One Night with Prince Charming (Aristocratic Grooms #2)(21)
Author: Anna DePalo

After leaving the valet, Hawk sauntered alone toward the other guests mingling on the grassy outdoor space where the ceremony was to take place, surrounded by the Botanical Garden’s rich greenery. The bridal arch and bedecked chairs, arranged by the florist, stood at the ready.

He made idle chitchat with some fellow guests, but within twenty minutes, everyone was seated and the ceremony started.

The bride looked pretty and the groom beamed, but Hawk only had eyes for Pia, standing discreetly to one side, within a few feet of the seat he’d chosen for himself in one of the back rows.

Suddenly catching Pia’s eye, he motioned for her to take the empty seat next to him.

She hesitated for a moment, but then slipped into the white folding chair next to him.

Hawk smiled to himself. But as he stared ahead, watching the bride and groom, more weighty thoughts eventually intruded.

He’d chosen long ago to attend this wedding alone. Victoria and her groom, Timothy, were longtime friends of his, and he’d found that for this occasion at least, he wanted to be free of expectations. At his age, society and the press were apt to view any date of his as a potential duchess.

Hawk reflected that Victoria and Timothy were going through a rite of passage that would soon be expected of him. Tim was an Old Etonian, like him, and Victoria was a baron’s daughter who had attended all the right schools and now had a socially acceptable job as the assistant to an up-and-coming British designer.

Victoria, in fact, had precisely the pedigree and background that would be expected for the bride of a duke. She was the sort of woman of whom his mother would approve.

Hawk’s mind went to his mother’s attempt at matchmaking with Michelene Ward-Fombley in particular, but he pushed the thought aside.

He stole a look at Pia next to him. Her business had trained her in the etiquette of the elite, but that couldn’t change her background or give her connections that she didn’t possess. With the crowd here today, she’d always be the bridal consultant, never the bride.

At that moment, Pia’s lips parted as she looked to the front, and her expression became rather emotional.

Pia cried at weddings.

The thought flashed through Hawk’s mind like a news bulletin and was closely followed by the realization that Pia was doing what she loved to do. Weddings, he realized, were more than a job to her.

He’d meant to make things up to her, in a way, by arranging for her to coordinate this wedding and Lucy’s. But he’d also, in the process, tested the limits of their relationship because he enjoyed teasing her.

It had been too tempting to spar with her and watch her eyes flash. He admitted to himself that any reaction from Pia was better than having her treat him with indifference. And her kiss…it was hard to imagine a better reaction than that.

But the last thing he wanted to do was to hurt Pia again, he reminded himself. A relationship wouldn’t be possible for them, and he shouldn’t tease either of them with kisses that couldn’t lead to anything more. She deserved to be able to get on with her life, and so did he.

A dog started barking, recalling him from his thoughts.

Beside him, Pia sat up straighter.

Hawk had noted before that the only surprising touch to the ceremony was the bride’s King Charles Spaniel, who’d been dressed with an ivory collar and bow and had been led down the aisle by an attendant.

Now, he spotted the dog up front near the bridal arch, playing with—or rather, tearing at—a flower arrangement on the ground.

“Not the dog, please,” Pia said under her breath. “We haven’t even taken photos with the bridal bouquet yet.”

Hawk glanced at her. At the beginning of the ceremony, he’d seen the bride place her flowers on a small pedestal. The pooch-cum-bridal attendant had somehow gotten hold of them.

Hawk couldn’t remember the name of Victoria’s canine. Finola? Feefee? In any case, Trouble seemed appropriate at the moment.

He watched as the bride knelt down, and then her dog sprinted away, bouquet in mouth.

So much for asking if anyone had any objections to this marriage…

“I have to do something,” Pia muttered as she started to rise.

Hawk wasn’t sure if Pia was talking to herself or to him, and if it mattered. He rose, too, and laid a staying hand on Pia’s wrist. “Forget it. In those heels, you’ll never catch—”

“Finola.”

“Full of trouble.”

Hawk moved forward as the dog eluded a well-intentioned guest.

The wedding had truly been disrupted now. Everyone had turned to watch the wily four-legged perpetrator of chaos.

The dog headed toward the back of the gathering, as if sensing that with another few passes, she’d be home free, dashing away from the assembled guests.

Hawk shoved back his chair as he moved into the aisle. He knew he had one shot at catching Victoria’s renegade pooch.

He tensed and then dove forward as the furry and furious fuzzball tried to whiz by.

In mid-lunge, he heard gasps, and someone called out a bit of encouragement. And in the next moment, he’d caught the excited Finola with his outstretched arms before landing hard on the ground.

The dog relinquished the bouquet as she was tackled and started yapping again.

A few guests began clapping, and a man called out, “Well done.”

Hawk held on firmly to the squirming animal as he straightened and then stood upright. He held Finola away from him.

Victoria rushed forward. “Here, Finola.”

Pia snatched the battered bouquet, her expression one of disbelief mixed with dismay.

Hawk watched her, and then murmured, “Just remember, bad luck comes in threes.”

She looked up at him, eyes wide. “Please tell me this is number three.”

Before he could reassure Pia, Victoria reached to take Finola from him and then snuggled the dog close.

The bride started to laugh and some of the guests joined in. Others broke out into smiles.

Hawk watched Pia relax and smile herself. He could practically read her mind. If the bride and everyone else could see the humor in the situation, then everything was going to be okay.

“Who’s been the naughty pooch, hmm?” Victoria said.

Hawk resisted rolling his eyes. Perhaps he did have a preference for women who owned cats rather than dogs.

With a wave of the arm, he acknowledged the scattered praise from the wedding guests and righted his fallen chair.

Victoria looked at him. “Thank you so much, Hawk. You saved the day.”

Hawk glanced at Pia, a smile pulling at his lips. “Not at all. I’m glad I was able to be of service.”