Secret Weapon Spouse - By B. J. Daniels Page 0,42

place with the small plastic bride and groom snugly on top.

She started to retreat as the guests filed in. Behind them she caught a glimpse of the turquoise water and sunlight. She had only a moment to appreciate it before someone stepped into her line of vision.

“I wondered if you would be here,” the man said.

He’d taken her by surprise. “Mr. Graham.”

“Brian,” he said, seeing her moment’s hesitation. “Obviously I didn’t make as big an impression on you as my brother.”

There was an edge to his tone.

“I didn’t realize we were on a first-name basis,” she said.

“Even after I lent you my limo last night? I was surprised to see the two of you on what certainly appeared to be a date.”

She ignored the last part. “Thank you for the use of your car. That was very generous of you,” she said, hoping to get away from him as quickly as possible. Clearly he was curious about her relationship with Alex.

Brian resembled his brother only slightly. Unlike Alex, Brian didn’t look particularly fit. He was pale skinned as if the only light he spent much time under was fluorescent. His hair was a darker blond, his eyes brown but without any of the gold flecks that warmed Alex’s.

The little time that she’d spent around Alex’s brother and father had been sufficient to convince her Alex’s problems with them weren’t all his fault.

“You really are a wedding planner,” Brian said, seeming to find amusement in that.

“Did you doubt it?” she asked.

He didn’t answer, just studied her openly. She felt his gaze light on her bruised cheek but he said nothing about that. “I heard you do all the big weddings,” he said instead.

So he’d been checking up on her.

“There must be money in it.” He made it sound as if that would be the only reason someone would resort to her kind of work.

She wondered what he’d have to say if he knew about her other job. She smiled as patronizingly as she could, not about to answer such a crass question.

“So did you find my sister’s fiancé?”

“Not yet.”

“I’m sure my brother won’t stop until he does,” Brian Graham said. “I guess he doesn’t have anything better to do.”

Odd the way he didn’t refer to his siblings by their names, not to mention his condescending tone.

“I’m sure when Alex finds Preston, he’ll be glad your brother went to the trouble. After all, we’re talking about Preston’s future wife,” she said, not at all sure of that anymore, given the man’s name wasn’t even Preston.

“Has it dawned on you yet that maybe Pres doesn’t want to be found?” Brian asked.

As a matter of fact… Out of the corner of her eye she spotted one of the caterers looking around frantically.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to attend to a few more details,” she said.

“The perils of being a wedding planner,” he said glibly as she left him.

But she felt his gaze on her, and later, when she finished calming down the caterer, she was surprised to see that Brian Graham was still standing where she’d left him, apparently watching her.

She turned away, hoping to avoid any more conversation with him, and almost collided with the black sheep of the Graham family.

“Alex,” she cried, hating how breathless she sounded.

It surprised—and upset—her how pleased she was to see him.

That was until she caught his expression.

“Miss Peters,” he said.

So they were back to that?

“I didn’t know you were going to be here,” she said.

He raised a brow. “Actually, I didn’t, either.”

There was something very different about him today. She saw it in his eyes. He seemed wary of her. Yesterday, she’d caught him watching her closely as if trying to see beneath her skin, today his gaze probed even deeper, definitely looking for something.

She felt a sliver of worry burrow under her skin. What had changed? Something more than even the phone call in the limo last night.

“How is Caroline?” she asked, afraid that was the cause.

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “They took her into surgery for her broken leg this morning but she is improving all the time.” His gaze came back to hers and she saw the suspicion in his eyes.

It gave her a strange sense of loss that affected her more than she wanted to admit. He didn’t trust her anymore and she felt sick at the thought.

Without his trust she couldn’t do her job.

But she knew that wasn’t what made her sick to her stomach. She liked Alex Graham.