Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

SLATE

J ess danced differently. Somehow, every move she made was like a line-dance step. I didn't know where the hell she came from, but she was country from her head to the tips of her toes, which I'd noticed weren't painted like all the other bridesmaids' toenails.

She also didn't have long fingernails and her makeup was minimal. Despite that, she was all woman. Her tits were nearly spilling out the top of her dress—which I didn't mind at all. As she danced, her hips were doing dangerous things to the crotch region of my pants.

All the while, Anya watched, looking like she wanted to do things to my crotch, too.

Unpleasant things.

Like kicking me.

We had butted heads so much while we helped Logan and Mira plan this wedding that I was confident I'd made an enemy for life out of my sister's usually relaxed best friend.

She used to have a thing for me. Now all she had for me was hate. True, seething hatred.

There had been a time before Logan and Mira's engagement that I'd considered going after Anya. We'd gotten along well enough, and even though she'd always been just a little bit too airy-fairy for me, I'd figured it might be worth a shot.

Logan had been on me for months now, trying to get me to loosen up and live a little. He wanted me to get off the rigs more often. Get out. Find a girl and have fun for a change. Just let my hair down and act my age.

Apparently, mid-thirties didn't mean old and over the hill. I'd been trying to take his advice. I'd even gone on a few dates. Joined a few of those insufferable dating apps. Nothing had worked.

So I'd thought, why the hell not?

I had never been super into Anya, but she was pretty. Nice. She'd always been so sweet to me that I'd thought feelings might develop over time. Even if our opinions did differ on just about every topic ever invented or spoken about.

A fact which had become more apparent than ever once Logan had put that ring on my sister's finger. The crush Anya had on me had quickly evaporated and so had my thoughts about perhaps giving things a try with her.

She and I were not meant to be—and not in the cutesy, rom-com, enemies-to-lovers kind of way either. We were mismatched on every level and we both knew it now. She'd been riding my ass all day about bullshit details that had already been taken care of, and just before Jess had approached me, Anya had been shoving a verbal pineapple up there about nothing .

She'd been pissed because I wasn't mingling enough. Apparently, part of my job was to go around keeping the old people company and topping off their drinks when they were running low. I'd made the mistake of asking her when I could just enjoy the wedding and she'd gone off on me from a dizzy height, reaming me because apparently, I was working .

Obviously, she'd lost her fucking mind and she was taking it out on me, or at least, she had been, until Country Bridesmaid had come to my rescue. Jess had come out of nowhere, descending on me with a beautiful, playful smile and a personality as full as her curves.

For a minute there, she'd even made me forget that Anya was out for my balls. Even now, supremely aware that she was silently fuming at me to get my ass out there and start mingling, I found it hard to shift my attention away from Jess.

Her long brown curls brushed against my hand on her back as she moved, like it was demanding my focus remain on her whenever it was at risk of being stolen. Not that there was much of a risk of that happening with her soft body pressed so tight against my own.

Not even Anya's annoyance was loud enough to stop my body from appreciating Jess's movements. The sway of her hips that was causing the discomfort in my slacks was front and center in my mind. It had been a long time since a woman had had this effect on me from the word go .

"Just ignore her," she whispered against my ear, pushing up to the tips of her toes and leaning into me to keep her balance. As she pulled away, she gave me a teasing wink. "You're fulfilling your duties as the best man right now, dancing with the single bridesmaid who would've been pining and lonely in the corner if not for you."

I snorted as I tried to hold back unexpected laughter. "I doubt you're the type to be pining and lonely in the corner."

"Well, you never know." She smiled, her rosy cheeks lifting slightly and drawing my attention to the smattering of freckles that ran across them. "With all this love and romance in the air, it can be difficult for even the strongest of us not to feel alone."

I frowned. "Does that mean you were?—"

She laughed. "No, but Anya doesn't need to know that the only thing that's been bothering me tonight is my bra."

My eyebrows inched up while my eyes begged to drop down, but I did the gentlemanly thing and held them steady on hers. "Your bra ?"

"These girls weren't meant to go strapless," she said easily, as if she was discussing the weather. "Just keep looking at me, and eventually, she'll find someone else to use as a punching bag."

"So it's not just me," I mused out loud. "She really does look like she's had one too many of the free cocktails and she wants to take all that pent-up frustration out on me?"

"Yep," Jess said, holding my gaze as she pushed her fingers into the short hairs at the back of my head. Feeling them there did nothing to help the lust coursing through me. "Last I heard, there was nothing going on between you two. That still true?"

