Those Red High Heels (23 page)

I did notice a few death stares from Nora throughout the evening, but I shrugged them off and enjoyed the night. Greyson and I only made eye contact a few times, before Nora was nudging him and probably begging him to leave. Greyson and Nora must have excused themselves early, because I didn’t see them after the dessert was served.

An hour or so later, I was ready to leave and found Brynn to say goodnight. “This was so lovely, Brynn. You did such a wonderful job, and you can tell Collin is so ready to call you his wife.” I kissed Brynn on the cheek and gave her a quick hug.

“Thank you and I hope you had fun. Cade should be here first thing in the morning, so he should liven things up for you.”

I smiled at her and bumped her shoulder with mine. “I’m not going to lie; it’s going to be really nice having him as a date. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea, though.” I decided that Cade would be a great distraction from everything going on with Greyson, and I needed to take the back seat for a while and let life play out the way it should. I didn’t, however, want Cade thinking that I was looking for anything more than a fun night together at the wedding.

“He won’t. He is such an easygoing guy, well you know. He’s here to have some fun. He's not a relationship type of guy.”

I gave Brynn a hug and told her I would see her later at their apartment for our sleepover. I waved at Collin from across the room, and wondered what tomorrow would bring. I also decided that what had happened with Greyson couldn’t happen ever again. I wasn’t afraid of Nora Mathews by any means, but I also didn’t want my work reputation to be dragged through the mud. Things were going well right now in my business life; I didn’t need that messed up as well.

Chapter Twenty

“I can’t find my little white purse. You know; the one my grandma gave me before she passed away? The one she made me swear on my life I would use on my wedding day? She’s probably cussing at me right now, I can practically hear her.” At that point, Brynn had completely entered ‘Freak Out’ wedding day mode, and it took everything in me to keep her calm.

“Hey, it’s okay. We’ll find it. Let’s think about where it could be.”

Brynn stopped and started to think hard about my last statement. Finally, she put her finger in the air and pointed to her large closet. “I told myself that I would put it in a very special place, that way I wouldn’t lose it. Maybe I put it in a drawer in my closet?”

We both walked into her ridiculously large closet. I took one side, while she dug through the other. When we both were about to give up and face the fact that we didn’t have enough time to find the purse, I noticed a huge white round box. “Hey, what about that?” I asked and pointed to the box I wasn’t sure why she had.

She brought over her stepstool and wrapped her slender arms around the large box. I stood under her in case the thing toppled over. I couldn’t have that happening on her big day. “This is a hat I bought in case I ever get to go the Kentucky Derby, and I never got to wear it. It’s out of season now, but I don’t have the heart to throw this beauty away.”

I tried to hold it in, but I couldn’t contain the laugh that broke free. “You still want to go to the Kentucky Derby? Horses terrify you.”

Brynn handed me the box and jumped off the stool. “Of course I do. Collin isn’t really into racing that much, but I want to see it in person someday. I won’t be touching the horses, I’ll be watching them.”

Despite Brynn being a country girl, she’s more terrified of horses than anyone I have ever met. Her family mainly grew corn, so horses weren’t even part of her upbringing, but for some reason she had a fascination about going to the Kentucky Derby. It’s baffling really.

When she opened the box, her beautiful cream heirloom purse, handed down from her great-grandmother, was placed perfectly beside one of the ugliest hats I had ever seen. “It’s here!” Bryn screamed and knocked me over while encasing me in a huge hug. “Thank you!”

I squeezed her back and sat up once she finally stood to retrieve her purse. I looked over at the hat again and covered my mouth so she wouldn’t see me laughing.

“Shut up. I like it, and I know you’ll want to go with me. Quit fighting it.”

I rolled my eyes at her and didn’t say another word. This day was all about her and Collin, about them finding each other and their happily ever after. “Come on, we have a lot to do today.”

Collin had been kicked out of their apartment and into a fancy hotel the night before, so it was just us girls. We’d set our alarms for 6:00 a.m. and had already completed a full yoga workout session, taken a shower, had a light breakfast, and were now ready to head over to the salon to meet the rest of the bridesmaids. Brynn’s parents were staying at the same hotel as Collin, along with some other family and friends from Illinois. My parents weren’t able to make it. They were disappointed and heartbroken, but my older brother and his wife already had plans to be away for the entire week. They were performing their grandparent duties by watching my adorable niece and very cute but ornery nephew.

“Okay, so my hair is going to be styled down, because it’s still a little short, but Kerry has these great clip-in hair extensions that will make it a little longer, but not much, more for volume. It’s going to look amazing! I was wondering if she could do your’s in a classic french twist? She’s so talented, I would let her work her magic. Then, we’ll get our make-up done and get dressed. Oh my gosh I’m getting married today!”

I smiled at my friend, and felt so happy for her, but I also couldn’t shake the feeling I’d had about having to interact with Greyson again at the ceremony. I couldn’t stop thinking about him saying he wanted one more night with me. I wanted that, too. More than anything, but I also knew that it would never be enough. When I thought about his situation with Nora, it made me sick. He’d been so damn close to freedom, but this was the way it had to be. We could not have another moment like the one we’d had before. There was no future for us.

I mentally snapped out of my daydream and decided it was time to be with Brynn. Whatever happened would happen on its own. Cade would be flying in any minute, and I would have a great time with him. That was all I wanted, a little fun, and to take my mind off the past month.

