After a while, the guests grew anxious and began to leave, none of them offering to search the wooded area for Journee. Even the police refused to search for her, since, by all accounts, she had left willingly. The police chief suggested hiring a local mountain man to lead the search, but my parents, in their usual snobbish way, turned their noses up at the idea. Instead, they decided to hire a private investigator from the city to search for Journee.
The private investigator has been worthless, only feeding my parents scraps of information to keep them paying for his services. The only real lead is the wedding I’m about to crash.
My parents dismissed the idea of Journee marrying again so quickly, but after remembering the paper, Journee scribbled her apology on the back of it, with the advertisement for the Forever Yours Mail Order Bride Company on the front. The lead the private investigator gave my parents makes sense.
I take a deep breath, steeling myself to stop my sister from making a mistake. Even if she did find her Brad Pitt in ten days, that’s way too soon to get married. And without telling me first, that’s definitely not like her. If anything, she must be being forced into this marriage by some half-crazed mountain man she either met in the woods or through a mail-order bride service.
Glancing out my rental car window, I spot a large man in a suit at the church’s front door, glowering at another equally large man in a suit. They seem to be arguing about something, or at least the first guy is. The second guy is smiling like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
Maybe this isn’t a good idea after all.
No, I have to save Journee no matter the cost.
I push open the car door and step onto the parking lot's gravel, careful not to shut it too loudly and draw their attention. By the looks of the packed parking lot and the lack of people standing outside, the wedding must be almost ready to begin.
As luck would have it, the first guy pushes the second guy into the church, then closes the door behind him as I’m almost to the steps. He turns around, scanning the parking lot. When his eyes land on me, I stumble in surprise. He’s the most handsome man I’ve ever seen, with his dark brown hair and a matching five o’clock shadow. I’m not close enough to see what color his eyes are, but his broad chest is something out of a romance novel.
He rushes down the steps, catching me in his strong arms before I land on my ass in the gravel. “Are you okay?” His deep voice sends a shiver through me, settling in my core and making my panties damp. His face is inches from mine, his warm breath caressing my cheek, when I notice his eyes are a bright, crystal blue, the color of the ocean on a sunny day.
“Blue.” I lift a hand to his face, touching his cheek to confirm he’s real and not a figment of my overactive imagination.
“Excuse me?” He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind, which might be true, because I can’t remember what he asked me or why I’m still here, lost in his eyes.
Luckily, I snap out of it before I embarrass myself further. “I’m here to stop the wedding.” I try to wiggle out of his embrace, but his arms tighten around me.
“Like hell you are.”
three
Dash
Can this day getany worse?
I’m all for love and romance, just not when you’re supposed to be the ushers at a friend’s wedding.
My brother, Dawson, is hopelessly in love with Esme, and she is hopelessly in love with him, though it took her a little longer than him to figure it out. Instead, she wanted a friends-with-benefits relationship with my brother. It wasn’t until she realized that all the sneaking around and not telling anyone her true feelings for Dawson were hurting them both that she declared her love for him publicly.
Now all they do is publicly display their love for each other, like today, on the day our friends, Aspen and Wilder, are getting married. I’ve had to tear them off each other, while Esme splits her time between her bridesmaids’ duties and sneaking around with Dawson. Dawson isn’t any better, either, with the way he keeps leaving his usher post to check on Esme.
“Sorry, Dash. Esme needed a fix of her man.” Dawson grins, his hair sticking out in all directions and lipstick on his collar, as he tucks his shirt back into his pants. “You know, Esme’s still on her apology tour and can’t keep her hands off me.”
If I have to hear about Esme’s apology tour one more time, I’m going to punch Dawson in the mouth to shut him up. At least he’s gentlemanly enough to keep all the details to himself, but the sheer sight of a man kept well pleased is too much to handle.
Both my brothers have found the loves of their lives, and I’m happy for them. I just don’t want it shoved in my face everytime I turn around. Between the family lumber business and all these damn weddings, I’m invited to, I haven’t had time to find a woman of my own. Even though you’d think there would be plenty of them at a wedding, they’re all already taken.
Maybe I should sign up with Aspen’s Mail Order Bride Company.
“Can you at least pull yourself together for a few minutes? The wedding is about to start.” I let the anger and frustration of not having the kind of love my brothers have get to me as I shove Dawson through the church door and close it behind him, needing a few minutes to compose myself.
I turn around to make sure all the guests have arrived before I head inside the church, when my eyes fall on the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Her hair is a golden brown, like the richest maple syrup. Her curves are made for a man’s touch, but not just any man—she was made for me. She’s the woman I’ve been waiting for all my life.
She stumbles, and I rush down the steps, catching her in my arms before she falls to the hard ground. “Are you okay?” I ask the Goddess in my arms.
“Blue.” She says, lifting her hand to my cheek, a look of awe and confusion written all over her face.
“Excuse me?” Who answers the question, "Are you okay,” with the word blue?
Just my luck, I finally find the woman of my dreams, and she’s not firing on all cylinders.
