by Lori Wilde
“Good call.” The concoction was a color that looked more like window cleaner than anything a man should put in his body. “I like this flowered head thing though.”
Erin reached up and gently touched the ring of wildflowers circling her head like a crown.
“Thanks. Ashley and I made the headpieces ourselves.” Erin leaned in close and said softly, “Do-it-yourself is the new trend for weddings.”
“Oh, is it? I didn’t know.” With any luck, Brady wouldn’t send him and Randy out picking flowers in the field for Ellie’s bridal adornments. That would be too much to ask of any self-respecting cowboy. “It looks good, though. You did a nice job.”
Erin blew out a huff. “You should have seen the first three I made and threw away. This is attempt number four . . . and after I brought it to my florist friend and had him fix it. And if you tell my sister that, I’ll deny it and throw my blue drink at you.”
Tanner let out a laugh. Erin was funny and warm and all the things he’d never expected of her.
“You know what?” She cocked her head and took him in from head to toe. “You’re not so bad as a wedding date.”
Shocked at the compliment, he had to work to swallow his beer instead of spitting it out. “Thanks. I was thinking the same thing about you.”
“Thank you.” She raised her glass and clinked it against his bottle before taking a swallow. She wrinkled her nose but then went back and took another sip, and Tanner had to wonder what was in it . . . and how tipsy Erin was going to get, because she already seemed on her way.
“So, do you have any more duties to fulfill? And why aren’t there more of you? You know, bridesmaids?”
“Well, it seems one of the new wedding philosophies for the younger generation is not burdening their friends with the time and expense it takes to be in a wedding party. So I’m the only one who got the pleasure, but I think there isn’t much more for me to do tonight. Ashley is forgoing most of the traditional stuff. No garter toss. No cake cutting because the wedding cake is actually cupcakes.”
He hadn’t been to all that many weddings, but of those he’d attended, not a one of them was anything like this. He glanced around the place one more time. There was a line of guests waiting for something.
He’d been to the bar, and knew it was on the other side of the room, so he asked, “What’s going on over there?”
Erin turned to follow his gaze. “You mean the selfie photo booth or the charging station?”
Tanner lifted a brow. He truly was out of touch. “Never mind. That’s nothing I need to see.”
She laughed. “Are you feeling as old as I am at this wedding?”
“Probably more. You should be used to all this kid stuff from your job.”
“You’re right. You’d think I would be.” She turned back to face Tanner and surprised him when she reached out and straightened his tie. “You know, you can take your jacket off if you want. The groom and best man aren’t wearing theirs.”
Tanner had noticed that himself. Apparently suspenders were the thing to wear for a wedding party nowadays instead of jackets.
He shrugged. “It’s okay. I kind of like my pocket square because it matches your dress. That way people know we’re together.” A smile lifted the corners of his mouth as he expected some sort of retort from Erin.
Instead, she sighed. “About that . . . My apologies in advance, but expect my sister to interrogate you any moment.”
“About what?”
“Why you have no Facebook profile. Apparently that makes you suspect.”
Tanner cocked a brow. “Does it? Well, then, she should be really appalled that I only recently got this fancy thing.” He held up his cell phone. “Brady made me get it. He even paid for it. I was perfectly happy with the free flip phone I got with my service when I first signed up. I could make and get calls. That’s all I needed. All I wanted. Not this smart crap.”
Erin smiled. “You should say that to my sister. Just like that. But make sure I’m there so I can see her head explode.”
“She a tech geek?” he asked.
“That’s putting it mildly. Most people attend South by Southwest for the music. She goes to shop the trade show floor for new technology.”
Tanner tipped his head in a nod. “Good to know. I probably shouldn’t tell her I don’t own a computer either, huh?”
Her eyes danced with a playful light of mischief. “Oh please, definitely tell her that.”
Erin’s evil side had Tanner liking her even more than before.
He was about to comment on it when her eyes widened and she turned toward him. Ducking her head until her forehead was nearly touching his chest she said, “Oh my God.”
He reached out and put one hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s my ex.” She said it so low he had to strain to hear her over the music.
Her ex. Wasn’t that an interesting turn of events? He wanted to know more. “Ex what? Boyfriend? Husband?”
She glared up at him. “No, not husband. Boyfriend. We dated for three years during college until he broke up with me for some girl he’d been cheating on me with for the last year we were together. Though the bastard never admitted that.”
“So what’s he doing here at your sister’s wedding?”
“His parents are friends with my parents. The whole family must have been invited. My sister could have at least told me.”
The entire time Erin talked, Tanner was scanning the crowd, trying to figure out which guest it was she’d seen before turning away. His choices narrowed considerably when he saw some skinny dude’s gaze land on Erin.
His hunch was confirmed when the guy’s focus moved to Tanner, whose hand was still on her shoulder. “Any chance your ex is wearing a blue suit with a red tie?”
She yanked her head up to stare at Tanner. “Yes. Why?”
“Don’t look now, but he’s heading our way.” Luckily, there were quite a few obstacles in his path. Waiters. Guests. Friends who waylaid him to say hello.
