Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“I don’t think we’ve met.” He held out a hand. “I’m Jack Renner.”
Naomi smiled politely. “Naomi Heart. Nice to meet you.”
I caught Jack’s eye as he lifted her hand to his mouth for a kiss and flashed him what I hoped he’d understand as a warning not to pull his usual crap. The guy was shady as shit. Nevertheless, he helped Naomi from the golf cart, so I walked ahead. After two or three strides, I realized the ground was so saturated it actually had spring to it. Naomi had pretty thin heels on, so I turned to warn her, but I was a half-second too late.
Her left shoe sank into the grass and stayed there, while the rest of her kept moving forward. She wobbled, her foot came out of the shoe, and her balance went off-kilter. The rest happened in slow motion. Naomi’s knee buckled. She put out her casted hand, trying to find her balance, but there was no stopping the fall. Jack was still walking next to her, but he was too busy checking out the rest of the bridesmaids to notice what was happening until it was too late. I reached for her, but I couldn’t make it in time.
Naomi landed with a high-pitched squeal, right in a giant puddle of mud.
Shit. I shouldered useless Jack out of the way and bent down. “Are you okay?”
“I think so. But where the hell is my shoe?”
Leaning over, I plucked it from the grass. “Here.”
She slipped her shoe back on while everyone stared. Ben and Lily rushed over. “Oh my God. Are you okay?” Lily asked. “What happened?”
Naomi brushed mud from her dress. “My heel got stuck. I’m fine. Just a little mortified.”
I held my hand out to help her up. She went to take it but then froze. Hers was covered in mud. “But you don’t like germs.”
I clasped my hand around her dirty one anyway and pulled Naomi to her feet. “It’s fine. Dirt from the earth bothers me less than the kind from humans.”
Even after she was upright, I didn’t let go. “Is your ankle okay? It looked like you might’ve twisted it.”
“I think so.” She wiggled it around a few times before closing her eyes. “Oh my God. I didn’t tell you, but last night the nurse at the hospital asked me if I wanted her to call the police. Between your black eye and my hand, she thought you were my abusive boyfriend. Imagine if I wound up back there with two casts in twenty-four hours? They’d definitely have you arrested.”
“We’ll try to avoid that.” I looked down at her feet and shook my head. “Why the hell are you wearing those shoes anyway? Everyone else is wearing sneakers.”
“I didn’t bring any.”
“Why not?”
“They didn’t go with any of the outfits I’d planned. I brought a pair of flats, but they didn’t go with this dress.”
“That wasn’t very smart, was it?”
She pursed her lips. “Thanks for the reminder, Captain Obvious.”
I looked her up and down but kept my mouth shut this time.
“What?” she said. “Go ahead. I can see you want to say something.”
I shook my head. “Not really.”
“Just spit it out.”
I gave her the once-over a second time and shrugged. “I was just going to say the dress looks good on you, even with the mud.”
Naomi blinked a few times. “I must’ve misheard you, because that almost sounded like a compliment.”
“I figured I owed you one back.”
Her little nose scrunched up. “Back? What compliment did I give you?”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the packet of condoms, pointing to the XL on the front with a wink.
Naomi rolled her eyes. But not before looking down at my crotch.
Chapter 4
* * *
NAOMI
“I think I might have to wrap you in bubble wrap until after the ceremony.” Lily shook her head watching me peel dried mud from my dress in the ladies’ room of the restaurant.
“I feel terrible about the cast. I think we can find creative ways to hide it in most of the pictures.”
Lily waved me off. “I couldn’t care less about the pictures. All I want from tomorrow is to marry Ben.”
Her answer made my heart swell, because I knew she really felt that way. The two of them were ridiculously in love. Seeing the way they looked at each other almost restored my faith in relationships. Almost, but not quite.
Lily leaned against the sink and caught my eye. “You and Dawson seem to be getting cozy.”
“What makes you say that? Is it his black eye from our first encounter or him helping me up when I fell in the mud that gives you the cozy vibes?”
She laughed. “I noticed him checking you out when you were getting in the golf cart after the rehearsal.”
I wiped the last of the dried flakes from my dress. “He’s easy on the eyes, but I’m not interested.”