Chapter Seventeen
Reid
The stupid management company called me just as I was about to walk into the church to see my man. Freaking, of course. The last thing I wanted was to be dressed to the nines, putting my sexiest foot forward with a frazzled glare in my eye, but that was exactly how it was going to go down.
Turned out they needed me out two days earlier than they had initially quoted. I was losing an entire week of rent or a full deposit. Both sucked, and both meant that my morning musings of changing my flight to spend just a few more days with Kayson were shot to shit. Although their demands were in violation of both my lease and state law, I needed to get home and threaten them with legal action in person, so they knew I was serious.
It didn’t take me long to find Kayson. His scent hit me the moment I made it over the threshold. He was talking to his aunt, and they looked a little too deep in conversation for me to interrupt, so I feigned not seeing them right away to give them time to finish. I failed miserably. Thirty seconds in, my feet were moving of their own accord.
All I wanted to do was push him against the wall and kiss him breathless, but we were in a church at a formal event, and it just wouldn’t be proper. Not to mention the very real possibility that Celeste would murder us where we stood for ruining her gaudy, I meant big, day.
We settled into a pew near the back. As much as Knox was a very big part of my college years, he felt a near stranger, as if I were crashing a wedding instead of being an invited guest. Kayson and I chitchatted a bit, probably more than we should, etiquette-wise, as Knox made his way up to the front of the church to signal that everyone should sit and stop their gabbing.
The wedding party, including couple after couple in a completely new arrangement from any tried the night before, walked down the aisle—or, in case of the ring bearer, ran straight to his grandmother. The wedding march began, and we all rose to watch as the beautiful, if not over-exuberant Celeste made her way down the aisle.
“Excuse me,” a familiar and not-welcome voice said from the other side of Kayson. “I need to get to my seat.”
Leave it to Topher to think he could enter the church after the bride and demand any seat he wanted.
I grabbed Kayson’s hand, needing him to not leave my side and willing him to understand Topher was not welcomed here.
The bride reached the front just as he asked one more time, and I finally gained enough courage to look Kayson’s way as we sat down—me practically sitting on his lap. I needed to feel he was still beside me.
I met Topher’s eyes, which immediately went to my hand joined with Kayson’s, and I squirmed for a second, afraid he planned to try to sit between us. Instead, he sidled past us both and kissed my cheek as he sat on my other side, right up against me. Bastard knew exactly what he was doing. There was no way I could retaliate in any way, as the pastor was at the front of the room marrying two people. None.
Instead, I did what any self-respecting man would do, I nudged Kayson over, trying to get him to move so I could get away from Topher. Kayson’s body was stiff as a board, and I looked his way to see him scowling—not at me, but at Topher. Not that I could blame him. I just hoped the wedding didn’t end with me standing in the church alone, or, worse, with Topher.
I snuggled into Kayson, his hand dropping mine to wrap his arm around my shoulder just as some awful soloist began singing something about love being the way.
“What the fuck?” Topher whispered. “You invite me to a wedding and then get a side piece when I’m delayed?”
Because he gave zero fucks about anyone else, much less the strangers in the church wanting to see their loved ones married. He was a selfish prick if I ever saw one.
A low growl built in Kayson’s chest, but he kept his mouth snapped shut because, unlike Topher, Kayson had class.
Twenty grueling minutes later, we were on our feet again watching the happy couple exit the chapel. As the crowd followed them out and the photographer began setting up new lights for what I was sure would be an insanely over-the-top photography session, I just sat there, nestled into Kayson’s side, willing it all to be a bad dream.
It wasn’t.
“Explain,” Topher seethed. Did he really not understand we had broken up? He had done the breaking up for fuck’s sake.
“You dumped me. I moved on. The real question is, why are you here?” It was official. I hated Topher. What kind of an asshole did things like this? Not only did he use the flight I might have been able to transfer to another if he had let it go as promised, but he was ruining my time with Kayson, my limited time at that.
“You invited me.” He grabbed my hand, which I yanked away with so much force I unintentionally pushed into Kayson enough he had to catch himself with his hand.
“Before we broke up and you said you were not attending.” Not that he didn’t know that. The jerk.
“Couple’s spat.” He shrugged. “You asked for my help just a couple of days ago.”
Huge mistake.
“Legal help,” I spat. “You’re a lawyer. I regretted it the second you responded with your snippety bullshit.”
He wrapped his hand around my arm, attempting to free me from Kayson’s embrace.
“Get your hands off my mate.” Kayson’s words were clipped and definitive. Holy cow. He considered me his mate.
“What?” Topher snarled.
“What?” I asked hopefully.
Never had one word sounded so different.
“You heard me.” Kayson directed his fury at Topher as he shimmied me behind him, protectively. Good alpha. “You aren’t welcome here. If you need help out, I’m sure it can be arranged.”
“Come with me, Reid.” Topher’s pride must’ve taken over his self-preservation as he held out his hand for me as if I were going to go with him. “Let’s get back home and get you settled into my place—our place.”
He was certifiable. As if offering me a place to sleep made all the rest of it hunky-dory.
“Not. Going. To. Happen.” I was still half behind Kayson, but he could hear every word I spoke.
“I think you heard the fella.” Aunt Vivian stood in the pew in front of us, far closer to Topher than I would’ve liked.
“Who are you to tell me what to do, old lady?”
“Did you just insult my woman?” Henry stood behind Topher, who pivoted his body in that direction. “You heard her—leave. We don’t want no trouble here.”
Too late.
“Then don’t make any.” How could Topher not see he’d lost this one? He was a prominent lawyer, so it wasn’t a lack of intelligence. Not that anyone witnessing this would’ve accused him of being smart.
“Viv?” Henry asked with a hidden meaning I couldn’t quite figure out.
“If you must.” She sighed, rolling her eyes a bit, which, in any other circumstances, would’ve been hilarious.
“As sheriff, I am asking you to leave nicely. The last thing I want is to miss a date with my lady here, but if you don’t leave now, as young Reid here requested, I will be forced to take you downtown.” He held out his badge.
“On what charges?” Because just leaving would’ve been too freaking easy.
“On assault.” Henry spoke as if Topher were the dumbest man on the planet. Which, to be fair, he was acting like.
“It will never hold up in court.”
“It doesn’t need to.” Henry winked at me for I didn’t even know what reason. “It’ll serve the purpose and keep you from manhandling a wedding guest.”
“Fine. You aren’t worth the time it took me to get here.” And, with that, he stomped out like a petulant child. Thank freaking goodness.