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Chapter 1
“If you think for one second I’m letting go of this, you’re dreaming.”
“Let go. Immediately.”
“Not on your life, bitch.”
“Bitch?”
“You heard me!”
This was certainly becoming a bit of a scene. Tanith Ravenna downed the rest of her champagne in a single gulp, then set it down on the table. She had honestly never understood the allure of catching a bouquet at a wedding, which was probably why she was over thirty and still unmarried. She could grasp the concept of the tradition—the woman who caught the bouquet would be the next to get married—but she didn’t think the silly thing was worth all the hair pulling and cattiness.
Rolling her eyes, she pushed through the gathering crowd, determined not to let these two women, who were just dates of a few of the groom’s acquaintances, not even close to the couple who actually got married today, ruin what had been an extremely lovely ceremony.
“Ladies,” she said, sliding between them smoothly with a hand on each of their shoulders. “There’s really no need for such a display.”
Two sets of eyes turned her way like she’d just insulted their mothers. Whatever. At least they had stop trying to rip each other’s little tube-dresses off. Neither were dressed appropriately for the occasion. They had both taken advantage of the open bar. It was time to stop this before things spiraled out of control.
“How about this?” Using their distraction to her advantage, Tanith yanked the bouquet out from both their hands, then got to work on splitting it in two. Before the women had a chance to rip her hair out, she gave them each back half of what they were so desperately clamoring over thirty seconds prior. “There we are. Now it’s like you both caught it.”
They stared at each other, a blonde and a brunette, then pinned Tanith—sporting rose gold hair for the late spring ceremony rather than her traditional green or purple—two equally malicious glares.
“Hers is better,” they said in almost perfect unison.
Tanith threw her hands up, ignoring the sniggers from the men watching at a safe distance. “If you two don’t cut it out, you’re going to be escorted out of this wedding reception,” she informed them, keeping a calm yet firm tone. “Do I make myself clear?”
The blonde scoffed. “And who’s going to do that? You?”
Eyebrows lifted, Tanith rolled up the sleeves of her black 1940’s inspired cocktail dress, revealing forearms covered with a mishmash of tattoos.
“I think I can hold my own, if that’s what you’re asking,” she said, smirking. The pair glanced at each other, then stalked off the dance floor. Once they left, Tanith motioned for the DJ to resume the music, and soon enough, the tension faded and people eased back onto the floor to enjoy themselves again.
“Did you just flash your tattoos,” a deep voice rumbled behind her, “which, I might add, are basically just a laundry list of art supplies, at two drunk girls?”
She whirled around to find the groom, Ivo Ames, grinning at her. Much to her surprise, he was stone-cold sober, and she suspected he hadn’t dealt with the troublemakers himself because he was helping his new bride get their twin daughters into the car with his new mother-in-law: it was way past their bedtime.
“I might have,” she admitted, shrugging, then peered around Ivo’s hulking frame. “Alani didn’t see, did she? I knew it would upset her if there was the faintest whiff of violence on her wedding day.”
“She’s still saying goodbye to the girls,” Ivo told her. “I heard the shrieking, though, and figured I’d come see what’s happening.”
“Not to worry.” She nudged his arm. “Tanith Ravenna’s got it under control.”
“Thank God I had the instinct to invite my half-therapist, half-bouncer friend to this shindig,” Ivo joked. He had always had such a charming smile, though his behavior in the past had made the charm lose its smile somewhat. In all honesty, Ivo Ames was probably the last person Tanith expected to get married anytime in the next century, yet here she was, enjoying his perfectly stunning outdoor wedding on the outskirts of Angel Fire, their sleepy village home in the New Mexico valley. The breathtaking mountain range loomed overhead in the distance, the Ruiz Family Resort playing host to the reception.
The Ruiz family practically raised Ivo, though you would never know it from hearing him talk. He had gone through challenging times in the past two years. With his apartment nestled above Tanith’s gallery in downtown Angel Fire, she had gotten to know the brooding hunk fairly well. He might have been gorgeous to look at, all tall and blond and rippling with muscle, but he had an attitude that could sour even the most patient of women.
Until Alani walked into Angel Fire—Ivo was history after that. She had initially come to rent studio space in Tanith’s gallery, completing her last semester at art school as a distance studies student and using the natural history and beauty of Angel Fire as her guide. Tanith absolutely adored the Hawaiian native, to the point where she had been made a bridesmaid in the wedding party.
So, even if Ivo hadn’t wanted her here, he didn’t really have a choice. The love of his life was one of Tanith’s best friends; Ivo was pretty much stuck with her. Not that he ever seemed to mind. Ivo Ames threw his attitude around like a drunk asshole throwing punches at the bar. Tanith, however, was one of a handful of people who usually never got the brunt of it. And if he did have the nerve to throw so much as a look her way, she had no problem checking him back into his proper place.
“Now, if only I could hire you to bounce a few of the other guests present,” Ivo muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and shooting a dark look to the group of rowdy ram shifters who were tossing drinks back at one of two bar stations. The Ruiz Family Resort had been kind enough to charge only half the rate they usually did for these kinds of events, and no one close to the family wanted a bunch of Ivo’s semi-out-of-towner friends, who acted more like a bunch of thick-skulled herd animals than anything, to make a mess of things.
“Those guys are your problem,” she said, hands planted on her hips. “I don’t think I can quite go toe-to-toe with them physically like you could.”
Ivo sighed. “If only. Loud idiots. But I owe ’em. I can’t kick ’em out myself.”
“For what?” Tanith frowned when he waved her off with a shake of his head.
