Eve sits beside me, and I ignore the look she’s giving me. She knows I’m hiding something.
“Where’s Mason?” I ask, still watching our friends on the dance floor.
“He’s with your mom. She’s showing him off to Sage. Of course, Sage has Lily, and she’s showing her off to your mom,” she laughs.
Sage is Noah and Bella’s mom. Emma and Noah had Lily only three months before Mason came. I held her earlier before the wedding. She’s a beautiful little girl with dark hair and blue/green eyes.
“Max sure seems smitten by her. He always seems to be hovering around her whenever he can,” I chuckle.
“You noticed that too, huh? He’s very protective of her. Always making sure the blanket is around her or that Ryland is careful when she wants to hold her hand. He’ll make a great big brother someday.”
“He’s the best,” I agree. I take another sip of my bourbon and wait for the question I know she wants to ask.
“So…it looked like you and Lyla had a little something going on at the table earlier. You went after her pretty quickly when she left. From the sad look on your face, I take it that it didn’t go so well.”
“It could have gone better, but I still got something I wanted.” I twirl the amber liquid in my glass, the same color as her eyes, as I remember our kiss.
“She’s different, Jake. I’m not sure what she’s been through, but she’s still going through it. She’s not like the other girls who are fine jumping into your bed for the night and waving goodbye in the morning.”
“I know that,” I sigh. “That’s exactly why I’m here alone and not up in my hotel room with her right now.” I felt how her body responded to me with that kiss. I could have pushed harder and convinced her to have one night with me, but I don’twant to have to convince her, and I sure as hell don’t want just one night.
She studies me, and I avoid her piercing blue eyes. “You like her,” she says softly. “And I don’t mean in theshe’s hot, let’s fuck for the night, kind of way. I mean, youreallylike her.”
I debate whether to blow it off like it’s no big deal, but I find myself telling her the truth. “Yeah, I like her. I’ve never had anyone affect me this way. It’s like I was sucker punched right in the gut.”
“I felt the same when I first met Ryder. It took me by such surprise that I felt like the wind was knocked out of me. It also scared the hell out of me, too,” she laughs.
“I know the feeling,” I grimace. Leaning forward, I stare down at my drink between my hands. “What do I do?” I ask quietly. “She’s obviously running from something and scared of whatever this is between us.”
“Give her a couple of days to process things before you reach out to her, but the bottom line is you will have to be patient with this one, and we all know patience isn’t your strong suit,” she laughs softly.
I chuckle and look at her from across the table. “No, it isn’t.” In business or my personal life, I’ve never been the type to wait around and just let things happen. If I see something I want, I go after it.
“Maybe, though,” she cocks her head to the side and peers at me, “maybe you’ve finally found something worth taking your time on.” A small smile plays on her lips as she watches my reaction. Satisfied that she sees what she likes, she breaks out into a grin. “So what’s your next move?”
“Well, I’m pretty sure she will avoid me the rest of the night, so I’ll give her space…for now. I’ll ask Sophia to get the name of the catering company that Maverick and Bella used and see if I can’t get more information out of the owner as to where I can find her. After that, I don’t have a plan,” I laugh.
“If anyone can get information about someone, it’s you,” she grins. “You Montgomery brothers can be very persuasive when you want to be.” Her eyes go to Ryder dancing with their daughter on the dance floor. He’s holding her little hands and twirling her around as her cute face erupts into giggles.
“You have no idea,” I say under my breath. I have a feeling, though, that getting the information out of her boss is going to be a lot easier than breaking down those walls that Lyla has built up around her like a damn fortress.
“Okay, big brother, no more moping in the corner,” Savi comes up and grabs my arm. “You are dancing with me.”
I let her pull me out of the chair and lead me to the dance floor. “I wasn’t moping,” I grumble.
“Yes, you were,” she laughs. I pull her into my arms and start to slow dance with her. “There is no moping at weddings. It’s against the rules,” she giggles, throwing her arms around my neck and looking up at me.
“How much have you had to drink?” I raise my eyebrow at her and take in her glossy blue eyes.
“Don’t be a party pooper,” she sticks out her tongue at me, and I roll my eyes. “You can mope later about the fact that your charm didn’t work on Lyla. Now you just need to have fun with your favorite sister in the whole wide world.”
“You’re my only sister,” I mutter.
“And your favorite.” She grins up at me, and I can’t help the chuckle that escapes. Savi has a way of making people feel better.
“You’re definitely my favorite sister.” I take her hand and twirl her before bringing her back to me. She laughs, and I find myself grinning back at her. Some of the tension in my muscles leaves, and her contagious energy starts to ruboff on me.
Savi’s right. This is our friend’s wedding, and I need to at least try to have a good time tonight. There’s nothing more I can do this evening anyway. She’s made it clear that I’m to let her go. I can start planning tomorrow on how I will get her to change her mind about that.
