by Bella Andre
“If I tell you, are you going to go charging back over to call her out for pistols at dawn?”
“Even though I know you’re not made of porcelain and can protect yourself, I have a hard time not wanting to protect you.” He didn’t sound at all apologetic. “And when your ex said their first meeting had been perfect, I couldn’t take the high road. But I think I understand why you did. Letting them have their big night—even after the way things went down between the three of you—is really kind.”
“Actually—” She held on tighter. “It’s nice to have someone leap to my defense for once.”
“I’m surprised your father isn’t already doing that.”
“Don’t be too hard on him. From the start, I think my dad and stepmom were so afraid that their two fifteen-year-old daughters wouldn’t get along that they would have said or done anything to keep the peace. Even all these years later, my father wants so badly for me to be okay with Brittany and Cameron getting together that I don’t have the heart to disappoint him.”
“And here you called me the compassionate one,” Rory said.
“Yeah, that’s us, two Mother Teresas lying to everyone about our relationship to get back at my stepsister and ex.”
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat, if you needed me.”
A pang landed in the middle of her heart, simply from knowing that Rory didn’t only have her back tonight, but would for as long as she needed him.
She wasn’t used to letting herself need people. Not when she couldn’t push away the thought that there were far more deserving people than herself out there. And not when she knew all too well the pain of losing someone you loved.
“Thank you,” she finally replied. “Anyway, what pushed my buttons was when Brittany mentioned a piece about local Maine makers that she promoted earlier this year. She said you looked familiar, because you were profiled in the story. Until tonight, I had no idea she was involved with that story at all.” Zara swallowed hard. “Or that she deliberately left my name off the makers list they submitted for the piece. Because I just make glasses, not art.”
The sound that reverberated up from his chest was not far from a growl. “She’s jealous.”
“Jealous?” Zara wouldn’t have been more surprised if he’d grown two heads. “No.” She shook her head, hard enough that she had to right her glasses on the bridge of her nose. “No way. Brittany is definitely not jealous of me.”
“She is. Trust me on this. It doesn’t make things right, but at the very least, I hope it will help you remember that her behavior doesn’t have a single thing to do with how great you are. Cameron went with her because he’s weak. And your name likely didn’t end up on the list for the makers story because she knew you’d outshine everyone else. Especially her.”
“You’ve been amazing tonight, Rory, but whatever you’re seeing…I just can’t. She was the first one picked for every team at school and voted class president. She had her choice of top-flight universities. She got an amazing job right after graduation. And she always looks fantastic. I promise you, the very last thing she wants is to be like me.”
“That’s quite a list.” But he still didn’t look impressed. “Now tell me yours.”
“Mine?” She made a face. “I was a mediocre high school student. I went to a midlevel college. I didn’t get picked for the best jobs. And as you know from earlier tonight, my fashion choices often need help.”
He smiled at that before saying, “You forgot a few things. First, that you love what you do. Don’t you?”
“You know I do.”
“Second, that you get to stretch your creative muscles and be your own boss every day, right?”
“Again, you know the answer is yes.”
“And third, that you don’t want to look like anyone else, otherwise you wouldn’t have turned your creative passion into creating funky, bright, unique glasses that are most definitely art.”
Had he always made her want to smile this much?
“Who wouldn’t want to be like you? Especially,” he added with that wicked glimmer in his eyes, “when out of all the women here, you’re the one who gets the privilege of dancing with me?”
She couldn’t hold back a laugh. “You’re really something, aren’t you?”
“Something great?”
“If it will help you sleep better at night, let’s go with that.” But she couldn’t hold back the truth. “You have been really, really great here tonight. Thank you for coming.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” He looked more wicked than ever. “The night is still young.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
When Rory was a kid, his parents had made him take ballroom dance lessons. He’d been a terrible troublemaker in class, but he’d gotten away with it because he’d been a natural dancer. Though he enjoyed dancing at family events with his cousin Lori, who was a professional dancer, he rarely got the chance to bust a move with anyone else who knew what they were doing.
It was one heck of a surprise to learn that Zara knew how to get down.
Her movements weren’t trained, or practiced, but her innate grace—and exuberance—mattered far more. During the months that they’d worked together at the warehouse, she’d never seemed to care the slightest bit what anyone thought of her. She brought that same energy to the dance floor. She clearly danced for joy, rather than to impress.
And as he spun and twirled her, bringing her close then letting her go again before reeling her back in, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to do a different dance together…in his bed.
He could already guess how it would be to make love to her. Their one short kiss—a kiss he’d been driven to give Zara in the face of her stepsister’s obstinate refusal to admit that she’d done anything wrong—had shocked him.
He was blown away by the heat they generated. By Zara’s delicious taste.
And, most of all, by his sudden desire to claim so much more from her than just one kiss.
Wanting nothing more than to crush her mouth beneath his, in a bid to regain his sanity, he spun her around the dance floor instead. Yesterday morning, when he’d stumbled upon her solo descent into oblivion, he hadn’t seen the potential danger in offering to be her wingman tonight. Of course, even if he had, he wouldn’t have made a different decision—not when he felt strongly that she needed someone to have her back.
