Page 55

We exit the main house and Liv leads us to one of the barns out back. Warm lighting reflects from the vintage wall sconces lining either side of the walls, while fold-out wooden chairs are placed in rows with purple and pink peoniesadorning the ends. Past the altar, the back of the barn wall has been replaced with one massive glass window. When I see the rolling green hills with the sun beginning to set in the valley of the two largest peaks, I understand the design choice.

I feel Liv stiffen next to me and follow her gaze over to where Liam leans against the barn door talking to a tall woman with Little Mermaid hair.

“What’s he doing here?” I lift my chin in his direction, and she rolls her eyes as she faces me, turning her back to where he stands.

“He’s friends with Sophie. They all went to primary school together, and Liam booked Max’s band atThe Saloon. That’s how he and Sophie met." She looks back at Liam and scoffs.

“You don’t seem happy to see him.”

“Well, he’s a bit of a gowl.” I twist my head, looking at her. “Annoying,” she clarifies.

“Ahh.” As if Liam can sense us talking about him he does a quick look over his shoulder and then a double take. His lips move in hushed words with the woman before she nods and walks off. It’s amazing Liv doesn’t burst into flames next to me with how hard his burning gaze is on her. He saunters over with one hand in his suit pocket, the other pressing down his tie.

“Olivia Browning, you look…” His blue eyes widen as he tracks them up and down her body with zero shame and he lets out a low whistle.

I cover my giggle with the backs of my fingers and he holds out his hands for her. She ignores his gesture and looks at me.

“I have to go help my dad start ushering people to their seats. Will you be alright for a bit?”

“I’ll—” I freeze when a familiar warmth trickles up myneck, lifting every hair in its wake. I nod my head more times than necessary before I recover. “Yeah, I’ll be good.”

I flick my hands in her direction, shooing them away. Olivia begrudgingly loops her arm through Liam’s elbow, and they take off.

I steady my breathing before turning around, but it doesn’t do shit when I spot Knox standing across the barn in his immaculate black tux, tailored perfectly to his sculpted body. His eyes bore into mine and all the breath is knocked out of my lungs.

My ankles feel weak with every step I take, but I have a feeling it has everything to do with the man a few feet ahead of me and less to do with the four-inch heels. I walk across the room, but the closer I get to him, the farther I feel from reality. My chest thrums like an angry drum, beating harder and harder, my skin heats and it takes maximum effort to make myself appear nonchalant.

“Well, fancy running into you here,” he says with his signature cocky smile.

“You clean up nice, Browning.”

“I was going to say something way more inappropriate.” His head dips until his forehead hovers just above mine. “But, back at ‘ya, Nova.”

My eyelids close on a flutter, and his lips press to the side of my head, stealing my breath once again. My whole body aches to close the six inches of space between us, and his scent washes over me. Immediately, I’m transported back to that hot tub with him, and I’m lit up from within as the feeling of his warmth consumes me.

“Let’s get you to your seat.” His rough hand engulfs mine, and he leads the way.

The ceremony was surprisingly emotional,considering that I didn’t know Max, and I had only met Sophie briefly a few nights ago. The officiant spoke some words about how marriage isn’t just finding the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, but rather, it’s about finding the person you can’t spend a moment of your life without. I nervously picked an invisible hair from my dress and tried to tune out any other words that would make my throat burn, but the rough calluses on Knox’s palm slid over my fidgeting fingers, and I straightened in my seat, eyes forward. When the groom took her hand in his and vowed to always be more than just a lover, but a true confidant and a companion through life with her, ‘Whether here in this town or together on tour,’ he had said before promising to stand beside her and love her anywhere—that was possibly the only sentiment that could have choked me up the way it did.

I lost Knox in the shuffle over to the barn next door where the reception is being held, and as I watch everyone on the dance floor, I have a hard time figuring out how this town closes at 7:00 with the way most of these people are partying.

“Fancy a drink, Sweetheart?”

A tall, muscular man with tattoos covering every square inch of visible skin, smiles down at me with bright, white teeth. “Shameful, the most beautiful woman in the room is sitting over here by herself.” His accent is so thick, I have to replay the words over a few times before fully understanding him. “What’s your name, beautiful?” he asks, extending a full glass of champagne to me. I eye him up and down, he’s tall and almost as muscular as Knox.What the actual hell is in the water here?I open my mouth, and his black-inked forearm snakes around the back of my chair as he sits across from me.

“That’s Tatertot, and don’t look at her again, Knoxalready claimed her.” Liam approaches, flashing his own white smile and digging a hand into the stranger's shoulder.

“Now, now Liam, Knox hasn’t peed on me yet.” My southern bell accent is rusty but it will suffice. “Let’s see what this one’s got.” I tilt my head, batting my lashes at the tattooed giant.

He looks back and forth between me and Liam a few times before dropping his head with a defeated sigh and standing again. “It was nice to meet you, but hey, when KB fucks it up, you call me first.” His thumb and pinky make a phone to his ear as he points at me walking backward. I thankfully don’t have to explain that there’s nothing to fuck up between us. We’re just…what? Friends? Friends who flirt and apparently hook up?I throw back the flute of champagne, praying the bubbles will settle the unknown that's rapidly fluttering through my stomach.

The boys take off to the dance floor where the entire room surrounds them. A hundred people, young, old, and in between, are magnetized by their infectious energy, including a reluctant Liv. I can’t tell if she’s only lying to me or trying to lie to herself, but I don’t miss the way she and Liam steal sneaky glances at one another. I make a mental note to check in with her later.

A familiar calloused hand rubs across my bare back and the lightness in my head has nothing to do with the champagne. Long. thick fingers clasp around the nape of my neck and the pit of my stomach ruptures as my body physically responds to the warmth of the man behind me. I drop my head back onto his corded forearm and I’m barely able to suppress a moan as I take in the man looking down at me.

“Let’s dance, Nova.”

The opening notes of Feels Like Home by Chantel Kreviazuk fill the barn as Knox pulls my body flush against his.There’s a lightness in my chest where the rest of my body is vibrating. I’ve never felt more excited while simultaneously feeling so safe than I do wrapped up in these arms. I don’t want to even consider the possibilities of what that means.