“Elana! What the hell?”
Jarrod swiftly zipped up before turning around.
When Rafe saw who it was that had his sister backed up into a corner, half-undressed, he lost it. He darted up the steps, grabbed Jarrod by the shoulder and shoved him hard. “You low-life bastard.” Then he turned his outrage on his sister. “Get yourself together. Mom and Dad are ready to make their announcement and want all of us there.”
Rafe flashed a lethal look at Jarrod, who took his cue, brushed by Rafe and descended the stairs.
Elana had been more annoyed than humiliated. “Thanks, brother dear.” She pushed by him and returned to the ballroom. Of course Rafe told their mother, who went off on one of her epic tirades, but it didn’t stop Elana. Once she got a taste of what things could be like with Jarrod, there was no turning back for her.
The very next day, she found the number for the studio where he worked and called him. She apologized for her overzealous brother and indicated that they had unfinished business.
Jarrod told her that his wife had left that morning for a movie and would be out of town for at least a month, and that he felt a bout of loneliness coming on. She assured him that she had the cure for that.
When she pulled up to his house later that afternoon, it was the beginning of a ride that she had no intention of getting off. That first time with Jarrod was beyond anything she’d ever experienced in her life. She was totally addicted and found all kinds of ways to be with him. She became expert in concocting one lie after another to be with Jarrod, from shopping trips to doctor’s appointments—whatever it took.
And then Thom asked her to marry him, and the secret world that she’d built with Jarrod came crashing down. At least if he’d proposed in private she could have gently told him no. But instead he did it in front of her entire family, and of course they were beyond ecstatic.
So here she was, on the cusp of marrying a man who would be perfect for someone else, but for her the lights simply didn’t come on. She did care, she cared deeply about Thom, about their longtime friendship. But love...passion...
Elana flipped onto her side, laced her arm across Jarrod’s chest and snuggled against him.
“Any luck in postponing the wedding?” Jarrod asked, his voice thick and dreamy.
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