Her Dirty Builders (Men at Work #10) - Mika Lane Page 0,1

me Ben. You’re all grown up now. No formalities needed.”

Charli beamed.

He turned his attention to me. “Eddie’s running a little late. Just wanted to give you the head’s up.”

I nodded. “Oh. Okay.”

“You need anything?” he asked.

I looked around the room. “Maybe some water?”

He smiled, and Charli put her hand on the wall, trying to look casual.

That’s how good-looking Dad was.

“I’m on it, honey. Be right back.”

“It’s funny that he’s late. I’m usually the late one,” I said once Dad had closed the door.

Charli shook her head. “Seriously. I mean, how are people late on their damn wedding day? I’ve never understood that. You know the date ages in advance, and you have your clothes and all that stuff picked out, so what’s the holdup…”

While she ranted, I peeked out the door at the church vestibule. The arrival of guests had slowed to a trickle since it was officially past starting time.

I could call him. Maybe that’s what I should do.

But that would be whiny and needy. No, he’d be here when he got here. I just had to chill.

So when ten minutes turned into fifteen, I began to get pissed. Didn’t Eddie know all these people were waiting for him? And if we didn’t get started soon, that would throw the reception out of whack, including the salmon, which had to be served as soon as it was ready. Fish wasn’t the kind of thing that waited around. You accommodated fish. Not the other way.

“Hey, Es,” Dad said, poking his head back in the room and handing me some water.

He looked serious. This was not good. Not at all.

“I think it’s time we start making some phone calls.” He glanced at his watch. “You know, to find out where Eddie is.”

“What does his mom say?” I asked.

Dad shook his head. “I don’t know. She’s already seated, and I didn’t want to speak to her in front of everyone.”

Just then, as though she’d been summoned, Eddie’s mom came flying into the room, running straight for me.

She took my hands, and her eyes were watery.

Very watery.

“Honey, I just talked to Eddie.”

A single tear dribbled down her cheek.

“He’s not coming.”

I looked around at Charli and then Dad and laughed. “This is a joke, right? You’re just pulling my leg. Eddie is so funny with his pranks.”

His mom sighed. “It’s not a joke, Esme. I just got a text from him. He said he sent you a text too but that you hadn’t responded.”

I looked at my pile of street clothes and other crap. My phone was somewhere in that mess. That’s why I hadn’t gotten any text message. I ran across the room as fast as my narrow dress would let me and threw things aside until I found my phone.

His mom was right. There was a text from him.

Sorry. Can’t do it.

“What the fucking fuck?” I screamed. “That’s all I get? Four lame-ass words to call off a wedding.”

My dad rushed into the room and grabbed me by the arms. “Honey, don’t shout. Look, we’ll take care of it.”

I slipped my two-hundred-dollar high heels back on and shook Dad off. “No. You won’t take care of it. And neither will you,” I said, glaring at Eddie’s mom.

“I will take care of it.”

I pushed past everyone and stormed through the vestibule. I yanked open the double doors leading to the church, and walked up the aisle on the stupid white fabric thing that had been laid out for me to walk down. When I got to the front, I ignored the minister, and turned to face the congregation.

I held my phone up. “Sorry, folks. There’s no wedding today. My motherfucking fiancé just broke things off OVER A TEXT MESSAGE,” I shrieked.

Gasps rolled through the crowd, and people started looking at each other in disbelief. But before they turned their attention back to me, I stormed back down the aisle and to the waiting limo.

I knew that the minute the news sank in, the next thing on everyone’s face would be pity. Directed toward me.

And I was so not down with that.

2

ESME

In the two weeks since I’d taken my ghastly wedding dress, stuffed it into a garbage bag, and pushed it to the back of my closet, I’d not been doing much more than lying around in my bedroom, stuffing my face.

In the house that Eddie had talked me into buying with him.

That we were going to fix up. Together. As a married couple.

Charli had finally dragged me out my seclusion.

“Can you help me