myself to hide from her because I couldn’t stop thinking about her? I hated lying to her about being out of town but it was survival mode. I had to find some space to get control of myself and make our last night as a fake couple somewhat bearable.
However, seeing her right now, in that little black dress with those big blue eyes…my control is fleeting.
The sun is beginning to set as Dean walks with Miles’s sister down the aisle to an acoustic guitar playing “Baby I Love Your Way” by Peter Frampton. As great as the guitar sounds and as pretty as Maggie is with her dark hair and light blue eyes, I can’t tear my eyes from Dean.
That man can wear a suit.
A nearly black-purple velvet tuxedo jacket is not something many men can pull off…but Dean does it and does it well. He’s trimmed his beard down to just the whiskers again, and his dark-rimmed glasses complete his unique style. He’s seriously the most handsome man here today. Maybe the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe it’s been a week since I’ve seen him. It feels like longer and shorter all at the same time.
He takes his place next to Lynsey as Josh lowers Julianna down to the ground to begin her own march as the flower girl. She toddles down a white-lined aisle in a fluffy flower-girl dress. Her short brown hair is curled and a little wild as she walks and trips several times, forgetting all about the autumn leaves she’s supposed to be dropping. She finally reaches her mommy and squeals with delight as Lynsey bends over to scoop her up.
Julianna’s smile disappears when she notices Dean standing beside them. She frowns at his jacket, and her chubby little finger reaches out to touch the alluring texture. Dean smiles fondly at her and Lynsey, and when he reaches up and gives her his finger to squeeze, I feel something strange clench in my body as a little knot forms in my throat.
The music changes, and the minister tells everyone to rise as Kate makes her way down the aisle. Tears run freely down her cheeks, and I turn to see Miles’s reaction to his bride-to-be. Miles looks stoic and happy, and when I shift my smiling eyes to Dean, I inhale sharply.
I assumed his eyes would be fixed on his best friend walking down the aisle, but they’re not. They are locked on mine, and the intense cocoa smoldering behind his dark-rimmed glasses causes my entire body to flush.
Dean has watched me in the bakery many times before. He’s made my dreaded lip sweat creep up without trying. It’s why I had to make a rule for him not to look at me too much when we started this fake-dating situation in the first place.
But this isn’t just him watching me.
He’s…consuming me.
And the look in his eyes is not causing lip sweat. It’s causing all the blood in my veins to boil with need.
I force myself to look away when Kate meets Miles, and the two take each other’s hands for the ceremony to start. They look so perfect up there…his dark to her bright. I didn’t spend a lot of time with the two of them, but after watching them in Aspen and here, it’s clear how much they love each other.
Marriage has never been something I’ve pictured for myself. Even when I was young, I could never see myself in a wedding dress and choosing to be with one person forever. But as the two of them recite their vows and the entire crowd of a hundred and fifty people laugh along with them when Miles mentions only knowing Kate by her pen name for the first several weeks they were together, maybe there is a perfect person out there for everyone. If Kate and Miles can get past that kind of a hurdle, maybe there could be a man out there who could give me wings instead of roots.
When the ceremony ends, I follow the crowd as we make our way to a large outdoor pavilion nestled among the trees and a nearby creek. It’s stunning inside with tented white fabric draped along the ceiling and chandeliers with Edison bulbs mixed with the outdoor lighting. The décor is an eclectic, rustic mix of fall colors with pops of plum and burgundy throughout.
I can’t help but laugh when I notice the cake topper features a little groom with a