He just hadn’t expected to like her so much. To relish the fact that she was funny. Irreverent. Witty.
And far kinder than her stepsister and ex deserved.
What’s more, tonight didn’t feel like any date he’d ever been on. Granted, he’d never pretended to be half of a fake couple before. But though their relationship status wasn’t real, their conversation in the car had flowed easily. Kissing her had lit a match inside of the coldest parts of him. He’d never been so in sync while dancing with anyone else.
And perhaps the most damning thing of all?
Every sign seemed to point to Zara feeling all the same things.
He’d been sure that neither of them would ever be here, in a place where sparks were flying like they’d lit a bonfire. He hadn’t yet stopped reliving Chelsea’s accident—and his part in it. As for Zara, no woman had ever seemed less interested in him before tonight.
All his life, Rory had been flirted with and fawned over. His ego had been stroked. Women had bent over backward to be with him. Zara had been the only holdout, not only utterly immune to his charms, but also determined to provoke him as often as possible.
Two days ago, he would have bet the house on the two of them forever remaining in their separate corners. Tonight, however, he wouldn’t touch that bet with a ten-foot pole.
Not when he could think of few things he wanted more than to join Zara in her corner. The smaller the space, the better, if it meant getting to be close to her.
“Earth to Rory.” Zara was standing before him, waving her hand in front of his eyes. “Where’d you go?”
&nbs
p; “You don’t want to know.”
“That sounds serious,” she said as they walked off the dance floor and headed for a corner of the room that wasn’t heaving with people. “If you’ve got five cents, I’ll be Lucy van Pelt, and you can be Charlie Brown. The doctor is in.”
Despite himself, he laughed. “You’d love to pull a football out from under me right before I kick it, wouldn’t you?”
She looked shocked that he would even ask. “It would be the greatest thing ever.”
“Remind me not to leave you alone with my brother Brandon.”
“Does he like torturing you too?” She looked so hopeful he nearly lost control and kissed her again.
It wasn’t easy to concentrate on talking about his brother, rather than the way his pulse leaped whenever Zara got close. “We’re closest in age and have been pranking each other since we were kids.”
“Who’s currently in the lead?”
“I am.” He said it with pride. “Brandon is often on the road, opening and managing his hotels, so when he launched his latest location, I sent him a gift basket full of his least-favorite things during the press event. He not only had to look happy about it, he had to take a bite of one of the fancy marzipan candies that I asked Cassie to make him in the shape of his new hotel. I’m sure he’s cooking up one heck of a prank to get me back for that one.”
“You might look like a man, but you’re still a ten-year-old boy on the inside, aren’t you?”
“My ten-year-old nephew is far more mature than I am.”
She was still laughing when the sound of a spoon clinking against glass turned their attention toward the newly engaged couple. Waiters circulated with glasses of champagne. After they’d each taken one, Rory gave Zara’s free hand a squeeze.
“Thank you so much for coming to celebrate with us tonight,” Brittany said to the crowd. “It means everything to Cameron and me to share our excitement over our engagement with our close family and friends.” She beamed as everyone applauded.
Brittany was obviously born for the spotlight, given how much she enjoyed being the center of attention. Zara, on the other hand, never seemed the least bit comfortable being anyone’s focus. Even during the launch party for her new glasses line, she’d remained on the sidelines instead of lapping up people’s admiration for her work.
“We know we need to save our vows for our wedding day,” Brittany continued, “but we couldn’t resist the chance to share some of our feelings with you tonight.” As she took both of Cameron’s hands in hers, her expression was almost comically earnest. “Cameron, you are the love of my life, the yin to my yang, the peanut butter to my jelly, the macaroni to my cheese.”
Rory was only just barely keeping from laughing. Due to the size of his extended family, he’d been to plenty of engagement parties and weddings, but he’d never heard anything so cheesy.
Unfortunately, Zara didn’t seem to be finding the situation anywhere near as humorous. It wasn’t that she looked like she was about to storm the mini-stage the couple was standing on, or throw one of the small jade plants dotting the tables at them. She had even managed a small smile. But he knew what her real smile looked like—and this one didn’t come into her eyes.
He pulled her closer as Brittany continued to gush over Cameron.
“Our relationship has been wonderful from the start,” her stepsister was saying, “and I can’t wait for it to become even more wonderful as husband and wife.”
When the engaged couple kissed, the cheers came again. Zara, to her credit, put down her drink to clap, even after Brittany’s blatant misrepresentation of how wonderful, and blameless, her “start” with Cameron had been.
Rory wasn’t nearly as big of a person, however. At the moment, he was silently hoping lightning would strike down Cameron before he could open his mouth and make things worse. Which he surely would, because he was a tool.
No luck on the indoor storm, unfortunately. Because the jerk had already started flapping his lips.
“Brittany, I never dreamed a woman like you would so much as look at me—let alone agree to be my wife.”
