The reception barn had been constructed along with the chapel to service weddings, and animals had never occupied it. Hay bales were situated around the cement floors for authenticity. Six long wooden picnic tables, placed vertically, lined the middle of the room. A seventh, horizontal table was set up at the front for the wedding party. White linen tablecloths were topped with peach-and-aqua runners. Flickering white candles in mason jars, surrounded by garlands made of rope and baby's breath served as centerpieces.
Kaia searched the barn for Ridge, spied him standing off to the side of the wedding party table, looking drop-dead handsome in his Texas tuxedo. He held a longneck beer bottle loosely between two fingers, his other hand clasped behind his back. It was as if he were in a protective bubble of his own making, separate from everyone else, impervious to the festivities, his face as stony as his name.
She started toward him, but then an out-of-town guest, a beautiful woman that Kaia hadn't met, came up and started a conversation with Ridge. Jealousy smacked Kaia in the stomach and she stopped her in her tracks.
Vivi stood inside the doorway passing out toy cap guns, to use to salute the bride and groom when they left the reception in lieu of throwing rice, and drinking a chocolate martini. From the shiny look in her eyes, it wasn't her first.
"Cap gun?" Vivi asked, extending the toy six-shooter tied with aqua-and-peach ribbon streamers that matched the wedding colors.
"Sure." Kaia reached for the cap gun, but Vivi held on to it. Startled, Kaia stared at her. "What is it?"
"He's going to break your heart, you know."
Kaia frowned. "Excuse me?"
"Don't play coy. I saw you kissing him last night."
Kaia didn't bother denying it. She let go of the cap gun and stepped back. She was not going to get into a tug-of-war over a toy cap gun.
"I'm not still hung up on him, if that's what you're thinking." Vivi hiccuped.
"I wasn't thinking that." She totally was.
"I'm worried about you."
Um-hum. Sure. "Thank you for your concern."
"FYI, Ridge is incapable of love," Vivi said. "His mother broke his heart and he's never recovered. I blame her for abandoning him the way she did. He just can't trust women."
Kaia bit down on her tongue to keep from saying, Maybe you screwing his dad has something to do with his mistrust of women. This wasn't the time or the place, and besides, it wasn't her battle. She and Ridge were not a couple. They were not dating. He had kissed her. That's all it was. The kiss meant nothing.
Except, she'd heard the Song of the Soul Mate.
C'mon. She had to stop this. Other than the fact that the humming had started the moment his lips touched hers and had stopped when he finished kissing her, she had no proof it was anything more than tinnitus.
"Consider this a friendly warning," Vivi said. "I want the best for you."
I call bullshit she wanted to say. Instead, Kaia forced a smile, mumbled, "Thanks," even though it was idiotic to thank Vivi for trying to stir up trouble, and she turned away.
"Wait," Vivi said.
Kaia rolled her eyes, sucked in a deep breath, and turned back around. "What is it?"
"You forgot your gun."
For a second, she hesitated, not wanting to look like a fool if Vivi held on to the cap gun again. Finally, she put out her hand.
Vivi settled the toy into her palm. "Be careful."
Kaia wasn't sure if she meant with her heart or the cap gun. "Will do."
"I'm here if you ever need to talk."
Yeah, right. Kaia had three sisters, a cool granny, and an understanding mom. She couldn't imagine any circumstance where she would turn to Vivi for advice.
Someone else came up for a cap gun, and Kaia made good her escape, heading for the wedding party table and Ridge. When his eyes found hers, his face lit up. Her heart flip-flopped. Vivi was right about one thing. The man was a heartbreaker.
They were the first ones from the wedding party at the table. "Where is everyone else?" she asked.
"Playing in the photo booth. The wedding planner went after them."
"There's a photo booth? I didn't know there was going to be a photo booth. I love photo booths."
"Yep." His eyebrows went up on his forehead in amusement. "There's a photo booth."
"Wanna go in it after dinner?"
"Together?"
"Um, yes. What fun is a photo booth by yourself?"
"Maybe we could get Casey and Archer to go with us."
"I'm sure Casey and Archer have other things on their mind than getting in the photo booth with us."
"Ranger and Ember?" he said.