Chapter Twenty-Three

Wyatt

"This weekend has been so much I often wonder what the big deal is. I mean, maybe it's because my own love life is practically non-existent at the moment, but I feel like eloping would be so much easier." She pulled the sun visor down and slid it over to expose the mirror. Shifting in her seat, so she could get closer, she added, "And cheaper."

I watched her as she poked at her lashes with some long black stick and then blinked twice before smiling, clearly satisfied with the way it turned out. "You don't need any of that stuff, Brandy."

She slid the mirror closed and pushed it back up, then popped the stick back in its case and tossed it in her purse and closed that, too. Looking over at me, she exhaled. "Every guy says that until they see a girl without makeup. Then they wish they could take the words back."

I kept my eyes on her. "Not me. I happen to know you're beautiful without all of that nonsense."

Her expression softened and she turned to look at me before I broke the spell by looking away.

I realized I was giving her the wrong idea again and didn't want us to have another almost-kiss like the one at the rage room or the one on the beach. "We should probably get going," I said, clearing my throat. "Wouldn't want to be late for the wedding."

I got out of the car and went around to her side to open the door for her. She carefully got out, fixing her dress outside the car as I closed the door. She shimmied it up, over her breasts and then stretched down the skirt part that fit her like a glove over her round ass. "At this rate, my boobs are going to pop out before we even get inside. Who knew a satin stretch mini was not the way to go?" She frowned. "The dress looked so pretty online."

I lifted my eyebrow up. "You bought a dress without trying it on first?"

She nodded and looked down. "It was such a beautiful color. Sky blue is less common than you'd think and it was on sale. Who knew it was because the dress was meant for dolls that wouldn't ever move?"

My eyes involuntarily looked downward at her cleavage. One touch, one taste, how I could only imagine what it'd be like.

"See something you like?"

Yes, my mind screamed. If I could handle the bikini, though, I knew I could handle the dress. But for some reason, it just wasn't the same. The dress made me practically drool. Forcing myself to look back at her eyes, I shook my head and decidedly ignored her question. "Shouldn't we be going?"

She chuckled. "Unless you want to skip the main event and go straight to dessert for two."

I rolled my eyes and placed my hand on the small of her back, loving the way she arched her back at my touch. As we began walking, my hand started to slide further down from the soft fabric. Her lips parted when my hand slid down too far and she exhaled slightly before I picked my hand back up. I knew I shouldn't feel good about it, but I sort of liked the way she reacted to my touch, the way she wanted me. Nothing had changed. I still didn't think I was good for her and this was only just pretend, but that didn't mean I couldn't appreciate the way her breath hitched every time I touched her.

When we got to the end of the sidewalk, Brandy groaned. "You have got to be kidding me," she said and I tilted my head. She pointed ahead and then slapped her hand on her thigh. "Why is it that my aunt could spend all this money on the wedding, but couldn't be bothered to put something down to cover the grass?" She held up a finger and then began, "Her daughter's wedding dress would thank her so it doesn't get so dirty." Then she held up another finger. "And all their guests wouldn't have to ruin their shoes."

I looked down at her tall-as-fuck heels and then back up at her. "I can carry you."

She waved her hand in the air. "No, that's okay."

We walked slowly because her heels kept sinking into the grass and finally decided to give up and take our seats in the third row on the bride's side. When we finally sat, taking the two seats at the start of the row, she crossed her leg and let out a sigh.

"You really need better shoes."

"But look how pretty they are," she said, twisting her foot every which way. She held up a finger and waved it at me. "Want to know what isn't pretty? One time I actually bought a pair of orthopedic flip flops because of their promise to be like walking on a cloud, but the strap killed my foot. By the time I took them off, my feet were red, sore, and had the start of gnarly bruises." She clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth. "No one knows how to make comfortable shoes. I'm telling you."

I was about to respond when a woman with short bleached blonde hair and a very large hat appeared out of nowhere. "What is this I hear about comfortable shoes?" she asked, clearly coming in on the tail end of our conversation.

Brandy got up instantly and squealed. "Aunt June!" she greeted her, going in for a hug as she did. She was the same height as her so she knocked her hat a bit off kilter with her own head. When Brandy sat back down, June fixed it on her head.

She put a hand on her hip and looked from Brandy to me. "Am I going to be introduced to this fine young man or are you going to make me bust with anticipation?"

Brandy laughed before looking back at me and waving between the two of us. "Wyatt, this is my Aunt June." She looked back at June and her voice got lower, as though she was trying to say something in code. "This is Wyatt."

I extended my hand to June, who shook it before taking her other hand and gently patting the top of it. "It's very nice to meet you, young man."

"Nice to meet you, too," I said, grinning at her. "Did you just get here?" I asked, wondering why I hadn't met her before.

"No, I've been here, but holed up in my room fighting a terrible migraine since Thursday morning. I missed all the fun, didn't I?"

"It was nothing without you, Aunt June," Brandy gushed, her love for her aunt obvious.

"I'm sorry we didn't meet before," I put in.

She blushed and then chuckled. "Oh, Brandy, this one's a charmer."

