Chapter 4

Sawyer slid into the seat Jayce had been saving for him just as the music began, "I thought you were going to miss the ceremony," his friend said. "It's just about to start."

He let out a long sigh, "Reese didn't want to stay with the babysitter," he said. "She kept fussing about seeing Piper in her pretty dress. I tried to explain that she would after the ceremony, but it's difficult to reason with a three-year-old."

Jayce laughed, "Well, at least you made it on time," he said. "I still can't believe Grant is getting married, our little group of single fathers is getting smaller and smaller. It's just you and me now, I wonder which one of us will be next."

He laughed, "In case you've forgotten, I'm still married," he said. "I think that just leaves you."

Jayce shook his head, "No way, not me," he said. "I like my single life. The last thing I need right now is a woman."

"I've heard that before," he said, then to his horror, his phone began to buzz in his pocket. "Oh no, I forgot to silence my phone."

"Hurry up, here they come," Jayce said, looking behind them just as the processional music started. "I thought you said Piper was going to be a bridesmaid."

"She is, she left the ranch early this morning," he said, fumbling in his pocket for his phone, hoping no one else could hear it. "She and Amy have been on the phone non-stop all week."

"Well, I don't see her," Jayce said. "There's some other woman behind Bridget, I don't think I've ever seen her before. I wonder what happened to Piper."

After finally managing to silence his phone, he looked up, concerned about Piper. She'd been so excited that morning, he hated to think that something had gone wrong. "That's weird," he said, trying to see through the crowd but getting only a glimpse of Bridget. "I'm sure she would have called me if something was wrong."

Just then the crowd parted enough for him to see, and his heart froze in his chest. All the air came whooshing out of his lungs and he staggered back a step, nearly falling back into his chair. Jayce looked over at him, his face full of concern, then back over at the two women making their way toward the altar. A second later the alarm turned to surprise, and his friend let out a low whistle of appreciation.

"Holy moly, that's Piper," he whispered. "I didn't recognize her, she looks incredible. I had no idea she was so……gifted."

"Gifted?" he asked, finally managing to drag in a breath, still reeling from the burst of desire that was surging through him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Look at her, it should be obvious," Jayce said, giving him a funny look. "What are you getting so upset about?"

"That's no way to talk about a woman," he said, scowling. "You shouldn't even be looking at her."

Jayce looked at him like he'd lost his mind, "Are you okay?" he finally asked. "Are you having a stroke or something?"

"No, I just……" then realized that he couldn't explain. "Can we just drop it? The ceremony is about to start."

Jayce gave him another searching look, then shrugged his shoulders, "Sure, if that's what you want," he said, grinning at him. "I'm just going to stand here and enjoy the view."

A surge of jealousy took him by surprise, quickly followed by the urge to punch Jayce in the nose, and he turned away without saying a word, shocked and embarrassed by his thoughts. Amy must have walked up the aisle to join Grant at the altar, but he didn't notice, he couldn't take his eyes off Piper standing there, and the ceremony passed in a blur as he grappled with the mixture of emotions flooding his system.

Desire pumped hot and fast through his blood at the sight of Piper in the blue strapless gown, her curves accentuated by the cut of the delicate fabric, the pale globes of her breasts peeking out from the neckline. Taking a few deep breaths, he tried to block the next wave of desire but failed miserably when a huge smile spread across Piper's face, making her eyes light up.

"I think I'm losing my mind," he said, then realized he'd said it out loud when Jayce looked over at him. "Just ignore me, I'm having a small crisis over here."

Jayce looked over at Piper then back at him, "I can't blame you," he said. "It's a bit of a shock. If I wasn't perfectly happy being single, I'd ask her out. I bet I'm not the only one thinking that either."

He gave Jayce a dirty look, "This is hard enough without you making it worse," he said, shaking his head. "This shouldn't be happening; I shouldn't be thinking……"

Before he could finish his thoughts, the ceremony was over. Grant and Amy turned to face their guests, a cheer went up, and their conversation ended, much to his relief. Still reeling from the depth of what he was feeling, he watched the happy couple walk back down the aisle, Bridget and Piper following them out on the arms of the two groomsmen Grant had chosen.

Another wave of jealousy washed over him when he saw Grant's cousin grinning at Piper as they walked by, his eyes darting down to her breasts and then back up to her face. He took a step toward the couple before he could stop himself, the animal inside him suddenly awake and angered at the sight of Piper with another man, then closed his eyes, trying to get control.

When he opened them, Jayce was staring at him, a knowing look on his face, "How long has this been going on?" he asked. "I felt that from all the way over here."

