Page 46 of Always a Bridesmaid

He spun her around and pressed her up against the nearest tree trunk where he sank his tongue into the depths of her mouth. She tasted like honeyed tea and fire—and felt like desire.

Digging his fingers into her hair, he tilted her head up for easier access, which he took advantage of. Her hands ran boldly down his spine to settle on his ass and she gave it a squeeze hard enough to make him smile.

So he wasn’t the only ass fan of the two of them? Good to know.

He kissed her lips, her chin, and was making his way down her neck to see just how far that sweater would fall when he heard his sister.

“You can’t be serious?” Sarah said, and both Henry and Elle jumped back as if they were fifteen and caught snogging behind the school bleachers.

Henry jerked around, expecting to find Sarah, and was relieved when all he saw was an open field.

“But the rehearsal dinner is tomorrow,” Sarah went on, and Henry realized his sister was still on the grass and just speaking loudly. Something she did when freaking out.

“Oh my god!” Elle said. “I thought we’d been caught.”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” He had to ask.

“Yes! I told you. Sarah doesn’t need the added stress of us hooking up.”

Henry shouldn’t be offended by the term hooking up, since that had been his preference for the past year. But coming from her, after that kiss, it didn’t feel right.

“Now,” she said, smoothing down her hair, which didn’t help at all. “How do I look?”

“Like you’ve been lipsing behind the tree.”

“You’re not helping.”

“Here.” Henry combed his fingers through her hair, ran a thumb over her lips, then tugged up her sweater. It didn’t take the dreamy haze from her eyes, but she looked presentable.

“Better?”

“Better,” he lied.

“Then I need to get back out there. You stay here. Count to sixty before coming out.” Her eyes dropped to his massive erection. “Maybe recite the periodic table first.”

He grinned. “Hydrogen. Helium…”

He watched her disappear and thumped his head against the trunk. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked himself.

He still didn’t have an answer to that question by the time he made it back to the party. He was surprised to find the game had stopped. Sarah was near tears, his mum and Wayne were trying to console her. The rest of the crowd was off to the side trying to give them privacy.

Panic settled in his chest as he strode across the lawn and straight up to Sarah. He nudged everyone out of the way and pulled her into his arms. “What’s going on?”

“Aunt Rose and Uncle Allan missed their flight and there aren’t any that will get them here before the rehearsal tomorrow. She’s supposed to sing ‘Ave Maria.’ What if she can’t practice?”

“She’s sung it a million times,” Henry said gently. “I’m sure she’ll be great at the wedding.”

“But I want her to be here at the rehearsal. It’s important to me.”

If it was important to his sister, then it was important to Henry. They didn’t have a big extended family, so every member was important.

Henry pulled out his phone. “Let me see if I can charter them a private jet.”

“No need,” Elle said, walking up with a cell phone in hand. “There is a train that leaves from France tonight and arrives with plenty of time for them to check in and rest up before the rehearsal.”

“Really?” Sarah asked with gratitude in her eyes and a watery smile on her face.

“Yup. It’s all booked, and they are on their way to the train station now. She said she’ll be singing ‘Ave Maria’ all the way here.”

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