I had of course seen him earlier in the day but pretended not to notice. I mean, how cliché is that? Maid of Honor falls for Best Man?

Nauseating.

But now he was in front of me not two feet away. And he was handsome. But also sexy. He had a boyish quality to him that made me wonder if he’d ever been in a serious relationship. I doubted it. He looked like a wildboy in a grown-up man’s body… a very, very sexy grown-up man’s body…

He was tall and athletic, like a water polo or rugby player. Agile but strong. He had big shoulders and he seemed fit enough for me to guess that he was a good runner or a natural athlete.

“So, tell me,” I said casually as I finished my drink. “No date here with you tonight? Or do you have a poor neglected wife back home somewhere?”

To my surprise I noticed Ty blush and look to the ground before he said sweetly, “I guess I haven’t found my North Star yet.”

His answer almost threw me a little. I wasn’t expecting such a lovely response, to be honest.

Hold on…

Was that an authentic answer?

Or was that a much-rehearsed line?

I looked at him again and decided, no, this was genuine. He was really being truthful. Hmm… I thought soldiers were crass and a bit rough around the edges. Certainly they had a reputation for being closed off with their emotions. Everyone knew that. Not this guy, though, something about him was different.

“Besides,” he said as he looked at me sexily and jingled the ice cubes in his Jack & Coke, “I was hoping to find that special lady here tonight.”

Whoa.

Okay, I was not prepared for that!

He lingered just a moment on those last few words—as though he was really enjoying the taste of them—and I thought I could feel him leaning in towards me ever so slightly.

“Is that so?” I smiled.

“Yes,” he smiled back at me. “Not much talent here though, eh? Might just pack it in.”

He winked and I felt myself throw my head back again in laughter. This guy was killer, throwing me off my game from the get go. Being sweet and then cheeky, it was hot and I immediately felt the thrill of the chase brewing inside me. I wanted more but I had to be quick to keep up with him.

Think of a good comeback, Lizzy.

Ummmm….

Okay, got it!

“Aw,” I cooed. “I’m sure you’ll find some drunken bridesmaid with low standards if you stick it out ‘til the end of the night. You seem like a guy who goes after the low hanging fruit.”

Gotcha!

Ty put his hand over his heart, fake-wounded and stumbled a bit, “ooooh you got me there! That was a low blow. How can you talk to an American soldier, no, an American hero like this! Have you no heart? No patriotism? You’re killing me, feisty girl!”

Well I would hate to come across as unpatriotic….

“Okay, soldier boy,” I smiled as I took charge of the conversation, “I will play nice. So tell me about yourself, for real, do you also save little kids, like Axe?”

He smiled in return and offered me a second glass of white wine from a waitress as she passed by.

“No, I don’t do the same thing as Axe. I have a real job in the Elite Force Protectors. I am a detonation expert.”

“You blow things up,” I nodded casually while under the surface I was feeling myself get excited at the thought of getting to know this wild and dangerous stranger.

“Why do people always think we only blow things up?” he shrugged, looking deflated. “You know, it’s a lot more than that… I had to train for a long time… I can also dismantle… no, you know what, fuck it, yes, I blow shit up.”

He seemed pleased with this answer.

“Cool,” I smiled.

“Cool,” he said.

And then it got awkward.

Um.

Excuse me?

Suddenly the amazing sexual chemistry we’d both just experienced moments ago seemed to dissipate like steam after a shower.

It was there and then it just wasn’t.

What the hell!?

Ty and I both looked around the dance floor, at the bar, then back to each other and then down to the floor again.

“Well this is awkward,” he laughed.

“Well now it is,” I echoed his tone, “but only because you’ve brought it up. You’ve made it worse, like, way worse.”

I smiled coolly and finished my drink but inside I was dying of disappointment.

Argh!

What just happened?

Where did the chemistry go?

Seriously?

Ugh!

What a waste of a great dress.

This night was clearly a bust, sexually speaking. I looked around again. There was literally no one else at the party that I would ever ever entertain the remote possibility of hooking up with. Let’s be honest, everyone at this Podunk wedding was family or like, tragically old.

Oh well, at least I could amuse myself by giving this guy a hard time.

Some people knit as a hobby, I tease.

I know, I’m terrible.

But I had to let this guy know what he was missing out on!

“I’m going to walk away now,” I said matter of factly, “because you’re very awkward and yeah, so…”

I turned on my super high heels and slowly began to strut.

One step…

Two steps…

Five steps…

Seriously?

Oh my God!

Was he actually going to let me walk away?

Fine.

I can accept that Ty didn’t want to hook up… but he didn’t even want to talk to me?!

Well I guess that plan backfired!

Yikes.

Wait… did he not understand that I was intentionally trying to get a rise out of him?

Maybe he was really dumb.

That must be it.

Or… wait… was he really not interested, like, at all!?

Oh man…

How low can a girl get?

Wait…

Dammit!

It must be my terrible new bangs.

Bangs!

What a horrible idea!

And also…

Way more peach lip gloss next time!

I seemed to have lost myself in crazy self-talk as I wandered away from Ty because I ended up at the complete opposite end of the dance floor.

The whole wedding was done up in “country chic” style and I found myself sitting on a bail of hay (no, really, hay!) trying to make sense of what had just happened.

