Page 10 of Disavowed

I doubt it. Daisy began to shake her head.

“Yes, you will.” Alex took both of Daisy’s hands in hers. “I love you, and I’m here for you. My marriage won’t interfere in our friendship.”

“Well, maybe during the honeymoon it will.” She laughed to cover her emotions. She fervently hoped Alex and Nicky would continue to be a part of her life. Being alone was something she wasn’t looking forward to. She’d been alone since her parents had been killed and her grandparents had dumped her with a foster family.

Smiling, Alex turned to pick up a small, green velvet jewelry box from an adjacent table and handed it to Daisy. “This is for you from me. A small token of our friendship, our love, and yours.”

“My what?” She eyed the box speculatively.

Alex rolled her eyes. “Just open it.”

She flicked open the lid, and her eyes immediately began to fill. Resting on the dark green velvet was a gold locket on a fine chain. She opened the locket. On one side was a tiny photo of herself, Alex, and Nicky. The other side of the locket was empty.

“The empty side is for that special someone.” Alex took the box from her hand, extracted the locket, then came behind her and linked it around her neck. “He’s coming for you. I know it. I feel it.”

She turned to see Alex’s eyes shimmering and pulled her into a fierce hug. For the briefest of moments, she dared to believe there really was hope. Her friend’s optimism was so contagious it was impossible not to. A second later that tiny sliver of hope died an abrupt death.

I can’t put myself out there again.

She’d done that once in her life, and look where that had gotten her. She’d fallen prey to the oldest male trick in the book. What she’d thought was incredible chemistry—something truly special—had been nothing more than an illusion, and she’d wound up feeling used and like a total slut for sleeping with Dom after knowing him for only a few hours.

Even though they’d run into each other twice in the last year, they hadn’t spoken a word about what had happened either time. And she hadn’t slept with any man since. She couldn’t. The experience had totally shattered what little self-confidence she’d had, and now she felt as if she were starting at ground zero all over again.

She didn’t know exactly where her lack of confidence and self-esteem came from. Yes, I do. It came from what her grandparents and the rest of the Van Rensler clan had done to her. And as a result, she’d learned to put on a happy, smiling façade and get what she needed from people without having to emotionally invest.

Never again. Ever.

Unwilling to spoil Alex’s moment, she abruptly ended their hug. “I think I’ll get that champagne now.”

As they broke apart, she couldn’t bear to look at her friend’s face. She knew what she’d see. Sympathy. Alex knew everything, including what had happened between her and Dom. Alex had later tried to convince her that Dom wasn’t such a rat bastard, but Daisy knew better. Dominick Carew had suckered her in, made her feel like they had a connection that only came around once in a lifetime, then left her bed in the middle of the night without so much as a gee, you were great in the sack, babe.

Inside the little chamber adjacent to the bride’s ready room, Cassie, Moira, and Emily were busy clinking glasses and sipping champagne.

“Is she all set?” Cassie asked, looking radiant in the long, pink silk bridesmaid dress Alex had chosen for all of them.

Considering that five months ago Cassie had given birth to an eight-pound seven-ounce baby boy, she already looked svelte and fabulous again. Daisy had been looking forward to meeting the little tyke, but Cassie and Mike had dropped him off with Mike’s parents for the weekend.

“All set and ready for champagne.” Daisy plastered on a beaming smile that she so didn’t feel. She watched the other women grab their glasses and hustle next door to be with Alex.

She remained behind to examine herself in the full-length mirror, wishing she were slim like Alex, or lithe and athletic like Cassie, not tall and with more curves than she cared for. Not that she was fat. Hardly. Three Body Combat workouts a week, jam-packed with aerobic punches, kicks, and strikes kept her weight in check, but she’d never have that elegant style or delicate grace she envied. Alex had it. It was in everything her friend said and everything she did.

Her best friend was not only inordinately beautiful but innately kind, backed by an inner core of steel. That, at least, was one thing they had in common. Like Alex, she wasn’t the kind of woman to be shoved aside or walked on. Except for that one time when she’d let down her guard and gotten her heart stomped on by a pair of size twelve police-issued shit-kickers.

More like mashed into the ground.

Turning to the side in front of the mirror, she craned her neck to look at the back of her dress. It was similar to the other bridesmaids’ dresses, but instead of a sweetheart neckline hers had a V-neckline and crisscrossing back straps to accommodate her well-endowed bust. As bridesmaid dresses went, this one was quite flattering. And she had to admit she didn’t look half bad.

More laughter and giggling came to her ears from the room next door. Rather than partake of champagne, Daisy headed out to the church to check on the flowers she’d so painstakingly selected and adorned the pews and altar with.

From the back of the church, she breathed in the scents of polished wood and fresh flowers. All around her, the church was coming to life in preparation for the impending nuptials. The photographer and his assistants were busy setting up cameras and lights. The ancient organ piped in music from somewhere high above the rows and rows of pews. Every pew end was adorned with a cascade of white roses, orchids, stephanotis, and long, wispy strands of variegated ivy, all courtesy of her shop, Highland Floral.

She scanned the interior of Saint Bartholomew’s Church, Saint Bart’s as it was affectionately called. It was a lovely old church on Park Avenue in Manhattan. Built in 1835, with magnificent bronze doors, barrel-vaulted, stained-glass panels and windows, and the most beautiful bas-reliefs depicting the Old and New Testaments. The perfect setting for Alex and Gray’s wedding.

A few early guests mingled at the back of the church, waiting to be seated by groomsmen. Daisy frowned at one of the cascades that had come partially detached and hung at an odd angle from a pew end, threatening to fall onto the white aisle runner. As she moved down the aisle, her silk dress made delicate swishing noises. Several of the groomsmen waved to her from the altar, including Cassie’s husband, Mike, and Gray’s brothers, Nick and Jess. All looked incredibly tall and handsome in classic black tuxedos adorned with tiny red rosebud boutonnieres in their breast pockets.

Leaning down, she put her nose to the flowers, inhaling that wonderful, fresh smell she’d loved since she was a child. Her mother had always made sure there was a vase of pretty flowers in Daisy’s bedroom every day.

Watching Gray’s groomsmen together at the front of the church, she was reminded of how much fun they’d had at the rehearsal dinner the previous night. Not only were they all gorgeous to the max, they were funny, intelligent, and successful in various law enforcement jobs. Gray’s brothers were single, and they’d both flirted with her mercilessly, making her laugh more than she had in months, but there were simply no sparks. It was just as well, since the last time she’d been sparked, the results had been disastrous.