CHAPTER TWO

EMILY

My text goes unanswered, so I send another one a few minutes later.

Emily

You better not be ditching me, or I swear to God I'm marching right up to Jackson and telling him you're secretly in love with him.

Emily

I mean it, Kiera.

Emily

I'll even tell him your new sex toy is named after him.

Kiera

OMG! You wouldn't.

Kiera

I'll be right back.

Emily

You better.

I end up back at the bar ten minutes later grabbing another drink. I can't believe she ditched me. When I see Jackson surrounded by other women, I speculate Kiera is in the huddle somewhere, but then I step closer and see she's nowhere near him.

What the hell?

Emily

Where are you exactly?

Emily

Are you okay? We can leave if you want.

I send her another round of messages. If she saw Jackson and his entourage, she could be crying in a corner somewhere.

Kiera

No! LOL! I'm fine, I promise.

I furrow my brows at the screen, wondering what she's doing. Or maybe, who she's doing? I chuckle to myself at that last thought. The alcohol burns through my veins, and I know I'm on my way to becoming tipsy.

Emily

Do you plan on coming back anytime soon?

Fifteen minutes later, I'm still drinking solo at my empty table with an empty plate of cake that I shamelessly demolished.

"I'll take that as a no." I mutter to myself, checking my phone again and still no new messages. I'm going to kill her.

The DJ announces the bride is about to throw the bouquet and calls all the single women to the dance floor. Girls shuffle to the middle, throwing elbows and trying to find their perfect spot. I throw back the rest of my drink and scoff.

"C'mon ladies. last call to come out!" the DJ calls. I watch as Alex escorts River out to the dance floor and spins her around in circles. People chuckle as they watch the two of them play around.

"You're going to miss out." the same deep voice from earlier says next to me. Blinking, I look over and see the same dirty blond hair and sleek black tux as before. He's holding a glass of amber liquid, and his lips are turned up in amusement as he studies me. He's even better looking now that I see his full profile.

"I doubt I'll miss much," I retort, wondering why he'd even care. His sky-blue eyes are hard to avoid as they burn into mine.

"Figured chicks lived for catching the bouquet," he states matter-of-factly, taking a seat next to me without an invite, and my heart races the closer his body is to mine.

"Not me." I shrug, gazing over at him. He's hard to read, yet his demeanor intrigues me to continue the conversation. "Are you going to go out there to catch the garter next?" I challenge.

He half-laughs, half-snorts.

"Why not?" I ask, smirking.

His eyes lock on mine, the question left unanswered. "I'll do it if you catch the bouquet." He nods his head to the dance floor where River is seconds away from throwing it, but then one of the bridesmaids tells them to hold on while she grabs a few of her friends.

I arch a brow and narrow my eyes. "A dare?"

He shrugs casually. "You've been sitting here by yourself for the past thirty minutes. What do you have to lose?"

The fact he just admitted to watching me doesn't go unnoticed. My cheeks heat, and I'm shocked my body is responding this way. The alcohol buzzes in my system, and if it wasn't for the last two drinks, there'd be no way I'd take him up on his offer.

Pinching my lips together, I bend down and slip off my shoes. "Okay, you got yourself a deal or rather a dare." Seeing this tall, brooding man fight for a garter will be entertaining at least.

He stands when I do, and that's when all the alcohol rushes to my head. I nearly stumble over my own feet, but I gracefully catch myself. He follows me through the maze of tables and chairs until I'm on the dance floor blending into the large crowd of overly excited women. I don't know anyone but him watching me fuels my adrenaline.

Once I secure my spot, I find him flashing me a sly grin. I don't know who this guy is, but he just turned my night around. Considering Kiera completely bailed on me, I'll take his company over sitting alone.

"It's time, ladies!" The DJ walks out onto the floor with a microphone. "You ready?" He tilts his head toward River, and when she nods, Alex grabs her shoulders and spins her around again. She closes her eyes and squeals when he spins her faster.

The moment she stops and raises her arms over her head, my vision clears, and I want nothing more than to fight for this bouquet. I couldn't care less about the meaning behind catching it, but for some strange reason, I want to prove to this guy that I'm a badass who follows through with dares. Normally I'd brush it off, considering he's a complete stranger, but the intense way he looks at me drives my actions.

When the bouquet flies into the air, everything seems like it's in slow motion. I've always been a logical person, so I tend to see things differently-even buzzed. She threw it high versus directly behind her, which means it's not going to launch very far to the back. Taking notice, I flee to the front of the group and eye it carefully as it descends toward the left side of the floor.

Something comes over me, and I push the girl next to me out of the way a second before the bouquet lands on my chest. I secure my arms around it and hold it tightly against my body. Two girls started running toward me as soon as they took notice it was aiming this way, and unable to slow themselves down, they smack directly into my side and knock me over.

I hear squealing and the DJ laughing into the microphone. Girls fall over each other, and we become a huge pile on the floor. A knee's in my gut, and someone's lying on my hair.

The weight finally lifts off me, and when I look up, I see the guy holding out his hand for me. I can tell he's trying hard to hold back his smile, and when I scowl up at him, he chuckles.

Taking his hand, I let him pull me to stand. I'm quick to adjust my dress so I don't moon the entire room and embarrass myself more.

"That was. epic." He smirks, leading me off the floor as his hand remains in mine. Some of the women are staring at me, giving me death glares, and I can only imagine what they're thinking right now.

"You mean. humiliating. I can't believe I let you talk me into that." I scoff, taking a seat and setting my destroyed bouquet down.

"It wasn't very hard to talk you into it, so you must've really wanted to do it." He winks as he takes the seat next to me at the empty table.

Shaking my head, I pinch my lips together and remember that he's up next. "Well, you're up." I nod my head to the dance floor where the DJ is setting up for the garter toss. "Hope you brought your A game." I cross my legs in anticipation.

"Oh, I always do." He shrugs off his jacket and winks. Once his jacket is secure on the back of the chair, he leans down to my ear. "What's your name, darlin'? I'd like to know who I'm winning this for."

The closeness of his lips steals my breath away. My entire body shivers, and I hate that this man has an effect on me. Though I have no idea who he is, he's already made me reconsider my no men ban. Dangerous-that's the only way I can describe him. I...