JCastle - H1 Bridal Jitters Read Online Free Page A

a sip of the sparkling
    wine    punch.   She    coughed   and    sputtered.   Heat    infused   her   cheeks.
    Unfortunately,   she reflected   glumly, bright   pink was not   her best color,
    especially on her face. She glanced wildly   around to make sure no one   else
    had   overheard Adeline's   outrageous question.   The offices of   Gage & Burch
    were crowded   with   friends and   colleagues,   some   of whom   she   could   not
    recognize   because, even though they   were here to celebrate her engagement,
    most wore masks and   costumes. It was Halloween   week, after all;   otherwise
    known   here in Cadence as party-till-you-drop week. She wondered if the fact
    that her friends had cho- Charmed
     
    sen to throw a surprise   engagement party with a   Halloween theme was a   bad
    omen. Not that she needed any more to warn her that her forthcoming marriage
    was probably a huge   mistake. Luckily someone had   cranked up the volume   of
    the   music. The throbbing beat of a rez-rock song created a blanket of white
    noise that effectively shrouded conversations. As far as she could tell,   no
    one    had   overheard    Adeline's   question    about   the    sexual   habits   of
    ghost-hunters.
    "Uh," Virginia   said. To   buy herself   some time,   she groped   for a   napkin
    decorated   with a   cartoon picture of   a woman in   a pointy black   hat and a
    cape, riding a broomstick. "Uh, well--"
    "I've heard the stories," Adeline   continued, eyes gleaming. "And if   you'll
    recall,   I dated that good-looking hunter for a while. The one with the blue
    eyes and the curly black hair. I can't remember his name."
    "Brett." It   was   hard to   keep   up   with Adeline's   ever-changing   list   of
    boyfriends, Virginia thought. But Brett had been memorable mostly because he
    had been   a swaggering   braggart. Of   course, a   lot of   ghost-hunters   were
    swaggering   braggarts.   But not   Sam. Whatever   else   he was,   he was   not a
    typical hunter. She   glanced across the   room to where   her new   combination
    fiance/business   partner   stood talking   with   one of   the guests.   Sam Gage
    didn't have to   do any   bragging, she thought   wistfully. You   knew just   by
    looking   at   him that   he   could take   care of   himself   and any   ghost that
    happened along. She was pretty   sure he'd be terrific   in bed, too, but   she
    was   beginning   to think   she might   never find   out the   truth of   that for
    herself.
    "Oh, yeah, right," Adeline said. "Brett. That was his name. At any rate,   he
    made   some   very   interesting   claims and   promises.   Ghost-hunters   are not
    exactly shy when it comes to B R ID A L J I T T E R S 5
    telling you about   their sexual   prowess. But our   relationship didn't   last
    long enough for me to run an experiment. Anyhow, I'm curious. I realize it's
    none of my business--"
    "No, it's not."
    "But I am your very best friend in the entire world," Adeline reminded   her.
    "If you can't tell me, who can you tell?"
    Virginia   cleared her throat and decided to   be honest. "Sorry, I'm not in a
    position to answer your question."
    Adeline looked dumbfounded. "You're not? But you're going to marry Sam Gage.
    He's a hunter. This is your engagement party."
    "Oddly enough, it looks more like a Halloween party to me."
    "Okay,   okay, so we   decided to give   it a theme. All   the best parties have
    themes. I read it in last month's issue of Harmonic Home & Garden."
    "I can't   believe   Harmonic   Home   &   Garden   told   you   that   Halloween   is
    considered an appropriate theme for an engagement party."
    "Personally,   I thought it was kind   of original." Adeline looked across the
    crowded room   to where   Sam   stood. A   speculative   light glittered   in   her
    deceptively   innocent eyes. "Are