"Where is Landon?" I ask Hardin when we take our seats.

"I don't know." He answers and takes a bite of a croissant.

"You said he was looking for me?"

" He was but I don't know where he is now."

"Hardin, you shouldn't talk with your mouth full." His grandmother appears behind him.

I notice him take a deep breath before he turns to her.

"Sorry." He mumbles.

"I wanted to see you before I go, god knows when I will see you again. Can you save a dance for your gammy?" She asks and he shakes his head.

"Why not?" She asks him with a smile.

There is a tension between them that I can't quite put my finger on.

"I am on my way to get Tessa a drink." He lies and leaves the table.

"Well, he's something isn't he?" She laughs uncomfortably.

I am not sure what to say, my first instinct is to defend him but it seems she is joking.

"Is he still drinking?" She turns to me.

"What? No." I stutter, completely caught off guard.

"He only drinks every once in a while." I clarify as I see him walking towards us with two flukes full of pink liquid.

He hands me one and I smile and lift it to my lips. It smells sweet when I tip the glass back to take a drink and the bubbles spritz lightly, tickling my nose. It tastes just as sweet as it smells.

"Champagne." He informs me and I thank him.

"Tessa!" Karen says and wraps her arms around me. She has changed out of her wedding dress and into a white knee length wrap dress.

"I am so thrilled that you two came! How was it?" She asks. Karen is the only person who would ask how her own wedding was, she is too kind.

"It was so lovely, it was beautiful." I smile.

Hardin puts his hand on the small of my back and I lean into him. I can sense how uncomfortable he is between his grandmother and Karen, and now Ken is making his way over to us.

"Thank you for coming." Ken says to Hardin and holds out his hand to shake.

Hardin obliges and quickly shakes his father's hand. I notice Ken lift his arm up to hug Hardin but he lowers it before following through. Ken's face is full of excitement and joy.

"Tessa, you look beautiful dear." Ken compliments and hugs me.

I can't help but feel a little awkward around him now that I have a deeper insight into who he was all those years ago.

"Are you enjoying yourselves?" He asks eagerly.

"Yea. It's a nice set up you've got out here." Hardin does his best to praise his father.

I put my hand on his back and rub small circles to ease him.

"I didn't know that you two were speaking." Adele speaks.

Ken rubs the back of his neck, a habit that I suspect Hardin got from him.

"Yea. Let's talk about this another time mother." Ken says and she nods in agreement.

I take another drink out of my glass and try not to dwell on the fact that I am drinking underage in front of adults.

A waiter in a black vest walks by with a tray of champagne, Ken grabs a glass and I cringe. He hands the glass to his new bride and I relax. I am glad to see that he isn't drinking.

"Want another?" Hardin asks me and I look at Karen.

"Go ahead, it's a wedding." She tells me and I smile.

"Sure." I tell Hardin and he gets me another glass.

"You don't like the champagne?" Karen asks Hardin.

"Oh yea, it's good but I already had a glass and I am driving." He tells her and she looks at him with adoration clear in her brown eyes.

"Do you have time to come by this week, I ordered some seeds for the greenhouse." Karen looks at me.

"Yes, of course. I am free anytime after four all week." I tell her.

The pleased yet astonished look on Adele's face is obvious as she looks back and forth between Karen and I.

"So how long have you two been seeing one another?" The elderly woman asks Hardin and I.

"A few months." Hardin tells her quietly.

Sometimes I forget that no one outside of our.. well Hardin's group of friends know that we despised one another up until two months ago.

"Oh, so no great grandchildren for me anytime soon?" She laughs and Hardin's face flushes.

"No, no. We've only just moved in together." Hardin says and Karen and I both spit champagne back into our glasses at the same time.

"You two moved in together?" Ken asks.

I had not expected Hardin to tell them today, I hadn't even been sure if he would tell them at all. I am shocked and a little embarrassed of my reaction but mostly pleased that he has no problem admitting it.

"Yea, we moved into Artisan a few days ago." He explains.

"Wow, Artisan that is a nice place and closer to Tessa's internship." Ken remarks.

"Yea." Hardin says clearly trying to measure how everyone feels about our bombshell.

"Well, I am very happy for you son. I never imagined you would be this happy and so.. at peace." He places his hand on his son's shoulder and I watch with a neutral expression.

"Thank you." Hardin says and actually smiles.

"Maybe we could come by sometime and see it?" Ken asks and Karen's eyes lower.

