her in the direction of the troublesome toff of an owner, so she could let His Lordship know exactly what she thought of him for so casually ruining her friend’s wedding plans.
As she approached the open doorway she could make out the figure of a man bent over some kind of industrial-looking machine as he worked with a large piece of sheet metal. She couldn’t see his face clearly, because he was wearing Perspex goggles to protect his eyes and his jaw was covered in what must have been a week’s worth of stubble, so her gaze roamed instead over the oil-stained white cotton T-shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders, then moved back up to his head of sandy brown hair that fell across his forehead in artful clumps, as if he’d deliberately styled it that way—although, based on the rest of his dishevelled appearance, she very much doubted that he had.
She watched with interest as he took a step to the left and seamlessly switched tools, the hand-held machine sending out a shower of sparks that filled the air with silvery-blue shooting stars.