Page 37 of The Backup Bride Proposal

“It’s one of my favorite scents.”

He turned to her, picked up her hand, his thumb drawing circles over her skin. “You want to know my favorite scent?”

“Shrimp? Scallops? Pork chops?”

He laughed. “Not quite. You smell like fruit. Sometimes it’s lemons. Sometimes peaches. Very subtle. Drives me crazy.”

He felt that slight shiver. Since it was overly warm today, it wasn’t because she was cold. “So, more torture?”

“A better kind of torment, I think.” He leaned in, pressing his lips against her neck. “I could return the torture, you know.”

“Yeah? How’s that?”

“Licking all this delicious skin. Starting right here.” He flicked his tongue along the column of her throat, making him want to do so much more. She started to reach for him but he stepped back, remembering where they were. “But I can wait.”

“Right.” He caught the reluctant look before she took another sip of wine.

Yeah, him, too. This crowd of people didn’t mesh with what he wanted tonight. He craved some alone time with Mae.

When the food was ready, Kane had something else to focus on besides his constant attraction to Mae. There were barbecued ribs and chicken, along with potato salad, corn on the cob and grilled vegetables. There were various fresh salads and fruit and frankly it was all overwhelming, especially since Kane wanted some of everything. He piled it all on his plate and followed Mae to a table where other people were seated.

“This is quite the haul,” Kane said as he took his seat, his plate overflowing with food. “Thank you for all of it.”

“Hey, dig in and enjoy,” Finn said, grabbing some ribs and taking a big bite.

“This is what the guys have been discussing all week,” Erin said. “The food.”

Brenna nodded. “No kidding. I tried to get Finn interested in setup and décor and all he wanted to do was talk to these jackasses about meat.”

“Hey,” Owen said. “Meat choice is important. It defines the whole meal. You build your sides around meat choice. It’s everything.”

Honor gaped at him. “Who are you?”

He laughed and put his arm around her. “Hey. You married me.”

“I’m beginning to have second thoughts.”

“Is this weirdness what I have to look forward to after Finn and I get married?” Brenna asked.

“Hell no,” Finn said. “We live together. You already know all my weird quirks.”

Erin lifted her chin. “My husband doesn’t have any weird quirks.”

Jason tilted his head back and laughed. “Woman. You know better than that.”

Kane liked these people. A lot. He wanted to spend more time with them, getting to know them.

But first, he intended to get to know Mae a lot better.

Chapter

eleven

Mae had anoff day today—at least from filming—which meant she could actually do the job for which she’d been hired. The one she loved that made her happy.

Sort of. After spending the day in meetings followed by planning sessions with Honor, she found herself staring out the window of her office to see if she could catch a glimpse of the goings-on over at the movie location. In other words, she was trying to see Kane, which of course she couldn’t do because the production was secluded from the house and vineyards.

Dammit.

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