I take a large sip of champagne just as he bends down and gives her a kiss on the cheek. It takes every ounce of willpower I have to force myself to swallow. I’m definitely going to need more than two drinks to deal with this.
I glance at my watch. My date should be walking in the door any minute. When Christine told me she had an old friend from college she wanted to set me up with, I was skeptical, to say the least. But the thought of attending this wedding alone with Jeremy here was too much, so I agreed. The last thing I need is to look like some pathetic loser in front of the happy couple—and I’m not referring to my brother and his fiancée.
As I take another glance at the door, someone walks in, and I let out a small gasp. I know immediately that it’s the guy from the photo Christine sent me, but that picture didn’t do him justice.
He scans the room, running a hand through his messy brown hair, and my heart begins to beat in overdrive. A bit of facial hair accentuates his perfect jawline and full lips. He’s wearing a classic black suit that accentuates his broad chest and narrow hips.
I’ve never seen someone as attractive as him outside of fashion magazines, and he looks like he could easily have come from a red-carpet event. I realize I’ve been staring with my mouth open and force myself to close it, hoping no one saw my ogling.
The room is loud, but all of it fades away when he looks in my direction. She must have shown him a picture of me too, because he smiles when he sees me and walks toward me. My heart pounds harder with each step closer he takes.
“Elle?”
When he looks into my eyes, my stomach starts flipping like an Olympic gymnast. His chocolate-brown eyes are so mesmerizing, I have to force myself to look away from them. But as my gaze wanders to his mouth again, I realize that isn’t going to help my pounding heart.
“Nic, right?” I ask after a brief pause.
He nods, smiling to reveal perfectly straight white teeth. His eyes light up with something like mischief or amusement. But either way, he has my full attention.
Nic holds out a hand, and when I place my palm in his, a tingle runs up my arm.
“Thanks for coming,” I say, smiling awkwardly.
“My pleasure.” His voice is deep and sexy, perfect for dirty talk during sex.
Elle, get a hold of yourself.
“Your picture didn’t do you justice. You look amazing.” He sounds sincere, and I can’t help but melt a little.
“You look great too.” I smile, looking him up and down again. If the way his suit fits is any indication of his physique, he’s got the body of a Greek god. “So, you know Christine from Indiana?” I ask, tearing my gaze away from his broad shoulders.
“Yeah, we had a few classes together.” He smiles.
Grinning back, I say, “From what I hear, she didn’t do much studying in college.” Christine has a lot of wild stories from her college years. I was too focused on studying and preparing for law school to do much partying myself, but I always enjoyed hearing about all the crazy things she and her friends did.
“Yeah, we got into some trouble.” He laughs, running his hand through his hair again.
How is he so damn sexy? Just watching him makes me feel like I’ve committed a sin.
Nic’s smile fades, and his expression turns serious. “I never expected that when I reached out to her, she’d end up inviting me to her wedding. Or that she’d set me up with such a beautiful date.”
I gulp. So he’s sexy, nice, and polite? I’m crushing hard on this guy.
“Speaking of getting into trouble, would you like a drink?” I gesture toward the bar.
His lips twitch. “Absolutely.”
As we walk, I notice how tall he is, easily a couple of inches over six feet. His height makes me feel small and dainty, a feeling I could really get used to.
Nic orders himself a whiskey neat from the bartender, and pauses to ask what I’d like. I lift my half-empty glass of champagne to request another.
Just as I’m about to ask Nic more about his college years, Jeremy walks toward us.
“Fuck,” I whisper, turning toward Nic.
“Is something wrong?” he asks as the bartender sets down our drinks.
“My ex is walking this way right now,” I say, wishing I could disappear. I glance at Nic. “We had a rough breakup, in case Christine didn’t mention anything to you.”
Nic nods, furrowing his brow. I hope that seeing me react like this to my ex isn’t scaring him off. It’s not exactly a turn-on to have your date freak out over another guy.
“Sorry—” I say, but Nic cuts me off.
“Just follow my lead,” he says and starts laughing loudly.
Startled, I just stare for a second.
“Laugh,” he whispers to me.
Finally, I get the hint and start to laugh along with him just as Jeremy walks up to the bar. I can see him out of the corner of my eye look over at us.
Nic sets his drink down and lifts his hand to smooth a stray strand of hair away from my face. When he touches me, it’s like the whole world stops. As Nic tucks my hair behind my ear, I forget all about Jeremy and take a deep, shaky breath, feeling like I’ve been sucker punched in the stomach.
As Nic stares deeply into my eyes, my knees start to feel shaky. With him standing so close, I catch a hint of his scent, something earthy and masculine, totally intoxicating. His full lips curve into a smile, and I’m totally lost in the moment when Nic breaks eye contact to glance at where Jeremy was standing. He’s gone, and Nic turns back to me, grinning. I didn’t even noticed he left.
“I think we pulled that off,” Nic says with a grin.
I smile back weakly. He probably has no idea how much he’s affecting me right now, or that I couldn’t care less what Jeremy thought of that moment, only that I want it to happen again.
“Thanks,” I say, shocked at how sweet Nic is. Usually, guys as hot as he is don’t try this hard because they know they can get any girl they want. Briefly, I wonder if he has some horrible flaw that’s going to rear its ugly head later. It would be just my luck. I overlooked so many things about Jeremy, and I won’t make that same mistake again.
“Cheers to meeting new people—and avoiding ones we know.” Nic holds up his whiskey, and we clink glasses.
“Sorry this is kind of awkward with my ex here,” I say, afraid Nic’s going to decide this is too much drama. After what I just felt, I don’t think I could stand it if he bailed on the weekend. “Christine probably didn’t warn you about that part.”
“She didn’t mention it, but it’s not a problem. I know how shitty breakups can be,” he says, leaning back against the bar. “Just consider me your personal bodyguard. Who is also your drinking buddy for the weekend.”
“A man of many talents.” Relieved, I grin. “Lucky me.”
“You have no idea.” He smirks, taking a sip of his whiskey.
I can think of a couple other talents you might have.
Looking him up and down again, I take a breath, trying to keep my thoughts focused on the conversation and not on what he could do for me in the bedroom.
“I also dance,” he says, saving me from my wayward thoughts.
“You might be on your own for that one.” I smile politely, finishing my champagne. “I’m a horrible dancer.”