Page 15 of Stolen Kisses

My jaw dropped. “That's insane.”

“No, it's just cruel. And unfortunately, that's how the world works. But your sister is different.”

"Josh is lucky. Blair is amazing.”

Chase looked at me intently. How was I only now realizing how full his lips were?

“Hannah, are you ready?” Blair called.

Chase stepped to one side, and I got another whiff of his cologne. Maybe it contained pheromones.

“I'm coming,” I said loudly. “See you later, Chase.”

“I can't wait.”

***

I sighed. My sister was truly the most beautiful bride in the world, and I wasn't biased in the slightest. She looked utterly happy on the dance floor with Josh.

Mom came up to me, giving me a half hug. "They look amazing, don't they?"

"I agree," I said, returning the embrace with all I had.

"You've been great today. The way you took care of everything was wonderful."

"I had a lot of help," I said. She took care of quite a few things herself.

“I miss your dad today, a lot. And your gran,” she whispered.

“I miss them too.” Especially Gran. Dad had passed away a long time ago, but we lost Gran two years ago. I couldn’t believe how much my life had changed ever since. I’d inherited Gran’s inn, given up my job in finance to dedicate myself to it... and my husband dumped me because of that.

He never loved you, Hannah.

I didn’t want to spoil my mood by thinking about him. This was my sister’s wedding, and nothing would ruin it if I had anything to say about it.

“That Chase can’t take his eyes off you, can he?” Mom asked.

My stomach somersaulted. Chase was on the other side of the dance floor, eyes fixed on me for whatever reason.

“What?” My voice was a bit uneven. “No, no. We’re just keeping tabs on each other so we can work together in case something unexpected comes up.”

I’d been telling myself that all day. It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it didn’t explain the buzz in my body when he was close. And the fact that he looked sexy as hell in that tuxedo didnothelp said buzz. I hadn’t expected him to want to help with the preparations—not in a million years. The man was full of surprises.

“Hmmm... if you say so,” Mom murmured.

Once the first dance was over, I knew I could relax. This part of the evening was split between dancing and all sorts of games. Josh and Blair had wanted to keep the guests entertained. Finn and Knox were in charge of keeping things running.

I snapped pictures of Josh and Blair. They had a professional photographer, of course, but I wanted to have a few pics of them on my phone. They both looked blissfully happy.

I felt just a little twinge in my chest. I'd love to have that, too, one day, but I wasn't sure I'd ever really risk my heart again. Gary had stomped on it with both feet, and I still hadn't recovered. I wasn't sure I would any time soon.

"Mom, I need to go. I'd like to check with Finn and Knox to make sure they don’t need my help with anything."

She hugged me again, and I headed to the other side of the room. The two brothers were in the corner of the games area, near a table, when I approached.

"Hey, guys. Anything I can help you with?"

"No, we're good," Knox said. He was writing on a piece of paper.

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