Page 165 of The Wedding

They were well down the street by now. “I have no idea, Jam. They’re your friends.”Jamie felt a zap of scandal on her friend’s behalf, but passed out on the long drive home before she had the chance to text anyone.

It was half past midnight by the time they reached the manor. Beatrice and Harris were already in their house for the night, and Saul was knocked out in his guest room since he was still on farm time. That left Luna borrowing Jamie’s phone to text Etta about their arrival.

She met them at the bottom of the grand staircase, where the cab driver and Luna passed Jamie off like the drunken bride she was. Etta made sure the driver got a generous tip before saying goodnight to Luna and carrying Jamie upstairs to their room. She was still dressed in her trousers and nicest cotton dress shirt, which meant she had yet to even shower. Her musky odor that had accumulated over that long day roused Jamie – and aroused her, because her appetite had never diminished even though she was drunker than drunk.

“Glad you had fun,” Etta said, laying Jamie on their bed and helping her undress. “Although I’m sure you won’t be having much fun tomorrow morning.”

She sleepily pawed at Etta’s trousers. “Fuck me,” she growled. “So many babes tonight. I didn’t touchanyof them.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Etta pulled Jamie’s dress over her head and unsnapped the back of her bra. “Do you want a T-shirt or a nightgown?”

“No, no, you gotta fuck me. I’m so horny.”

“Maybe later. You need to sleep.”

Jamie couldn’t argue with that. She was out like a room full of lights the moment one of her T-shirts draped across her naked body.

Chapter 53

The door’s locked, right?That was one of the constant thoughts flitting through Jamie’s mind as she lay back on her fiancée’s home office desk, legs spread and the woman herself going to town.Shit, if someone walks in on us…

She lost that thought. Including the ones about her recent hangover that lasted two days and the wedding of the year she was supposed to be having in three weeks.

“Why do you do this to me?” Etta groaned, pinning Jamie down on the desk so she could fuck her harder. “I swear you do it so… so…”See?She was losing her thoughts too.

Jamie wanted to writhe against the desk, but was powerless to do so.Anyway, I’m down for being pinned.Particularly if it meant she was on the other end of Etta’s physical machinations.

Jamie gripped the edge of the desk as she threw her head back with a wail that was probably loud enough to summon Beatrice vacuuming the hallway.

It wasn’t often Etta stayed home to work on a weekday, but her downtown office was closed for HVAC repairs. Usually, Jamie didn’t like todisturb her, but she timed when Etta’s break would be and arrived wearing nothing but a loose pink dress that would be easy to move out of the way.For sex, of course. Jamie owed her for the madness Saturday night.

“Hot fucking damn.” Etta sat up, exhausted. “Shame I have to get back to work.” She fixed her shirt and shook out her wrist. “I should be hauling you to bed and worshiping your form for the rest of the afternoon.”

Jamie grabbed some tissue from a silver box.Every businesswoman’s best friend.In case you have to sneeze at your desk… of course.

“You’re gorgeous,” Etta reiterated, kissing her before Jamie had the chance to leave. “Stay gorgeous until after dinner. I’ll give you some more later. To make up for a lack of afternoon marathons.”

Jamie, too drunk again – this time on sex – wandered away. “There will be plenty of time for that on the honeymoon.”

“I fully plan on spending our honeymoon doing nothing but making love to you.”

Jamie would hold her to it.

She emerged from the water closet five minutes later as someone knocked on the office door. It was Beatrice, informing Jamie that she had a guest.

Natasha did not look like she was there for much pleasure. Her face was grim, body language frigid as she spent a precious day off coming all the way up to do nothing but walk with Jamie in the gardens, far away from the busy household.

“Spill,” Jamie said, the moment they sat on a bench overlooking a prism of flowers. “And appreciate how serene this garden is right now. Next time you see it, I’ll be getting married in it.” Construction started that weekend.

Natasha asked if she could pluck a tulip from the garden. Jamie opened her arms wide, alerting her friend that she was more than welcomed to pluck every bulb from the garden behind them. She returned with a single red tulip, sniffing it… and plucking one of the petals.

“I hate Amanda.”

“Uh-huh.”

Natasha tossed the petal onto the ground. “I’m serious. She wants to make my lifehard.”

“You gonna expand on that?”