Stand-In Groom by Kaye Dacus

Author:Kaye Dacus [Dacus, Kaye]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Books & Bibles, Literature & Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, United States, Women's Fiction, Domestic Life, Single Women, Religion & Spirituality, Fiction, Religious & Inspirational Fiction, Christian Fiction
Amazon: B002LUYTYA
Publisher: Barbour Books
Published: 2009-08-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

How could you not tell me?” George brushed past the secretary who’d opened Forbes’s office door to announce his arrival early Monday morning.

Forbes gave his assistant a curt nod and laid his gold pen atop the paperwork on his desk. “And what is it I’m supposed to have told you?”

Although the woman closed the door behind her, George strained to keep his voice low. “That Anne was engaged to be married to Cliff Ballantine!” He crossed the office and leaned on the desk, his hands on either side of the desk blotter. “Have you lost your senses? How do you think she’s going to feel when he arrives in town next week for the engagement party and I turn around and say, ‘Surprise, you’ve been hired to plan your ex-fiancé’s wedding’?”

“It wasn’t my place to tell you.”

“Not your—” Fury clogged George’s throat. Was it all just a game to Forbes? He liked Anne’s cousin, had thought they were getting on famously and becoming fast friends. But now…

“You are the only person in this farce who knows all the players and their roles. How could you let Anne take on this contract?”

The lawyer leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled and resting on his chin. “Are you more upset because you didn’t know or because of how you think this might affect Anne?”

George straightened and dropped his hands to his sides. “Don’t play the barrister with me, Forbes.” His so-called friend’s calm exterior only fed his anger. He wanted to see some kind of emotion, some kind of remorse or embarrassment. He took a calculated risk. “Did it make you feel powerful, knowing that you could manipulate this situation? Or do you hold some kind of shares in Anne’s business to make you trick her into taking this wedding on just to increase the return on your investment?”

Forbes exploded out of his chair, and it slammed against the credenza behind him. “There are a lot of things I’ll put up with.” Menace edged his low voice. He braced his fists against the edge of his desk. “But being insulted isn’t one of them. A hundred years ago, we would be headed to a field with dueling pistols about right now.”

“And gladly would I have defended Anne’s honor and my own.” George matched his pose, trying not to let the other man’s larger build and height intimidate him. “I’ve read about the corruption of lawyers in Louisiana, but I never expected to see it in you. To use your own flesh and blood—”

Forbes grabbed the front of George’s shirt and nearly dragged him onto the desk. “You have no right to accuse me of wrongdoing. I love Anne, and I would die before I brought her harm or unhappiness.”

Some of George’s anger dissipated at Forbes’s passionate speech. “Then tell me everything. Make me understand. Because from where I stand, you look guilty as sin. And I don’t want to be caught in the middle.”

Forbes released him, and George stumbled back a step.

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