Sophie Pembroke - Falling for the Bridesmaid

Summer Weddings

A season of confetti and whirlwind romances!

You are cordially invited to attend the

Huntingdon-Cross summer weddings.

Celebrate the shotgun marriage of Daisy

Huntingdon-Cross and Sebastian Beresford in

Expecting the Earl’s Baby by Jessica Gilmore

Save the date: on sale March 2015

Raise a glass to Rose Huntingdon-Cross and

Will Carter as they finally tie the knot

in

A Bride for the Runaway Groom by Scarlet Wilson

Save the date: on sale April 2015

Join us in celebrating Violet Huntingdon-Cross

and Tom Buckley’s star-studded wedding day

in

Falling for the Bridesmaid by Sophie Pembroke

Save the date: on sale May 2015

Falling for the Bridesmaid

Sophie Pembroke

www.millsandboon.co.uk

SOPHIE PEMBROKEhas been reading and writing romance ever since she read her first Mills & Boon ®book at university, so getting to write them for a living is a dream come true!

Sophie lives in a little Hertfordshire market town in the UK with her scientist husband and her incredibly imaginative five-year-old daughter. She writes stories about friends, family and falling in love, usually while drinking too much tea and eating homemade cakes. She also keeps a blog at www.SophiePembroke.com.

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For George and Karen, for making this book possible through coffee, childcare and cheerleading! Thank you both, so much.

Contents

Cover

Introduction Summer Weddings A season of confetti and whirlwind romances! You are cordially invited to attend the Huntingdon-Cross summer weddings. Celebrate the shotgun marriage of Daisy Huntingdon-Cross and Sebastian Beresford in Expecting the Earl’s Baby by Jessica Gilmore Save the date: on sale March 2015 Raise a glass to Rose Huntingdon-Cross and Will Carter as they finally tie the knot in A Bride for the Runaway Groom by Scarlet Wilson Save the date: on sale April 2015 Join us in celebrating Violet Huntingdon-Cross and Tom Buckley’s star-studded wedding day in Falling for the Bridesmaid by Sophie Pembroke Save the date: on sale May 2015

Title Page Falling for the Bridesmaid Sophie Pembroke www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author SOPHIE PEMBROKE has been reading and writing romance ever since she read her first Mills & Boon ® book at university, so getting to write them for a living is a dream come true! Sophie lives in a little Hertfordshire market town in the UK with her scientist husband and her incredibly imaginative five-year-old daughter. She writes stories about friends, family and falling in love, usually while drinking too much tea and eating homemade cakes. She also keeps a blog at www.SophiePembroke.com .

Dedication For George and Karen, for making this book possible through coffee, childcare and cheerleading! Thank you both, so much.

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

THE SWEET SMELL of rose petals filled the evening air, giving the falling dusk a sultry warmth. Music sang out from the band on the patio, romantic with just an undertone of sexy. Fairy lights twinkled in the branches of the trees and inside the marquees, and around them leaves rustled in the still warm breeze.

The whole set-up was so perfectly loved-up Violet thought she might be physically ill if she had to suffer through it a moment longer.

Glaring down at her lavender bridesmaid’s dress, she slunk to the edge of the celebrations where she could watch the live band play in peace. She needed to make more of an effort to enjoy the evening, and maybe the music would help. Her parents’ vow renewal ceremony had been beautiful, and the party that followed a huge success. Later, she had no doubt, her dad and the boys from The Screaming Lemons would take to the stage and wow the remaining guests all over again, even though they’d finished their official set an hour ago. Knowing Dad, it would probably be a lower key, acoustic set the second time around.

Keeping Dad off the stage was always more trouble than getting him on there, and he always wanted one more encore. But for now the support act seemed to be doing well enough. The courtyard in front of the stage was filled with people dancing, or just holding each other, or kissing. Falling in love.

Violet scowled and looked away.

Of course, the situation wasn’t helped by her family. There, leaning against her new husband—Lord Sebastian Beresford, Earl of Holgate, if you please—was her youngest sister, Daisy. No, the Lady Holgate now. Hard to believe that Daisy-Waisy was an honest-to-God countess, but somehow not quite as impossible to process as the slight swell of her baby bump under her carefully chosen emerald-green bridesmaid’s dress.

Just a few more months and Violet would officially be the maiden aunt of the family. Hell, she was already doing the church flowers most weekends, and taking tea with her mother’s ‘ladies who lunch’ crowd. Maybe she should just skip straight ahead to adopting a three-legged cat and taking up crochet.

Actually, she’d quite like to learn to crochet, but that wasn’t the point.

Seb rested his hand against his wife’s stomach, and Daisy’s soft smile grew into a fully fledged grin as she tilted her face for a kiss. Violet turned away, suddenly embarrassed to be staring.

But unfortunately her gaze just landed on Rose and Will, looking equally wrapped up in each other. Her twin sister and her best friend. Violet had to admit she really hadn’t seen that one coming either. An attraction, perhaps, or maybe even a fling. Not that Will would give up his runaway groom status for good and marry into her family. But there Rose stood in her own wedding dress, after sneaking away for their own secret marriage ceremony once their parents’ vow renewal service was over.

Maybe she just had no sort of love radar at all. Or maybe it was broken. That would explain a hell of a lot, really.

Will glanced up at just the wrong moment and, this time, Violet couldn’t look away quick enough. Even staring pointedly at the band, she couldn’t miss the whispered conversation between Rose and her new husband. Probably trying to decide whose responsibility Violet’s hurt feelings were now.

Violet sighed. It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy for her sisters—she really, truly was. And she knew that their happiness shouldn’t make her own sorry situation feel so much worse. But it did.

Swallowing, she looked down at her feet, and the high heels pinching her toes. It would pass, she knew. Any day now she’d be able to look at all the happy and loved-up people around her and just smile, without the bitter tinge that threatened to colour her whole world.