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be living under that dress and no one would know.
 She s so fucking beautiful, Jonas choked out, wiping his tears and trying to pretend like he
wasn t.
 You re a lucky man, Ryder said, because he didn t know what else to say. The only woman he
thought was fucking beautiful was Suzanne, and this was all hitting a little too close to home. He was
thinking about the night they d met, about the instant chemistry they had shared. About the night she d
told him she was pregnant, and the night he d suggested they run off and get married. But mostly he
was thinking about all the ways he could have done better by her.
Then and now.
He should have called her again. He had texted her an apology for calling so late the night of the
bachelor party and she d just replied it was fine. He d been too much of a wimp to call her again, and
he was kicking himself. Jonas was right. When you loved someone, you loved them forever, no matter
what, and he was going to do whatever he had to in the hope of convincing Suzanne they belonged
together.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ASKING Suzanne to dance to  Big Butts at the reception was clearly not the best strategy to meet that
goal, but Ryder was running out of options. Suzanne had been dodging him for hours. She d ducked
out of reach every time he d approached her and had actually shoved a cracker in his mouth at one
point when he d tried to talk to her.
He was getting desperate.
So when Nikki, who had clearly been hitting the skinny bitches, grabbed the mic from the DJ and
said everyone in the wedding party had to dance to her favorite party song, including the wedding
planner, he had seized the moment.
 Suzanne, you heard what Nikki said. Ryder caught her arm as Suzanne tried to slink off behind
the chocolate fountain.  Everyone out there.
 Come on, girls! Show off your booties! Nikki turned around and shook her nonexistent ass while
a cheer went up from the crowd.
 Do you think I should cut her off? Suzanne asked, shooting a worried glance at her bridal charge.
 Are you kidding? Nikki s been smiling all day long. She s clearly enjoying herself. Which is what
you should be doing, too. Ryder tugged her hand again.  Come on, dance with me.
 You re a nutjob, she said, but she let him drag her onto the dance floor.
To his total amazement, after a few seconds, she relaxed and started to break it down.
 Hot mama, look at you, girl, he told her, enjoying seeing her loosening it.
That earned him a smack on the arm.  At least I can dance. You look like a chicken running from
the ax.
 Watch out, or I ll do you like Jonas is doing Nikki. Ryder tipped his head in the bride and
groom s direction, where Jonas was pretending to spank Nikki s butt.
Suzanne let out a crack of laughter.  Lordy be. Now that s funny. Let s hope that makes it on the
video.
 Better than the hokey pokey, that s for damn sure. It was also a good sign that Suzanne was
bantering with him. After she d kicked him out of her house, he wasn t sure they d be on speaking
terms for weeks. Months. Years.
Which would make it a little difficult to raise a child together.
 Oh, my God, I need to go stop her, Suzanne said, panic mingling with amusement in her voice.
 Why? Ryder turned to look at the bride.  Holy . . .
Nikki s breast had popped out of her gown when she d put her arms up in the air.
 Oh, no, you re good, Jonas has it. The groom danced in front of his wife, shielding her, and
whispered in her ear.
Nikki took a second to process his words, but then she looked down and started laughing before
shoving her breast back in the dress. They kissed and Jonas took the opportunity to fake spank her
again.
 Now that s just beautiful, Suzanne said.  It does a wedding planner proud.
 Love, Ryder agreed.
 I have to say, the ballroom looks damn good. Suzanne glanced around and assessed her work
with a smile.  It looks like a fairy-tale wedding, just like Nikki wanted.
Ryder had barely noticed anything other than a high volume of flowers, fluffy bows, and the color
blue coming at him in all directions, but what did he know?  You did a great job. With all of this.
Who else could have pulled this off? He meant that sincerely. It took a special talent to put up with
Nikki.
The DJ cut the song into a slow song Ryder didn t recognize.  This one s for all those married
couples out there. Come on out and dance with the bride and groom.
Suzanne got a stricken look on her face, and when she would have bolted, Ryder grabbed her and
pulled her close against him. He was not letting this woman run away from him again. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]