Pictures are taken and smiles abound, and before I know it, the bridesmaids are lining up to make our way down the aisle. When Luke steps into place beside me, that cologne pulls at my senses and nerves flitter through my chest.
“You still look beautiful,” he murmurs, and my cheeks redden at his words as my chest tightens.
It isn’t fair.
I don’t want him to tell me things like that when he’s vowed not to act on this steamy attraction between us. And he’s right. I’m still mad at him for bragging about us. To my brother.
I slide my arm through his elbow. We probably have some time before I really need to do that, but I like being close to him, and he smells good, and he isn’t exactly pushing me away. “You still look like Hot Luke,” I whisper back, and he keeps his eyes forward but his lips tip up with a smile.
Stella directs Nadine and her husband, Richard, to make their way down the aisle. She signals the next bridesmaid and groomsman, and soon enough, it’s our turn.
I feel like there’s so much I want to say to Luke, but I don’t dare say a word as all eyes assembled in the crowd seem to turn toward the two of us.
Do we look good walking down the aisle together?
Well, duh. It’s Luke. He’d look good escorting a clown down the aisle.
Could this be us someday, with him already waiting at the end of the aisle like Josh is as I wait to walk down with my dad?
Doubtful, but damn, a girl can dream.
Our eyes meet more than once as we each watch our best friends marry, and I wish I could decode what he’s thinking.
I still know next to nothing about him...except now I know that he was married before.
Hot Luke is kind of a mystery, and that sort of makes him...dare I say...even hotter?
Once the ceremony is over, the bridal party meets in a conference room for a quick celebration and toast to the newly married couple while the guests are ushered to another area outside for a cocktail hour. I help Nicki in the bathroom, by far the worst part of my duties as MOH and a feat that’s sort of comparable to peeling an onion to get the juice in the middle without messing up any of the layers. I lose track of Luke until we head back outside, where the aisle, altar, and guest chairs have been transformed into a banquet area.
A long table for the wedding party sits on the platform over the pool, lights twinkling in the near twilight as the sun begins to set behind the tall buildings circling us. It’s romantic and gorgeous, somehow merging a spare no expense feel with a casual, intimate vibe. The whole thing just perfectly sets the scene for the reception of these two lovebirds.
We line up and the deejay who’s serving as emcee calls Nadine and Richard first to make their way toward their seats. They walk up, and he twirls her, and it’s all very cute. I watch as the other couples go, all doing equally cute things even though some of them only met last night, and my heart picks up speed as nerves set in.
I’m about to be introduced, and I have to walk out on Luke’s arm, and we don’t have anything cute planned like everyone else had.
“What should we do?” I whisper-yell.
Luke glances over at me with his brows dipped. “What do you mean?”
“The maid of honor, Ellie Nolan, with the best man, Luke Dalton!”
“Spin me,” I whisper yell as we walk to the center of the reception area. He doesn’t quite get my meaning, and he spins us both, and I grab onto his hand and twist myself around.
And, because this is my life, my heel gets caught in a crack along the cement walkway. The heel doesn’t break completely, but it’s not quite glued to my shoe the same way it was before.
Great.
Just what I need.
A broken shoe at the start of the reception as I trip in front of the hottest guy I’ve ever seen in my life and, of course, the entire group gathered to celebrate my brother’s wedding.
Luke catches me at the last second, and it almost looks like I didn’t totally take a spill as I wind up tight in his arms. I cling to his shoulders, and our eyes meet—his worried as I nearly topple to the ground, and mine probably rabid like a damn wild animal as I look upon the object of my lust who just saved me from a really embarrassing fall.
Now I’m in his arms and I want to kiss him but every-freaking-body in the room is watching us.
I’m shaky, somewhat from the almost-fall but more from being so close to Luke. He straightens me. “You okay?” he murmurs as I suck in a deep breath, still clinging to him and really just getting a mouthful of his cologne.
It sounds grosser than it is. It’s fucking magic.
I want to lick his neck.
“Fine,” I gasp, and then we’re supposed to part so we can each walk up the stairs toward our seats on the platform over the pool.
Thankfully there’s a railing behind our chairs, because I sure as hell would fall right into the water with the way my knees are trembling.
I glance over and find Luke smiling at me as we each take our place, and God that smile just gets me every time. I can’t tell if he’s smiling at me or laughing at me. I tell myself it’s a reassuring, friendly smile. If I tell myself he’s laughing at me, well, I’m not sure my fragile ego could actually take that.
My knees bang together as I think of his smile. I grip the back of the chair in front of me as I stand, and then the bride and groom are announced so eyes aren’t on the two of us anymore. Thank God.
I exhale a long breath and try to regain my composure, but literally falling into Luke’s arms sure threw me off balance. I keep my eyes on Nicki and Josh even though I want to look over. I feel like he’s looking at me. The side of my face burns with his gaze, but when I glance over, he’s looking at the happy couple dancing their way across the floor just as he should be.
He said I’m off-limits to him...but he’s not off-limits to me.
He’s about to become my new roommate. I’m going to have to just get past the bragging thing, though it still sort of makes him out to be an asshole. But he’s not. He seems like a good guy, barring that one indiscretion of bragging about a one-night stand in the middle of a Starbucks.
Which was even dumber on his part considering he’s a professional football player and anyone could’ve overheard. He’s lucky it was just me.
We already know we’re fire beneath the sheets...though I still want to know why he jetted out afterward.
And maybe, just maybe, I’ll have a drink or two tonight and get up the nerve to actually ask him.
CHAPTER 12
He holds me as we sway to the romantic song, and I’m about a millisecond from resting my head on his shoulder, but I force myself not to.
Dancing with him just feels so...right.
Except when my heel keeps catching on the dance floor. It still hasn’t broken off completely, but it’s not doing well. I’m doing my best to ignore it.
I’m clouded by the wine I’ve had, which is just about the perfect place to be, and I want him again. So badly I can taste it. Or him.
Our bodies move in tandem, sort of like they did when he had me shoved up against a window (except not naked and not from behind), and the whole setting is a backdrop for the start of something really romantic.
I draw in a deep breath, and then I move back and look him in the eye. His are heated, but maybe that’s just how they always look and I’m imagining things. Or it’s possible the wine is clouding my judgment. “Can I ask you something?” I say softly.