Just In Time: An Alaskan Nights Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

can’t deny he’s completely hot and adorable.”
    Avery refused to look across the room, well-aware of the googly-eyed stare from their town bartender she’d get in return. “Of course not. And he needs someone who is completely hot, adorable and age appropriate for him.”
    “Your loss.”
    “No, someone else’s gain.”
    “You’re no fun.”
    “I’m plenty of fun. I’m just not cheap and easy. There is a difference.”
    Unwilling to discuss it any longer, Avery waved a hand to the room at large. “You really don’t want this sort of thing for your wedding?”
    “Nope. This isn’t me.” Grier took a sip of her new soda before moving them toward a small table at the edge of the room. “I really would have been happy with Vegas, but I know Mick wants to get married in front of his family.”
    They both took seats, and Avery didn’t miss the dreamy look that suffused Grier’s face. “And funny enough, once I heard him talk about standing up in front of his grandmother in church, I realized I like what he sees in his head. I like the idea of something small and personal, but still public. And I like the idea of doing it in my new hometown.”
    Avery knew Grier had had a rough go of it at first. Indigo’s residents were less than enthusiastic about her arrival the previous November. How glad she was that everyone had come around and seen exactly what she’d seen.
    A bright, warm woman with love to give and an easy way about her that invited people in.
    Even if she’d suddenly turned into the love police, bound and determined to make everyone around her as happy as she was.
    Mick, spotted them and crossed the room. “Mind if I join you?”
    “Of course not.” Avery gestured to one of the open chairs. “We were just talking about you, as a matter of fact.”
    “Should I be scared? Or blushing?” he added as an afterthought.
    “Neither. Grier just mentioned what an inspired idea you had to get married in a quiet, intimate ceremony here in town.”
    Mick laid his hand over Grier’s. The gesture was small, but the intimacy struck Avery as incredibly sweet.
    His blue eyes darkened as he looked at Grier. “The guys think I’m nuts to skip Vegas.”
    Avery took a sip of her soda. “Well, I think it’s romantic.”
    “I believe that’s their underlying point. I seem to be ruining an opportunity to live every man’s dream wedding and instead, feeding the female wedding beast.”
    A quick glance across the room to where Walker and Sloan danced in each other’s arms had her smiling. “I hardly think Walker’s complaining.”
    Mick’s gaze followed hers. “I don’t think so.”
    Strains of Etta James streamed from the speakers as Avery pointed toward the floor. “You two should go dance. This is a good one.”
    Grier took another sip of her soda. “We’re talking.”
    “Well you should be dancing.” Avery waved toward the dance floor. “Go on.” Within moments, the two were in each other’s arms, moving to the thick, sensual strains of the music.
    The fleeting thought that she should be jealous hummed somewhere in the back of her mind, but no matter how many ways she looked at it, she couldn’t muster up the emotion.
    Would she like to have a relationship, too? Yes, no doubt. Would she begrudge her friends for having it?
    No way.
    “Care to dance?”
    The deep voice pulled her up short, along with the realization she’d stopped paying attention to her immediate surroundings.
    “Um, I can’t.”
    Roman looked down at her, his half-quirked smile rapidly fading as he pulled his hand back. “Since when don’t you like Etta James?”
    “I love Etta. We just don’t need to put ourselves on display by dancing like this. And especially not to a song with a title as full of innuendo as ‘At Last.’”
    “Right. Because all these people need a specific, innuendo-fueled reason to stare at us?” Roman took Mick’s recently vacated chair. “Ignore them.”
    “You’ve had a lot of