Page 3 of Shielded Hearts

She thought she saw him mouth:What the…

He moved positions, placing himself between her and another man, then pushed her to the end of the group. “Why exactly are you here again?”

“I have the honeymoon portfolio.”

“This could have been an email.”

As if she didn’t already feel awkward.

Her late mother’s words filtered into her mind.Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you don’t belong.

Aspen straightened her shoulders and smiled with the group when the photographer directed.

Luckily, the photos were finished quickly, and she was able to slip away. She caught up to Colt, who was striding away from everybody.

“Wait up!”

He stopped walking. For a moment, he didn’t turn to face her, making it clear that he was far from thrilled to be talking to her. Again.

Slowly, he spun.

Wow.

Controlling that big machine of a body must require a lot of skill.

He took a step toward her.

Trying not to appear flustered, she swung the bag off her shoulder and unzipped it. She pulled out the beautiful tan leatherbound portfolio tied in the perfect skydiver-blue ribbon and offered it to him.

“Ta-da! Here’s the portfolio.”

He stared at her for a beat before clasping the portfolio.

Aspen plucked a small stack of business cards from the interior pocket of the bag. “Here. Business cards. You can pass them out.”

He looked at her like she’d grown two heads, and neither of them were human. “You’ve gotta be joking.”

She stared up into his gray eyes. A deep, stormy gray like a shifting sky.

He snatched the cards out of her hand and crushed his fist around them. Without another word, he whirled and took off to the tent, leaving Aspen alone.

Stuck. With no ride.

* * * * *

Even though the crowd was small, it was still too big for Colt.

He cut a path around people standing in clusters with champagne flutes in hand to the head table. With a grind of his molars, he yanked out his chair and set the portfolio on the seat. Christ, he hated events.Allevents.

Family was challenging enough, but about fifty close friends of the Malone family and a few townspeople who’d been extended an invitation made the ranch feel crowded as hell.

Add in a nosy travel agent who’d stuck aroundwaytoo long and Colt was ready to saddle up his horse and make a getaway into the mountains.

He couldn’t leave, though. His brother Oaks had asked him to be his best man, and that came with a sense of duty he could not shirk.

Dammit. Why hadn’t he seen it before now? Oaks askedhimto be the best man instead of their oldest brother Carson for exactly this reason. And he fell for it! He couldn’t believe he’d been duped into performing all these stupid duties as best man.

As he pushed out a sigh, he felt the seams of his tux jacket stretch as if about to burst. Now that the photos were over, he could at least shuck the tuxedo jacket. Suits were always too tight across his shoulders and made him feel claustrophobic. He stripped off the coat and draped it over the back of his chair.

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