Page 169 of Bridesmaid for Hire
It takes a second for my eyes to focus on what’s in front of me, but then my heart sinks. Both Hudson and Hardy are holding Brody up—completely passed out.
“Oh my God,” I say, bending at the knees to try to look at Brody’s face, but he’s so slouched over, I can’t quite see him. “What happened?”
I hold the door open and move to the side to let them in.
As they drag Brody over to the bed, Hardy says, “One-hundred proof local moonshine. That’s what happened.”
“No,” I say as I shut the door and walk over to Brody’s limp form. “He told me he wasn’t going to really drink.”
Hardy tugs on his hair and sighs. “Shit, Maggie. I want to be honest with you, but I also…Christ, it wasn’t a good night.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, looking between the two brothers.
Hudson and Hardy exchange looks, communicating through the silence, and I know that whatever they’re holding back isn’t good. I need to know everything that happened.
“Listen, boys, I don’t know what happened tonight, good or bad, but I think it’s fair to let me know. This is my boyfriend and I need the details. Even if they might hurt me.”
“Oh.” Hudson holds up his hand. “If you’re thinking there was any interaction with a woman or anything like that, there wasn’t. It was just the guys tasting alcohol, chatting, and eating pretzels. There were no women involved.”
“Plus, Brody would never do anything to risk your relationship. He’s so fucking in love with you,” Hardy says.
In love…I don’t know about that. But I do believe that he’s into me. I know that for sure.
“Then what happened?” I ask.
Hudson plants his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels. “Our dad called him out for why he came to the wedding in the first place.”
“This was after forcing Brody to down multiple shot glasses of the moonshine while the rest of us were just taking tiny sips,” Hardy says.
“Then our dad proceeded to force him into talking about his proposal, which…didn’t go over well,” Hudson continues.
“And it was downhill from there,” Hardy says.
“Oh God.” I press my hand to my chest and stare down at Brody. “Did Reginald not like the proposal?”
Hudson shakes his head. “Brody never stood a chance.”
“Even with his offhand suggestion about the wedding thing,” Hardy says.
“What wedding thing?” I ask.
“Dad was spouting off about Deanna’s proposal and how it’s profitable,” Hudson says. “Anyway, Brody suggested some idea, he called it pocket wedding.” I feel all the life drain from my face. “Dad loved that because it would go hand in hand with Deanna’s proposal. Either way, he wants Deanna to move on it.”
“Are…are you sure he said ‘pocket wedding’?”
“Yeah, why?” Hardy asks.
I shake my head, feeling dizzy. Brody told Reginald about my pocket wedding concept? He sold my competitor my idea? God, I feel so…used. “Just wondering.”
I stare down at Brody, completely obliterated on the bed, the sense of adoration I just had for the man completely gone.How could he just steal my idea like that?Yeah, he was drunk, but that’s not an excuse. It was my idea, and now Devil Deanna will take the concept, run it with millions of dollars behind her, and blow everyone’s mind.It was my fucking idea. My chance to explode my business.Brody knew that. Brody’s a loyal man, but this…this is desperation to make a boss happy.
Not the act of someone who’s claimed to want me for years.
How. Could. He?
Now all I can see is betrayal. Thievery. Someone I thought I knew…but apparently, I didn’t.
It will be the death of my business.
