The Best Man to Trust - By Kerry Connor Page 0,1

here to help her with this, but they’d taken what was supposed to be a short trip to San Francisco so Jillian could take care of some business, only to find themselves stuck there longer than they’d intended. First Jillian had come down with a stomach virus and they’d missed their original flight, then their replacement flight had been canceled due to the storm. The flight she’d wanted to arrive hadn’t and the one she’d been worried about coming had.

She could only hope it wasn’t a sign of how her luck was going to go this weekend.

Twin beams of light suddenly materialized through the curtain of snow, aiming dimly at her. She immediately recognized it as an approaching vehicle, relief and dread surging inside her. She couldn’t tell which was stronger.

She watched as the vehicle gradually took shape through the snow, emerging as a passenger car. Another car soon appeared behind it. They slowly rounded the circular driveway in front of the house, pulling up a few yards from the door where she waited.

The first car had barely pulled to a stop when Rick brushed by her, hurrying out to help the newcomers. She belatedly realized she should do the same. She’d been holding her coat in front of her the whole time, the item dangling loosely from her hands.

By the time she started to shrug into it, the passenger doors were opening and a few bundled-up figures began dashing toward her through the snow.

Tossing her coat aside, Meredith pulled the door open farther to let the newcomers in. Seconds later, they reached the front stoop and hurried over the threshold.

They came to a stop in front of her, immediately stomping the snow from their boots. She waited as they started to shed their heavy layers, unraveling scarves, pushing back hoods and tugging off gloves.

They were all women, Meredith saw. She instantly recognized the one closest to her, even before the woman opened her mouth and said, “Meredith?” in a voice she’d heard numerous times over the phone the past few weeks. This was Rachel Delaney, the bride-to-be.

“Rachel,” she said with a smile. “It’s great to see you. Welcome to Sutton Hall.”

“Thank you. I can’t believe we made it!”

“Honestly, I can’t believe you tried! I was sure you would have decided to ride out the storm somewhere.” And probably should have, she thought, as a strong gust of wind burst through the still-open door, blowing snow in at them.

A slim brunette with dark brown eyes, Rachel laughed, her face aglow. “Are you kidding? I wasn’t going to let anything keep me from my wedding.” Her eyes finally moved past Meredith, widening as they took in the massive front entryway of Sutton Hall. “Or this place. My God, it’s even more amazing than I’d imagined.”

Meredith swallowed a sigh of relief at the pleasure in the woman’s voice. Rachel had been very particular about every aspect of the arrangements so far. An interior decorator by profession, she had an eye for design and, as she’d made clear over the past few months, she knew what she wanted. Meredith had been bracing herself to deal with a very high-maintenance bride on top of everything else. It was good to know one thing had met with her approval. Hopefully it meant they would get the weekend off on the right foot, the weather notwithstanding.

In spite of everything, Meredith couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pride as she turned to follow Rachel’s gaze. Sutton Hall’s front foyer certainly made an incredible first impression. The vast entrance hall stretched two stories high. An elaborate crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, and below it a plush red carpet led the way across the marble floor to the staircase at the other end. The grand staircase split into two halfway up and continued curving up to the second floor in opposite directions. Even after more than a year here, the sight of this room never failed to amaze her.

“Oh!” Rachel exclaimed, drawing Meredith’s attention back to her. “I’m sorry, I’m being rude. I should introduce you, if you don’t know each other already.” She motioned toward the other women. “Meredith, these are my bridesmaids and two of my oldest friends in the world, Haley Nash and Jessica Burke. Guys, this is Meredith Sutton.”

Haley Nash, Meredith knew, was the maid of honor. A tall, lean blonde, she greeted Meredith with a smile. Her face was open and friendly, but Meredith still felt herself shrink a little inside reflexively.