Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
God, he really is adorable. It struck me as an odd thing to think about a six-foot-two, broad-shouldered professional rugby player, yet he somehow pulled it off. Freaking adorable.
The mother of the bride pointed to the ladies standing closest to us—Bridezilla and a pretty blonde who looked like she might be a model. “Wilder, your partner is Amanda.”
I frowned. Great.
Amanda leaned over to Piper and whispered, “Oh, wow. Is he single?”
Piper nodded. “He’s always single. Wilder is a lot of fun, but don’t expect more than that.”
Amanda licked her lips. “That’s okay. Fun is all I’m looking for.”
I felt a sinking feeling in my chest, like someone releasing the air from a balloon inside.
Elijah scooted closer as I stared down at the ground. “Apparently I’m not the only one who likes your dress.”
I looked up to meet a set of stunning blue eyes, and that stupid balloon under my rib cage filled back up with air—at least halfway. Wilder offered a slight nod before walking over to his smiling partner.
“Let’s move to the back,” Elijah said, “so I can take some candids of this crew.”
“Okay.” I tried not to pay much attention to Wilder and his pretty partner, but my eyes had a mind of their own. Amanda was a touchy-feely one. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before the ceremony started because I could’ve given myself a headache with all the teeth grinding I was doing.
At the cocktail hour, I took a glass of wine to a quiet table on the outside deck overlooking the ocean and typed some notes about the wedding into my phone for my article. It was beautiful here. The mansion sat on a bluff, and the smell of salt water drifted through the air. The distant sound of waves crashing relaxed me more than the wine.
Then I felt eyes on me. I turned and found Wilder standing in the doorway. I thought for sure he’d come over, especially because I was sitting all alone, but instead he lifted his hand in the type of wave you’d give a casual acquaintance and walked back inside. It left me confused, like maybe I’d done something to upset him and didn’t realize it.
Though when the reception started, he didn’t look upset. In fact, he was all smiles with his partner in his arms as they swayed to the music.
Elijah noticed me watching. “She’s his partner. They have to dance together.”
He’d said it to make me feel better, but all I could think was, I was his partner last time. Is that the only reason he danced with me?
Over the next hour, my eyes caught with Wilder’s a few times, but he always looked away. There was no flirting, no secret grins, no winks—nothing I’d come to expect from him. And that might in and of itself have been the problem—I’d come to expect something from him.
In between my sulking, I chatted with some of the other guests at my table. One of them was a nice-looking man probably ten years older than me. He was seated two chairs over, but when the table emptied except for the two of us, he got up and took the seat next to me.
“I hate weddings,” he said. “How about you?”
I laughed. “Same.”
He motioned between us. “And the only thing worse than being seated at the single-friend table is being seated at the kiddie table.”
“I’m actually here working.”
“Ouch.” He reached for his stomach like he’d been punched in the gut. “I stand corrected. There is a shittier table than the kiddie table. The employee table.”
I laughed again.
The man extended his hand with a smile. “Joe.”
“Sloane.” We shook.
“So what kind of work do you do, pretending to be a guest at a wedding? Wait—you’re not an undercover bodyguard or something?”
“Definitely not.”
He rubbed his chin. “Food critic?”
“Nope. But you’re getting warmer.”
Joe and I talked for ten minutes. He was funny, with a self-deprecating humor I liked, so when he asked me to dance, I should’ve said yes easily.
“Umm…”
“You look like you’re on the fence, so let me get my hard sell in. I’m not a very good dancer. I’ll probably step on at least one of your toes. But…” He held up a finger. “I did grab the cologne bottle without my contacts in earlier, so I probably smell minty fresh. It turns out I slapped mouthwash all over my neck.”
I smiled. “Now how can I pass up such an enticing offer?”
Joe stood and held out his hand to me. I scanned the room as we walked, hating that I was looking for Wilder on my way to dance with another man. It was a slow song, so he wrapped one hand around my back and led with the other. Unlike my dance partner at the last wedding, Joe left room for Jesus. Yet I still felt tense dancing with him.