Chapter 5
“Let me deal with the drunk uncle, and then you’re on five.” I nodded at my team member and kept my gaze on the target.
No, it wasn’t a target. I wasn’t back in my old job. Thank God. Today was just making sure everybody got to their cars safely, didn’t disrupt the wedding, and were generally behaving. They needed to eat cake when they were told, dance to random music that seemed to play at every event, and get party favors on their way out.
I still couldn’t believe this was my job, but I liked it.
Trace and the others were working the rest of the property. We had another event going on at the inn, as well as numerous things going on at the winery and vineyard. Let alone the restaurants, distillery, and bar.
Thankfully it was a slower day, and both Bethany and Lark had gone to New York for an award ceremony. I didn’t know what award ceremony, nor did I know if they were nominated, performing, or just going to support someone else. All I knew was that their leaving the property didn’t mean people stopped trying to take photos of them, and I had to escort a few photographers off the property. Then I’d had to make sure they stayed off, because some assumed that the girls would just circle back.
Because that’s exactly what they wanted to do with their time.
I rolled my eyes at the thought and kept my attention on the task at hand, dealing with the drunk uncle. He was easy enough to get out of the way when his son came to collect him, so I called that a job well done. Knowing that, I still kept my eyes out for anyone who shouldn’t be there, since not everyone knew the famous Wilder women weren’t on property.
I liked Lark and Bethany. I liked Bethany’s movies and Lark’s music. But I had no idea why those two going into a restaurant needed to be national news. It was all over the internet, and apparently the two of them were constantly tagged by other people trying to speculate how the friendship was going now that they were married to twins. They fulfilled some form of fantasy for fan fiction writers out there.
But because they weren’t on property, though their husbands were since they were working, it was a little quieter here. Not that I would say that out loud. If I did, something bad would happen. Because something always happened.
“Hey, is this the wedding with the borrowed dress?” a familiar and very welcome voice asked.
I turned to see my youngest brother, hat pulled down low over his eyes and a hoodie covering up his shape.
I hadn’t known Gabriel was here yet, and if this was his best incognito look, it was no wonder he was plastered all over the news.
“How did you hear about that?” I asked, lifting my chin in hello as we made our way to the side. My replacement came to take my spot, so I was now officially off duty and could find out why Gabriel had decided to come out here now. He was the only one of us who hadn’t moved to the small town outside of San Antonio. We all started over, while his life seemed to be exploding in some amazing ways. He had a few Grammys under his belt, and he was getting just as much press as Lark and Bethany. In fact, he had been linked to both of them in the past, although that had been invention by the media and fans.
Lark and Gabriel had done a song together at the beginning of their careers, and it won a Grammy and had been nominated for an Oscar for best song. And even though Lark was happily married, people still wanted the two of them to get together. When Gabriel had a small role on a TV show that Bethany had starred in, suddenly people decided that they needed to be together. I rolled my eyes at it, happy in my own relationship at the time. Then my life imploded and I kept it to myself, all the while not realizing that Gabriel was slowly sliding in on himself, giving in to demands that I couldn’t even imagine. But he was here now, and that was all that mattered.
“The post went viral, man. Of course, I heard about it. And of course, it’s this place that goes viral. You know, I realize that both Bethany and Lark want to come here to relax and not be in the spotlight, but you can’t help it. Our cousins tend to make the news.”
“So says you, the voice of an angel.”
Gabriel scowled, and I held back a smile. My baby brother hated that title, something a famous magazine had said about him one year.
He had brushed it off, but people didn’t really care what he thought. They wanted their perfect dreamy singer, so they were going to write whatever they wanted.
“Shut up. So, they found the dress? The only press that came out after the initial post was that they had found a dress, but all the details would remain with the family. I don’t think Alexis was prepared for all of the press.”
I agreed. “Hopefully it dies down. I met the lady that loaned the dress, and she doesn’t seem like the type who wants to be in the public eye.”
“That’s good. So, it was actually a lady who let someone use her wedding dress? Not like a store who wanted to get some points in the media or something?”
“No. It is a woman who lost her husband and wanted the dress to do some good or something. Not quite sure, it’s none of my business.”
Gabriel winced. “I wasn’t expecting something like that. It’s got to be hard.”
I agreed and wasn’t sure how Aurora had done it. Then again, I’d never been married. Close, so fucking close, but never fully there. “Yeah. She’s here though. Came to the wedding.”
