The woman on his arm had to tug him to keep his feet moving in the right direction. The last thing Jake saw before taking his place beside Gabe in the lineup was Sophie’s soft mouth turned up into a sensual, utterly feminine smile.
* * *
Sophie had always loved weddings and, despite her nerves, she couldn’t help but get caught up in the romance. Of course, Sullivan Winery was quite possibly the most glorious wedding venue she’d ever seen. The budding leaves on the vines, the mustard flowers blooming in every free patch of dirt, the rolling hills, the bright blue sky above, the masses of flowers in pots and displays at the end of every row of seats—they were all breathtaking additions to the love between Chase and Chloe.
Marcus was doing such a beautiful job officiating Chase’s wedding. Sophie could tell he was as choked up as the rest of them, but his voice was steady and solid as he asked Chase and Chloe if they would love, honor, and comfort each other.
Sophie had to reach for Lori’s hand and hold it tight as she waited for that perfect moment when her brother declared his love to his bride. It felt as if the entire world stood still as Chase turned to Chloe and smiled at her. Sophie’s chest squeezed tight at the undying love radiating out from her brother to his bride.
What, Sophie wondered, would it feel like to have a man look at her like that? Like she was absolutely everything to him?
Chase said, “I will love you forever, Chloe,” and a soft sigh left Sophie’s lips as a tear slipped down her cheek. A few moments later, as Chloe made the same vow to Chase, more tears fell down Sophie’s cheeks, one after the other. And as Marcus pronounced them husband and wife, everyone cheered, but none louder than quiet Sophie Sullivan.
* * *
Jake had never cared for weddings. As far as he was concerned, they took up too much of a perfectly good weekend and were a waste of hard-earned money. Especially given that at least half of the unions ended in divorce.
For some reason, though, this wedding was different. He’d spent enough time with Chase and Chloe to think they actually had a shot at making this thing work. With that kid in her belly, he sure hoped it would.
Not, of course, that he was paying much attention to the actual wedding taking place...because he couldn’t take his eyes off the groom’s sister.
When Sophie walked up the aisle, he’d been struck stupid at how sexy she was in that dress. He almost hadn’t recognized her as the sweet girl always hanging around his heels when they were kids. But, then, as he’d watched her during the ceremony, she’d transformed again.
Still ridiculously sexy, but sweet again, her eyes big as she listened to the vows, leaning in toward the bride and groom as if she wanted to become a part of their happiness. And in that moment when she’d reached out to grab Lori’s hand, he’d had a split second of wishing it had been him she was grabbing for.
And that he could be the one to hold her.
Jake felt like someone had reached a fist into his chest and grabbed hold of his heart, squeezing until it was nothing more than a messy pile of blood and veins. He’d never be able to erase the memory of the hope, the longing, in Sophie’s eyes as she watched Chase and Chloe pledge their love to each other.
Before he knew it, Sophie was taking Smith’s arm and walking down the aisle, her perfect little backside swaying in time to the classical music playing.
“Earth to Jake,” Gabe said, elbowing him just before he headed toward Megan to walk her back up the aisle to the crowds that were already surrounding Chase and Chloe. “It’s over. Time to go.”
Chapter Four
There was only one sure cure for Jake's sudden bout of insanity. He’d tend the bar...and then he’d find himself a willing single woman who didn’t have anything to do with the Sullivan family. And he was going to steer completely clear of Sophie for the rest of the wedding. A little distance from all those soft curves and those plump red lips would help him get his head back on straight.
“I’ve got this,” he told Sammy, one of his best bartenders at the original McCann’s in the city. “You can circulate with the trays.”
Fortunately, the wedding guests were thirsty, clearly needing some vino or hops to wash the taste of the syrupy vows from their tongues. Pouring drinks for strangers was as natural to Jake as breathing, and he immediately got into a rhythm in the middle of the vineyard as the meal was served and people kept a running line behind the bar between courses. He couldn’t remember a time he hadn’t been drying clean glasses, rearranging bottles. As a kid, when his dad had been the one running the taps, Jake had been in the back loading and unloading the dishwasher for a few extra bucks while the cooks at whatever pub they were at slung together plates of fish and chips and colcannon.
When the female guests flirted with him at the bar, he flirted back. So what if none of them were even half as pretty as Sophie? The Sullivans might be pairing up one after the other like they’d been infected by the same virus, but Jake had had his shots.
Love wasn’t going to take him down.
He knew better than to think that love meant a damn thing when the going got rough and it was easier to split. No wife, no kids, plenty of pretty women, but no rings, was what Jake’s future held. He’d play with all the kids the Sullivan clan was bound to pump out, would enjoy being Uncle Jake, but he wouldn’t make the mistake of thinking he’d ever be a good husband or father.
McCanns didn’t come with those genes.
“You haven’t had anything to eat yet.”
The slightly husky female voice reached in and grabbed him a split second before he looked straight into Sophie’s eyes. Her soft sensuality in that pink dress, the sweet smell of her perfume, were a one-two punch straight to a gut that hadn’t yet recovered from watching those tears slip down her cheeks, or the radiant smile that had followed.
Without waiting for an invitation, she put a full plate on the back table for him and moved around the bar to stand next to him. “Scoot over. I’ll help out while you eat.” She bumped her hip into his, causing him to become rock-hard in an instant, his body not giving a damn that she was OFF LIMITS.
How could her brothers have let her out looking like this? What were they thinking? Didn’t they care even a little bit about their sister’s welfare?
While he was standing there losing his mind, Sophie took drink orders and deftly poured glasses of wine and mixed drinks for the wedding guests. She was a librarian, not a bartender. She shouldn’t be so good at serving drinks. And no librarian should ever be this hot, either, Jake thought as he clamped his jaw so tight his temple started throbbing. He’d let her help for five minutes, and then he’d send her back to her table to celebrate with the rest of her family and make sure she stayed there for the rest of the reception.