Page 7 of Josh Dalton

She walks away, and I don’t take my eyes off her before my view is blocked. It’s my brother Ryder.

“Off limits.”

“I don’t care.”

Not he or anybody else is going to stop me from pursuing her.

“If you hurt her,” he warns, “I won’t be able to stop Zoey from coming after you.”

I cross my arms and give him an evil smile.

“Like she could do anything.”

I’m not scared of his wife. That being said, I really don’t know her very well. It doesn’t matter; I don’t plan on hurting Kimberly, so we shouldn’t have a problem.

Throughout the picture taking, I don’t lose sight of her. A man hovers over her, and I don’t like it. She moves behind her friends, the other bridesmaids.That’ll be enough of that.

I mosey that way when my father announces over a loudspeaker that everyone can now enter the reception area. I follow her into the room. I’m impressed by the wonderful job the wedding planner did with the place. It’s beautiful. Lights and flowers stationed everywhere. Expensive, I bet.

I’m disappointed when I have to take a seat at the opposite end of the table from her. Now I won’t be able to make my move until the dancing starts, then nothing will stop me from getting closer to Kim. And I meannothing.

CHAPTER EIGHT

KIM

He’s Ryder’s brother. I should have known. As much as I’m attracted to him, I can’t get involved with him. It would be a monstrous mistake no matter how fascinated I am by him. It’s best to ignore him. Which will be difficult. Because he’s watching me.

“Do you want to go to the restroom?” I ask Rachel.

“Yeah, sure.” We get up to leave.

“Where are you going?” Beth asks.

“Restroom,” I answer.

“I’ll come with you.” She gets up, too.

Zoey and Ryder are getting their pictures taken doing the cake cutting thing. This is the best time to leave before the band cranks up.

We march across the room to where the bathrooms are located. I glance behind me. Josh is standing and eyeing me with great interest.

The bathroom is empty when we walk in. I sit on a small bench, where I can relax for the first time since the beginning of the wedding. There are only two stalls in here. I don’t understand why they don’t have more toilets in a girls’ bathroom.

I take my turn, wash my hands, and sit back down while my friends pimp their faces. The door explodes, and Zoey walks in, frowning at us.

“Why didn’t you guys tell me you were leaving? I looked up, and all my bridesmaids were gone.”

She hurries past us to use the toilet. At least we don’t have to help her.

She comes back out and washes her hands before turning and looking at me. “What’s the deal with you and Josh? I can’t help but notice his interest in you. I had to walk by him on my way in here.”

She plops down beside me, waiting for an explanation. I let out a sigh.

“I met him as I was leaving your engagement party. I didn’t know who he was at the time.”

I’m not telling them about how he spilled a drink on me and the mix-up about him giving me money. They don’t need to know.

“That’s it? That can’t be all there is. He stares at you like he wants to ravage you.”

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