Irresistible Bachelors: Books 1-5 by Landish, Lauren (bts books to read TXT) 📕

look good. Aunt Rita, Layla, Roxy, and Grandma are all together with us, sitting around the room, and all of us are amazed at Mom as she comes out.

“Beautiful is right,” Rita says, putting a hand on her chest. “I can't wait to walk you down the aisle tomorrow.”

Grandma cackles lightly. “Yeah, my baby is beautiful, but my word, Mary Jo, your butt looks like it grew three sizes.”

Leave it to Grandma to work in a wisecrack. Mom waves it off, knowing it’s the design of the dress itself, and of course, Roxy puts her own two cents in.

“Yeah, Mom. You got so much booty in that dress you’re gonna be making John holler tonight,” Roxy adds, thinking she’s funny. It’s definitely not something I want to think about, and I doubt I’m alone. Roxy looks cute though in her white knee-length Valentino dress, flirty but still sexy at the same time. It hugs her upper body before flaring itself at her waist but doesn’t go full party dress mode and keeps the poof under control. It’s perfect for her.

“Oh he’ll be hollering all right,” I say with a grin, “hollering for her to shut up about where they’re going for the honeymoon. You thought about where you’re going yet?”

“Probably Hedonism, where they can get their freak on right there on the beach,” Roxy says before Mom can answer. It’s been one of the only secrets left . . . where they’re actually going on their honeymoon.

“Oh, stop it,” Mom says, laughing. “You two are such a riot. I love you both.”

Roxy and I go over to Mom, the three of us doing a group hug, and I can’t help but tear up a little at it. “We love you too, Mom.”

We walk out of the dressing room for rehearsals after Mom lectures all of us about what she wants. I can tell Grandma wants to tell her to shut up a few times, but we all just listen, knowing it’s her show. It’s crowded in the chapel near the reception hall, with staff going around everywhere. There are family members I haven’t seen in ages, and I know that tomorrow’s going to be all playing catch-up with them. Some of them, like my cousin Jamie, I’m looking forward to. Others, not so much.

“Hey, check it out,” Roxy says, jostling my elbow. “Stud alert.”

My breath catches in my throat as I follow Roxy’s guiding hand. I see Oliver standing with the group of men, talking like he’s part of the family. He’s just come out of the dressing rooms, and the rest of the room fades away as I look at him.

He’s gorgeous dressed in his tux. It fits him in a way that makes him look debonair, relaxed, and powerfully seductive. More than ever, he looks like the devil in a tuxedo. My heart is doing back flips. He is so damn handsome. He sees me and blinks for a moment before giving me a smile and a nod.

“You’d better be careful,” Roxy jokes, nudging me again. “I think John’s niece is eyeing Oli.”

I look around, and Roxy’s right. She’s practically ogling him.

Bitch better stay away from my man, I say to myself.

Is he my man?

“Wow, you look so handsome,” I tell him as I come up. He grins and takes my hand, another thrill running through me at his touch.

“And you look beautiful yourself,” he says, delivering a soft kiss to my cheek. My chest gets fuzzy as emotions start running through my body, a mix of panic and arousal and confusion that makes me both smile and want to scream at the same time. He places a hand on my hip, and now desire’s added to the mix. When we first came here, it felt weird being on his arm. But now I wear that badge proudly, excited and happy to be here with him.

“I wish there weren’t so many people . . .” he says quietly, his voice dripping with need. I know he’s not trying to seduce me. He’s just being honest. But he’s making my blood boil, and I bite my lip. I want to melt into him, to find the nearest empty room and ignore the rest of the world. I want to turn the entire universe into a bedroom, a space where Oliver and I can indulge in each other’s bodies and maybe our hearts too. But not here right now. It’s too much, and we both know it.

“Later,” I promise him, hoping there is a later. I hope there’s more than a later, but that’s a foolish hope. “By the way, Mom wants us to sit in the front row during the ceremony.”

“She didn’t want you to walk her down?” Oliver asks, slightly surprised. “Why?”

I shake my head. “I told her to let Rita do it. Grandma was gonna do it but she was scared about falling in front of everyone. I didn’t want her to have to pick between me and Roxy. Besides, Rita and her . . . they’ve always been pretty close.”

“I see,” Oliver says, looking around as we reach the front of the chapel area. “This is pretty nice.”

I nod. “I’m loving it. It’s gonna be clear weather tomorrow too. So it’s going to be a gorgeous day.”

“Well, I know it’s only been a few days, but I’m glad. Mary Jo deserves as perfect a wedding as she can get.”

We sit down, taking in the whole chapel. “I bet this place looks a lot different in daylight.”

Oliver shifts around, pulling his arm around my shoulders as he gets a better view. “I think so. Those windows are going to look out on the ocean, and we’ll get a lot more open light. Not that it isn’t nice now, but tomorrow, it should look fantastic. The sort of place . . .”

Oliver goes quiet, turning back around, and I lean in. “What?”

“Nothing,” he says, giving me a nervous smile. “Just fantasy running away from me.”

Before I can push