Read The Wedding Trap (Second Service) for Free Online Page A

"Oh, Beth."
    "Yeah?"
    "I really like Charlie. I'm glad he could finally make it to something."
    Beth forced the smile to stay on her face until Isobel and Jordan disappeared inside the elevator. Then her shoulders slumped, and she sighed for real.
    She went to the lounge, and found a small table tucked into a corner. It was swallowed by shadow, the lights from the bar barely reaching it. The darkness suited her mood perfectly.
    It took the waitress a few minutes to notice her.
    "I'll have a Cosmopolitan,” Beth said, when she finally came to take her order.
    "And a soda water,” a deep voice said behind the waitress. Charlie stepped into view. "I hope you don't mind if I join you.”
    He pulled off his jacket and slung it over the back of the chair before he sat down.
    Apparently it wasn't a question.
    "Go right ahead," she said. If he noticed the sarcasm in her voice, he didn't show it. "Did you get your errand done?"
    He nodded.
    Beth considered probing further, but decided against it. Maybe with something like this it would be better to have plausible deniability. Wasn't that what they called it in the movies?
    "Good for you," she said.
    He looked at her but said nothing. The silence stretched on and on. Beth glanced down at her hands, then to the other tables in the lounge. Finally, she looked at the bar. She could feel Charlie's gaze on her, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, he was making her nervous. It felt as if he was looking inside her, studying her.
    "So," he said after an interminable minute had passed. "Talk to me about Charlie."
    Beth turned back to him, her eyes wide. "I thought you didn't need to know anything. You've been playing him all evening."
    "Not those details. Tell me how you came up with him."
    Beth didn't miss the command in his voice. He was a man used to asking questions and getting answers. For a second she thought of tossing off some flip remark, but then thought better of it. This day had drained the fight out of her.
    "I first came up with Charlie when I was in the seventh grade."
    His brows shot up, and Beth felt a little thrill of accomplishment. She wouldn't have guessed that there was much in this world that still managed to surprise him.
    "Billy Demers asked Hailey Cranston to the spring dance instead of me. I didn't want anyone to know how upset I was, so invented Charlie. I told Hailey it didn't matter because I already had a boyfriend who lived one town over."
    "But you can't bring a pretend boyfriend to the spring dance.”
    "No, you can't. That was why Charlie ended up having a karate competition that night."
    "Karate? I guess I'm pretty hardcore."
    "That you are."
    The waitress arrived with their drinks. Charlie pressed a bill into her hand and told her to keep the change before Beth could reach inside her purse. Going by the look on the woman's face, Charlie was a pretty nice tipper.
    "After that I pulled him...I mean you...out of my pocket when ever I needed to save face. There were a couple of times in high school. One very memorable night in college. You once even saved me from going on a blind date with a co-worker’s cousin."
    "I'm glad I could be of service."
    Beth raised her drink in mock salute to him. He smiled and took a sip of his own.
    "Isobel was the only one who knew the truth. She's the only person I've ever trusted to see me, warts and all."
    He quirked a brow.
    "They're metaphorical warts," she said.
    “Of course."
    Beth downed the rest of her martini. She looked down at the empty glass. "I could probably use another one of these.”
    Charlie waved his hand to get the waitress's attention.
    He ordered and paid again before she could say anything. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of being in debt to him. On the other hand, a couple of drinks was the least that he owed her.
    He turned back to focus on her. His blue eyes had darkened in the dim light. The flicker of the candle on the table shimmered in his irises. Shadows fell across his cheeks, calling