A Merry Vested Wedding - Melanie Moreland Page 0,22

sure my body would recover. His strength and size didn’t make for a good partner. And during the faster numbers, we all knew to give him a wide berth. His enthusiasm knew no bounds and made up for his lack of coordination. Cami usually just “held on for dear life,” she told me once.

Pops, Reid, Van, Halton, Richard. My “cousins” insisted on their turns, and Ronan, Paul, Jeremy, Liam, Reed, Gavin, Theo, Matthew, and all the rest had claimed a dance. I bent low, rubbing my aching feet. I was grateful for the reprieve, although I didn’t expect it to last long. Brayden would find me once he finished dancing with his mom and would want to dance some more. He loved to dance with me. In fact, he loved to dance period and moved with an easy grace. I was grateful for that.

Brayden’s mom, Dee, looked lovely today, her mossy green dress complementing her soft red hair nicely. She smiled up at Brayden, their conversation constant since they’d started to dance. He was smiling indulgently down at her, towering over her as he did me. She had a couple of inches on me, but Brayden was six three, so he dwarfed both of us. He adored his mom, and she him. I was thrilled to have her as a mother-in-law. Like my own mom, she had been supportive of us from the beginning, saying it was destined to be.

It had been a great night, but I was grateful it was starting to wind down. Some guests had departed, and the ones who remained were mostly family. I liked it best that way. Brayden and I were in no hurry to leave since it was our wedding and party, and we were enjoying ourselves. But I knew soon he would come take my hand, and we would leave the last of the partiers to shut the place down.

I had a feeling the night would end with my father, Aiden, Maddox, Reid, Van, Halton, and Richard sitting at the last table, feet kicked up, a bottle of whiskey between them, lamenting how their kids had grown up too fast. They’d trade stories and heartbreaks, trying to outdo one another. For such stern businessmen, they were a bunch of softies when it came to their families. I loved them all for it.

I leaned back my head, the sound of a hushed conversation behind me making me perk up my ears. I recognized Gracie’s voice. Her plus-one had been unexpected and mysterious. She had introduced me to him as he came through the receiving line. Her lips had been tight as she spoke.

“Brayden, Addi, this is Jaxson Richards, my, ah, coworker. He helped get me here.”

Jaxson’s eyebrows lifted at the introduction, but he didn’t say anything. We thanked him, and he shook Brayden’s hand, congratulating us on our nuptials, then lifted my hand and kissed it. “A pleasure.”

I noticed a few things about him immediately. He was drop-dead gorgeous. His hair was so dark, it was almost black. He was tall, broad, and his suit was custom tailored. His jaw was chiseled, with a deep cleft in the middle. He carried himself easily, his confidence evident. He looked stern and haughty—serious, without humor. His eyes were a startling blue, piercing and shrewd.

And they were focused intently on my best friend, whereas she was trying to look everywhere but at him. Her over-the-top casualness made it obvious that whoever he was, whatever he was to her, it was not casual.

And the third thing was the fact that around his ring finger was the same pinched pink line I’d noticed on Gracie’s hand earlier.

I could tell I was the only one who noticed. Brayden was already greeting the next guest, and everyone else was too busy enjoying themselves.

Jaxson lingered in front of Gracie, speaking in a low tone, then moved on, heading to the bar. He took a glass of champagne and headed toward the table where Katy was sitting. Beside me, Gracie tensed.

“Did you put him with my parents?” she asked, horrified.

“I don’t honestly know. Jen arranged a spot for him. Is that a problem?” I asked.

“Um, no, of course not. It’s just he and Dad will probably talk business all night.”

I lifted my eyebrows so she knew I knew how full of BS she was. Then I turned to greet the next guest. We would continue this conversation later.

Even though Jaxson had only spoken a few words to me earlier, I recognized his