Page 8 of Fall Wedding With the Mountain Man (Ozark Mountain Men Falling For Love #2)

Hudson

I’d like to say that I paid attention to the wedding ceremony.

It was my brother getting married after all.

But for some inexplicable reason, I found myself staring across at the maid of honor through the whole ceremony. I was the best man, so we were across from each other the entire time.

The look on her face when she realized her bestie was marrying my brother was priceless.

The kitten had gotten tired, and she was sleeping in the crook of my arm. We’d have to stop and get her some food and water before we went to the reception.

Bringing a brand-new foster kitten to an event as loud and boisterous as this wasn’t ideal. But Lizzie had fallen in love with the kitty, and I couldn’t help nudging her into taking it home with us.

Lizzie appeared to be paying better attention to the wedding, but her eyes wandered over to me a fair amount. I still had a sneaking suspicion that this night was going to end with her in my bed. And I hoped that wasn’t all wishful thinking.

“And now you may kiss the bride.”

The whole crowd cheered as Thatcher and Shelby smooched at the altar.

Their love story had been sweet.

When Shelby showed up in town, she’d been studious, serious, and not looking for love.

But Thatcher had picked up the trash in front of the law office one day and spotted her. That was all it took for him to declare that he was going to make her his. He said it was love at first sight.

Up until today, I hadn’t believed in that.

Then I saw Lizzie at the auto parts store, and everything changed.

But despite what I might want, the chance of Lizzie and me turning into a thing like Thatcher and Shelby seemed like a long shot.

Lizzie was even more uptight and type A than Shelby had ever been.

And the way she’d talked about Shelby ‘casting her dreams aside’ to live in a Podunk town in order to marry a trashman showed me exactly what she thought.

The woman had bigger dreams than somewhere like this.

And if she was so unimpressed with Deer Springs, what would she think of Red Oak Mountain? It was even more rural and isolated.

So it was pretty ridiculous for me to be fantasizing about anything more than a vacation fling with this woman.

But that didn’t mean I could stop myself from wanting more.

I put all those thoughts aside as I considered logistics. The wedding party would be shifting to the Fall Festival now, but that was no place for a tired kitten.

I pulled my brother away from his beautiful bride for a moment and asked, “Can I stash Leona at your place along with Frankie?”

He’d bought a place here in Deer Springs when he and Shelby got together.

“Who’s Leona?”

I gestured down to the sleeping kitten in my arms.

“Sure. What are you doing bringing a kitten to my wedding, anyway?”

I couldn’t hide the smile on my face. “Lizzie fell in love with her.”

My brother started laughing. “No shit? Shelby’s always said Lizzy’s allergic to emotions.”

That’s what we’d been told. Shelby had grown apart from her best friend after her priorities changed. According to Shelby, Lizzie was stuck in an eternal quest for validation. Which meant more work, more promotions, which led to more work, and more promotions.

But that’s not the woman I met. The woman I’d met hadn’t been a headstrong power lawyer. She’d been a little unsure of herself and out of her element.

That vulnerability attracted me to her.

“How’d you find time to talk to her anyway? You were late for the wedding.”

“I ran into her in Fernwood and gave her a ride. Her car was acting up.”

I scanned the crowd for Lizzie, not that she was hard to miss. She was the only one wearing a fancy ball gown.

The autumn wind was blowing hard, and her hair had come loose. When I’d first laid eyes on her, she’d been perfectly coiffed and manicured. Now her dress was blowing in the wind, her hair was down, and she was rocking my little sister’s spare pair of hiking boots.

Lizzie looked alive now. Vibrant.

I also couldn’t help but notice that Frankie was following her around, glued to her side. My dog was falling for her, too.

I wondered if Shelby was right. If Lizzie needed someone to save her from herself.

And why did I want that particular job to fall on me?

Don’t get attached. She’ll be back in New York in days.

And then I’d just be a faded memory, a man she met during a crazy wedding trip to see her old friend.

Lizzie spotted me in the crowd, a dazzling smile crossing her lips. Then she walked towards me.

I could see the determination inside her. Lizzie was used to getting what she wanted, and in this moment, I got the feeling what she wanted was me .

“Hey, Hudson. For a minute I thought you ran off with my kitten.”

“ Your kitten? I think we have joint custody.”

She grinned at me. “That’s going to be hard to arrange. Should we fly her back and forth between Arkansas and New York?”

I threw a flirty smile her way. “That’s one approach. Not the one I’d recommend.”

Lizzie reached out and took Leona from me. “There you are, baby. I missed you.”

The kitten meowed once and settled contentedly in her arms.

“Thatcher said we can take Frankie and Leona over to their place. I think this one’s tuckered out. The Autumn Harvest Festival might be too much for her.”

Lizzie grinned. “That sounds awesome. I’ve been wanting to see Shelby’s new place. Let me go find her first, though. I want to get a few minutes in with her while I can.”

“Yup, I’m happy to wait.”

I watched her sweet ass swish away, kitten in tow as she looked around for her old best friend.