"Ken.." She warns. She is probably thinking of the thing time Ken pushed Hardin to far, so am I.

"Uh, yea I guess you could." Hardin says, surprising us all.

"Really?" Ken asks and Hardin nods.

"Okay, just let us know when is good for the two of you." He says his eyes slightly glossy.

Music begins to play through the tent and Karen grabs Ken's arm.

"That's our cue, thank you both so much for coming." Karen says and leans into hug me.

"You have done so much for this family, you have no idea." She whispers in my ear before pulling away.

"Time for the bride and groom's first dance!" A voice says through the speakers.

Adele walks away as well, following the crowd to watch the first dance.

"You just made their day." I tell Hardin and kiss his cheek.

"Let's go upstairs." He says.

"What?" My head is a little fuzzy from the two glasses of champagne I just finished.

"Upstairs." He repeats, sending that familiar electricity through me.

"Now?" I laugh.

"Now."

"But all these people.."

He doesn't respond, instead he takes my hand and leads me through the crowd and out of the tent. When we get inside the house, he grabs me another glass of champagne and I try not to let it spill as I rush up the stairs to keep up with him.

"Is something wrong?" I ask him as he shuts the bedroom door and locks it.

"I need you." He says darkly and pulls his jacket off. Oh.

"Are you okay though?" I ask, my heart is already beating out of my chest.

"Yes, I just need a distraction." He groans and steps towards me grabbing the glass and sitting it on the dresser. He takes another step, encircling my wrists in his hands and lifts them over my head.

I will gladly be his distraction from the overload of the everything downstairs, seeing his grandmother for the first time in years, his father getting remarried, agreeing to let them come to our apartment, that is a lot for Hardin in such a short period of time.

Instead of asking him any questions or pushing him further, I grab him by the collar of his shirt and push my hips out to meet his, he is already hard. He groans and lets go of my wrists, allowing me to comb my fingers through his hair. When his mouth moves over mine, his tongue is hot and sweet with the lingering taste of champagne on his tongue. Within seconds he is reaching into his pocket and pulling out a foil packet.

"We've got to get you on birth control so I can stop using these, I want to really be able to feel you." His voice is husky and he pulls my lower lip between his, sucking lightly and seductively. Making my body crave him even more.

I hear his pants unzip and he hisses as my hands reach down and tug his pants and boxers down to his knees. Hardin's hands go up the front of my dress and he hooks his long fingers around my panties and pulls them down, I clumsily step out of them using his arms to steady myself. He chuckles lightly before connecting his lips and my neck.  His hands squeeze my hips before he lifts me up, wrapping my legs around his waist.

My hands grip the top of my dress in an attempt to pull it down.

"No, leave it on." He pleas.

"This dress is so incredibly sexy.. it's so sexy yet white and virginal looking.. and fuck.. it's so hot. You're so beautiful." He says into my neck as he lifts me further then lowers me onto him. My back is against the smooth door and Hardin begins guiding me up and down. There is a fever and desperation in him that I have not seen at this level before, and I feel as though I am ice and he is fire. We are so completely different, yet the same.

"Is.. this..okay?" He stutters, his arms are wrapped around my back to keep my steady.

"Yes." I moan. The feeling of him taking me this way, against the door, with my legs around his waist is very intense but heavenly all the same.

"Kiss me." He begs.

I slide my tongue across his lips before his mouth parts allowing me access.  Tugging at his hair, I do my best to kiss him as he moves in and out of me at a faster pace. Our bodies are moving fast but our kiss remains slow and intimate.

"I can't get enough of you Tess, I..love you." He says into my mouth and I gasp and moan, that feeling growing in the pit of my stomach.

A few grunts escape his lips and I moan along with him, both of us reaching our climaxes.

"Let go baby." He instructs and I do. He leaves his lips pressed against mine, swallowing my moans as he tenses and spills into the condom. With a few heavy breaths his head falls onto my chest and he continues to hold me in place for a few seconds before lifting me then lowering me to stand on my own feet.

I tilt my head back against the door and catch my breath as he neatly puts the condom back into the wrapper and puts it into his pocket before pulling his pants back up.

"Remind me to throw that away as soon as we get downstairs." He laughs and I giggle.

"Thank you." He says and kisses my cheek. "Not for what we just did, but for everything."

"You don't need to thank me Hardin, you do as much for me as I do for you. Actually more."

