20. Taylor

"Fear of public speaking is the most common phobia in the world, even more than death." ~ Tim Rhodes

"Okay,can I get the Man of Honor and the Best Woman on either side of the happy couple?" Cody, the photographer, waved his hand toward Kane and Ruby.

We'd been taking pictures in the field next to the barn where the reception was being held for the past thirty minutes. Kane's grandad, Otto, Ruby's mom, Celeste, and Harper had all taken their photos with the happy couple and gone inside about ten minutes earlier, leaving only the wedding coordinator, the photographer, Kane, Ruby, Remi, and me outside.

This past week, I'd managed to keep my distance from Remi, but today, I was forced to be in his company. I'd hoped that staying away from him would have helped me build up my resistance, but instead, the opposite had occurred. Instead of having any sort of tolerance, I was even more vulnerable to him. His pheromones were my catnip. Just being near him wreaked havoc on my senses. I was dizzy. My palms were damp. My mouth was watering. My heart was pounding so hard that I was sure Kane could hear it as I took my place beside him, and Remi stood beside his sister.

It was torture. I was drawn to him. There was no denying that. He was truly like a drug I was addicted to. My entire body trembled when I was near him or even heard his voice. And if he touched me, even just briefly, like he had when he walked by me before the ceremony, the tremors turned into full-blown quakes. It was totally involuntary. I had zero control over my body's responses to him.

Every tool I had in my arsenal of coping mechanisms proved to be an exercise in futility. All of the defenses I tried to enact to combat the effect he had on me were ineffective. My efforts were all in vain. I was totally helpless against the man who had infiltrated my body, mind, and soul, and it seemed that was both infuriating and terrifying.

Thankfully, there was a faint light flickering at the end of the tunnel. All I had to do was survive the next twenty-four hours. After that, he'd be on a flight back to California, and I could finally start my new chapter without any baggage.

"Get a little closer; huddle up." Cody waved his hand.

I took a step closer to Kane, which also meant a step closer to Remi. Despite the fact that there were two people separating us, I could feel even the tiny increment of space that we'd just moved in each other's direction.

"Okay, now if I can get a shot of just the Man of Honor and Best Woman."

"Why?" I snapped defensively, then felt five sets of eyes on me.

Now, I had the attention of Willow, the wedding coordinator, Cody, the photographer, Ruby, Kane, and, of course, Remi, all directed at me.

"You're the wedding party," Cody explained.

"Right." I nodded.

Ruby and Kane stepped to the side, and Remi moved next to me. I didn't look up at him, but I could feel him smirking. Amusement radiated off of him, which should have irritated me. I should've been pissed that he was clearly enjoying my discomfort in our current predicament. But it didn't. If anything, I was even more attracted to how unbothered he seemed by my prickly disposition. He hadn't taken any offense to me all week. It was almost as if he knew I was fighting a losing battle, one where he would come out victorious. His unwavering confidence was, well, hot.

"A little closer," Cody instructed with a wave of his hand.

Remi's arm slipped around my waist, and I had to actively stop myself from melting against him. I continued to smile as Cody snapped a series of pictures, then lowered his camera and looked at the screen.

"Okay, we got it," Cody announced.

The tips of Remi's fingers dug into my hip before he dropped his hand. The pressure of his touch sent a burst of tingles from my core radiating through my entire body. I took in a shallow breath as Willow instructed us as to what would be happening next.

"Alright, so Remi and Taylor will be announced first and walk in together, and then I'll close the doors, and the DJ will announce Mr. and Mrs. Kingston," Willow explained.

"What? Why do we have to be announced?" I wondered aloud.

I didn't miss the look that Ruby and Kane shared at my inquiry.

Logically, I knew I was being ridiculous. I knew that I was probably drawing more unwanted attention to the situation, but I couldn't help myself. The thought of walking in beside Remi as the entire town looked on was mortifying. It had been bad enough when I'd had to hold onto his arm when we'd walked down the aisle together during the recessional. But at least that had a very specific window. Once we got into the foyer, I was able to move away from him. I didn't even know where I was sitting in the barn. Would he walk me to my seat?

"You're the wedding party," Willow repeated Cody's earlier explanation.

"Right." With my eyes clenched shut, I did my best to hide the roller coaster of emotions and arousal I was currently riding—praying that it would be over soon.

