Some Like It Sizzling
Chapter One
The wedding was perfect. Or, it would have been. If the groom had shown up.
Jenna had planned everything down to the last detail. The 150-year-old church she’d picked was a historic landmark, filled with handcrafted wood, medieval stained glass, and gothic tapestries. The church had been featured in more than one bridal magazine, putting a premium on rental and having a waiting list so long she should have been old and bottle blonde before making it to the top. The only reason she’d been able to book was through a connection of Hal’s.
White lilies filled the sanctuary, accented with purple ribbon. Three hundred and fifty guests were waiting in the pews, waiting for the bridesmaids, who wore strapless, lavender cocktail dresses, to lead the way to the altar, clutching bouquets of calla lilies, and for the flower girl to sprinkle pink rose petals on the white silk covering the aisle.
Three hundred and fifty guests were waiting for the bride to arrive on her father’s arm, breathtakingly beautiful in a Vera Wang gown.
Jenna was waiting for the groom.
The door to the bridal suite opened, but Jenna kept her position at the window, staring out at the torrential downpour. She’d picked Labor Day weekend for the wedding, since it was usually mild weather in Chicago. She couldn’t remember the last one with this kind of rain. Somehow, it was fitting.
“Jen,” her best friend, Ashton Grey-Cates, whispered.
People always whispered when bad things happened, as if normal volume would make the pain that much worse. She put her hand against the foggy window, dampness sinking into her skin. “He’s not here.” Yet lingered in the air, unspoken.
Ashton put a hand on Jenna’s shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze. Well, it would have been comforting if Jenna could feel anything. Numbness had set in forty-five minutes ago.
“I sent Ty to the apartment to make sure he’s not there,” Ashton said about her husband. “Chloe and Griffin are calling around to local hospitals, just in case.”
“I didn’t talk to him this morning,” Jenna said, not wanting to even acknowledge the idea of her other best friend, Chloe Nelson, and Chloe’s fiancé, Griffin Lange, making calls to see if Hal was lying in some hospital bed. “I thought I should uphold at least some wedding traditions, and not see him or speak to him before the wedding. I shouldn’t have stayed at your place last night.”
Hal had been fine at the rehearsal dinner, hadn’t he? Jenna searched her brain for any oddity in his behavior, anything he’d said or done that would have clued her in to his disappearance today. But, to her embarrassment, she could barely remember conversing with Hal. She’d been too busy entertaining their guests.
Jenna finally tore her gaze from the rain and turned to Ashton, who was leaning against a chair, rubbing her lower back. “What are you doing? Sit down!” Although she was only seven months pregnant, Ashton looked like she could pop at any moment.
Ashton hesitated as she looked at the chair with longing. “I know you don’t want the dress to wrinkle.”
Jenna rolled her eyes, even as she admitted to herself that Ashton’s words were true. She hadn’t wanted the dresses wrinkled, either walking down the aisle or in the pictures. But what did it matter now?
“Please, sit,” she said, pressing a hand on Ashton’s shoulder to make sure her point was clear. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
Ashton sat with a sigh of relief, but Jenna couldn’t bring herself to do the same. What if Hal had just been delayed because of the rain? What if he walked in at any moment? He’d want her to look perfect, to make everyone forget he’d been late.
But even as she made excuses for him in her head, she knew he wasn’t coming.
Appearances were as significant as breathing to Hal, and his colleagues and every important client in his accounting firm were sitting in the church. Hal would never leave them to wait an hour. This wedding had been more for the guests than the bride and groom, which was why Jenna had agreed to go so far over budget. If it would help Hal succeed in his career, she was on board. Because his success meant more security for her.
Not that she was a deadbeat who needed a man to take care of her. Four years ago, Jenna had returned from living abroad when Ashton had offered her a partnership in her new restaurant. Ashton would be executive chef, their third partner, Chloe, would be pastry chef, and Jenna would be the general manager. She hadn’t known anything about the restaurant business, but she’d thrown herself into learning, and she was damn good at her job. Plus, she made a decent income. That, combined with Hal’s compensation and drive for success, meant she never had to worry about where she would live or how she’d put food on the table.