Page 47 of Cloud Nine Love

I didn’t miss the look that Ruby and Kane shared at my inquiry.

Logically, I knew I was being ridiculous. I knew that I was probably drawing more unwanted attention to the situation, but I couldn’t help myself. The thought of walking in beside Remi as the entire town looked on was mortifying. It had been bad enough when I’d had to hold onto his arm when we’d walked down the aisle together during the recessional. But at least that had a very specific window. Once we got into the foyer, I was able to move away from him. I didn’t even know where I was sitting in the barn. Would he walk me to my seat?

“You’re the wedding party,” Willow repeated Cody’s earlier explanation.

“Right.” With my eyes clenched shut, I did my best to hide the roller coaster of emotions and arousal I was currently riding—praying that it would be over soon.

I hated that Remi had any control over me at all. I hated that I got flustered just being in his presence. I hated that I missed him when I wasn’t in his presence. I hated that he had to be Kane’s best friend, his new wife’s brother, and my cousin’s ex.

The list of things I hated relating to Remi Rhodes was long. Unfortunately, the list of things I loved relating to Remi Rhodes was even longer. I loved the way he smelled. I loved the way it felt like he could read my mind, but also like I was a puzzle he’d never tire of trying to solve. I loved the sound of his voice. I loved his smile, eyes, arms, hands, and other more intimate parts of his body. I loved how much he clearly cared about his sister and mom. I loved how he didn’t badmouth his ex, even though she’d cheated on him. I loved how attentive and present he was, almost never checking his phone. I loved the way people’s faces lit up when they saw him. I loved the way my body lit up whenever he was near.

Oh shit. I loved him. I loved Remi.

As that realization hit me, Remi and I took our places in front of the twenty-foot-tall barn doors. While we waited, his hand settled on my lower back and he leaned down. His lips brushed against the cusp of my ear as he whispered, “I would say you don’t have to worry because I don’t bite, but you know better than that.”

Fiery flames of arousal exploded in me. I closed my eyes as my entire body heated from the inside out. I must have momentarily blacked out, because when I opened my eyes again, I saw that the doors were open, and Willow was cuing us to walk inside.

Remi’s hand guided me as I stepped forward on noodle legs, entering the venue to applause and whistles. My senses were on overload as we weaved our way through the tables. String lights hung from the rafters and each table boasted huge flower arrangements as centerpieces. The words Mr. & Mrs. Kingston were projected twenty feet high on one wall, and on the other, there was a flower backdrop for selfies, which Remi and I stopped beside.

“And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, Mr. and Mrs. Kane Kingston!” the DJ shouted.

The room erupted as Kane and Ruby walked in, and I took the opportunity to remove myself from Remi’s force field. Distance. That’s what I wanted between us for the remainder of the reception. I scanned the room and decided my safest bet was Otto, so I headed in his direction. Harper was at a table with her friends Alice and Lilah, and I didn’t want to crash their girl party. I would have gone and said hi to my aunt and uncle, but since they were sitting with Kenna, and Kenna was Remi’s date, I figured that I should steer clear.

“How are you, Mule?” Otto asked, calling me by his chosen term of endearment, which was earned because I was so headstrong, as I lowered down beside him at the round table he was seated at.

“I’m doin’ good. How are you?”

“Still alive,” he smiled. “So, now that you’re home for good, when is it gonna be you walkin’ down that aisle?”

“I wouldn’t hold your breath.” I shook my head even as, not for the first time today, an image of Remi standing in a tux beside the preacher as I walked toward him popped into my head.

I kept telling myself that those thoughts were a totally normal, natural response to being at a wedding. I almost believed myself, too. The only thing keeping me from co-signing on that reasoning was that I’d attended dozens of weddings in my life, and not once had I ever pictured any man as my groom or myself as the bride. This was the first, and I hoped only time, that I would be plagued with such images.

In my world, I lived in facts and reality. The reality was that Remi and I could not be together. He had three strikes, and we weren’t even a couple. True, none of them were technically strikes against him, but they were still strikes.

After Kane and Ruby’s entrance, they had their first dance. I watched as my best friend looked down into the eyes of the love of his life. Even if their relationship was technically one of the strikes, I couldn’t be happier for the two of them. Kane was so used to taking care of everyone, it was amazing to see he had someone who took care of him.

The song ended, and the DJ’s voice came over the speakers. “And now, the happy couple would love to invite everyone onto the floor, including the Man of Honor and Best Woman.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Remi starting to walk toward me. The DJ said we were invited onto the floor, but he did not specify we had to dance together. Not wanting a scene, I held my hand out to Otto. “Would you like this dance?”

“Well, now, I wouldn’t mind takin’ a spin.”

About six months earlier, Otto had had some serious health issues. I’d felt so helpless being on the other side of the world from him. Thankfully, he was doing much better now. One of his PTs said that he’d healed himself with stubbornness because it sure wasn’t the exercises they’d recommended. He fought his physical therapy every step of the way. We’d always bonded over that particular trait in our personalities, which was why his nickname for me was Mule.

Otto took my hand, and we walked out onto the dance floor. As we swayed back and forth, I rested my head on his shoulder.

“That young man cannot keep his eyes off of you.”

“Who?”

I glanced over to where he was staring and saw Remi. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment at his attention to me being pointed out by Otto. Either that, or they were burning up from the heat in his stare. As a physician, I knew it was physically impossible for someone to be impregnated by eye contact, but if it were, Remi would be the man to do it. My ovaries tingled from his intense stare.

“I think maybe he was going to ask me to dance because we’re in the wedding party,” I lied, as I turned my attention back to Otto.

His eyes twinkled with amusement. “So that’s your story, and you’re stickin’ to it, huh?”

“I don’t…I don’t know what you mean.” I feigned confusion.

---