Nick Of Time (Blue Ridge Romance 2) by Allison B. Hanson Page B

cake wasted.” They laughed together, and for a second their gazes locked, her blue-green eyes drawing him in.
    Then the DJ interrupted with a call out to “all the single ladies.”
    “Oh, God. Hide me,” she requested. But it was too late. Riley was already waving her out to stand beside her.
    Tucker chuckled at her expression as she walked out onto the dance floor. Apparently, she had the custom of catching the bouquet confused with a lethal injection.
    “I’m so hitting that tonight,” a voice said from behind him.
    He turned to see his older cousin, Richie, looking at Nichole possessively.
    “Go for it, Nicki!” he called. She sent back a glare in his direction. No one called her Nicki. She hated it. He’d never known why until today, but he had only ever done it once.
    Because Riley was standing right next to Nichole, and Roslyn was obviously aiming for her sister, the bouquet flew through the air in their direction.
    He watched as Nichole stood there like a statue, with her arms loosely crossed in front of her. The bundle of flowers sailed through the air, hitting her square in her ample chest, and then rolled down her bosom into her crossed arms.
    She had made no move whatsoever to catch the bouquet, but there it was, in her arms nonetheless. Tucker couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on her shocked face.
    “I’ll be happy to catch the garter and put it on her,” Richie said to the guy next to him. “Then take it off again in her room.”
    Well, that couldn’t happen. Which meant Tucker would need to catch the garter.
    Richie had always been a bully, despite his scrawny size. Tucker wasn’t usually one for paybacks, but if this asshole was planning on touching Nic, he was going to need to stop him.
    He strolled up to the dance floor, giving Nichole a wink.
    “Nice catch,” he said, earning an eye roll.
    He tried to catch Cooper’s attention so he could convey his need for the garter, but Cooper was otherwise occupied with removing the garter from his wife’s thigh.
    Tucker had no choice but to be understanding, despite his frustration. He chose a strategic spot in the middle of the herd and waited for the snap.
    It went left and Tucker had to make a leap over the minister, ramming into Richie for the steal. They fell to the floor in a heap, but Tucker stood with the satin-covered elastic in victory.
    “Damn it, Tuck!” Richie complained as Tucker spun the garter smugly on his index finger. He threw Nichole a wink, and she seemed somewhat relieved.
    The guests cheered and laughed as Nichole was seated in front of him.
    “Don’t do anything embarrassing,” she pleaded with him.
    “Will you give me the opportunity to remove this later?” he asked, looking up at her through his lashes as he guided the elastic over her sexy black pump.
    “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Tucker.” She had the fake smile on her face for the guests.
    He moved the garter up farther, letting his fingertips glide over her thigh-high stockings. His hands were under her skirt and he could feel the edge of where the nylon stopped and her hot skin began.
    “God, Nichole.” He sighed, looking right into her eyes before he slid his hands out from under her skirt. The crowd cheered, but he could barely hear over the sound of his heartbeat, thudding in his ears.
    He was screwed.
    She sat there looking at him, rather stunned.
    He hadn’t done anything but slip a frilly piece of elastic over her thigh, and yet it had felt so intimate. Even with two hundred people in attendance.
    Her face flushed hot as she gathered her composure.
    Tucker was still kneeling in front of her as the music changed from “The Stripper” by David Rose to classical background music. There was no way he could get up yet.
    “You were right,” Tucker said, still kneeling in front of her.
    “About . . . ?”
    “I should have worn underwear. I’m hard as a hickory log.”
    “Oh, for God’s sake, Tucker. A log ? It’s not a log.”