Mason leaned against the fence and grabbed the bar along the top. “Rafe here thought he could work out his pre-wedding jitters against my face and chest.”
“Did it work?” Joe turned his gaze to Rafe.
“Yep. I’m all ready now.”
“Yeah, don’t bet on it. Been there done that. No matter what you think you’re ready for, I can assure you that little spitfire of a woman you’re marrying will set you straight really quick. For such a tiny thing, she doesn’t pull any punches.” Joe laughed at his pun and walked away. “See you at the wedding.”
Mason smirked at Rafe. Joe knew exactly what Rafe was up against. Katy was Joe’s niece. Mason and Rafe had been standing on that very mat sparring with each other one Saturday six months ago when Katy had walked into the gym and caused Rafe to do a double take. Mason hadn’t missed the opportunity to level his friend to the ground. And the rest was history, as they said.
As Mason tugged off his gloves, he glanced up and chuckled. “I think the rest of the gang wants to wish you luck, Rafe.” Four large guys headed their way from across the room. Joe had dubbed the six of them “The Fight Club,” and it had long ago stuck. By now, most people in a hundred-mile radius knew who “The Fight Club” was. To the guys, they were just six middleweight MMA fighters who didn’t like to lose. To everyone else, they’d been lifted to a higher pedestal.
Rider, Gage, Zane, and Conner stepped into the ring.
Rider was a cop. With his all-American, good-boy looks, he made women swoon at his feet. But when he had his uniform on, he was a force to be reckoned with. He nodded. “Rafe, we wanted to wish you luck, man. We’ll be there tonight for the eulogy…er, I mean nuptials.” He chuckled and jumped back when Rafe leaped forward to grab for him.
The guys all shook Rafe’s hand.
“Congrats, dude,” Gage said. “You deserve the best.”
“Thanks, guys.” Rafe gathered his stuff, headed for the gate, and jumped down to the floor. “See you tonight.”
“I’m out of here too,” Mason added. The workout had done him some good. Maybe he could get his head on straight now and keep his eyes off the sexy expanse of white skin that he’d seen way too much of last night.
He groaned inwardly. Keeping his hands off Jenna was going to be harder than keeping his fists off Rafe’s face.
Chapter Five
Jenna stood through the ceremony, concentrating on her task and trying to avoid the man opposite her, who hadn’t glanced in her direction one time. The same man who had stripped her bare last night and rocked her world.
She felt naked even now, knowing he’d seen every inch of her body. The fact she’d seen nothing of him and didn’t even know if his chest was smooth or sprinkled with hair didn’t escape her.
Twenty-four hours ago she’d been embarrassed standing in this same spot ogling Mason Simmons as though he hung the moon. Now, that sensation increased tenfold as she considered the ramifications of last night’s actions.
Naked and exposed is how she felt. In fact she kept looking down at today’s dress to make sure she was actually wearing something.
She went through the motions of the wedding, glad for the shorter service that lasted less than half an hour. As soon as the bride and groom kissed and headed down the aisle, she turned to Mason and stepped as gracefully as she could down the two steps to join him in the center of the aisle.
He didn’t make eye contact even then, and she tucked her hand under his arm as though he were a piranha. At this point, her blood was boiling. She’d gone from embarrassed to pissed in the course of half an hour. What the fuck was his problem? She felt used and discarded, and they hadn’t even had sex.
Yeah, but what you gave him was so much more than sex.
Her loose grip on his bicep was very different from yesterday’s. She wished she could speed up time and get the hell out of his presence. Instead, she had to endure the long slow stroll down the aisle, smiling politely at everyone on both sides of the church as she tried to hold back the ball of nerves building in her throat. Thank God she hadn’t had to speak during the ceremony.
Endless pictures followed, during which time Jenna tried to mingle pleasantly with the other bridesmaids and make small talk. Mason was ever present in her peripheral vision, but she never caught him looking at her.
What had changed? Had he decided she wasn’t good enough for him after all? Or was this the way he treated all women? Maybe that’s why Katy had warned her against him.
Jenna lifted her head and shook out her pity party. She was bigger than this. No one was going to ruin her evening. If Mason wanted to ignore what happened between them last night, she could play that game right alongside him.