“Are you still cold?” Cooper asked in concern.
“No. I’m fine,” she answered with a big smile. The fake one.
When everyone was served, Nichole stood and walked over to the small stage where the DJ was holding out a microphone.
Her toast.
Tucker had forgotten the one good thing about being passed over as best man. He wasn’t subjected to the horror of having to give a witty yet heart-wrenching speech in front of two hundred people.
Nichole swallowed and smoothed her skirt before she smiled and turned on her professional Southern charm.
“Thank you all for being here with us today to share in this wonderful celebration for Roslyn and Cooper. Many of you weren’t at the service, so I’ll share some of the details.
“It was chilly out by the lake, as you’d expect for February. But when Roslyn walked down the aisle and stood next to Cooper, the crisp breeze and chill were all forgotten. It was as if a warmth came off them. As they exchanged the words that would bind them together for the rest of their lives, I felt a peace that only comes from watching two people do something so right.
“Many of you are probably wondering why the best man is a girl.” There were a few chuckles at that. “I have been Cooper’s best friend since we were thirteen years old. I’ve seen him make horrible decisions when it came to women, most of which could have been avoided if he had taken my advice.” More laughs and a nod of agreement from Cooper.
“The first time I saw him with Roslyn, I realized my job of giving advice and helping him through heartbreak was finally over. He’d found the one who would take over the job of giving advice, and who would protect him from heartbreak for the rest of his life.
“I can honestly say I have no doubts about giving up that responsibility to Roslyn. In the short time I’ve known her, I have seen her strength put to the test, and I’ve seen her love for Cooper in all the small things that make up a big life.
“So, in an attempt to make it through this speech without tearing up, I ask that you raise your glasses in a toast to Roslyn and Cooper. May each of us have a person to love us as fiercely as they love each other.”
The room was filled with the sound of tinkling glass, and then a cheer and applause rang out.
Tucker stared at the woman walking back to their table in amazement.
“You nailed it, Nic,” he told her when she sat next to him.
“I was so nervous.” She picked up her napkin with shaky hands and placed it across her lap.
While the bride and groom were busy kissing and posing for pictures, he reached across and took her hand in his, giving it a tender squeeze.
“You were perfect. I know why he picked you.”
She looked up at him, and they stared at each other for a long moment. He pulled his hand back right before Cooper leaned over to offer his praise on her speech.
“Thanks, Nic. That was great,” he said, his eyes a little misty. Tucker wanted to hate Nichole for stealing this moment. For making Cooper so happy he nearly cried, but he couldn’t. She was a great person. Better than Tucker ever could be. For that reason, he was glad Cooper had someone like her in his life.
When dinner was over, the happy couple cut the cake. Tucker was proud of his brother for feeding his new wife gently, despite the calls from the crowd for them to smash it all over each other.
“That was nice,” Nichole approved beside him.
“Yeah. I don’t get the whole smearing-it-all-over-each-other thing. I hate to see cake wasted.” They laughed together, and for a second their gazes locked, her blue-green eyes drawing him in.
Then the DJ interrupted with a call out to “all the single ladies.”
“Oh, God. Hide me,” she requested. But it was too late. Riley was already waving her out to stand beside her.
Tucker chuckled at her expression as she walked out onto the dance floor. Apparently, she had the custom of catching the bouquet confused with a lethal injection.
“I’m so hitting that tonight,” a voice said from behind him.
He turned to see his older cousin, Richie, looking at Nichole possessively.
“Go for it, Nicki!” he called. She sent back a glare in his direction. No one called her Nicki. She hated it. He’d never known why until today, but he had only ever done it once.
Because Riley was standing right next to Nichole, and Roslyn was obviously aiming for her sister, the bouquet flew through the air in their direction.
He watched as Nichole stood there like a statue, with her arms loosely crossed in front of her. The bundle of flowers sailed through the air, hitting her square in her ample chest, and then rolled down her bosom into her crossed arms.
She had made no move whatsoever to catch the bouquet, but there it was, in her arms nonetheless. Tucker couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on her shocked face.
“I’ll be happy to catch the garter and put it on her,” Richie said to the guy next to him. “Then take it off again in her room.”
Well, that couldn’t happen. Which meant Tucker would need to catch the garter.
Richie had always been a bully, despite his scrawny size. Tucker wasn’t usually one for paybacks, but if this asshole was planning on touching Nic, he was going to need to stop him.
He strolled up to the dance floor, giving Nichole a wink.
“Nice catch,” he said, earning an eye roll.
He tried to catch Cooper’s attention so he could convey his need for the garter, but Cooper was otherwise occupied with removing the garter from his wife’s thigh.
Tucker had no choice but to be understanding, despite his frustration. He chose a strategic spot in the middle of the herd and waited for the snap.
It went left and Tucker had to make a leap over the minister, ramming into Richie for the steal. They fell to the floor in a heap, but Tucker stood with the satin-covered elastic in victory.
“Damn it, Tuck!” Richie complained as Tucker spun the garter smugly on his index finger. He threw Nichole a wink, and she seemed somewhat relieved.
