Oh god. Just kill me now. This is exactly like a recurring nightmare I have, being pulled into a big group of people and then having everyone stare at me.
“Hi!”
“Oh it’s nice to meet you!”
I can barely keep up with everyone’s name and I’m hugged more times than I can keep track of. Eventually I end up at a table where the other bridesmaids are sitting and someone pushes a glass of champagne into my hand.
“Hi, I’m Josie. I’m Zack’s girlfriend. Sasha is the one who dragged you over here. She’s engaged to Gabe. And that’s Finn’s wife, Rissa.” She points at a redhead who is talking to Emma.
“My head is spinning.”
Josie laughs. “I know the feeling. Trust me, you’ll get used to it.”
Rissa takes a seat next to me and before I know it, I’m pulled into their conversation about the honeymoon. Rissa gets up to check something and Emma moves closer to me.
“We’re all so thrilled to meet you. Luke is so brilliant and kind of mysterious in a way. None of us even knew he had a girlfriend.”
Sasha brings her another glass of champagne. Emma takes it with a tight smile. Beneath the table, her hand goes to her stomach.
She’s pregnant. And no one else knows.
When everyone else is occupied, I switch my empty glass with Emma’s full one. Her eyes lift to mine.
“It’s okay. I can keep a secret.”
She lets out a breath. “Did I mention how glad I am that Luke brought you?”
“You don’t have to say that to get me to stick around. I’m just here for the free champagne.”
She smiles gratefully. “Thank you.”
Over the next hour, I’m pulled into a variety of conversations. Emma tells me more about the honeymoon she and Tank are taking to St. Thomas. Sasha invites me to her next performance at a jazz lounge in Virginia Beach and Josie shows me pictures on her cell phone from her last art gallery showing.
The entire time I’m amazed by how friendly they all are. They don’t even know me and they’ve taken me in as one of their own. It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me but also makes me feel worse than ever.
It makes me wish that this was all real.
“Why are you all being so nice to me? You don’t even know me,” I finally ask.
“You’re Luke’s girlfriend. Why wouldn’t we be nice to you? The guys spend so much time together that we end up spending time together too. We’re all going to be sisters-in-law eventually.” Emma squeezes my hand.
“That’s just it. I’m not really his girlfriend. We’re … friends.”
Sasha winks. “Well, we may not know you yet but we know Luke. And we’ve never seen him like this.”
Her eyes shift over my shoulder and I turn around. Luke is on the other side of the room talking to his brothers. Even though they’re all standing in a circle, there’s a distance between them, as if he’s separate somehow. Now that I know him better, I can tell that he’s a little uncomfortable.
He laughs and then his eyes meet mine and his expression changes. He bites his lip and I can read what he’s thinking from across the room. That he wants to bite me instead.
Wowza.
I feel my face flush as the other girls giggle behind me. When I turn around, Sasha gives me a pointed look.
“Friends, huh?”
“We are,” I insist, although I’m sure the blush in my cheeks is undermining my authority in this case.
“Look at how he’s looking at you. Girl, he looks like he could just eat you up. Maybe you should let him.” She hums suggestively and then grabs another champagne flute off the tray of a passing waiter.
“Here, you look like you could use a little liquid courage.”
I accept the glass but only so she won’t give it to someone else. Namely, Emma. Champagne isn’t my favorite thing but this stuff tastes way better than the cheap bottle I got myself for New Year’s.
Hesitantly, I take a sip. Usually I don’t drink much so I’ve been trying to pace myself. It’s refreshing and a little tingly in my mouth. Maybe I do like champagne after all.
“Drink up,” Sasha urges. “Maybe enough of that can take you and Luke from friends to lovers.”
“You’re so bad. Ignore her,” Josie tells me.
Sasha preens, clearly taking it as a compliment.
“Hey, I’m only trying to help Luke out! We want you to stick around.” Sasha clinks her glass against mine.
In the middle of that giggling group of women, I have never felt more welcome.
Or like more of a fraud.
chapter nine
†
LUKE
“We made it. Thanks to you.”
Tank raises his beer in my direction and the other guys follow suit.
“I seriously hope we got pictures of that. You looked so cute with your blindfold on.” Zack jumps back before Tank can reach him.
Always the mediator, Finn steps in between them. “Women stress out about weddings. I’m sure it had nothing to do with you. Emma loves you and that’s what matters. All you have to do is focus on giving her the perfect honeymoon.”
Just as a matter of principle, I make a retching sound. That breaks up the tension and we all laugh.
Zack crosses his arms and stares at me. “You’re always giving us a hard time about being whipped but word on the street is that you’re no longer single either.”
I glare at Tank who doesn’t look even slightly sorry for ratting me out. “Snitch.”
“Oh come on, you knew I was going to tell them.”
Finn makes a face. “Why am I always the last to hear everything?”
As much as I love annoying them about their women, it’s not so easy to be on the other end of the scrutiny. Especially since I’m not exactly sure what’s going on between me and Seven. We’re not together but we’re not strictly friends either, are we?
And considering how she ran away right after I kissed her, she’s feeling just as conflicted as I am. I shouldn’t have pushed her to talk about her past.
“It’s not a big deal. Seven is staying with me for a while. Tank happened to meet her the other day when he was at the bakery. She’s a friend from out of town.”
“A very pretty friend,” Tank adds.
Zack makes kissing noises. It’s so immature yet so funny that I can’t help laughing. “Oh wow. And you guys are supposed to be my older brothers? Are we really sure about that?”
He shoves me. “With that baby face, is there really any doubt?”
Gabe comes back from the bar and hands out beers. He offers me one but I shake my head. I’ll need to drive home in about an hour so I’ve already cut myself off.
“I’m just going to keep ‘em coming. I can’t believe you’re married now,” he says to Tank. “Another one bites the dust. Sasha and I are up next unless Josie convinces you to elope, Zack.”
At the panicked look on Zack’s face, I’m guessing that won’t be happening.
“Technically I guess I have to propose first,” he replies.
Gabe looks disgusted. “You still haven’t asked her? After everything you went through to be with her, what are you waiting for?”
“The perfect moment.” Zack crosses his arms. “She knows I want to be with her forever. But I’ve only got one chance to ask her and I have to get this right.”
“However you ask her will be perfect. She won’t care about whether it’s on a billboard or during a hot air balloon ride. If it was me, I would just ask her one day over coffee. Take her completely by surprise.”