Gabriel looked over my shoulder as the bride and groom began to dance. “She’s still there?”
“Stay away from her. You don’t need to heal her wounds with your dick.”
Gabriel winked at me as he mocked being hurt, sliding both hands over his heart, and staggering back. “How could you? How could you even think that? I’m an artist. And I want to protect her. For art.”
“You’re an asshole. And I don’t know how long it’s been since that woman lost her husband. So don’t poach.”
Gabriel scowled. “I’m not that big of an asshole.”
“I know you’re not.” I paused, studying his face. “You doing all right, though? Want to talk about anything?”
Gabriel nodded. “Yep. I’m fine. Tired but good. Long tour. Have more to go. It’s good to be near family though. You think Kendall will have food I can steal?”
He hadn’t truly answered my question, but we Wilder brothers tended to keep to ourselves. “I’m sure there’s something for you to eat. But Kendall is doing the work of two right now.”
“Pastry chef being an asshole?”
“I love that you keep up with family news.”
“I have to. All of you except Eliza moved out here, and Eliza’s taking over the world up in Colorado, so I have to at least try to keep in touch.”
“I guess you’re doing an okay job with it.”
“Gabriel?”
I cursed, annoyed at myself for not paying attention, even though it was my damn job. Gabriel was just as much of a celebrity as Bethany and Lark, and even though I wasn’t on the clock anymore, I should still be alert. But then I realized who spoke and moved out of the way as Wyatt barreled into our youngest brother.
“Asshole. You didn’t tell us you were coming in.”
“I told you I was on my way. That should count.”
Wyatt and Gabriel continued to wrestle a bit, and I just shook my head.
I cleared my throat and did my best big-brother voice. “Stop it, you two. We’re in a place of business. At a reception. People just got married. Go wrestle somewhere else.”
“Shouldn’t you say he shouldn’t beat up on the youngest brother?” Gabriel asked as he stood up, rubbing his shoulder. “How am I supposed to play guitar when I’m all bruised and bloody?”
“You did just fine when we were kids and you tried to jump from the roof.”
“Excuse me, I didn’t jump. I was pushed.”
Wyatt rolled his eyes. “You tripped.”
I held up my hands. “Not this again. I can’t deal with this.” My lips twitched though, as it was damn good to have the family together again.
“Come on, I’ll make sure you get fed, and then you get to come work with me.”
Gabriel gave Wyatt a dubious look. “We both know I don’t work well behind a bar.”
“No, but someone always needs to do dishes. Earn your keep, Wilder.”
Gabriel had a put-upon look on his face, but his shoulders relaxed as Wyatt led him towards the main building to grab something from the kitchen. Something was going on with Gabe, but something was going on with Wyatt, Brooks, and me, too. Maybe we’d get to the bottom of it, maybe we wouldn’t. But no matter what, we would all be together for a few days while Gabriel was here. And even though he was a multi-platinum-selling singer, with more awards than could fit in a single room, Gabriel was still the baby brother. And that baby brother needed us to take care of him.
The music changed and people started laughing as even more started to dance.
While I wasn’t on duty, I still couldn’t help but be on alert. You just never knew, and I needed to tell Trace that Gabriel was on property.
I shot off a quick text and Trace let me know that he was already aware, because the man apparently knew everything that went on at this property.
I was sliding my phone in my pocket when a familiar face caught my eye.
She was absolutely stunning with her hair flowing around her, a tiny braid intricately woven along the side of her head. She wore a long flowing dress that showcased her curves and made my heart stutter.
That wasn’t something I was going to let myself think about, but damn it, she was fucking beautiful.
She seemed to sense me staring at her and looked up.
“Oh, it’s good to see you again,” she said as she pushed her hair from her face, her fingers twitching nervously.
I hadn’t realized I had moved closer to her.
“Why am I making you nervous?” I asked, my voice low.
She swallowed, her tongue darting out to lick her lips. “I just don’t really know why I’m here. Everyone’s dancing and having fun and it looks like a blast, but it’s a little overwhelming since I don’t know anybody.”
“I could see that being a problem. Nobody asked you to dance?” I asked, then realized that sounded like an asshole thing to say. “I’m surprised.”
She smiled and relief spread through me. “I think they wanted to, but I sort of ran away. You know, the sane thing to do.”
