by Cat Carmine
“You know, you can still bring Celia to the wedding if you want.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Is that really the best idea?”
He shrugs. “She might not be your fiancee, but I have the funny feeling she might just be a keeper.”
My stomach twists at his words, but I force myself to stay cool and take another sip of scotch.
“Why do you say that?” I finally manage.
“Well, she really went out of her way to make sure you got back to Chicago in time for the wedding.”
My stomach drops six inches. “You knew about that?”
He laughs. “Yeah. She needed your date of birth for the passenger manifest. Calling in a favor with her ex to get your impulsive ass back here? That’s devotion, man.”
He’s grinning, and I feel my heart speed up. Celia hadn’t mentioned how she got me on that private flight — just that she’d called in a favor at work. I had assumed it was some client of hers. But knowing she’d called Martin, after everything he had done to her…
“You really think it would be okay if she came to the wedding?”
He nods. “I already talked to Hannah about it. We both have a funny feeling that we might be seeing more of Celia in the future … even if your so-called engagement isn’t for real. Yet.”
I grin. My heart feels about three times bigger than it did when I came down here, and I’m glad I got to have this talk with Trent — for so many reasons.
“Anyone ever tell you you might be smarter than you look?” I ask Trent.
He grins, wagging his eyebrows. “Every damn day, little brother. Every damn day. Now go find your girl. We have to leave for Luke’s in less than ten minutes.”
I get up and reach out my hand to shake Trent’s, but instead he stands up and gives me a tight hug. I clap him on the back, but when we pull apart I squint at his face.
“Dude … are you wearing make-up?”
Trent grins ruefully. “Well, someone punched me last night, remember?”
“Oh shit. I’m so sorry about that.”
Trent waves it off. “Nothing a little concealer can’t fix, at least according to Hannah’s make-up girl. I think she did a pretty good job, don’t you?”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “Yeah, she did a good job.”
Trent claps my back again. “Now what are you waiting for? Don’t you have a girl to go see?”
He doesn’t have to tell me twice.
28
Celia
I pull open the door of the mini fridge and breathe a sigh of relief. They restocked it.
I pull out my new favorite combo — vodka and Snickers — and settle in on the bed. After Jace left for Trent’s room, I didn’t really know what to do with myself, so I eventually came back down here. I did however, leave Jace a short note telling him what room I was in this time, just in case he needed anything. I was sort of hoping he’d want to talk when he got home from the wedding tonight.
I was trying not to get my hopes up too much though. The tense silence this afternoon had been almost unbearable.
I settle in with my snacks and flick on the television. I’m just tuning in to a Law & Order rerun when there’s a pounding on my hotel room door.
My heart skips a beat. There’s only one person who knows I’m here. Can it be? I glance down at the time on my phone — he should have already left by now.
“Celia! Open up.”
My heart skips another beat, and I feel almost light-headed as I get up off the bed and scurry to the door. I pull it open and suck in my breath. Just the sight of him guts me.
“I have to ask you something,” he says. He sounds almost as breathless as I feel. “Why’d you really run, last night at the restaurant? Was it really because Trent overheard us? Or was there more to it than that?”
I open the door wider, ushering him into the room. The door swings softly closed behind him, the light click echoing in the silence between us.
“I was overwhelmed,” I say tentatively. “I was … feeling a lot of things. Things I thought maybe I shouldn’t be feeling.” I pause, biting my lip. “Why’d you fly all the way to New York to look for me?”
He laughs wryly. “That was kinda stupid, huh?”
I laugh, nodding, and somehow it helps ease the tension between us. Jace goes over and sits on the side of the bed. “I can be kinda impulsive sometimes.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” I say with a smile, sitting down beside him. There’s six inches of space between us, and that six inches feels both like a mile and like nothing at all.
Jace sighs. “I guess just didn’t like the thought of you being in another state while this — whatever this is — was unresolved. It felt unbearable, actually,” he admits.
My heart feels like it’s slowly creeping up into my throat. I look over at this man next to me, the gorgeous man with the body of a god, the face of a prince, and the heart of a lion.
I want to tell him that it felt unbearable to me too but the words are stuck in my throat.
“You know what else felt unbearable?” Jace asks, a trace of a smile returning to his face. “Going to this wedding without you.”
I snort. “Yeah, right. I’m sure your family really wants me there now.”
But Jace is shaking his head. “I talked to Trent. He and Hannah are the only ones who know, and they both said they still want you to be there. Believe it or not, they still like you,” he teases.
My mind is racing. Never had I expected to actually still be invited to the wedding. I thought they’d all be furious with me.
“You’re sure they don’t mind?”
He nods.
“And the rest of your family really doesn’t know?”
He shakes his head.
“Why didn’t Trent tell them?”
He shrugs, still grinning. “He said I could do it, when I felt the need to.”
“Have you done it yet?”
He shakes his head.
“Why not?”
He shrugs. “I thought I’d wait and see.”
“Wait and see what?”
