Claimed By The Best Man

“Good idea,” Mom squeals, relishing any chance she can get to show off her dress.

How well it fits her.

She’s a lot slimmer than I am, so I can only figure either my dad was a little on the heavy side, or the thin gene skipped a generation when I came into the world.

“I thought it was bad luck… for the bride to try on her dress the day before the wedding, I mean,” I blurt out. Surprising even myself with just how certain I sound.

“Is it?” Denise gasps, clutching her neck as mom trembles, shaking her head.

I can only flatten my mouth, nodding like it’s gospel truth I’ve just spoken.

“I never knew that. We’d better not risk it then,” Mom readily agrees with Denise, who looks pale at the thought that anything else could go wrong with the wedding.

The day drags on like that, and before much longer it’s impossible for me to see the funny side of it. I struggle to remind myself of the real reason I’m going through with any of it.

For Reeve. For us.

By the time it’s almost dinner, and having skipped lunch, we’re all so weary that Denise’s offer to order in some food and “Try to have some sort of hen’s night fun” is welcome news, even to my ears.

I dodged the dress bullet, but I still need it back before tomorrow, but more importantly, I need to see Reeve or I’ll just burst.

When Denise finally does leave, after mom has to practically beg her to go after paying for half of the food she offered to treat us, we both go to our rooms exhausted.

Far from ready to sleep though, my mind is swimming. And not with the wedding, or even the dress I still don’t have either.

But with Reeve.

I guess I’ll just have to ‘remember’ I dropped it off to get pressed in the morning and pick up the dress on the way to the church.

The first thing I notice when I close my door is that my window is not only open but the fly screen is off too.

The next thing I feel is Reeve’s strong hands on my body.

One gripping my hip and the other lightly muting the excited cry I let out once I know it really is him.

I’ve never needed to or enjoyed kissing him so much. And his hands are swift to move over other parts of me, squeezing my breasts and rear end as he makes his own silent welcome felt.

“How did you…” I gasp between kisses, our bodies pressed hard and tight against one another.

“I’m a builder. But I can take stuff apart too,” he murmurs, promising to fix the window before he goes.

“You’re not going?” I plead with him, knowing how stupid it sounds.

There’s no way he could even fit in my bed let alone spend a night in it pleasuring me without my mom knowing.

Without the whole damned street knowing.

“I just came to drop off your dress,” he whispers, cocking his head. Aware of a hundred things a mere mortal like me could never pick up on.

The least of which is my mom coming up the hall.

Her knock makes me jump, and I feel Reeve slipping away from me silently, out the window again as I launch myself towards my door.

Wedging myself between it and me when mom tries to open it.

“Honey? It’s me… what are you doing?” she asks, sounding tired but annoyed.

Making an involuntary sound I pivot my head from the door to the window, but Reeve is already gone.

The screen is back in place.

I might have dreamt the whole thing, but for the dress, he promised, laid out neatly on the end of my bed.

No sign of what we did in it showing anymore, which is a shame really.

Once mom barges in and can see it’s just me and my dress, she shrugs to herself.

“Sorry, Piper. I was sure I heard voices.” She sighs to herself, suddenly scoffing a laugh.

“I thought you had a man in here or something...”

Chapter Nineteen

Tuesday

Reeve

Picking up my suit and Piper’s dress the day before her mom’s wedding is one thing.

Breaking and entering to deliver it to her is something else, but I had to see her.

I’d never have slept a wink if I hadn’t. Feeling her close, kissing her again. Hearing her voice.

It’s a fix I needed, and as usual, it’s never long enough.

Being the best man, Rhys and I are set to arrive at the church together, before the blushing bride.

And my Piper…

The limo’s been booked and is about the only flexible service seeing as their wedding day plans have changed on such short notice.

With nothing to do but mope around my place, counting the seconds until this wedding’s over, I head to Rhys’s early.

“You look like shit,” I grin when he opens his front door.