Chapter One

Mae Wallace loved weddings, which was fortunate since she was in the wedding business. She loved the flowers and the twinkling lights and the smiling faces of the wedding party, the way the groom teared up when the bride walked down the aisle, the way they clasped hands so tightly she just knew they were clutching each other at the altar out of sheer nervousness. It was adorable.

And receptions were the best. The food, the cake, the music and the dancing. And, oh, the men. This wedding in particular was blessed with a plethora of fine-looking men. Mae loved men. All men. All shapes and sizes and colors and all their vivid personalities. And by loved, she meant enjoyed, not love in the heart kind of way.

Because while men were fun and all, she didn’t want to keep any of them. She was more of the catch-and-release type of woman. Date them once, have sex with one every now and then when the urge struck, then let them go. Because she’d caught one once, had almost married him, in fact. Until she discovered he was a serial cheater. Heart broken, end of love story. At least she’d found out before the wedding.

She was grateful, really, because it had taught her a valuable lesson.

Men couldn’t be trusted. Sure, they were hot and great in the sack and fun to talk to and go out with. They were good for entertainment purposes. But marry them? Not on her life. After that colossal mistake she’d almost made with Isaac, she vowed to never fall in love again.

“Isn’t this one of our wildest weddings ever?”

Mae looked over at Honor Bellini Stone, her friend and coworker, and smiled. “Everyone seems to be having a very good time.”

Honor was the youngest of the three Bellini sisters. The sisters and their parents owned and operated both Red Moss Vineyards, where the weddings were conducted, and Bellini Weddings, which Mae was lucky to be part of.

Honor slipped her hand through Mae’s arm. “And to think, after this wedding, the film crew arrives.”

Mae wrinkled her nose. “Right. I hope they don’t trample over everything that’s beautiful about this place.”

“I think we’ve made it very clear that they need to step cautiously around the vineyards and our wedding business.”

“Let’s hope so.”

They walked outside the barn, where the reception was still going strong despite the late hour. Honor led Mae to the main house, where Honor’s parents lived.

“Are you sure we should disappear like this?” Mae asked.

Honor shrugged. “Erin and Brenna have got it. And my feet hurt. I need five minutes with my shoes off.”

Mae laughed and followed along. They stepped through the back door and Honor pulled out a pitcher of lemonade, pouring two glasses for them. They took seats on the back porch and Honor slipped her heels off, groaning at the same time.

Mae sipped the lemonade, enjoying its tart sweetness. “You know, you could wear flats.”

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“I could, couldn’t I? Normally my feet are fine but this wedding has had me running.”

“It’s a wild one, for sure. I’m pretty sure all the groomsmen are drunk.”

Honor smirked. “They were drunk before the ceremony. I’m surprised the bride hasn’t kicked the groom’s ass from here to Texas by now.”

“She’s saving face. I don’t envy that guy once the bride gets him alone later.”

“Same.” Honor wiggled her toes. “I guess it’s time to get back there.”

“Yes, before your sisters kick both our asses from here to Texas.”

Honor laughed. “You’re right about that.”

They went back to the wedding party, which in no way was winding down. At least they were getting their money’s worth, which Mae couldn’t blame them for. Erin had charged the couple a premium for extra guests and longer reception time and they hadn’t even balked. Mae was glad that they’d hired more than the usual amount of help, not only for wrangling the guests and serving but also for cleanup, because right now the barn looked more like the aftereffects of a major frat party than a wedding reception.

She wandered around, checking on the staff to be sure they didn’t need any assistance. She also kept her eye on the guests because a free-for-all with a lot of inebriated people could get out of hand in a hurry.

“Anything going on?” Erin asked as they ran into each other.

“Nothing but a lot of heavy drinkers. Everyone’s partying hard, but so far it’s under control.”

Erin wrinkled her nose. “I’ll be glad when this one’s over.”

“You and me both.”

They parted and Mae continued her sentry duties. She’d noticed a guy walking around. How could she not notice him. Extremely tall, well built, wearing a cowboy hat worn low on his face. As she wandered, she kept her eye on him, noting that he didn’t interact with anyone, instead just wandered alone, a beer in his hand.

They’d had wedding party crashers before, people thinking they could slide in unnoticed, grab some free food and drink and slide on out. Big events like this one were popular with the interlopers, but they’d all learned to recognize the ones who didn’t belong, because at weddings, you interacted with your friends and family members.

This guy? Mae would bet he didn’t know a single person here. She intended to find out about him right now.

If there was one thing Kane August had learned to do from an early age, it was to blend in without being noticed. And being an actor, and a fairly recognizable one? That not-being-noticed thing sure came in handy.

He’d gotten here to Red Moss Vineyards early, wanting to get a feel for the layout without people fawning all over him. Since he’d be filming here for a couple of months, he wanted to see how the staff operated, how they interacted with regular people. And, fortunately, this being Oklahoma and all, him sliding in wearing a cowboy hat that shielded his face came in handy. He’d shown up late to the reception and been able to blend right in without anyone recognizing him.

His agent had already given him the lay of the land as far as who was who. Brenna and her father, Johnny, ran Red Moss Vineyards; Erin was all about the business end; and Honor Bellini was the main wedding coordinator, assisted by Mae Wallace, who wasn’t a member of the family. He’d asked around while grabbing a beer and both Erin and Mae had been pointed out to him, so he knew who to avoid and who to keep an eye on. So far, so good.

“Has anyone ever told you that you look an awful lot like Kane August?”

He cringed and turned around to see one of the bridesmaids, a pretty blonde who appeared to be extremely drunk.

He smiled and pulled out the Texas drawl he’d worked hard to lose when he’d started acting. “I get that a lot. I wish I was him. Then I’d have all his money.”

She snorted, weaving unsteadily on her heels. “Yeah, I wish you were him, too, honey. But you’re still hot as hell. Wanna dance?”

“Oh, thanks, but I’m here with my . . . wife.”

“Too bad.” She wandered off unsteadily and Kane relaxed.

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“Are you friends with the bride or the groom?”

Damn. He’d gone this far without having to talk to anyone. He turned around and . . .

Crap. Mae Wallace. He offered up his most charming smile, hoping to keep his face partially hidden. “Groom. Steve and I went to college together.” At least he’d remembered to read the names of the bride and groom on his way inside.

She eyed him suspiciously. “Really. And what college is that, exactly?”

“Uh, University of Oklahoma.”

“Wrong. Steve and Evie met at Oklahoma State University.” She reached up to tip his hat back and that was when he knew she’d recognize him. She blinked, but then shook her head. “Nice try, but you’re done here, bud. You’ll have to crash a different wedding.”

“I was not—”

She gave him a critical gaze, and he had to admit that even frowning and irritated, she was beautiful, with brown curly hair, chocolate-brown eyes and the kind of curves that always set his pulse racing. And instead of squealing in excitement about who he was, she motioned for two burly-looking guys standing at the entrance to the barn.

Kane didn’t know whether to be pleased or pissed. But rather than worrying about his bruised ego, he was focused on being thrashed by the two bodybuilders headed his way. He raised his hands. “Tossing me isn’t necessary. I’m on my way out.”

“Oh, we’ll make sure you make it all the way out, won’t we, guys?”

“You bet we will,” one of the well-muscled guys said.

He turned and made a fast exit, getting into his rental at the far corner of the parking area and driving off.

So Mae had no idea who he was. That kind of thing rarely happened to him these days. Kind of refreshing, actually.

This shoot should be a lot of fun.