Deadly Ever After (Hardy Brothers Security Book 6) by Lily Harper Hart

time ago. Emma is a model. She plays dress up for a living. That’s going to be way too tempting for my mom to pass up. She’s going to be like a human Barbie doll.
    “When you couple that with the wedding, and all the love my parents are going to be spewing at Mandy, you might be able to mostly pass under their radar,” James said.
    “What about your dad?”
    “What about him?”
    “Is he going to look at me the same way you and your brothers look at me?”
    James tilted his gaze up, confused. “How do we look at you?”
    “Like I’m defiling your sister.”
    “You are defiling my sister,” James said.
    “Dude … .”
    “He might act all stern for a few minutes,” James conceded. “It will mostly be an act. Mandy and Ally are in constant contact with my mother. My parents know how happy Ally is. They know you’re the reason why. If he says anything to you, he’s only messing with you.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “He might test you a little,” James admitted. “Just stay strong.”
    “How will he test me?”
    James shrugged. “I have no idea.”
    “You’re so lucky that Mandy’s father is dead,” Jake said. “You don’t have to deal with the looks.”
    James stilled.
    “Sorry, that was a stupid thing to say,” Jake said. “I’m sure Mandy would want her father to walk her down the aisle more than anything in this world. I didn’t mean that.”
    “Oh,” James said, rolling his neck. “Oh.”
    “I’m really sorry.”
    “Don’t be sorry,” James said. “You just made me realize what’s going on.”
    “What’s going on where? You have a suspect?” Jake was confused.
    “Not that,” James said. “Keep going through the files. I definitely don’t have a suspect.”
    “What were you talking about?”
    “The wedding,” James said. “I can understand Mandy wanting to keep the ceremony small. I’m actually relieved by that. She never wants to talk about it, though. That’s the thing I couldn’t understand. She’ll talk about furniture and art for the new house for hours on end. When I bring up the wedding, then she just clams right up.”
    Jake arched and eyebrow. “And?”
    “She’s not looking forward to the ceremony because her dad won’t be there to walk her down the aisle,” James said. “Crap.”
    “Maybe your dad could walk her down the aisle,” Jake offered. “They like each other, right?”
    “They do,” James said, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. “That doesn’t seem right, though.”
    “Why don’t you ask Mandy who she wants to walk her down the aisle?”
    “She won’t answer me,” James said. “She’ll duck the question.”
    “Why?”
    “Her dad hasn’t been gone all that long,” James explained. “She’s realizing her childhood dream of marrying me – and yes I realize how arrogant that sounded, but you know what I mean – but she’s doing it without a big piece of the puzzle.”
    Jake understood. “You can’t bring her dad back from the dead. What are you going to do?”
    “I don’t know,” James admitted. “I need to think.”
    “Maybe you should talk to Ally,” Jake suggested. “She might have an idea.”
    James shifted in his chair. “No.”
    “Why?”
    “Ally won’t have the answer to this one,” James said. “Mandy won’t really talk about her dad, especially since the whole Sheryl situation blew up. Ally won’t be able to help herself from approaching Mandy, and then she’ll just lie and say everything is fine. I don’t want that.”
    “So, what are you going to do?”
    “I have no idea,” James said. “I’m going to do something, though. This is going to be the best day of her life. I’m not going to miss a really big detail. I need to think.”
     
    “WHERE do you think you four are going?”
    James looked up from his spot behind the desk. He’d been staring at the computer screen so long his eyes were starting to cross. He still wasn’t out of it enough to miss Mandy, Ally, Sophie, and Emma