Don't Bite the Bridesmaid Read Online Free Page B

minutes passed while he stood awkwardly next to Alice and the woman he assumed had to be her sister. Feeling forgotten, and more than a little annoyed with himself for the spike of loneliness that followed, he crossed his arms and did his best to look like he didn’t have a care in the world.
    “Oh, I’m sorry. Cindy, this is Noah. Noah, this is my sister, Cindy. The bride.”
    Cindy’s smile was vibrant, like her sister’s. But her eyes were serious when she shook his hand and examined him. She looked a lot like Alice. The same blonde hair adorned her face—albeit in a shorter, more modern cut than Alice wore—and she had the same brown eyes. But he didn’t feel the same energy in her, the same vibrancy.
    Cindy Shepard was a more cautious soul than her sister.
    “Nice to meet you, Noah.”
    “Likewise,” he replied, “and congratulations.”
    “Thank you.” Cindy turned to Alice and added conspiratorially, “Wait until you see the young hunk Mom brought.”
    “Lucinda!” A high-pitched voice called from only a few feet away.
    Cindy winced. Noah stepped back to avoid being trampled by the slight woman that rushed past him. An older version of Cindy pulled the bride into her arms, then Alice.
    Alice made the introductions after extracting herself from what turned out to be her mother’s arms, introducing Noah as a friend. The woman gave him a big hug that forced his breath from his lungs. He stiffened in her embrace and patted her awkwardly on the back. A soft yearning touched his chest, and he wrestled with the temptation to relax into the hug.
    When was the last time someone had hugged him?
    He stepped away from Edna Shepard and shook himself mentally. He needed to keep his shit together. This wasn’t his family. It was an acting gig.
    “It’s so nice to meet a friend of Alice’s,” Edna said. Her words dripped with speculation, and she reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “She’s been hinting around about bringing you for weeks, of course, but getting details out of this girl is impossible. She’s so tight-lipped.”
    Noah stifled a laugh. Alice and tight-lipped didn’t belong in the same sentence, so she must have blurted her intention to bring a friend, and then spent weeks finding someone to fill the position. He shot Alice a glance and there was a warning in her eyes. Didn’t her mother know his presence was a farce?
    “Now that I see you though, I can see why.” She eyed him up and down, and he felt an inexplicable blush crawl up his neck. “You are a prince, aren’t you? If I were a couple of decades younger—”
    “Mother!” Alice and Cindy said simultaneously.
    “Don’t fret, he knows I’m teasing,” Edna said, but the glint in her eye belied her words, and he couldn’t help the real smile that forced itself onto his face. He took her hand and kissed the back of it, and she laughed and made her way to the next group of family members.
    Alice tugged on his shirt and led him to a buffet that seemed to be for their party alone, if the chatter amongst the guests was any indication. He selected a couple of things he particularly enjoyed: fresh fruit and a turkey sandwich. He didn’t have to eat normal food to survive, and it didn’t do much for him, but keeping up appearances was important. And he still loved the taste of strawberries.
    He glanced at Alice’s plate when they sat down at a table full of her cousins. A large hamburger and French fries. And a giant slice of chocolate cake.
    “What’s so funny?”
    “You don’t believe in healthy eating, do you?” he asked, but when her smile faltered, he regretted the words. “I’m not saying you need to,” he found himself clarifying, “you’re in great shape.” His eyes flashed over her sundress-adorned body, now mostly blocked from his view by the table between them. But every delicious curve was burned into his memory. He felt himself start to harden in his jeans and whipped his focus back to her