Switched At The Altar. Metsy Hingle

and stepped to the center of the room. She clapped her hands. “All right, everybody. Listen up. That’s it for today. But I want everyone here tomorrow morning at eight o’clock sharp.”

      “Eight o’clock?”

      “That’s right. Eight o’clock,” Desiree said, ignoring the groans. “And I don’t want anyone to be late.”

      “What about breakfast?” O’Reilly, her groom, asked.

      Desiree grinned. The only thing that O’Reilly loved more than the ladies was food. “I’ll see what Harry can scrape up for you guys. Just make sure you’re here on time.”

      The old ballroom hummed with the sound of voices and shuffling feet as the cast began to file out. Try as she might to ignore him, Desiree was all too conscious of Alex standing right where she’d left him. She could feel his gaze fastened on her as she saw the others out, studying her relentlessly as though she were some strange new species of bug under a microscope.

      She cut a glance to him and watched those dark eyes of his slide over her, then ease back up to linger on her mouth. Her traitorous pulse jumped as she remembered their kiss. Suddenly it was there again. That breathstealing awareness between them. Quickly she turned away and drew in a steadying breath. She must have taken leave of her senses. No way did she want to get involved with Alex Stone. The two of them would be like oil and water. For starters, from everything Kevin had told her, his brother liked the females and they liked him, but the man was definitely antimarriage. While she...she wanted to get married someday and find the “happily ever after” her parents and her sister had discovered. She started toward the mock church railing to retrieve the silk bridal bouquet she’d left there.

      With a speed that surprised her, Alex was moving in front of her, blocking her path. “Aren’t you the least bit interested as to why I’m here, Ms. Mason? Or why I thought you were marrying my brother?”

      At five feet eight inches Desiree didn’t have to look up to find herself on eye level with most men—especially not when she was wearing three-inch heels as she was now. But with Alex, she found herself tipping her head back. “I assumed you were looking for Kevin.”

      “That’s right.”

      “And as you can see, he isn’t here. But don’t worry, I’ll be sure to let him know you came by.” Reaching past him, she scooped up the bouquet with one hand, then picked up the skirts of her wedding gown with the other. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go change.”

      Alex caught her arm before she could take a step. “Not so fast, Ms. Mason. I do believe you and I need to have a little chat.”

      Desiree blew at the wisp of hair that drifted across one eye. “I don’t think there’s anything for us to discuss. That is, not unless you’re interested in auditioning for the play.”

      “Afraid I’ll have to pass.”

      She shrugged. “Your decision. And since I don’t have the time or the inclination to discuss the merits of acting with you, I’d appreciate it if you’d let go of my arm.” She looked down at the large hand circling her forearm and back up at him. “That is, unless you’d like to have me demonstrate some of the new moves I’ve learned in my karate class.”

      Alex released her, but continued to block her path.

      Exasperated, she said, “Mr. Stone, I’m a busy woman. And I’ve got a dinner theater to run. I strongly suggest you get out of my way.” Before she gave in to the impulse to kick him in the shins, she added silently.

      “And I’m a busy man with a law firm and a major corporation back in Boston to run, but I—”

      “Then I’d suggest you start for the airport,” she said. “You’ve got about an hour’s drive ahead of you.”

      “As I started to say, I’m not leaving here until we have a little discussion about you and my brother and I get some answers.”

      “Answers to what?”

      “To questions like whose idea was it for Kevin to drop out of law school?”

      Desiree hesitated, chewing on that bit of news. “I wasn’t aware that Kevin had dropped out.” In fact, Kevin hadn’t said a word about doing any such thing when he’d told her he was going to Chicago to visit his sweetheart and audition for a new show. He’d only asked if he could have his mail forwarded to her while he was gone.

      “Weren’t you?”

      She didn’t miss the accusation in his tone. “No, I wasn’t.” But thanks to Kevin, she was all too aware of Alex’s displeasure at his brother’s interest in theater. It was the excuse Kevin had given her for not telling Alex the truth—that he wanted to be an actor, not an attorney. As the youngest of three girls, she knew all about putting up with older siblings who thought they knew what was best for you and ended up trying to run your life. “But if Kevin has decided to leave law school, I’d say that’s his decision and not yours.”

      “Or yours?” Alex countered.

      “No,” she returned, frowning. “Why on earth would you think it was my decision?”

      “Why indeed. Come off it, Ms. Mason,” he said, his voice as sharp as the look he gave her. “Kevin told me when he was home during the holidays what close friends the two of you had become. I just hadn’t realized how close that relationship was. I’m sure your opinion on the subject of his attending law school would have had a great deal to do with his decision.”

      Desiree pursed her lips. Evidently dear Kevin had also failed to explain the nature of their friendship to his brother. Given Alex’s reaction, she could understand why. She glanced up, read the disapproval and suspicion in his eyes. Temper spiked through her again. The heck with setting him straight. The man deserved to stew a bit, and she intended to make him do just that. “Well, you’re right about one thing. Kevin and I have become very close friends,” she said in her best imitation of a vamp’s voice.

      Alex’s dark eyes grew stormy, and Desiree told herself she’d been right in her initial assessment of him. The man did have the eyes of a warrior—hard, cold, uncompromising. “But as far as law school goes, you give me far too much credit. The only opinion that really matters is Kevin’s. After all, the decision is his to make. Not yours or mine.”

      The smile he gave her sent a ripple of uneasiness down Desiree’s spine. “True. But what does matter is that I’m the one who controls Kevin’s trust fund.”

      “Bully for you,” she quipped, feigning indifference. Trust fund? What trust fund? She’d assumed Kevin’s family had a bit of money. Anyone with brains in their head could see that he dressed well, drove a nice car, and while he wasn’t flashy with money, he never seemed to be short of it. Besides, he was attending a prestigious and pricy law school in New Orleans. That in itself would have wiped out any scenarios about him being on the verge of poverty. Still, the way Alex had spit out the words trust fund she doubted he was talking about a few thousand dollars—which had been the most her savings book had ever managed to reflect. “I still don’t see how that affects me.”

      “Don’t you?”

      “No. I’d say that’s between you and Kevin. After all, it’s Kevin’s life.”

      “Yes, it is,” Alex said in a deadly soft voice. “And I have no intention of standing by and letting Kevin ruin his life by marrying you.”

      Shock hit her first, then her anger kicked into high gear. She strangled the stem of the bouquet in her hand and silently condemned Kevin to a slow, painful death for getting her into this fix in the first place. Tipping up her chin up, she called on her training as an actress to make her lips curve into a smile that reached her eyes. She batted her lashes in what she hoped reflected all sweetness and innocence. “Well then,” she said laying on the Southern drawl like thick maple syrup. “I guess I’ll just have to be sure to tell Kevin not to bother sending you an invitation to the wedding.”