"No way." He argues and takes my hand.

"Let's go back down before someone comes looking for us." He says.

"How do I look?" I ask, running my fingers through my hair and wipe under my eyes.

"Freshly fucked." He teases and I roll my eyes.

"You look beautiful."

"So do you." I tell him. He scrunches his nose as my compliment and puts his jacket back on before we join the party again.

Almost everyone in the tent is dancing by the time we arrive back at the tent and our absence has seemed to go unnoticed.

As we take our seats another song begins. I recognize it, "Never let me go" by Florence and the Machine.

"Do you want to dance?" I ask Hardin, even though I am sure I already know his answer.

"No, I don't dance." He says and I nod.

"Unless.. you want to?" He adds.

I am surprised by his offer and thrilled that he would dance with me as he holds his hand out for mine and leads me onto the tiled dance floor. We stay in the back, a good distance from the crowd.

"I don't have a clue what to do." He laughs.

"I'll show you." I assure him and place his hands on my hips.

He steps on my feet a few times but he catches on quickly. Never in a millions years would I have even entertained the thought that Hardin would be dancing at his father's wedding.

"Sort of a demented song to play at a wedding isn't it?" He laughs into my ear.

"Not really, it's sort of perfect." I say and lean my head on his chest.

I am aware that we aren't actually dancing as much as we are just swaying back and forth holding each other but that is fine with me. We stay that way for the next two songs as Hardin gives me some background on his grandmother. She still lives in England, he hasn't seen or spoken to him since she phoned him on his twelfth birthday. She took his father's side during the divorce and defended his drinking, essentially blaming Hardin's mother for everything which was enough for Hardin to not speak to her again. He seems very comfortable in sharing this information with me so I stay quiet, only nodding and humming to acknowledge his remarks. Hardin makes a few jokes about how annoying and whiny all the songs that are being played are and I laugh at him.

"You want to go back upstairs?" He jokes and lowers his hand on my back.

"Maybe." I smirk.

"I'll have to give you champagne more often." He laughs.

I  move his hands back up to my waist and he pouts which makes me laugh even more.

"I am actually having a pretty decent time." He admits.

"Me too. Thank you for coming with me."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." I know he doesn't mean the wedding but just with me in general. The thought sends warmth through me.

"May I cut in?" Ken asks as the next song begins.

Hardin frowns and looks at me then back to his father. "Yea, only one song." Hardin grumbles and Ken laughs.

"One song." He repeats his sons words and Hardin lets go of me. Ken's hand goes around my back and I swallow the uneasy feelings I hold for him.

Ken keeps the conversation light as we dance. My ill feeling towards him are muted as we laugh at an obviously drunk couple swaying back and forth next to us.

"Would you look at that?" Ken says, his voice full of wonder.

I turn to see what he is referring to and hear my own small gasp as I spot Hardin awkwardly swaying back and forth with Karen. She laughs as he steps on her white shoes and he smiles an embarrassed smile. Tonight has been better that I could have dreamed.

After the song ends, Hardin quickly finds his way back to me. Someone calls Ken's name and he nods. They say their goodbyes and thank us once again for coming to the wedding before disappearing into the crowd.

"You ready to go home?" Hardin asks me.

"Yea, my feet are killing me." This is the longest I have worn heels in my entire life and I am going to need a week to recover.

"Would you like me to carry you?" He mocks in a baby like voice.

"No." I giggle.

As we are leaving the tent Trevor walks by with Mr. Vance and Kimberly. Her smile is bright and she winks at me after looking Hardin up and down. I try to stifle my laugh and end up coughing.

"Did you save me a dance?" Mr. Vance teases Hardin.

"No, absolutely not." He laughs back at him.

"You're leaving so soon?" Trevor looks at me.

"We have been here for a while actually." Hardin answers for me and pulls me away from them.

"Nice to see you Vance." Hardin calls as we walk out of the tent.

"That was rude." I scold him when we get to his car.

"He was flirting with you, I am entitled to be as rude as I please."

"He wasn't flirting, he was just being nice."

"He wants you, I can tell. Don't be so naïve." He rolls his eyes.

"Just be nice to him, please from now on. I work with him and I don't want any problems." I say calmly. Tonight has been too good of a night to ruin over his jealousy.

"I could always just have Christian fire him." He says and I can't help but laugh at his cocky response.

"You're insane." I snort.

"Only when it comes to you." He says and pulls onto the street.