Next, Paige walks down the aisle, and Anderson runs toward her, taking pictures as she treats it like a catwalk. Max, Hayes, and Emmett whistle and call out to her.

Then Addy, and Cora walk down one by one and Cole's friends hoot and holler as each woman does a little dance down the aisle.

Everyone is laughing, having a great time, and I'm trying not to vomit on my shoes.

I know Melody and Scarlett are both Miranda's Maids-of-Honor so I'm not sure who's coming next. My palms are sweaty and I clench my jaw as I take a deep breath.

Cole turns to me and grins. "Levi, I'm the one who's supposed to be nervous."

I force out a noise I'm hoping sounds something like a laugh, as I stare at the ground.

When Alex's whistle joins the other catcalls, I know it's Melody walking down first. I take a deep breath, steeling myself for my first glimpse of Scarlett in a decade.

I glance over at Cole's other best man, Jameson, whose normally stoic facade is replaced with a genuine smile as Melody blows Alex a kiss before taking her spot, and I roll my eyes at my dramatics.

Pull it together, man.

Jameson recently broke up with the woman he planned to marry, who was cheating on him with his own cousin, and he's managed to show up today sans mental breakdown.

My childhood crush on Scarlett was over a decade ago. We never even went on a date. I told her how I felt and she did not reciprocate my feelings. End of story.

Didn't call. Didn't write me back. Didn't acknowledge my letter at all. And, if that wasn't enough of a response, I lost my best friend when Drake cursed me out for telling his little sister I was in love with her.

Little sister.They were 18 months apart and he always treated her like she couldn't figure out life without him. She and I used to gang up on Drake together, try and knock him down a peg and get him to stop trying to control everything. If I'd listened to Drake, I would have ended up an accountant instead of pursuing education.

Scarlett must have shown him my letter. I agonized over what to say for weeks, trying to put my feelings into words. I'm not embarrassed. Everything in there was the truth.

When Drake confronted me, I told him I was sorry, but I was in love with his sister. After threatening to bury me in the woods, he told me she wanted nothing to do with me, and my heart broke losing two of the most important people in my life.

We never spoke again.

Looking back, we were so young. I get why Drake was pissed. She was eighteen, and I had just turned twenty. The odds of us staying together while going to two different colleges was slim to none, but I thought maybe I saw something in the way she looked at me. Like she loved me too.

Hell no.I'm not going to be that guy. The girl doesn't like me back so I blame her for making me think I had a chance. I'm not a dick.

"Hubba, hubba. I'm in love, fellas," Max croons, and I glance up as Cole's friends start whistling again.

It's her. Scarlett. My Little Red.

The childhood nickname started as Little Red Riding Hood. A joke because her real name was a shade of red. But then, she started calling me Wolf, right around the time I started daydreaming about eating her...basket and Little Red became a way to remind myself of the forbidden danger of taking what I wanted.

I swallow hard. The girl I grew up with is gone. In her place, a sultry woman. Her soft teenage figure gave way to mouthwatering womanly curves. The fitted dark purple dress she has on accentuates her curvy hourglass figure and her already impressive height is enhanced with heels, making her legs a mile long.

If I had only seen her eyes, I would have recognized her instantly. Bright green and sparkling with life. Her hair, so dark it's almost black, cascades down her back in loose curls. One silver streak in the front makes her look a little edgy.

Her smooth skin calls to me like a salt lick for deer, and I clench my hands with the desperate need to grip the curves of her full hips. The image of her ample breasts naked above me as she rides my cock pops into my head and I groan involuntarily.

Beyond her stunning beauty, she still has the glow radiating like a beacon when we were younger. When she spots Cole, she grins and her smile jolts me to life like a lightning bolt. I have to turn away.

Oh, crap.

I'm still in love with her.

As I try to gather myself, I lock eyes with Anderson who gives me a pitying look because he sees the truth.

This weekend is going to kill me.

Chapter 3