Cameron was sweating beneath the lights, his cheeks sporting red blotches. Objectively, Rory could understand why some people might find the guy attractive. But all Rory could see was a slimy weasel.
“You’re my angel,” Cameron continued, “my raison d’être, my endless love.”
“It’s like listening to a poet,” Brittany responded in a stage whisper that was clearly meant for everyone to hear.
As they leaned in to kiss again, Rory pulled Zara toward the bar. “I need a drink. Hopefully, the bartender will make it strong enough to wash their speeches out of my brain.”
Despite the concerns that he had been grappling with on the dance floor—namely, wanting Zara when they were just supposed to be a pretend couple—he was more glad than ever that he’d come tonight.
The thought of her alone in this viper’s den made his stomach twist.
“Give us the strongest drinks you’ve got,” he said to the bartender.
“Two Long Island Iced Teas coming up, sir.”
Rory certainly didn’t advocate getting drunk every time Zara’s stepsister drove her to the edge of sanity. Given what he’d seen of Brittany so far, that was a one-way ticket to disaster. Especially since it was clear that, despite everything, Zara loved her. But at this exact moment, if a mix of gin, vodka, tequila, and rum would take the edge off the nonsense they’d just heard, then Rory was all for doing whatever it took to help Zara forget.
The bartender handed them their drinks, and Rory directed them toward a private corner of the room. “Bottoms up.” He was about to clink his glass against Zara’s when she put it down on a nearby table.
“I don’t want to get drunk again.”
He put his glass down too. “Tell me what you want, and I swear I’ll do whatever I can to make it happen for you.”
“For one night,” she said in an impassioned voice, “I want to go home with the grand prize instead of the ribbon for second place. I know I have my career, and I love that.” She shot a glance at her stepsister and ex, who were standing with their arms around each other as they accepted everyone’s congratulations. “But I don’t have anyone to hold my hand and say how much he adores me.” She turned her gaze back to him. “I want that, Rory. I want to know how it feels to be wanted. Truly wanted for me and not just as a stepping stone to her. Even if I don’t deserve to be given what I want, that’s how I feel right now.”
“Of course you deserve it.” Regardless of how many times they’d been at each other’s throats during the past year, he couldn’t understand how Zara could think she was at all undeserving of happiness. He cupped her cheek with his hand. “Any guy who ever used you as a stepping stone was an idiot.” He nodded toward her ex. “Especially him.”
That almost got a smile out of her. But then she shook her head. “You know what? Forget everything I just said. We should go now. I’ve done my duty to support Brittany—and you’ve gone above and beyond in playing the part of my besotted lover.”
She began to move away, but he reached for her hand before she could. “Who says it’s just a part I’m playing?”
She seemed stunned by his question. “Of course it is. I mean, I know we kissed, but—”
“I want to kiss you again, Zara. I’ve been wanting to kiss you again and again and again since the moment my lips left yours.”
“Are you feeling all right?” She tried to say it in her usual sassy voice, but her words came out all breathy. “Last thing I knew, we couldn’t stand each other. More kisses… More everything… It would be crazy.”
“I’ll tell you what’s crazy. Here with you tonight—I can’t think of the last time I’ve enjoyed being with anyone as much. And when we kissed, the whole goddamned earth moved.”
“That should have sounded cheesy.” It was almost as though she was talking to herself. “Why didn’t that sound cheesy?”
“Because I have a feeling this is where we’ve been headed all along. To one night.” He paused to let her take it in. And to make sure he’d wrapped his own head around it before he took things any deeper. “Together.”
“One night?” She whispered the words in a shocked tone. “Together?”
He didn’t move, didn’t speak, didn’t push her to agree. He might have put the crazy idea out there, but it had to be her decision.
He didn’t know how long she thought it over. It could have been five seconds or five minutes. Finally, she nodded. “One night. That’s all it will be.”
He wanted to drag her out of the cocktail bar, run down the street to the hotel they’d checked into earlier, and toss her onto the bed so that he could taste every inch of her from head to toe, then back again.
Instead, he made sure to heed the voice in his head telling him to make absolutely sure she wanted this. “I don’t want you to wake up tomorrow and regret anything that happens tonight.”
“I won’t if you won’t.” He knew her stubborn look well. It was the one she’d worn during every one of their previous sparring sessions. “Kiss me, Rory. Show me what it feels like to truly be wanted.”
A man could take only so much temptation and still hold on to his control. His was done for as he slid his hands into her hair and crushed his mouth to hers.
* * *
Listening to Brittany and Cameron gushing over each other, Zara had been stunned that they still behaved as though she hadn’t been a part of their beginning—and that they hadn’t both cheated on her. For the first time, she truly had felt like a doormat.
Fortunately, Rory had come through for her again, getting her out of the bad situation before anyone else noticed her reaction. And then he’d gone one better and offered her a lifeline.
Himself.
This had all started with simply wanting to get through Brittany and Cameron’s engagement celebration in one piece. But the longer Zara spent in Rory’s arms, the less tonight had to do with her stepsister and ex.
Now, it had to do only with Rory.