Hired Bride

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Book: Read Hired Bride for Free Online
Authors: Jackie Merritt
you.”
    That was just the beginning. By the time everyone went into the designated tent for the wedding ceremony, Gwen’s head was spinning with names and faces. Not so much that she didn’t notice the elegant decorations inside the tent, however. It was all so lovely, so tastefully done, she thought emotionally. She had never pined for great wealth, but from what she’d seen so far today, wealth did have its advantages. If she had to pay for a wedding, for example, it would have none of the glamorous pageantry of this affair. Her thoughts drifted to the future, and she hoped ardently that when the time came for her children to marry she would have the financial means to at least help them pay for a memorable wedding.
    She remained emotional throughout the ceremony. The bride was beautiful in a stunning white gown, and the groom was extraordinarily handsome in a formalgray cutaway suit. Their attendants were beautifully attired.
    Zane and Gwen had been seated in the second row of chairs, almost directly behind Zane’s father, Ryan, and the bride’s mother, Lily Cassidy. Gwen was positive she had never met a more beautiful woman than Lily, who possessed an exotic, ageless beauty. Gwen recalled meeting Cole Cassidy, Lily’s son, and his fiancée Annie, and then meeting a young woman named Maria Cassidy, who had been standing alone. Was Maria another one of Lily’s children? Gwen wondered. If she was, she was very different from the rest of her family. Of course, Gwen reasoned, she hadn’t yet met Hannah Cassidy, or rather Hannah Malone, she amended just as the minister said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
    As the bride and groom kissed, people began rising. Parker and Hannah, arm-in-arm and wearing big smiles, swept down the aisle.
    Gwen and Zane stood up. “It was a beautiful wedding,” Gwen said huskily, still feeling emotional.
    â€œI think weddings are catching,” Zane said with a laugh. “There’ve been almost a dozen of them among my friends and family in less than two years. Did I tell you I’m the last holdout in the Fortune family?”
    â€œI don’t remember your mentioning it,” Gwen said rather dryly. “But I knew there had to be a reason why your female relatives believe it’s your turn.”
    â€œAnd speaking of my single status, Gwen, you’ve been doing a great job. I’ve overheard comments. ‘Who is she?’ ‘How did Zane meet her?’ ‘She’s quite lovely, isn’t she?’ Things like that. You’ve got them all talking and wondering.” Zane took Gwen’s elbow and steered her into the aisle.
    â€œThen I guess I’m earning my pay,” Gwen said, deliberately striving to sound a bit sarcastic. She’d been slowly but surely becoming unnerved being with Zane. It was extremely discomfiting to look directly at him, especially into his cobalt-blue eyes. It wasn’t just his outstanding good looks that troubled her, either, it was him! All of him— his aura, his smile, his voice, his grace of movement. In truth, she could find no flaw in Zane Fortune. He was intelligent, friendly and charming. And he exuded a sex appeal that any woman would have to be totally numb not to feel. It was especially prevalent when he touched her as he was doing now, with a completely innocent hold on her elbow to escort her from the wedding tent.
    Gwen wasn’t at all numb, and her involuntary reactions to Zane were making her nervous. The second they were outside the tent, she moved her arm just enough to discretely get rid of his hand.
    She could see that the mingling had begun again. People were milling, talking and laughing. “Come on,” Zane said. “You have to meet the bride and groom.”
    â€œOf course,” she murmured, and once again he took her elbow, this time to steer her toward the newlyweds. After introductions, Gwen offered

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