Stacy Connelly - The Wedding She Always Wanted

“I’ve been wondering what the most beautiful woman in the room is doing hiding in a corner.”

The wholly masculine voice sent a shiver down Emily’s spine.

He was dressed in a tux, and the black suit was the perfect complement to Javier’s dark hair and eyes while the crisp white shirt contrasted with his gorgeously tanned skin. He’d brushed his hair back for the ceremony, but a hint of natural wave threatened to break free from the staid style with only the slightest provocation.

Like a woman running her fingers through the dark strands …

Curling her fingernails into her palms, Emily forced her gaze back to the ballroom. But even with her eyes locked on the dance floor, she heard the rustle of palms as Javy stepped closer. Felt him against skin left bare by the strapless gown.

STACY CONNELLYhas dreamed of publishing books since she was a kid, writing stories about a girl and her horse. Eventually, boys made it onto the page as she discovered a love of romance and the promise of happily ever after.

When she is not lost in the land of make-believe, Stacy lives in Arizona with her two spoiled dogs. She loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at stacyconnelly@cox.net or www.stacyconnelly.com.

Dear Reader,

Imagine a dream wedding, planned to perfection in every detail … except one. The bride is no longer the one getting married. That’s the situation Emily Wilson finds herself in after calling off her engagement days before the wedding. She has little choice but to pick up the pieces and move on … with a little help from the sexy best man, Javier Delgado.

I think we’ve all had dreams that didn’t come true in the way we expected, and yet in the end, have flourished in ways we never imagined. Or perhaps they’ve come true after we’ve nearly given up on them.

I hope you enjoy The Wedding She Always Wanted and Emily’s journey to realizing the only part of a perfect wedding she needs is the perfect groom.

Stacy Connelly

Thanks to all my friends who understand

when a glazed look comes over my eyes,

I’m not ignoring them … I’m brainstorming!

STACY CONNELLY

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Emily Wilson had spent years practicing her smile. Not too wide, or her eyes would squint. Not too small, or the expression looked fake. Somewhere in between was the perfect smile Emily modeled, even when smiling was the last thing she wanted to do.

Despite the years of practice, she couldn’t remember when she’d had a harder time holding on to that smile. But then again, she’d never had to survive a day like today. Her wedding day.

Only she wasn’t the one getting married.

The ballroom looked exactly as she’d imagined. White cloaked tables circled the black granite dance floor. Pink roses and silver candles floated in glass bowls, the light reflected by mirrored chargers beneath. In every corner, towering plants reached right up to a moonlit night revealed by the soaring glass ceiling. A romantic ballad played as the bride and groom met for their first dance, love shining in their eyes.

Just like she imagined, Emily thought, her stomach twisting, except for the identity of the bride and groom.

“How are you holding up?” a quiet voice asked behind her.

Emily turned to face her older sister. Wearing a pink bridesmaid’s dress identical to her own, Aileen’s brows were pulled together in a concerned frown. “I’m fine,” Emily answered automatically. “The wedding was beautiful, and no one deserves it more than Kelsey.”

As little as a week ago Emily could never have imagined that the wedding her cousin had planned would end up as Kelsey’s own wedding to Connor McClane, Emily’s high school boyfriend.

“And how many times have you said that line today?”

“To everyone who’s actually had the courage to come up to me. Which, considering the number of people here, hasn’t been all that many. Everyone is much too busy talking about me to actually bother talking to me.”

“Well, it’s not every day that a wedding goes off as planned, only with a completely different bride and groom,” Aileen noted.

“And it’s not every day a woman learns her fiancé got another girl pregnant and proposed only to get back into his family’s good graces.”

It had, in fact, been Thursday, mere days before her wedding.

Shoving hurt and humiliation aside, Emily insisted, “Besides, it’s not just a line. I am happy for Kelsey. And for Connor.”

Connor had come back to town with the specific purpose of stopping Emily’s wedding to Todd Dunworthy. He was the one to discover Todd’s hidden agenda. Along the way, Connor had also fallen in love with Kelsey.

“I know you are,” Aileen said, “and we’re all glad Connor found out what Todd was up to before you married the jerk. I still can’t believe how completely he fooled all of us.”

But Todd had fooled all of them, including Emily’s parents, who had seen him as the perfect future son-in-law. Maybe she should have felt better, knowing she wasn’t the only idiot in the bunch, but she didn’t. Instead, the betrayal had shaken her foundations.

Her whole life she’d followed the plan her parents had laid out for her—going to the right schools, wearing the right clothes, being seen with the right people. She’d always done what she was told, never crossed the line … except for a brief moment of teenaged rebellion, when she jumped over it and into Connor’s arms.

Intense, rough around the edges, Connor McClane had been nothing like the boys at her prep school. For a few short weeks, she’d been thrilled by the youthful infatuation and by veering so far off course from the map her parents had drawn out for her life. But before long she’d realized dating Connor wasn’t as much about following her own dreams as it was about defying her parents. Knowing Connor deserved better, she’d broken things off with him.

Almost ten years later his call to congratulate her on her engagement had come as a surprise, and she’d impulsively sent him a wedding invitation. A decision that had changed all of their lives, she thought as she watched Connor spin his new bride into his arms.

“Connor saw through Todd right from the start,” Emily said.

So why hadn’t she?

Was she that gullible, that naive? How could she trust her own feelings—or trust in love—again?

“Connor’s a P.I. He’s trained to look for those kinds of things. Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Aileen advised. After a few more minutes she said, “I’m going to go up and say good-night to Ginny and Duncan. I promised I’d tuck them in.”

Aileen’s daughter and son had been the flower girl and ring bearer. Like Emily, Aileen and her family were staying the night at the hotel.

“Give them a kiss for me.”

“I will.” Aileen disappeared around the tall palms sheltering Emily from the rest of the room.

Maybe she should go with her sister, Emily thought. Not that Aileen needed help with her kids, but any escape was a good escape.

She’d almost decided on the cowardly action when a deep voice murmured, “I’ve been wondering what the most beautiful woman in the room is doing hiding in a corner.”

The wholly masculine sound sent a shiver down Emily’s spine. She knew without turning who stood behind her. She was a little surprised she hadn’t felt electricity arcing along her nerve endings, like an early warning system, before Javier Delgado ever spoke.

From the moment they first met at Kelsey and Connor’s impromptu engagement party, Javy had had an undeniable effect on her. But Connor’s best friend and best man also had a reputation as a ladies’ man. And right now, after what had happened with Todd, he was exactly the kind of man she wanted to stay far, far away from.