Maybe she’d just been upset because her sister was the bride, and she was feeling jealous. Although that didn’t seem like Lara. But hadn’t she said her dress was pumpkin orange? Perhaps they’d changed dresses.
Then he caught sight of her, and his stomach tightened. Anger flooded him on her behalf.
Unlike the other women with their long hair curled and styled, her shorter hair was slightly disheveled. She didn’t have any makeup on, not that she needed it. But she looked pale and tired.
Or maybe she just appeared pale against the hideous orange color of her dress. It was so tight around the bottom of her legs that she kind of shuffled along like she was desperate to go to the toilet and didn’t want to move her legs too far apart.
She stared straight ahead, but he could hear the surrounding whispers around him. The quiet titters of amusement. And he knew by the tense way she held herself that she was barely holding on.
All the anger about her not telling him who her stepfather was drained away in the face of her embarrassment.
His poor baby.
The bitch who did this to her had to pay. His hands clenched into fists. He’d never hit a woman and never would . . . but damn, if anyone deserved it, then it was her sister.
Why would she humiliate her like this? For her own enjoyment? What a bitch.
Lara was better off away from these people. Lara reached the end of the aisle and then the bridal waltz started up. Chandler walked with Lara’s sister. Both of them were smiling widely, looking every bit the perfect, happy family. He knew differently. He turned his gaze away from the bride and kept his gaze fixated on Lara, trying to infuse her with some of his strength.
Keep strong, baby.
It’s nearly over.
Lara couldn’t look at anyone as she walked down the aisle. But then she had to stand at the end while Emily and Chandler made their grand entrance.
The bruise on her arm seemed to throb as they grew closer. She kept her gaze forward, not looking at anyone in particular.
Then her eyes met Butch’s and stayed there. He seemed to be trying to say something to her with those dark eyes. Damn, he looked gorgeous. He always did. Although she thought she preferred him in his tight shirts and jeans.
Her cowboy.
No. Not hers. He was out of her league.
God, she hated this. She wanted to leave.
Almost there. Tomorrow, you get your money, and you can finally leave.
That thought should have settled her stomach. But it still felt jittery and nervous. She kept her gaze on his for the entire ceremony. She jumped in surprise as everyone cheered while the groom kissed the bride.
Poor bastard.
Unfortunately, after the ceremony the entire bridal party had to go off to have photos. She spent the next two hours stuck with bitchy women who loved to backstab each other and everyone they knew. She kept getting placed at the edge of photos, and she knew why . . . so they could crop her out.
Suited her just fine. She didn’t want any reminders of this day.
At one stage, she tripped while trying to move around in her hideous dress and ended up falling on her ass.
All of Emily’s friends had laughed. Geoffrey had stepped forward as though to help her, but Emily had grabbed his arm and started whispering furiously to him. He’d sort of shrunk in on himself and she’d kind of felt sorry for him.
Kind of.
No one else had dared help her after that, so the poor photographer had to come to her aid since she couldn’t get up by herself.
Now she had a scrape on her elbow to add to the bruise on her wrist.
Awesome.
By the time they made it to the reception, she was exhausted and on edge. But before joining everyone, she had to duck into a bathroom to wash the dirt off her elbow.
Ouch. No one had even offered to help her clean up or anything. She took a few minutes to calm herself.
What doesn’t kill me . . .
She glanced at herself in the mirror. She looked worn-out. As though life had just become too much.
“You’re stronger than this, Lara. Think of the money.”
But she was beginning to think that no money was worth this. That there were more important things.
Like sexy cowboys. Like real friends.
But she still needed to eat. Somewhere to live.
However, perhaps she’d been wrong in thinking she had to leave straight away. What was to stop her from renting a place in Haven or Freestown? Getting a job here . . .
But you’ll be so close to Devotion.
Yeah. That was a big negative.
However, she could be close to Butch.
Big positive.
Only he might not see it the same way. Deciding she felt composed enough to face everyone, she turned the lock and stepped out of the bathroom.