The Engagement Arrangement (Boots and Bouquets #2) - Jaci Burton Page 0,83
you’ve dated some choice jackasses.”
“I have not. Have I?”
“Let’s start with your recent cowboy who couldn’t seem to keep his hands off your ass.”
Alice put her hand over her mouth. “He couldn’t? I must have missed that.”
Honor gave Alice a squeamish look. “Yes, he did have a hands problem. Among other issues I won’t go into.”
“And then there was Padon,” Brenna said, “who seemed to forget to show up for dates he’d made with you.”
Honor nodded. “Now he was an actual jackass.”
“And Cliff, who seemed to forget his wallet every time he took you out for dinner.”
Honor sighed. “I don’t have the best track record with men, do I?”
“Hey, we’ve all been there,” Alice said. “Sometimes you have to go through the wrong ones to find the right one.”
Brenna reached over and laid her hand over her sister’s. “That’s true. You just haven’t met the right one yet.”
Honor looked over Brenna’s shoulder and smiled. “But you have.”
Brenna shifted to see Finn approaching, along with Clay and Owen.
Honor leaned over and pressed a kiss to Brenna’s cheek. “Don’t let go of a good thing.”
“Okay,” Clay said. “You’ve all been talking about us, haven’t you?”
Alice stood. “Honestly? Not a word about you.”
“Oh, so it was me, then,” Finn said.
Brenna shook her head. “Not really.”
Owen grinned. “Lately if there’s gossip, it’s about me.”
Honor laughed. “Not tonight, stud. Let’s go wait at the barn entrance for the bride and groom. They should be arriving soon.”
They all made their way to the doors, and just in time. Erin and Jason walked up and the deejay played a kickass song to get the crowd going as the new Mr. and Mrs. made their arrival in style. After the applause, everyone dispersed.
She had to go hug her sister.
“You’re married,” she said to Erin.
Erin had such a sweet blush to her cheeks. And the happiest smile she’d ever seen.
“I know! I still can’t believe it. It’s like a dream.”
She took Erin’s hands in hers. “The best dream. Soak it all in.”
“I intend to. I love you, Brenna.”
“I love you, too.”
Then everyone took their seats and champagne was poured.
As the oldest sister and official maid of honor, Brenna made the first toast.
“Erin and Jason, when I see you together, I see happiness. I see joy. I see a future where you can both grow and have everything you’ve ever wanted. You bring out the best in each other, you calm each other in times of stress and you celebrate each other’s successes. I hope you know that you can always count on your families to be there for you whenever you need us. We will always have your back. I hope that the love you feel for each other today is the same love you will feel every day for the rest of your lives. To Erin and Jason.”
She lifted her glass and everyone toasted.
Then Clay gave his toast, and it was about friendship and love and brought a tear to Brenna’s eye.
Finn grasped her hand under the table. “Those were some sweet words you said.”
“Thank you.”
“I always wished I had siblings.”
“You do. You have Erin and Honor.”
He took in a deep breath. “Thanks for not adding yourself as a sibling, because that would be creepy.”
She laughed. “I have never once thought of you as a brother.”
“You were hot for me even back then, huh?”
“I have no comment.”
He looked her over. “Did I tell you today that you were beautiful?”
“No, you didn’t. But thank you.”
“That dress looks nice on you. And I like your hair that way, down around your shoulders, and some of it pulled up. It’s very beautiful. Then again, you look pretty all the time.”
He always said all the right things, and they were unpracticed, not bullshit lines. She could tell they came from his heart. She squeezed his hand, then leaned over and gave him a soft kiss. “You’re so . . . I don’t know . . . Finn.”
He let out a soft laugh. “Yeah, that’s me, grá.”
She knew that word—it meant love. And didn’t that set her heart to doing those flippity-floppity things again.
She ran her fingers down the front of his shirt. “You in a tux? That presents quite a picture, Finn Nolan.”
He looked down at himself, then back up at her. “I thought it gave me a rather James Bond kind of look.”
“You look dashing, for sure.” Then again he could be sweat soaked in jeans and a T-shirt, and either way he could still turn her on. It was the