No Touch Zone (Saints of Love Book 2)

by Elizabeth Perry

  We had a huge heart to heart a week ago, after I had come home from visiting Wyatt in Florida and unexpectedly dropping in on Jude. It took me a few days to be able to calm myself down enough to face BJ, but after I did, I told him my hesitation about getting married, and my concern over the fact that he had been so distant to me. He immediately put my mind at ease.

  He held my hand. He showed me love, and he talked about our future with such passion that it made me excited for it. He’s going to give me the kind of life that I’ve only dreamed of. When we have children, he will be the rock solid foundation to which we all rely on, and he will be my rock when I’m feeling weak.

  I can trust him with my heart, and I know that he’ll hold it dear. I’m getting more in a husband than I deserve, that’s for sure.

  I wish that I could forget about Jude, and I wish that my heart could just let the man go. I’m chalking all of these feelings up to rejection, because for real, that’s literally all that he has ever given me. He wasn’t kidding when he said that he had wrecked me. But I’m ready to move past him and towards my future. This wedding is going to be step one in letting him go.

  “I’m glad that you like it. I’d love to take credit for it, but the wedding planner did an amazing job.”

  “Gianna did an amazing job.” I roll my eyes at my brother, my mood instantly lifting. “That’s her name, Wyatt. Gianna.”

  “Right.” He sighs. “I keep forgetting.”

  His response catches me off guard. There’s no way that he keeps forgetting her name. Gianna grew up with us and graduated the same year as Wyatt. He’s acting weird and has been for a while now. I’ve just been so wrapped up in my own life that I haven’t noticed the change in my brother.

  “You didn’t forget her name.” I level my eyes with his. “You used to talk about her all the time in high school, Wyatt.”

  “Yeah?” His voice is so confrontational. “So what? I’ve done a lot of things with a lot of women, Willow. I can’t keep them all straight.”

  Whatever.

  It’s not worth arguing about, so I shove Wyatt’s weird demeanor to the back of my mind. I’ll deal with him later, right now, I have a wedding to get ready for.

  “I’m making the right decision.” It’s hardly above a whisper, but Wyatt hears me loud and clear. It’s his turn to stare me down.

  “Wait, what?” He blinks down at me. “Are you having second thoughts, sis?”

  I’m having nothing but second thoughts, but it’s way too late to consider any of those. I had my chance to bow out of this gracefully, and now, I have no choice but to get this show on the road.

  “I’m just a bit nervous is all.” I try to shrug it off, but I’m a shitty liar, and plus, Wyatt can see right through me, anyways. “Cold feet, I guess.”

  “Willow.” He grabs a hold of my hand and squeezes tightly. “All this?” He waves his hand towards the décor. “It’s just money, sweetheart. If you don’t want to do this, I’ll put you on a plane right now and get you the fuck out of here. I’ll deal with the guests, and I won’t be mad over some lost cash. I want you to be happy, baby girl. And if this wedding isn’t going to make you happy, then don’t feel obligated to go through with it.”

  That’s the problem, here. BJ does make me happy, and I do love him. I love him tremendously. He’s an amazing guy, and he’s quite the catch. He’s going to give me a good life, I have no doubt about that. Walking away from all of this, over a man who never loved me anyways, would just be ridiculous.

  Since I’ve been a little girl, I’ve always dreamed about finding my knight in shining armor.

  I just temporarily confused Jude as being that guy. Turns out, it was BJ all along.

  “No. I’m not walking away from this.” I try to smile reassuringly, but I’m not sure that it works. “I’m marrying BJ, Wyatt. But thank you for offering an escape plan.”

  “If anything changes, Willow,” He stares hard into my soul, “anything at all, I’ve got your back. That escape plan will always be in place for you. No matter what hell I have to walk through to get you out of here.”

  I have no right to feel sad right now. With a brother like this, willing to do anything in the world to make me happy, and a fiancé who can give me the world, I have no right to be upset. This is what I was meant for dammit, and I’m going to find happiness in it, even if it’s the last thing that I do.

