“Girl, you need to give me some updates.” Dani nudges me in the side. There’s flour on her cheeks and it makes me laugh.

“Updates about what?” I ask, knowing very well she’s curious about Kai.

She rolls her eyes. “Have you told Kai about you losing your virginity in the club?”

Slapping a hand to her mouth, I glance around the room. Luckily, Sandy didn’t hear her. “No,” I grumble, whispering the words. “I don’t plan on it either.”

Adrienne walks by, carrying two apple pies, and sets them on the counter. “I don’t blame you. He doesn’t need to know everything.”

“Exactly,” I agree. “He’s not the kind of guy to do what I did. After being dumped in the dark room by myself, it makes me regret ever going in the first place.”

Smile fading, Dani runs a hand soothingly down my arm. “I can’t imagine how you felt after that. It’s a good thing you’re done with that place. Now you have an amazing boyfriend with lots of money.”

“That’s not all it’s about,” Adrienne chides. “My husband doesn’t make a lot money, but I love him all the same.”

I was never one to care about material things. Maybe it’s because my family didn’t shower me with gifts. I grew up with the bare minimum. Granted, I’m glad I was brought up in a humble household. It makes me appreciate the good things I have now.

Sandy walks over and pats Dani and I on the back. “Figured I’d remind you girls in case you forgot.”

“About what?” I ask, glancing at her over my shoulder.

Her lips purse. “My niece’s wedding. Surely, you remembered you all have the day off.”

Sheepishly, Dani smiles and nods her head. “Of course, we didn’t forget. However, I’m still shocked we’re not catering it. Does she not like our food?”

Laughing, Sandy waves her off. “Rayna loves our food. She thought it was best to hire another company so that I didn’t have to work at hers. That way I can enjoy the wedding. Plus, we have family coming in from out of town. It’d be good to catch up with them.”

“I bet she’s excited,” I reply.

Sandy nods. “She is. It’s going to be a gorgeous event. Make sure to wear something formal.” While she’s walking away, she smiles at me over her shoulder. “You should bring your date.”

“I agree,” Adrienne says. “I’d like to officially meet him.”

Dani winks. “Me too.”

I shake my head. “He’s not going to want to go to a wedding with me. Our relationship is still new. Inviting him to the wedding is like taking the next step.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Dani asks incredulously.

Adrienne places a hand on Dani’s shoulder, gently pushing her away. “D, let me handle this. You’re not helping.”

Dani throws her hands up in the air. “Fine, I’m done.” She winks at me again and disappears into the pantry.

Adrienne laughs softly. “That girl is too much sometimes.”

I nod. “That she is, but she’s never afraid of anything. I wish I could be like that.”

“You are, in your own way. As far as the wedding, there’s nothing wrong with asking Kai to go as friends.” Eyes narrowed, she studies me. “Although, I don’t think that’s really what you want.”

Deep down, I know how I truly feel. I just don’t want to move so fast, not like I did at the club. That was a mistake, one I don’t want to make again. “It’s not,” I confess. “Kai is amazing and we’ve been spending a lot of time together.”

“But, you haven’t slept together, right?”

I shake my head. “Not yet. I want to more than anything, but I don’t want to get hurt.”

“That’s a risk you have to take, Alex. You have to let people in. If you don’t, you might end up with the wrong person. Getting hurt is going to happen. My heart has been broken more times than I can count, but if it weren’t for those bad times, I wouldn’t have found my husband. I’m glad I made all those mistakes.” She squeezes my shoulders reassuringly. “You need to take a chance. You alone know what your heart is telling you. Listen to it.”

As much as I want to protect myself, I have to stop running. Kai is a wonderful man and hasn’t given me a reason not to trust him. “You know what, Adrienne, you’re absolutely right. I know what I have to do.”

Taking a deep breath, I pull out my phone and walk outside. The sky is blue with thin, white wisps of clouds floating by. It’s the perfect day. I search for Kai’s number and hit send.

“Hey, beautiful,” he answers.

“Hi, how are you?”

“Great now that you’ve called. Is everything okay? I didn’t think I’d hear from you until you got off from work.”

I smile. “Everything’s fine. There’s something I want to ask you. You’re more than welcome to say no. I know it’s kind of last minute.”

“What is it?”

Just the sound of his voice makes me shiver. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it. “There’s a wedding this weekend and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me.” The line goes silent and I start to panic. “If you’re busy, that’s totally fine. You don’t have to go with me.”

He bursts out laughing. “I’d be happy to be your date. At least, this way, people can actually see us together. It’s time we made our relationship official.”

Heart racing, I can’t deny how amazing that sounds. “I couldn’t have said it better.”

* * *

The week flies by and I can’t shake the butterflies in my stomach. When the doorbell rings, I hold my breath as I open the door. Kai stands there, all decked out in a tux with his hair gelled to perfection.

His eyes slide down my body. Since the wedding is formal, I didn’t have much in my closet for it. I didn’t want a long, formal gown, so I bought a short, midnight purple one with crystal beading around the waist.

“You look …”

“It’s the dress, I know. I fell in love with it, too,” I say, joking around.

His eyes darken and it makes me tingle in all the right places. “That, and you’re stunning in it.”

Giggling, I lock the door behind me. “You don’t look too bad yourself.” Taking my hand, he leads me to his car and opens the door.

On the way there, he holds my hand, never once letting it go. “Thanks for inviting me tonight.”

Glancing over at him, I smile. “Thanks for coming with me. My friends want to officially meet you.”

“I look forward to it.” It doesn’t take long to get to the venue, and when we arrive, there are a ton of cars. Kai is pleased and grins wide. “We get to make a grand appearance it seems.”

