Chapter 25
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
Markie
“What do you think?” I ask Jory as we reach the barn. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
The sun hangs just above the trees that loom over the clearing, punctuated by the most beautiful spray of pinks and purples that the world has ever seen. It’s as if the universe is giving Brooks and Audrey their blessing.
My friends and I have spent countless hours transforming the old wooden structure into a venue fit for a princess’s wedding.
Seeing it at sunset, as the lights hanging from the rafters twinkle and the candles flicker in the shadows, it was all worth it.
Even if Astrid nearly murdered everyone in the process.
How in the world will she ever manage her own wedding and not have a coronary?
“I’m going to be honest,” he says, lacing our fingers together. “The barn looks great. But you have a monopoly on beautiful tonight.”
The look on his face when he picked me up from my house said it all. His jaw nearly dropped when I opened the door in this navy-blue number that I’ve had in my closet for weeks. It was on sale, and I had no place to wear it, but it fit me like a glove, so I couldn’t pass it up.
“Thank you,” I say, laying my head against his bicep as we pass through a massive pink-and-white flower-laden arch.
“Wow,” Jory says, pausing to take everything in. “You and your friends did this? This is incredible.”
Half the interior hosts round tables with pink chiffon tablecloths and candles burning in the centerpieces.
A buffet lines the far wall, a DJ booth is arranged in the far back corner, and a bar is set up beside the cake table.
The rest of the room is straight out of a romance movie with yards of pale pink chiffon draped over the rafters, creating a canopy effect.
It is spectacular, even if it took us up until three hours ago to get it finished. We barely had time to go home, shower, and get dressed before the ceremony. But today isn’t about us; it’s about Audrey. And the fact that we were able to make this happen on such short notice is pretty unbelievable.
“Yeah, but we had some help. Hartley got roped into bringing over ladders. Then he realized that we were going to climb them and was horrified.” I laugh at the memory of his face when Mira started to go up.
“He had one of his farm guys come over and help him do the ceiling stuff. But, yeah, it was mostly us girls.”
“Are you trying to outshine all of us?” Gianna asks, grinning. She looks me up and down. “Damn, Markie. You are smokin’.”
I roll my eyes, my cheeks turning the same shade as the chiffon. “I’m just trying to keep up with you.”
“Oh, right.” She winks at me and then turns to Jory. “I’ve heard good things. I only wanna hear good things. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good boy.” She smiles. “I just saw Astrid make a signal that I think I’m supposed to understand.”
I laugh. “Was it her finger making a circle in the air?”
“That was it.”
“That means Audrey’s arrived, and we have ten minutes until we start.”
Gianna grins. “Glad someone listens.” Gianna blows me a kiss and takes off to find Drake.
“Where is the keyboard?” Jory asks, looking around.
“Behind the ferns.” I point to the area just off the arbor where the I do’s will take place. “The DJ did something over there this morning and connected it to a sound system … or something. He said you’d understand.”
He squeezes my hand. “I do. I’m going to head over there so I’m ready. Astrid sent me a very detailed set of instructions, and to be honest, I’m slightly terrified of her.”
I giggle.
“Save me a seat?” he asks.
“Of course.”
He kisses my cheek and then sets off toward the keyboard.
I watch him move so gracefully through the crowd of people, shaking a couple of hands and laughing with Audrey’s dad like they’ve known each other for years.
Everyone around him lights up when they interact with him, and I swear it seems like they’re drawn to him, too.
Heads turn as he stands behind the keyboard and inspects it. But how could they not? Dark charcoal trousers fit his muscled thighs. A plain white crewneck and tobacco-colored blazer stretch over his shoulders. He’s smart and casual yet polished at the same time.
And he’s here with me.
“Hey, Markie,” Alfie says. He’s owned the gym in town for as long as I can remember. The man has to be touching seventy-five years old by now. “I haven’t seen you around in ages.”
“I try to stay out of trouble.” I smile at him. “You look great. How have you been?”
“Kickin’ ass and takin’ names.”
I chuckle. “I’m sure you are.”
“You playin’ in the tournament this year?”
“Alfie.” I cock my head, making him laugh. “Come on. You know I am.”
“It wouldn’t be the same if you didn’t. Good luck. Not that you need it.”
“That’s right.”
We exchange a smile before he lowers himself into a seat in the back. I spot Nettie sitting on the other side of the aisle and join her.
