broad shouldered man stepped off the bus, half carrying Eric.
The back door of the Martinez family home opened then slammed shut, Isabella's shoulders rose to her ears as she feared the glass on the custom oak doors would shatter at the impact.
Eric's bride...nope, Eric's very angry bride, Cecily Diaz, still not in her wedding dress, but wearing a white silken robe, her shiny dark hair perfectly coifed for her wedding ceremony, without the veil, her makeup impeccable, her tawny colored legs peeking from the slit in the robe with each giant step she took toward her future husband, if he lived that long, her white tennis shoes almost comical because they didn't fit the rest of the picture, and of course, if this wasn't so serious, marched toward the group of men.
"There she is boys..." Eric stuttered. "My beautiful bride." He managed to get out before Cecily let him have it.
Her fists were balled tightly at her sides and Isabella worried that she'd be patching up her brother before he made it to the alter today.
"You must have a death wish Eric Martinez. How dare you, on this day, our wedding day, disgrace me and my family and your own family by staying out all night, drinking and lord knows what else only to show up for our wedding four hours before hand drunk out of your mind."
Isabella walked forward, her sister Emiliana close behind her. "Cecily, let me take him in and get him cleaned up. It'll be alright."
"It won't be alright. Not now. He's ruined my perfect day. The day I've planned my ass off for. My parents, your parents, everyone, has been working on for a year."
Cecily turned back to Eric. "A fucking year!"
Isabella turned to her sister, "Emi, take Cecily back inside and let me deal with Eric."
Emi hesitantly approached Cecily, "Ceci, let's go and finish getting ready. Isi will take care of Eric. I promise it'll be alright."
Emi looked at her over Cecily's shoulder, hoping for an encouraging nod. Isabella gave it to her and was sending up silent prayers that she could sober her stupid brother out before the ceremony. It wasn't going to be easy though.
She approached Eric as the men largely either disbursed or some of them climbed back on the bus. She didn't know many of these men, which didn't surprise her, she'd lived in Texas for the past ten years, finishing medical school, then building her general practice in a small town just outside of Galveston.
The man holding Eric up, chuckled, "Why don't you point me in the direction you want him to go and I'll get him there for you. He's not very good on his feet right now."
"Why would you let him drink so much?"
"Look Princess, I had nothing to do with how much he drank. He was well on his way when I met him a few hours ago."
"You mean you just met him?"
"A few hours ago. He was celebrating pretty hard."
Shaking her head he walked to the other side of Eric, put her arm around his waist and tried hefting him off the big man hanging on to him. When she nearly dropped to her knees at Eric's weight, he looked over her brother's head at her and said, "Just point. I'll follow."
Taking a deep breath, she looked up to see Cecily standing on the patio watching them, Emi trying her hardest to get Cecily inside. Thinking it best to look like this would be doable, Isabella said, "Fine. Let's go in the side door, I'm afraid Cecily will stab him in the gut if he gets too close right now."
The larger man looked up at Cecily, then nodded. "Yep. She looks pretty pissed off."
He started walking with Eric stumbling alongside him and Isabella shook her head and took a mental inventory of the supplies she'd need to try and sober her brother out.
Cecily took two steps toward them as they walked past to the side door. "And another thing asshole, you won't be touching this..." She flung her robe open showing off her beautiful white lace teddy she'd purchased just for this night. "At all."
Emi grabbed the robe and pulled it closed, but Eric chose that moment to try and whistle. "Whoop, hot mama, here I come."
"Fucker." Cecily yelled just as Emi and her momma ushered her inside the house.
"Bud, you need to let her cool down before trying to be...whatever that was." The large man said to her brother.
Isabella looked over at him and half smiled. At least he was smart enough to know that much and sober enough to practically carry her stupid brother.
"My name's Josh."
***
Continue reading about Josh and Isabella, grab your copy here: Defending Isabella
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ALSO BY PJ FIALA
Click here to see a list of all of my books with the blurbs.
Contemporary Romance
Rolling Thunder Series
Moving to Love, Book 1
Moving to Hope, Book 2
Moving to Forever, Book 3
Moving to Desire, Book 4
Moving to You, Book 5
Moving Home, Book 6
Moving On, Book 7
Second Chances Series
Designing Samantha’s Love, Book 1
Securing Kiera’s Love, Book 2
Military Romantic Suspense
Bluegrass Security Series
Heart Thief, Book One
Finish Line, Book Two
Lethal Love, Book Three
Big 3 Security
Ford: Finding His Fire Book One
Lincoln: Finding His Mark Book Two
Dodge: Finding His Jewel Book Three
Rory: Finding His Match Book Four
GHOST
Defending Keirnan, GHOST Book One
Defending Sophie, GHOST Book Two
Defending Roxanne, GHOST Book Three
Defending Yvette, GHOST Book Four
Defending Bridget, GHOST Book Five
Defending Isabella, GHOST Book Six
MEET PJ
Writing has been a desire my whole life. Once I found the courage to write, life changed for me in the most profound way. Bringing stories to readers that I'd enjoy reading and creating characters that are flawed, but lovable is such a joy.
When not writing, I'm with my family doing something fun. My husband, Gene, and I are bikers and enjoy riding to new locations, meeting new people and generally enjoying this fabulous country we live in.
I come from a family of veterans. My grandfather, father, brother, two sons, and one daughter-in-law are all veterans. Needless to say, I am proud to be an American and proud of the service my amazing family has given.
My online home is https://www.pjfiala.com.
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