Entice - By Ella Frank Page 0,105

a huge event people-wise, but for the city of Chicago and all of its single women, one of the most eligible bachelors was going to be off the market in approximately—Shelly looked at the clock on the wall, noticing it had just turned 5:52 p.m.—eight minutes.

Turning, she found Lena standing over with Rachel, who was fussing with the back of the bride’s dress. Shelly made her way over to them, noticing Lena’s father had also arrived. When she reached Lena, she stood before her and looked at her friend with pure female appreciation. She is so beautiful.

Lena was wearing one of the most stunning wedding dresses Shelly had ever seen. It was made up of miles of white lace and had sleeves that were only a few inches wide. It sat perfectly on her elegant shoulders before sweeping down in a soft dip across her breasts.

That, of course, was what Shelly saw before Lena turned around. Shelly then got a glimpse of the back of the dress, where the material intricately covered her in a peek-a-boo fashion of lace and skin, ending in a V-shape at the sway of her back.

Under Lena’s bust was a beautiful broach made up of sliver and diamonds that Shelly knew Lena’s mother had given her to wear. Lena had two hair clips made similar to match her and Rachel’s. Beyond all the trimmings on the dress, the fabric molded to every line of her body until mid-thigh where it gently flowed out into a spectacular pool of lace and loveliness around her feet.

Simply put, Lena looked like a princess.

Shelly stood silently and waited for her friend to look at her. When Lena finally raised her eyes to meet hers, Shelly smiled and nodded. She watched as Lena looked at the clock on the wall. 6:00 p.m.

It was time.

***

Josh stood by Mason up at the front of the crowd and waited expectantly for the music to start up, signaling Lena’s appearance. He looked over to his friend and noticed he looked a little tense.

Josh leaned in and asked, “You doing okay, man?”

Mason looked over to him and nodded. “Yep. I just want to see her.”

Just as he said that, the music began. Instead of the usual wedding march for the beautiful bride to walk down the aisle to, Josh grinned as the familiar chords to “Crash into Me” by Dave Matthews Band filtered in through the speakers.

Several seconds later, Rachel appeared.

Wearing a long sweeping dress in a light shade of blue, she made her way down the aisle. Her dark hair was curled and clipped on one side, leaving the length of it to fall down, covering her back.

In her hands, she held a small bouquet of blue Singapore orchids and white roses, matching the same orchid that was pinned to his lapel.

Rachel’s eyes met her brother’s, and Josh noticed there were tears in them as she made her way closer to where they were standing. Watching them both closely, Josh wondered what exactly was going through Rach’s head as she moved over to stand on the left side of the aisle.

Her eyes finally met his, and Josh smiled at her, trying to reassure her everything would be okay. He felt like she needed it and wasn’t quite sure why, but before he could think on it too long, the crowd was oohing and aahing over the next person that appeared.

Josh turned and found it hard not to do the same.

Making her way down the aisle in a much shorter version of Rachel’s dress was Shelly Monroe. Georgia.

Her hair was pulled half up and back from her beautiful face, and the rest was left in a halo of soft curls around her shoulders. Josh assumed the clip holding it back was the same silver-and-diamond-looking one that Rachel was wearing.

However, that wasn’t what kept him entranced. It was her eyes as she was making her way up to the front. They were locked on his. She had glanced at Mason once, but then she had looked to him and had not faltered since.

Josh felt his heart thundering in his chest, almost feeling like this was his own damn wedding. As Shelly reached the front and went to stand beside Rachel, he turned to look at her and watched as she winked at him. Josh smiled and suddenly felt like he was back on even ground. Ahh, there’s the Man-Eater.

He needed to let her know tonight how he really felt. He needed her to be aware that