Lindy
“I love you so much. Thank you for being here with me. Did I already say that to you? I want to make sure I did. Did I?” Her glossy eyes are both from the tears threatening to fall and the amount of alcohol she’s had. I should cut her off now or she won’t be able to enjoy her wedding night.
“Babe, I think you should slow down on the drinking. If you don’t, you won’t be able to get it up tonight.”
A laugh belts out of her. “Lindy, you silly, I’m not the one that has to get it up. That would be my husband’s job. Haha, my husband. Lindy, I have a husband.” She sighs with hearts in her eyes as she searches for said husband. Yes, where is that man of hers shouldn’t he be the one cutting her off?
I see him, along with the groomsmen in a circle, drinking and laughing. I bite my tongue as I peer at the pretty redhead hanging on Brent’s arm. Rat bastard, I say with no real heat. We have been flirting with each other since we first met, all the way back to Delia and Logan’s engagement night. I’ve been here all week to help with wedding preparations and he’s been flirting hardcore. Never once mentioned a girlfriend or that he was bringing a date. Yet there she is. Let me tell you what a surprise that was to see once we got to the reception.
I had to hold Delia back from taking out the best man; she was about to light him up. But I couldn’t let my drama interfere with her big day. This is a day she deserves. And Brent means a lot to her, so I won’t let there be any tension when she has to see him so often.
“Yeah, but I’m sure he would like a wife that’s awake during the deed.”
She nods solemnly at me. “That’s true. Okay, I will switch to water. Have I said thank you for being here this week to help me with my wedding?” Her words slur as she blinks large doe eyes at me.
“You have, babe, and I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. You are my sister and I am extremely happy for you.”
“Soo, tell me, are you taking anyone home with you?” She wags her eyebrows at me. Man, she can change topics on the flip.
“I may have my eyes set on someone,” I say coyly. Right now I don’t, since my original interest threw a wrench into that. By the end of the night though, if someone else sparks my interest, I’m not one to say no.
“Alright love, it is time to go cut the cake.” Logan says, walking up to Delia.
“Okay.” She literally jumps with excitement into his arms, forcing him to stagger back before he catches and swings her around.
“I wouldn’t do that to her, Logan.” I call right as her hand covers her mouth and her face turns an unusual shade of green. “Take her to the cake, I’ll get her some water.”
“Thank you.” He says, still eyeing his bride with concern.
As he helps her walk away, I beeline it for the bar. Thank god Logan is a billionaire and has an open bar. I walk up and order a rum and coke and water for the bride.
“Dammit, remind me which one you are?” I say to the handsome man sitting on the stool next to me. He’s one of the twin groomsmen, but I couldn’t tell you which one.
His rich laugh sends a zing straight through me all the way to my toes as he turns his stool to face me. “It’s alright, most find it hard to tell us apart, especially if you don’t know us that well. But I’m Leo, the better looking of us two.” He says with a wink.
“Of course you are,” I laugh with him. Logan has some damn good looking friends. I set my sight on Brent before even meeting him. I had to stalk Logan for Delia’s benefit of course, and in doing so I came across Brent’s picture on their website. His looks caught my eye and everything Delia has said about him since has held my interest. But with him out of the picture now, I have no problem going with the flow. I’m not tying myself down to any man here, so it would only be for a fun night or two.
“Thank you.” I say to the bartender as he passes me my drink and a bottle of water. I glance back to see Delia sitting down with Logan, so she should be good for a bit. I give my attention back to Leo, “did you bring a date? And your brother doesn’t count.”
His eyes twinkle as he smiles. “Nope, no date for me. Everyone knows you go solo to weddings so you can hook up with the bridesmaids.” He says with his tongue in his cheek.
“Oh, is that so? I may have heard the same thing about the groomsmen. Know where I can find one?”
His grin blooms into a full smile as his eyes roam my body, heating my skin in their wake.
“I may know one who would be free.” His eyes meet mine and are blazing with desire. Alright then. My smile matches his as I slide onto the stool I’ve been standing behind since I walked up, taking my time to adjust my dress and cross my legs, while he’s riveted to each movement.
His tongue darts out to wet his lips as his eyes focus back on mine. “With all that being said, am I correct that you’re here alone?”
“As single as single can be. I’m all about the fun right now. It helps with my job too, not having someone waiting around for me or expecting more time with me than I can give them.”
“That’s right, you do a lot of traveling. Did I hear right that you are a photographer?”
“Excellent memory. A travel photographer, I go to remote areas, where I may be away for months at a time or only days. I always found it to be enough to have Delia there for me when I was home, then she had to go to Tahiti and fall in love and move here. Maybe I’ll have to change my home base.”
“I’m sure we could find a place for you here,” the way he says it has me thinking there was a double meaning in there. “Is there anything keeping you in New York?”
“Nah, not at the moment. I’ll have to end up there soon enough because of family obligations, but I could leave for a while. Since I travel a lot, I’ve never cared enough to move.”
“Understandable. Why uproot more than you already do for your job right?” I nod at his assessment. He gets it. I don’t mind that we slipped from flirting to having a simple conversation. It’s nice, and he’s easy to talk to. We fall into a comfortable silence, just observing one another, his eyes lingering on my legs.
“Is it too forward of me to ask what your plans are for after the reception?” I ask, leaning toward him. His eyes follow my action as my movement gives him an eyeful of my boobs. Which look excellent in this dress.
His heated eyes meet mine after a moment, “not to foreward at all. Until now, I didn’t have any plans to speak of-”
He stops what he’s saying and we both turn our attention to where my name is being yelled from the dance floor.
With a groan, I see Delia laughing and beckoning me. Damn her, I was about to seal my plans for the night.
“The bride is summoning me. I’ll catch up with you later?” The disappointment is obvious in my voice.
He smiles and nods his head as he leans close, his lips and hot breath grazing my ear, sending heat through me as he says confidently, “I’ll find you.”
I force myself away from him, adding an extra swing into my walk as I toss a smile over my shoulder when I see him watching me with a grin before he turns back to the bar.
As I stride across the dance floor, I can feel eyes follow me. Glancing around, I meet Brent’s eyes as he stares at me. That sway wasn’t for you, buddy. I raise an eyebrow at him and keep contact until I’m in front of Delia.
“You called?”
“Yeah, I’m doing the bouquet toss now. You can’t miss it, get out there.”
I groan. This is what I hate about wedding receptions. “No arguments. Go join the others.” She shoves me toward the overly excited crowd of single women. I make my way to the back, hoping to avoid this unfortunate tradition. Cici tries to pull me toward the front, but I stand firm and shoo her forward where I can tell she wants to be.
The women are hooting and hollering as Delia turns her back to us and begins counting down. Figuring I’m safe in the back, I pay no mind as Delia releases the bouquet, that for a drunk woman ends up being a great throw that smacks me right in the face and lands in my arms.
Well shit. I should have been paying attention.
