Page 14 of Aisle Be The Groom (Bristlecone Springs #1)

OZZIE

“ O zzie.”

Gray entered the living room, and I fixed a smile on my face, though it felt strained. The conversation from the kitchen weighed heavily on my mind, making it difficult to choose between the two designs I’d settled on for the virtual wedding invitations.

“Hey, Gray. Is something wrong?”

“I’m heading out. Wanted to check in if you needed anything before I go.”

Earlier, when he appeared in the kitchen, wearing only a towel, he’d almost sent my heart into arrhythmia. From the ease with which he had talked with Gertie as if nothing was out of the ordinary, it seemed like a common enough occurrence. If only I had Gertie’s immunity, though. How anyone didn’t drool upon seeing this man naked was beyond me.

I blinked. “Oops, sorry. Thinking about…” How you would taste if I licked your abs? “Wedding plans.”

“How’s it coming along?”

How could he look so casual, so unaffected after where his mouth had been on my body? Men didn’t dwell too much on who they slept with, but damn, I would have preferred it if our encounter had been an unforgettable experience for him.

“Good. The last couple of days, I’ve gone through what I’ll need to do. Starting tomorrow, I’ll put the plans into action.”

Gray walked behind me where I sat on the sofa and bent his head so his mouth was next to my neck. Tingles cascaded down my spine, and I struggled to keep my eyes focused on the wedding invitation designs.

His breath warmed my skin. Still, I shivered. He was wearing cologne—a rich, woodsy scent—that I wanted to inhale deeply. His lips grazed my cheek. I jerked my head around and stiffened. Why was he so close?

“Are those the wedding invitations?”

“Ye-es.” I cleared my throat. “I have to finalize them by tomorrow so I can send them to those who are coming from out of town, like my parents and my friends back home. Then I’ll have to print a batch for the people you want to invite from here.”

“It’s your wedding. You should invite whomever you want, not me.”

“And I will, but this is a small town with people who are close to the family, yes? I think it’s a good idea to invite them, but I don’t know who they are. Can I rely on you to help me with the guest list?”

“What about Carter? He should have some say in this, shouldn’t he?”

I’d called him, but his phone had been off all day, so I’d contacted one of his friends who had come with him on his trip. According to Seth, Carter was out with the others, but I could have sworn I’d heard him in the background. Seth must not have relayed my message to Carter to call me as soon as possible, because I was still waiting for his call.

“If I left the plans to Carter, the wedding might not happen at all.” My heart skipped a beat, then raced as if to make up for it. The words hung in the air, heavy and raw. I gave a nervous laugh. “Just kidding.”

But it was true, wasn’t it? Besides buying me a too-expensive ring, what else had he done since proposing? He’d set the date, agreed to let his father pay for the wedding so he didn’t have to spend a dime, and then he’d booked a trip to the Caribbean. Would the wedding really not happen if I didn’t get things done?

“If you can’t decide, why don’t you choose one for the physical invitations and the other for the e-save-the-date cards?”

Damn, maybe instead of calling Carter, I could run my ideas by Gray. He’d actually given it some thought.

“Not bad. That’s actually fantastic. Saves me the trouble of deciding.”

“Glad that’s settled.” He straightened, and I missed his scent, even if it sent my pulse rate out of whack. “Why don’t you give the plans a break and go for a drive with me?”

“A drive? Where?”

“I need to drop by Lawson’s ranch to find out how his cattle are doing. They got a case of brucellosis I’m hoping doesn’t spread. He doesn’t need this on his plate.”

“Is that bad, then?”

“One of the worst fears of a rancher.”

“Oh no. I hope his cattle will be all right. He was so kind to me the first time I came here.”

“You can see for yourself. Put off all the planning for later and come with me. On the way back, we can stop in town and go see a movie in the drive-in.”

“Drive-in?”

“We don’t have a traditional cinema, but there’s a drive-in a few times per month. There’s a movie on tonight.”

A drive-in movie sounded so good. When was the last time I’d been out to see a movie? Carter preferred parties and clubs, so I usually tagged along or stayed home and watched Netflix. My experience with drive-in movies was of steamy kisses and fumbles during high school. Sitting so close to Gray in a car for two hours might not be a good idea.

Opie seemed like a barrel of laughs and good times. I would have liked to see him again, but not at the expense of spending the evening alone with Gray. Ending up in the barn together was all fate, but I would be courting trouble by going off with him, knowing how he made me feel.

“I really shouldn’t, but give my best to Lawson and Opie.”

“All right, then. See you later.”

Gray had barely left the living room when I grabbed my phone and checked. No missed calls. No text messages. Why was Carter ignoring me? I redialed his number, but the phone went straight to voice mail again.

Dammit.

I opened my IG app to message him. The page refreshed, and a picture of Carter popped up with his lips sealed to a half-naked guy straddling his lap in a Jacuzzi. My heart thumped. Damion Bartley, according to the IG handle, had posted the photo an hour ago. He’d tagged Carter in the picture with the caption, “After kissing hundreds of frogs, I’ve finally found a prince.”

Tremors rattled my body, my stomach churned, and the room spun. How could he? A thousand thoughts raced through my mind, spiraling in a whirlwind of confusion and hurt. Did I even have a right to be furious when I’d kissed his father? Maybe this was my karma. Or my wake-up call.

I locked my phone and sprinted out of the living room. Right into Gray. He wrapped his arms around me, and I grabbed him for balance. Why had he come back?

“You okay?” he asked.

I nodded, unable to speak.

“Look, I know you preferred staying to make wedding plans, but taking a few hours off won’t matter too much, will it? Why don’t you change your mind and come along with me? It’ll do you—”

“Yes.”

