Charming Mr Stewart

23. Sneaky Suspicion

"Where's Bonnie?" he asked, a bit more sternly.

"At Joel's." She saw his jaw clench in a flash of anger. "She says she messed up, Dean."

"I'm going to kill that bastard." He flung the cover off the bed and, in one swoop, picked up his clothes and threw them on.

"She didn't want me to tell you..." Elle pulled on a fresh pair of jeans and a T-shirt from her bag.

"I warned her about him."

"It's not like your cousin forced her, Dean. It was her choice to go, remember?"

"No, but I'm sure he started it." He pulled the old shirt off his body in anger and stormed off to his wardrobe, throwing on a plain T-shirt instead.

"Why do you care about that?" she asked, quite surprised by his reaction over the whole Bonnie-Joel thing.

Dean strode to the mantle and grabbed his keys and wallet. "Doesn't she have a partner back home?"

"A boyfriend." She followed him out.

"Do you think she loves this guy, the one back home?"

"She seemed happy with him," was all she could manage, walking out the door. Elle had always had her doubts about Bonnie. "Why do you care, anyway?" She observed him as the elevator descended. "It's not nice what's happened, but it's none of our business either."

He shrugged, stepping out. "I know what Joel's like, Elle. What I'm wondering is whether he led her or she did."

Elle couldn't help but wonder the same question the whole ride. Had Bonnie ever told Joel she wasn't single?

"You stay here," he ordered, pulling the car to a screeching halt. "I'll go get her." He jumped out of the car and strode across the courtyard. She wanted to follow him, but didn't really want to deal with anyone else's mess today. Her own day was promising to be epic, all because of her own doing. She was about to let the man go, the man she'd spent an entire week imagining she'd grow old with.

A few minutes passed, and the streets became lighter. It was going to be a bright spring day. Only in appearance, she thought. Two figures made their way through the courtyard, Bonnie a few steps behind Dean.

Elle waited till Dean pulled the car away from the curb before she dared look at Bonnie. There was a nervous look on her pretty face. Her hair was no longer sleek and straight and she clutched her purse tightly. "Are you okay?"

Bonnie nodded, her gaze skipping to the back of Dean's head.

"What happened?"

Bonnie eyed Dean again. "I'll tell you later."

Elle turned to Dean. "Did you see your cousin?" He nodded, but said nothing.

Elle followed Bonnie into her room once they were back at the apartment. "What the hell happened last night?"

Bonnie dropped onto the bed, causing a few of her makeup to roll down to the carpet. "It kind of just happened."

"Don't give me that bullshit. I saw how you two were at the wedding."

Bonnie blinked back tears. "We went dancing, and we were drinking."

"How do you think Lochy's going to take this?"

"I didn't mean for it to happen." She fumbled nervously with her ring. "It's just when Joel asked me, Dean's place or his, I don't know why I said his."

"So you went with him?" Elle asked, utterly shocked.

"I just thought we'd fool around a little bit and I'd be able to stop myself before anything serious happened."