Hayley notices too. “We can’t have everything.” She smirks with a shake of her head.
“Kitty!” Hayley’s mother spots me and hurries over, holding her arms out. “I’ve been meaning to catch you.”
“Oh look, something else that I absolutely have to handle right this very minute.” Hayley scurries away before her mom reaches us.
I barely manage not to roll my eyes.
I wish Kellen were here to see this. It’s exactly the sort of exit I tried describing to him when we first met.
The family matriarch possesses the blonde good looks that were passed to her children. Her husband is tall and dark while she’s the blue-eyed Nordic beauty. I can imagine Hayley looking like her thirty years from now.
Lucky girl.
Her smile is warm, wide as she takes me by the hands. “I just wanted to say how nice it is to have you with us. Hayley is always talking about how hard you work, and it’s great to see you relaxing and enjoying yourself. You are enjoying yourself, aren’t you?”
I’d have to be a straight-up idiot not to be enjoying myself, but that’s hardly the sort of thing I can say to somebody’s mom. “Absolutely. This is all incredible. I did need a break.”
She gets a very motherly look on her face, wagging a finger and everything. “I’ve heard you’ve been working though.”
“Well, between you and me, there’s so much inspiration here.”
When Kellen appears in the doorway, it’s like my eyes immediately follow his movement. He’s basically a magnet I can’t help but be drawn to.
And the man can rock a linen suit like nobody’s business. That helps.
Hayley’s mom chuckles softly. “Yes. Plenty of inspiration, I see.” Her laughter floats away with her as she continues around the room, performing her mother-of-the-bride duties.
So, what? Has everybody been talking about Kellen and me? I’m starting to feel conspicuous.
Especially since he finds me right away. I mean, I am standing near the bar. That could be why he makes his way over here so quickly.
Though that doesn’t account for the way he zeroes in on me while waiting his turn. “You look very nice,” he murmurs.
“Hayley forced me into this dress,” I confess.
It’s strapless and a little shorter than I would normally wear to a family-related function. Light and breezy, too, so a gust of wind might send it up over my face.
If it was long enough to reach my face anyway.
“I think she made the right move. It looks great on you. Then again, what do I know? I’m just a guy. You know we don’t know much about these things.”
The way he is looking at me tells a totally different story, the sort of story that makes me feel warm and fluttery all over. One thing this dress is no good at is hiding the goose bumps suddenly covering my arms and legs.
“Hey, Briggs.” Sarah and one of her friends whose name I can’t remember—the other one who was pestering Brandon on the bus—approach him from both sides. “You’ll save a dance for us tomorrow, right?”
It takes effort to keep my expression neutral, I’ll admit, but I think I do a pretty good job of it. I don’t believe any innocent passerby would know just how much I would love to claw this girl’s eyes from her face, for instance.
“I don’t know.” He shrugs, chuckling. “I’m not such a great dancer.”
“Oh, come on!” She flutters her eyelashes and grabs his arm. “I remember that night in the city. When we all met up at the club. Did you forget all about it already? It wasn’t even two months ago.”
Yes, she needs to be clawed. Like, severely.
Kellen’s gaze darts over to me for the briefest second, not even the length of a heartbeat, before he looks at her again. “Honestly, I did forget all about that. I think I was pretty wasted that night. I promised Zack I would take it easy this week, for his sake, in case he needs anything.” He pats her hand and loosens his arm from her grip before stepping up to place his drink order.
Leaving Sarah and me face-to-face.
As usual, I included a little bit of myself in my current heroine. Not only the fact that she didn’t know she was afraid of heights until she was smack dab in the middle of a situation involving them, but also the way she preferred to avoid confrontation.
I might try to avoid it, but I will stick up for myself if I have to. I just always hope I don’t. So, it’s unusual for my blood to boil when I see the nasty, judgmental look on her face.
It’s even more unusual for me to shrug, lifting an eyebrow, looking her up and down. Silently reminding her how forgettable she is. Not to mention, how completely transparent. She struts off in a huff and I let my body relax.
I don’t know what Kellen was up to before we met, aside from the situation with the girl who stood him up, and I don’t care very much.
Though if he really did hook up with this girl, I’d have to wonder about his taste in women.
“Sorry about that,” he whispers once we’re alone again—as alone as we can be in the middle of a party anyway. “She lays it on a little thick, doesn’t she?”
I lift my glass to my lips, shrugging. “Does she? I didn’t notice.”
He laughs. “Right. You didn’t notice. Cute.”
Then, he glances her way, sighing. “That was a mistake. I know I don’t owe any explanations. Honestly, there aren’t any. Just one of those things. Regrettable. Drunken.”
“At least now, I know I didn’t do anything to earn her attitude.”
I shouldn't have said that.
His expression shifts to one of surprise. “She’s giving you attitude?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“No, tell me. Who in their right mind—”
I cut that off with a wave of my hand. “Listen, I’m no angel. Don’t mistake me for one. There are people in the world who don’t like me. I’m not a little Goody Two–shoes.”
“I never said you were, but you’re not one of these backbiting, catty bitches either.” When I wince, he winces too. “Sorry. I guess I feel a little too comfortable around you.”
“I’ve never had anybody apologize to me for that before.” I make it a point to smile, so he’ll smile too.
“Hors d’oeuvres?” A server pops up at my elbow, almost like magic. He’s carrying a tray of stuffed mushrooms.
“Yes, thank you.” The fact is, I’m starving, and I don’t want to let the alcohol go to my head.
Though, honestly, it might be fun. Maybe it’s time to drop the Goody Two–shoes persona and be slightly naughty. After all, it’s clear more than a few people here think the two of us have something going on.
Maybe I should give them something to talk about, like the old song says.
And that’s exactly what’s going through my head as I pop the mushroom into my mouth and chew it a few times.
Before instantly regretting it.
I shove my way through the crowd in front of the bar, not bothering to excuse myself, and grab for the nearest napkin before spitting out what’s left in my mouth.
“Too hot?” Kellen asks.
I shake my head, and already, I can feel my skin starting to itch. “There’s horseradish in them. I’m allergic to horseradish. Who puts horseradish in stuffed mushrooms?”