The guests cheered and laughed as Nichole was seated in front of him.
“Don’t do anything embarrassing,” she pleaded with him.
“Will you give me the opportunity to remove this later?” he asked, looking up at her through his lashes as he guided the elastic over her sexy black pump.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Tucker.” She had the fake smile on her face for the guests.
He moved the garter up farther, letting his fingertips glide over her thigh-high stockings. His hands were under her skirt and he could feel the edge of where the nylon stopped and her hot skin began.
“God, Nichole.” He sighed, looking right into her eyes before he slid his hands out from under her skirt. The crowd cheered, but he could barely hear over the sound of his heartbeat, thudding in his ears.
He was screwed.
She sat there looking at him, rather stunned.
He hadn’t done anything but slip a frilly piece of elastic over her thigh, and yet it had felt so intimate. Even with two hundred people in attendance.
Her face flushed hot as she gathered her composure.
Tucker was still kneeling in front of her as the music changed from “The Stripper” by David Rose to classical background music. There was no way he could get up yet.
“You were right,” Tucker said, still kneeling in front of her.
“About . . . ?”
“I should have worn underwear. I’m hard as a hickory log.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Tucker. A log? It’s not a log.” She shook her head at him.
“I don’t remember hearing any complaints.” He smiled and gave a thumbs-up for a photo.
“I would say maybe a large, sturdy branch but not a log.” She was still sitting, though the DJ was on his way over to take the chair.
“I think you’re missing the point of my problem.” Or, more likely, she was amused by his problem.
“Fine,
I’ll stand in front of you. Stay close.”
Stay close? “That is sure not going to help me, Nic.” She didn’t seem to understand that at twenty-seven he didn’t just sprout wood every time he came in close proximity to a female. It was her. It was knowing what was going on under her sexy skirt and wanting to see her in nothing but those heels. Damn it!
As they stood—with a small groan from Tucker—and made their way back to the table, the DJ said, “And now we have a special song to be played by the groom’s brother.”
“Fuck me,” Tucker muttered quietly as Nichole giggled at his predicament. Yep, she was amused.
Fortunately, he was able to hold his guitar in front of him. Before he walked out on the dance floor to perform, he turned to Nic and pointed.
“You owe me, and I plan to collect later.” He was smiling at her expression and thinking about what he was going to do to her when he turned away to go sing a romantic wedding song.
The DJ had set up a microphone, and Nichole watched as Tucker skillfully adjusted it and tuned his guitar.
“Hello, everyone,” he said with a big grin. “I’m the little brother.” People clapped and laughed. “So, I wrote a song for the happy couple with the help of a dear friend who happens to be the best man.”
He pointed over at the table as Nichole’s mouth dropped open.
“Nichole, thanks for your help with this.” He strummed the guitar. “You’ll all know the parts she came up with because they’re the really good ones.” He smiled at her again and started playing.
She was stunned still by the sound that filled the large banquet room. No one made a sound while he sang. She remembered the words, because she’d helped with them, but she hadn’t heard the song since it was completed, or sung with the intensity he was singing it now.
Tears pricked at her eyes as his rumbly voice spoke to her.
Cooper had taken Roslyn’s hand and guided her to the dance floor, but Nichole couldn’t take her gaze away from Tucker. His eyes were closed as he sang. His foot moved, timing his strums, and her heart filled with pride and something else she refused to acknowledge.
This was Tucker Matthews. Her best friend’s screwed-up younger brother. But he was also the man who had made her heart leap when he’d simply stroked her neck with his thumb. Who made her weak in the knees when he threatened to collect later.
When he was finished, the guests applauded, and he winked at her. He seemed so comfortable up there in front of everyone. She knew this crowd was tiny in comparison to the stadiums he must have filled in the past.
The DJ put on a different song as Tucker put his guitar away and was approached by guests who had probably just now figured out his celebrity status.
After the bride and groom danced, it was customary for the rest of the wedding party to partner up and dance beside them. She expected Tucker would ask Riley to dance, but he walked over to Nichole instead.
“Would you do me the honor?” he asked sweetly. She waited a second to see if he would follow it up with an insult. He simply held out his hand expectantly.
She took it and stood. She felt his other hand lightly at the small of her back as they walked out on the dance floor; then his arm encircled her waist and pulled her close to his body.
God, he felt good.
“Thanks,” she said.
“For what?”
“For saving me from dancing with Cousin Richie.” They both looked over at the bar, where the wiry guy was throwing them back. “When he walked in he told me I was still smokin’.”
“He’s right about that.” Tucker’s fingers gripped her harder, pulling her a fraction closer. She could feel his breath in her hair, feel his amazing warmth. And he smelled like sex on very clean sheets. God.
“Yeah, well, he was looking at my chest when he said it.” She was rewarded with Tucker’s deep chuckle. “I should have deballed him that summer he stayed with you.”
“When you were babysitting us and you caught him drowning me in our little pool out back?” He laughed again. “And then you grabbed him and held him underwater until he started crying.”
