Page 33 of Until You

Holly released a sigh of frustration. “You’re not switching!” She turned to Lanie. “Can you please try to stop disfiguring the groomsman? We need his pretty face for the photos.”

“Hey,” Tyler said, still rubbing his chin. “I object to the word disfigured.”

Lanie started to protest, but fell silent when Tyler’s arm slid around her waist and tugged her hip to his. “I committed to being Lanie’s partner ’til death do us part, or the wedding, whichever comes first. I’ll just brush up on some self-defense moves before our next session.” Then he winked and gave her a sexy grin. And damned if she didn’t melt a little.

“Okay,” Holly said. “I know we’re all hot and a little cranky, but we only have a few more photos and then we’re done. So just hang in there with me.” She glanced over at Tyler. “Tyler? You good?”

“Great,” he said without sarcasm, and Lanie had to wonder why he was taking all of this so well. She’d dated a couple of guys who would have lost their shit over the shoe incident.

Tyler leaned in to Lanie’s ear and whispered, “You’re cute when you get pissed.”

“I’m not cute,” she said. “Cute is for little girls, and I am definitely not a little girl.”

He stepped closer, close enough for her to see the red welt rising on his chin. “No,” he said in a husky tone, low enough so that only the two of them could hear. “You are definitely all woman.”

Lanie’s body flushed, and she stood frozen in place by his mesmerizing eyes. Crap, this man was dangerous.

He grabbed her waist and spun her around, steering her to their spot. “We need to practice our pose.”

Her heart rate sped up at his touch. “Aren’t you afraid of physical injury?”

His hand rested on her hip again, and his mouth lowered to her ear. “I’ll take my chances.”

His warm breath tickled her neck, and a shiver ran down her spine, and she felt her resolve weakening.

She was lost in the moment, about to do something stupid like kiss him, when she heard a shriek and jolted upright.

Celesta stomped her foot. “This is impossible!”

“Let me explain it one more time,” Holly said in a controlled voice, cluing in everyone but Celesta to the fact that she was about at her wit’s end.

Holly wanted Celesta to stand in front of Alvin, then have the boy dip Celesta backward and to the side, while Celesta kicked up a foot.

“Now try it again,” Holly said.

The scrawny teen struggled to hold Celesta upright in their practice of the pose.

Celesta jerked out of his hold. “I need a new partner! I need Tyler!”

Holly’s mouth pinched, and Kevin, who had been standing in the background, took a few steps forward. “Just switch the poses. Have Tyler and Lanie try it, and Celesta and Alvin do the other.”

“What?” Celesta shrieked.

“Sure,” Tyler said, then wrapped his arm around Lanie’s back and dipped her backward. He grinned down at her. “You’re supposed to kick up your foot, but I humbly request you keep it away from my groin.”

The group chuckled, and Lanie felt herself flush with embarrassment this time.

“Perfect,” Holly said after Lanie complied.

Tyler set her upright, and Holly moved on to Britt and Randy’s pose, but Tyler’s hands lingered on her hips. She should shrug him off—it was pretty obvious this wasn’t a casual pose—but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. His touch felt right.

He leaned close to her ear. “You just got three calls in a row.”

Like a bucket of cold water, that brought her back to reality. Stephanie. “Crap.”

“It’s obvious that you’re dealing with something that needs your attention. I can be the bad guy and end this thing if you want.”

She glanced back over her shoulder at him. “Why?”

“Why end it? Maybe it’s not all about you, killer. Maybe I’m dying from a head wound.”

“Killer?”

He winked. “You did try to kill me…twice.”

She rolled her eyes. “If I’d tried to kill you, you’d be dead. Do. Or do not. There is no try.”

Appreciation filled his eyes. “You quote Star Wars.”

“Return of the Jedi, to be more precise.”

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