Erin glanced around them. If she was looking for an exit, she was out of luck. They were backed up against a wall and the door was behind her ex.
“You interested in talking to him?” Tanner asked.
“No!”
“You want him to leave you alone?” He really didn’t have to ask, judging by her strong reaction to his first question, but he did anyway.
“Yes.”
“Then follow my lead.” He planted his empty bottle, as well as the blue drink he plucked out of her hand, on a nearby tray.
Tanner knew one surefire way to keep another man away from a woman—lay claim to her himself. Publicly. Visibly. It was the best way to leave no doubt about which man Erin was there with, and it would do a hell of a lot better job of conveying the message than his little pink pocket square.
He moved his hand to the nape of her neck while slipping the other around her waist. Pressing his hand against the small of her back to bring her closer, he dipped his head low and captured her mouth with his.
She stiffened with surprise before her lips softened.
It took mere seconds for him to forget the reason for the kiss and get sucked into the feel of it.
It felt good. Too good.
Drawing in a deep breath, he broke away from her mouth, pulling back just enough so he could see her face. “Was that a’ight?”
“Yeah.” Erin’s reply was a little breathy.
Tanner tried to ignore the fact that he was breathing a bit heavily himself. He dared to raise his gaze and glance past Erin. The ex was still talking to some people across the room, but judging by the look on his face, he’d seen the kiss.
“Did it work?” she asked.
“Not sure. He’s talking to someone right now.”
“Then maybe we need to keep up the ruse. You know, to make it believable. Only if you want to, that is. If you don’t mind . . .”
Erin’s suggestion that they keep pretending to be
more involved than they were was enough to get Tanner’s complete attention.
Her ex nearly forgotten, all Tanner could think of now was kissing her again . . . and that she wanted him to.
Letting himself get another taste of this woman after he’d enjoyed the first one so much was definitely not good for him. But Tanner never had known what was best for him when it came to women.
Getting involved with her could set him up for failure and pain the likes of which he hadn’t felt since things had ended with his own ex.
None of that stopped him as he said, “Nope. I don’t mind at all.”
The band stopped playing as the leader said into the microphone, “Please welcome for the first time ever, Mr. and Mrs. Chad Jackson.”
Erin pulled out of his arms and turned to face the small wooden dance floor. Tanner did the same, finally able to breathe freely again without the feel and the sweet scent of her so close to him.
“The bride and groom ask everyone to join them on the dance floor for their first dance.”
Drawing in a deep breath that had her breasts rising and his gaze dropping to take in the move, Erin said, “You up for a dance?”
Erin, held close in his arms, swaying to the music. Tanner swallowed as his mouth went dry. “Of course. It’s my duty as your date.”
She smiled and held out one hand to him. “Lead the way.”
Chapter Eleven
The slow music and being in Tanner’s arms didn’t help her get over that kiss. It had thrown Erin completely off-kilter.
She tried to write off her reaction as surprise. Unfortunately, she had a feeling it was more than that. It had been a really great kiss.
In fact, as far as first kisses went, it had been pretty spectacular. No awkward pauses. No clashing of teeth or bumping of noses.
It figured Tanner knew how to kiss well. He’d probably practiced quite a bit with plenty of women. She wondered how many and why one hadn’t finally locked him down into a relationship.
At his age he should be attached, or at least have a failed marriage behind him. Shouldn’t he? Maybe he did and just hadn’t told her. After considering that, she couldn’t stand not knowing more about him.
Curiosity got the better of her. As they swayed to the song Ashley had chosen for the first dance, Erin pulled back and glanced up at him. “Can I ask you something?”
With his big, strong hands firmly wrapped around her waist so she couldn’t ignore the feel of them, Tanner nodded. “Sure.”
“Why aren’t you in a relationship?” She hadn’t meant to ask that specifically, but somehow the question had slipped out.
More importantly, she shouldn’t care about his relationship status considering this was a one-time thing. He was doing her this one favor by being her wedding date. Nothing more. She needed to remember that.
Apparently the slow dance, the blue drinks, and the hard-bodied cowboy holding her a bit too close had made Erin lose her mind.
“Why aren’t you?” Tanner asked without missing a beat.
Erin frowned at how he’d dodged the question, but she wasn’t going to be deterred. Now that she’d ventured down this path, she intended to keep going. “I asked you first.”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine. I was in a serious relationship. It ended.”
“Why did you break up?” she asked.
Tanner lifted one shoulder. “Jill wanted to change me. I didn’t want to be changed.”
“Oh.” Erin chewed on that answer for a bit. She really couldn’t argue with it, though she’d like more information. For instance, what did she want to change about him?
She’d opened her mouth to ask when he said, “Your turn, Miss Curious. I answered you, now you have to answer me. Why are you still single? I certainly hope it’s not because that one ass cheated on you back while you were in college.”
He looked far more interested in her answer than it warranted. He was going to be disappointed.