My nerves are shot. It’s our first social event together and I know people will talk, but I’m ready for us to be out in the open. There’s valet parking so Kai gets out and opens my door, taking my hand to help me out. Dani is in line to get inside, and when she sees us, she waves frantically and rushes to join us. Her long, green evening gown looks amazing with her skin and chocolate-colored hair.

“Hey, you two. I’m glad you’re here. I didn’t want to walk in by myself.”

“You didn’t have a date?” I ask.

She waves me off. “I was hoping to meet some single, handsome men. So far, it’s looking like they’re all taken.” Grinning wide, she holds a hand out to Kai. “I’m Dani. We haven’t officially met. I went to school with Alex.”

Kai smiles and shakes her hand. “Kai Robicheau. Alex has told me a lot about you.”

“Hopefully, all good stuff.”

I wink. “Of course.” Once inside the door, we sign our names on the registry and find our seats. I glance around the room to see if I recognize anyone, but none stand out.

“Adrienne’s not coming,” Dani says sadly.

Finding some vacant seats, we sit down. “Why not?”

Sighing, she sits down beside me. “She wasn’t feeling well. You saw how swollen her feet were before we left. I doubt she’ll be working for much longer.”

“That sucks. I wonder if Sandy’s going to hire someone while she’s out on maternity leave.”

Dani shrugs. “Don’t know. She probably needs to. Not unless she retires and shuts down.”

A part of me wishes she would so I can branch out on my own like I’ve always wanted. Until then, I’m going to stay with Sandy. More people flood through the doors and there’s not a vacant seat in the venue. The flowers are exquisite, all different shades of pink. It reminds me of Shelby’s wedding in Steel Magnolias.

Kai squeezes my hand. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much pink in my life.”

I giggle. “True, but it’s beautiful.” It’s then that I notice several of the attendees sneaking glances in our direction, mainly women. Leaning into him, I whisper in his ear, “You seem to be drawing some attention.”

He shakes his head. “It’s all you, love. All I can say is that it’s going to be hard to keep my hands off of you tonight.”

“Who says you have to?”

His eyes flash with need and I smile. “We’re officially together now, right?”

“Yes,” he answers, his voice low and dangerously sexy. “You’re mine.”

The groom and his groomsmen take up their places in the front and the music starts to play. We stand for the bride as she enters and I can’t hold back the tears as Rayna and her newfound husband say their vows. Weddings always make me cry.

* * *

The dinner is amazing, but it doesn’t compare to Let’s Get Baked. I can tell it by the expression on Sandy’s face as she eats a piece of the rosemary chicken. Dani snickers. “She doesn’t know how to hide it, does she?”

I laugh. “Nope.”

“I have to agree,” Kai says, finishing off the last of his roasted potatoes. “This doesn’t compare to your cooking.”

“Thanks,” I reply sweetly. His hand slips under the table and I jump as he tickles the inside of my thigh.

Dani doesn’t notice and nudges me in the side. “He’s so cute. I love the way he looks at you.”

I glance over at him and smile. “I do, too.” My legs break out in chill bumps and he chuckles.

The bride and groom take the floor for their first dance and cameras flash all around. Once they’re done, the DJ changes the song and everyone rushes out to dance. Dani gasps and points at a guy across the room. “Oh my God, is that Ben McCormick?”

I look at the guy closely and slap a hand over my mouth. “I think it is.”

About that time, he notices her and walks toward our table, clearly recognizing us. “Dani? Alexandria?” he asks.

I wave. “Hi, Ben. It’s good to see you.”

“Likewise. You both look amazing.” Then his focus lands on Dani. “Are you here with someone?”

Dani’s grin widens. “Nope. You?”

He shakes his head. “Here by myself. Care to dance?”

“Sure.” She takes his hand and they disappear onto the dance floor.

“Who is he?” Kai asks.

“Dani’s old high school fling. They were together their junior and senior year, and broke up before he left for college.”

Kai focuses on them dancing. “I’m just glad you and your ex didn’t hit it off.”

“Me too.”

A slow dance plays over the speakers and a sly grin spreads across his face. It’s “Kiss You Tonight” by David Nail. “Wanna dance?”

I bite my lip. “I’m not very good at it.”

Chuckling, he stands and pulls me with him. “I highly doubt that.”

On the dance floor, he’s holding me so close that I can feel his heartbeat against my chest. His lips lightly touch my neck and my whole body trembles. “I want you tonight,” I whisper.

A low growl rumbles in his chest, and he looks down at me, his eyes dark and raw. “You sure? I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

I shake my head. “You’ve never made me feel like that. I just hope I can last until we get to the house. Your teasing didn’t help matters.”

He quickly glances around the room and focuses in on the hallway. “Come with me.”

Taking my hand, we walk off the dance floor and down the hallway. There are other doors, but I have no clue where they lead. Kai opens one of them and it appears to be the room where Rayna and her bridesmaids got dressed in.

“What are we doing?” I ask, glancing behind us.

Kai opens another door, and it’s obvious it’s where the groom and his men prepared. There are beer bottles lined up on the dressing table and clothes everywhere. Kai pulls me inside and locks the door. “The groomsmen are too busy to come back here. We should have a few minutes.”

Pulse racing, I’m both excited and yet scared of being caught. Kai picks me up and drops me on the leather love seat. “I want to taste you, Alex. And then once we’re done in here, I want to take you home and make love to you.”

I suck in a breath and he kisses me, pushing my lips open with his tongue. I want him so bad, I can barely breathe. Sliding his hand down the top of my dress, he squeezes my breast and lifts it out, not wasting any time in ravaging my nipple. I bite my lip to keep from screaming out. It all feels so damn good.

Kai settles between my legs and glides his hands up my thighs, taking my dress with him. Spreading my legs wider, I hold my breath, waiting for his lips to touch me.