Page 20 of Mister McStudmuffin

“A wedding.”

chapter

eleven

JD

She’s freaking out.

I’m not even going to pretend that I’m not enjoying that. Do I wish we could skip this wedding and just stay at my place and I could lose myself in her body? Yes, that is exactly what I wish. But that’ll have to wait a little while longer.

I still have the taste of her kiss on my lips and I know I will never get enough of her.

Before she arrived, I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle the situation with her. Yell at her for lying to me for so long? For robbing us of the time we could have been together?

Then I saw her standing at my door. Her gaze greedily devouring my body. I knew right then what I needed to do. The perfect plan to show her that none of that matters. What matters is she’s here now. And I’m never going to let her go.

“So, uh, whose wedding is this?” she asks.

“Buddy from growing up. Dane Whitmore. He actually runs this amazing place called Great Dane’s Dog Sanctuary where they take in dogs from kill shelters. He’s got a huge piece of land so the pups can all roam safely.”

“That does sound amazing. Do you, uh, do you like dogs?”

“Love them. Cats too, actually. My sisters always had cats.” I smile at her, reach over and cover her hand with mine. I want to blurt it all out now. Tell her how much I love her, more than cats and dogs combined. But I need to be patient and play this out.

“Are you sure I’m dressed okay?” she asks. “I wasn’t planning on going anywhere tonight.”

“You look gorgeous.” I squeeze her hand. “Dane and his soon-to-be wife asked that in lieu of wedding gifts, people make a donation to the Great Dane nonprofit. Evidently, several of his former military buddies are moving down here to run it with him. Train some of the dogs to help with PTSD. Hayes and I made a donation in the company’s name.”

“Wow.”

“That’s actually where the wedding is. Which is why it’s more casual. Outside in Texas in the not quite fall, the weather can be temperamental.”

“A single day of weather in the state of Texas can go through all four seasons,” she says.

“Precisely.”

“I’m sorry if I’m crashing your friend’s wedding.”

“You’re not. You’re my plus-one.”

Now and for the rest of our lives, you’ll be my plus-one.

I pull my truck down the dirt road that leads to Dane’s property.

I can see the large white tent set up in the closest field. White folding chairs form rows beneath the covering.

“The weather is actually perfect for an outdoor wedding,” Chelsea says.

I put the truck in park, then walk to her side. I give her a brief kiss on the lips as I help her down.

She narrows her eyes at me. “You’re being weird.”

Instead of answering or explaining, I just wink at her. Then I thread our fingers together and lead her towards the tent. I already texted Hayes to tell him to just go with whatever I say or do tonight. He didn’t even ask questions, just said “of course.”

I wave to a few people as we move towards the seating area.

Chelsea grabs onto my arm and squeezes. “Oh my God! Is that Jess Munoz over there?” She nods towards the front of the aisle.