But I didn’t forget.
He may have told me he’s no prince, but I beg to differ. Or, at the very least, I want to find out for myself.
CHAPTER 14
Luke runs off to be with the guys, and there aren’t any more organized dances where I get the shot to be close to him, so instead I hang with Jen. She’s also here without a date, so we’re just two single bridesmaids chatting about when in the hell it’ll be our turn to wear the white dress.
We eat cake and we drink wine and we fight over the bouquet when Nicki tosses it. I’m not the one who catches it, for the record. Delia is.
So at least one fairy tale cliché skips past me.
By the time I slide into my bed (all alone, as planned from the start even though I had hope things would turn out differently), I’m freaking exhausted.
I wonder where Luke is. I wonder if he’s still awake.
I wonder if he’s thinking about me the way I’m thinking about him.
I force the thought away. But he did save me today, and it felt like more than friendship.
I shoot off a text since I have his number now.
Me: Thanks for saving me today.
His reply comes a few minutes later.
Luke: Happy to help.
I try to decode some hidden meaning in those three words, but I’m pretty sure there isn’t any. He’s just a nice guy who was helping out the clumsy girl who fell in the water.
I’m not sure why that makes me a little sad.
In the morning, my first thought when I wake is of Luke. I think I even dreamed of him.
I wake up with a new tenacity. He told me no—multiple times—and maybe it’s time I actually listen. I do, after all, still have to live with him, and it would probably be in my best interest to respect his wishes even though I’m still sure we belong together.
I can’t be the only one who feels it.
That one night we shared was more than a spark. It was a freaking volcano.
What I’m feeling now is the aftershocks, I think. Sparks here and there from the fiery lava that isn’t even starting to cool.
I don’t imagine I’ll see him this morning since immediate family is supposed to gather for brunch. It’s being held in a special suite where the staff brought all the presents last night so we can watch the happy couple open their gifts. I’ll also be responsible for recording who got them what so they can churn out their thank you cards after the honeymoon.
When I get to the suite and knock on the door, want to venture a guess as to who opens it?
Not someone in my immediate family, that’s for sure.
Thank God I opted for a shower this morning, though if I’d have known Hot Luke was going to be here, I might’ve put forth a little more effort.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I’m supposed to help with the gifts,” he says.
“I’m the sister.” The words tumble out of my mouth, and it’s about the dumbest thing I can think of to say, but it’s also the only thing I can think of to say.
“Yeah, I sort of got that. And the bride’s best friend. So you’re basically doubly responsible for being here.”
I laugh. “I don’t know why I said that. I just...wasn’t expecting to see you this morning, I guess.”
He shoots me a tight, fake smile. “Well surprise!” He holds his hands out and waves them around before he opens the door wider to let me in, and I practically run past him. In one corner there’s a table overflowing with gifts. This is going to take all damn day.
Nicki and Josh are giggling with their heads bent close together near the buffet table, and my mom and dad are talking to Nicki’s parents. Nicki’s little brother has his face in his phone on the couch, and the only other people here are Luke and me.
So even if I wanted to talk to someone aside from Luke Dalton, it looks like my only options are interrupting the newlyweds, walking into a conversation between parents, or sitting next to the seventeen-year-old kid who came along as a surprise eight years after Nicki was born.
I heave out a breath and opt for the simplest answer: the buffet table.
“Good morning,” I say brightly, interrupting newlywed giggles which are probably sexual in nature given Nicki’s rosy cheeks, but I don’t ask, and I don’t want to know.
“Hey,” Josh says, his eyes never leaving his wife.
His wife. God, it’s weird that Josh is freaking married now. He’s a husband.
That’s going to take some getting used to.
“Okay, I’ll just sneak past you and grab some food,” I say wholly to myself since they’re still wrapped up in their own little world.
I fill my plate with eggs and fruit, and then I sit by myself at one of the little tables.
I glance up and see Luke approaching.
I can’t seem to escape this guy. I’m also not sure I want to, but he’s made it pretty clear he’s not interested beyond the one night we shared.
“Looks like we’re each other’s best option for brunch entertainment,” he says softly as he pulls out a chair beside me and slides into it.
I give him a wry smile. “Thanks for checking everyone else off the list first.”
“To be fair, you definitely did the same thing but also eliminated me from your list when you came over here to sit by yourself with your lonely plate of food.”
I narrow my eyes to a glare and stick a giant piece of watermelon in my mouth. I’m sure I look very attractive as I attempt to chomp it down to a normal sized piece of food.
His brows dip down. “Why the change of heart?”
I raise a brow. “You liked it better when I kept tripping over myself to get to you?”
He glances down at the table. “I wouldn’t say that, exactly, but yesterday you were at least friendly toward me.”
“I’m still friendly. I just realized that you don’t like me the way I like you, so I need to put a pin in it.” I help myself to another huge piece of watermelon.
“Yeah, I do like you the same way, Ellie,” he says, and there’s something really illicit about the way he says the words in a quiet, husky voice that’s just for me. He glances around, and everyone else is still occupied in their own conversations. Over here, we just look like we’re two people having a chat.
But it feels like a lot more as my heart races at his words.
My eyes meet his, and his burn at me with the same fire they did on our single night together.
“I’d go back on my word to your brother if I thought I was right for you,” he says softly. “I think most of what he said was in jest, anyway. But that’s the thing. I’m not right for you. You’re young, and you want the fairy tale happy ending with your Prince Charming. I’m a divorced, slightly older and definitely more cynical guy who thinks those make-believe stories are for children.”
My chest feels hollow at his words. “Oh.” The single word is all that comes out of my mouth, though my mind races.
“It’ll be easier to live together if we’re just friends,” he says.
I nod. “Yeah. I know. Friends. And we still think this living together thing is a good idea?”
“I thought it was a terrible idea from the start, but I agreed anyway since it was for your brother,” he says, gently pushing my shoulder the way an old pal would. “And I think if we back out now, they’ll know something’s up. So we’re kind of stuck, don’t you think?” He pauses as he lets me mull that over, and then he says, “I’m going to go grab some food.”