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I'd explained that a carpet was a good option when laid on concrete, but Graham's yard was au naturel. Green grass as far as the eye could see. Looked beautiful, but could be a death trap when wearing heels.
We did lay a carpet inside the house, to protect the whitewashed oak floors from more than eighty pairs of shoes moving to the ceremony aisle on the deck and then back out to the tent.
For the rehearsal, Amber wore an elegant, pink beach dress. She had her wedding shoes on, white Jimmy Choos with five-inch heels.
"Let's get this thing going." Matt rubbed his hands together, looking at Amber like she was walking on water. Earlier, I'd caught him asking her if those shoes were safe for a pregnant woman. What would happen to the baby if she fell? Amber replied that he'd better catch her. They were adorable.
Not all couples were that way. I always watched with a heavy heart when they'd fight at every planning meeting, snapped at each other even on their wedding day.
As Amber and Matt practiced walking down the aisle, I made note of the wedding party. Six bridesmaids and six groomsmen. I swooped my gaze over every one of them, trying to memorize their faces. I tried to linger the same amount of time on each person, but when I reached Graham—I'd saved the best for last—I couldn't help indulging for a beat longer. God, the man was a work of art. Those lips, those cheekbones. Since he was talking to one of the groomsmen, I decided it was safe to indulge some more and took in the rest of him.
I knew he'd seen me checking him out before I lifted my gaze. My body reacted to him. When I finally did look up, he was smiling at me, and he took my breath away. He gave me the onceover, lighting up every inch of me he studied.
For the rest of the evening, I was aware of Graham no matter what I was doing, as if we were connected by an invisible line. He wasn't making things easy either. Whenever he was by my side, he touched my lower back, my arm, or my shoulder. They were all innocent touches, but damn, did they make my skin tingle. Maybe because he lingered a little too long, leaned in a little too close.
We were not alone, but in a rare moment when I was by myself in a corner of the tent, studying the schedule for tomorrow, he came next to me, and whispered, "You’re stunning tonight, Lori." His voice was thick and sexy, and I thought inexplicably of a lava cake. All that warm, flowing chocolate. Delicious. I felt his presence deep inside me, like a hook pulling right behind my navel.
"Thank you."
I tried to make sense of this crazy pull I felt toward him. Was it because he was handsome? Because I hadn't been with a man in seven years? But I'd met handsome men before him, and I hadn't had the urge to climb them like I did with Graham.
"Did you sleep well last night?" he asked.
"I've always been a troubled sleeper, so like usual."
"I'm not a troubled sleeper, but last night I couldn't stop thinking about you."
I made a small sound at the back of my throat. It sounded a little like a moan.
"If you make that sound again, I'll kiss you right here," Graham said.
I put some distance between us, pursing my lips. "Maybe I don't want you to kiss me."
"Pupils dilated." He touched my wrist. "Pulse quickened. I like my chances."
He pinned me with that molten gaze of his, and I felt my skin heat up all over. If the chemistry between us would be any hotter, we'd set this place on fire. Our moment was interrupted by one of the bridesmaids asking if I had a hairpin. Afterward, I handed out tomorrow's schedule to everyone in the wedding party. Since the ceremony took place on the same premises, it required much less coordinating, but I still wanted everyone to know what was happening when. The maid of honor, Jackie, looked at me funny when I handed her the printout.
"This seems like overkill," she commented. "I know all this."
"You can throw it away if you want. But the wedding day can be hectic and emotional. Doesn't hurt to have it as a backup. You can fold it and make it very small. Won't take up much space in your purse. Up to you."
She cocked a brow. "Isn't this your job? Reminding us what to do?"
"Of course I'll do that. The printout is a bonus."
Both brows lifted now, she turned on her heels and walked to the buffet. I'd ordered some simple canapés for food and had set them up on a buffet table in one corner of the tent. Tomorrow, there would be a five-course menu brought by servers, but they wanted something simple tonight. I
brought out the groom's cake toward the end of the evening, after Amber and Matt had given out the gifts for the bridal party and their parents. All that was left were the speeches. I'd told the couple it was a good idea to get some of the speeches out of the way today, so we wouldn't have a dozen of them tomorrow. Too many speeches tended to set a sleepy mood, and animating everyone for the party afterward was no walk in the park.
Toward the end of the evening, I stepped out of the tent to call Milo and tell him goodnight. The smell of lavender and sage surrounded me, instantly pushing me into a Zen state of mind. This yard was something. I'd spied apple and lime trees and even guava. After I finished talking to my boy, I saw Graham come up to me.
"Those were quite some speeches," he remarked. We'd heard four, two from friends of Amber's, two of Matt's.
One was okay. The other one....
"I especially liked the one who'd wondered if there would still be a wedding if Matt hadn't knocked up Amber," I said sourly.
He'd said it jokingly, but the laughter he received sounded fake. Amber had been shooting daggers with her eyes at him.
