“And here I thought that putting on a wedding was easy.”
She laughed. “Yes. So easy.”
He put his hand above her head, resting it on the trunk of the giant oak tree. “You work hard. It’s sexy.”
She arched a brow. “The work I do isn’t sexy, Jason.”
He wrapped his other arm around her waist and tugged her against him. “The hell it isn’t. You think on your feet, juggle numbers, come up with brilliant ideas. Tell me how that isn’t sexy.”
She breathed in and out, causing her breasts to rise and fall above the top of her dress, making him want to kiss the globes, then get her naked and taste her all over.
But she was working, and he knew as soon as the wedding ceremony was over, she’d get busy again. So for now he took the few minutes they’d have together to kiss her, to take her lips and dive inside her mouth and taste the sweetness of her. It was so easy to get lost in her.
The loud applause made Erin press her hands on his chest, a signal for him to take a step back.
She licked her lips. “I have to go.”
He nodded. “Yeah, you do.”
She swept her fingertips across his jaw. “We’ll take up this . . . discussion . . . later?”
He gave her a half smile. “I’ll be around.”
“Okay.”
She walked away, disappearing into the crowd that was exiting the vineyard and heading toward the barn for the reception. Jason made his way toward the house, where he knew he’d find food and beer.
Agatha greeted him at the door, her tail whipping back and forth with great joy.
“Hey, baby girl.” He gave her a few pets, then she wandered off down the hall.
He made his way down the hall toward the backyard, where Johnny and Maureen were, along with Finn. Clay and Alice had reappeared from the wedding, along with his other friends.
Jason grabbed a beer and settled into a chair next to Clay.
“How was the wedding ceremony?”
“It was good.”
“I don’t think paparazzi is in our future wedding plans, but I do so love the vineyard,” Alice said. “After all, this is where we met.”
“Is that why you want to get married here?” Maureen asked.
Alice looked over at Clay, then back to Maureen. “I couldn’t think of a more appropriate place for our wedding. And May will be perfect.”
Maureen beamed a look of utter joy. “I know the girls are so thrilled you two are getting married here. We’re all so happy.”
Johnny sported a grin a mile wide. “It’ll be a good wedding. Happy for you both.”
“Thank you,” Alice said. “Me, too.”
Jason slanted a smile at Clay. He knew how much Clay loved Alice. They could have the wedding at the Henry ranch, here at the vineyard or at the courthouse and Clay wouldn’t care, as long as Alice married him.
Clay smiled back at him. “So, you’ll be my best man, right?”
They’d been friends forever. Clay and Jason and Owen. They’d been through some shit together. Tough times. Good times. To stand up for Clay? Yeah, that would be a highlight.
“I’d be honored.”
“What are you honored about?” Erin asked as she walked around the side of the house.
“Clay asked Jason to be his best man,” Maureen said.
Erin didn’t look at all surprised. “Of course he did.”
Jason gave her the kind of hot smile that made her go weak in the knees. She curved her lips and smiled back at him, then turned her attention back to Alice. ‘We’re going to plan such a fun wedding.”
“And will you be my maid of honor?” Alice asked.
Erin put her hand to her heart. “I’d love to. But what about Lainie? You were her maid of honor at her wedding here at the vineyard.”
“I know. I’ve already talked to her and she agrees that it would be too difficult for her to help me out from out of state. She said she’d love to be a bridesmaid. And I’d really love for you to be my maid of honor.”
Erin grinned. “Then I’m happy to accept.”
The two women hugged, then Erin poured herself a glass of wine and sat next to Alice, the two of them getting out their phones, no doubt to schedule a meeting.
“Planning your future without you, buddy,” Jason said.
Clay smiled over his beer. “I’m fine with that. I’ll dress up, I’ll show up, and that’ll be good enough.”
Jason laughed.
“Hey, have you been over to the brewery to see Owen yet?” Clay asked.
Jason shook his head. “Nah. I figure if he’s got something to say, he’ll call me. He hasn’t even talked to Erin yet.”
“Still? What the hell? Why not?”
“No clue. Maybe he’s scared.”
Clay frowned. “That doesn’t sound like Owen. Then again, none of what happened is like Owen. The guy I know wouldn’t bail on his woman right before the wedding. If he wasn’t happy or changed his mind, he’d man up and tell her, face-to-face.”
Jason nodded. “Yeah. That’s what’s been bugging me all these weeks. Why did he run?”
“I don’t know, man. But I’m not planning on trying to make contact with him until he talks to Erin first.”
“Agreed.”
“You know he bailed on being in Ryan Phillips’s wedding?” Clay asked.
That news shocked him. “I didn’t know that. Kind of last minute, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Clay took a sip of beer. “Fortunately they got someone to fill in, but kind of shitty of him.”
Jason knew the wedding was here at the vineyard, so maybe that was a good thing? He looked over to where Erin was still engaged in conversation with Alice. Did she know? She probably did. She knew everything about every wedding here at the vineyard.
“Damn.” Jason shook his head. It was like some stranger had taken over his best friend’s body. He didn’t know what to make of it. He’d like to talk to Erin about it, but bringing up Owen to her was never a good idea.
Erin got up and disappeared again, no doubt to help her sisters out with the wedding, so Jason turned his attention back to his friends. He figured he’d wait on Erin, and when she was finished with her wedding duties, he’d spend some time with her. But he wasn’t going to bring up Owen.
So they ate and drank and told stories and had a damn good time. Some folks left, and Maureen and Johnny went to bed, leaving Jason alone with Clay and Alice. Jason was telling Alice stories about their teen years, giving her all the dirt on her fiancé.
“Then there was the time one summer when he was fifteen,” Jason said. “He crawled out the bedroom window at one in the morning, thinking he could take his horse into town to meet up with a girl he liked. Only the horse wasn’t that fond of having to get up that early, made one hell of a ruckus, bucking around the barn, which woke Clay’s dad, who also wasn’t that happy about discovering his son trying to sneak out.”
Alice’s eyes widened. “What happened?”
“Let’s just say I didn’t leave the ranch for a while, and my daily chores list was . . . unpleasant.”
She laughed. “Oh, you poor thing.”