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A blush creeps up my cheeks, and I pop a quick kiss on his lips in appreciation. There’s a deep rumble behind us, and I turn to face a less than amused Pierce eyeing me.
“Did you know they were coming?”
“I knew about Stephanie.”
“This is great.” I release them, taking a step back and hitting the hard body. “Pierce, this is the one and only, Scottie.”
They shake hands, and Scottie openly checks Pierce out. “I understand the picture clearly now. No one else stood a chance. That kiss was scorching hot, and it was in public. No telling what’s happening when there’s not an audience. I’d save myself for that, too.”
Stephanie bursts into laughter while my face flames. Pierce chuckles, dropping his hand and kissing my temple. “I see what you were talking about now, babe. They are exactly alike.”
“Inappropriate?”
“I like to refer to it as direct,” Stephanie says.
Scottie swipes his screen and holds his phone for me to see the picture of Pierce and me he took a few minutes ago. He’s right; it was hot. But even more than that, we look like a perfect fit and a couple in love.
“I’d like a copy of that,” Pierce speaks up.
“While you two exchange numbers and pictures, I’m going to steal Darby for a few minutes,” Stephanie announces.
Pierce kisses me again, this time lowering his lips to my ear. “Don’t take long.”
I nod and follow Stephanie to the bar set up for this reception. Once we have a glass of wine, we step to a corner with a wide view of the room. “Thank you for coming,” I tell her.
“We literally just made it in time for the announcement. How’d the day go?”
I give her the run-down, pointing out some of the men and women I’ve met and their roles. She listens intently, asking a few questions. My phone vibrates in my clutch, and I hand her my glass to take the call.
“I’m glad you followed my advice and went with the black dress. It shows much better than that god-awful grey suit.”
“Hi, Mom.” I roll my eyes.
“I wasn’t sure you could pull off those shoes, but they work, too.”
“Glad you approve. I take it the video is on the website?”
“Yes, uploaded a few minutes ago. Your dad and I have been waiting anxiously.”
“Isn’t Dad at work?”
“I came down to the office. We streamed it for everyone to see. It was quite exciting.”
“Of course, you did.”
“Evin did the same thing at his office.”
“Y’all are ridiculous.”
“Well, I’d hate for all that work we put into cleaning you up to go to waste with a bad outfit.”
“Seriously, Mom, how’d it look? Did I do okay?”
There are a few seconds of quiet before I hear a sniff and little cough. “You did perfectly, Darby. We are proud of you.” At the crack in her voice, a lump forms in my throat.
“Mom.” I turn partially to the wall to hide the tears springing to my eyes. “Thank you.”
There’s a shuffle, and then my dad is on the line. “Darby, your mama got something in her eye.”
“I know the feeling,” I say softly.
“You looked good up there.”
“Thanks.”
“You know what else looked good?”
“What?” I have a feeling I know where this is going.
“Pierce Kendrick standing at your back, watching you like there was no one else in the room.”
“We’re not going there, Dad.”
“He told me you were resistant.”
“I’m not resistant; I’m realistic. Can we put this conversation on hold, or maybe drop it altogether?”
“Sure.” He chuckles. “We’ll put it on hold. Did Stephanie get there?”
“Yes.” I glance up at her grinning. “She and Scottie are here.”
The sound of a small click signals he’s getting another call. “That’s Evin calling on my phone. Your mom will call you later.”
“Okay, love you.”
“You too.”
“How are Annie and Edward?” Stephanie asks when I drop the phone back in my purse and take my drink.
“Great. Mom’s relieved I didn’t embarrass her with my outfit, and Dad focused on Pierce and the fact he was with me.”
“Hmmm, you do look fantastic, but I have to admit, Pierce had his own audience.”
“He does look handsome.” My gaze drifts to where he’s standing with Scottie, his hands in his pockets, casually rocking on his feet. The black suit and open-neck blue shirt tailor to his frame. When he walked out of the closet this morning, my mouth went dry at the sight.
“Yeah, handsome. That’s exactly what every female in this room was thinking.” She snorts.
A spike of jealousy hits me, and I sip the wine to avoid commenting but take the chance of roaming my eyes around the room. There are a few women openly ogling him.
“How long are you staying?” I bring my attention back to her.
“We’re here for the rest of the trip. Annie sent me the agenda, and I’m attending your meetings in an official capacity. Tonight, we’re celebrating. Scottie made reservations at a place he says is the hottest place to be seen in Aspen.”
