Page 14 of Definitely (Maybe) Dating
“I wasn’t undressing.” Josh stopped right there. “Her name isn’t Pretty Picture Girl. And don’t you guys have something better to do than objectify her?”
“You going to tell us her name?” Owen asked.
“Nope,” Josh said and handed Rhett his empty pint glass.
“Where’s he going?” Clay asked.
“To objectify her from up close,” Rhett teased.
Josh gave his brothers the finger.
5
??
“I can’t believeyou got them to all stand still at the same time in the same five square feet,” the bride-to-be, Darcy Kincaid, said.
“It’s my job,” Piper said, smoothing down her hair and hoping to control some of the frizz.
In addition to renovating Belle Mont House from the ground up, Darcy helped plan weddings for happy couples all over Portland—making her a real-life cupid. She was petite, patient, and as fierce as a lioness when it came to her family. She also seemed to be the mother hen of anyone lucky enough to be in her life.
Tonight, she was dressed in a fitted-to-perfection pearl white dress which hit just below the knee. With a matching chiffon sheath offset with inlaid pearls, Darcy would give Jackie O a run for her money.
“I actually got some more candid shots, which I think you’ll like better. But I snapped a posed one just in case.”Liar, liar.She had taken that picture so she could stare Josh in the eye—tell him she wasn’t afraid to look or even get caught. Touching, that was off limits, or at least on her terms. “I knew it was an important picture for you, so I made sure to give you choices.”
“It’s going to be my mother-of-the-bride present to Margo. The last professional photo she had of the guys together was Kyle’s funeral.”
From what Piper had gathered, Kyle, Gage’s twin brother, had died in a car accident after being left standing at the altar. He’d been intoxicated and gotten behind the wheel, and the worst possible thing happened. For years, the family blamed his death on the runaway bride until it was revealed that Kyle wasn’t particularly skilled in the loyalty department. His bride-to-be found out about his mistress on the day of their wedding and gave him a choice: the girlfriend or the fiancée.
Kyle hesitated, and she walked.
The bride had, surprisingly, been Darcy. Piper wasn’t sure how Darcy went from Kyle’s ex to Gage’s fiancée, but she’d never seen a couple more in love. Gage even stepped in to be daddy to Kyle and Darcy’s four-year-old daughter, Kylie. From what Jillian said, Gage had been forced to choose between the love of his life and his family—he’d chosen Darcy.
Eventually, his family had come around, but Gage had made his priorities clear. Piper wondered where Josh had stood on that decision.
She didn’t know the happy couple back when all this went down, so it was hard for her to imagine a situation where a man would choose an outsider over his family. Then again, Piper had never been chosen—not once in her life.
“Is Margo coming around?”
“She doesn’t really have a choice,” Darcy said. “If she wants to be a part of Kylie’s life, then she needs to make the effort. She needs to find peace with the past and realize that being Kylie’s grandmother is more important than the anger over losing her son.”
“You’re a braver woman that I.” Piper didn’t scare easily but marrying into a family where the matriarch was Margo would be a hard sell.
“I know what you’re thinking, but she has her moments,” Darcy said. “Yes, she’s stubborn and prideful and judgy as hell, but you should see her with Kylie. What she lacks in her public persona, she more than makes up for as a grandmother.”
Both women looked into the Grand Salon, where people were toasting with champagne and eating cake but her gaze caught on a guy.
Josh, to be exact.
Under the fairy lights, in the center of the room, was Josh and his niece. The girl stood on his feet, her little hands in his and her head tilted all the way back so she could smile up at her uncle. They were swaying, twirling around in circles. This was not a dancing kind of event. There was no dance floor, no DJ—only quiet music in the background for ambiance. But Josh had created a moment for his little niece.
Piper’s heart tugged hard. She had seen this kind of moment on Hallmark movies, but none of them affected her quite like this.
“What a perfect picture,” Darcy said, her voice rough with emotion.
Piper’s throat was a little tight as well. Watching Josh in such a pure and innocent moment was doing crazy things to her chest. Darcy was right. It was picture perfect.
Picture!
