Page 4 of Sin in the Mountains

"Levi?" Anderson asks again, concerned now. He comes into my office and takes a seat in front of my desk.

"She's going to be there," I manage to whisper.

Anderson takes a deep breath and nods. "Yes, she is."

I nod too but don't move to stand. Anderson is the only person in the world who knows why I'm freaked out about this weekend.

We wait in silence for an eternity, as I try, and fail, to get my breathing under control, and then Anderson speaks up. "What's the plan? You gonna run away from Cole and Miranda's wedding? Because I don't think it's traditionally the best man who runs. Unless he's stealing the bride. Who is not the one you want, so I don't recommend that option." Inexplicably, Anderson's babbling is doing its job. My heartbeat is slowing slightly.

"I suppose, as best man, it makes sense you'd steal the maid-of-honor. Kind of a plot twist. Although, you should consider doing it tonight so as not to ruin the actual wedding ceremony," Anderson continues, looking genuinely thoughtful as he concocts a plan for me.

My breathing evens out, and my muscles begin to relax.

"In fact, I recommend thunking her over the head during the rehearsal dinner tonight and then dragging her back to your cave."

My eyes shoot to Anderson, and the mental image of me as a caveman suddenly pops up.

"Heads up, though. Betty will be there tonight, so I hope you're ready to commit to a life behind bars if the kidnapping charges stick because the whole town will know about it within minutes after she gets the word out." Anderson sits back and crosses one leg over the other as he casually waits out the end of my panic attack. "Ooh, and you've got that cabin up the mountain. All remote and villainy. Although, we should stop by the equipment closet in the gym because, embarrassingly enough, I'm fresh out of caveman clubs."

A giggle bubbles up out of nowhere, and it burst out loudly in my small office, breaking the spell. I let out a long breath when my heartbeat returns to normal. "Thank you."

Anderson grins and cocks his head. "You got this."

"Yeah." I nod and then shake my head to clear it. "It's the anticipation. I've managed to avoid her every time she's in town for wedding stuff, but this weekend is going to be a lot of..." I trail off.

"Fun." Anderson finishes for me, and I grunt.

Her.A lot of her.

"Hey, Levi?" Anderson pauses in the doorway, and I look at him expectantly. "Don't giggle like that around her. At least not until you have her locked away in a cabin somewhere."

"Shut up."

Twenty minutes later, we arrive at the reception hall and make our way to the outdoor ceremony space.

"Levi! Anderson!" Violet calls out to us as we round the corner. When we get closer, she grabs Anderson's coat sleeve and slots him into place next to Brooks, gesturing for me to stand next to Cole.

Violet references her clipboard. "Okay, the ladies are up next," she says, hustling to the small tent set up at the back.

"You're late," Brooks reprimands us.

"Car trouble," Anderson says easily, and then blows Violet a kiss while her back is turned, trying to get a rise out of Brooks.

Brooks pretends to catch it midair and crush it between his huge hands.

"Dude, my kiss was for your wife. Not you." Anderson deadpans his annoyance.

Music plays out over the speakers. A catchy dance tune to signal this is the rehearsal and to help everyone have fun.

First out is Cole's sister, Brynn, who winks at her brother as she walks down the aisle.

A couple of Cole's friends from his hometown sit in the audience waiting for the rehearsal to be done, and they let out a few yelps and whistles.

Brynn rolls her eyes. "You boys better be prepared to gas up every one of us tonight, because we all look amazing."

Max winks at her. "No problem, Brynn. We're on it."

Cole raises his eyebrows at his sister. "Do you realize what you asked for?" Brynn bites her lip, hiding a grin.

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