“Sure you can. You can turn around and walk your cute ass out of here.”
“You think my ass is cute?” I spun toward her and exhaled at the sight of her clothed. Thank god for that. I couldn’t handle her naked. Well, shit, I definitely could, but not in quite the same way as I had all those years ago. My best friend’s sister. The groom of this wedding. And the maid of honor. I’d been bound to run into her at some point, but like this? Fuck…
“What?” she asked, crossing her arms over her blouse. She’d paired it with a pencil skirt that clung to her hips. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“I know that look, Jacob. You know I know that look, so stop. Just leave.”
“I can’t,” I replied. “I would if I could, trust me, but I can’t. Where’s Addison?”
“She’s talking to the seamstress. She’ll be back later.”
“Sooner, I hope.” I withdrew the asthma inhaler from my pocket it and held it upright for her to see. “Charlie wanted me to give this to her.”
Chloe came forward, hips swaying, her bare toes gracing the carpet with their presence. Even they were dainty. I wasn’t into feet, but damn, she was perfect from head to toe. Not that it matters.
“Hand it over,” she said and put out a palm. “I’ll give it to Addy, and you can get the heck out of here.”
“The heck is hardly warranted.”
“Give me the inhaler.”
“No.” I grinned at her. “Your brother’s instructions were clear. It’s to be handed right over to her and no one else. Not even you.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Take it up with Charlie,” I said.
I had her there. She wasn’t about to argue with her brother. The two were as thick as thieves, and she knew that Charlie meant well. He loved Addison. Christ, even the phrase “love” gave me the mental cooties. I was happy for him, but damn, I couldn’t help worrying that this would wind up coming back to bite him in the ass.
Either way, I’d do what it took to keep my buddy happy. Guy had been there for me when no one else had. And then there was the promise too…the one he didn’t know I’d broken.
“All right, well, fine,” Chloe said and walked back toward the changing area. She shut the curtains, scraping rings against a metal pole, then turned back to me, her arms still folded. Her face was impassive, as if she could take or leave my presence.
That was very Chloe. She was an island and always had been. Fuck, and she thought I was the messed-up one.
“How have you been?” I asked.
“Don’t even start,” she replied.
“Start what?”
“Trying.”
“You want to elaborate on that?”
“Trying to talk to me. To be nice. You know this will go nowhere. We’re going to be stuck in a few rooms together for the next week or so, but that doesn’t mean we have to be anything more than cordial toward each other.”
I tilted my head to one side, narrowing my eyes. “How long have you been preparing that speech? How long have you been thinking about the moment we’d meet up again?”
Her eyelashes fluttered, she rolled her eyes. “Still with the massive ego, huh, Jacob?”
“Among other things.”
“Wow.”
“I know, right?” But this was a game. A fun one, but still a game. Nothing would come of our banter or our history, because I wouldn’t allow it. She was the past, and my future had to remain empty. No matter what.
“Look—” Chloe started, but the crash of the dressing-room door interrupted her.
Addison barreled inside, petite, blonde and flush with excitement as most brides were before their big day. She stopped, gaze switching from Chloe to me, then back again. “Uh?”
“Charlie wanted you to have this.” I walked over to her, handed her the inhaler. “He was worried the corsets and shit would give you an attack.”
“We’re not wearing corsets,” Chloe called out.
I kissed Addy on the cheek, then walked past her and to the door, pausing on my way out. “Doesn’t stop me from picturing it,” I replied and laughed at the redness of Chloe’s cheeks.
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Dream Lover Page 22