I hated that Remi had any control over me at all. I hated that I got flustered just being in his presence. I hated that I missed him when I wasn't in his presence. I hated that he had to be Kane's best friend, his new wife's brother, and my cousin's ex.

The list of things I hated relating to Remi Rhodes was long. Unfortunately, the list of things I loved relating to Remi Rhodes was even longer. I loved the way he smelled. I loved the way it felt like he could read my mind, but also like I was a puzzle he'd never tire of trying to solve. I loved the sound of his voice. I loved his smile, eyes, arms, hands, and other more intimate parts of his body. I loved how much he clearly cared about his sister and mom. I loved how he didn't badmouth his ex, even though she'd cheated on him. I loved how attentive and present he was, almost never checking his phone. I loved the way people's faces lit up when they saw him. I loved the way my body lit up whenever he was near.

Oh shit. I loved him. I loved Remi.

As that realization hit me, Remi and I took our places in front of the twenty-foot-tall barn doors. While we waited, his hand settled on my lower back and he leaned down. His lips brushed against the cusp of my ear as he whispered, "I would say you don't have to worry because I don't bite, but you know better than that."

Fiery flames of arousal exploded in me. I closed my eyes as my entire body heated from the inside out. I must have momentarily blacked out, because when I opened my eyes again, I saw that the doors were open, and Willow was cuing us to walk inside.

Remi's hand guided me as I stepped forward on noodle legs, entering the venue to applause and whistles. My senses were on overload as we weaved our way through the tables. String lights hung from the rafters and each table boasted huge flower arrangements as centerpieces. The words Mr. Mrs. Kingston were projected twenty feet high on one wall, and on the other, there was a flower backdrop for selfies, which Remi and I stopped beside.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, Mr. and Mrs. Kane Kingston!" the DJ shouted.

The room erupted as Kane and Ruby walked in, and I took the opportunity to remove myself from Remi's force field. Distance. That's what I wanted between us for the remainder of the reception. I scanned the room and decided my safest bet was Otto, so I headed in his direction. Harper was at a table with her friends Alice and Lilah, and I didn't want to crash their girl party. I would have gone and said hi to my aunt and uncle, but since they were sitting with Kenna, and Kenna was Remi's date, I figured that I should steer clear.

"How are you, Mule?" Otto asked, calling me by his chosen term of endearment, which was earned because I was so headstrong, as I lowered down beside him at the round table he was seated at.

"I'm doin' good. How are you?"

"Still alive," he smiled. "So, now that you're home for good, when is it gonna be you walkin' down that aisle?"

"I wouldn't hold your breath." I shook my head even as, not for the first time today, an image of Remi standing in a tux beside the preacher as I walked toward him popped into my head.

I kept telling myself that those thoughts were a totally normal, natural response to being at a wedding. I almost believed myself, too. The only thing keeping me from co-signing on that reasoning was that I'd attended dozens of weddings in my life, and not once had I ever pictured any man as my groom or myself as the bride. This was the first, and I hoped only time, that I would be plagued with such images.

In my world, I lived in facts and reality. The reality was that Remi and I could not be together. He had three strikes, and we weren't even a couple. True, none of them were technically strikes against him, but they were still strikes.

After Kane and Ruby's entrance, they had their first dance. I watched as my best friend looked down into the eyes of the love of his life. Even if their relationship was technically one of the strikes, I couldn't be happier for the two of them. Kane was so used to taking care of everyone, it was amazing to see he had someone who took care of him.

The song ended, and the DJ's voice came over the speakers. "And now, the happy couple would love to invite everyone onto the floor, including the Man of Honor and Best Woman."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Remi starting to walk toward me. The DJ said we were invited onto the floor, but he did not specify we had to dance together. Not wanting a scene, I held my hand out to Otto. "Would you like this dance?"

"Well, now, I wouldn't mind takin' a spin."

About six months earlier, Otto had had some serious health issues. I'd felt so helpless being on the other side of the world from him. Thankfully, he was doing much better now. One of his PTs said that he'd healed himself with stubbornness because it sure wasn't the exercises they'd recommended. He fought his physical therapy every step of the way. We'd always bonded over that particular trait in our personalities, which was why his nickname for me was Mule.

