AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Four
Denver drove separately to the wedding, which left Gia wringing her hands. She assumed he knew better than to wear a baggy T-shirt, jeans and Converse to a formal Knox event but...did he?
Her own attire was a blush pink bridesmaid’s dress, short but flowy. The dress was higher in the front than the back, the spaghetti straps showing off her shoulders. The narrow bodice gave her a bit too much cleavage, but it wasn’t as if she could help it.
Turned out there was no need to worry. Denver showed up for the wedding in head-to-toe Armani so it wasn’t hard to forgive his windblown hair with sunglasses perched in it. He turned plenty of heads upon his arrival, mostly other men at the party who knew sports.
She hadn’t spotted Jayson yet, but no matter. She’d achieved her goal. She was at Royce and Taylor’s wedding with a date, which meant she wasn’t going to trip over Jayson after she drank too much champagne and then try to take his pants off.
Denver made his way to the white folding chairs set up on the hill overlooking a stunning vineyard and Gia readied herself with the other bridesmaid, her very pregnant sister-in-law Addison.
Addi blew out a breath and gave Gia a steady smile. “I’m fine.”
“It’d serve Taylor right if you went into labor right here, right now,” Gia joked. After all it was Taylor who’d gone into labor after Addison’s wedding.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Addi said with a laugh.
The violinist started playing. As maid of honor Gia began the procession of two. She stepped onto the white runner, smiling for the photographer. She winked at her brother Royce who looked uncharacteristically nervous, before her eyes tracked to Brannon who gave her a nod.
When her gaze naturally reached the final groomsman, her heart thundered. Of course she knew that Jayson was a groomsman and would be standing with her brothers, but she wasn’t ready for the gut-punch vision of him at the end of an aisle she was walking. They’d been married outside as well, though their wedding was beachfront instead of among a backdrop of grapevines.
Her smile tightened along with her grip on the bouquet of lilacs. She could do this. She would. For her brother.
Positioned up front, she scanned the crowd for her date, finding Denver sitting in full man-spread in the second row. Before she could decide how she felt about that, Addison took her place next to Gia and Taylor began her descent.
Taylor made an ethereal bride in white, the short beaded train of her dress shimmering in the midday sunshine. Tears pricked Gia’s eyes as she watched her best friend take Royce’s hand, and they rolled down her cheeks as she considered that her best friend was about to become her sister.
Once Royce had kissed his bride, and Addison and Gia had gone through several tissues, the crowd cheered for the latest Mr. and Mrs. Knox. The exit music began, which meant Gia was officially off the hook.
Or so she thought.
Brannon bypassed her to take Addi’s arm. “Sorry for the bait and switch, sis, but my wife needs me.”
“You wish,” Gia teased. Addison chuckled.
Addison, her hand bracing her very pregnant belly, beamed up at her husband before looping her arm in his. Bran mumbled something to her and she nodded, assuring him she was “still fine.”
“Stuck with me, then,” Jay commented as he offered Gia his arm.
“The sacrifices we make for those we love,” she mumbled before pausing to smile for the photographer. “I didn’t see your date.”
“She’s seated behind your date.”
Gia turned her head to find her date leaning over a chair and chatting up a gorgeous brunette. She had to blink twice to be sure she was seeing correctly. “Is that—”
“Natasha Tovar. Supermodel.”
Yes, that’s what Gia thought. She let out a noncommittal hum. “Did Mason hook you up with Miss Sports Illustrated?”
“He introduced us. She likes my accent.” He leaned down when he spoke. Whenever he was close, she had trouble thinking clearly.
“You don’t have an accent.”
“To Natasha I do. She’s Russian.”
“Good for her,” Gia grumbled.
The guests meandered to the tent next and Gia and Jayson waited for their dates. As the supermodel approached, Gia felt her lip curl.
