Shaun turned to glare at her father, who had just sidled up to her while they waited for the wedding planner to finish walking the groomsmen through their roles.
“You said the same thing about sitting too close to the TV when we were kids. Yet not one of us went cross-eyed,” she muttered sourly as she turned back to face forward, crossing her arms over her middle.
Levi’s low chuckle both calmed her and irritated her. She didn’t want her dad to be funny, not when Kasey was driving her absolutely insane.
She’d tried to be the bigger person. She’d sought him out, shaken that stupidly strong hand of his that made butterflies whip around in her belly, and said she’d behave if he would.
“I’m not leaving this mountain without tasting you at least once.”
Those huskily whispered words—a dark promise—his lips moving directly against her cheek, damn near touching the corner of her mouth, all of it combined to cause an awful, delicious ache in the deepest part of her.
He was being a perfect gentleman. Not one sly glance, not one provocative remark, not a single ungentlemanly touch had come her way from the man since he’d stepped away from her and sauntered down the staircase at the vacation rental. She’d stood at the top of the stairs, as if in a stupor, for long minutes, willing her heart to slow its frantic pace in her chest, or the trembling in her hands to cease. He was doing exactly what she asked of him.
So why was she so irrationally angry that his eyes never lingered on her in the skintight bodycon dress that sheknewhighlighted her full hips, the narrowness of her waist, and the roundness of her breasts?
“Okay, let’s run it from the top again, please,” the wedding planner called to the room, and Freeman, Roxy, and the groomsmen made their way back down the aisle from where they’d all been stationed where the altar would be the following day. A set of double doors stood open at the entrance to the ceremony space, where the bridal party would enter through. Jodi and Free had chosen to say their vows in front of a massive set of floor to ceiling windows overlooking the snow-covered mountain beyond. “Ladies, please get in line in the order that you will be walking down the aisle. Jodi and Mr. Kendall will be last.”
The drop-dead gorgeous blonde, giant ipad in hand, smiled coquettishly at Kasey as he made his way back down the aisle. He winked at the woman, which made her smile seductively, and Shaun gnashed her teeth together at the flash of irrationally intense jealousy that rampaged its way through her body. Her lips tightened into a hard line as she made a half turn away from him, but not before she saw Roxy elbow him hard in the side, making him wince and clutch his ribs with an audible, “Ow!”
As the women lined back up on the other side of the double doors, the wedding planner cued the music to start, and they were off again. They ran through it twice more before both Jodi and the wedding planner were confident that everything was nailed down and running smoothly. At the end of each run-through, when Kasey would extend his arm to her to take as they made their way down the two small steps from the raised dias in front of the windows, Shaun would steel herself as she placed her hand in the crook of his elbow. The entire walk back downthe aisle was pure torture; her hand tucked into his elbow, her fingers stiff against the soft fabric of his shirt.
As soon as they made it down to the end of the aisle, he would release her, turning away from her as if she didn’t exist.
Dinner went much the same.
They were seated in a private room of one of the restaurants at the resort, served by impeccably dressed waitstaff. It was evident her father had spared no expense. The food was phenomenal, the wine divine, the company some of the best. Her sister was relaxed and radiant with Freeman by her side. Her mother was having a hard time keeping tears from her eyes, and her father routinely reached out to kiss them away with quiet murmurs. Roxy was flirting shamelessly with one of the handsome waiters to Shaun’s left, and across the table from her, Kasey was deep in conversation with his father and younger brother who had flown in earlier that afternoon. Not once did he look her way.
By the end of the night, Shaun had worked herself into a fine fit. She’d wanted him tobehave, not ignore her completely!
The wine had put a flush to her cheeks after her third glass, and as they all climbed into the shuttles that would take them back to the vacation rental for the night, Shaun shrugged out of her jacket, too warm from the wine and the heat in the vehicle.
“I know it’s an exciting night, but please don’t stay up late!” her mother called to the group of them. Levi already had her hand in his, pulling her toward the wide staircase. Shaun prayed that the walls in this house were soundproof.
Free motioned to the bridal party as a whole, and the group of them circled a giant marble island in the kitchen as he produced a bottle of tequila and several limes. Roxy grinned and said, “Oh hell yes,” as she began lining up plastic shot glasses that Free set on the countertop. Tessa found a cutting board and a knife and began slicing the limes as Free poured out enoughshots for the group—all but Fallon and Tristan, anyway, who were still underage—and once everyone had a shot in hand, Free looked around the room.
“I want to thank you all for being here with us. We wanted this weekend to be for close family and friends only, and to have this group of people here, standing with us tomorrow as I marry the most beautiful woman in the entire world… Thank you. We wouldn’t want anyone else standing with us tomorrow,” he murmured earnestly, and then raised his shot.
“Here here!” Kasey called, reaching his shot glass out to clink it against Free’s, and then Jodi’s. The rest of them followed suit before tossing back the clear liquor. It burned Shaun’s throat as she swallowed, chasing it by sticking the lime between her lips and sucking.
It wasn’t until she brought her eyes to Kasey’s that she nearly stopped breathing, the intensity of his stare burning straight through her. His eyes dropped to her mouth as she plucked the lime wedge from between her lips, licking them nervously.
Jodi waved her hand when Free made to pour out another round, saying, “No more for me! I don’t want to be hungover tomorrow!”
Shaun lowered her eyes from Kasey’s as Free gathered her sister in his arms, kissing her soundly. Jodi came up laughing from the kiss, pecking her lips against her fiancés again sweetly.
Whispered murmurs drifted from the two of them, but the group ignored them, trickling away from the island countertop, leaving them alone. Roxy and Kasey walked together toward the staircase, Kit and Tessa following behind. Warren and Tris plopped into the two giant leather recliners and turned the TV on, finding a replay of an NBA broadcast.
“Not too loud,” Shaun muttered as she walked past them, and Tris saluted her, which made her smile.
Doors along the long hallway were closing, others left open with a dim lamp lit, which sent beams of light into the dark hall. Tessa and Kit were sitting cross legged on their beds, Roxy lay flat on her stomach next to them. Roxy waved, getting Shaun’s attention as she walked past. “Hey, come in for a few!”
Shaun entered, crossing the floor until she reached one of the beds, falling back onto it with a flop and a heavy sigh. “I want to go sit in the hot tub but I’m too tired. I’m afraid I’d fall asleep sitting in the water and drown. Then one of you would have to give my speech tomorrow.”
“Nope,” Tessa laughed, shaking her head adamantly. “I don’t do public speeches. No dying tonight.”
Kit was scanning over a printed itinerary of the next day’s schedule that the wedding planner had handed to the entire bridal party after rehearsal had ended. “We have plenty of time to relax tomorrow morning. We don’t have to start hair and make-up until one in the afternoon, since the ceremony doesn’t start until sundown.”
“It’s going to be such a long day,” Shaun groaned. “I don’t know if I’ll make it to midnight to watch the fireworks.”
