his other sister and his mother made a big fuss over Allegra. They hurried her over to the bar, oohing and aahing all the way across the expanse of the ballroom.
“Let’s get you something to drink. A brandy, perhaps. You seem rattled,” his mother said.
Chloe beamed at Allegra. “Isn’t that a lovely dress, though? You look beautiful.”
She did, actually. Quite beautiful. Far prettier than Zander remembered, which was something of a shock. Even when they’d been at odds, Allegra had never failed to take his breath away.
He could remember with perfect clarity the first time it had happened—a simmering summer evening in early August. He and Allegra couldn’t have been older than ten or eleven. They’d taken advantage of her father’s place on the board of the Museum of Natural History and spent the day wandering among the dinosaurs in the building’s cool air-conditioning. Allegra had been running ahead of him, like she always did, while he struggled to catch up. Then she’d stopped suddenly to turn and say something. For the life of him, he couldn’t recall what she’d said. But he remembered everything else about that moment—the swirl of starlight in the windows overhead, the massive T. rex skeleton looming behind her in the darkness, strange and beautiful.
Most of all, he remembered the way his heart had stopped when she’d smiled. It was as if he’d seen her for the very first time, this girl he’d known for as long as he’d been alive.
Allegra’s pretty, he’d thought. The realization had struck him like a physical force. He remembered clutching at the front of his T-shirt, not unlike the time a basketball had hit him hard in the back at recess and knocked the wind right out of him.
But they’d been kids back then, Allegra no more than a girl. The woman who’d just interrupted his birthday party was all grown-up, and to Zander’s great dismay, she was very possibly the most stunning creature he’d ever set eyes on. She had impossibly full lips, eyes that glittered like sapphires and an arch in her left eyebrow that gave him the impression she’d accumulated more than her fair share of secrets over the course of the past decade.
“What do you suppose she’s doing here?” Tessa turned to look at Zander.
Zander coughed and tore his gaze from the long row of tiny white buttons that ran the full length of Allegra’s spine, stopping just above the curve of her lush bottom. “How should I know?”
Tessa’s gaze narrowed. “Hey, didn’t you ask her to marry you once?”
Zander clenched his jaw. “No.”
Because he hadn’t. Not technically. They’d had a deal. A stupid, childish deal. They’d been thick as thieves back then. Either one of them could have suggested it.
It had been Zander’s idea, though.
That much he couldn’t deny.
* * *
Allegra took the glass one of the women thrust at her and cleared her throat. “Thank you, um...”
Both of the women peering back at her looked familiar.
She took a swig of the amber liquid and nearly choked. Allegra never drank alcohol straight up. Then again, she’d never run out on a wedding before. Today was a day of firsts, it seemed.
She stared into her glass. “What is this again?”
“Brandy,” the older woman said. “Neat.”
Allegra let out a snort. Neat. What a joke. There was nothing neat about her current situation. She couldn’t have made a bigger mess if she’d tried.
She took another swallow, a smaller one this time. Her head spun a little. She was vaguely aware of her bridal bouquet slipping from her grasp and falling onto the ballroom floor with a thud.
The older of the two women bent to pick it up, and when Allegra took in her straight spine and the fluid grace of her movements, reality dawned. “Mrs. Wilde?”
“Yes, dear,” she said, and Allegra blinked back tears.
Emily Wilde had been her childhood dance teacher. More than that, really. She’d been Zander’s mother. Allegra had spent more time at the Wilde home than she had her own.
Her gaze flitted to the younger woman standing beside Emily. “Chloe, is that you?”
“It is.” Chloe smiled. “It’s so good to see you, Allegra.”
What was happening? She hadn’t seen any of the Wildes in years, not since she’d left Manhattan. Now here they were, at her wedding.
No. You fled from your wedding, remember?
That’s right. Allegra probably shouldn’t be drinking on an empty stomach. Emily and Chloe weren’t at her wedding. Rather, they were in the room next door at some kind of fancy celebration. Allegra’s gaze drifted from one end of the dazzling ballroom to the other. There were people everywhere. In her haste to escape her nuptials, she’d dashed into the first door she’d seen. It led to an adjoining ballroom apparently.
She’d crashed a party.
In a wedding dress.
Wonderful.
Allegra closed her eyes and took another fortifying gulp of her brandy. Somewhere close by, a throat cleared. A very masculine throat.
She opened her eyes and found a dashing man dressed in what could only be called a power suit parting the crowd and charging straight toward her with a few hotel staff members trailing behind him. Everything about the man exuded confidence, from his peaked lapels and slicked-back hair to the bold Windsor knot in his tie. But beneath his arrogant exterior, there was something undeniably familiar.
Allegra’s knees went wobbly.
Zander. Zander Wilde. Her Zander.
Not that he’d ever actually been hers. They’d never dated or anything. He hadn’t taken her to prom or the homecoming dance. They’d just been friends. Best friends. And for some reason, that had made Allegra feel even closer to him than if she’d been his girlfriend. Girlfriends came and went. Zander had known her.
But that was yesterday. Now she could only stand there and try to make sense of the fact that he was wearing a three-piece suit just like the one her father had always worn. She couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. Not one bit. And he looked so...so...serious. Angry, even.
Allegra cast a glance over her shoulder in search of the object of his wrath, but there was no one there. She swiveled to face Zander again. Sure enough, his glare appeared to be aimed directly at her.
Her heart started pounding again. Her tummy did a little flip. But she didn’t feel panicky. No, this was something different. Something not as frightening as a panic attack. In fact, it almost felt like attraction.
Odd.
And wrong. So very wrong. This was Zander. Her friend. Or at least he’d been her friend. Now he was just...nothing. And Allegra was still wearing the dress she’d chosen to wear to her wedding. To another man. So there was nothing remotely appropriate about the butterflies swarming in her belly.
She swallowed and decided they weren’t butterflies at all. She was overwhelmed. Period. It had been quite a day. A lump formed in her throat, and she suddenly had to blink back tears.
Zander came to a stop directly in front of her. A furious knot tensed in his jaw. His very square, very manly jaw. Zander Wilde had done quite a bit of growing up since she’d seen him last.
“Allegra.” He gave her a businesslike nod, as if she was a total stranger.
Why on earth was he acting so ridiculous?
“Zander.” She threw her arms around him in a bear hug. Maybe it was a little presumptuous since they hadn’t seen each other in so many years. But gosh, it was good to see him. Better than she