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I haven’t been like this—a horny mess who can’t stop thinking about sex— in years.If ever.
I loved Tessa, but I didn’t have to touch myself because I’d thought about how caring she is too much. I didn’t know that was a thing until now.
The doorbell rings, and a moment later Deuce is directing the diner’s owner, Tom Goode, on where to set things up. Everly’s maid of honor, Deuce’s sister who lives up in Oakcreek, comes to the door, asking for Bear.
“We gotta train him on the rings and flower petals,” she says, smiling down at Bear who looks adorable in a tiny-ass tux.
The walk down the porch steps is toward Dolly’s barn, the place the Ellington sisters so graciously allowed us to wait for the ceremony music to begin. Closing the door, I turn to find Deuce extending a shot of whiskey to me.
I take it, we clink, and before he drinks, he holds my eyes and says, “I promise you, man to man, I will love and honor your sister for my entire life. And even when I come back as a ghost.”
He tosses it back and I do the same. Wincing, I say, “I know.” We hug but when we step apart, the mush is gone and the devil has returned to Deuce’s eyes.
“Don’t be freaked out that she’s super into you. You gotta embrace that shit and… get happy, man.”
I arch a brow, slipping into my dress shoes. “You think so?”
He nods. “I’m super good at love and shit. Look, I’m getting married,” he says, widening his arms to put his tuxedoed body on display.
I chuckle, but the truth? He’s right.
And as much as the logical part of my brain wants to hit pause and dig into the fine print, the rest of me—most of me—says go. Go and talk to that woman who loves your son and is fiercely loyal.
And after Ev’s wedding, I think I just might do that.
The way my land has shaped up to be the host site of a beautiful wedding is absolutely tremendous. Everly has been working on this for months, and this morning, in sweats and a t-shirt, she and women from town set everything up.
White chairs where the canopies usually are, an iron garden arbor wrapped in ivy and white silk centering all of it, twinkle lights hanging off the oak in the distance, the cool fall air the final touch on a perfect scene. People are filtering into their chairs, and when I peer back up at the road, cars are bumper to bumper.
Bluebell loves Everly and Deuce, and most of the town is here. It’s an honor I don’t take lightly. With my chest alreadytight, I take another sip of whiskey, which Deuce handed to me a minute ago.
“It looks fantastic,” I tell Deuce as we watch people slide into seats and make small talk, the soft breeze lifting the tulle bows tied around the chairs.
Deuce lifts his brows.
“What?”
Quietly he says, “Excuse me for a moment.”
Someone takes my elbow, and I turn to find Dolly.
My chest constricts at the beautiful sight. Her blonde hair is wavy around her face, with a clip holding some off of her face. She’s wearing a shiny gown, maybe satin or silk, I’m not sure, but it wraps her like a hug. Her nipples are hard, pressing into the slinky fabric as she blinks up at me, her full lips painted all rosy. She’s gorgeous, and my cock thickens when I look down and see her feet are bare.
“Wow,” she breathes, stepping back in the dust to take me in. “You look mighty handsome, Hudson Gray.”
Hudson Gray.Fuck me.Why does Dolly saying my full name make me smile? I don’t know, but I’m smiling. “You look beautiful tonight, Dolly. Truly, gorgeous.”
Pink floods her face and neck. “Thank you.” Then she clears her throat, and though I don’t move, my insides jump to her attention. “I was hoping to get a dance with you tonight.” She shrugs, rocking to her bare toes to pluck lint from my shoulder. “If you can fit me in. I know I can’t be the only woman who wants to dance with the handsome Hudson Gray.”
There it is again. My full name on her plump lips is unraveling my already worn and loose ends. I want Dolly, I do. But I gotta know what she isn’t telling me. There’ssomething. I’m not stupid. And her puncturing Tiffani’s tire only proves there is something more.
“I’d love to have a dance with you, Dahlia,” I say, trying her first name on for size. It sizzles on my tongue, infusing her face with heat.
“I thought you were gonna ignore me,” she admits quietly, looking down at her pink toenails. “I thought because you asked me to go last week, you were gonna ignore me.”
Just then, Everly walks up, wearing a white robe to hide her dress, and loops her arm through Dolly’s. “Bear wants you to show him one more time,” my sister says to her, guiding her away with only an over-the-shoulder wave for me.
Something twists up my insides at Dolly’s soft-spoken admission. She thought I was gonna ignore her, and the fact that I’m feeling some type of way because of that? I lift my hat from my head and stroke a hand over my hair, thinking about those words. A woman comes over, rushing us into our respective places and within a few minutes, I’m standing adjacent to an archway, behind Deuce, waiting for my boy to come down the aisle.