  I stare at my reflection one last time and smile. I look beautiful, at least, in my opinion, I do. My dress fits me like a glove, showcasing my favorite aspects of my body. It’s the most beautiful dress that I’ve ever seen, and the sight of it takes my breath away. It’s the icing on the cake to the already perfect wedding that is about to take place, every last detail going off without a hitch.

  My mother is here, and she’s sober. I have no idea what Wyatt did to make that happen, but whatever it is, I appreciate it. Our father is also here, seated in the church right now with his latest girlfriend, likely staring at my mother enough to make her want to drink, but as far as I know, they haven’t duked it out yet, so that’s a plus. I just hope that they can manage to keep it together until the reception. That will end up being today’s greatest blessing.

  Gianna popped in already, to let me know that all of the guests have arrived. And now, Wyatt stands in the doorway, looking devilishly handsome in his black tuxedo, and as he extends his arm to me, he winks. “Showtime, baby girl. Unless, you’ve changed your mind on the escape plan.”

  I link my arm into his and press a kiss on his cheek.

  “I’m ready to walk down the aisle. Hold onto me tightly, so that I don’t trip, alright? I swear, it’s my biggest fear right now.”

  He chuckles as we make our way down the hallway towards the grand doors that lead into the chapel, but he does exactly as I ask, keeping my arm locked tightly in his.

  “We will not be tripping. My team would never let me live it down if we fell.”

  “Your team?” Well, fuck. My heart skips a beat in my chest as I stare at my brother, who just smiles wide.

  “Yeah. Coach gave us all the weekend off. He called this a holiday. So, all the guys are here. Most of them are in the balcony, though. Seating was a bit tight for that many guys.”

  Now I seriously might fall over.

  Jude told me that he wouldn’t be here, that he couldn’t get away. Wyatt had said that the entire team was here, but hopefully, he just forgot to mention that Jude stayed back in Florida. That would be a blessing right now.

  I want to ask, but at the same time, I know that I can’t. Wyatt’s no dummy. If I simply ask about one player, he’s going to know that something is up, and he may even discover my dirty little secret. Of course, that’s all in the past, but he plans on having Jude as a friend in the future. There is no sense in wrecking their friendship over what we used to have.

  I square my shoulders as the music starts.

  The flower girl starts the precession, and then, my bridesmaid and the groomsman follow. This is the first time that I regret having such a small bridal party, since my turn comes much quicker than I’m ready for. But then, as we start down the aisle, I see BJ, standing there and smiling at me.

  It’s in that moment, that everything finally feels ok.

  21

  Jude

  I’m sweating like a whore in church.

  Fitting, right?

  It’s not because the place is hot, because the air is on full blast. It’s just the demons that live inside of me, causing my body to erupt like an inferno. I promised myself that I was going to keep it cool. No pun intended. I’m failing fucking miserably at that.

  I’ve spent the last thirty minutes, sitting in my pew and trying to convince myself that I was going to be able to relax and be cool. That I was going to be able to sit here and watch the woman that I love walk down the aisle and marry another dude.

  Perhaps I would have been able to, had I not sat right here and studied the guy standing in front of the priest, and
watched him look longingly down at a woman in the crowd who sure as hell isn’t Willow.

  Fuck me.

  I can read his mind like a book. Mostly, because we’re cut from the same cloth. I can sniff a cheater out, and dammit all, I know that this motherfucker isn’t being faithful to my Willow. Which is almost comical, right?

  I said almost. I don’t really mean that it’s funny.

  Here, I’ve been pushing her away, and pushing her towards blowjob, because I thought that he was a decent guy. That my friends, has been proven wrong.

  Maybe I’m crazy, and I’m just seeing things. But I really think the fuck not.

  By the time that the flower girl makes her way down the red carpet, I’ve completely sweat through my shirt and almost my suit jacket. The woman next to me eyes me curiously and shifts slightly in her seat, closer to her husband.

  Great. So now I’m that guy. The sweaty fucking mess who looks like a cracked out addict.

