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Always A Bridesmaid
By Jane Sullivan Isabel Sharpe Julie Kistler Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd.
Copyright © 2004 Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd.
All right reserved. ISBN: 0-373-83612-0
Chapter One
WHEN SERENA STAFFORD heard her doorbell ring, followed by a flurry of knocks, followed by more frantic ringing and more knocks, she was sure that something had to be terribly wrong. Maybe her condo complex was on fire. Maybe EPA officials were canvassing the neighborhood, warning of a sudden biohazard. Maybe her pregnant next-door neighbor had gone into premature labor while her husband was out of town.
Serena reached the door, looked out the peephole, and breathed a sigh of relief. It was only Chloe.
Wait a minute. What was she saying? It was never "only Chloe." Since they'd been kids disaster had followed her sister wherever she went. And as persistently as Chloe was knocking right now, Serena had a feeling that news of a biohazard would be a relief compared with what she was going to hear.
She opened the door. "Chloe? What is it?"
Her sister burst through the door, her short, spiky blond hair frozen in place even as the rest of her bounced with excitement. "The most wonderful thing has happened! You'll never guess what!"
"What?"
"I'm getting married!"
Serena closed the door. She couldn't have heard what she thought she heard. Her sister was getting married?
Again?
"Hold on, Chloe. Last time I checked, you and David had broken up. And none too nicely."
"Not David!" she said with a dismissive swipe of her hand. "His name is Bobby. Bobby Erickson. You remember. The blind date Kristi set me up with."
"Chloe. That was only three days ago."
Chloe gave her a big smile. "Yeah. I know."
"He asked you to marry him?"
"That's right."
"And you said yes?"
Chloe held up her palm. "Now, I know what you're thinking. But there's no doubt about it. Bobby's the one."
"That's what you said the last two times!"
Her sister rolled her eyes. "Will you stop being such a pessimist?"
"I'm being a realist. You cannot fall in love in three days."
"Sure you can. If you find the right man. And Bobby is the right man for me. I just know he is."
"Sit down, Chloe."
"But -"
"Sit."
Chloe sighed and sat down on the sofa, right on the edge of the cushion, which didn't surprise Serena at all. Chloe spent every waking moment poised on the edge of life, ready to shift directions the instant the next outrageous possibility caught her attention.
Serena sat down beside her. Slowly. Reasonably. Trying to remain calm at the same time that she was on the verge of locking her sister in a room until the urge to ruin her life went away.
"What do you actually know about this guy?" Serena asked. "What kind of job does he have?"
"Something with computers."
"Does he make a decent living?"
"He drives a nice car. Lives in a nice apartment. I saw it today."
"How's his credit?"
"He seems responsible enough."
"Investments?"
Chloe shrugged.
Serena rubbed her temples. Okay. There was somebody out there for everybody, right? This guy had to be every bit as wild and impulsive as Chloe, so maybe it really was a match made in heaven.
Though how the two of them would ever function in daily life, Serena didn't know.
"And of course I want you to be my maid of honor," Chloe said.
Oh, God. Not again.
For Chloe's first wedding, Serena had stood barefoot on a beach, heavy morning mist flattening her hair as sand crabs crawled across her toes. During wedding number two, performed on the roof of a Phoenix skyscraper, a gust of wind had blown Serena's dress right up over her head. One of Chloe's close friends, a wild-eyed Woodstock throwback who Chloe swore wasn't as crazy as he looked, had snapped a picture of Serena's backside in nothing but a pair of flesh-toned panties. She'd had to threaten him with legal action to get the picture back, which meant the guy really had been as crazy as he looked, which meant Chloe really was a lousy judge of character.
"So where are you planning to get married this time?" Serena asked.
"Vegas. I've never tried that before. I found this cute place on the Internet. Cupid's Little Chapel of Love."
Serena winced. Just the thought of a tacky, hurry-up Vegas wedding made her crazy, and one taking place at Cupid's Little Chapel of Love had to be the worst of the worst. A wedding was the most wonderful day of a woman's life, a day that required months of planning after years of dreaming. But at least this time the ceremony would be indoors on ground level and she could probably wear shoes.
"Have you set a date?"
"Uh ... yeah. August 22."
Okay. That was good. A year from tomorrow. Maybe her sister was finally growing up. A year-long engagement would allow Chloe plenty of time to get to know her fiancé and, if need be, give Serena plenty of time to talk her out of getting married.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Always A Bridesmaid by Jane Sullivan Isabel Sharpe Julie Kistler Copyright © 2004 by Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd.. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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