***Piper***

Slightly out of breath, Piper plopped down next to Amy, a big smile on her face, "You were right, I needed to have some fun," she said, looking over at her friend. "But I'm not used to getting this much attention from men. I'm a little overwhelmed and a bit angry that it took this dress to make them all notice me."

"I don't blame you; men can be a bit shallow," Amy said, shrugging her shoulders. "The trick is to pick the one who will see all of you, not just what's on the outside."

"Sam Bradford asked me out," she said, watching Amy for her reaction. "I was so surprised I said yes without even thinking. Now I'm wondering if I made a mistake."

Amy smiled, "I knew that dress would work," she said. "Sam is a really nice guy, Piper, I'm excited for you."

She let out a sigh, "I just wish……" she said, then shook her head. "Never mind, maybe it's time to let this fantasy I have about Sawyer go. He hasn't said a word to me all night. In fact, I think he's been avoiding me."

"I haven't seen much of him myself," Amy said, looking around. "But I'm sure he's not avoiding you, why would he?"

Feeling a blush creep up her cheeks, she looked down into her lap, "Well, I might have left one thing out when we were talking earlier," she said, then looked over at Amy and shrugged her shoulders. "Sawyer gave me the horse I've been wanting last week, and I kissed him without even thinking. He kissed me back, but things have been weird between us since then."

"What do you mean he kissed you back? Was this just a peck on the lips or……" Amy asked, then started laughing when she saw the look on Piper's face and the blush on her cheeks. "I guess that answers my question."

She let out a groan, "Amy, this isn't funny," she said. "I've wanted him for so long, and that kiss only made it worse. Now I've had a taste of what's possible between us, and I don't think I'll ever be able to walk away."

"He kissed you back, you just said so," Amy said. "Maybe it's not as hopeless as you thought."

"A kiss doesn't mean anything," she said. "I bet you most men would have done the same. I'm sure it didn't mean anything."

"Maybe," Amy said, shrugging her shoulders. "You could ask him. He's headed our way right now, and he's staring right at you. He doesn't look very happy either."

She turned to find Sawyer only a few steps away from them, a look of annoyance on his face, and her heart began to pound harder when his eyes met hers. "You're a hard woman to get alone," he said, scowling at her. "I've been waiting all night to dance with you, let's go."

"Was that an order?" she asked. "I'm off the clock in case you missed it."

"Dressed like that, it's impossible to miss," Sawyer said. "Every single man here has been staring at you all night, and a few of the married ones, too. I don't know what to think."

"I think I'll go find Grant, it's almost time to cut the cake," Amy said, pushing herself awkwardly to her feet. "Good luck, you two."

"You don't need to think anything," she said, getting to her feet and pushing her way past him. "It's not my fault that men are staring at me. I didn't pick out this dress, Amy did, but you know what? It's nice to feel desirable for a change, to have men look at me like a woman instead of just another one of their buddies."

With his long stride, Sawyer caught up to her easily, "What brought this on? Why do you suddenly care about men?" he asked, grabbing her arm and turning her to face him. "If this is about that kiss the other day? You don't have anything to prove, you don't have to do this……"

She looked up at him, realizing that she hadn't thought about the kiss all night, "Sawyer, the world doesn't revolve around you," she said, pulling her arm away. "I was excited about Buttercup, I kissed you, you kissed me back. We're both human, mistakes happen, and honestly, I'm surprised it hasn't happened before; let's just forget about it and go back to the way things used to be."

He stared at her for a second. "What if I can't?" he demanded. "What if that kiss changed everything between us?"

Stunned, she didn't answer right away, could only stand looking up at him, wondering if she was dreaming for a few seconds. Before she could open her mouth, Sam appeared out of nowhere, "Piper, there you are," he said. "They're about to cut the cake. I was wondering if you wanted to join me. We could talk about our date while we eat cake."

Sawyer looked over at Sam, then back at her, his face turned a shade of red she'd never seen before, "You're going on a date with him," he ground out between his teeth. "Isn't that nice."

Sam looked over at Sawyer, a look of alarm on his face, "Ummm……next Saturday night," he mumbled. "At least that's what I was thinking."

"That sounds great," she said, looping her arm though Sam's and giving Sawyer a dirty look. "Let's go get some cake and talk about it."

After giving Sawyer one more anxious look, Sam let her drag him away, "I'm sorry about that. I don't know what's wrong with Sawyer," she said. "I've never seen him act like that before."

Sam looked over his shoulder at Sawyer, who was still watching them, "No worries," he said, but his face said something different. "Maybe we should meet somewhere on Saturday night instead of me picking you up."