Bridenapped The Alpha's Choice Read Free

this was some next-level douchebaggery.
    “You’re going to let me take you out to a nice dinner, or cook a nice dinner, whichever you prefer. I grill a mean steak. And then we’re going to—”
    Mary didn’t dare let him finish, because there was that treacherous part of her that yearned to be in Jarrod’s strong arms again. “Hey, look who’s here!” she interrupted him quickly, and pointed at Regina, who waved frantically with both arms at Jarrod.
    “She’s not having a seizure, is she?” Angela asked, walking over to them and looking mildly concerned but mostly curious.
    “Nah, that’s just how she tries to get attention.” Mary glanced at Jarrod. “It’s adorably quirky, isn’t it?”
    “Is that what we’re calling it?” He raised an eyebrow.
    “Anyway, here she comes.” Regina was elbowing her hair and makeup crew out of the way to hurry towards them.
    “Yep. Amazing. She turns up everywhere I do, these days,” Jarrod drawled, with a sarcastic twist to his smile. “It’s almost like she’s stalking me.”
    He was flat-out ignoring the fact that his uncle had ordered the bridenapping. He wasn’t going to go through with it, Mary realized, anxiety clutching at her. This was her sister’s most important, most public bridenapping ever, the one that would make or break her agency. And it wasn’t going to happen.
    “She was here first, so I believe you were the one stalking her. And I’m sure you’re delighted to see her,” Mary said desperately.
    “Not really, no.”
    Regina rushed up to Jarrod, breathless.
    “And may I say, you’re looking especially lovely today, Mary. The blue of your dress really brings out the blue in your eyes,” Jarrod continued. Almost like he wanted Regina to hear it.
    “Why, thank you, Jarrod!” Regina cried out, as if Jarrod had been speaking to her. “And you look good enough to eat,” she simpered flirtatiously.
    “Is your name Mary?” Angela wondered aloud. “And is your dress blue? Where I come from, we call that color red.”
    “It’s so funny how we keep running into each other everywhere, isn’t it?” Regina added, with a big, desperate smile on her face as she moved to Jarrod’s side, her sharp elbow somehow ending up jammed into Mary’s ribs.
    Mary stifled a gasp of pain as she fell back. “Well, gotta run,” she said with a grimace, grabbing Angela by the arm and leading her away from Mary.
    “She did that on purpose. Let me cripple her. Please?” Angela begged.
    “No. Why must you always cause trouble?” Mary demanded irritably once she’d gotten her over to the other side of the store.
    “Because it’s fun?”
    Mary glared at her cousin until Angela finally threw up her hands in exasperation. “Come on. It’s obvious he’s way more into you. Didn’t you say you were kind of seeing him in high school?”
    “Yes, and it didn’t end well.”
    To this day, she burned with humiliation just thinking about it. She should have known all along, though. He’d never be seen with her in public. He’d insisted that they keep their relationship a secret. And worse, her friends had kept telling her they saw him publicly hanging out with the girls from the popular crowd. He’d be seen with them, but not with her.
    When she’d finally put her foot down and said that if he didn’t want to be seen with her in public, it was over, he’d actually asked her out to dinner. That had been right after he’d graduated; she’d been two years behind him.
    She’d glowed with pride at the thought of being seen with the handsome Alpha. Her, the quiet, chubby nerd from the mobile home park. But it was not to be – because he’d never planned on taking her out. Instead he’d stood her up. And that wasn’t all. Oh, no. She’d showed up at the restaurant to find that he wasn’t there - but everyone from the popular crowd from school waiting there for her.
    They’d applauded and whistled when she’d walked in. That was what she got for