Prologue

PROLOGUE

“ A re you excited to be getting married in five days?” Philip Taylor asked Laurel Glasgow.

She smiled at her fiancé. “I am,” she said. “It’s hard to believe it’s finally here.”

“Well,” Philip said. “It’s felt like a whirlwind romance to me.”

He always was on the romantic side. Not anything she’d ever been drawn to before, but it was sweet on Philip. And he loved her. She knew that.

Wasn’t that what it was all about? Someone to love and care for you?

Something she got from her father and aunt, but never the mother who left when she was a child.

Maybe she was craving that normal family life that she didn’t get growing up.

Though her father damn sure tried to give her everything he could and teach her to not depend on anyone.

“It’s been barely a year since we’ve met,” she said.

Her father thought she was rushing, but Philip’s parents adored her and were ready to welcome her to the family.

Surprising, considering in looks she met the image of Philip’s high-profile family, but in her actions and career, she’d been talked down to and prepped on how to behave.

It wasn’t her problem she looked like a lady but acted like a man in their eyes. But she was willing to compromise around their social network when she had to.

She loved what she did and, as her father had told her, those were the important things in life.

“When you know, you do,” Philip said. He reached his hand over and laid it on hers, his finger running over the two-carat diamond he’d placed on her hand five months ago. A little over six months of dating and then the engagement and a fast wedding.

She’d been willing to wait a year or so to marry but decided it wasn’t that big of a deal, and Philip’s family pulled some strings to get the venue they wanted. More like what Philip’s mother wanted and this was the only opening.

“Yes, you do,” she said, even though she wasn’t so sure what she was supposed to be feeling and sometimes wondered if her tough-minded logical personality was the reason she’d never felt that romantic kind of love some women talked about.

The waitress came over to get their drink order. They’d been sitting there for ten minutes waiting and that wasn’t normal. When the young woman stopped, Laurel noticed the eye contact between Philip and the petite blonde, then the forced smile sent her fiancé’s way.

“What can I get you to drink?”

Not friendly here, she thought. “I’ll have seltzer with lemon.”

“The same,” Philip said.

The server, who hadn’t given her name, walked away without another word.

“She was rude,” Laurel said. “I hope she’s not working the day of our wedding.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Philip said, putting his head down. “People come and go here.”

Philip was squirming in his chair as if his ass was on fire and he was trying to extinguish it without water in sight.

This wasn’t the first time she’d noticed that move from him and it always sent alarm bells ringing like a tornado warning to take cover.

Normally she’d push it off, but this time, she just couldn’t.

She was marrying the guy in five days. Her gut said to address it.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “You’re acting nervous. Do you know that woman? Maybe someone you dated in the past?”

He glanced up. “Nope.” His head went down again.

He was locking up like he did often too. Sometimes he could be so childish.

“I don’t care who you dated in the past,” she said. “The past is just that.”

No comment on that either.

When their drinks were brought back and put down, the server’s eyes landed on her ring and then back to Philip. “What would you like to eat?”

She lifted one eyebrow. Philip placed his order with his head in his phone, then she gave hers but watched the server get more frustrated.

When they were halfway through their meal, Laurel got up to use the restroom. She spotted the server and moved over to her.

“Hi,” she said. “I’m over there with my fiancé and I can’t help but notice that something might be going on.”

“Before you put the other ring on, maybe you should check his phone for a few apps.”

“Excuse me?” she asked, lifting her eyebrow.

“I know him as Steven and we’ve had a few hookups through Tinder in the past two months. He told me he was single and then just ghosted out of my life.”

“You’re mistaken,” she said, feeling herself shake.

“Nope,” the young woman said. “I’m not. But if you don’t believe me, he’s got a birthmark on his inner thigh. Right side. A big one shaped like a half-moon. Hard to miss when you’re going down on him.”

Laurel paled hearing that and knew the woman spoke the truth. “You’re positive it was recently and not a year ago?”

The server pulled her phone out, loaded her app, then showed the communication. Yep, that was Philip, going by Steven. Then it hit her—that was his middle name. Not even creative on his part.

“Thank you,” she said. “You just saved me from the biggest mistake of my life.” She took a deep breath, forced a smile on her face as she went back to their table, and sat across from Philip. “Can I see your phone please?”

“What?” Philip asked. “Why?”

“I don’t have reception. I want to see if you do.”

He pulled it out and handed it over. It was locked like it always was. She was no idiot though. She held it to his face and unlocked it before he could take it back. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t make a scene,” she said quietly. “Or it will get back to your parents.”

He leaned in. “You have no right to go through my phone. What are you looking for?”

“We are supposed to be getting married in five days,” she said, swiping fast. Bingo, there it was. She turned and showed it to him. “This and what the server told me when I came out of the bathroom.”

He was all but jumping out of the chair ready to throw a hissy fit like she’d seen him do before. “Don’t believe anything that whore says. That’s an old app I haven’t used in years.”

He was swearing and never did that either. Losing control, which showed he was lying to her. She hit the button to pop up the messages. He reached over to try to get the phone from her. “People are watching,” she said, keeping her smile in place while battling back those tears.

She screenshot a few of the chats, knew the dates were on it, then texted them to herself. That was enough in her eyes when his parents would demand answers about why the wedding wasn’t happening. The blame was all going to be at their son’s feet. The perfect child who could do no wrong.

She handed his phone back to him once she saw the text went through on her watch, picked up her purse, slid her ring off her finger and dropped it on his plate, right in the ketchup from his fries.

“Where are you going?”

“Home,” she said. She was glad they hadn’t moved in together yet. “Have fun explaining all of this to your parents.”

Laurel strutted out of the restaurant to the sound of clapping. Guess more than one person realized what was going on, but most of the clapping came from a few servers and she wondered if her fiancé had a bit of a reputation here that she’d known nothing about.

She’d never be that stupid again.