The Sweet Addiction Series Collection: Sweet Addiction, Sweet Possession & Sweet Obsession (3 page)

“And now it is with honor that I present to you, for the first time ever, Mr. and Mrs. Banks. You may now kiss the bride.” Everyone stands up and cheers and, of course, I follow suit. It would be rude not to, and I’m not bitter, so, whatever, I cheer. Justin and Sara share a lingering kiss and earn a few whistles from the audience. I feel Joey’s hand squeeze mine and I glance up into his big, blue eyes.

“I cannot
wait
to go drink my weight in booze,” I whisper to him.

He bends and presses his lips to my ear. “And I can’t wait to get my hands down the pants of this playa next to me. Maybe play a little just the tip.”

“Jesus. You would.” Everyone is watching the bride and groom walk down the aisle, but I’m lost in silly conversation with one of my closest friends. I’m giggling so hard that tears are starting to fill my eyes. And these will be the only tears shed from me today.

“Come on, Dylan, you know you want to slip off into a dark corner with your mystery man whose lap you accidently fell into. Maybe do a little something else in that lap of his.”

I raise my eyebrow and lean back, seeing piercing, green eyes flick to mine instantly. A small smile pulls at the corner of his mouth.
Sweet Mother, he is gorgeous.
I quickly lean forward and try to play it off, but fail miserably as a wicked grin smears across my face. “Hell yes, I do. I fucking love weddings.”

The guests file out of The Great Hall and up the grand staircase to the second level. Once Joey and I reach the top, we stand there a moment to take in our surroundings. The entire second floor is the reception hall, and ridiculously decked out in coral and calla lilies.

“Holy hell. Are those ice sculptures?”

My eyes follow Joey’s gesture toward the right side of the room. “Isn’t that a bit over the top? Ooohhh, there’s the cake.”

“Told you I delivered it. I feel you doubt my capabilities as your trusted assistant.”

I nudge his shoulder as we walk to the place card table. “And I feel
you
really love Sam and are just afraid to admit it.”

Tilting his head back, he laughs loudly. “How badass would it be if we started doing our deliveries out of a Lamborghini.”

“Badass and extremely impractical. Maybe when we make our first million we’ll splurge on a luxury delivery vehicle.” I grab our place card. “Come on, we’re table twelve.”

I don’t really care what table we’re at, just as long as we aren’t in direct view of the bridal table. Justin still hasn’t made eye contact and I’m hoping to keep it that way, and with this many people in attendance, avoiding him shouldn’t be a problem. Round tables cover three sides of a large wooden dance floor, the bridal table elevated on a platform and overlooking the guests. The tables are draped in white linen with coral ribbons running along the edges and beautiful calla lily filled centerpieces. The DJ is already playing music and a few people are dancing while others mingle around the tables, talking and enjoying themselves.

“There you two are.” Juls comes skittering over to us in her dangerously high heels and grabs onto our forearms as we admire the sculptures. “How was it? Be honest.” I cock my head to the side and scrunch up my nose as Joey rubs the back of his neck, seemingly in pain. Juls panics, her eyes bug and her fingers immediately rub her temple.

“It was brilliant!” I yell as relief washes over her, followed by a stern
I’m going to kick your ass
look.

“As usual, you are one badass bitch, Juls. If I ever get married, you’ll be running that show.” Joey rubs her bare shoulder and she winks at him.

“Well, I only have a few minutes to spare before I have to get the bridal party lined up to come in so,” she steps in between us and loops her arms through ours, “let’s go introduce you to some hotties.”
Oh, shit. I almost forgot about hot lap guy. Almost.

“Oh, my God, Juls, you missed it,” Joey says through a laugh.

I lean back and hiss. “Shut up, Joey.”

“What? What did I miss?” She flicks her head back and forth between the two of us as I stare him down.

Don’t you dare. I’m still your boss and will fire your ass right here.
He must have read my thoughts because he never finishes his sentence, or maybe it’s because we’re now standing in front of the hot, Chicago, man candy club. The four of them are standing near a table conversing amongst themselves, but all conversation comes to a halt as we walk up. All of them, and I mean all of them, are way too attractive to properly function around, and now it’s suddenly feeling a thousand degrees hotter in this room.

“There’s my girl.” Ian reaches his hand out and Juls steps into him, placing a quick kiss on his cheek before she steps back. I keep my eyes on Ian, not wanting to drift to the man whose eyes I know are on me. I can feel them burning a hole into my profile.

“Boys, I would like to introduce my very best friend, Dylan.” Her hand grabs mine and pulls me forward as I glance up and run my eyes down the row of men, stopping on the one closest to me.
Damn, he keeps getting better looking.
“And this is Joey, the hottest gay man in Chicago.”

“Oh, please, Illinois, bitch. Let’s not downplay my sexiness.” Joey straightens out his tie as I try not to laugh. My assistant has no modesty.

Juls glances down at her Tiffany watch and her eyes go wide. “Crap. Ian, will you finish the introductions? I need to take care of some shit.”

“Sure thing, babe. Be quick though.” He holds onto her hand tightly, making her tug away playfully before his smile lands on me.

“Christ, you’re so pussy whipped.” The blond man standing next to Ian says softly. I glance at him quickly, smiling at the idea of Ian being completely caught up in my best friend. The two of them started dating a few months ago and she’s already head over heels for him. Due to our busy schedules, this is our first time actually meeting, and from what I can tell by the way he looks at her, he seems just as infatuated.

