Blissed Out (Chelsea & Max's Wedding) Read Online Free Page A

surge of desire pools there.
    “Well that’s cause for real congratulations now, isn’t it? First round’s on the house then, alright? I’m Ashley and I’ll take super good care of ya’ll.” She takes our drink orders, scribbling them down on her little notepad and then beams at me. “I just love a good love story,” she says and then heads back to the bar, her hips swaying in the teeniest pair of shorts I’ve ever seen.
    “I think that was the classiest deflection I’ve ever seen,” Maya says to Dakota. “So smooth.”
    “When you’ve got a husband as sexy as I do, you get used to fending off the women.” Dakota slaps my hand. “Just wait, you’ll see. You’ll have to come up with your own way to let the ladies know your man is taken.”
    Out of nowhere, silence descends on Fantastic Sam’s. Surprised by the sudden change of atmosphere, we all look up in time to see a roundish man waddle onto the stage. Sweat drips from his ruddy face, but the guy has a smile you can’t help but like. The crowd cheers and claps and he holds up a hand and shakes his head.
    “You all know I’m not the one who gets the applause,” he says in a nasally twang. “I just own the place.” He grins, pleased with himself, and the crowd chuckles. “Ya’ll ready for some music?”
    The place goes crazy with a thunderous noise. Each and every customer here slapping their hands on the tables and stomping their feet into the floor. Dakota makes a face at me and joins in and before I know it, our whole table is slapping and stomping with the best of them
    “I’m betting this man needs no introduction, but I have to introduce him anyway. Ladies … gentlemen…” The man, I assume he’s Sam, scans the crowd and waggles his head like he’s coming to a decision. “And since no one deserving to be called those things is here tonight, I’ll just say, hey! You guys! It’s time to welcome Cole Bennett to the stage!”
    The bar erupts in laughter and more slapping and stomping as a tall young man takes the stage, a guitar slung over his shoulder. He’s as tan as he is blonde and has the strong arms and weathered skin of a man who spends a lot of time outside, working hard. He grins and there’s something in his eyes that reminds me of Max. He takes a seat without saying a word and picks a few chords on the guitar before starting into a song that has his fingers flying over the fretboard.
    His voice is as weathered as his face and just as beautiful, lending a layer of depth and emotion to the song that I wasn’t prepared to find in a little bar like this. The patrons of Fantastic Sam’s are rapt, tapping their feet and smiling despite themselves. A few people get up to dance. I consider asking Max if he wants to join them, but dancing to something this fast and upbeat in a skirt this short while not wearing any panties seems like a bad idea. The last thing I want to be remembered for here in Bliss is as that one girl who flashed an entire bar.
    Ashley returns, a laden tray balanced on her shoulder. “He’s good, isn’t he,” she says with pride in her voice as she serves us. “That’s his wife over there. And his mom. They come every time he plays.” She points to an elegant blonde woman—her hands resting on a very pregnant belly—and an older woman sitting next to her. Each of them stare up at the man onstage, utterly rapt and pleased as could be.
    “It’s sweet, isn’t it?” asks Ashley. “Like I said, I just have a thing for a good love story.”
    We drink and talk, our conversation mostly focusing on how Dominic met Dakota and how I met Max and how we fell in love. Maya listens but doesn’t contribute much and I recognize the patented, fake London smile that stretches her face but doesn’t reach her eyes. The one we all use when we don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings and we sure don’t want anyone to see our own feelings have been hurt. As far as I know, she isn’t seeing anyone and hasn’t seen