Chapter 20
I went home after dropping off the flowers to Omar and reassuring him that Natalie was as excited about getting married as he was. He looked like the happiest man on earth. He sure was the luckiest. The woman he loved felt the same way and was going to be his in a few hours.
Damn, I wanted that.
Gail and Carson were handling the store, so I went right upstairs to get ready. I had my suit already picked out and laid out on the bed. I scrubbed a hand over my stubbled jaw and decided to shave before I took a shower.
With my face clean and smooth, I jumped in the shower and hurried through the rest of my routine. I checked my reflection before I headed downstairs, hoping the charcoal suit was good enough for the wedding.
A whistle pierced the air when I stopped at the bottom of the stairs. I looked up and saw Carson waving at me.
“Looking good, boss. I’ve never seen you in a suit.”
I laughed. “Usually I’m covered in dirt.”
“Same,” Carson said. “Yo! Come see the boss all cleaned up.”
Gail appeared a second later and whistled low. “You’re looking nice, boss.” She looked at Carson. “Can I say that without it being weird?”
“You tell me when I look nice for a date,” Carson said.
“True. I didn’t mean any offense, boss,” Gail said.
“None taken. By either of you. I appreciate it. I’m a little nervous about tonight.” I don’t know why I admitted that to them.
“It’s all good. Casey is hot, and she’s totally into you,” Carson said.
“What he said,” Gail agreed.
“You two haven’t seen us together.”
“She’s been hanging out here for weeks, boss. Women don’t do that unless they really like you,” Gail explained.
“And it’s MacKellar Cove. Everyone knows everyone here. We know who she is,” Carson said.
I drew a breath. “Do you think she’s going to like the suit?”
Gail moved closer and swatted at my hand as I tugged on the tie. “If you stop messing with it she will. Or better yet, mess it up on the ride and ask her to fix it for you.”
I snorted, but she wasn’t joking.
“It’s like zipping up her dress. It’s hot to show you’re a little vulnerable and willing to open up to her about it. Women like that.”
“Yeah?”
Gail nodded. “Absolutely. Have fun tonight, boss. We figure the store will be pretty quiet, but we’ll be here until close and make sure everything is good before we leave.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate you two working here.”
“And we appreciate the jobs. Seriously.”
I nodded, then headed out the back door.
Casey and I didn’t talk about arriving together for the wedding since she was going to be with Natalie all day, but I wanted to make sure she had a ride.
Leaving for the wedding now. Where’s your car?
I’m actually home right now. When they started pictures, I headed out.
Can I come pick you up? Then you don’t have to worry about driving?
That would be great.
I’ll see you in five minutes. I can wait if you aren’t ready.
I’ll be ready.
See you soon.
I tucked my phone away and pulled out of the lot behind the shop. My hands were shaking. I was so damn nervous.
A spot was open right in front of her building. I parked and started to get out when the front door opened.
Casey walked out in a dark red dress that hung to her ankles.
The sleeves were short with a square neckline that showcased the upper swell of her breasts.
The dress was tight below her breasts and flowed to below her hips where the fabric gathered and gave it dimension, then another gathering around her knees.
The dress left me speechless. It hinted at a flirty side but was modest enough for a wedding. The color was stunning on her, especially with the delicate silver jewelry and strappy heels she wore with it.
“You don’t like it?” she asked when I didn’t move.
I shook my head, snapping out of my trance and moving around to where she stood on the sidewalk. I hooked my arm around her back and yanked her tight to me, then paused with my lips an inch from hers. “Can I kiss you?”
“Why would you think you have to ask?”
“Makeup. I don’t want to mess it up and have you annoyed with me.”
“Makeup can be fixed.”
I didn’t wait for her to say more. I sealed my lips over hers and showed her just how much I liked her dress. I spread my hand wide on her back, enjoying the exposed skin on her upper back with a matching cut to the front. I was going to have my hands on her all night.
“Does that mean you do like the dress?”
“I fucking love this dress.”
She grinned against my lips. “I feel the same about this suit.”
I took a step back. “Yeah? It’s okay?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“What about the tie? I’m not used to them and keep tugging on it.”
Casey stepped closer to me and pulled the knot, straightening the tie I’d yanked off center. She smoothed her hand down my tie and held on to the end. “You look really nice.”
“Thank you. Are you ready? Wait, I thought you were going to bring a bag to stay with me.”
“I wasn’t sure you still wanted that,” she said, avoiding my gaze.