Otto took my hand, and we walked out onto the dance floor. As we swayed back and forth, I rested my head on his shoulder.

"That young man cannot keep his eyes off of you."

"Who?"

I glanced over to where he was staring and saw Remi. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment at his attention to me being pointed out by Otto. Either that, or they were burning up from the heat in his stare. As a physician, I knew it was physically impossible for someone to be impregnated by eye contact, but if it were, Remi would be the man to do it. My ovaries tingled from his intense stare.

"I think maybe he was going to ask me to dance because we're in the wedding party," I lied, as I turned my attention back to Otto.

His eyes twinkled with amusement. "So that's your story, and you're stickin' to it, huh?"

"I don't…I don't know what you mean." I feigned confusion.

"Darlin', you're too smart to play dumb. It ain't none of my business, but when a man like Remi, looks at a woman like he's lookin' at you, he's not playin' games; he's playin' for keeps."

"We don't even know each other." Even as I heard the defense leave my mouth, I knew it was weak.

"Right." He chuckled as he repeated, "So that's your story, and you're stickin' to it."

I didn't argue with Otto because I didn't see the point. He clearly saw something between us, and from the looks on Kane and Ruby's faces earlier when I snapped about us having to take photos, he wasn't the only one. But the whole thing would blow over when Remi left tomorrow.

After the dance, Otto and I went back to our seats. The rest of the reception was blessedly uneventful. Dinner was served. Everyone ate, talked and laughed. Remi stayed safely across the room at the table with Kenna and my aunt and uncle.

I was counting down the minutes until the cake cutting, so I could take my leave. I had a good reason to cut out early. My first shift at the hospital was tomorrow morning at six. Harper was spending the night at Lilah's, and Kenna was going to pick her up tomorrow evening. My cousin was going to help me out by watching her while Kane and Ruby were on their mini-moon in Mexico on their.

As the dinner wound down, the DJ announced, "And now, it's time for toasts. First up, the Man of Honor would like to say something."

Shit. The toasts. I'd written mine on my way back from overseas but hadn't looked at it since landing back in the States.

How had I forgotten about my biggest responsibility?

Remi's voice came over the speaker, and I got my answer. The man had driven me to complete and total distraction.

As he started talking about Ruby, and how special she was, and Kane and their relationship growing up, I pulled out my phone and opened my notes app. I was only half-listening as I scanned my speech and made corrections and adjustments. I was in full-revisal mode when Remi said something that caught my attention.

"About a week ago, I met a very special woman at the airport."

When I heard the keywords ‘special woman' and ‘airport', my head popped up like a meerkat. My eyes widened to the size of cantaloupes as I stared at Remi, willing him to shut the fuck up. Surely, he wouldn't talk about me, even if it was anonymous, in front of the entire town.

He held my eye contact as his mouth curled into his bad-boy half-grin. "She had been married for sixty-eight years."

I exhaled. Thank God. He was talking about Ruth. He had to be. He'd done that on purpose to mess with me. I had to give credit where credit was due. All week, he'd been walking the tightrope of my boundaries, never actually crossing the line, but getting close enough that I wanted to puke. Remi respected my wishes while at the same time challenging them. It was a skill I doubted most people possessed, and it only made him that much more attractive.

"Her name was Ruth, and I asked her how she knew Chester, her husband, was the one. Actually, she knew what I was going to ask before I had the chance, but that's a longer story. Anyway, as she answered me, she reached up and touched her necklace, which was a cloud-shaped pearl that her husband had given her on their first anniversary. She said he told her, because whenever he's with her, he's floating on cloud nine.

She explained that's when you know you found your person, when it doesn't matter what you do—grocery shopping, DMV, a doctor's appointment—if you're together, then you're happy. You're on cloud nine." Remi lifted his champagne flute in the air. "So, Kane and Ruby, I wish you love, happiness, laughter, and joy as you float through life together on your cloud nine love."

Everyone's glasses clinked before they took sips, and there was a round of applause for Remi before he introduced me. "And now, the Best Woman would like to say a few words."

There was more clapping as I stood, phone in hand. As I walked to the front of the room, I noticed people wiping tears from their eyes, smiling, and even chuckling. The entire room was clearly touched and amused by the man who had single-handedly sabotaged me with words, which I'd only been half paying attention to.

Great. How am I supposed to follow that?