  I guess that’s fitting, since I’m absolutely addicted to Willow, and I’m a mess over the way that I loved her and yet still pushed her away. It’s only when I see her face, that sweet, fucking beautiful face, walking down the aisle, arm and arm with my used to be best friend (because he’s going to kill me over what I’m about to do), that I can no longer keep it inside.

  I fight it for a few seconds, looking frantically at Declan as Willow stands in front of the priest, and Wyatt starts to hand her over. Not a single word has been said yet, and fuck, I’ve got to stop it now. I start to stand, but Declan grabs onto my shoulder, pulling me back down and giving me a puzzled look.

  “Jude, man. What the fuck? Did you eat one of those edibles at the hotel? You look like you’re tripping balls.”

  I didn’t take any drugs, I’m just all fucked up on Willow Anderson. Do I tell him? Fuck, fuck, fuck!

  I don’t know what to do here. So, I swallow hard and mash my teeth into my lower lip, trying to keep myself somewhat together. I make it up until Wyatt sits down next to his mother, and then, I hop to my feet.

  “I object.” Damn, there are a lot of people here. There have to be around two hundred, which means I have at least that many sets of eyes focused on me right now. The church falls so silent, that you can hear the sweat sliding off of my skin and landing on the floor.

  Damn, it’s hot in here. It’s probably the gates of hell opening up beneath me, ready to swallow me whole.

  I fucking deserve it.

  I didn’t come here today with the intention of ruining Willow’s wedding, but before I can even stop myself, the words are flying from my lips. Wyatt is already on his feet, staring hard at me, his murderous eyes telling me to sit the fuck down and stop ruining his sister’s wedding day.

  But I’ve come too far to stop now.

  “Willow.” I’m moving out of my pew and taking steps down the aisle towards her. Wyatt is also moving directly towards me, steadily blocking my path to her.

  “You can’t marry this guy.”

  My God, she looks so fucking beautiful, standing there in her white dress. Too damn beautiful to be marrying the chump who was just eye fucking one of the guests a few seconds ago.

  I’ve been playing it cool around her for the last three months. I’ve even convinced myself that Willow getting married to someone else was the right thing. I told her that I didn’t love her, and all but shoved her right back to this guy every time she came to me, trying to convince me to love her. Little does she know, I’ve loved her since the moment that I laid eyes on her. Having a taste of her only sealed the deal. I planned on sitting quietly here in this church, not uttering a single word when the priest asked if anyone objected to this union supposed to take place. But we didn’t even get that far. I’m not even sure if he’s uttered a word yet. I haven’t been paying attention to anything except for the way that Willow looks in her dress.

  Blowjob looks irritated with me, and Wyatt looks like he wants to kill me. Willow just stares back at me, her beautiful eyes wide with shock.

  “Jude!” I now have her full attention, along with every other person inside of this church, and she looks pissed. “What are you doing? Sit down!”

  “I can’t sit down.” I swallow past the lump in my throat. “Willow, baby, you’re making a mistake. You can’t marry this guy.” Oh fuck, I’m about to say it. In about two seconds, my best friend is going to know that I did the unthinkable. I broke the number one rule of our friendship.

  He’s about to find out that I slept with his baby sister.

  “I can’t stop thinking about you, and I sure as hell can’t stop thinking about those nights.” Wyatt’s moving towards me fast, so I hurry up and spit it out. “I lied when I told you that you didn’t mean anything to me, Willow, because fuck. You mean everything to me. I love you, baby, and before you do this, before you go and marry this guy, I need you to know that. I need you to know that I love you, and, I’m ready to be the man that you need. You should be standing next to me right now and taking my last name. Not his, babe. He doesn’t love you the way that I do.”

  I’ve got more to say, but Wyatt tackles me hard in the middle of the aisle, more like a linebacker, than the tight end that he is.

  “You’re fucking dead, Masters.” He growls, and his hands wrap around my neck. I’ve got this coming, so I don’t even bother fighting back. Right before the darkness sets in, I manage to once again croak out the words that have been threatening to leave my mouth for what seems like forever.

  “I love you, Willow.”

