Chapter 2
Almost all of the groomsmen were firefighters that worked at the same station as Winter’s fiancé and were all amazing eye candy. The group certainly managed to live up to the stereotypical firefighter fantasy with bulging muscles from their forearms all the way down to their calves. Jasmine never complained when the guys happened to crash their ladies’ nights, either at the house or at the bar, but so far, she hadn’t had the guts to snag one of them for herself. With their beards, cycles and overwhelming testosterone, the men caused Jasmine’s mouth to go dry without even saying “hello.”
“I need to get laid,” Jasmine admitted to the silence that had fallen between her and Winter.
“I’ve been telling you that ever since you bought us matching vibrators,” Winter joked, referring to the last Christmas present that Jasmine had given her. Was it her fault that the adult store had been having a buy one get one sale?
“They were on sale,” Jasmine snapped.
“You always say—” Winter started but stopped abruptly when a muscled arm was tossed across her shoulders.
“Hello, ladies.” The voice came from a face that Jasmine had not seen before yet seemed familiar for some reason.
“Leo!” Winter turned and hugged the new arrival. Swinging back toward Jasmine, she smiled big. “Jazz this is Leo, Will’s best man.”
“Nice to meet you….” Jasmine’s voice trailed off as she stared at the man in front of her.
And boy was he something to look at. His thick dark hair was short on the sides, almost shaved completely off, but the top was long and groomed to give him an appearance reminiscent of a greaser from the fifties. Jasmine knew that some ladies preferred their men clean shaven, but the specimen in front of her was the perfect example of why some men needed to have beards. Leo’s strong jaw was covered in one of the most spectacular beards that Jasmine had seen outside of a romance novel cover, and his blue eyes were icing on the proverbial man-cake standing before her.
Jasmine couldn’t help the smile that tipped her lips when she took in his well-fitting jeans, button-down white shirt with the cuffs rolled up and black boots.
Where had this man been all her life?
“We’ve already met,” Leo drawled in a deep voice, flashing a white straight smile.
Jasmine’s mouth dropped open, ready to argue with the beautiful lumberjack in front of her.
“I don’t think—” Jasmine started but stopped when he flashed her a full smile, recognition starting to take hold of her brain.
“I know you as Jazz and you used to call me Leonard, ring any bells?” Leo folded his strong arms across his chest, waiting for her to catch up.
Leonard?
No. There was no way. She had only ever known one Leonard and he was someone she hadn’t seen since high school.
“Jazz?” Winter said her name, sounding as confused as Jasmine felt.
“Leonard Trask?” Jasmine whispered in awe, “Is that really you?”
“The one and the same.” Leo held out his hand for her to shake. “It’s good to see you again,” he said.
Jasmine stayed silent, her eyes still wide at the revelation that the man in front of her was the boy who drove her nuts as a teenager. Looking toward Winter, Jasmine could tell that her friend was about to explode with curiosity.
“Winter, do you remember when I talked to you about Janet from back home?” Jasmine kept her eyes on her friend as she spoke even though she was tempted to keep staring at Leo.
“Yeah, that’s your parents’ housekeeper. Right?” Winter answered. Her brow furrowed in confusion.
“She was much more than that.” Jasmine felt a smile come over her face as she recalled her caregiver when she was younger. “She’s the one who made cupcakes for my class, took care of me when I was sick and my parents had to work, hell…she even took me shopping for my first bra.”
“That was an interesting trip,” Leo quipped with an arched brow.
Winter was waving her hand as if she wanted Jasmine to get to the point already.
“Janet is Leo’s mother, but back then he went by Leonard.” Jasmine grimaced. “Leonard liked to drive me crazy when we were younger.”
“That’s a little bit of an exaggeration,” Leo added, shrugging his shoulders. “I just wasn’t a fan of sharing my mom with a girl.”
“How the hell do you know Will?” Jasmine nodded toward the men across the room. “In fact, if you’re the best man, how is it that you are just now coming around?”
Winter waved to someone across the ballroom and huffed out loud. “I have to go wrangle another relative it seems.” Grabbing another glass of champagne from a passing waiter, Winter moved toward her crazy family.
“Well Miss Nosey, I have known Will for years, but I haven’t lived around here for a while. Our parents sent us to the same summer camp when we turned twelve and the rest is history. After graduation, I moved up to Colorado for some fresh air and a change of scenery. I was working at a station close to Estes when we had some budget cuts and decided to come back home to settle down.” Leo took a sip from the beer bottle he was holding by the neck. The sight of his throat working as he swallowed was truly whimper worthy.
“Wow, I just can’t believe what a small world it is,” Jasmine said, still stunned to find her childhood nemesis standing in front of her. “How is your mom doing?”
Leo shrugged his big shoulders, his body moving closer to avoid a server carrying a large tray. “She’s doing good, decided to move to Florida with her sister now that she’s retired.”