“You were smaller than him. I wanted him to know there was always someone bigger.”
“I’m not sure, but I think you could still take him,” Tucker said.
“I have no doubt.”
He eyed her for a long moment and then smiled.
“You know, if you dropped the icy, tough-girl act, you might actually find a nice guy to marry you and give you babies.”
“The nice guys are all taken or gay.”
He was quiet for a long moment.
“Why didn’t you end up with my brother? I know you guys hooked up.”
“He told you?” Her voice squeaked.
“No. Hell, he never talked to me about that kind of stuff. I slept in the room next to his. I was thirteen, for God’s sake. I heard things.” They laughed. “I had a thing for you the rest of that summer. You were the cause of many ruined tissues.”
“Oh, God!” She squeezed her eyes shut and laughed.
He moved closer to whisper in her ear. “Don’t make me turn to tissues tonight, Nic. Come to my room.” His voice, once joking, had turned serious, and she didn’t even need to consider her answer.
“Okay.”
“Really?” He seemed shocked.
“Yes.”
“Awesome. But we should dance a little longer.”
Right. They were still at the reception. For a moment, she had forgotten where she was, or that there were other people around.
Was she gazing up into his eyes dreamily? Had anyone noticed? She glanced around to see the dance floor had filled up. The swirling guests were focused on their dance partners or the bride and groom. No one seemed to be looking at her and Tucker at all.
When the song was over, the group split up and changed partners. Tucker went to his new sister-in-law, while Cooper held his open arms out to her.
“Thanks for dancing with my brother and not killing him,” Cooper said.
“It’s no problem.” Definitely not a problem.
“You helped him with that song?”
“Yeah. When we were iced in at the cabin.”
“I’m glad you found something constructive to do instead of fight. I know he’s not your favorite person, but I appreciate your being nice to him.”
“He’s not so bad now. You were right, he’s changed.”
He had changed. He wasn’t a loser anymore. He wasn’t a bratty kid trying to get attention. He was a man now. A very sexy, sweet man who was giving her a crooked grin at that moment, probably in anticipation of their plans later that night.
“He has indeed,” Cooper said. “I didn’t tell you before, but he had to go into rehab for drugs and alcohol. I thought for sure it was just the start of a downward spiral, but it made a huge difference. He’s finally straightened up. He has a job, kind of. He offered to pay me back every dime of what I’d paid out for him.”
“You didn’t take it?”
“No. He’s my brother.”
“I think you should let him,” she said.
“I know you don’t have brothers and sisters, Nic, but this is what they do.”
“No, I get that. But I think his trying to pay you back is a way for him to alleviate some guilt he feels. I’m not saying you should let him pay you back because you need the money or to teach him a lesson. I think you should do it for him. To release him from the debt he feels toward you.”
“He doesn’t owe me a debt.”
“I know that. You know that. Tucker doesn’t. I’m just saying, let him pay you back. Do something good with the money on his behalf, but let him.”
“You really think that’s why he wants to do it?”
“I know I would want to if it was me and I’d finally got my shit together.”
“Hmm. I’ll talk to him about it when we get back from the honeymoon.” He glanced over to where Tucker and his wife were dancing and laughing. “He’s
staying at our house while we’re away.”
“I heard.”
“You’ll stop in to check?” Cooper worried.
“I will, but I don’t think I need to. I think you can stop worrying about him so much.”
“Maybe. It’s hard, though. I’ve been doing it for so long.”
“I know, but like you said, he’s changed.” It felt very odd taking Tucker’s side in anything, but she knew what she’d said was the truth.
“I still don’t want him messing around with Riley,” he said as the song ended and Tucker made his way over to the small blonde. “She’s been through enough and she has a kid.”
With that, he frowned and moved to Lexi as Ian offered to dance with Nichole.
Ian was a nice guy who talked about his son with the pride only a parent could pull off. She could tell by the way he spoke that he knew he was blessed.
Eventually, she was faced with Cousin Richie.
Unable to get out of it without making a scene, she put her hands on his thin shoulders and tried to keep a safe distance despite his tugs to draw her closer to his scrawny body.
Out of nowhere, Tucker swooped in to save the day.
“Hey, Nic. You gotta minute? We need to go take care of their room,” Tucker interrupted.
“Oh, right! I almost forgot.” She stepped away from Richie, feeling as if she needed to wash her hands.
“I get you again when you get back,” Richie said, creeping her out.
Tucker put his hand on her back as he quickly escorted her out into the hall.
“That rat bastard doesn’t get you at all.” Tucker scrunched up his nose in disgust as she smiled at his protectiveness.
“Are we really doing something to their room?” she asked.
“No. Cooper left his key with our mother, and she’s guarding it like it’s the key to launch the nukes.” He shook his head with a grin. “But I do still get you alone for a few minutes.”
He pulled her through a door at the end of the hall. The same office where they’d been the night before.
“I don’t want to look like I had a roll in the hay when we go back in there, Tucker,” she warned.
Nick Of Time (Blue Ridge Romance 2) Page 9
