Page 81 of Her Football Star Ex

We were standing in the foyer of the church again, my arm locked through his as we waited for the wedding procession to start, much like we had done the night before. Only this time, he was all dressed up in a gray suit and navy-blue tie that matched the rest of the groomsmen standing around. And I wore the navy-blue bridesmaid’s dress with a long, flowery skirt and low-waisted back that had been sitting in my closet for months. A pair of black strappy heels that hurt my feet but looked amazing completed my look.

“I guess so,” I said, though I was a ball of nerves on the inside. I’d had such a good night and morning with Vincent, I didn’t want to ruin it by seeing him with another woman.

I’d tried looking for him earlier, to see if he was standing somewhere talking to his date, but he’d apparently been with Derek since getting to the church.

I’d even tried poking my head through the back doors of the chapel to see if I could spot a woman sitting in the audience alone who might be his date, but at the same moment, Chelsea Stockton, the ringleader of the Dragon Ladies, had looked my way so I quickly stepped back.

Landon must have picked up on my anxiety with those psychology skills of his because he narrowed his eyes and said, “Are you nervous?”

I sighed and met his dark brown eyes. “A little.”

“Why?”

“Well…” I said, not sure if I should go into everything. I had seen him talking with a few other bridesmaids when I arrived, so I didn’t think he’d really care if I told him I was worried about seeing my ex and his date. But it wasn’t exactly nice to talk about feelings for another guy with one you’d kind of flirted with the night before.

“Does it have anything to do with your ex?” he asked, apparently reading my mind.

Maybe he wasn’t just a psychologist but an actual mind-reader.

“Yeah.” I pressed my lips together. “He brought a date with him, so this will be my first time seeing him with another woman.”

I’d never actuallyseenhim with Victoria, thankfully.

“Well, I’m pretty sure once his date sees you, she’s going to feel just alittlethreatened.”

I smiled. “You’re too sweet, you know that?”

“I’ve been told that a time or two.” He winked.

I bet he has.Just the sight of those cute dimples of his would have had me all over him.

You know, if I hadn’t realized I still might be in love with my ex.

“If you’d like me to help you out in making him jealous,” he said, a conspiratorial look in his eyes. “I don’t really have anything better to do while we’re here.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I think those bridesmaids I saw flirting with you earlier might be a little disappointed if you did that.”

“Maybe.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “But it’s not every day you get to make the superstar, Vincent Lake, jealous of a college professor from Utah.”

“Well…” I shook my head but couldn’t keep a grin from stretching across my cheeks. “Let me first find out what his date looks like and maybe I’ll take you up on your offer.”

He patted my hand that was resting in the crook of his arm. “Just let me know.”

The wedding planner appeared and looked over our group. “We’ll be starting soon,” she said. “Just remember what we went over last night, and I think we’ll have a beautiful wedding today.”

I turned back to look at Kira one more time before she became Mrs. Bailey. She looked beautiful in her white wedding gown with her arm slipped through her dad’s. I caught her eye, and when she gave me an excitedly nervous smile, I gave her a thumbs-up and mouthedgood luck.

She nodded and mouthedthank you. And in the next moment, the song “Marry Me”started playing through the speakers.

Here we go.

I took a deep breath to steel my nerves as the wedding planner gestured to an usher to open the big doors ahead.

Everyone in the crowd turned to watch us.

Over the group of people on the groom’s side of the room, I saw many old familiar faces that I hadn’t seen in over a year—Vincent’s teammates and their wives who had once been my tribe—albeit a tribe wherein I never felt like I ever completely belonged.

But when the few I’d been close to noticed me and waved or smiled, my heart burned in my chest as I realized that I really had missed them.

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