Replacing Gentry by Julie N. Ford Read Free Book Online

sugar?”
    That was my cue to follow his lead and steer the conversation to a more benign topic, but I couldn’t think of a thing to say. “I, um,” I stammered, my gaze darting from one critical look to another.
    Once again I’d come up with an opinion in direct opposition to everyone around me. As I scanned the table, I noticed an undercurrent of disapproval that hadn’t been there before. Or had it? Now that I thought about it, hadn’t I noticed a look here, a cutting remark there, throughout the evening; subtle of course, but derisive all the same?
    The sensation that I was standing in the middle of a crowded arena being forced at knifepoint to endure the jeers of a resentful mob closed in around me, and I saw myself through their eyes for the first time. From my new vantage point, I studied the Marlie sitting next to the handsome state senator. Eyes gob smacked by her surroundings underneath a borrowed veneer, she was ordinary, misplaced. In all the times I’d visited Nashville during our engagement I remembered feeling somewhat out of place, but never before had I felt unwanted.
    And then it happened. I felt like I was sinking, the tent walls collapsing in as if pulling me deeper and further from the light, my surroundings gradually slipping away. Grasping onto what little decorum I had left, I pushed back my chair. “Pardon me, I think I need some air,” I quietly excused myself.
    Anna-Beth reached out with a soft touch to my arm, but I slipped from her grip and disappeared through the folds in the tent.

Chapter Five
    M y ankles wobbled unsteadily on the uneven cobblestone path that stretched between the wedding tent and the veranda behind Daniel’s house. Where I was heading was less of a concern than what I was fleeing from. I couldn’t understand how Daniel had remained so calm, politely glossing over a topic he felt strongly about instead of coming to my defense. That wasn’t the Daniel I knew. The man I thought I’d married.
    Circling around the sun porch and into a small English garden, I had hoped to find the space unoccupied, but it was not. My hurried steps skidded to an abrupt stop. Slipping the butt-end of a cigarette between his lips, Johnny Hutchinson turned to me.
    “What are you doing out here?” I asked, annoyed that he was impeding my desire for a few minutes alone to think.
    He removed the carcinogen from his mouth and held it out, offering it to me. “I should be asking you that question. A bride shouldn’t go missin’ from her own reception.” He tsked.
    I shook my head at his offer. “The bride needs a break,” I said, pressing my fist back to the ache in my stomach.
    He slid the cigarette into the inside pocket of his dinner jacket. As he did, a spark of fading daylight reflected off the polished gold on his right pinky. Zeroing in on what I could see was the same ring both Daniel and Paul wore, I caught a glimpse of two dragons. The backs of their heads pressed together under a solitary crown, their bodies bowed out, tails curling around to make the shape of an inverted heart. Prior to meeting Daniel, I had only once seen another ring like it. Though he’d attended the University of Virginia a full decade or more later than Daniel and the others, Finn had worn one too.
    Johnny’s casual gate swept away the space between us as he extended a hand along with a smile. “So, you’re Daniel’s social worker?” His accent was smooth and sexy, as was his charm. “I’m Johnny.”
    The skin around his light green eyes crinkled with the lopsided smirk he gave me. Gold flecks around his irises pulsated with energy, like a shock that had me wanting to turn away, while holding fast so I couldn’t. The sensation was alarming and exciting at the same time. I felt like I was being drawn into something untoward that I would later regret, and still, I didn’t care.
    I met his gaze straight on. “Nice to meet you, Johnny. Please, call me Marlie.” I reached for his hand and as our