The music started up again. The end of their fifteen minutes was up. On to bigger and better things. Like an open bar and a dessert table.
Maverick took Sutton’s hand in his, and they strode down the aisle, beaming like streetlamps. Each bridesmaid walked forward in her long, silky red dress, latched on to the arm of one of the groomsmen. With nine people on each side of the bridal party, it was taking forever. One after the other after the other.
The only bridesmaid I recognized was Morgan, who was the maid of honor. She was only two years younger than me and Heidi and had run in the popular crowd, of course. She was easy to figure out because she looked exactly the same as she had in high school. Unfortunately for her, she was on the arm of some leering frat boy. The other girls, I gathered, were Sutton’s sorority sisters.
Then, finally, it was on to the Wright brothers.
Jensen moved forward first. He held his arm out for the girl who was blushing as bright as a cherry tomato. She looped her arm in his, and I was trying so hard not to roll my eyes. I had been that girl once. I knew what that was like. Back in the day, Landon had made me feel that swoony, over-the-top, oh-my-God feeling from having the attention of a Wright brother. And I wasn’t that type of girl either. Now, it felt ridiculous. Money couldn’t buy happiness, and it sure didn’t fix shit when the guy broke your heart.
I was so deeply entrenched in my own thoughts that I didn’t realize I was staring. At Jensen Wright. And he was staring right back at me.
Why? Why, oh God, did Heidi put me on the end? And why is he looking at me like that?
He hadn’t even moved yet. He was just standing there, staring at me with those dark brown eyes. And I didn’t know what he was thinking or what he was doing. Except for making a complete fool of himself because, surely, he needed to start walking right now. Like right fucking now.
Synapses must have fired in his brain again because he gradually moved the girl forward. And, when I thought I’d gotten past that look and away from his penetrating gaze, he turned around. He did a motherfucking double take. Right there in front of everyone at his own sister’s wedding, he turned around and looked at me.
What world am I living in?
I didn’t think I breathed normally again until he looked away and proceeded down the aisle. By then, Austin had already passed me, and I didn’t even get a chance to see Landon and his wife. And that was the only thing I’d been interested in.
So what? I was an ex-girlfriend. I had every right to stalk his wife to see if she was prettier than me.
Heidi shook my shoulder, jarring me back to reality. “Did you just get eye-fucked by Jensen Wright?” she gasped.
An older woman sitting in front of us glared at her for the language. She hadn’t exactly been quiet.
“No. Nope. No, I did not,” I told her. I was still trying to figure out what had happened. Because nothing I could conjure up was making any sense.
“You so did. You so, so did!” Heidi said.
The two aisles in front of us left first, and then Heidi was pushing me out of the aisle, all while whispering in my ear about how excited she was. “Do you remember mooning over him in high school? He was, like, this hottie college guy, a totally unattainable god. Like Zeus on Mount Olympus. Or maybe we just wanted to get on his lightning bolt, if you know what I mean.”
“Heidi, God, you’re so embarrassing.”
“Em, just think about Jensen when we were in high school. He belonged in a magazine.”
“I was dating his brother.”
“But before that,” she insisted.
“Okay. I might remember staying at your house a time or two…”
“Or ten.”
“Where we talked about him being hot.”
“Yes. And he has gone from hot to one damn fine wine. The bottle gets better with age, honey,” Heidi said, knocking her hip into mine.
“Are you really suggesting I hook up with Jensen Wright at his sister’s wedding when I dated his brother?” I asked with wide eyes.
Heidi laughed. “Getting ahead of yourself, aren’t you? I didn’t say hook up with him. You said that. Are you thinking about that?”
“No,” I spat.
Because, no. Seriously. That would never happen.
I was sworn off of the Wright brothers. None of that was going to happen. No fucking way. Jensen had probably just…seen a bug on my shoulder or something. That was all it had been because his interest would be illogical.
I was his brother’s ex-girlfriend.
I was…me.
We made it to the reception space a few minutes later. The room was teeming with waiters in pressed tuxedos, handling silver trays topped with hors d’oeuvres. I plucked a fancy crab cake from a passing waiter and headed straight to the bar.
“Champagne, please,” Heidi said, flashing the bartender a smile.
I held up two fingers as I took a bite out of the crab cake. Holy fuck, this was delicious. Wow. Who the hell was the caterer? I glanced around and found my answer. West Table. Of course. Only the Wrights would hire catering from the most expensive restaurant in town.
“We need more of these,” I told Heidi when she handed me two glasses of champagne.
I had no shame as I double-fisted the drinks.
Heidi laughed and nodded toward the tables. “Let’s find where we’re sitting.”
We wandered over to the table with the list of names elaborately tacked up on a rustic window.
Heidi plucked her name off the distressed clothespin. “We’re table twelve. My lucky number.”
“That’s because Brandon McCain wore that number on the football team all through high school.”
“Okay, fine,” Heidi said with a shrug. “It’s my get-lucky number.”
I snorted. “That’s rich.”
“Here we are.” She dropped her purse down right in front of her name. “Heidi Martin and guest. That’s you.”
“Who else are we with?” I asked.
Heidi and I scanned the names.
I shrugged. “I don’t know any of these people.”
“Work people,” she said. “But at least we have Julia. Julia Banner. She’s cool. You’ll like her.”