“Hey, hottie,” I say. “Is this seat taken?”
She laughs. “You can sit there. But when your boy toy comes back, how about we let him sit in the middle?”
I laugh, too. “Very funny.”
“My gosh, Markie. That man is fine.”
Jory looks up, catching my gaze, and a slow, sinful smirk splashes across his lips.
“Oh, Nettie,” I say, my core clenching. “You don’t know the half of it.”
A soft melody flows through the air, drifting through the rafters and quieting the conversations around the barn. Guests take their seats, giving me an unobstructed view of Jory and the keyboard.
The calloused hands that gripped my waist so tightly this morning now glide across the keys with a gentleness that steals my breath.
The fingers that play me until I scream now coax the sweetest melody from the instrument he’s only just met.
He’s masculine strength under a sea of pink carnations, and I can’t take my eyes off him, even as the groom walks down the aisle.
The familiar notes of the Bridal Chorus cues everyone to stand and turn our attention to the back of the barn. Audrey stands in the doorway like an angel—a glorious vision in white.
She moves slowly, her hand slipped through her father’s elbow, her eyes glued to Brooks.
Tears gather in the corners of my eyes as she reaches her fiancé, and he wipes away tears of his own from his lashes.
“Welcome, everyone,” Pastor Reed says. “Thank you for joining me this evening to celebrate one of God’s greatest gifts. We gather together not just to witness their vows, but to celebrate this new chapter of their lives, and to honor the love and commitment between Brooks and Audrey.”
I glance over my shoulder as Jory slides into his seat.
“You did great,” I whisper.
He smiles, taking my hand and holding it on his lap. My body angles immediately toward him, my shoulder resting against his.
“The promise to walk through life together, through wins and losses, celebrations and trials, the easy seasons along with the difficult ones, is one of the most beautiful things in the world. And it’s not to be taken lightly.
Your partner will count on you for comfort, protection, forgiveness, and support. It will be your job to follow through.”
Jory squeezes my hand, something he’s done many times before. But this time, the constriction ripples up my arm, curls around my chest, and lands on my heart.
When I look at him, he’s watching me with a tenderness that I can barely handle. It’s probably just because we’re at a wedding that it’s making me emotional. That, or I’m exhausted from hanging lights for the last two days. But something about the way he looks at me brings tears to my eyes.
He notices, I think, and kisses my nose. And I rest my head on his shoulder as my friends take their vows.
Despite how sudden this wedding came about, and how just as suddenly Jory entered my world, it feels right. All of it. Especially having him by my side, something I never thought I’d say about a man and mean it. And that’s just a little terrifying.
I settle against him and listen to Brooks declare his love for Audrey in a way only Brooks can.
Jory takes my hand and laces our fingers together.
Stay strong, heart of mine. He is only mine for a while longer.
“This has been the best night of my life,” Audrey says, laughing. Her cheeks are flushed from too much champagne and her lips swollen because of her husband. Brooks hasn’t been able to keep his hands off her all night. “You’re the best friends in the world.”
We cheer for ourselves, holding up our glasses as the DJ keeps the music rolling.
The barn is hot and sticky despite the huge fans Hartley set up in each corner. Instead of being annoying, it adds to the fun. That, or I’ve just had too much champagne to care.
I dance with Astrid and Gianna while Jory and Drake hang out with Gray by the bar. They watch us, amused, as we shake our asses and sing at the tops of our lungs.
“Where’s Nettie?” Gianna practically shouts. “I haven’t seen her in like an hour!”
“Did you see Brooks’s fighter buddies, particularly the two who were like six-two, six-three with arms covered with tattoos?” I ask.
Gianna’s eyes sparkle. “Yup.”
“The three of them took a little field trip,” I say, grinning. “They may or may not be back. But she’s definitely on her back.”
“Nettie!” Gianna holds her glass in the air. “Get it, girl!”
Drake’s arms come around Gianna’s waist, and he pulls her close, nestling his lips into her neck. “I’ll tell you what you’re gonna get when we get home.”
“I hear we have a karaoke request!” The DJ’s voice bursts through the speakers as the song ends. “Will Hartley Adler please come to the mic?”
“Shoop!” we all yell, laughing so hard that we sound like a herd of cows mooing. “Shoop!”
