20
Blackwell fed his horse the last bit of apple as the stable hands came towardhim.
He patted his horse and joined Remington near the door of thestable.
They walked in companionable silence toward Woodbridge Hall. Blackwell hadn’t wanted to talk about Remy’s upcoming wedding or his own as he was happy to marry but his friend might not be—he’d heard Remy’s stories of a certain girl who’d treated him wrong. Not once had Remington called Cassidy by name. Blackwell, raised in Colorado, had never met the Bright sisters, who had been raised, like Remington, in California. He and Remington had become fast friends as young adults inAvce.
They followed the path from the stables toward his home, when suddenly the boom of music echoed in the air and the windows seemed to pulse from the living area. He slowed down and watched the front doorwarily.
Remington stopped. “What’s goingon?”
His gaze narrowed—ten years ago, his pal might have organized a party to celebrate the last night of being single. “I’ve no idea. Did you put together a bachelorparty?”
“No.” Remington walked a little faster toward the house and Blackwell followed with a sense of urgency. “With my grandmother dying, I didn’t think itappropriate.”
They ran up the front steps and Blackwell reached for the door that also pulsed from music inside. “Well, let’s find out what the ruckus is—I can’t imagine anybody else putting something together—nobodyknows.”
Young, naked women frolicked all over the living room. From a quick count, he saw 50, but doubled his estimate when the door to the ballroomopened.
His entire body grew hot and it wasn’t from his lower parts. Donna would never believe him if she came home to the stench of floralperfume.
Remington patted him on the back and whistled. “This looks more like an orgy than a bachelorparty.”
Right. He reached for his phone that wasn’t in his back pocket—he’d left it in his room for the ride. He crossed his arms and stared at the long stairwell that had naked women on every step. “Where is security? None of these people should be here and they need to go before Donna comeshome.”
Remington took his phone from his back pocket but instead of offering it to Blackwell, he turned around and smiled with the phone in the air. “She won’t like all these nakedwomen.”
Blackwell blinked as three sirens joined the picture that his friend snapped of himself. He scoffed. “Are you taking aselfie?”
“Cassidy isn’t going to care what I do or who I do it with.” He shrugged, and handed his phone to Blackwell showing only the keypad.
Before he met Donna, part of his anger had been because he’d have to marry a stranger and live his life with someone who didn’t care. His heart warmed that his life was different now in a good way. “If you say so. I couldn’t live like that. Donna is going to be angry—rightfullyso.”
A car cut its engine out front and he turned toward the frontdoor.
Donna.
Blackwell’s bodytightened.
As if on cue, five different women came over and caressed him. He practically jumped out of his skin as he shouted, “Get off me.Now.”
The door opened and Donna stared at him. He saw the pit of blackness that grew inside her gaze, the shine of love in her eyes dimmed. She held the door but it opened wider and his mother and Donna’s friend, Beth, joinedher.
“Blackwell?” Donna asked as both women stood like sentinels besideher.
His marriage was over before it began. The tension in his spine felt like he’d break in two. “Donna! I don’t know what’s happening. We just came back fromriding.”
Remington took his phone from Blackwell. “I’ll vouch for your fiancé. We were both shocked when we walked through thedoor.”
Martina Oberlin, Dowager Duchess of Oakley, shook her head and stared at all of the women. “Where are the lights andsecurity?”
Good question. He walked over and turned on the lights but he felt his face was still flushed. “Mother, Iswear…”
His mother took her phone from her pocketbook and met his gaze as she raised her voice. “I’m calling the police. If any woman is still here within five minutes, they will be arrested.” Her no-nonsense tone used to make him and his friends quake as children; it now had the same effect on the ladies as they rushed past him. Donna was in danger of being run over and he stepped in front of her to block her from the chaos. “Holdon.”
She reached out and held onto his hips. The smell of various perfumes made his nose twitch. As the door closed, hesneezed.
“Bless you.” Donna let go of him, then walked around and looked up at him. “I was almost trampled in themess.”