  22

  Willow

  “Willow, what in the hell is going on here?” I hear BJ, but I’m not even looking at him. I’m darting down the aisle as fast as I can in my heels and screaming at Wyatt to get off of Jude before he kills him. I throw myself in between them right as Wyatt’s fist flies back and makes contact with Jude’s face.

  Jude looks like complete shit, laying in the aisle, all sweaty, pale, and limp. I know that he’s breathing, because his lips are blubbering. Even still, I fear that Wyatt has hurt him badly. He just choked him like a chicken, and Jude didn’t even fight back.

  “Somebody call an ambulance!” My voice is a shrill shriek, and then, chaos breaks out. People are standing, most of them on their cell phones, and some clucking around Jude’s body that is still crumpled up on the floor. Gigi darts down the aisle, glaring at Wyatt before dropping to her knees next to Jude.

  “Juju.” She slaps him in the face a few times. “Wake up, honey. Open up your eyes for Gigi.” When that doesn’t work, she opens a bottle of water and dumps it onto his face. His eyes almost immediately open.

  “What in the fuck?” he mutters, running his hand down his face. “What just happened?”

  “You just announced to an entire church, on Willow’s fucking wedding day, that you’ve been fucking her! You slept with my sister? You piece of shit!” Wyatt moves back towards Jude, who is only saved when Declan jumps in between them.

  “Wyatt, man, chill!” Declan’s voice booms loudly. “We’re in a church. This is God’s house, and there are kids here. Let’s deal with this after the wedding!”

  After the wedding…

  I glance down at Jude, who still looks pale as hell, before finally, looking back up to BJ. He looks completely stunned. Of course, he does. For fuck’s sake, Jude just tried to rush us as he professed his love for me.

  Anger courses through me. I went to Jude, anxious and broken, and all but begged for him to love me. He turned me away. He told me that he didn’t love me.

  And then he shows up today, and ruins my wedding day? Talk about the worst possible timing.

  “Don’t do it, Willow.” Jude’s voice croaks out from where he still sits in the aisle. “Don’t marry this guy. He’s not your happy ending, and he doesn’t deserve you. He spent the first half hour in this place eye fucking that girl in the red dress, babe. He’s not worthy of you. I’m not either, but I swear to you, I would never do you wrong. I love you too much for that.”

&
nbsp; My eyes land on the woman Jude had just pointed out, and I immediately recognize her. She’s BJ’s high school girlfriend, and the look on her face, the guilty look on her face, immediately resonates with me.

  I’m certain I’ve been wearing that exact same look, ever since the day that BJ slipped my ring back onto my finger.

  “Oh my God.” My bouquet drops from my hand. BJ rushes down towards me, his hands waving wildly.

  “Willow, no. He’s lying. I’d never cheat on you, baby. This guy is insane. I love you. Why would I go through all of this, if I wasn’t sure that you were the one?”

  My entire body is shaking so badly, that I have no idea how my words come out so clearly.

  “For the same reason that I did.” Silence falls around us as Jude manages to get onto his feet. Declan still has Wyatt held back, even though, his anger is palpable. “We rushed this. We both wanted this to work out, but I think that we both knew that it wasn’t right.”

  “Willow, that’s crazy.” BJ reaches for my hand, staring down into my eyes. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” I tell him honestly. “But I’m not in love with you. Not like I should be in order to marry you. I’m in love with Jude. Madly in love with him, actually.” I’m now staring at Jude, my attention completely off of my almost husband. “I can’t promise myself to anyone until I see where this thing leads. You might break my heart, Masters, but, I’m willing to take that chance. You were right, you did wreck me. But in the best way possible.”

  I turn back to BJ, but briefly.

  “I’m so sorry for all of this. And, if he’s right, and you really are staring at your ex like that? See where it leads, BJ. You owe it to yourself to find true love. You’re an amazing guy, and you deserve nothing less than perfection.” I step onto my tip toes and plant a kiss on his cheek. He looks stunned, but honestly, he looks relieved. I suppose that we both dodged a bullet here today. I only wish that we could have figured this out privately, instead of surrounded by so many people that we know and love.