Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Raleigh seethed as she stalked toward the cabin.
She should have been paying attention to the walkway and how the grounds looked.
They were beautiful. The glimpses of rolling green lawns sprinkled between the pink and white flowering hedges that lined the path were exquisite especially in the setting sun.
She tried to take it all in so she could write about it later, but her brain was too occupied with the horrific scene in the lobby.
Dylan knew the bride. How did she not know that pertinent fact?
She’d seen the look on Jenn’s face. The bride-to-be was not pleased, in fact, she was bent so far out of shape that there was a one-thousand percent chance that she and Dylan were a hell of a lot more than mere acquaintances.
Did Dylan just choose to keep that fact to himself?
Did he think it wasn’t important? Raleigh closed her eyes.
Had she ever mentioned who the bride was? ”
Jennifer freaking Harris of the Harris family.
It just figured. This was a big get for her PR firm.
She ground her teeth. If the Harrises were unhappy, they could boycott her firm and pan them on social media.
It would be a blow since the family was a big damn deal in New York.
Her boss would fire her over that kind of negative publicity.
“Here you are,” the bellman said. He turned the key and opened the door to the cabin.
For a moment, Raleigh was distracted from her upset over Dylan knowing the bride. The cabin was so stunning, she momentarily forgot to breathe.
The large foyer was painted a lovely gray with white trim. A large bouquet of pink Stargazer lilies sat in a cut-crystal vase on a table against the short wall on the left that ended at the doorway to a living room.
The spacious room was painted a soft gray as well.
The beige sofa and matching chairs had blue and white chevron patterned throw pillows that matched the rug.
An oak coffee table rested in front of the sofa, a few feet from the fireplace, and two matching end tables were next to the chairs.
A flat screen TV was tucked into a nook in the wall above the stone fireplace.
To the right of the foyer a kitchen featured an oak dining table and chair set that was the same tone as the living room tables.
The entire room gave Raleigh a serious case of kitchen envy.
Three metal barstools were tucked under a large granite-topped island.
The stools had beige and white chevron patterned seats.
The shaker-style cabinets were a cream color and there was even a stainless-steel fridge.
Cabin was a misnomer. No cabin looked like this, at least none she’d ever seen. The whole place was swanky, from the overstuffed fluffy cushions on the sofa to the granite countertops in the kitchen and the white marble floors. It was superb.
“The couch pulls out into a queen-size bed, and there are extra blankets in each of the wardrobes in the bedrooms,” the bellman explained. “The AC can be a touch chilly in these cabins. The thermostat is on the wall over here.” He pointed toward the wall on the kitchen side of the foyer.
She tried not to glare at the bellman, but she didn’t care about the AC. She cared that her career in public relations was taking a major nosedive at that exact moment. He needed to get gone so she could possibly salvage the situation.
“Great. Thanks.” Dylan handed him a tip. The bellman nodded at her, and then as if finally getting the message, hustled toward the door.
As soon as he was gone, Dylan turned toward her. “I guess you want an explanation.”
“Ya think?” she said as she stormed passed him into the living room.
“This is my life we are talking about here. Lydia Harris requested me to personally to help her with this event, and now she’s going to be livid because you’re here.
” She threw her arms in the air. “Why? What the hell happened between you and the Harrises?”
He scratched the back of his neck and started to sit down, but as soon as his butt hit the chair, he was up again and pacing.
Finally stopping, he turned to face her.
He hooked his fingers through his belt loops and leaned back against the living room wall.
“Up until six months ago, Jenn and I were engaged.”
Whatever she’d expected him to say, it wasn’t that.
Well, shit. “Six months ago.” She breathed.
“You were engaged to Jenn Harris, and she dumped you six ago? You didn’t think it was necessary to share that little tidbit with me?
” Her blood pressure skyrocketed. WTF! Why did everything in her life have to turn to crap these days?
Was Mercury in retrograde? Did she piss off some vengeful god?
Dylan spoke in a calm voice. “I didn’t tell you because it’s none of your business. I don’t know you and you don’t know me. I agreed to do this as a favor to my cousin.
“If you recall, we spoke exactly three times.
