Page 3 of This Wild Heart

“The genes in Emmett’s family cannot be denied. Have you seen his jawline? No wonder Adaline fell in love.”

“She’s also engaged,” Sheila answered dryly.

Through the quick pulse of disappointment, I decided to lie again.

“I’m aware. Even engaged people need drinks.” Slowly, I pulled away from her death grip. “And maybe we just want to bitch about Emmett and how perfect he is.”

Her eyebrow quirk roughly translated to:we both know you’re full of shit, but I’m not sure I have the energy to fight you. I gave her a slight grin and slowly nudged her back toward the dance floor.

“Look at the beautiful bride, Mom. Adaline needs her mom. She’s dancing all alone.”

With a hundred other people around her.

Sheila was too classy to roll her eyes, but the intention was there without her moving a single muscle. Then she crossed her arms, planted her feet where she stood, and called my fucking bluff.

I set my jaw and turned, muttering under my breath about the nosy women in my life.

“I heard that,” she called out.

“Meant you to,” I called back.

Anya—the engaged cousin to my new brother-in-law/best friend—hadn’t moved, and as I approached, I took a brief survey of my options.

Lying was out. So was feigning ignorance about the presence of the giant rock on her hand.

Truth, it seemed, was the only way I’d get out of this without Sheila dragging my ass across the reception hall to meet Kenzie. The last thing I wanted, the absolute last thing, was a girl with stars in her eyes hoping to meet her Prince Charming at the wedding of the century.

I was no one’s Prince, that was for damn sure. Not anymore.

Someone left the bar, opening up a space next to Anya, so I slid in, angling in her direction. She turned with a polite smile on her face. “Excuse me,” she said, then went to move.

I laid a hand on her upper arm. “Oh no, I need you to stay right where you are. It’s a matter of life and death.”

Her body stilled, and I got my first look at her face when she turned fully.

My throat went dry, a foreign twist low in my belly as I registered the shocking blue of her eyes.

She quirked an eyebrow. “My goodness, and I’ve always been told women are the dramatic ones. What on earth could be life and death at a wedding reception, Parker Wilder?”

One point to Anya.

“All right, so you know who I am.”

She sighed like she was terribly put out, but there was a glint in her eye that I quite liked. “It’s like walking through the NFL awards at this reception. Kinda hard not to recognize you, even if I wasn’t related to Emmett.”

I’d lost my tux jacket somewhere back by the table, and I busied myself plucking at the buttons around my wrist, rolling my sleeves up because all the dancing and pervasive feelings of love and joy and merriment made it really fucking warm in the room. Anya’s blue, blue eyes watched my movements carefully.

“Lord, are you undressing at the bar? Careful where you expose those forearms, a weaker woman might be tempted.”

“I’m going to assume you’re not a weak woman.”

“Unfortunately for you, I’m not.”

I laughed. “Maybe I could sense that. Maybe that’s why I picked you.”

“Ahh yes. Life and death.” She glanced around, her golden curls spilling over her shoulder as she leaned in. “I seem to be missing some important situational cues.”

Something about that proximity, though there was a safe amount of distance between us, made my heart hammer loudly. For a split second, just one, I felt like my old self again. Felt like the dark cloud hanging over me for so long decided to take itself on a long overdue break.

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