Read Save the Date for Free Online

from the slightly glazed eyes of the assembled company, it was evident that everybody had already had more than a sip of Knob Creek.
    “Hey Cara, how’s it goin’?” Ryan Finnerty was as calm and laid-back as his bride was overwrought. He was tall with a blocky build, with strawberry-blond hair and the Tom Sawyer freckles that went with hair that color, and a square jaw and an easy, gap-toothed grin. Ryan wasn’t classically handsome, but Cara had developed just the teensiest crush on him during all the pre-wedding planning. He was friendly, down-to-earth, impossible to dislike. She wondered if he knew what, exactly, he was getting into with a high-maintenance girl like Torie.
    “Goin’ good, Ryan,” Cara said. She handed the boutonnieres around to all the groomsmen.
    “How’s Torie?” Ryan stubbed out his cigar and began fastening the flower to the lapel of his jacket.
    “Fine,” she lied. “Excited that the big day is finally here. How are things going in here? Everybody present and accounted for?”
    “We’re good,” Ryan drawled. “But we’re waiting on my lame-ass best man to show up.”
    “Oh?” Cara tried not to sound alarmed. But it was getting close to showtime. “Has anybody heard from him this morning?”
    The door to the vestry opened and a dark-haired man in jeans and a T-shirt strolled in.
    “About damn time, Jack,” one of the other groomsmen muttered.
    “Aw, chill out,” the newcomer said. “We got plenty of time.”
    Cara gasped. “You!”
    He turned and his expression darkened. “You! Did you follow me out here?”
    Ryan looked from Cara to the latest arrival. “You two know each other?”
    “She’s been stalking me all afternoon,” Jack said, shaking his head.
    “He stole my dog,” Cara countered. “He’s a dognapper.”
    “Ignore her,” Jack said, pulling his T-shirt over his head. “She’s clearly deranged.”
    “Dude,” Ryan said. “You’re late.”
    “Yeah, sorry about that,” Jack said, looking around the cramped room. He pointed to a garment bag hanging from the back of the door. “Is that mine?”
    “Hell yeah,” Ryan said, glancing at his watch. “And you better get into it too. You guys are going to start hauling people down the aisle pretty soon. You’re getting Mom and Grandma, right?”
    “Taken care of,” Jack said. He had kicked off his Topsiders and was pushing his arms through the sleeves of the starched white shirt.
    The door opened again and the wedding planner coughed and waved aside the smoke. “Um, gentlemen, we’ve got guests arriving.”
    Ryan waved them out of the room. “Come on, guys. Get going. We don’t need any hitches today. You know how Torie gets.”
    Cara saw two of the groomsmen roll their eyes, and she grinned despite herself.
    If you only knew.
    As the men filed past her, she checked and adjusted their ties and boutonnieres. Then she turned to the best man. He was tall and rangy, with the weather-beaten look of a man who spent a lot of time outdoors. His hazel eyes had flecks of gold beneath thick brows, which at this moment were drawn into an uncompromising frown.
    “You mind?” he said pointedly, fastening the studs on his tux shirt. “I’m trying to get dressed here.”
    “And I’m trying to get my dog back,” Cara said. “I’m not leaving this room until you agree to hand over Poppy.”
    “Suit yourself,” he said. He unzipped his jeans and nimbly stepped out of them.
    Cara blushed and looked away quickly, but the impression was made and it caused an involuntary fluttering in her chest. The starched shirttails hung just low enough to reveal an inch or two of black briefs and tanned, well-muscled thighs. This dognapper was a very, um, well-proportioned man.
    “See anything you like?” Jack asked. He turned and reached for his pants, and Cara’s face grew hotter as she appreciated the back view almost as much as the front. She mentally chastised herself. Stop leering at this man. He has your dog!
    He