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THIS WEDDING WAS NO SMALL AFFAIR THERE WERE SEVEN bridesrooh firepower inside the church to wipe out half the congregation All but two of the groomsmen were armed
The federal agents weren’t happy about the crowd, but they kneould be pointless to coe Buchanan, wasn’t about to miss such an auspicious occasion, no e was in thecase back in Boston, and the federal agents assigned to protect him would continue their detail until the trial was over and a decision had been rendered
The church was packed to capacity The Buchanans were such a large faroom’s relatives and friends spilled over to the bride’s side Most had traveled to the little town of Silver Springs, South Carolina, from Boston, but there were several Buchanan cousins who had come all the way froe of Dylan Buchanan and Kate MacKenna
The bride and groo was a joyous occasion, but it never would have happened if it weren’t for Dylan’s sister, Jordan Kate and Jordan were best friends and had been rooe The first time Jordan took Kate to her faathered to celebrate their father’s birthday Jordan certainly had no intention of , and she definitely wasn’t aware at the time that there had been a spark between Kate and her brother Dylan, so years later when the spark ignited into a flaed, no one was more surprised—or thrilled—than she
Every last detail of the happy event had been anizer, and so she was given the responsibility of dressing up the church for the occasion Adotten a little carried away She’d put flowers everywhere, both inside and outside the church Raspberry pink roses and creanolias lined the stone ay, their lovely scent greeting guests as they arrived Pink and white roses delicately intertwined with baby’s breath in large wreaths ide, lace-tri down on each side of the old weathered double doors Jordan had actually considered giving the doors a fresh coat of paint but at the last minute had come to her senses and left them alone
Kate had also asked Jordan to take care of the n a pianist and a singer for the ceremony and ended up with an orchestra There were violins, a piano, a flute, and two trumpets Seated in the balcony, thecelebrants When the groomsmen lined up in front of the altar, the music was to stop; the trumpets would then sound, the croould rise to their feet, and the poin
The bride and brides room just off the vestibule The tiin the ceremony, but they were silent Kate sent Jordan to find out what the delay was
Mozart’s lovely notes covered the noise of the door squeaking as Jordan peeked inside the church She spotted one of the federal agents standing in an alcove on the left side of the church and tried not to think about the reason he was there The bodyguards weren’t really necessary, she thought, considering all the law enforcement professionals in her faents, one was a federal attorney, one was a Navy SEAL in training, one was a cop, and the youngest, Zachary, was in college and hadn’t yet decided which side of the law lookedat the altar would be Noah Clayborne, a close friend of the faent
The agents assigned to her father didn’t care how many others there were Their job was clearly defined, and they wouldn’t be distracted by the celebration Jordan finally decided that they were a co and stop worrying
She spotted one of her brothers slowlyhis way toward the back of the church It was Alec, Dylan’s best one all out for the wedding He worked undercover, but he’d cut his hair for the occasion, an impressive consideration on his part to be sure His job usually required that he dress and look like a deranged serial killer Jordan had barely recognized hiht before Now Alec stopped to speak to one of the bodyguards She waved to get his attention and motioned for him to step out to the vestibule
As the door closed behind hi? It’s time”
“Dylan sent me back to tell Kate that we’ll start in a couple of minutes,” he answered
Alec’s collar was partially inverted, and she reached up to fix it “Your collar’s folded over,” she said before he could ask “Quit squir”
When she had finished with the collar and straightened his tie, she stepped back Alec cleaned up nice, she thought The funny thing was, Regan, his wife, loved his to people, Jordan decided
“Is Kate worried that Dylan will take off?” Alec asked with a glint in his eye that told her he was joking They were only a couple of minutes late now
“Not really,” Jordan answered “She left five o”
He shook his head “Not funny,” he said, grinning “I’ve got to get back”
“Wait You still haven’t explained e’re waiting Is so?”
“Stop worrying Nothing’s wrong” He was about to go back inside but suddenly stopped “Jordan?”
“Yes?”
“You look nice”
It would have been a lovely coave compliments if Alec himself hadn’t looked so surprised by his observation
She was about to return the favor when the outer church doors flew open, and Noah Clayborne ca his tie
Theimpression Women loved him, and Jordan had to ad, handsome—he was a man’s man and a woman’s fantasy His sandy blond h
air was always slightly in need of a tri blue eyes sparkled with rins
“Am I late?” he asked
“No, it’s good,” Alec said “Okay, Jordan, we can start now”
“Where have you been?” she asked Noah, exasperated
Rather than answering, he gave her a quick once-over, s her hands up He’d been with a woible
She should have been peeved, but instead she laughed To be that free, that uninhibited…Jordan couldn’t iine what that would feel like But Noah certainly knew the feeling
Jordan hurried back to the waiting room, pushed the door open, and said, “It’s time”
Kate motioned for Jordan to come to her “What was the hold-up?” she asked
“Noah He just got here If I had to guess, I’d say he ith a woman”
“That’s not a guess,” Kate whispered “It’s a given I had no idea what a playboy he was until I saw it for ht with three of my bridesot to the church this ”
Jordan crossed her ar to decide which of the bridesmaids had disappeared with Noah “Shame on him,” she remarked
“Oh, it wasn’t all his fault,” Kate replied “They illingly”
Kate’s aunt Nora announced that they weren’t going anywhere until they heard the truan to line everyone up
Kate motioned Jordan closer “I need to ask a favor It’s kind of a tough one”
Difficult or not, it didn’t h thick and thin for Jordan, and Jordan would do anything she could to help her
“You name it I’ll do it,” she said
“Would you please make Noah behave?”
Okay,Jordan took a breath and whispered, “You’re asking the ihable It would be easier to teach a bear to use a coive it my all But Noah? Come on, Kate…”
“Actually, it’s just Isabel I’lued herself to his side at the rehearsal?”
“Is that why you paired ? To keep your little sister away from him?”
“No,” she said “But after seeing Isabel in action last night, I’lad I did I can’t blame her Noah’s adorable Aside from Dylan, of course, I think he’s one of the sexiest men I’ve ever met He oozes charisma, doesn’t he?”
Jordan nodded “Oh, yes”
“I don’t want Isabel to become another NCG,” she said “And I don’t want anyparty to disappear suddenly”
“What is an NCG?” she asked
Kate grinned “A Noah Clayborne Groupie”