Brandy rolled her eyes and giggled. "Oh, you're telling me!"

"You better find me at the reception. I could use a spin on the dance floor with a fine man like yourself," she said winking at me.

"You got it," I promised her.

"Oh! My!" I heard shouting. "Gravy and meatballs!" The voice grew closer with each word she spoke. Honestly, I was pretty sure they could hear her over in China. That was how loud she was.

I looked over and spotted the woman in question, her jaw dropped as she placed her hand over her mouth. "You're shitting me!" she yelped as she came up to us, interrupting Brandy and her aunt.

Brandy looked over at me and rolled her eyes, this time seriously, though.

I was about to mouth the only question that came to mind—what was wrong? But she just shook her head and stood up. "Georgia," she called. "How we missed you at the pool party." She was obviously placating the woman.

Aunt June nodded and excused herself. "Don't forget to come find me," she said and did a little dance number with her arms. On her way out, she turned to Georgia and nodded at her, acknowledging her before leaving.

I wished someone would tell me what was going on.

As though, she could read my mind, Brandy gave Georgia a kiss on either side of her cheek before looking back at me and introducing us. "Georgia is one of my cousins," she explained.

"I'm Char's little sister," she told me. "The cooler one, the one who knows how to party and dress." She laughed at her own joke and threw her head back as she did.

When she finally lifted it back up, she put a hand to her chest and gasped. "Brandy, Char told me about you and your ex."

I thought for a moment she might say something like she was sorry to hear it, but obviously I was way off base because instead she said, "You never did know how to keep a man."

Brandy sank back into her seat and sighed. "You're right—" I couldn't sit back and watch Brandy be torn down by one of her cousins again and not say anything.

I cut Brandy off and finished the sentence the way I wanted to. "And yet she's managed to keep me."

Her jaw dropped again and her eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"I am Brandy's man and I'm sitting right here, after all, so obviously you're mistaken." What was wrong with her cousins, I wondered. "I consider it good fortune that she broke up with her ex because now there's room for me."

Brandy just looked at me, a shocked expression on her face. Then she turned to Georgia and nodded her head. "Why don't you go now, Georgia?"

Georgia didn't say anything, just huffed and walked away.

When she was gone, Brandy's mouth fell open. "I cannot believe you just said that. No one has ever done anything like that for me before."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"Never," Brandy assured me.

I wasn't sure what I was searching her eyes for, but as I looked into them all I saw was affection. I cleared my throat and tilted my head toward the front as the groomsmen walked down the aisle and took their place at the front, the groom not far behind.

She looked at him and then back at me. "I always love to watch the groom and his groomsmen stand up there. It's such a brotherhood between men. Women, not so much, we'll cut you down the first chance we get, but men never seem to act that way toward each other." She sighed and twisted her body to face the aisle as the music began and the bridesmaids walked down the aisle first.

Brandy placed a hand over her heart and gasped slightly as her cousin slowly walked down the aisle looking like she belonged on the top of a cupcake.

The bride was wearing the most puffy, longest dress ever, it seemed to go on forever behind her. She walked in alone, but she never took her eyes off her groom. She looked so happy, too. I couldn't help but think back to my own wedding. We didn't do the whole traditional wedding, but Susan looked just as happy, like she wouldn't have dreamed of being anywhere but there, with me and her parents, vowing to spend the rest of our lives together.

When the ceremony officially began, Brandy turned to me and dropped her voice. "You know, before you go dancing with all my family, you better have a dance in you for me."

"Of course," I promised, imagining what it'd be like to hold her in my arms.

"I was mistaken before," she whispered to me again, "I could never elope. This is what it's all about," she said, nodding toward the front. "I want a wedding just like this one day." Then she chuckled. "Minus the grass."

I found her hand in her lap and entangled her fingers with mine. "I don't doubt for one second that you'll have this one day," I returned in her ear before bringing my eyes back to the front.

She frowned, but didn't say anything.

I wondered what she was thinking, but didn't ask. Swallowing, I watched her from the corner of my eye during the rest of the ceremony. She got choked up when they exchanged their vows and let go of my hand to grab a tissue out of her purse. She sniffled and the next thing I knew the wedding was over and we were getting up and clapping with the rest of the guests.

She patted her eyes before looking back at me. "I'm really glad you came," she whispered.

I smiled at her. "I'm really glad I came, too."

* * *

I leaned over and shut my lamp, leaving the room dark. I leaned against the headboard and crossed my arms as I waited for Brandy to come out of the bathroom. I wasn't sure what I was waiting for, but I wanted to see her.

"Where are you coming from?" I shouted, thinking she may never get the hell out of there.

No answer.

I ran my hand along my jawline. "Brandy," I called out.

The door to the bathroom opened and she stepped out, awash in the bathroom light like an angel. She looked beautiful, more beautiful then she did all made up today.

