Page 37 of The Worst Best Man

“A. She’s my half-sister,” Aiden said, jumping on the crazy train that Frankie was engineering “And B. I can’t help it if I come from anaffectionatefamily!”

“Oh, puh-lease!” Frankie’s scoff nearly knocked her off her feet. “Affectionate? Your grandmother grabbed my ass at Thanksgiving.”

“She wanted to see how the butt lift I paid for turned out.” He nodded toward the exit.

“Excuse me. I earned this butt lift!”

They kept up the argument for posterity’s sake, storming away from the front desk. As they passed, Aiden heard one of the audience whispering.

“What can you expect from a reality TV star and a male prostitute?”

News traveled fast.

He hauled Frankie outside. She started laughing the second their feet hit the resort’s grand circular drive. “You’re insane,” he told her.

“Oh, please. I saw that look on your face. You were thinking about kissing the hell out of me back there. And it wouldn’t have worked the second time around.”

“Why not?” he asked, rubbing a hand over the cheek she’d so efficiently slapped.

“I don’t make the same mistake twice, Kilbourn. And you’re a big, fat mistake. Now, come on. I think room 314 is that way.” Aiden watched in fascination as Frankie pulled a map of the resort out of her cleavage.

“Where did you get that?” Aiden snatched the map from her.

“At the desk.”

“We’re not going after Chip.”

“Excuse me? We know where he is, and all of the sudden, you want to call it a night?”

“What do you want to do? Knock on the door and demand that they give him back?”

“It’s a start! I’m not leaving my friend here.”

Aiden gripped her upper arm and started pulling her toward the cab desk. “We have the upper hand here. What we need is a plan. I have to go figure out who has him, and if I can do that, I’ll know why they took him.” The lie was easy. He already knew the who and the why, but he wasn’t about to add Frankie into the mix. He wasn’t sure who she’d murder first.

“I’m not leaving Chip here with some kidnapping asshole! Let’s call security or the cops!”

“We’re not calling anyone,” he said, tightening his grip on her arm.

“Why in the hell not? We know where he is!”

“We don’t know who took him or why. We know that he’s here and they’re feeding him. And that means he’s safe. For now.”

“For now?” She tried to wrestle her arm free. “Did you just track down his abductor because you were curious where they took him? And now, curiosity appeased, you want to go back to the resort for some margaritas and see how this plays out?”

Aiden rounded on her. “Look. Believe me when I say your loyalty is admirable. But we need to regroup. I need a plan. If we go in there half-cocked, it could be disastrous.”

When her gaze slid to his crotch, Aiden rolled his eyes. “Stop looking at my cock. We’re leaving.”

Chapter Fifteen

He walked her to her room as if she were a prisoner. They’d spent the entire ride in silence as Frankie stewed and Aiden plotted. She understood that there was a time and a place for planning and manipulation, but when a friend was in danger? That seemed like the ideal time to kick in a door and start making noise.

With barely controlled rage, Frankie swiped her keycard. She intended to storm into the room and slam the door in Aiden’s face, but he was faster. He caught her by the arm and forced her to look at him. “I appreciate all your help tonight. But I’ve got this handled now.”

“Excuse me, Lone Ranger?”

“Franchesca, I need you to trust me to fix this. I promise you, I’ll get Chip back before the wedding.”