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Chase examined his brother and Megan, who finally went their separate ways at the end of the aisle. He turned back to her with a sly smile and nodded. “Yup. Total bloodshed.”
The minster sidled up to them, drawing her attention away from the others. “Did that work better for you?”
“Yup, much better,” Harper said, smiling at him. “I like them coming down together, and then I’ll come down alone.”
“Great,” the minister closed his binder with an audible snap. “Then I think we’re all set here.” His smile was warm as he hugged the binder to his chest. “Any further questions before I head off?”
Harper considered, but before she had a chance to answer, a yellow blur whizzed by, ruffling the hem of her skirt.
“Gus. Fuck. No,” Nash yelled, charging past them.
Harper whipped around, following the path they were taking. Gus pounced, soaring in the air, promptly landing on the table by the tree that she had set up earlier. Gus and the table went crashing to the ground, along with all the appetizers Harper had made for the rehearsal.
“No,” everyone screamed in unison, running forward.
Harper stayed put in stunned silence. Gus, like he had never seen a meal day in his life, began wolfing down the food, not even swallowing.
Nash was there a second later, grabbing Gus’s collar and yanking him off. “Jesus, Harper, I’m so sorry.” He glanced at her, and then there was a fraught silence.
She stared at the food she had spent hours making yesterday at the restaurant. She looked back at Nash, who she had never seen look so miserable, then her attention fell to Gus licking his chops. She burst out laughing, bending at the waist. “Oh my God, Nash, look at you.”
Obviously, everyone had been fighting their laughter because she soon wasn’t the only one laughing.
Nash glanced down, spotting the salted caramel cake covering his clothes and his arms.
“Goddammit,” he grumbled, taking Gus by the collar to go inside to get cleaned up. He stopped in front of her, his eyebrows drawn tight. “Seriously, I’m sorry. This damn dog is a bastard even in the best of circumstances.”
“It’s okay, really.” Harper fought her smile, trying not to laugh in his face. “You made me laugh. That’s always a good thing.”
Nash snorted, obviously seeing right through her. He glared at Gus, leading him into the back of the house.
“And with that, I’ll be on my way,” said the minister. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.” He offered his hand first to Harper then to Chase.
Chase returned the handshake. “Thank you for everything.”
With the minister on his way toward the front of the house, when it was just the two of them again, Chase turned to Harper and gestured at the table. “Fifty bucks that guy put Gus up to it.”
Harper followed his gaze, discovering Houdini lying on top of the broken table, licking the splattered cake off his paws. “Oh, no you don’t.” She stomped forward and hastily scooped Houdini up, looking into his sweet eyes. “Cake is bad for you. You can’t eat stuff like this. It’ll make you sick.” He licked her nose, and then she kissed him. “Okay, you’re forgiven.”
“Why don’t I get forgiveness that easily?”
She turned around, holding up the football-sized puppy. “Look at that face.”
Chase laughed softly. “He is pretty cute.” He took the pup in his one arm, using his other arm to gather her close, turning her away from the others behind them. “So, beautiful, are you ready to be the future Mrs. Blackshaw tomorrow?”
“That depends,” she said with a smile.
“On?”
She leaned in and wiggled her brows. “If you give me some sweet loving when you call me Mrs. Blackshaw.”
His warm laughter flowed around her, and she melted into him when he planted his mouth by her ea
r. “I’ll give you whatever you want, whenever you want it. What do you say to that?”
“Well then, I think there is only one thing left to say.” She stood on her tiptoes, inhaling all his heat and woodsy scented cologne. “Do you think anyone would notice if we snuck off so I could have whatever I want, whenever I want it?”
He took her hand, grinned sensually, and winked. “Let ’em notice, beautiful.”