She shut the light and rubbed something into her hands. "Do you know how hard it is to take off makeup? I mean, every company swears they have the best new product. One that can actually scrub it off without taking off a layer of your skin, but nope, they don't." She went on as she walked into the room, "And just when I think that I have it all off, I get some of the makeup remover in my eye, which burns like a bitch, and then I'm back under the water for another five minutes." She gestured with her hands as she walked over to the bed and pulled back her side of the sheet. "I'm trying this new shampoo. It's not half-bad." She brought a chunk of hair to her nose and sniffed. "Kind of smells like paradise, to be honest." Then she leaned over the bed and put her hair in my face to smell, too.

I didn't really want to be sniffing her hair, but given that it was currently in my face it was hard not to notice that it smelt like an intoxicating blend of honey and oranges, sweet and tangy. I rather enjoyed that scent on her.

She backed up and played with it before tossing it to the back of her. "So what do you think? I feel like it smells good, but then again, I like most every shampoo. My hair smelling good, it just makes me happy, you know?"

Shampoo made her happy, got it, I thought to myself. I wanted to get a word in, but as she was getting into the bed, she continued. Only this time, she crossed her legs and sat beside me at the top of the bed. She wiggled her toes and looked at them. "I am so sick of the color blue. I did it for the wedding, thought it would look cute with my dress, but I'm thinking of going with a hot pink."

Dudes were so not supposed to know this much about this shit.

"Brandy," I said, trying to stop her from talking for one second, but she just kept going on. I'd learned it was a sort of a nervous thing with her, but she had no reason to feel nervous. If only I could get a word in edgewise.

But she kept going and, as she did, my eyes fell to her lips. "It feels weird being in a bed with a man and not actually sleeping with him. There has to be a joke in there somewhere and I—" I didn't give it a second thought, didn't plan for any of it. But between the way her lips were enticing me and the fact that she wouldn't shut up, I leaned forward, cupped either side of her face with my hands and closed the gap between us. I slammed my lips on hers and let my tongue do the rest of the talking.

She eased into my touch and moaned at the feel of my tongue over hers. She tilted her head to deepen the kiss and I was so deep inside her mouth at this point, I swore any deeper and my tongue might have just slipped right down her throat.

Brandy moaned on my lips this time, the sound coming from her toes, and I moved from where I was and rolled on top of her. I pinned her to where she was and leaned over her as we continued to explore each other's mouths.

Oh God, it was like everything we had been feeling since we saw each other again came out in this one kiss, like neither one of us could take it any longer. We had met our mutual breaking points and this was what it resulted in.

We broke apart for a second and I searched her face when we did. Her eyes had that twinkle in them and she licked her swollen lips. They looked raw and red, like someone had just been sucking on them for far too long. I smiled with pride at the knowledge that that was me who had done that.

"I'm a volcano, Wy."

I cocked a brow.

She ran her hands over my chest and then brought them to my shoulders, then down my arms until she found my hands at her sides. She tugged one hand up and placed it where she wanted it. "I'm about to erupt," she finally clarified.

"Are you sure about this?"

She nodded quickly. "So sure."

Without another word, I leaned down and brought my lips over hers again.

* * *

I got out of bed and met Brandy in the bathroom. "Are you wearing my shirt?"

She pulled at the grey fabric and smiled. "You never wear it," she countered. Then she bounced on her tip-toes and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I looked away, though, and must have caught her off guard because she cleared her throat and went back down on the balls of her feet.

It wasn't that I didn't love the fact that she was wearing my shirt. Quite the opposite, in fact. I thought it was sexy as hell and looked a heck of a lot better on her than it did on me. All I wanted to do was scoop her up in my arms, take her back to bed, and have a repeat of what we did last night.

But it wasn't a good idea, and I knew that. Honestly, I knew it wasn't a good idea last night before we did it, but when she all but told me she was ready for me, that she wanted me and needed me badly, I wasn't strong enough to deny her, or myself, that pleasure.

And boy was it pleasurable.

I knew the first time we kissed years ago that if I had let myself sleep with her, it would have been one of the greatest nights of my life. The way we kissed, it was like fucking magic. And after what we did last night, damn fireworks went off.

Chemistry was not our problem.

We sure as shit didn't lack passion, either.

The problem was that I knew I wasn't what she needed.

I strummed my fingers on the sink counter and then hit my hand on it before pointing toward the door. "I should probably go get dressed."

She frowned and looked away, staring at herself in the mirror now. "Do you regret it or something?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't," I said meaning it.

She ran a hand through her hair and exhaled, as though she was afraid that I did regret it. She should only fucking know, I mused, that was one of the best nights of my life. I just couldn't let it happen again.

Then she bit down on her bottom lip and turned toward me. "What do you say we skip the brunch? We can use the villa some more." She wagged her eyebrows and I stifled a laugh.

My flirtatious girl, I thought.

Only she wasn't my girl, I reminded myself.

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

She looked back toward the mirror and placed her hand over her lips. She closed her eyes and then opened them back up again on a sigh. "You're right," she replied. "In fact, maybe we should skip the brunch and just leave. It's a long drive back." She smiled at me, but for the first time it didn't reach the corners of her eyes and didn't light up the room. She wasn't really happy and I knew that was because of me.

But it had to be this way, no matter how badly I wished for it to be otherwise.

This wasn't real.

It would do us both a world of good to remember that.