Page 32 of Until You

This was ridiculous. Lanie was a grown woman. Why was she having to justify a freaking phone call? But damned if she didn’t still want to salvage this.

Tyler stood behind Britt and he mouthed something she couldn’t make out. Something with an M, and then drawn out. Marshmallow?

Seriously?He was naming his fake girlfriend Marshmallow?

“Marshmallow,” Lanie said.

“Marsha,” Tyler said.

Oh, crap.

Brittany narrowed her gaze. “You called his girlfriend Marshmallow?”

Lanie waved her hand in dismissal. “It’s a long, painful story I was forced to listen to while you were hamming it up with your fiancé.”

Celesta shot her a look of disbelief. “It’s the least you could do, after scarring him for life.”

“I didn’t scar him for life!” Lanie shouted, clenching her fists at her sides, starting to get ticked off. She was already dealing with her bitchy boss, and now she was having to defend a phone call that could have saved her job, temporarily at least. But she was also wrestling with the guilt that she likely had scarred Tyler for life.

Tyler stepped between them, holding up his hands. “Ladies, ladies. I’m fine. It’s not that bad, and even if it does scar, it will only add to my rugged charm.”

Celesta stared up at him like he was a martyr calmly accepting his fate of being burned at the stake.

Lanie just rolled her eyes. “We’d probably better finish this up. You’re losing the light.”

“She’s right,” the photographer said. “We have a half hour, tops.”

“Then let’s get started,” Holly said with a plastered-on smile. “We’re feeling good about the photos we’ve gotten and we’re ready to move on to some more fun shots.”

Tension hung in the air as Holly and the photographer started setting them up, but after a few photos, everyone seemed to relax, including Lanie. Some of the goofy ideas the women suggested were fun.

Holly instructed all the bridesmaids to stand in a line, then positioned the groomsmen behind them before she instructed each couple to hold a different pose.

“Tyler,” Holly said, standing in front of the pair, “I want you to put your hand on Lanie’s side. And Lanie, you lean your head to the opposite side, exposing the side of your neck, then Tyler, you lean in to her ear, like you’re whispering a secret.”

His hand settled on her hip in a possessive hold, and he pulled her back to his chest. “Like this?”

Lanie fought to catch her breath as an electric spark jolted through her body, a blaze of want following in its wake.

“Perfect,” Holly said, oblivious to Lanie’s dilemma. “But Laney, tilt your head and let Tyler tell you his secret.”

Lanie felt like a fool as she complied, both because she was sure she looked ridiculous, and she was insanely turned on by just his hand on her hip and his hard chest pressed against her back.

He lowered his mouth to her ear and whispered in a seductive voice, “You have a very sexy ass.”

His statement caught her off guard, and she whipped around to face him, but the back of her head hit him squarely in the chin.

He dropped his hold on her and put his hand to his chin, shaking his head cautiously as he stepped away from her.

“Oh my God! Are you okay?” she asked, trying to ignore the throbbing in the back of her head.

“Why is she paired with him?” Celesta demanded in outrage. “It’s like she has some personal vendetta against him! Put me with Tyler and I promise not to hurt him.”

Alvin shook his head frantically, his eyes round with fear. “No. I don’t want to be paired with her.”

But a slow smile spread across Rowdy’s face. “I’d be willing to take on Black Widow.”

“Black Widow?” Lanie asked in disbelief.

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