But that was neither here nor there.
“Are you kidding me?” My brows dropped heavy over my eyes. “Holiday Bradbury,” I scolded, using her full name as I planted my hands on my hips. “Don’t you dare talk like that about one of my best friends. You are gorgeous and sweet and any man with half a brain would want to wife you up in an instant.”
She snort-laughed and bumped her shoulder into mine again as she looked back out at the dance floor. “Thanks, Lenni.”
“Any time.” Seeing that moment as my escape, I jumped on it. “I’m going to step out for a minute, take a breather.”
Holly’s head tilted to the side as she regarded me. “Want some company?”
I waved her off as I started moving backward. “Nah, I’m good. You get your fine ass out there and hook yourself a hockey player.”
I headed toward the exit, snatching a glass of champagne from the tray of a passing waiter on my way. Usually I liked an ice-cold beer after a long night. It was something instilled in me as the daughter of bar owners, and when my family’s bar, The Tap Room, had been passed down to me to manage, my appreciation for malt and hops had only grown.
But at that moment, I wasn’t picky. Anything with alcohol would do. It wasn’t easy walking through the field in pencil-thin stiletto sandals, but I somehow managed, moving away from the party until I reached the shadows past the glow of the twinkle lights and paper lanterns hanging all around the tent where thereception was being held. I kept going until the music faded enough for me to hear the night song of the animals and insects all around the ranch. It was a sound I’d grown up with, a sound that soothed me like a soft blanket or a warm hug.
Pulling in a deep breath, I cast my gaze out at the mountains that surrounded the valley our town was nestled in. They weren’t easy to see in the dark, but there was just enough moonlight to illuminate the jagged peaks reaching up to kiss the star-speckled sky.
Though, I didn’t need the light of day to know how beautiful the view was from where I was standing. I’d grown up on Safe Haven Ranch. It was in my blood, coded right into my DNA. This land was as much a part of me as my own heartbeat. It had been in my family for generations, formerly known as Hightower Ranch before it had been handed down to my brother. He changed it, choosing to give it a name that represented what it had meant to him once he came to live here after his nightmare years in foster care. It just so happened this place ended up meaning the same thing to many of the people who’d stepped foot on this land over the years.
The breeze kicked up, stirring my loose hair and skating across my bare shoulders, the cool temperature causing me to shiver. I wasn’t exactly dressed for the chilly mountain nights in my flowy, strapless chiffon bridesmaid dress, but I felt too damn pretty to cover up any part of it.
The pale sage-green color complemented my skin tone, and the A-line corseted bodice managed to accentuate my waist and hold my breasts in place perfectly, a feat not easily accomplished given that my girls were on the larger side. I was comfortable in my own skin and loved every dip and curve of my body, but dressing as a curvy plus-sized girl wasn’t always easy. Especially when stores and shops still catered to skinnier women. But the beautiful tea-length gowns that Rae had picked for us wereflattering for every body type, and I’d felt like showing off, despite knowing the temperature would drop with the sun.
With my hair and makeup done and this knockout dress, I’d been convinced there was no way Raylan could look at me today and see a little girl. Then he showed up with Wedding Date Barbie on his arm—a lithe woman with mile-long legs who looked like she belonged on a runway—and all my hopes were dashed.
I wrapped one arm around myself as I lifted the glass of champagne with the other, drinking half of it down in a couple swallows.
“You tryin’ to catch pneumonia out here, Chaos?”
My spine shot straight and my fingers tightened around the flute’s stem at that deep, rumbly voice. It was just as rough and shiver-inducing as always, like a file scraping over craggy stone, smoothing out its jagged edges.
It was as though my thoughts conjured up the very man I was trying to get away from. The chill along my spine just then had nothing to do with the temperature. It never failed that my skin would tingle and grow tight and my heart would start to race at the sound of Raylan’s voice, especially when he was calling me by the nickname he’d given me years ago.
Taking a bracing breath, I looked over my shoulder at the approaching man. My breath stalled for a second as I took him in. If I thought Raylan Bradbury was a sight to behold in faded jeans and those old flannels he favored, it was nothing compared to what he looked like in a tux.
His long legs and thick thighs encased in those black slacks made my mouth water. The cowboy could clean up really damn well, that was for sure.
He’d ditched his jacket a while ago, his bow tie hung undone over his shoulders, and the suspenders he was sporting made my imagination run wild. The top button of his crisp white dressshirt was unbuttoned, exposing his throat. I hadn’t known it was possible for a throat to be sexy until Raylan. His blond hair shone paler than usual in the moonlight, and I didn’t want to think about why it looked so tousled. As thoughsomeonehad been running their French tipped fingernails through it.
Doing the very thing I’d done for years, I forced my feelings for him down so I didn’t risk them showing on my face or in my eyes. Only that had been proving harder to do than usual lately. I didn’t know if it was because of the wedding and the vibes that came with it, or if I was simply tired of pretending, but those feelings remained closer to the surface than I was comfortable with.
Pretending my heart didn’t feel like it was beating at the pace of hummingbird wings, I snorted and turned back to the view of the shadowed mountains and night sky I’d been appreciating before he showed up. “It’s notthatcold out here, you big baby,” I said teasingly.
The dried grass crunched beneath his shoes as he moved closer, coming to a stop right beside me, close enough that the smells of earth and pine trees were blocked out by Raylan’s cologne. The leather and sweet tobacco leaf scent was so familiar to me that I could pick the man out in a crowded room while blindfolded based on smell alone.
“Cold enough you at least need a sweater,” he replied.
I blew out a raspberry and waved a hand down my front with a flourish before holding my arms out and spinning in a quick circle for maximum effect. “And cover up this gorgeous dress? Not a chance in hell. I can handle being a little chilly.”Thank you, padded bra.
His gaze trailed from my face to my feet, taking me in, and I was suddenly thankful for the darkness. It hid the fact that my skin had become hot and flush at his perusal, leaving my cheeksand neck a berry-red color that would have instantly given me away.
“It is a hell of a dress, Chaos. If I haven’t told you already, you look beautiful.”
Even said in his signature surly tone, that compliment was enough to make me swoon on the inside. I shot him a sassy smile and batted my lashes. “Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself, Cowboy.”
One side of his mouth quirked up in a crooked grin as he let out a low chuckle. “The highest of compliments.”
“Like you need your ego stroked,” I threw back, casting him a side-eyed look. “I’m sure your harem of women keeps your praise tank topped off.”