Once over the phone to set up the meeting at your place.
The second time was at your place when you explained your stalker situation in more detail and the last time was a couple of days ago when you called to arrange a time for me to pick you up.
You sent me a copy of the itinerary and went over it in excruciating detail during that call.
The itinerary is labelled as the Jones Event and nothing inside indicates it was a wedding.
The titles are all kind of vague like “dinner” and “photoshoot” and “big day event.”
Raleigh opened her mouth to speak, but he stared her down. She clamped her lips together, waiting for the rest of the story.
Dylan’s face was still set in harsh lines when he continued, “You also emailed me what I needed to bring in terms of clothing. You referred to it as an event at all times and you never, not once used the name Harris. That’s certainly something I would remember.
So, no, I didn’t know it was Jenn’s wedding.
” Dylan frowned. “Believe me, if I knew who was getting married, I wouldn’t have come.
I’m sorry if this is going to make things difficult for you but it’s not exactly a day at the park for me either. ”
Raleigh’s shoulders drooped, and she dropped onto the sofa.
He was right—she was being a bitch. “It’s my own fault.
With the whole stalker thing, I guess I wasn’t paying attention to the details.
Nothing is properly labelled because a couple of months ago, some reporter got a hold of an itinerary for an event we were managing and published it online.
The paparazzi showed up in droves. Ruined the whole thing.
We were told to use fake names after that. ”
She rubbed her face with her hands. “I am sorry. I should have shared more details with you. For being a specialist in communicating, I really blew that one. And you are right. Your romantic relationships really are none of my business, except this one is affecting my career.”
She met his gaze. Being at your ex-fiancée’s wedding. What a fucking nightmare!
She winced. He must be feeling horrible right now, and she had just torn a strip off him.
She studied him. His hair was slightly mussed, and a stray curl had fallen over his forehead.
The light blue collared shirt he had on matched his eye shade perfectly, not to mention it hugged his well-built chest. Jenn Harris was an ass.
Who would dump this gorgeous hunk of manhood?
Focus. Drooling over the bodyguard was not going to solve her problem with the Harrises.
She needed her life back. This stalker thing had to end.
She couldn’t focus. It was making her mean and angry all the time, not at all the nice person she always prided herself on being.
Well maybe nice wasn’t the right word…but sympathetic at least.
These days she was just pathetic, no sym involved.
She hopped up off the sofa and walked over to the kitchen. Being dumped by Jenn Harris must have really stung. “Totally would suck” she mumbled to herself as she made coffee.
Jenn Harris was an It girl. Gorgeous, smart, great career ahead of her at her uncle’s law firm… She was known for being a bit of bitch, admittedly, but nobody was perfect.
“I dumped her.”
“Argh!” Raleigh hadn’t heard him come up behind her, probably because she was banging around too much. She whirled around and saw hurt in his eyes. Gone was the stoic cop expression. Whatever happened had to have been tough.
“Oh,” she said. Collapsing onto one of the stools by the island, she closed her eyes and cursed silently. This was a nightmare, no question. Not like she didn’t have enough of those already. She opened her eyes. “Your ex-fiancée is marrying someone else, and now you’re here to see it.”
Dylan nodded.
She cursed again. And she thought she had it bad.
“I’m so sorry, Dylan. This has got to be hell for you.
” She took a deep breath. “Do you want to leave? I understand if you do.” She wouldn’t understand, not really.
Oh, she got it logically, but if he left, then she would have to go. She just couldn’t do this on her own.
Dylan leaned his shoulder against the fridge. “I thought about it, but I gave you my word I would help you out and I promised my cousin. I can’t disappoint the two of you.” He scratched his jaw. “If you think you can work it out with Jenn…”
Relief flooded through her. “I’ll figure out something.” And she would, no matter what it took.
“Wait.” Her belly knotted. “You’re not going to do anything foolish are you? At the wedding I mean.”
“What? No! Of course not.” He crashed down onto the stool next to her. “I don’t want her back.”
The words were right, but she wasn’t sure about the sentiment behind them. He didn’t sound totally convincing.
She cleared her throat. “May I ask why you broke up?”
Dylan put his forehead in his hands.