Page 89 of Riding the High

I want to high-five her for her sass.

“There’s no need to get your panties in a twist,” Gemma says to CeCe, while pulling a lipstick out of her pocket and turning to me. “I’m just saying, Cole gets friendly with a lot of women. Of course he’d get friendly with you too, Ginger.Finally.”

Gemma angles her face toward me over her shoulder as she moves to the mirror in front of me.

“You’ve been waiting on that for a long time, haven’t you?” she says before putting on her cherry red gloss, rubbing her lips together and fluffing her hair. “I suppose it makes sense now. Especially since you’re doingexactlywhat he needs you to do for him. He can be very accommodating when it works to his advantage. Ask the editor at theLaurel Creek Gazettewho posted all those favorable online articles about him right before the election for sheriff.”

I grit my molars and will myself not to get sucked in by this woman. Cole is not just sleeping in my bed, eating almost every meal with me, snuggling up with me on the couch every night, and giving me more orgasms than I know what to do with because I’m helping him with Mabel and his probationary period.

Is he?

I smile at Gemma in the mirror but my eyes shoot daggers into her soul. I clench my fist and feel my nails biting into my palm.Be an example for Mabel, I tell myself.Do not do anything stupid.

“I don’t know how you’d have any idea about what Cole is really like. From what I understand, he never let you know the real him. Which is too bad, because he’s great.” I smirk at her. “Guess it all worked out though. You’ve got Brent now. He’sperfectfor you.”

She leans down toward me with a smile. But my work is done. She’s definitely pissed; I must have hit a little too close to home.

“You think you’re so smart, Ginger. But a word of advice, darlin’,” she hisses at me. “Cole goes where life suits him. And, right now, you suit him. You know I’m right. Stop lying to yourself.”

One of the other hairdressers calls over to us before I can bite back.

“Gemma, your three o’clock is here.”

“Coming!” she says, but her eyes stay on mine as she walks away.

“Bitch,” CeCe mutters under her breath once she’s out of earshot. “Don’t let her get to you.”

I scoff as my hairstylist returns and starts tugging again.

“As if,” I say, pouring myself some more champagne, sounding way more confident than Gemma just made me feel.

Of course, CeCe and Nash’s wedding is the most beautiful event I’ve ever been to. The décor is stunning, and the atmosphere is magical. The front of Nash’s property is usually vast and green, but tonight it is full of people. The creek behind his house sparkles as the late evening sun begins to sink and the massive tent where we’ll be eating is glowing with lights, foliage, and flameless candles. To the right there is a perfectly placed aisle complete with a white runway and scattered teal rose petals. Sixty chairs face an archway which is covered in Kentucky honeysuckle and more fairy lights twinkling in mason jars.

My breath is shallow as I move toward Cole at the end of the aisle. I breeze past Chris Bell, who is also a part of the wedding party. I haven’t seen him since Vegas, but he doesn’t fail to look me over appreciatively. He brushes my arm to get my attention.

“You look beautiful, Ginger. Dance with me later?” he asks.

“We’ll see,” I say with a shrug, attempting not to be rude but also not wanting to commit.

Cole and I have been placed behind a very pregnant Ivy and a beaming Wade. I haven’t seen Cole since eight o’clock this morning when I left to meet CeCe. His satin lilac tie matchesmy dress—a strapless number that is fitted at the waist before flowing downward to rest, loose and billowy, on my knees. It screams simple elegance. Which is exactly what CeCe wants. Any hope in hell I’ve ever had of not admitting I’m crazy for this man dies as I drink him in; he’s wearing a perfectly fitted three-piece suit, his hair is styled, and as he stands behind his daughter, his brow is furrowed in concentration. My ovaries go firmly into overdrive as he tightens her bun, making sure all her hairpins are in place, while telling her not to be nervous about walking down the aisle. The warmth that spreads through me tells me everything I didn’t want to admit before this very moment. I’m falling in love with my husband, deeply in love, and I have no fucking idea what to do about it.

Cole sends Mabel to the front of the line with a kiss to her forehead, and his eyes flit to mine as we come together. They rake over every single inch of me before meeting my gaze again. My cheeks heat and I feel the flush under my skin as his stare burns into me.

“What did our friend Chris want?” he whispers, attempting to sound casual.

I keep my eyes forward as I quietly answer. “He wanted to tell me I looked nice and asked me for a dance later.”

“Mmmhmm,” he says, angling his head closer to mine. “He won’t have the chance. We’ll be leaving as soon as we can, because the fucking things I want to do to you right now …”

His words are a whisper in my ear, and instantly turn my skin to gooseflesh.

“Uh-huh,” I whisper through my smile as I wave at a teacher from school in the crowd. I lock arms with Cole and we begin our journey. A fleeting moment of regret passes through me with the knowledge that I’ve already gotten married. And that I can’t undo the fact that the first time I said wedding vows to someone, it wasn’t real. I promise myself in this moment, arm-in-arm withCole, that the next time I walk down an aisle like this with my husband, it will be the real thing.

Three hours later, and Nash and CeCe are officially married; dinner is done, dessert has come and gone, and the speeches are almost over. I’m pretty sure there isn’t a dry eye in the place. There’s a short break in the conversation as Chris Bell does his best to chat me up from the other side of our table. He sits directly across from Cole, while I’m next to Cory and Anna Kane on one side, and Avery Pope and her boyfriend Jacob Riley, Olympic bronze medalist for snowboarding, on the other.

Avery is only here for the weekend but it’s so good to see her. She became an addition to our girl crew last summer when she worked for Nash as his figure skating instructor until she was called away midway through August to work with the US Olympic Team. She’s been in Louisville on and off ever since, which is where she met Jacob.

Chris isn’t shy about the way he tries to flirt with me and, every time he does, Avery’s eyes catch mine in question. Cole is obviously less than happy about the situation, and makes this clear through his jaw-flexing jealous tell.

---