Page 25 of Until You

“Okay,” Holly said as the photographer opened her camera bag. “The next pair is Tyler and—”

Britt released an excited squeal. “There’s Lanie!”

The wedding party stood between Tyler and the trees next to the street, but he could see glimpses of a woman in a lavender dress weaving a path toward them.

She stumbled as she tripped on her dress, and her long, dark hair fell forward into her face.

“What the hell?” Kevin muttered. “Is she drunk?”

Tyler had to wonder which of his two bridesmaid choices was the lesser of his evils.

Celesta gave him a seductive smile, making a production of licking her bottom lip.

Well, that answered that.

He took off jogging toward the brunette bridesmaid just as she semi-righted herself and kicked off her shoe. It flew through the air, and he ducked out of its path, congratulating himself on his quick reflexes. But as soon as he straightened, the other heel hit him square on the forehead, and he stumbled back a step.

Brittany gasped loudly enough for him to hear twenty feet away, but he was in too much shock to think about the stinging over his eye. He was more stunned by the woman in front of him.

Holy shit.The woman he’d been obsessing over was Brittany’s cousin. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a complete disaster.

His brain was too shocked to figure it out, but his body decided it didn’t need his brain to get on board with this new development.

Maybe this was fate. He scoffed at the idea, wondering where that thought came from.

But his thought process was interrupted as Lanie looked up at him and recognized him too. Her eyes widened in horror.

He realized that she was probably horrified to see him after he’d ripped her shirt open. Or maybe she was worried he was going to tell everyone and embarrass her more, although she hadn’t acted very embarrassed at the time. Her reaction now was confusing him.

She rushed toward him, her face still covered in fear. Was she going to verbally berate him? Slap him across the face?

But she did neither, stopping in front of him and looking around frantically.

How drunk was she?

She bent down to pick up the hem of her skirt, then dropped it and reached for his tie, before finally grabbing the handkerchief out of his jacket pocket. She jerked it out and pressed it to his forehead, using a lot of pressure.

“Thank God,” she said. “If that had dripped on your tux, Brittany would have killed me.”

He shook his head, and her hand followed. “What are you talking about?” But he smelled alcohol on her breath, giving support to his assumption that she was drunk.

“You’re bleeding.” She cast an anxious glance over to her cousin. “Don’t make a big deal over this, okay? I know men can be big babies, but if you play this off, I’ll make it worth your time.”

A jolt shot right to his crotch, and a grin stretched his lips.

“Oh my God,” she said in disgust. “Not that.” She was about to take a step away from him, but another look at Brittany stopped her.

Brittany was rushing over to them, so he lowered his voice. “I think we can work out a deal.”

She gave him a wary look. “I’m listening.”

“If you insist on being my partner in this groomsman/bridesmaid thing until the end of the wedding, I’ll act like it’s a scratch.” For all he knew, it was. It stung, but it couldn’t be that bad.

“What happened?” Brittany asked, sounding breathless as she reached them.

“I tripped on this dress,” Lanie said, then she sounded indignant. “And my heels sunk in the grass. Why are we wearing heels in the grass?”

“You were supposed to wear flats and put the heels on when it’s time to take photos. Didn’t you get the text?”

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