She moved her head back and forth while she waited for the mask to do its job, and the only thing in her head now was how much fun she was going to have tonight.
So much damn fun.
CHAPTER
three
JASON FELT STUPID wearing the tux, but if it was what Erin wanted, then that’s what she was going to get. At least her dad was wearing one, too, and so was Finn, a friend of the family who also worked on the vineyard.
The ceremony was supposed to take place outside, followed immediately by an hors d’oeuvres and wine bar near the grapes.
Obviously, there wasn’t going to be a ceremony, but Erin’s dad told him everything else was going to happen just the way they’d arranged it.
“Erin insisted,” Johnny said with a shrug, tugging on the collar of his tux. “At least it’s not a hundred degrees out here.”
“She told me she wanted May because it wouldn’t be too hot yet like it might be in June.”
Johnny laughed, his cheeks puffing up. “Yeah, my girl isn’t the sentimental type. She couldn’t have cared less about that whole June-bride thing. She was just afraid it might rain on her weddin’ day.”
The day had dawned bright and sunny without a cloud in the sky. It would have been a perfect day for a wedding. Too bad his best friend had turned out to be a total dick.
He and Owen were going to have words when he got back from Aruba.
Owen must have left his phone off, because Jason had tried calling him again, and the calls still went straight to voice mail.
Jason took a sip of wine. You can run, buddy, but you can’t hide forever.
He ran into Finn Nolan at the bar. Finn looked even more uncomfortable in his tux than Jason felt.
“How long do we have to wear these suits?” Finn asked.
“Eh, you can suck it up for one night. For Erin.”
“Yeah, I guess so. She’s like my little sister. If I had a sister. Which I don’t. But, you know, if I had sisters, she’d be one.”
Jason laughed. “What time did you start drinking today?”
“Noon. Weddings aren’t my thing. Too much frilly shit and standing around and not nearly enough whiskey.”
“I hear that.” Jason paused. “You have whiskey?”
“Dude, I’m Irish.” He pulled a flask from his coat pocket and handed it over to Jason.
Jason took a swig and let the liquid burn its way down his throat, then screwed the top back on and handed it back to Finn. “Good.”
“Hell yes it’s good. Made it myself.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Johnny’s letting me experiment in one of the barns.”
“So now you’ve got a winemaking and whiskey business?”
“Well, I don’t make the wine. I’m just a carpenter and I help Johnny out. The whiskey’s just for fun. And okay, maybe someday. Ya know?”
Finn Nolan had lived here since his senior year of high school. His mom and Maureen Bellini had been friends back in Dublin when they were kids, and when Finn turned eighteen his mom passed away. With no other living relatives, Maureen brought him over to finish his last year of high school and attend college, so he lived with the Bellinis and started working at the vineyards. He and Jason had become friends at school and often hung out together, along with Owen.
“Well, you make some fine whiskey, Finn.”
“Thanks.”
“This is a damn hot mess that Owen got us all into.”
Jason turned to see his other best friend, Clay Henry, also dressed in his tux for tonight. Clay and Jason and Owen had all grown up together, had hung out and gotten in trouble and had one another’s backs for everything.
He didn’t have Owen’s back for this, though.
“Have you talked to him?”
Clay shook his head. “Tried to call him a few times, but all my calls go straight to voice mail. Now his mailbox is full.”
“Same.” Owen was going to have a lot to answer for when he got back home. First, he would have to answer to Erin, of course.
Jason gathered Clay, Finn and a few of the other guys together, determined to make sure that tonight was all about Erin. He also wanted to be sure that the guests didn’t hit her up with comments like “I’m sorry” and “Oh, poor Erin” or pummel her with questions about Owen that she didn’t have answers for. So he told the guys to greet everyone as they came in and make sure they didn’t ask those questions, and just had a good time and enjoyed the food and the music and one another. That way Erin could enjoy tonight.
The Bellinis had done an amazing job of decorating the vineyard, making it look nothing like a wedding and more like a party. Colorful lights were strung all across the front entrance to the vineyard, and the barn was lit up with bright lights and spring flowers. There was seating for plenty of people, and there were bars set up both in the barn and around the vineyard, so people could walk and enjoy the spring weather and still stop and get something to drink.
Music was playing, something lively and entertaining. Definitely nothing romantic, and Jason would bet Honor Bellini had everything to do with that. As the wedding planner, she’d made sure to obliterate anything having to do with a wedding reception so her sister wouldn’t have to even think wedding. She’d done a great job.
Now that the guys were greeting the guests, he planned to hit up one of the bars.
But then he saw Erin walk out of the main house and stopped dead in his tracks.
She wore something silver that sparkled. It was short—sinfully short, showing off magnificent legs that were accented by heels he had no idea how she maneuvered in. Her raven hair was down, long waves falling over her shoulders. And as she walked down the steps, she took his damn breath away.
Owen was the dumbest fucker on the planet for letting Erin get away.
He went over to her and couldn’t help but let his gaze roam over her. From a distance, she blew him away. Up close, the dress was hardly a scrap covering her magnificent body. If she was out to prove a point to her nonexistent fiancé about what he was missing, she was proving it. She looked nothing like a bride tonight. She looked like a seriously sexy single woman who had no intentions of getting married.
And there were a lot of single guys here tonight.
Shit.
“What do you think of the dress?” she asked.
“That’s barely a dress, Erin.”
Her lips lifted. “It covers the vital parts.”
“As long as you don’t move too fast.”
She laughed, and her eyes sparkled in the flicker of torchlight.
“I need champagne,” she said. “Care to escort me to the nearest bar?”
“Happy to.” He held out his arm and they walked toward the barn.
“You look seriously hot in your tux.”
He was sweating in the damn thing, more due to the sight of Erin in her almost-dress than anything else. “Thanks.”
“Thank you for wearing it.”
“Anything for you. I want you to have a good time tonight.”
They made it to the bar and she grabbed a glass of champagne, took a sip, then another. “Oh, I intend to have a very good time tonight.”
And he intended to stay close.