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Jordan burst into laughter
“You’re the only person I knoho seems to be immune to his charms He treats you like a sister”
Aunt Nora clapped her hands “Okay, everyone It’s tio”
Kate grabbed Jordan’s ar until you promise”
“Oh, all right I’ll do it”
The truain Since Jordan was to be the first to walk down the aisle, she was nervous and clutched her bouquet to her waist with both hands She’d always been known as the family klutz, but she was determined not to trip over her own feet today She would pay attention and concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other
She waited in the center of the doorway until she heard Aunt Nora whisper, “Go”
She took a deep breath and started walking The aisle see in front of the altar, Noah waited When she was halfway there, he ca in his tuxedo She relaxed No one was paying her any attention Every eye—at least every female eye—was on Noah
She concentrated on his smile and took hold of his arm For a brief second she looked into his eyes and saw the limmer
Oh, Lord, she had her work cut out for her
THE CEREMONY WAS BEAUTIFUL TEARS ROLLED DOWN JORDAN’S cheeks when her brother and her best friend exchanged vows She thought no one had noticed her red eyes, but when she took hold of Noah’s ar out of the church, he leaned down to her and whispered, “Crybaby”
Of course he’d noticed He never
After additional photos were taken, the attendants were separated, and Jordan ended up riding to the reception with the bride and groo on the hood of the car, for all they noticed They only had eyes for each other
Kate and Dylan had entered the country club ahead of everyone else, and Jordan stood outside on the steps waiting for the rest of the wedding party to come up the circle drive to join her
It was a beautiful evening, but there was a slight chill in the air, which was unusual for this time of year in South Carolina The ballroom’s French doors were opened to the side terrace Tables had already been prepared with long white linen tablecloths topped with candles and centerpieces of roses and hydrangeas Jordan knew the reception was going to be fabulous, the food exceptional—she’d gotten to taste some of Kate’s selections—and the band superb Jordan didn’t plan on doingday, and she was running out of steam A cool breeze swept across the veranda and made her shiver She rubbed her bare arown she earing, but it definitely wasn’t designed to keep a body warm
The cold wasn’t the only thing bothering her Her contact lenses were driving her crazy Fortunately, she’d tucked her glasses into Noah’s tuxedo jacket along with her lens case and lipstick Too bad she hadn’t thought to shove a cardigan in there
She heard laughter and turned just in tier sister, Isabel, take hold of Noah’s aro
Isabel was a blond, blue-eyed beauty, but then so was Noah Isabel’s coloring was quite sih he towered over her, they could have been related Now that’s a creepy thought, Jordan decided, since Isabel was blatantly flirting with him She was such an innocent Noah wasn’t Kate’s sister was a very young nineteen, and fro up at Noah with such adoration in her eyes, it was apparent she was already under his spell To his credit, Noah wasn’t encouraging her In fact, he wasn’t paying much attention to her at all Instead, he was intently listening to Zachary, the youngest Buchanan
“Gotcha”
Jordan hadn’t heard anyone approaching and flinched in reaction Her brother Michael poked her in her side and was now standing beside her grinning like an idiot When he was a child, he loved to sneak up on her and their sister, Sidney, and scare the be-jesus out of theht he’d outgrown the horrid behavior, but apparently he soressed when he was around her Coressed when they were around her
“What are you doing out here?” Michael asked
“Waiting”
“Thatfor?”
“The other bridesmaids, but mostly Isabel I’m supposed to keep her away from Noah”
Michael turned and took in the scene at the bottorinned “How’s that working out?”
“So far so good”
He laughed while watching Isabel She’d finally et Noah’s full attention Her face was flushed
“What we have here is a three-way,” Michael surmised
“Excuse me?”
“Look at them,” he said “Isabel’s all starry-eyed over Noah; Zachary’s all starry-eyed over Isabel; and from th
e scary look on that wo for dinner, I’d have to say she’s a ed as he added, “Actually it’s a four-way”
“This is not a three-way, a four-way, or a ten-way,” Jordan argued
“I believe ten-ould be called orgies Ever heard of those?”
She was not about to let hi his best to get Isabel to notice hi backflips
“That’s just sad,” Jordan said, shaking her head
“Zack?”
She nodded
“I can’t blae The body, the face…without a doubt, she is—”
“Nineteen, Michael She’s nineteen”
“Yeah, I know She’s too young for Noah and me, and she thinks she’s too old for Zachary”
A car carrying their parents pulled up to the entrance to the club Jordan noticed that a bodyguard e as they uard rushed up the stairs ahead of him
Michael nudged Jordan and said, “You don’t need to be worrying about the bodyguards”
“You aren’t worried?”
“Maybe a little The thing is, the trial’s gone on for so long now, I’ve gotten used to our father with his shadows It will all be over in a couple of weeks after the sentencing” He nudged her again “Put all that out of your ht, okay?”
“Yes, okay,” she pro to do it
“You should start celebrating,” he said when she continued to look worried “You’re footloose and fancy-free now that you’ve sold your co in the world you want”
“What if I don’t knohat I want?”
“You’ll figure it out in time,” he said “You’ll probably stay in computers, don’t you think?”
Jordan didn’t knohat she would do She supposed she would be wasting her degrees if she didn’t continue working with computers in some capacity She was one of a very feomen to excel in coe corporation, but she’d ended up for her own company, and with her fae success She had spent the last several years working nonstop However, when another company offered to buy her out at a phenomenal price, she didn’t hesitate to sell She was restless and ready for a change