“It’s your turn.” The lady handed an outfit to Jake. “Everyone’s ready but you.”
“Right.” He took the outfit. “Thanks for reminding me.”
She stood there and waited for Char to leave before the door clicked shut again.
Char’s outfit had been something out of his wildest fantasies; his couldn’t be that bad, right?
* * *
“Have you seen Jake?” Jace asked as he took a seat across from Char. “I’ve been meaning to ask him about his toast. I kind of want to do something tomorrow night, too; that is if he’ll pull his face out of his ass long enough to talk to me.”
Char offered a polite smile. “I haven’t seen him yet, but I’m sure he won’t mind.”
“He’s not worth it, you know,” Jace said in a voice so low only Char could hear him.
“I’m sorry; what?” Char took a sip of wine and smiled as friends poured into the large living room.
“Jake.” Jace moved to sit next to her on the couch. “He’s a player. The man’s good at what he does, but he doesn’t do commitment. You should know that.” Jace sighed. “Things with him… relationships with that type of guy… They’ll always be difficult to manage. And in the end there’s always a fifty-fifty chance your heart will get broken.”
“Thanks for your concern.”
Jace winked. “It’s selfishness on my part, purely selfishness. I think you’re beautiful. I’ve only known you for a few days but I’d love to take you out on a date.”
“Well, um, Jake and I, you see, we’re—”
“Ladies and gentlemen, the best man has offered to do a dance for us!”
Offered my ass, Char thought. He’d probably been probably coerced; either that or drugged.
The lights were lowered and then a spotlight went on in the hall. “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” by Big and Rich started to pound through the sound system.
Jake appeared in leather chaps, with something resembling euro shorts underneath but no shirt. No worries there, though: He was wearing a lace tie and a black cowboy hat.
Hot damn, the man looked edible.
Clearly, the sales lady had wiped some product on him by the looks of it; he was glowing with some sort of oily liquid all over his chest. Char’s mouth dropped open when his eyes found hers. With a purposeful strut, he made his way toward her.
Dollar bills were stuffed into his pants as he crossed the living room.
Stopping in front of her, he leaned down low and then straddled her lap. Holy crap, holy crap—she looked around for help. Was he really going to give her some sort of cowboy lap dance? Magic Mike style? In front of the entire wedding party? And Grandma?
With a wink, he began to move across her lap. He mouthed sorry when he elbowed Jace in the face as he did a body roll.
Move over Channing Tatum. Holy crap, she was going to have a stroke.
The chorus hit and everyone joined in on the song. “Save a horse, ride a cowboy!”
Jake tilted the brim of his hat to Char and moved off of her lap. Had she had it her way, he would have stayed there all night.
He moved across the room with pantherlike grace. His golden brown hair fell across his face and had a slight curl to it. She wasn’t sure if it was sweat or the oil that was causing his hair to curl. But she’d had no idea it was so naturally curly, or so devastatingly hot that she’d literally throw Grandma under a bus in order to put her hands through his hair.
A few other girls yelled his name. He turned his full attention toward them and danced into their group.
“Like I said.” Jace cleared his throat next to her. “Once a player always a player. You think he’s ever going to give that up?” For you? The last part wasn’t spoken out loud, but Char felt the words like a punch to her chest. The music stopped; everyone clapped. Char looked down at her lap and played with the stem of her wine glass.
“Now, everyone welcome the bride and the groom, with a special guest in tow!” A miserable-looking Travis walked down the hall. The man was huge, all corded muscle and brute strength. He was also in a leather caveman costume. Poor guy, definitely got the short end of the stick.
Kacey was dressed in a short white leather skirt and a lacey white shirt. She looked ready to party.
Behind them followed Grandma.
In an actual cat suit, which really wouldn’t have been such a stretch if she hadn’t painted whiskers on her face. But if anyone could rock it, it was Grandma.
“Let’s get this party started!” Grandma shouted.
Kacey sipped her wine as the music changed to techno. People around the room mingled and laughed, but Char felt completely alone.