Always A Bridesmaid (Left At the Altar) by Jana Richards Page B

stick."
    "I'm serious! You're smart and funny and attractive. You're going to find somebody great one of these days."
    "Oh, sure." Dani swallowed, desperately trying to hide the hitch in her voice. "One of these days." She quickly changed the subject, a good defense being a good offence, and all that. "What about you? I don't imagine you've been living like a monk for the last year."
    "You'd be surprised."
    "Seriously? The girls in Ottawa must be totally off their game to let a guy who looks like you slip through their fingers."
    "Everything's not all about looks, you know," he said. "There has to be something more than that to attract two people to each other--some chemistry, some magic, and a definitely a whole lot of trust."
    "I suppose that's true. To a point."
    "It's very true. Take it from me. Chantal is a beautiful woman, but without trust we had nothing."
    She kept her thoughts to herself. Chantal had betrayed Zach's trust on several occasions, but it was her beauty that kept him going back to her. He might still go back to her. She couldn't let herself forget that.
    The GPS signaled the turnoff into the city. For the next half hour Zach was too busy negotiating city streets to engage in much conversation.
    They arrived at the hotel and Zach pulled up to the front door. They unloaded the box with the cake along with their suitcases. Dani stayed in the lobby with their things while he parked Camp's SUV.
    A harried woman pounced on her a few moments after she arrived in the lobby.
    "Are you Daniella?"
    "Yes. Are you Fiona's wedding planner?"
    "I am." She stuck out her hand. "Sonya Peterson. Is that the cake? How does it look?"
    "I don't know. We were in too much of a hurry to inspect it."
    The wedding planner grimaced. "I just hope Fiona likes it. There's no time for a new one if she doesn't." She signaled the concierge who brought over a trolley to transport the cake to the ballroom. "Thank you for picking it up."
    "You're welcome. I'll keep my fingers crossed."
    Sonya waved as she hurried away with the cake. She was very glad she didn't have to deal with stressed out brides in her line of work.
    A few minutes later Zach arrived in the lobby. "We'd better hurry or we're going to be late for the rehearsal."
    They grabbed their suitcases and took the elevator to the tenth floor where Todd's parents had rented a suite. Todd answered their knock immediately.
    "Great, you're here," he said, pulling Dani into the suite. "Is the cake okay?"
    "The cake has been safely delivered to the wedding planner. Crisis averted."
    "Thank goodness. Fiona's a wreck. She's been texting me every ten minutes for the last hour to see if you'd made it back."
    "Send her a text and put her out of her misery," Zach said. "In the meantime, Dani and I need to change."
    After quick introductions, Todd's mother led her to the palatial master suite. Dani allowed herself a moment to appreciate the opulent surroundings before heading to the ensuite bathroom and quickly stripping down. She threw on her new dress, and then tackled her hair, pulling it into what she hoped looked like a casually elegant up-do. After slapping on eye shadow and mascara, she pushed her feet into high heels, threw her clothes and cosmetics into her bag, and headed out the door.
    Zach was waiting for her in the foyer. He'd combed his beautiful dark hair away from his face, taming some of the curls and giving him a sophisticated air. The cornflower blue of his shirt brought out the blue in his eyes. She stared for a moment, appreciating his beauty, until she realized he was staring at her with a strange expression on his face.
    "What?" she said, trying to look behind her. "Do I have toilet paper stuck to my shoe? Did I forget to zip something?"
    "No, I just..." He cleared his throat. "You look beautiful, Dani. Really beautiful. And if you roll your eyes, or tell me I need glasses, I'm going to take you over my knee and spank you."
    Her vivid imagination went wild at that visual. She