The ceiling was mile high with stained glass windows over the chancel. The choir was already seated off to the right, and the pastor’s wife was playing the piano nearby. A large wooden pulpit was rigged with a microphone, and there was a semicircle of cushioned prayer benches to be used for communion .
This wasn’t exactly where I’d thought I’d be this early in the morning after drinking a couple bottles of champagne last night with Heidi. Mercifully, I didn’t have a hangover. I’d had a bottle of Gatorade and some Tylenol before bed, and Kimber had babied me in the morning. But that still didn’t mean I was prepared for this.
“Kimber,” Noah said.
He waved from his spot near the front of the room. Lilyanne was seated in the pew, tapping away on her iPad.
We moved up the aisle, and Kimber kissed the top of Lily’s head. “Hey, baby girl. Are you excited to see Grandma Autumn?”
“It’s not autumn, Mommy,” Lilyanne said, looking up very seriously. “It’s winter.”
“Actually,” I interjected, “the winter solstice isn’t until the twenty-first. So, it still is autumn.”
“But it’s cold,” Lily said.
“Sound logic.”
Noah cracked up and scooted Lilyanne down so that we could take our seats on the end of the row.
“So, tell me about seeing Landon,” Kimber said, elbowing me in the side.
“Shh, Kim, we shouldn’t gossip in church.”
Kimber rolled her eyes. “It’s not gossip if it comes from the source. Aren’t you all about firsthand accounts in history?”
“Meh. Let’s not talk about history right now. I’ve thought of next to nothing else for nine years. I need a break.”
“A break like Landon Wright?” she whispered.
“Uh, no. Landon is married, remember?”
“Oh, right,” Kimber said, sounding disappointed. “Well, there are a lot of other hot guys in town.”
Noah’s head swiveled around so fast, and Kimber’s cheeks turned pink.
“What was that?” he asked.
“Oh, shush, you!” she said, flustered.
Kimber and Noah were a year older than Austin, the middle brother, so they never had a Wright in their grade. Though they knew the family, of course. Everyone knew the Wrights.
“I’m just asking if you are looking for some fun while you’re here,” Kimber said with a wink.
“Speaking of hook-ups in church?” I said, crossing myself in mock horror.
Kimber laughed and shook her head. “You’re horrible.”
“Lilyanne!” my mother said.
She burst onto the scene, as if she owned the place. But Lily adored her. She jumped from her seat, iPad abandoned, and threw herself into Autumn’s arms. She twirled Lily around and then placed her on the ground before claiming the seat beside her.
“She sure loves your little girl,” I said.
“She does. I couldn’t have asked for a better grandma,” Kimber agreed.
“Who would have guessed?”
“Everyone,” Kimber said. Then she grinned. “Look who just walked in the building.”
I swiveled in my seat just in time to watch the entire Wright family stride into the building. My eyes first latched on to Jensen in a crisp black suit, white button-up, and burgundy tie. He looked…sexy as hell. In fact, I would not mind so much seeing what was underneath that suit. My cheeks burned with the thoughts running through my head. I was in church, for Christ’s sake.
My eyes darted down the line of people—Austin, Morgan, Sutton, and Maverick. Huh, I guess not all the Wrights were here. I couldn’t help but feel grateful that Landon wasn’t here with his wife. Then, I didn’t feel as bad about checking out Jensen.
As Jensen passed my row, he turned all his attention to me. A smile dimpled his cheeks, and I stopped breathing. Fuck, I had made out with that face.
Then, he and the rest of his family took their seats in the front row. I distantly remembered that they came to church every Sunday after their mother died. They did it to honor her memory since she had been such a devoted churchgoer. It was pretty amazing that they still did it. Even the morning after Sutton’s wedding.
Maybe I had judged them all a bit too harshly after Landon.
Maybe it wasn’t the worst thing to fantasize about those dimples.
Maybe…just not in church.
Nine
Emery
I’d say that the service was interesting, but I was a horrible person and didn’t pay attention. Not that I was not religious. Not exactly. But, when the most eligible bachelor in the city was sitting three rows in front of you and you knew he’d wanted nothing more than to get into your pants the night before, it was a bit hard to concentrate.