“No, it’s not because of Jared. When I first started the business, I wanted to concentrate on building my clientele and my reputation. That didn’t leave much time for dating. Especially given all the night and weekend hours. So I kept my head down and worked as hard as I could to make my company a success. When I looked up again, ten years had passed.” She mirrored him and lifted one shoulder, pretending it didn’t matter. That it didn’t bother her to be dancing at her little sister’s wedding when she hadn’t even been able to come up with a real date. Although Tanner had turned out to be surprisingly good in the wedding-date department . . . so far anyway.
“Hmm.” Tanner looked as if he was digesting her answer just as she had pondered his.
“Am I allowed a follow-up question?” she asked.
Glancing down at her as they moved slowly around the dance floor, he said, “Sure.”
She braced herself and got up the nerve to ask what she’d wondered about. “What did she want to change about you?”
He cocked a brow. “Because I’m so perfect as I am, you mean?”
“Exactly.” Erin laughed at his joking.
Single, age-appropriate men with a sense of humor, good looks, and muscles like Tanner’s didn’t exactly grow on trees. And she shouldn’t be thinking things like that.
She and Tanner were so different it was ridiculous. There was no way they’d be compatible for more than a few hours. Sitcoms were written about couples with fewer differences than she and Tanner had.
“It wasn’t a big deal. I’m a ranch hand. Always will be. She didn’t want that, so I guess she didn’t want me.” Tanner lifted one shoulder in a halfhearted shrug. “When I realized she loved the city more than she could ever love me, staying together was pointless.”
His answer echoed her own thoughts about opposites attracting for a while but not for the long term.
Oh well. She’d enjoy tonight and that would be that.
Tanner’s mouth tipped up in a smile. He pulled her closer and rested his chin on the top of her head. “Blue suit is eyeballing us. Gotta make this convincing.”
Resting her head against his chest, she said, “Good idea.”
They rocked to the final strains of the love song and Erin tried to ignore the disappointment she felt when the dance ended and a fast number began to play.
Tanner dropped his hold on her and took a step back. “Another drink? A nonblue one this time?”
“Sure.” She smiled until a flash of white behind Tanner caught her eye. “Uh-oh.”
“What?” he asked.
“Determined-looking, nosy bride coming up on your six.”
Tanner let out a snort. “Bring it on. I’ve faced worse.”
“We’ll see if you still think so afterward.” Drawing in a bracing breath, Erin stepped around Tanner to face her sister. “Ash. Hey. Do you need me for something?”
“Yes. I need you to introduce me to your mysterious date here.” Ashley’s gaze landed square on Tanner, and Erin knew there was no avoiding the encounter now.
This had become quite a tangled web she’d woven by telling Ashley there was nothing between her and Tanner and then proceeding to pretend for Jared’s benefit that there was. And beneath it all was the fact that she was still a little shaky, first from that kiss and then from the slow dance. What was that about?
Maybe she could keep this interrogation short at least. “Tanner, this is my sister, Ashley.”
“Nice to meet you and congratulations. Beautiful wedding. I’m enjoying it. Thanks for inviting me.”
Ashley’s brow rose. “Actually, Erin invited you, which leads me to wonder where you two met and why I haven’t met you before.”
As Erin cringed at the attitude in her sister’s question and braced for Tanner’s answer, a savior appeared in the form of the catering manager, waving from across the room. “Ash, the caterer is trying to get your attention. He must have a question.”
Without even turning to look, Ashley pinned Erin with a glare. “Can’t you answer him? You insisted
you could be my on-site coordinator today in addition to being the maid of honor. That’s the only reason I didn’t hire someone else to do it.”
Erin opened her mouth to protest, but it was the truth. Ashley had offered to hire someone to run the event today so they could both just enjoy themselves and not be bothered with details and Erin had talked her out of it.
It had seemed like a waste of money when Erin could run this party with her eyes closed. She’d successfully worked with both the caterer and the band before.
“All right, I’ll handle it.” Erin sighed. She caught Tanner’s gaze. “I’m sorry. I have to deal with this.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to getting to know your sister.” Tanner even looked like he meant it. He focused his attention on Ashley. “Can I get you something? I bet you haven’t had time to grab anything to eat or drink.”
As Erin begrudgingly left them alone, she had to admit that Tanner might be able to handle this on his own, maybe better than if she’d been there.
Fingers crossed that was true.
She made a beeline for the manager, planning to handle whatever he needed as quickly as possible so she could get back to Ashley and the pending disaster with Tanner.
Erin tried to keep one eye on her date and her sister while fielding the caterer’s questions but lost sight of the duo behind a cluster of guests near the bar. Not being able to see them fueled her unease.
“Erin?”
“Um, yeah?” She’d been so distracted by searching the room for them, she must have missed a question.
“No cake ceremony at all? We just put the cupcakes out on the buffet and let the guests have at it?” he asked.
“That’s what she wants.” Erin shrugged.
Her sister had wanted a lot of things for this wedding that Erin didn’t approve of, but Ashley was the bride and Erin’s job was to keep her happy, so she hadn’t argued.
“All right.” The caterer looked unhappy but accepting.
“Anything else?” she asked, itching to get across the room to see how badly things had degraded while she’d been gone.