braced on each of my shoulders.
“One goddamn word, woman, and I’m out the door.”
She smirked and smoothed a hand down my shirt front, fixing a button that didn’t need fixed. Pushing a lock of hair from my forehead, she went up on her toes and kissed my cheek. “You look handsome as ever. You clean up nice, Easton Campbell.” She focused on my face, and I saw the restraint in her eyes when she wanted to smooth a hand over my freshly shaved face again like she had multiple times this afternoon. I was chronically scruffy, like sandpaper, and only bothered shaving every few days. Never with a blade. Never this close. I felt naked.
“Come on. Our table’s ready. We were just waiting for you guys.” Elaina took Dad’s arm and wandered ahead of us.
The bridesmaids followed. Austin and I took up the rear.
“Where’re the guys?” I asked, scanning the wide-open area of the lobby, looking for the groomsmen.
“Probably at the bar.”
“Stupid question. Where else would they be?”
The reserved table was located in the center of the restaurant. Many of the other tables were vacant at this later hour, but a few diners sat spaced apart around the room, enjoying a quiet meal. As the wait staff showed us to our seats, I scanned the room.
One entire wall was windows and showed the gorgeous landscape of fir trees and snow-covered mountains in the distance. The view was spectacular. I lived and breathed for this little piece of paradise I called home. There was nothing else in the world like it.
Out of the corner of my eye, a lone diner caught my attention. Eclipsing the perfect view was a man who was even more stunning than what was out the window. His razor-sharp green gaze watched me with laser focus. I felt the heat of his attention all the way from where I stood, like a searing touch to my bare flesh. The hairs on my arms stood on end. When his focus skipped down my body, perusing and noting every inch, my blood warmed.
He refocused on my face. The heat between us sizzled. He winked, lifted his mug of ale for a drink, and shifted his focus to the landscape out the window. My internal temperature roasted me. I glanced around at the family, but no one seemed to notice what had taken place.
Reaching for my hat, feeling the urge to tip it forward and shy away from the situation, I was amiss to find it gone.
I’d never seen that guy before, and I doubted Jasper’s gay population had grown by one since I last counted. He was a tourist, and a stab of disappointment cut me to the bone as I took a seat with the rest of the wedding party.
Chapter Three
Lachlan
The menu was passable. The view was exceptional. I’d accepted a seat beside the windows that overlooked the mountainous range in the distance. For the past ten minutes, I’d sipped a mug of Jasper’s locally brewed beer as I waited for my dinner.
Then he walked in.
I knew the rehearsal dinner would be sitting at the long, reserved table in the center of the restaurant, but they’d been slow to take their seats. I figured I’d be half done my meal before they got around to ordering theirs.
People watching entertained me. In the city, there was no shortage of quirky characters to observe. Small town folks had their idiosyncrasies too.
As the party table filled, I studied the group. Most of the men and women were in a similar age bracket. Late thirties or early forties. There were a handful of older people too. But when he walked in, none of the others mattered. It was like a spotlight hung over his head, and the rest of the room dimmed.
He strolled in behind a group of women who all grabbed seats together at one end of the long table. Another man stood beside him, auburn hair and shorter—nothing distinct or eye-catching about him. I dismissed him immediately. But the guy with the checkered shirt and wavy hair the color of wheat stole all my attention.
He was fucking gorgeous, with a homegrown, boy-next-door look about him. Broad shoulders, a trim waist, and thick thighs that strained his pants drew my attention. He rocked on his feet, thumbs hooked into the pockets of his slacks as he eyed the table, looking unsure where to sit.
When he lifted his gaze to peer out the window, I got a better look at his face.