Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Wedding Steal (Book Two): The Wedding Steal, #2
    The Wedding Steal (Book Two): The Wedding Steal, #2
    The Wedding Steal (Book Two): The Wedding Steal, #2
    Ebook97 pages2 hours

    The Wedding Steal (Book Two): The Wedding Steal, #2

    By Layla Valentine and Holly Rayner

    4/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    "He kidnapped me on the eve of my cousin's wedding,
    And now he's the only one who can protect me…"

    HER:

    I've been to a few bad parties, but this is the first one that ended in me getting kidnapped!
    My hot-as-hell captor tells me he used to be a SEAL, that he'll make sure no-one hurts me…
    Would you trust a guy who just abducted you, ripped body and soulful green eyes aside?
    He came here to steal the bride,
    But he got me, the bridesmaid, instead.
    And now we're both on the run.

    HIM:

    I served my country, but now I'm working for the mob.
    And instead of saving women, I'm being hired to kidnap them.
    It doesn't feel good, but in my line of work there's only one way out.
    I just didn't expect to fall for the girl I'm being paid to steal.
    I'm gonna make this my last job, and damn the consequences.
    If they want her, they've got to get through me first…

    This is the second book in the The Wedding Steal series.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLayla Valentine
    Release dateMar 29, 2022
    ISBN9798201936334
    The Wedding Steal (Book Two): The Wedding Steal, #2

    Read more from Layla Valentine

    Related to The Wedding Steal (Book Two)

    Titles in the series (4)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Contemporary Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • UNLIMITED

      A Good Samaritan

      Dec 6, 2022

      It was hot that day, hot for the morning and hot for April and with a stickiness in the air that suggested something had to break. I was headed up the street to ask my neighbor Meech to give me a jump when I heard a scream come from the fourplex next

      10 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Coming To Terms

      May 25, 2021

      Coming To Terms
      14 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Haunted

      Sep 27, 2023

      Haunted
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A Hard Man To Forget

      Jan 8, 2024

      A Hard Man To Forget
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Festival

      Sep 15, 2018

      My husband, who loved festivals, who was a great fan of festivals, wanted to get to the square in time for the first band at eleven o’clock. From bed, the dog and I watched him dress. He tried on various T-shirts, declaring some of them too tight and

      13 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Righteous

      Jan 22, 2019

      Righteous
      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      I’ll Burn You Alive

      Aug 19, 2021

      I’ll Burn You Alive
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      In a Silent Way

      Nov 25, 2023

      In a Silent Way
      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Finding Peace—and Briefly, Freedom—at My Grandfather’s Funeral

      Oct 11, 2019

      “Saying goodbye with the people who loved him—and me—I remember that I am not the tomb that imprisons me.”

      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      An Afternoon In Her Shoes

      Jul 26, 2022

      An Afternoon In Her Shoes
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Love, Lust, and More

      Feb 12, 2020

      Fleetwood Mac was singing She is dancing away from you now, and I squirmed in my seat. Kabir was rubbing my thigh as he drove, a gesture I once thought was reserved for me. Bah! I also used to think he only took naked selfies in bed with me, but then

      11 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Summer Reads

      Dec 30, 2019

      Summer Reads
      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Philip Roth

      Jun 4, 2018

      Philip Roth
      25 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Come with Me

      Dec 1, 2022

      Come with Me
      12 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Dirtnap

      Dec 15, 2019

      I was staying at Jean’s apartment in LA for two months to escape an especially dire Oregon winter and to test how much weight our relationship could bear. We had been conducting a long-distance romance for nearly a year then, back-and-forth visits an

      24 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Charm

      Jul 30, 2020

      The Charm
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Bathroom

      Jun 10, 2024

      Content Disclosure: Sexual Innuendo The garage light flips on like a flashbulb, freezing me in a mug shot. “Del, you out here?” my wife says sleepily as she steps down the cement riser. She looks at me standing before the window; then her attention i

      12 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Shatter

      May 19, 2022

      Shatter
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Bystander

      Jan 7, 2021

      The Bystander
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Not That Story

      Oct 28, 2017

      Not That Story
      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Me & Davey Waters

      Jan 15, 2023

      Me & Davey Waters
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Hanging Man

      Jun 10, 2023

      The projections on the floor were making me dizzy, but I tried concentrating on my croissant. I didn’t want the art to ruin my breakfast. I was alone among the art projections by unknown artists. The only single table among couples and families at a

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A Wolf On The Bus

      Apr 10, 2024

      Exhaustion flooded my body, leaving a dull ache pulsating just behind my eyes. With my right thumb and index finger, I squeezed the bridge of my nose, exhaling deeply, trying to soothe the pain. This tactic worked temporarily, at least until the bus

      17 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Shame Is Ever-Present When You’re Sitting in a Cell

      Oct 23, 2020

      Between a strained relationship with my family and the death of a good friend, I’ve struggled to feel like I’m worth something.

