“I always loved feeding the ducks when I was little,” I tell him. “I used to tell my parents I wanted to bring a leash so I could take one home.” I grin at Nic, and he turns to me and laughs. “Luckily, I think they always knew I’d never be able to catch one to put a leash on it, but they humored me by letting me bring a leash.”
“So you made your own rules, even as a kid.” He laughs. “I like that.”
I don’t want to tell Nic that he’s got me all wrong. I’m way more of a rule-following coward than he thinks I am, but I prefer seeing myself through his eyes. And for once, I’m determined to be that carefree, reckless woman he sees when he looks at me. The one who lives life to the fullest and does what she wants.
“I’m really glad I was able to be your date this weekend,” he says, breaking the silence.
I turn to him. “I’m glad you came too.”
Nic takes a step closer, bringing one strong arm around me. I have to force myself not to shiver with pleasure at the physical contact. My heart slams into my rib cage, and I take a deep breath to steady myself.
Glancing at him, I take in his strong jaw and tousled hair. I can picture running my hands through it and slipping my fingers into it during sex, especially while he has his face between my legs, and that thought causes my face to flush. The feel of his bicep against my shoulder sends heat racing through me, straight down to my lady parts. Just as I’m about to lure him into a bathroom somewhere to satisfy my out-of-control libido, we’re interrupted by my mother.
“Here you are,” she shouts to us, and Nic lets his arm drop away.
My shoulders are still warm from his touch, but I force myself to stop all thoughts of Nic. The last thing I need is for my mom to see how smitten I am with him.
“Christine and your brother are finished with the photos, and she’s asking for you,” Mom says, looking between Nic and me with a knowing smile.
“Okay, I’ll be right there,” I say quickly, before she can make any comments about us sneaking off together. I turn to Nic. “You’ll be okay for a few minutes?”
“Of course. Go,” he says warmly.
I follow my mom to the bridal suite where Christine is waiting. As soon as I see her, I pull her into a hug and burst into tears again. Then we’re both crying and laughing at the same time.
“We’re ridiculous,” she says, pulling back.
“Wait, stop crying. You’re going to ruin your makeup.” Sniffling, I wipe smudged mascara from beneath her eyes.
“Oh, it’s way too late for that,” she says, and we laugh again. “Now, can you get me out of this thing?”
After I help to bustle her dress and remove her veil for the reception, we each pop a breath mint. As Christine touches up her makeup. I figure it’s now or never to grill her about Nic.
“So, why haven’t you ever talked about Nic before now?” I ask casually. “I want to know more about him.”
Christine pauses for a second. “I told you, it’s because you were with Jeremy. It wasn’t like I could spark up a conversation with you about him in front of your current boyfriend.”
“I know. He’s just such an amazing guy, and being with him is making me realize how much of my life I wasted on Jeremy.” I almost start to tear up all over again, but this time from sadness and not from the excitement of seeing Christine and my brother getting married. “I just want to know his story.”
“Come on, no more tears. Let’s go have some fun and dance the night away with our arm candy,” Christine says, obviously changing the subject to a happier topic. “They’re waiting on us, I’m sure.”
We head out of the suite and back into the ballroom together. But as far as I’m concerned, this conversation is far from over.
“Give me something, Christine, like what else is there to know about him? I mean, is he a good guy?” I ask, pushing her. She’s usually happy to gossip about new guys in my life, so I don’t know why she’s choosing this moment to act coy.
“He’s really sweet and fun, Elle, but don’t read too much into anything he says. He’s really more of a casual-dating kind of guy.”
I pause, taken aback. Nic definitely doesn’t strike me as a strictly casual guy. Last night, he wouldn’t even kiss me, and I was basically throwing myself at him. Maybe he’s holding back because he’s friends with Christine, and he doesn’t want to risk their friendship by having a one-night stand with her sister-in-law. Lucky for him, a quick fling is exactly what I need right now to pull me out of this funk I’m in.
I shrug at Christine. “Casual works for me. Tonight I just want to have fun, get drunk, and maybe even do something reckless . . . like get laid.” Rebound sex could be exactly what the doctor ordered to get me past this hiccup in my love life.
I spot Nic across the room and smile at him, a shiver running through me at the thought of possibly going home with him. I tear my gaze away from him and notice Christine is looking between the two of us. She’s not smiling, and she’s gone totally pale.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she says finally. “He’s great to have as your date to make Jeremy jealous, but I think you should leave it at that.”
She’s acting so strange about this, and I can’t figure out why. Am I missing something?
“What’s gotten into you?” I ask. “You’re constantly telling me how I need to get out more and cut loose, and now I want to and you’re against it.”
Christine bites her lip. What could be so bad about Nic that she’s trying this hard to keep me away from him?
“Look, I just saw you go through all this heartbreak with Jeremy, and I think you should focus on you right now,” she says, putting her hands on my shoulders. “Promise me you won’t sleep with him?”
What the hell?
I really have no idea what’s going on. So what if Nic was a ladies’ man in college? If I’m okay with it, Christine should be okay with it too. Why even set me up with someone she didn’t want me to pursue?
Nothing makes sense, and I want to keep pushing her, but I also don’t want to make a huge deal of this on her special day, so I decide to just drop it.
“Okay, I won’t sleep with him,” I tell her, and she smiles, clearly relieved.
I feel bad, because I totally don’t mean what I just said. I’ve never lied to Christine before, but if she can’t give me a good reason not to sleep with Nic, then I don’t know why I should listen to her. And if things get heated between the two of us later . . . I can’t argue with chemistry, right?
Trying to shake off my guilt, I rejoin Nic. He’s talking to a group of my elderly relatives, and they’re all laughing at something he’s just said.
I can’t stop the grin from spreading across my face. On top of everything else, he’s amazing with my family. A lot of guys would be intimidated to meet a woman’s entire extended family on the second date, but Nic is taking it all in stride. And it doesn’t hurt that he looks tantalizingly sexy all dressed up in his tux.
Sorry, Christine. I can’t let her get into my head.
Nic looks so good, it’s going to take a lot more than some dirty laundry from his past to stop me from ending the night in his bed.