Page 46 of Cloud Nine Love

“I’m just not sure I’m ready to give you away, but if any man deserves you, it’s Kane.”

Now, when her lips curled, her smile reached her eyes. “He’s the best.”

“So are you; he’s a lucky man.”

She lifted up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss on my cheek.

From behind the closed doors, I heard the music change. Instead of the traditional bridal march, my sister had opted to walk down the aisle to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri.

“You ready?” Willow asked Ruby.

My sister took another deep breath and nodded as we took the first step toward her future. And, as my eyes locked with Taylor’s, if I’m lucky, my future as well.

20

TAYLOR

“Fear of public speaking is the most common phobia in the world, even more than death.” ~ Tim Rhodes

“Okay, can I get the Man of Honor and the Best Woman on either side of the happy couple?” Cody, the photographer, waved his hand toward Kane and Ruby.

We’d been taking pictures in the field next to the barn where the reception was being held for the past thirty minutes. Kane’s grandad, Otto, Ruby’s mom, Celeste, and Harper had all taken their photos with the happy couple and gone inside about ten minutes earlier, leaving only the wedding coordinator, the photographer, Kane, Ruby, Remi, and me outside.

This past week, I’d managed to keep my distance from Remi, but today, I was forced to be in his company. I’d hoped that staying away from him would have helped me build up my resistance, but instead, the opposite had occurred. Instead of having any sort of tolerance, I was even more vulnerable to him. His pheromones were my catnip. Just being near him wreaked havoc on my senses. I was dizzy. My palms were damp. My mouth was watering. My heart was pounding so hard that I was sure Kane could hear it as I took my place beside him, and Remi stood beside his sister.

It was torture. I was drawn to him. There was no denying that. He was truly like a drug I was addicted to. My entire body trembled when I was near him or even heard his voice. And if he touched me, even just briefly, like he had when he walked by me before the ceremony, the tremors turned into full-blown quakes. It was totally involuntary. I had zero control over my body’s responses to him.

Every tool I had in my arsenal of coping mechanisms proved to be an exercise in futility. All of the defenses I tried to enact to combat the effect he had on me were ineffective. My efforts were all in vain. I was totally helpless against the man who had infiltrated my body, mind, and soul, and it seemed that was both infuriating and terrifying.

Thankfully, there was a faint light flickering at the end of the tunnel. All I had to do was survive the next twenty-four hours. After that, he’d be on a flight back to California, and I could finally start my new chapter without any baggage.

“Get a little closer; huddle up.” Cody waved his hand.

I took a step closer to Kane, which also meant a step closer to Remi. Despite the fact that there were two people separating us, I could feel even the tiny increment of space that we’d just moved in each other’s direction.

“Okay, now if I can get a shot of just the Man of Honor and Best Woman.”

“Why?” I snapped defensively, then felt five sets of eyes on me.

Now, I had the attention of Willow, the wedding coordinator, Cody, the photographer, Ruby, Kane, and, of course, Remi, all directed at me.

“You’re the wedding party,” Cody explained.

“Right.” I nodded.

Ruby and Kane stepped to the side, and Remi moved next to me. I didn’t look up at him, but I could feel him smirking. Amusement radiated off of him, which should have irritated me. I should’ve been pissed that he was clearly enjoying my discomfort in our current predicament. But it didn’t. If anything, I was even more attracted to how unbothered he seemed by my prickly disposition. He hadn’t taken any offense to me all week. It was almost as if he knew I was fighting a losing battle, one where he would come out victorious. His unwavering confidence was, well, hot.

“A little closer,” Cody instructed with a wave of his hand.

Remi’s arm slipped around my waist, and I had to actively stop myself from melting against him. I continued to smile as Cody snapped a series of pictures, then lowered his camera and looked at the screen.

“Okay, we got it,” Cody announced.

The tips of Remi’s fingers dug into my hip before he dropped his hand. The pressure of his touch sent a burst of tingles from my core radiating through my entire body. I took in a shallow breath as Willow instructed us as to what would be happening next.

“Alright, so Remi and Taylor will be announced first and walk in together, and then I’ll close the doors, and the DJ will announce Mr. and Mrs. Kingston,” Willow explained.

“What? Why do we have to be announced?” I wondered aloud.

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