Sigh.

I kicked off my Louboutins and stared up at the sky. It really was a beautiful night, too bad I was going to be spending it alone.

Not that it mattered…

What did I think was really going to happen anyway?

Two days until departure….

Less than forty-eight hours until it all changes…

Two days….

Two days…

Two f^&@#! days!!!

What the hell have I signed up for!?

What was I thinking?!

I hadn’t even gathered up the courage to tell Honor yet…

What would she say?!

This would hit her really hard…

Especially considering…

Oh man why did I even have to tell her?

I had no idea how she would take it… I tried to put my impending “trip” out of my mind.

Anyway whatever. This night sucks, I might as well pack it in. It was getting chili anyhow.

“Um, hi, feisty girl?” Ty appeared out of nowhere and smiled at me, in his hands were two flutes of champagne. “Can we try that again?”

“Honestly, soldier boy,” I sighed as I accepted the flute of champagne he was offering. Sure, it was a nice gesture, but we clearly had no chemistry, and there was no point in pretending. “I don’t think we have anything to talk about.”

It was a shitty thing to say but it was honest. And besides, now I was all worked up about my trip…

Argh, so scared about this!

Did I make the right choice?

Seriously… what was I thinking?

Was it too late to back out?

Ty interrupted my thoughts.

“I am okay with silence,” he said as he clinked his glass with mine and sat down just behind me on the bail of hay. He was close enough that I could feel his body near mine but he didn’t invade my space which I liked. Then Ty said quietly, softly whispering in my ear, “not speaking is okay and besides, feisty girl, you seem a little riled up.”

“Wow,” I laughed loudly in disbelief as I fell out of the moment once again. This guy was keeping me on my toes, that’s for sure. “Did you really just say that?!” I scoffed, half offended, half wanting more. “Do you ever get away with jackass comments like that?”

“Yes, I did just say that and, I don’t know, you tell me if I got away with it,” Ty half-whispered cheekily. Then he changed the tone yet again and moved slowly towards me, I could feel his body close to mine. I even thought he might slip his arm around my waist but instead he looked right passed me and said, “look over there.”

Ty pointed towards a dark clearing at the end of Axe’s property quite far away from the noise of the party. It was lit only by the moonlight, and although I couldn’t visually make out what “it” was, I strained my eyes in that direction.

“What’s that—” I started to say, but Ty shushed me.

“Shhhh,” he said softly, almost cooing. “Just shhhhhh.”

Again, I was not used to this.

I am usually the one doing the shushing...

This guy was pulling and pushing me in every direction. It irked me, it intrigued me, it threw me off and the only thing I knew was that I wanted more.

In that moment I was so happy that he’d wandered over to take me out of my head and away from my own thoughts, and with two glasses of champagne no less. I couldn’t wait to see what exactly he was talking about…

“Just one more minute,” Ty said and to my surprise he wrapped one arm around my waist. It sent a wave of excitement through my body and I felt myself surrender towards him without protest.

As we sat there silently, in the dark, I felt something happen. An inexplicable shift. Ty was half-seated behind me and even though I couldn’t really see him in the dark I could smell his scent and feel his presence all around me. His smell was sexy, the type of smell that makes you a bit hungry for something but you’re not sure what. You only know you want more.

He had just the slightest bit of stubble which brushed against my cheek and temple, and I felt his lips too, on the side of my face, as he pulled me closer. It was scary and safe at the same time and I felt a rush of excitement starting to course through my body.

I mean, this stranger—this man I had just literally met—was being incredibly bold but at the same time, somehow familiar. It was dizzying, trying to make sense of it all.

Meeting Ty was like traveling very far to arrive at a new place, only to be met with the sensation, haven’t I been here before?

Why did Ty feel like coming home?

I had just met him!

What was going on?

Sure, I have kissed guys before that I don’t really know very well at drunken weddings and other parties, but something about Ty’s simple embrace felt way more intimate and because of that, I felt way more exposed.

How had this complete stranger—in a matter of moments—created a longing within me that only he could satisfy?

The party was well underway just behind us but it might as well have been miles from where we sat. The night’s sky seemed to envelope our two bodies and as the wind picked up, Ty held me even closer with arms that were even stronger than I had previously imagined.

I felt my hips being pulled closer to his body and he easily repositioned me so that I was sitting directly in between his legs, both of his arms were now wrapped around me as I rested my back against his strong chest.

“Look,” was all he said.

Before I could ask what exactly he meant by look, I felt his fingers brush my thighs just above the knees…

My breath quickened and I said nothing but arched my back. I looked up at the perfectly sparkling stars just in time to see the night’s sky illuminated with a thousand bolts of exploding colorful and vibrant fireworks. It was completely breathtaking. I couldn’t believe it.

“You did this?” I breathed, barely a whisper.

Ty had put together the most incredible fireworks show for Honor and Axe’s wedding. In the distance I could hear guests cheering with delight and clapping loudly.

“I told you,” Ty whispered in my ear as shivers ran up my spine and my earlobe made contact with his lips. It was so subtle it could have been by accident, but it wasn’t. He ran his hand around my waist again and brushed his lips softly across the base of my neck, “I blow shit up.”