**

The wedding ceremony was absolutely breathtaking. Brynn’s dress was like something out of
Vogue
, and Collin looked like he wanted to take her out of the chapel at any minute and rip it off her body. Which was exactly the reaction she was hoping for. Greyson and I were social, but really didn’t say more than two words to each other. Having Cade there with me was the perfect buffer, and instantly took my mind off Greyson.

The wedding party rode together to the Pierre in a limo to take pictures before the guests arrived. Cade scooted in beside me and started whispering into my ear. “Emma, you look so good. We’re going to have the night of our lives.”

I smiled and let out a little laugh. I was about to say something back when Greyson cleared his throat and looked out the back window. I suddenly felt guilty that I must be hurting him by interacting like that with Cade, but really what was I supposed to do? Be celibate for the rest of my life because he was having a kid? No way.

I decided to play nice the rest of the way to the Pierre, and during our pictures. Our bridesmaid dresses were custom made by the designer of Brynn’s engagement dresses. The pink champagne color went perfectly with the decor in The Pierre. It was a dress I could wear again, and I was thankful it didn’t have puffy sleeves or some kind of ugly floral print fabric. Brynn did good.

The night flew by, and before I knew it, the cake had been cut and the guests were ready to party. We all filtered into the ballroom, which created a different mood, and people started to head to the dance floor, releasing some of their pent-up energy they held throughout the evening.

“Dance with me?” Cade asked and held his hand out to mine.

“Of course.” I smiled and stood up with him, heading to the crystal-lit dance floor.

“Emma, you are such a sight tonight. I have thought about you, you know, ever since I had to leave early before we had our fun outing together to Ellis Island. I have thought about you almost every day. Has anyone ever told you that you have cast a spell over them?”

Greyson’s face popped into my head, but quickly faded when Cade placed a kiss on my cheek. I forgot how good this guy was. I was so close to dragging him into a closet and letting him have his way with me. Close, but not quite there yet.

“I know, I was disappointed when you couldn’t stay and enjoy the day with me, but Greyson and I ended up going together and we had a great time. I found my family’s signature, so it was a huge success.”

Cade looked over in Greyson’s direction and back at me. “I hope for Greyson’s sake that everything works out between him and Nora. I can see Nora trying to take that child away from him, but he’s a powerful man as well, so it would be a tough battle.”

The last thing I wanted to talk about was Greyson, Nora, or their baby. I was so tired of hearing about it, and I was looking forward to a night filled with dancing and laughing with Cade. “I’m having a great time with you. You’re an excellent dancer,” I said with a laugh when Cade twirled and dipped me.

“You’re an excellent partner.”

“Only because I’m horrible and let you do all the leading.”

Cade leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “That’s exactly how I like it.”

Chills went down my spine, and I knew the night could end up with hot sweaty sex if I gave it the green light. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go down that path quite yet.

“You’re naughty.” I laughed and twirled around the dance floor as Cade gladly took the lead. I looked over at Brynn and Collin, and it seemed like they were having the time of their lives. Collin and Cade’s little cousins, the ring bearer and flower girl, were tearing up the dance floor, and had everyone in stitches as they shook and wiggled their little hips, dancing to the music.

“I think your little cousin has more moves than I’ve ever had. She’s pretty good.” It was almost as if she heard me, because a few seconds later she was standing by Cade’s leg asking if he wanted to dance with her.

I pulled back and gave him a quick wink. “He’s all yours little lady. I’m going to get some more wine. I’ll find you in a few, okay?”

Cade shot me a panty-dropping smile, and focused back on his new dance partner. He picked her up and twirled her around the room, sending her into fits of giggles.

I went to the bar and ordered a glass of wine for me, and scotch on the rocks for Cade, but decided it was the perfect time to sneak away for a quick powder check. When I peeked into the ladies room, making sure that there weren’t any evil red heads lurking about, I went inside to make sure I was put together. My hair was pulled up in a high twist, and my make-up was so well done that I thought about going to the salon every morning.

When I was heading back to the party, a pair of big strong hands grabbed me and pulled me into a room that was only lit by a slight ray of light sneaking in from the hallway. I was being dragged into a room that I knew was off limits, so I started to panic and scream. One of the large hands that had ahold of me clasped over my mouth as I tried to call for help. I almost bit it, but when a familiar voice whispered in my ear, “Easy, it’s just me,” I stopped and started to stand up.

When I turned around, I felt a flash of relief when I realized I wasn’t being attacked by some New York mugger, but by my own date. “Cade, my God! You scared me. Don’t you know that there are freaking crazy people out there who want nothing more than to take advantage.” Before I could get any more of my rant out, Cade grabbed my face and shut me up with his own delectable mouth. When his lips crashed against mine, I didn’t care whom was attacking whom, because I decided it was the best way to get over Greyson. Then, after hearing my head say his name, I started to feel the slight bit of guilt build in the pit of my stomach. That was, until Cade started doing unnatural things to me.

“Come over here, Emma. Away from the door.” When I followed him and looked around the room we were in, it looked liked a space that you would have a meeting in. There was a large table in the center, with chairs pushed around the edges. Cade brought me to the back of the room, and lifted me, so I was sitting facing him on the table. “I have thought about you for the past two months, and I can’t wait any longer. If you want me to stop, tell me.”