Page 2 of Forever After All (Pine Harbour #2)

T he buffet table! My favourite place to be at a wedding.

The bride and groom are in the full swing, mingling with wedding guests as the music draws people in to dance.

Everyone is either drunk, or on the way to being drunk, and I am trying to soak up the champagne swirling in my stomach, otherwise I know I’ll have the mother of all hangovers in the morning.

I prop myself up against the wall and take a moment to look around the room.

I see Sawyer's brother doing his own version of people watching and he looks back at me grinning before filling his mouth with pasta.

Carter has taken his tie off, rolled up his sleeves, and undone a couple of the buttons on his shirt. He looks as ready for bed as I feel.

I give Carter a little wave. Well, less of a wave and more of a tip of my champagne glass. I hold up the plate in my other hand to show I've admitted defeat. I then turn my attention back to the selection of food in front of me.

I have been trying to avoid the attention of Sawyer's family friend, Matt, for the entire wedding day.

He's old enough to be my dad. Not that I mind a silver fox.

In fact, I like an older man, but he's less silver fox, and more…

weasel. He's also so fucking frustrating.

This is my best friend's wedding day; I shouldn’t have to ward off unwanted attention, and men happen to be the last thing on my mind right now.

Unfortunately for me, my love of food has led to me being in one place for too long.

"Hey there! I've been trying to talk to you all day!" a cocky voice cuts through my periphery as a body presses against my side. Well, shit. I knew that my love of pastry would be my downfall one day.

"Oh, hey." I take a side step, removing him from my personal space, mumbling through a mouthful of salmon puffs. I swallow so I sound less like a hungry piglet and more like a functioning member of society. "Sorry, bad timing. You caught me eating."

"That's okay, I like a woman with her mouthful," he replies with a smirk.

Give me fucking strength.

"Well, that's a real shame, Matt. Considering any woman in your presence would likely never get to experience a mouthful!" I look at his crotch and back at his face. He reddens at my reply .

"Oh, Matt! Are you trying to hit on my girlfriend? Leave the poor woman alone and stop being such a creep."

I’m suddenly aware of Carter's presence at the buffet table. He's standing next to Matt, and he dwarfs him.

"Y-y-your girlfriend? My bad. I didn't know you were together."

I didn't know we were together either, Matt. Don't worry.

"Clearly, you didn't! But even if we weren't together, you really need to learn how to communicate with the opposite sex. Maybe that's why you're still single at fifty-six years old," he shoots back.

I know they say every family has a creep, but why do they always have to turn up at weddings?

"Hey, sexy. You looked so beautiful today. I couldn't keep my eyes off you. I've finally got my girl back…damn bridesmaid duties," he says as he snakes his arm around my waist and presses a kiss to my cheek.

What in the alternate dimension is happening?

I narrow my eyes at Carter, and he returns my look with a wink. "Just play along," he whispers in my ear. A small shiver travels down my neck as he does, and I struggle to hold in a laugh because it tickled.

I run my hand up the front of his shirt and lean into him. Holy shit. He is ripped. "Missed you today, big guy." And I flutter my eyelashes at him.

Matt grabs himself a plate of food and hurries back to his table. "See ya, grandad." I wave at him as he walks off and he doesn't even give me a second glance.

I break out into a fit of the giggles, aware that Carter still has his arm around my waist.

"Thanks, Carter! You're me hero!" I slap my hand to my chest and fake swoon.

"You're welcome, sexy." He gives me a gentle squeeze with the hand that is resting on my waist.

"Oh, and just so we're clear, in the interest of honesty, I didn't make that up. I couldn’t keep my eyes off you today. You look incredible, Alice."

I groan as I stir into consciousness. Present me is thanking past me for booking a room at the hotel for Autumn's wedding. I’m pretty sure that I have a mouthful of the great Australian desert.

I desperately need water. With my eyes closed I feel my way across the bed, hoping to find my phone so I can check the time, but instead of grabbing my phone, I grab a handful of semi-hard dick.

My eyes fly open and I roll over so fast it takes a few moments for my hungover brain to catch up with my body. Instant dread sets in, and I hear a low chuckle from the other side of the bed.

"Good morning, Alice. Are you always so forward? At least buy me a drink first." The voice reverberates through my skull. Oh god, I feel sick.

"Carter?"

"Were you expecting someone else, Alice?" he asks in all seriousness.

"Oh my god! Did I? Did we? Shit."

I’m no stranger to a one-night stand, but this crosses the line—even for me. I fucked my best friend's brother-in-law on the night of her wedding.

I realise I’m almost naked as I'm only in my panties. I start to panic and scramble around the bed. "Shit, shit, shit," I chant.

Carter's arm flies out and pins me to the mattress. "Shh. Go back to sleep, angel. It's early." He pulls me into the warmth of his body, but I protest.

"No, no, I have to go." I jump out of bed and scramble around for my clothes, ignoring Carter as he tries to talk to me. I've never moved so fast in my life.

"Alice, wait," he says as I slink out of the room and click the door shut behind me.