Deirdre immediately recognized the crux of his announcement. “What happened?”

“She told the journalists you’ll be attending her wedding, so now, if you don’t go, that will make things really tough to explain.”

“She said I was going to attend. Right on the journalists’ faces.” Deirdre’s expression darkened. She had mistaken the certainty in Charlene’s words earlier today as a bluff—she did not know it was planned.

Still, something puzzled her. Why would Charlene go to all these lengths to force her into attending her wedding reception? Unless… Charlene had something else planned for her?

Deirdre raised her head at that thought. She needed to warn him. “Brendan?”

She needed to remind him that Charlene never did something without an ulterior motive. But before she could say anything at all, someone knocked on their door. The voice from the devil herself came from the other side. “Bren? Bren! Are you in there?”

Deirdre’s heart stopped for a millisecond. How did she know he was in the