"Truer than ever," I replied without hesitation. "Trust me. That's not the kind of frustration she wants to take out on me."

Jess chuckled and inclined her chin in a nod, accepting my answer without endless prodding and poking. I liked that. I was a man of my word and she took me at it. No drama.

Just as I was really starting to take Logan's advice, the music changed and Jess's whole body stiffened. She pulled away from me immediately, her head shaking as she wrinkled her nose. "I hate this song. Just because you like it, doesn't mean you should have to put a ring on it. Let's go grab a drink, shall we?"

We slumped down at the nearest table, grabbing two bottles of water from the ice bucket beside it and cracking them open. Before I'd even swallowed my first sip, Logan and Mira joined us, both out of breath from dancing.

I smiled at my sister. She looked radiant, even if her hair had fallen loose from the bridal style after the long day we'd all had. Logan was grinning from ear to ear, and as the newlyweds sat down, he put his hand on his new bride's round belly.

It had come as a massive shock when they'd told me she was pregnant, but I was thrilled for them. I couldn't wait to be an uncle soon. It had been the only thing that had kept me going these last few months, the prospect of having a little kid to stick close to Manhattan for.

The last couple of years, I'd been getting increasingly itchier. I just didn't know what for. After all Logan's nagging about fucking living a little, I'd damn near bought a plane ticket to Asia just to get out of my comfort zone. I'd figured I could backpack around there until the itch drove me to someplace else.

"Jessie!" Mira said excitedly, her voice breaking me out of my thoughts. "God, I feel like I haven't been able to spend any time at all with you today. I'm so sorry. I feel like a toddler who keeps getting picked up every time I try to cross the room."

Jess laughed, scooting to the edge of her chair to embrace my sister in a big bear hug. "That's okay, girl. I didn't think we'd get to catch up much on this trip, but we'll make up for it next time. As long as you're having a blast?"

"It's everything I ever dreamed of and more," Mira said, casting an adoring glance at Logan as she pulled away.

As she had been with me before, Jess seemed content with my sister's answer, not pressing her for more details or to make sure that she had been telling the truth. Mira was like me. We said what we meant and we meant what we said, but I'd rarely met someone who took us as we were.

Jess, however, smiled at her friend and waved a hand absently around the room. "I can see why. It's pretty difficult to dream of something more like this. You guys had a date here once too, right? That makes it even more awesome."

The lovebirds exchanged a soppy look and I fought a grimace. "Yeah, back when they were dating behind my back. Can you believe that? They thought I'd be an asshole about it."

"You were an asshole about it," Mira said, laughing as she sent me a warm smile. "All that matters is that we're all here together now, right?"

I reached for her hand and gave it a soft squeeze. "Definitely. I'm really happy you didn't let me stand in your way. I would've missed out on a pretty spectacular wedding if you had."

"Yeah, well, Anya's scheming to pick your bones," Logan joked. "It won't be so spectacular if she gets her hands on you."

"Oh, hush," Mira said defensively. "She's just trying to be a good friend."

"Exactly," Jess agreed. "She's fiercely loyal. If I was the maid of honor, I'd have been even worse. Can't fault the girl for wanting to make sure she does the job right."

Logan winked at me and I shook my head, but I knew when to pick my battles and this wasn't one I was going to win. As Logan started asking Jess about how her trip to the city had been, Mira leaned closer to me.

"I want to sit down and talk to you tomorrow before Logan and I leave on our honeymoon," she said. Then she rested a hand on top of her stomach and glanced at it, adding, "And babymoon, considering that I don't think we'll get away again before the little one comes."

I nodded. "Sure. Do I need to brace myself?"

She laughed. "Nah. I think you're going to like what I want to say."

"Excellent," I said, then stood up and offered a hand to Jess. "Should we get back out there? We've rehydrated and it's not that song anymore."

She shot me a surprised but easy smile and smacked her palm into my own. "What kind of buffer and bodyguard would I be if I refused?"

Mira laughed, complaining about how I didn't need a buffer or a bodyguard to protect me from Anya, but I begged to differ. Jess and I spent the rest of the night together, on and off the dance floor, throwing back beers and shots, and I finally got to enjoy my sister's wedding.

At the end of the night, we stood shoulder to shoulder as we waved farewell to the bride and groom who were driving away in a vintage car marked Just Married . I saw Anya in my periphery, slinking through the crowd toward me, and I looked down at Jess.

"You want to get out of here?"

She grinned and took my hand when I offered it to her. "I thought you'd never ask, City Boy. Let's go. I'm in this until the very end."