Test Drive - Samantha Chase Page 0,88

at the door had her turning.

“Hey, Gracie! Thirty minutes until showtime! Are you ready?” The super-perky and extremely annoying wedding planner, Tilly, said with a smile as she walked through the door.

Smiling serenely, Grace replied, “Yes, thank you.” Smoothing her hand down the white satin gown she was wearing, she tried to present the perfect image of the calm and serene bride-to-be.

Even though internally, she was like a squirrel in traffic.

“Great! In about twenty minutes, I’ll come back and…”

“Tilly,” Grace quickly interrupted before she could go any further. “If it’s all right with you, we’ve gone over the schedule dozens of times and I’d really appreciate a few minutes to myself.”

Tilly, with her severe bun and power suit, nodded. “Of course, Gracie. Anything you need,” she smiled broadly and made her way back out the door, gently closing it behind her. At the sound of the soft click, Grace sagged with relief.

She hated being called Gracie. No one she knew ever called her Gracie. And yet for some reason, Tilly insisted on calling her that.

Catching a glimpse of herself in the full-length mirror, she should have been a happy and smiling bride. But was she? No. Instead, she was a neurotic mess who was dealing with more than your run-of-the-mill wedding jitters. She was angry, disappointed, and she knew if she didn’t speak up for herself one last time, this was the way her entire marriage was going to go–with Jared making decisions she hated and then being resentful forever.

Knowing she wasn’t going to breathe easy until she talked to him, Grace decided to go find him and hash this out. If it meant calling off the wedding, then so be it. It wasn’t like she had any real investment in it. None of her family were here, Jared had made all the arrangements, and she had very little input into any of it.

Suddenly all the signs she should have seen were right there in front of her.

She was going to find Jared, tell him how she felt, and maybe they could look into couples counseling or something. It would be a good thing. It would help them grow closer. Looking back now, she realized this was a pattern that had gotten completely out of control. Why hadn’t she noticed it sooner?

“Hindsight and all,” she muttered, opening the door and stepping out into the hallway. They had toured the resort yesterday and she knew where the groom’s dressing room was, so there was no need to ask for assistance from perky Tilly. At the end of the hall, she turned to the left and saw the door to Jared’s room was ajar. The closer she got, Grace could hear him talking. Was Tilly giving him the thirty-minute speech too?

“You have to trust me, baby. It’s all going to be okay. This is only temporary,” she heard Jared saying.

Temporary? What was temporary?

“How could you do this, Jared? You said you loved me! You said we were going to be a family!”

What?!

Slowly, Grace moved closer to the door and tried to figure out who Jared was speaking to.

“We will, baby. We will,” he promised. “You have to trust me, Steph. Marrying Grace will help me secure this promotion, and then six months from now, I’ll divorce her and we’ll be together. Just in time for the baby to be born.”

Steph? Steph? Wait…the only Steph she knew was Jared’s assistant, and he wouldn’t…

“How am I supposed to come into work every day knowing you’re sleeping with her every night?” Steph cried.

Grace heard Jared’s soft laugh. “Baby, you need to relax. Grace and I haven’t slept together for almost two months. What’s a few more?”

Grace was about to barge through the door and put a stop to this, but…

“Just because she was stupid enough to fall for that whole ‘wanting to make the wedding night sex better’ excuse before doesn’t mean she’ll keep falling for it, Jared. And besides, tonight is your wedding night!”

“Don’t worry,” he cooed. “I’ll come up with an excuse. The only woman I plan on sleeping with from now on is you.”

Rage filled her, followed by a wave of nausea. How could she have been so blind? When Jared had mentioned not having sex to enhance their wedding night, it sounded kind of sexy. Hell, she had been horny all this time, and for what?

Taking several deep breaths, she told herself to calm down. Everything would be all right. She’d get through this. And then, something weird happened. She was