Perv(2)

Damn. Katy was going to kill him if he didn’t get his ass cleaned up and to the church before the rehearsal started. But man, he hadn’t been able to pass up this fight. He loved this sport more than anything. Women and their plans for dresses and tuxedoes came second.

•●•

Jenna Mathews stared at the gaudy bouquet made out of bows as her best friend of eight years attempted to fluff it up and make it presentable. Somehow the group of ribbons had gotten smashed in the trunk on the way over.

There was no hope. Jenna laughed and reached to straighten out at least the top layer so it wouldn’t topple out of Katy’s hands as she stood at the altar. “Who came up with this idea, anyway?”

Katy turned toward her and smiled. “I think it was you.”

“No. I mean originally. Why would anyone think this was a cute way to walk through the rehearsal?” Jenna had been the one to make the arrangement. It was common practice for the maid of honor. Plus Jenna was the most likely candidate since she also owned the floral shop that was doing all the flowers for Katy’s big day tomorrow.

Ribbons and bows were Jenna’s specialty and aptly the name of her store.

With a smile still on her face, Jenna hugged Katy around the shoulders and then stepped back into her place as the minister declared they would begin.

They were running late. They had been waiting on the best man to arrive. He must have slipped into his spot while Jenna had been fixing the bouquet.

She lifted her face as the minister started speaking and glanced across at the line of men opposite her on the steps.

Her breath caught in her lungs.

She hadn’t met the best man. The other two groomsmen arrived earlier, and she’d been introduced, but not this man. Mason Simmons. She knew his name. Katy spoke of him occasionally. He and Katy’s fiancé, Rafe, had gone to college together. Aside from that, Jenna knew nothing about him.

Except he was ripped. Now she knew that too. The man stood at least six feet tall. Muscles bulged from his chest and arms, a fact she knew all too well since he wasn’t wearing a suit and tie like the other groomsmen.

Nope. Mason Simmons wore a maroon T-shirt tight enough to show off all his assets. It wasn’t a cheap T-shirt. It was a designer label of some sort that somehow made it appear to be almost acceptable for the event. The khaki pants helped also. He didn’t appear to be a slob at all. In fact, he looked delicious. His pants were ironed and creased to perfection, and his shirt had been pressed also, settling against his chest in smooth lines.

Jenna scanned him again from the bottom up, swallowing when she realized she hadn’t bothered to breathe since she’d laid eyes on him. When she reached his face, she nearly died. He stared straight at her, his eyes lifted, and there was a slight smirk on his lips. As if he’d spoken out loud, she could clearly hear him say, “You like?”

Damn. Jenna’s face heated, and she jerked her gaze toward the front. The preacher droned on about where everyone would be standing when the service started. Jenna’s ears rang with embarrassment. She couldn’t concentrate on anything coming from the minister’s mouth.

Her only thoughts were, God that man is hot and Holy hell, he caught me ogling him. Her brain flipped back and forth between the two until she felt dizzy.

A quick glance back at Mr. Sexy showed he hadn’t moved a millimeter. He still stared at her. Perhaps his eyes were a bit more narrowed, but that was it.

And man, his face. Chiseled to perfection, his dark tan made his blue eyes bluer and his dark hair darker. What there was of it. He kept it very short, almost bald, though the shadow was there to indicate he could grow it out if he wanted. And he hadn’t shaved his face in several days, either. The growth was sexy.

He belonged on the cover of…well, any magazine on the planet. His right eye, the one she couldn’t see as well, seemed to be tinged darker as though someone had punched him in the face before he entered the church. Maybe she imagined it.

“Jenna?” Katy’s whispered voice made Jenna jerk her gaze toward her friend. She flushed deeper, feeling intense heat spread down her chest and arms. Great. Now she would be splotchy. Her pale skin always looked so fantastic when she was embarrassed…or aroused.

God, no. Definitely not aroused. Embarrassed yes. But no way could some man get her all hot and horny by entering the room. She was way too straitlaced for anything of the sort.

Jenna glanced down at the expanse of her chest above the maroon, low-cut, fitted, smart dress she wore and almost groaned. So attractive, Jenna. Nice.

Katy shoved the bouquet of ribbons at her and mumbled under her breath. “Earth to Jen, are you there?”