He shrugs again. “I don’t know.” That cocky grin is still on his face but it’s softer now, sweeter somehow, and for a long moment neither of us says or does anything.
Then finally Jace looks down at his watch.
“Shit. We were supposed to meet everyone down in the lobby five minutes ago.”
He stands, looking down at me, then reaches out his hand.
“In or out?” he asks. The question hangs between us.
I hesitate, but only for a moment, and then I slip my hand into his.
“In.”
29
Celia
I’m expecting the car ride out to the wedding to be awkward, but we end up riding with Luke and Sloane and Ally, and we spend most of the time drinking champagne and laughing our asses off about things that aren’t even really that funny. Everyone has that nervous energy, that buzz you get before something big is about to happen.
I realize that Jace is right, that Trent and Hannah clearly didn’t tell anyone else about our lies, because Luke and the girls don’t act any differently around us.
Jace sits next to me in the back of the limo, but I can’t help but notice how he keeps his distance. His thigh presses against mine in the backseat, but only because Luke is on the other side of him, keeping him from moving over too much. His hands stay planted firmly in his lap, not coming anywhere near me, and I do the same with my own, even though I desperately want to reach out and find his hand with mine.
I still have no idea what’s going on with us. He said he wanted me at the wedding with him, but we haven’t really talked about anything beyond that. And even though we danced around the subject of our feelings, neither of us has quite come out and said anything yet.
I’m sure, though, that the connection I feel with him isn’t just in my head. I guess the question is what we’re going to decide to do about it. What happens when we get back to New York
City? Do we just start dating? Go back to the trivial stuff, pretend this whole week never happened?
I realize with a start, part way through the drive, that I’m not wearing my engagement ring. I took it off last night, when I was upset, and it must still be sitting on the nightstand beside the bed in the hotel room. I hope no one at the wedding will ask any questions, but I have to admit I feel better not wearing it. Martin’s ring is just bad juju, and I don’t need any more bad juju in my life.
When we get to Luke’s place, it’s go go go. I’m the only one not in the wedding party, so I wave them all off as I go to find a seat.
Before I can get very far, though, someone grabs my hand. I spin around and find Jace standing there. He reaches out and takes my hand and I hold my breath, but he just leans in and kisses my cheek.
“I’ll see you after the ceremony,” he says, and then he’s off. I press my fingers to my cheek, to the place his lips had been. My skin tingles as I hurry to my seat.
The wedding is beautiful. Hannah and Trent make an adorable couple, and their love for each other shines as they make their vows to love and cherish one another. Hannah looks beautiful in a halter-neck ivory satin gown, and her bridesmaids are sunny and cheerful in yellow tea-length dresses. Her sister Ally beams with pride.
But through the entire ceremony, my eyes are glued to Jace. He stands up at the front, next to Luke, bearing witness to the biggest moment in his brother’s life. He looks handsome and stoic and strong.
The ceremony passes in a blur, and then suddenly the minister is proclaiming them husband and wife, and Hannah and Trent are giggling back down the aisle amidst a chorus of cheers.
Luke and Ally make their way behind Hannah and Trent, and then Jace and Sloane follow. Slowly everyone in the audience begins to trickle out, milling around and chatting happily.
Everyone, that is, except me. All I can think about is finding Jace.
I wait for the crowd to thin out, and then finally spot him, cutting across the grass towards me, holding out a glass of champagne.
“I thought you might be thirsty,” he says, handing me the glass.
“Thank you. That was a beautiful ceremony.”
“It really was, wasn’t it?”
“They’re clearly very much in love.”
“Yeah. I think Trent found something pretty special.”
I squirm under his gaze, my high heels digging into the grass. The June day is warm, warmer than it’s been all year, and even in my light lavender chiffon dress, I’m starting to sweat. Then again, that might just be the man in front of me. He seems to have that effect on me.
Over Jace’s shoulder, I see Hannah and Trent emerging from the house, where they’d gone to presumably get a moment alone together. They’re greeting guests as they make their way through the crowd, and they both look over the moon. When Trent catches my eye, he winks, and I flush.
“What’s wrong?” Jace asks, frowning at the way I shift awkwardly.
“Nothing. Thank you for bringing me here today. It was nice to get to see the actual wedding, after all the build-up this week.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you were here.”
Hope lights in my heart, like a tiny tea light candle. I want to say something more but then Luke is there, clapping Jace on the back.
“Trent needs us for photos,” he says. He turns to me. “Mind if I steal him for a few minutes?”
“Of course,” I smile, and then they’re off, disappearing around the side of the house with the photographer.
I find the snack table and occupy myself with a shrimp cocktail while I wait. By the time he returns, though, it’s almost dinner time, and we’re escorted to the reception area out back, where huge long tables have been set up under dramatic white tents.
Between the toasts, the silly kissing games Sloane has organized, and the constant stream of fresh courses being delivered to our table, the entire dinner passes in a blur. Jace and I barely have any time to talk, and when we do it’s awkward chit chat, as if we’re just two wedding guests who happened to get seated at the same table.
