She shouldn't have said it.
She shouldn't have said anything. But she had.
And now she had to follow through.
What had been her motivation?
Impressing Philip or finding Brady?
A morning of questions, a burned-down barn, and now the bride was
missing. Well, she'd turn up. She always had been a diva. Brady Kenton would never stay missing long
enough to actually worry people. She'd
show up at just the right time, giving everyone a thrill of relief, and assuring
herself of at least a month's worth of attention. And in the meantime, it was up to Fiona to
pick up the pieces. Fiona Kenton, sister
to the diva, was fed up. As soon as Philip had shown up at the church
that morning, Fiona had known something wasn't right.
She'd
left Brady at the inn knowing she wouldn't be missed amongst the oohing and
aahing over her dress and hair and jewels and tried to beat everyone to the
church that morning in hopes of some peace and quiet before the big event. Philip had shown up only moments after
her. He'd found her sitting quietly in
one of the middle church pews, head bowed, hands folded. He'd stood silently still until he saw that
she'd finished her prayer and then he quietly asked, "Everything
alright?"
Fiona
had jumped slightly. She'd been so
caught up in her prayer and her thoughts that she'd almost forgotten her
surroundings. She'd looked up into
Philip's beautiful blue eyes and said, "Yes. Everything's wonderful. Just praying for the happy couple." Lie.
Lie. Lie. Well, she had
been praying for them...to never get married.
To realize they were totally wrong for each other. To part friends and encourage each other to
move on. To awaken to the reality that
it was she, Fiona, who belonged with Philip Arber. Philip Arber, handsome, successful, tender --
"Fi,
are you okay? You look a
little...dazed." Philip had stepped
closer and laid the back of his hand on Fiona's forehead.
She
jumped again. To feel his touch. To see the concern for her in his eyes. She'd almost allowed a sigh of pleasure to
escape her lips. She'd shaken herself
back to the moment at hand. Philip's
wedding . Philip's and Brady's
wedding. She had backed away a little
and said, "I'm just excited for the both of you. Where's Brady? Didn't she ride with you to the
church?" It had been just like her
sister to insist on doing away with silly traditions like the groom not seeing
the bride before the wedding. They had
planned to ride to the church together but Philip had arrived alone.
Philip
had looked questioningly at Fiona and asked, "She's not already here? She left a note saying she came to the church
early with you!"
That
was when Fiona's stomach had done a dive.
For the next three hours, as people arrived at the church, search parties
were formed, phone calls were made, and the panicked chaos of a missing bride
ensued. Fiona had asked Philip to
accompany her to the barn where they'd planned to hold the reception in hopes
of finding Brady there. When the two had
gotten there, they found the place engulfed in flames. Philip had completely broken down. Fiona had called the authorities and after a
thorough dousing and professional search, she had been assured there'd been no
one inside the barn. Wherever Brady was,
it hadn't been in the church nor the barn.
And while everyone else was beside themselves with worry, Fiona could
feel nothing but anger.
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