Ian glares at the blond who laughs around his drink before he turns back toward me. “Dylan, it’s nice to finally meet you.” He holds out his hand to me with a genuine smile as I shake it. Ian is tall and built, very muscular with nearly jet black hair that is barely long enough to pull into his pony. His brown eyes regard me kindly.

“Yeah, you too, Ian. I’ve heard such lovely things from Juls.”

He shakes Joey’s hand and exchanges some pleasantries while my eyes strain to not look at the man standing directly to my left. “And these are my work associates and mates, Trent, Billy, and Reese,” he says, motioning down the line of men.
Reese. Of course that’s his name. A guy looking like this wouldn’t be named something not sexy, like Ted or Joe.
I shake Trent and Billy’s hands as they say how nice it is to meet me. Trent, who made the pussy whipped comment, is the shortest of the group with almost white blond hair that curls at the ends. And Billy, who only has eyes for Joey at the moment, has sandy blond hair that is kept super short, and diamond stud earrings in both ears. I begin biting the inside of my cheek as I turn my body toward Reese.

“Dylan, I believe we’ve met briefly.” He extends his hand and I place mine in his without hesitation, feeling his callused fingers tickle my skin. I have to look up into his stare, even though I’m wearing one of my tallest pair of heels. He’s got a torso that stretches on for miles, one I’d like to wrap myself around. His perfectly tailored, dark gray suit frames his hard body almost unfairly, and as he smiles, the tiniest little lines appear next to his eyes. I sigh. His attractiveness is a bit unnerving.

“Yes, briefly. I’m so sorry about that.”
Not really.

Still holding my hand, he leans in a bit, his breath warming my face. “I’m not. Let’s go get a drink.”

I stumble a bit at the closeness of his face to mine, but somehow manage a quick nod in agreement to his request. Finally dropping my hand, I meet Joey’s eyes and he winks at me before I turn and walk side by side with Reese to the bar. I want to reach out and slip my hand back in his, but I don’t. That would be weird.
Stay strong. Resist the urge.

“What can I get you?” the young bartender asks and I realize, after a long silent moment, Reese is waiting for my order, staring at me with an amused grin.

“Oh, umm, jack and coke please.”

Handsome next to me raises his eyebrows at my drink selection. “No girly drink for you?”

I shake my head and brush my hair behind my ear. I’ve never been the type of girl who orders martinis and fruity drinks that cost eight dollars apiece.

“I’ll have the same.” His fingers strum the counter as I try not to stare at his profile, which is an extremely difficult task. The man is too beautiful
not
to stare at. I’m handed my drink and immediately take a large sip. “So, I don’t think I’ve ever met a woman named Dylan before. And I
definitely
don’t think I’ve ever had a Dylan fall into my lap.” His lips touch his glass and I stare a bit longer than I mean to as the liquid slips into his mouth.
And I am now suddenly jealous of his beverage.

I shift on my feet, flicking my stare back up to his eyes. “Oh, um, my parents were a bit obsessed with the singer. They had picked the name Dylan before finding out the sex and decided that no matter what, that was going to be the name. So, here I am.”

He smiles. “Yes, here you are. Do you like any of his music?”

I think for a moment before replying. “I like that American Girl song.”

Smiling slightly, he leans against the bar, his tall frame towering over mine and the bartender’s. “That’s Tom Petty,” he corrects me, his lips curling up in amusement.

“Oh, then I have no idea if I like any of his songs or not.” I wrap my lips around the tiny straw and his jaw tightens, a small twitch appearing at the sharp angle of it. He clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair, making it even more of a perfect mess.
God, even his hair is sexy.

“So, bride or groom?” I ask, watching his confusion turn into realization.

He smiles behind his glass. “Bride, sort of. I don’t really know Sara, but I’ve worked with her father. He invited the four of us.” His hand motions toward Ian and Trent who are sitting together at their table. I shake my head as I realize Billy and Joey are already missing.
Predictable Joey. We’ve been here for a whole five minutes.
“You?”

I roll my eyes. “Groom, unfortunately.”

He steps closer, brushing his suit jacket against my bare arm and tilting his head down toward me. “Really? Why, sweet Dylan, does it sound like you
really
know the groom?”

Sweet Dylan?
Oh, my.
I glance up into his eyes. “Because I
really
know the groom. He’s my ex.”

His eyes widen and he leans back. “Seriously?”

I nod. “Cheating ex to be specific.”

“Fuck. That sucks. I mean, isn’t this awkward for you? Why are you even here?”

I laugh slightly and point through the crowd toward the dessert table with my free hand. “Do you see that beautiful, five tier, deliciously constructed, wedding cake?” He nods and searches my face. “I made that. That’s why I’m here.”

“No shit? So, you’re a baker?”

I proudly smile as the DJ softens the music.

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, I ask everyone to direct their attention to the front entrance. The party has arrived!” The crowd cheers and whistles as each bridesmaid and paired groomsmen line up at the door. I feel a pair of lips brush against my ear and freeze, my pulse instantly racing.

“You interested in watching this?” His face is dangerously close to mine and I almost stumble at his scent, which is now filling my lungs. He smells like citrus and I have a sudden urge to bury my face into his neck and inhale him deeply.

“Not really,” I softly reply, glancing up into his green stare. Nodding once, he grips my elbow and pulls me through the crowd, stopping in front of the dessert table.

“So, what do we have here?” He tilts his glass and takes a sip as we both admire my work. I smile and beam at my creation. It really does look fabulous.

“Well, the cake itself is an orange sponge cake with Grand Marnier whipped cream and marmalade filling,” I gesture toward the peach colored pearls and calla lilies cascading down the side, “and the little dots and lilies are made of sugar so it’s all edible.”