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Birthday Surprise

      Sep 17, 2021

      Birthday Surprise
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Three Blocks

      Aug 10, 2023

      I lock my car and shove my keys into the pocket of my big coat. The parking garage is nearly full this morning, so I have to use the elevator to get down to the exit. The moment the doors slide open, there is a woman waiting for me. She is wearing my

      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Hidden Heroes

      Jun 1, 2020

      ‘You complete me,” he murmurs, his eyes focused on the steaming shoulder of lamb I’ve prepared and placed before him. It oozes juices, issuing the scent of garlic-infused lusciousness the way that only roast lamb can. Is it just the lamb that complet

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Danger

      Sep 10, 2024

      Content Disclosure: Mild Violence; Strong Language Duane had just settled comfortably into his favorite easy chair with his Kindle and a cup of tea when his wife completely and utterly lost her mind. “Goddamn shit piss FUCK!” “Honey?” Duane said mild

      9 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Wedding Steal (Book Two)

    4/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Wedding Steal (Book Two) - Layla Valentine

      THE WEDDING STEAL

      Book Two

      LAYLA VALENTINE

      HOLLY RAYNER

      Copyright © 2022 by Layla Valentine

      All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

      CONTENTS

      1. Rachel

      2. Colton

      3. Rachel

      4. Colton

      5. Rachel

      6. Colton

      7. Rachel

      8. Colton

      CHAPTER 1

      RACHEL

      As a single woman living in a big city, who frequently walked around late at night after the comedy bars closed, I spent a great deal of my time preventing myself from being attacked. I carried my keys between my fingers so I could scratch someone’s eyes out if they got too close, and I kept pepper spray and a Taser in my giant purse, which I almost never left home without. It was always a possibility that I could be attacked, so I never let my guard down, but I just hadn’t expected it to happen in Ohio.

      At first, when the man grabbed me, I thought Jenna had come outside to apologize, throwing her arms around me in a bear hug to be dramatic and try to make me feel better. It was only when his hand clamped down over my mouth that I realized something was wrong, but by then, it was too late. He overpowered me easily, pinning both of my arms to my sides with one of his arms. The hand over my mouth covered most of my face, making it impossible to scream while also obscuring my vision.

      I did everything I’d always imagined I would do in this situation. I thrashed and screamed as best I could against the gag of his palm. I dug my heels backwards, scraping them across his pants, hoping I was tearing skin. But none of it mattered. He was able to carry me to his car, pin me against the dusty blue frame while he opened the door, and then threw me inside.

      When I landed in the backseat, the air was knocked out of my lungs, and I paused for a second to take a rasping inhale. As soon as I could, I crawled across the seat and yanked on the handle. Nothing. It was child-locked.

      The car sputtered to life and just like that, he pulled out of the space and drove away.

      The man was just a shadow from behind. The lights coming through the windshield cast him in a silhouette, and I couldn’t tell anything about him aside from the fact that he was tall and strong. His head nearly touched the top of the car.

      He raced through the streets, swerving around cars and blowing through stop signs so fast that I was afraid to attack him from behind, lest he swerve off the road and smash into a tree or a telephone poll or a house. We could both be killed, not to mention any pedestrians who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

      I reached over to the other door and pulled on that handle, hoping it would open and I could jump out. The fall from the speeding car might have killed me, but I much preferred that than whatever my abductor had planned. However, just like the other door, this one was locked.

      Let me go, I said, surprised by the sound of my own voice. I’d never heard myself sound so desperate. So afraid. I’ll give you whatever you want. Just don’t kill me.

      The man turned his head to the side slightly, allowing me to see the slope of his nose, though the rest of his face was still hidden in shadow. Something flickered in the back of my mind, but I was too frazzled to think on it. My body was in fight-or-flight mode, but I couldn’t do either without risking my own life. I was trapped and helpless.

      Just relax, the man said. I’m not going to hurt you.

      His voice made me freeze. I sat up straight and looked at him again, leaning to the right so I could see more of his face. Just as I leaned around, we passed under a street light, and the yellow glow filled the car. I gasped.

      You! Catching my breath felt useless. My lungs were exploding. It was the man from the bar. The beautiful stranger.

      If I hadn’t been so terrified, I would have laughed at my own bad luck. The first handsome guy I’d talked to in months and he turned out to be a complete creep. Go figure.

      Don’t throw up in the car. Everything is fine, the stranger said.

      I didn’t realize I’d spoken out loud, but I also didn’t realize I’d leaned forward and rested my head on the back of the passenger seat’s headrest. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to think, but I could barely hear my own thoughts over the sound of my heart hammering in my chest. Even breaths in and out, that’s what I needed. Inhale. Exhale.

      Do you need a bag or something? he asked, turning around to look at me.

      I turned away so he wouldn’t see my face. I knew it didn’t make any sense, but I was embarrassed for the attractive guy from the bar to see me heaving and sweating in his backseat…even though he was the reason I was there in the first place. How long did it take for Stockholm syndrome to set in?

      I need you to pull over, I said with as much force as I could muster.

      There was a long pause, and I actually thought he might be considering it. Then, I can’t. I’m sorry.

      Who are you? Were you following me?

      I looked up and saw that his lips were pressed together, almost as if he was trying to force himself to stay quiet. Like he wanted to answer but wouldn’t.

      Had our meeting at the bar been random? Had I simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time? He’d known Jenna’s name, so that seemed unlikely. It had to be a targeted attack. But why?

      Immediately, murder came to mind, but I dismissed the thought just as quickly. First, he didn’t tie me or drug me. Second, if I seriously considered the possibility that the beautiful stranger was a murderer, I would have a complete breakdown, and I didn’t have time for that.

      The man thought I was Jenna—partially because of my own stupid lie, which I now regretted terribly—so I knew I could always tell him he had the wrong girl and maybe he’d let me go. But then he would simply go after Jenna. I couldn’t tell him about his mistake until I knew what he had planned.

      What are you planning to do? I asked, my voice soft. If I didn’t scream or shout, perhaps I could figure out his plan and then convince him

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1