“And you, are you married? Kids?” Jasmine sipped her champagne as she asked the questions as nonchalantly as she could.
“Nope and nope, I was engaged for a few months, but it ended up not working out.” Leo looked down at her through thick lashes that looked too plush to be real. “What about you?”
“Nah, nothing on my end either. I just graduated with my nursing degree, and wasn’t big on dating while I was going to school. The parental units actually keep trying to set me up, but that’s working out like you would expect.”
Jasmine was getting ready to say more when the sound of someone tapping their glass pulled her attention away from Leo.
“Attention everyone, dinner will be served in a few moments so please find your tables and get comfortable.”
Jasmine recognized Will’s older brother, obviously chosen to make the announcement because of his booming voice and ability to get the attention of the crowd.
“Well, I guess we’ll just need to catch up later….” Jasmine looked around the room for a moment, trying see which tables had been set aside for the wedding party. She was startled when a large warm hand settled on her elbow, steering her toward the front of the ballroom.
“We are seated over here,” Leo answered before she had a chance to ask.
“Oh, I guess that’s something I should have known.” Jasmine frowned.
“Everything okay? You seem a little upset.” Leo kept a firm hold on her arm as they walked toward their destination.
“I’m the maid of honor, and so far, I’m blowing it.” Jasmine’s voice sounded pathetic even to her own ears. “I wasn’t able to help decorate because I had to attend a ceremony for my parents. I was over an hour late for the engagement party, and instead of helping keep everything running smoothly tonight, I have no idea where I’m supposed to be and what the itinerary is for this evening.”
“There’s an itinerary?” Leo’s voice cut in causing Jasmine to stop in her tracks.
“Isn’t there?” Jasmine looked around again hoping to spot Winter and ask if she needed help with anything.
“Look.” Leo took her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. “Will’s family is laid back, and from what I can gather, Winter’s family is a little crazy. The only thing I think we need to do is help when asked and keep some old guy from smoking.”
Jasmine was nodding even before he stopped talking. “That’s Winter’s uncle.”
“Who?” It was Leo’s turn to look confused.
“The old guy that keeps trying to light up.” Jasmine spotted the man in question in a pale blue suit getting ready to sit down and subtly pointed in his direction. “That’s Winter’s uncle, I can’t remember his name, but he is a little handsy with the ladies and likes to smoke stogies.”
Leo chuckled at her description. “Did he hit on you?”
Jasmine laughed and nodded. “I’m pretty sure he pinched my ass, but he’s surprisingly fast and I can’t be sure if it was him or one of his cronies. They all have those bony old man fingers that give me the willies. It was like the Crypt Keeper trying to cop a feel.” Suppressing a shudder, Jasmine tried to forget the pinching incident.
“Well, just let me know if he steps out of line again and I’ll have a talk with him,” Leo offered, sending a mock glare in the direction of the horny old goat.
Jasmine had to admit that the longer she talked Leo the less he reminded her of the bratty older boy who loved to pick on her when she was younger. Looking back on it now she realized that some of it had been her fault. Jasmine had relied on Janet stepping in for some of the things that her own mom was too busy to bother herself with. When it came to school projects or even the typical girl growing up stages, it had always been Janet who was there to help. As a young girl, Jasmine hadn’t even given a second thought to the annoyance that she must have been to Leo. She basically had stolen his mom during a good portion of their younger years and that was something that she felt she needed to apologize for.
“Leo—” Jasmine started what was bound to be an awkward conversation, but was interrupted when Will walked up to them in a rush.
“Have you seen Winter?” Will’s question was directed at them, but his gaze was roving over the crowd searching for his fiancé.
“She was with some of her family the last time I saw her,” Jasmine offered, but jumped when Will cursed harshly under his breath and ran his hand through his hair. “What’s going on?”
“I need you to find her for me,” Will ordered, his voice rough. “I just heard that Candy and a couple of the pole bunnies were giving her shit and it didn’t sound good.”
“What the hell, Will? Why were they even here to begin with?” Jasmine pulled her phone out of her clutch, and sent Winter a text asking where she was.
“Some of the guys brought them as dates.” Will shook his head, his expression thunderous. “I’ve already chewed out the guys, but I need to know what damage those vipers did so I can fix it.”
Jasmine looked down at her phone when she felt it vibrate.
“Is that her? Is she okay?” Will asked in rapid-fire succession.
Jasmine sighed and tried to give Will a smile. “Well, she’s managed to find a hiding place because she needed a few minutes alone. Let me work my magic and I will be back in a jiffy.”
Jasmine started to move away, and realized that somehow, she had linked hands with Leo. Pulling her fingers free, she met his hot gaze. The look in his eyes let her know that they weren’t done here.
Not by a long shot.