I pick listlessly at my food. I’m happy to be here, but somehow I feel further away from Jace than ever.
Later, when I’m chatting with a Lebanese woman who tells me she runs the accounting department of Loft & Barn, Jace finally comes to find me. He’d been off doing more photos with the wedding party, leaving me to amuse myself again. I didn’t mind — years in Ivy league and corporate law had left me more than capable of surviving social functions like this on my own. All you really need to do is smile and be curious, and you can make small talk with anyone.
“Having fun?” Jace asks, slipping into the chair next to me.
“I am, actually.”
“Good. Would you like to dance?”
I hesitate, but then nod. “I would.”
I excuse myself from the table and let Jace lead me on to the dance floor. It’s a slow song — there’s been quite a mix of them tonight — and he slips my hand into his and puts his other hand on my waist. He draws me to him as we sway to the music.
The reception seems to melt away. The people, the DJ, the song, the tent, the night sky. It’s all nothing compared to Jace’s arms around me, his breath warm against my cheek. It’s somehow the happiest and the saddest I’ve ever felt.
I use the hand that’s resting on Jace’s shoulder to discreetly wipe away a tear, but I guess I’m not discreet enough, because he looks down at me in alarm.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I say, shaking my head. I force a grin. “I always cry at weddings.”
“Okay, the wedding was over four hours ago. Now you’re just crying at a Meatloaf song.”
I laugh, despite myself. “I can’t help it,” I tease. “It’s just a really emotional song.”
Jace shakes his head. “Come here,” he says, pulling me closer to him. His body is so solid and warm against me that I feel like I could spend the rest of my life right here.
We dance through that song and then two more, and then Jace is leaning into me.
“This feels right, doesn’t it?” He murmurs the words into my hair, and it takes me a moment to comprehend them. I pull my head back and gaze up at him. His blue eyes are dark, almost grey, in the twilight, but the way they burn into me is like a pure white light.
“Yeah. It does.” His hands move against the small of my back, somehow pulling me even closer to him. I can feel his cock starting to stiffen against me, and that tiny sign is enough to thrill me.
“You know what would be even better?” His voice is soft against the shell of my ear. “If we got out of here.”
My breath catches in my throat. “Are you sure? Can you do that?”
He shrugs. “It’s getting late. Trent said he and Hannah would be heading out around now anyway. We’ll just find them and say our goodbyes.” He pauses. “If you want to, I mean.”
I bite my lip. “Yeah. I want to.”
“Good.” Jace smiles, and then, still holding my hand, he leads me off the dance floor and back into the crowd.
We find Hannah and Trent and sure enough, they’re saying goodbye to another group of guests. We wait until they’re done and then let them know we’re leaving.
Trent wraps Jace in a hug. “Thanks for helping to make this such a great night,” he says.
I can see the grin on Jace’s face. “Wouldn’t have missed it,” he says.
I try to hang back — I still feel awkward knowing that they know all about our lie — but Hannah pushes past Trent and gives me a hug.
“I’m really glad you were here,” she says earnestly.
“Me too,” I admit. “It was a lovely wedding. And I enjoyed getting to know you.”
“You too. And I’ll see you tomorrow,” Hannah says.
My forehead wrinkles. “I thought you guys were leaving for the honeymoon first thing in the morning?”
Hannah and Trent exchange a look and then she smacks h
er forehead. “Right. Too much champagne,” she laughs. “Or maybe just a case of bride brain. I guess we won’t see you.”
Trent shakes his head, chuckling. “Come on, Mrs. Whittaker. Let’s say the rest of our goodbyes. We have a wedding night to get to, you know.”
Hannah seems to hum with pleasure as he takes her into his arms and whisks her back away through the crowd.
“They’re too cute,” I laugh, shaking my head.
“Yeah, they really are,” Jace agrees. “Shall we?”
He holds out his hand. This time I don’t hesitate. I slip my hand into his and follow him across the wide green lawn, now damp with evening dew.
30
Celia
The hour-long car ride from Luke’s place back to the hotel is possibly the longest of my life. If I thought the cab ride home the first night Jace and I got together was painful, this one takes it to epic proportions.
We sit on opposite ends of the backseat, chatting about the wedding and Jace gives me a rundown on some of his family members who were there — aunts and uncles and cousins. The names and histories go in one ear and out the other for me though — normally I’d enjoy hearing about his family, but now I only have one thing on my mind: what happens when we get back to the hotel?
There are so many things I want to say to him, and yet my body is aching for his touch. For once, maybe, I want to not think. I want to feel.
When the driver pulls up in front of the Grand Windsor Hotel, Jace takes my hand. He helps me out of the limo, but then doesn’t let go as we make our way through the lobby.
When we get inside the elevator, Jace turns to me with a smile. “My place or yours?”
Instead of answering, I hit the button for the tenth floor. The room we’d shared all week. Jace nods and we’re quiet again as the elevator dings softly passed each floor.