“Yeah?” Gray’s smile lit up his face. Yes, I had made the right decision.

“But I’ll need to change. Just give me a few minutes. Ten minutes tops, I promise.”

“No rush.” He glanced at his watch. “We can always spend less time at Lawson’s. Take all the time you need to get ready. I’ll pack us some food to take with us for the drive-in.”

Everything he said flew over my head except for the “take all the time you need to get ready.” How often had Carter left me to drive myself to an event because he got tired of waiting for me?

I’d always thought it made sense. After all, sometimes it could take me a while to get ready. Who knew there was another option called waiting for your partner? Uncertainty gnawed at my heart. Every second I spent with Gray pointed out flaws in Carter I hadn’t seen before.

No, being around Gray’s a good thing. If the things I excuse in Carter are flaws I need to be concerned about, it’s better for me to acknowledge them now before marrying him.

“You’re not changing your mind again, are you?” Gray asked. “If you’re worried about what happened between us, I promise I’ll be a perfect gentleman. You can take me at my word, Ozzie. I won’t do anything you don’t want to do.”

I stepped back out of his arms. “I’ll get changed, then.”

Once in the bedroom, I placed my suitcase on the bed. I hadn’t unpacked. Easier to make a quick getaway if the wedding plans fell through. I sank onto the bed and inhaled deeply with my hand over my chest. All this time, I’d been living with an escape plan. What did that say about me wanting this wedding? I let out a bitter laugh as the image of Carter kissing the other man flashed through my mind.

It was hypocritical to mind, but I still did, dammit. I unzipped my suitcase and rummaged through the items. One night to have fun without Carter’s restrictions. How could I not take advantage of it?

When I was finally ready, doubts fired bullets at me as I stared at myself in the mirror. For once, I was wearing something Carter wouldn’t have approved of. He preferred me to wear dark, slimming outfits.

My light blue jeans were too tight, and the corset I had underneath snatched my waist in to make my curves stand out more. And I liked it. Each time I moved, the russet-colored one-shoulder top swayed around me. For the first time in a long while, I felt sexy. I brushed my hair and applied some eyeliner, blush, mascara, and cherry-flavored lip gloss.

I grabbed my wallet and phone. “Oh shit.” Curling my hair and applying light makeup had taken up more time than I’d expected.

Instead of sliding my phone into my pocket, I turned it off and left it on the bed. Carter could wait for me for a change. If he even cared.

With determined steps, I hurried down the stairs and almost smacked into Gray, who walked out of the living room. Why was I always running into the man? He stopped, his gaze moving from my face down to my body, not like I was a freak and making me uncomfortable, but like a caress.

God, his expression. He made me feel beautiful, desirable. Not in a cheap way, like he wanted to tumble me to the floor and fuck me right there. And yeah, I sensed that in him too. But he made me feel seen. Not the Ozzie who guys tried to score with. No, the Ozzie who had been stifling for the past two years to express himself and feel good about it.

“Wow, Ozzie, you look amazing.”

I let out a deep breath and smiled. “Thank you. I’m sorry I kept you waiting. It’s been quite a while since I’ve dressed up and played pretty. I might have overdone it.”

“Play? You are beautiful and definitely worth waiting for. I hope you know that.”

My legs wobbled as if they were made of jelly. I had to lock my knees to keep upright. “I thought you would wait in the truck.”

“Why would I when we can walk together?”

Why indeed?

Would this count as a date? Until Carter and I decided on the wedding, we were still technically engaged. I shouldn’t be seeing anyone, least of all his father. But the evening had all the markings of a date I’d always wanted. A courteous gentleman who thought waiting for me was worth it. Who walked me to his car instead of leaving me to get there by myself.

“Is the drive-in usually full?” I asked as we walked to his truck. Gray was so close to me our arms brushed against each other. He kept stealing glances at me. Something in the careful way he treated me, like I was precious and meant to be cherished, both thrilled and scared me. Why had Carter never treated me like that?

If he only knew how much his father showed how lacking he was as a partner. I wouldn’t have known all these things hadn’t he run off to the Caribbean. I would have been fine with how he treated me and accepted it as normal.

“It does more so on the weekend. It shouldn’t be too overcrowded. Do you not like crowds?”

“Not really. I can usually fit in anywhere, but to be honest, I prefer a smaller gathering.”

“So why the two hundred people for the wedding?”

“Carter’s idea. Do we even know two hundred people? Beats me.” He was supposed to send me a list of those two hundred guests, but as with everything else, he had yet to deliver. “If I had to choose, fifty people seem good enough. Just our closest friends and relatives. Much more cost-effective too.”

“If money’s the only object, don’t worry about it, Ozzie. I promised I’d take care of the wedding, didn’t I?” Gray stopped at a new-looking, shiny silver Chevy truck and opened the passenger door.

“What’s this? Is this your truck?”

“It is. You didn’t expect me to take you out in the work truck, did ya?” He grinned. “How am I supposed to impress you if I did that?”

He wanted to impress me? “Gray—”

“Get in, Ozzie. I’m just teasing you. I own more than one vehicle. That day I picked you up, I used one of the working trucks because I had to grab some goods for the ranch on the way back.”

“Oh.” Silly me. Of course a man as wealthy as Gray would own several cars. He was so down to earth and such a hard worker that I often forgot he had more than enough money to live comfortably.

I climbed into the truck. What the hell was I doing? I had no idea, but the look in Gray’s eyes before he shut the door sent shivers through me. The way he made me feel. The way he treated me. The way he gave me his undivided attention.

Carter was out having a blast in the Caribbean. If he wasn’t even bothered about being discreet, why should I restrain myself when our wedding was obviously never going to happen?