Under His Protection (Silhouette Romantic Suspense #1496)

Ten days later Elizabeth was in no mood for a wedding. She no longer believed in fairy tales, and that's all love was...one big, fat fairy tale that was invented by writers and poets and songwriters. Only a hopeless romantic could actually believe that a man and woman could love each other for a lifetime. She knew better. It only lasted until the love of your life went to Germany for an international soccer tournament and met a blond bimbo."You're thinking of Spencer again, aren't you?" Katherine said as she stepped forward to zip her dress for her. "You've got that look on your face..."Glancing over her shoulder at her, Elizabeth scowled fiercely. "What look? I'm perfectly fine.""Yeah, right," Priscilla drawled as she stood before the mirror and gave her makeup a last check. "The last time you looked like that, you murdered my doll."Elizabeth didn't want to laugh, but it gurgled up inside her and escaped before she could stop it. "I did not! You're the one who wanted to see if her head would come off. I just accommodated you.""You put the thought in my head!""No, I didn't. It was Katherine.""It was not!" Katherine objected. "I didn't even know about it until you had the funeral."Quietly pushing open the door of the bedroom that had been set aside for the bridesmaids' use, Rainey grinned as her soon-to-be sister-in-laws traded quips back and forth. "Buck must have had his hands full, growing up with you three," she told them with a chuckle. "I'm surprised he wasn't part of the beheading.""Of course he was part of it," Katherine laughed."He organized the funeral.""I should have known," Rainey laughed. "That's the man I'm going to marry.""And have children with," Elizabeth pointed out with a grin. "Are you sure you want to do this?"Love softened her face and lit up her smile. "Oh, yes. I can't wait!"Watching her, Elizabeth blinked back tears. She hoped with all her heart that things worked out for Rainey and Buck, but she didn't think she'd ever be able to take that risk herself. Not after the way Spencer had betrayed her. And the way she'd found out! She'd been at Heathrow with her sisters, waiting to board the plane for the States and Buck's wedding, when she'd picked up a copy of one of London's most notorious tabloids. And there on the cover, for all the world to see, was a picture of her boyfriend with a blond bombshell plastered all over him.Even now she didn't want to believe that he'd cheated on her with some tart who couldn't count to four. But when she'd called him to question him about the picture, he hadn't bothered to deny the fact that he'd taken the woman with him to Germany. He hadn't even understood why she was upset--the woman was nothing but a groupie and didn't mean a thing to him. What was the big deal?Elizabeth still couldn't believe he'd had the nerve to ask her such a thing. Of course she knew about groupies, how strange women threw themselves at him and his teammates all the time. After all, he was an international soccer star, and she'd seen for herself how he couldn't go anywhere without women he didn't even know flirting with him. She hadn't liked it, but she'd learned to live with it.The woman in the picture, however, wasn't someone wanting a hug and an autograph. She'd slept with him. He hadn't said as much in so many words, but he hadn't had to. The truth had been right there in the picture, in his eyes, in the blonde's, in the intimate smile they shared.She shouldn't have been surprised. She'd known in her heart that he was the kind of man who had no use for faithfulness. She'd just convinced herself he loved her enough to change. So much for fairy tales."It's going to be okay, Elizabeth," Rainey said quietly, breaking into her thoughts. "You just need some time.""And another man," Priscilla added, wrinkling her nose at the thought of Spencer. "The best way to get over one man is to get another. Get yourseTurner, Linda is the author of 'Under His Protection (Silhouette Romantic Suspense #1496)', published 2008 under ISBN 9780373275663 and ISBN 0373275668.