ChapterOne
Brodie Carter loved a good wedding. Reclining back in his seat, arms stretched across the empty chairs either side of him, the summer sun dipping behind the mountain and the air sweet from the scent of the orchard, he could safely say that his brother Logan’s was turning out to be a great one. Not only was Brodie very fond of the bride, Bella—she was like the older sister he’d never had—but the bridesmaids were very easy on the eye, too. The orchard, belonging to Bella’s parents, was strung with lights and lanterns and looked sensational, the food had been delicious, the music was exactly what he would have chosen himself, and he hadn’t had to talk to his dad yet, which was another plus. All in all, a very good wedding so far.
“Brodie, why aren’t you dancing?” His younger sister, Willow, flopped down next to him.
Brodie reached forward for his champagne. “I want Logan to have some of the limelight.”
Willow snorted a laugh as she poured herself a glass of water. “Well, don’t sit there too long, it’s boring without you.” She gulped down her drink, still panting from the exertion of dancing, holding her red curls in a bunch on top of her head to cool down.
Brodie was about to stand up and say, let’s go back, then, when suddenly Willow jumped up and said, “Hey, look, there’s Maeve!” and was gone again, over in the direction of the back door of the house, where a rather bedraggled-looking blonde was standing scanning the crowd.
If Willow hadn’t brought his attention to her, Brodie wouldn’t have given Maeve a second look—the hair pulled haphazardly back, the no make-up, the rumpled floral-dress-and-black-boots ensemble that was more suited to a day at the park than a wedding—except now his attentionwason her, there was something about her face that intrigued him. He sat forward to get a better look, observed the dark, tired eyes with their slight downward slant at the corners. And the mouth, the plumpness of the top lip and the pale pink gloss. And beneath the messy hair, he made out the almost perfect heart-shape of her face. All things the untrained eye might miss, but Brodie’s eye was not untrained. Years of hard work had gone into being able to spot a hidden gem in the crowd. Something about this woman—Maeve—appealed and Brodie was never one to let an opportunity pass him by.
He watched as she smiled widely at Willow approaching—nice teeth—and let herself be drawn into a hug. And then Bella was there, too, looking even more beautiful—and serene in comparison to Maeve, who was gesturing to her crumpled dress with an apologetic face and shaking her head while Bella tugged her arm forward in the direction of the bar.
Brodie lost sight of them, so with the absence of anything else to do, stood up. And, not in any hurry, strolled, hands in his pockets, in the same direction, lifting his chin just a touch to try and get a better look.
“Who are you looking at?” His twin brother, Noah, came up next to him.
Brodie frowned good-humoredly. “I’m not looking at anyone.”
“Brodie, I can tell when you’re checking someone out.” Noah was holding a mug of coffee that Brodie presumed he’d gone into the house and made himself. Given the chance, he knew Noah would happily be back on the ranch rather than dressed up in a suit having to make small talk with townsfolk. Unable to handle any formality for long, Noah had ditched his tie, undone the top buttons of his shirt and rolled up the sleeves. His long hair flopped forward over his eyes, but he had at least made the effort to shave.
“I wouldn’t say I was checking her out necessarily but, when in Rome and all that…” Brodie nodded in the direction of the blonde at the bar.
Noah looked in the direction Brodie was pointing. “Maeve?”
“Apparently so.” Brodie narrowed his eyes. “Looks vaguely familiar.”
“She was the year below us at school,” Noah said. “Remember? Hung out with Ethan’s friend Piper?”
Brodie only vaguely remembered his brother Ethan’s friend Piper let alone one of her friends. He shook his head.
They both looked again to where Maeve was pouring herself a glass of water at the bar.
Noah said, “She was clever. Doctor now, I think. She’ll see straight through you.”
Brodie glanced witheringly at him. “Well, I like nothing more than a challenge,” he said dryly and, leaving his brother smirking into his coffee, swaggered over to where the three women stood at the bar. “Hey.”
Bella’s face lit up when she saw him. “Hey, Brodie, are you having fun?”
He put his arm round her waist and pulling her close said, “Of course. More importantly areyouhaving fun?”
“Best day of my life,” Bella’s smile was so wide she could barely contain it.
Just seeing her so happy made Brodie laugh. “Logan’s averylucky man!” Letting her go, he reached for a glass of champagne from the bar so he could clink his glass to hers.
Someone cut in to draw Willow away from the conversation and Brodie took the opportunity to turn in Maeve’s direction and say, “I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”
Bella said, “Oh, sorry. Brodie, this is Maeve.”
He raised his glass in her direction and said, “Nice to meet you, Maeve.”
She smiled back, holding her mineral water up a fraction. Didn’t seem particularly bowled over by Brodie’s presence, which always appealed to him.
He narrowed his eyes and said, “Year below at school, right?” as if he never forgot a face.
For some reason that made Maeve laugh, almost despite herself, and she said, “Yes.” But rather than adding anything more, she turned her attention to Bella and said, “I really amsosorry I’ve missed your big day. Work was just crazy busy.”