I shook my head. “If I asked you to dance right now, would you run away?” I hadn’t meant for the words to slip out, I hadn’t even realized I’d been thinking them at all. I should take them back. Walk away, pretend I hadn’t. There was nothing of me left, not for this. But she would be gone in the morning. Who would it hurt if I just pretended?
She froze for a moment, then let out a breath. “I might.”
“Good to know.”
I was playing with fire.
When she looked up again, I was caught in her gaze. What was it about this woman that made me want to see who she was? “Anyway, they were going to do more speeches, and I really didn’t want to be there in case they mentioned the dress.” She winced. “Doesn’t that make me sound like a fool. I came here and offered to let her have my dress, and now I don’t want anyone to mention it. This day shouldn’t be about me. I shouldn’t have to worry that Alexis is afraid somebody might find out and it might go in the media.” She put her hands over her face and let out the cutest little growl. I did my best to ignore it.
“We’ll protect you from that.”
She lowered her hands, frowning. “Really? You can protect me from what, people wanting to know why I would do such a thing? Or the fact that my former in-laws will probably use this as another reason to hate me, for daring to besmirch their memory of their precious son?” Her eyes widened, and she put her hand over her mouth. “Pretend I didn’t say that. Please. There’s no reason for me to have said that.”
There was a lot to unpack there, but it wasn’t any of my business.
“I’m a Wilder. And our family has some experience dealing with the media. I’m sure Alexis will do her best not to let your name out. And there’s no way a news organization or anyone connected to them made it into this wedding. That was my job.”
She relaxed marginally. “I forgot. Which is funny because it’s sort of hard to forget the fact that the Bethany Cole and Lark Thornbird live here. And now that I think about it, Gabriel Wilder is what, your brother? Cousin? Long lost relative?” she asked, her eyes dancing with laughter. She looked so damn beautiful. I really needed to stop thinking that.
“Brother. So yeah, we can deal with the media windstorm. No one’s going to bother you.”
“I hope not. I also don’t want to look at the bride. I mean she looks gorgeous, but that’s her dress now. I don’t want her gratitude to me anymore. It just reminds me, and I was finally okay. It’s been five years. Five years, and I’m okay. It’s just hard to remember that I’m okay when people want to remind me that I used to not be.”
Her words hit home. Because she was right. It was hard to remain okay when others brought up when you weren’t. Although my family didn’t know what had happened, others had. That’s why I had moved here. I had changed, I was better for it.
“Do you need me to get you out of here?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I just didn’t want to be the center of attention, but I’m glad I did it. I feel relieved. Which I know sounds weird, but I do. I just, this was a good idea. A weird one, but a great one.”
She was smiling then, full-on smiling, and I didn’t even realize I was doing it until I was pushing the braid behind her ear.
She froze, her lips parting when she looked up at me, and I couldn’t help but look down. And then I realized what the fuck I was doing, and she seemed to as well. We each took a step back, and I realized that I had nearly kissed a fucking stranger. She smiled brightly, and I knew it was fake, but I didn’t mind it just then. I needed it.
After a moment, she finally spoke, breaking the moment we both desperately needed and yet couldn’t have. “I’m going to…head back to my cabin. It’s lit up and I can see it from here.”
She gestured towards the cabin at the far end of the path, and I nodded. I didn’t offer to walk her because I knew that would be a mistake. I wouldn’t see this woman again, and I was grateful for it. I missed Heather, and our daughter or son, but I wasn’t in love with Heather anymore. I had moved on over the past two and a half years, at least marginally. But there was something about this woman, something that told me that my version of moving on was a farce.
Because I hadn’t been with anyone since Heather.
From what I could tell, this woman hadn’t been with anyone since her husband.
We were just sparks turning to ember, and I needed this to fade away.
I cleared my throat, pulling myself out of my thoughts. “Nevertheless, I’ll make sure one of our team members makes sure you get to your cabin safely. It’s dark, you could trip.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“I’m sure, but it’s all part of the duty. And this way you can make sure that you really get out of this without somebody asking you to dance. Or wanting to thank you again.”
Her gaze searched my face, and I cooled it, making sure she couldn’t read what I was thinking.
She nodded, and I spoke over my earpiece to make sure she had someone to escort her to her cabin. I watched her walk away without another word.
I had almost kissed her. Without even thinking, I had almost laid my lips on hers and broken my cardinal rule.
No more connections, no more grief.
No more complications.
And the woman who had just selflessly given her memories to another to make them smile was a complication.