Today is just a launchpad for me to jump off and meet someone who’ll treat me right. Someone who won’t lie or cheat. Someone who knows what I really need and will rearrange heaven and earth to provide it.
January didn’t take anything from me. She gave it all back.
I fold my hands quietly and wait for the procession.
Sydney takes a step, but she swings her head to the side and stops. The man on her arm almost tugs her off her feet, but he glances in the same direction, doing a double take. A murmur goes through the crowd, and heads swivel in the same direction that captivates Sydney.
What’s going on?
I peer over the heads of all the guests. Someone chortles, and I swear it sounds like my mother.
Then I see it. A rider on horseback, cowboy hat tipped down low, charging over the lawn.
What the . . .
The ground drops out from under me, and I feel weightless, like I’m floating. A handsome cowboy in—ohmigosh—a white dress shirt and black jeans charges toward the pavilion on horseback.
The murmurs grow louder as he approaches.
“What the fuck?” Stanford hollers.
Hailstorm thunders closer, and I push away from the corner post. I stand on the very edge of the slab the pavilion sits on and hope lurches high in my chest.
Why is he here? Why on horseback?
Is he really . . .
When Hailstorm’s twenty feet away, Durban switches the reins to his left hand, leans over, and holds his right arm out.
Without thinking, I reach for him.
Durban doesn’t have to steer Hailstorm close to me. The big horse knows the drill, and this time he knows he’s got a competent rider.
My adrenaline surges seconds before I grab Durban’s arm and jump. He swings me in front of him so my legs spill over the side. I tuck them close to me, to him, and to Hailstorm and hug Durban. He’s got me snugged to him so tight that the saddle horn isn’t even prodding my ass.
Whoops rise up behind us—Avery and Thea.
“What are you doing?” I ask with my face tucked into his chest. I really don’t care what’s going on. I’m in his arms again, but Natalie’s pretty face flashes in my head. This can’t be real.
“I’m sweeping you off your feet.” His deep voice rumbles through my cheek. “So you know there’s no one else for me but you.”
His seat is solid, and he’s slowed Hailstorm to make the ride smoother for all of us.
What about the wedding?
I really don’t care. Because this day finally got exciting.
Durban
She’s in my arms. I rode in like a madman, sure to ruin the event, and she reached for me like it was a reflex, like there was nothing else she could have done.
She knows—she has to—that I’m all hers. I’ll show her soon enough, and every other day she’ll let me.
Hailstorm heads for the barn. Clyde whinnies, and William pumps his fist in the air. He’s surrounded by Haven, Iverson, and Jamison. Kacey’s on Iverson’s shoulders, and Jamison is swaying side to side with Tavis. All of them are grinning.
I stop Hailstorm by William and hand the reins off, but I don’t set my damsel in distress down. She clutches me, and I vault off. She yelps and buries her face in my chest. My feet hit the ground, and I’m holding her like a groom looking for a threshold to cross. We’ve definitely crossed something.
She lifts her face, her expression filled with wonder and confusion. She’s so goddamn beautiful in her prudish pink shirt and a gray skirt that gives me all sorts of ideas, and a lot of them start with me putting her panties in my pocket again.
