Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“No. I would swear I ran into the brunette in blue at One-Mile’s wedding a few months back, but I didn’t get her name.”
In fact, she’d stopped to help him in the parking lot a handful of minutes before the ceremony, when he’d run out to Pierce’s Jeep to frantically search for Brea’s wedding ring. With all the pomp and his best man duties, Matt hadn’t found the opportunity to speak to her again. He’d certainly looked.
She hadn’t attended Zy and Tessa’s spring wedding, and when he’d asked One-Mile later who she was, he’d just shrugged and told him that Brea was the only brunette he cared about. So Matt was pumped to see the gorgeous girl here this afternoon. A glance up proved he’d caught her eye, too. He flashed her the dimples that usually got him laid. She smiled back.
“That looks promising.” Nash grinned.
It did. Hot damn. “I’m going to ask her to dance.”
“Do it. And while you’re at it, find out that saucy little redhead’s name, would you?”
Despite the fact they’d only met today, he and Nash had clicked right away. Sure, he was still tight with Pierce…but his best friend had his hands full with a demanding job, a wife, and a baby. He wasn’t hitting the town, looking for a piece of ass anymore. One-Mile had the one he wanted at home. Since all the guys at EM had wifed-up lately, except the too-serious Kane Preston, he didn’t have a running buddy.
“If I can come up for air long enough to ask.” Matt winked.
Nash groaned. “Help a guy out. Man, I live in a town so small, it makes a speck on a map look like a metropolis. I’ve been flirting with the same handful of girls since puberty.”
“Fucked them all, have you?”
“Pretty much. But here tonight…lots of pretty females.”
“When you heading back to West Virginia?”
He hesitated, then shrugged. “Let’s just say I’m in no hurry.”
“I get you. I came out here from Wyoming as a favor to One-Mile. I only intended to stay for a week or two, but the place has grown on me.” That wasn’t exactly true. Lafayette had one big thing to recommend it: the city was far from home and its host of shitty memories. And the girls really were pretty. Well, at least this brunette he kept eye-fucking was. Speaking of which… He stood. “If I don’t see you later, buddy, sayonara. But if you’re still around next weekend, get my digits from your brother and give me a call.”
“Sure thing. Good luck.”
After a jaunty little salute, Matt turned away, skirted the dance floor, and headed straight for the brunette. She flashed him a smile and elbowed the redhead Nash was eyeing on her right, who gave him a once-over and stood. Then she grabbed her other two friends and dragged them toward the punchbowl, leaving him and the beauty he couldn’t stop staring at blessedly alone.
“Hi.” He swaggered toward her with a grin, making sure she saw his dimples.
She flashed him a shy smile in return, tucking a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear. “Hi.”
Between the curl of her mouth and the blue eyes he hadn’t expected across the room, she was even more beautiful. She lit up his whole body with just a glance.
This was going to be a great night.
“Mind if I sit here?” He gestured to the chair the redhead had vacated.
She shook her head, a soft blush lighting her cheeks. “I’d like that.”
“Thanks. I’m Matt.”
“I know.” After a self-deprecating smile, she laughed. “I asked Tessa. I’m Madison, by the way.”
When she stuck out her hand, he took it automatically, his thoughts tripping over themselves. The same Madison Tessa had tried to introduce him to almost six months ago? At the time, he’d blown off Zy’s wife. Didn’t he feel stupid as hell now? “It’s great to meet you.”
“You, too.”
Matt loved the gentle hint of Southern belle in her voice. “So…you from around here?”
She nodded. “My whole life. I’m going to see the world soon, though. I teach kindergarten now, but I’m saving up to take a sabbatical and escape this place for a while. I know you’re not from around here.”
“What gave me away? It’s not the cowboy hat.” He tipped his brim at her.
“I would have noticed you. This town isn’t that big. And your voice… You’re not from Louisiana.”
“Wyoming.”
“Oh, wow. You’re a long way from home. What brought you here?”
“One-Mile. We’ve been tight since we were kids.” Matt felt eyes on him and looked up to see Madison’s friends watching their exchange with giggles. He nodded at the women. “Your friends, I take it.”
She turned, the sweep of her silky hair sliding over her shoulders and brushing her plump breasts. Matt’s mouth watered. Damn, she was a pretty thing…
With a roll of her eyes, she faced him again. “Haisley, the redhead, has been one of my besties since grade school. She’s an instigator whose hair should be a warning label. We started running with Gracelyn and Charlene in middle school, probably because they’re troublemakers, too.”