He stumbles to the DJ booth, glassy-eyed, thanks to Drake, and takes the microphone. Squinting, he searches the crowd until he finds Mira standing beside me. “I’m only doing this because my wife asked.”
“Love you, Hart!” she shouts.
“I love you.” He turns to the DJ. “Let’s do this. I want to shoop, baby.”
The notes of the song begin to play, Hartley starts moving his hips, and I die. I’ve seen him do this once before at a bonfire at the ranch, which was apparently his second performance, and my sides ached from laughing for two days afterward.
The crowd cheers him on as I slip out of the throng of people.
My gaze immediately finds Jory. As he reaches for a bottle of water from an ice bucket next to the cake table, I can’t help but notice how he’s so unruffled by the chaos, so calm and controlled. So handsome. The eye of the storm in so many ways for me.
He looks over his shoulder and catches me staring.
He lifts a brow and makes his way to me with a smirk that makes me weak.
“Hey,” I say, touching the side of his face, unable to go any longer without physical contact.
“You need water, babe.” He presses the bottle of water into my hand and takes the mostly empty champagne glass from me, placing it on a table. “Drink.”
“I’m fine.”
“Drink.” His lips press together. “You’re gonna get dehydrated if you don’t get some water in you.” His gaze drops to my chest. “Fuck, I want to get you out of that dress so damn bad.”
I lift and press a sweet but firm kiss to his mouth. “I can make that happen.”
“Want to climb in the back seat of my car for a quickie?”
“No.” I smack his chest, laughing. “I mean, yeah, but …”
“Drink.” He takes the cap off the bottle and waits until I swallow a mouthful of water. “Are you having fun?”
I take another drink of the cool liquid. I didn’t realize how thirsty I was. “I am. What about you?”
“I’ve had a good time, actually. You have some pretty great friends.”
“They are pretty great.” I’m glad he likes them. It would be so weird and disastrous if he didn’t.
“I just heard from Gus. He’s staying with Josh at their friend Brandon’s house, and apparently, Brandon’s dad has a pinball machine. Gus has the highest score on the board.”
Why am I not surprised a bit that he’s competitive? “That’s so not surprising.”
“Not even a little,” he says, chuckling.
Hartley winds up his performance with a bow and a declaration that his karaoke career is finished.
“Can we get all couples on the dance floor?” the DJ asks.
I look up at Jory. He grins.
I’m not sure what his reaction means, or what the knot in my stomach’s telling me, but I have no idea if we qualify to be on the dance floor.
Sure, we’re fake dating. But standing next to him with his eyes on me like this, that label feels inadequate. I don’t know what we are anymore, but it doesn’t feel like we’re only playing pretend.
“Couples,” the DJ repeats. “If you’re a couple, please find your way to the dance floor.”
“Come on,” he says softly.
“Really?”
He takes my hand and slowly leads me back out onto the floor, and the entire room disappears. As the first notes of Keith Whitley’s “When You Say Nothing At All” play through the air, Jory pulls me against him with a look of such affection that it makes my breath stutter.
My heart swells as a peace, a brilliant stillness, settles through me.
His arms wrap around me, holding me tight, as we move to the music.
My eyes flutter closed as I melt into his arms, the only place I’ve been able to breathe in a long time.
Because when I’m with him, I’m not on edge.
I’m not fighting for the next thing. I don’t have to keep my guard up, firmly in place, so I don’t get chopped down when I’m not looking.
There’s no competition, no proving myself—I don’t have to explain anything.
And, my goodness, what a relief this has been.
No other relationship, fake or not, has been like this. So easy and gentle, but fierce and solid at the same time. It’s too bad that this can’t be real. That it can’t always be this way.
I look up into his flecks of jade and swear I see the same thoughts rolling through his mind. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, and it probably is, but the moment of hope it gives me that maybe things will work out for us is the first taste of hope I’ve had in a really long time.
“Are you okay?” he asks, searching my eyes.
“Of course. Why do you ask?”
He grins. “Just making sure.”
I rest my head against his chest again, craving the connection while I can get it.
There was a time when I thought Jasper could’ve been the one. I could’ve fallen for him, had it gone on much longer.
But Jory? I think it’s too late.
And even though I think he might actually like me, too, I can’t ask him. He has too many decisions to make, for one. And, for two, I’m afraid of his answer.
I don’t want to be disappointed … because being disappointed by Jory Plath might destroy me.