As the rest of the men got out of the carts and came over, the wave of tingles intensified into a monsoon. Fairly attractive was a blatant lie.
There were six of them, all told, and it looked like a spread for GQ, except they all wore jeans—expensive, perfectly fitting jeans. They were old-money Southern royalty in every respect. Her cousin Lucas was among them, and where his sisters were blonde, his hair was dark, but he bore the same tan, the same twinkling eyes, and the same dimple, which, when combined with his crooked grin, made him dangerous. He saw her and grinned, winking boldly and shoving his hands into his pockets.
One of them was hanging back by the golf cart, leaning on it and surveying the group with a hint of amusement in the quirk of his perfect lips. Stonewashed jeans, pale green button-up open at the throat, sleeves rolled, dark, tousled hair, the ideal amount of scruff, and intense eyes that were indistinguishable in color from this distance… Mal knew full well she was openly gaping at him, and she didn’t care. Every breath felt like a hiccup in her chest, and she was afraid to blink.
The other three men came over to the group and might have been male models with their perfect features, perfect clothing, perfect bodies. One looked too much like Tom to be anything other than his brother, and the other two had something of an “aw, shucks” air about them that made any sentient, red-blooded female smile and sigh at the same time. Something about the group of men looked posed, but perfectly so. And the combination of all of them together made one feel somehow both insignificant and on fire.
“Ooh,” Taryn whispered in a guttural tone. “Pretty.”
Mal gave a breathy uh-huh of assent, then murmured, “You know the… the thing about unrealistic expectations in men? This is… this is exactly what they mean.”
Dan cleared his throat. “I’m feeling surprisingly insecure about my masculinity right now.”
“Me too,” Taryn echoed, starting to fan herself with a hand.
They gawked together for a long moment, and Mal felt a bit like a kid at Disney World for the first time and had no idea what to do next.
So, she did what came naturally to her.
She laughed.
And not delicately, of course. She snorted and wheezed and covered her mouth instantly, squeezing her eyes shut. Taryn ducked her head against Mal, giggling softly. Dan chuckled and put a hand on Mal’s shoulder.
“Easy, boss. Breathe…” he teased.
“It’s not real,” Mal gasped between laughs. “This is so not real.”
She opened her eyes again and tried to find calm, but it was impossible. How could she be serious when there was a display of eye candy that had to be the envy of the earth right in front of her? She wasn’t normally the giggly type, but something about this whole situation was downright hilarious.
“Mal, Mal,” Taryn tried, still giggling, “who are they?”
“That’s Tom, he’s the groom,” Mal said, indicating with her head. “And that’s my cousin Lucas. Jenna and Caroline’s little brother.”
Dan snorted. “Little brother? The guy is all perfect proportions–”
“I’d like a portion,” Taryn interrupted in a low voice.
Mal snickered and covered her mouth again. “That’s my cousin,” she reminded her.
Taryn gave her a sharp look. “Mal, you have got to invite me to a family reunion. I will pay you. A lot.”
“We’re already here, Taryn,” Dan pointed out wryly. “Need a drop cloth?”
“Among other things,” Taryn replied in the same low, breathy tones as she looked back at the men.
“Real people don’t look like that,” Mal said as she took in the entire group as a whole. Really, it was eerie how many beautiful people were standing in front of them. Lightning was going to strike them, or the earth would open up and swallow them whole or something. Things like this didn’t happen.
“Those are real people,” Dan quipped, his voice hitching as one of the girls tossed her hair, smiling brilliantly at one of the guys.
Mal felt herself sigh when Mr. Stonewashed Jeans looked at her and bit her lip to keep from making it audible.
“Really, really real.” Taryn sighed again.
Mal and Taryn burst out laughing and stifled it as quickly as they could, as some of the group finally looked at them in confusion, which only made them laugh more, and breathing was suddenly too hard. Mal gripped her assistants for balance, though it was hard to do with Taryn leaning on her for support, gasping and wheezing for air. Dan was the only one moderately composed, but even he had to clamp down on his lips hard.
“This is, without a doubt,” Mal managed, “the most bizarre thing I have ever done.”
“Best assistantship ever,” Taryn said as she stood upright, wiping her tears of mirth away. “Oh, man, sorry, boss. I just embarrassed all of us.”