Falling for the Groomsman (Wedding Dare, #1)(7)

That was what love looked like.

Tyler met the future groom’s eyes. “Are you going to make sure she doesn’t get this wasted on your honeymoon?”

Colt rolled his eyes. “Please. If anything, I’ll be helping her get wasted. She’ll be my wife, not my little sister.”

Tyler cocked his brow, unable to resist a little bit of teasing. “Maybe I should come along, just in case, and make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble. You know, like in Mexico.”

“Come?” Kady squeaked, her face going pale. “Obviously he’s kidding.” She looked up at Colt. “Right?”

“No,” Tyler said innocently, crossing his arms. “Why would I be kidding about something like that? Someone has to keep you two under control.”

Kady’s eyes widened. “Yeah. Sorry. You’re not coming on our honeymoon.”

Colt nodded. “I’m in full agreement with my soon-to-be wife.”

“I know. I’m just teasing, of course.” He forced a shudder and threw in a dramatic gag for Kady’s enjoyment. “I have no intention of joining you on that trip.”

She giggled. “Good.”

“You got that right,” Colt said, grinning. “I love you and all, man, but there’s no way in hell you’re coming on my honeymoon.”

Kady tucked her hair behind her ear and looked over her shoulder. “Did you say hi to Mom and Dad yet? They snuck into my bachelorette party, and are over in the left corner with Aunt Meredith, waving at me wildly. I think they’re telling us to come over.”

“I haven’t had the chance.”

His gaze sought out Christine again. She made her way to the door, but stopped to talk to a short woman Tyler didn’t recognize. Christine’s gaze collided with his before skittering away. Her cheeks flushed red, and she clung to her purse so tight it became a mangled mess in her hands.

“Ugh. Come on.” Kady held her finger up to their parents. “We’ll go say hello to them, then I’ll see if I can round up the girls and the rest of the groomsmen for some real fun.”

He started to follow her, but stopped. He hesitated, shifting on his feet. “Um…give me a second. I’ll catch up in a few.”

“You can’t send me in there alone.”

He backed up a tiny step, his eyes on the door. “I just need a second, okay?”

She shot him a look, but he turned on his heel and followed Christine out the door as inconspicuously as he could manage. He crossed the room quickly, not wanting her to hit the elevator before he had a chance to catch up.

After shoving through the doors, he came to an abrupt halt.





Chapter Four


Tyler stood there, his breath coming unevenly and his heart leaping at the sight of her. She leaned back against the wall, her eyes on her phone. She casually swiped her finger over the screen, clearly not concerned enough to look up and see who had followed her outside. Or maybe she already knew?

Her wavy red hair tumbled down her shoulders? falling halfway down her back, and she continued silently chanting something. His fingers itched with the need to bury themselves inside her waves. To find out if her hair felt as good as he remembered.

It couldn’t be. No one had hair that damned soft.

She wore a black dress that fell above the knee, and a pair of red heels that belonged over a man’s head, not on the ground. No. Scratch that. Not any man’s head.

His head.

When she bit down on her plump pink lip, a fist of desire clenched in his gut, squeezing tight. Shit. Forcing himself to stop checking her out like a starved man looking at a steak dinner, he cleared his throat. Christine startled and her eyes focused, zeroing in on him within seconds.

She fisted her hands and her gaze dipped low. He forced himself to stand still and let her look her fill, just as he had with her. And, f*ck, did she look.

Her gaze skimmed over him, seemingly taking in every detail. When she bit down harder on her lip, her cheeks becoming suffused with a charming blush, his stomach tightened in response. She met his eyes again; he forced himself to smile in what he hoped was a casual manner and didn’t come across as I must have you.

“Hey, Red.”

She stiffened, returning her attention to her damn phone. “It’s Christine.”

“Not to me.” He shrugged. She’d liked his nickname for her in Mexico, but she didn’t anymore? Oh well. He liked it, so he’d use it. He’d called her Red for the obvious reason—her hair—but also because of her fiery spirit and the way she blushed whenever he’d come too close to her. Just like she was doing now. “To me, you’ll always be Red.”

“Oh, how cute.” She cocked her head and offered him a fake smile. Oh, she didn’t mean for it look that way, but he knew when someone was faking it. As an ER doctor he dealt with liars daily. He knew when someone was bullshitting him. “But you lost the right to have any cute little names for me when you left me that night.”

And there they were, at the heart of their issue. Had he expected any less? Her straight talking is what made her such a damn good investigative journalist. She wouldn’t waste any time getting to the good stuff. “Yeah. I’m sorry I did that.”

“I got that message when you ran away from me mumbling ‘Oh my God’ over and over again,” she drawled, slipping her phone into her small purse. “But thanks for the late apology.”