I tilted her chin up with one finger. “Yes, I do. I’m not going to force you, but I would really enjoy having you in my bed all night long tonight.”
“Okay. Let me go grab it.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
She snickered. “We’ll never make it to the wedding. I’ll be right back.”
“I’m going to take that to mean you’re not going to be able to keep your hands off me all night.”
She grinned as she opened the door, her gaze traveling down my body.
It was going to be a good night.
Casey and I sat toward the back of the crowd for the wedding. She held my hand and dabbed her eyes and laughed when Natalie almost ran up the aisle as soon as she saw Omar.
The wedding was beautiful, and the two of them were so happy it was hard not to get emotional. I wanted the same thing for myself. I wanted to build a future with Casey.
After the wedding, everyone headed over to Mountain View Retreat while the wedding party took pictures. Casey held my hand as we walked inside and squeezed hard when she saw all the tables.
“Wow. This is amazing,” she gushed. “You’re incredibly talented.”
“Thank you. I couldn’t have done it all if it weren’t for you.”
She smiled up at me and slid her arms around my neck. “I’m not so sure about that. I’ve seen the way you pull things together. You have an incredible eye for what you do.”
“I really love it.”
She grinned, holding my gaze.
The desire to tell her how I felt was strong. It was going to happen if I wasn’t careful, so I broke our link and asked if she wanted to find our table.
“Yeah, let’s see who we’re with. Hopefully people we like.”
We were at a table with Andre and Joelle and two couples we didn’t know. One woman said she was Omar’s assistant at town hall, and the other said she didn’t work for Omar but was a coworker at town hall. Not long after we introduced ourselves, Natalie and Omar were being announced.
They went right into the first dance as husband and wife. I caught Casey staring wistfully in their direction.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I missed a lot of traditions when I got married. We went to the courthouse and skipped the reception and honeymoon part of things.”
“Like you told Natalie yesterday, the wedding is just one day. It’s the marriage that matters.”
Casey snorted. “And we both know how that turned out. Maybe I should have told her to make the most of her wedding because the marriage might suck.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem for those two.”
Omar dipped Natalie low as the final notes of the song played and kissed her until Natalie’s cheeks were red and the entire crowd was cheering.
“No, I don’t think so either,” Casey said with a sigh.
“Do you want a drink?” I asked her.
“Sure. Wine or something.”
I nodded and asked Andre if he wanted to go with me to get drinks.
“You two are pretty close. I didn’t realize it was serious,” Andre said when we were a little away from the table.
“I don’t think she’s there yet.”
“But you are?”
I nodded. “Yeah. And I’m not sure how it’s going to end up. She keeps telling me she doesn’t want to get married again or have more kids or want anything beyond just sex.”
“You’re sleeping with her?” Andre blurted.
“Tell the whole place, would you?”
“Sorry. I didn’t know. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I never felt like this with… anyone else. It’s like we understand each other on a different level.”
Andre nodded. “I get that.”
“I just have to convince her I’m serious about us.”
“Does she know you’re her match yet?”
I shook my head. “No, but she hasn’t been talking to that me much lately.”
“What do you think that means?”
“I’m hoping it means she’s content with me in person and isn’t looking for another guy online.”
He tapped his beer bottle against mine. “Here’s hoping.”
We ate a delicious dinner, then the DJ started playing music for everyone to dance. It took a little persuading to get Casey onto the dance floor, but once she was there, she stayed. She danced with the women, and she danced with me.
It was hours into the reception, and things were quieting down when a slower song came on. Casey draped her arms around my neck and leaned against me.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi. Are you having fun?”
She nodded. “I am. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it this much, but Natalie and Omar have definitely made tonight fun for everyone.”
“They have.”
“I think they’re getting ready to escape.”
“Yeah?”
Casey nodded to where Natalie and Omar were gathering their things.
“They are. That’s sneaky.”
“It’s smart. It’ll take them an hour to get out of here if they don’t just leave.”
“They have important things to get to.”
She raised her eyebrows at me. “Important things?”
“The rest of their lives.”
“You’re a romantic, aren’t you?”
I nodded and slid my hand over her neck. “I am. I create bouquets and provide flowers for weddings and am surrounded by it all the time. I love what I do, but I’m definitely a romantic.”
“I find that very sexy.”
“Oh, you do?”
“Yes, I do.”
“As sexy as this suit?” I asked, kissing my way across her jaw.