by Lily Kate
The surprise on her face registers deep in my belly, and I’m suddenly reeling with the thought that this is real. No longer are we playing some fantastical game. What we have is real and new and exciting.
“It was special,” I agree. Ryan shows his own agreement by sliding his hand low on my back. I clear my throat, all too aware that Mrs. Pierce is standing right in front of us. “Anyway, how are Lawrence and Lilia doing?”
“Actually, Lawrence told me to send you back as soon as you arrived.”
“What does he want?” Ryan pulls me closer. “I’ll head back there now.”
Mrs. Pierce reaches out, rests her fingers on her son’s arm. “Not you. He wants to see Andi.”
Ryan freezes. “Why?”
“He didn’t say.”
“I’ll go with you,” Ryan says, turning to me. “See what he—”
“No, just Andi will be fine. Ryan, come help with some chairs,” his mother says firmly.
“But—”
“It’s okay,” I say, offering a smile. “I’ll be right back.”
Ryan pauses, and then realizes that between me and his mother, he’s fighting a losing battle. “I’ll be waiting out here…with the chairs. Come back soon, or I’ll find you.”
I make my way through the beautiful old church, the stained-glass windows giving off a colorful sheen on the white walls, the carpeting red beneath my feet. I let soft footsteps carry me to the area behind the altar where Mrs. Pierce directed me.
“Andi.” Lawrence sees me before I can reach him. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“The church is beautiful,” I say as he pulls me away from the small crowd of men in suits around him. “I can’t wait to see Lilia.”
He pulls me to the last pew in the side section and sits down next to me. “Listen, I need to apologize.”
I shake my head. “No, of course not.”
“I had too much to drink, and as I’m sure my brother told you, I can be an asshole now and again.”
“I really didn’t think—”
“You don’t have to stick up for me,” he says. “I can admit when I screwed up, and I did. I’m sorry I said any of that at dinner.”
“Really, it’s okay. I’m over it.”
He has similar brown eyes to Ryan, and staring into them is almost eerie. “I didn’t realize how serious the two of you are.”
“We weren’t all that serious,” I say, struggling to explain. “It’s new, and you couldn’t have known. It was an honest mistake.”
“He really likes you, Andi,” Lawrence says. “I’ve never seen him act like this with a girl before.”
“I really like him too.”
“I know, and that’s why I’m apologizing.” He offers a smile, and in it, I see the charm that Lilia must see too. “I’m trying not to be a jerk, but I fuck up now and again. I just wanted to say, well, welcome to the family.”
I swallow over a lump in my throat. “You didn’t have to apologize, but…thank you.”
He opens his arms, a bit timid, and I laugh.
“Friends?” he asks. “Please? Lilia would kill me if she knew I didn’t apologize to you. She likes you too.”
I open my arms and give him a quick hug, pulling away with a smile of my own. “So that’s the only reason you apologized, huh? To keep Lilia happy?”
He looks alarmed at first, but my voice is teasing, and so is my grin.
“You’re good.” He points at me, a broad grin on his face as he shakes his finger. “You know what they say: happy wife, happy life. Now, let’s go get me married to the most beautiful woman on earth!”
I’m giddy watching Lawrence stride back through the church, clasping hands with his groomsmen as he passes. I’m so occupied watching the reunion that I don’t realize Ryan has sat down next to me until he eases his hand into mine.
His face is unreadable. “Everything all right?”
“It’s perfect,” I say, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Lawrence isn’t so bad.”
Ryan looks surprised, sits back against the pew. “He apologized?”
“Let’s just say, I think we’re friends now.”
“I didn’t think he had it in him.”
“Get up there.” I playfully smack Ryan’s butt. “Be the best man you can be.”
“And then later…” He leans over, his lips pressed to my ear. “I’ll make you feel the best you’ve ever felt.”
I shiver as he walks away, goose bumps on my skin despite the warm summer day.
When the wedding bells chime, I stand with the rest of the congregation, the world a bright and sunny place, at least for today. Then Ryan waves at me from his place on the altar, and my heart stutters, racing at the thought that finally, I’ve found what my dad was talking about.
CHAPTER 43
Ryan
“May I have this dance?” I whisper in Andi’s ear, my hand on the bare skin of her back.
She startles, halfway into reaching for one of those miniature hot dog appetizer things. They’re good, I know—I ate about ten of them.
She turns to me, eyes wide with surprise, the little hot dog in her hands. “Dance?”
I laugh. Her mouth is full, and she is obviously going for her second one. “Hungry?”
She swallows. “These are delicious. I need to convince my dad to sell some at the restaurant.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
Her eyes darken. “A dance?”
I extend my hand and wait as she sets the appetizer on a napkin, wipes her hands, and joins me on the dance floor. By the time she twirls into my arms, my heart is pumping as if I’m about to play for the Stanley Cup.
I haven’t made it to the finals yet, which is a big part of the reason I’m looking to transfer. LA is rebuilding their team, and they have a strong bunch of up-and-comers. I want to be one of them—at least, I did until I met Andi.
“Where’d you learn how to dance?” she asks, leaning her head against my chest.
I cinch my hands tighter across her back. “Prom.”
We’re slow dancing, spinning in a circle and barely moving our feet. It’s not as if I’m talented or particularly skilled in this arena; I just try not to stand still or twirl too quickly. There aren’t that many ways to screw up a slow dance.
As I inhale the vaguely familiar scent of her shampoo, it’s impossible not to get turned on; I can’t help it. Her hands, tiny in comparison to mine, clasp my shoulders a bit more firmly than necessary. She takes these little breaths that make it sound like she’s excited, and when she looks up at me, it’s like I’m the only person she can see.
Without a doubt, I know I’m the lucky one.
“What are you thinking?” she murmurs. “You look so serious.”
I blink, and let a smile come to my lips. “I must have been concentrating.”
“On what?”
“The way you look.”
“Oh?” It’s neither a question nor a statement, simply an exhale of breath in the shape of an O.
“You’re gorgeous.”
“You’re pretty handsome yourself,” she says, her hands tightening around my neck. “Kiss me, handsome.”
It’s the easiest request. My arms slide around her back, holding her close, my hands barely skimming her lower back. I’d try to cop a better feel of her ass, but my parents are in the room, and I know it’d make Andi uncomfortable. So, I settle for a peek of her cleavage instead.
Then I lean into her. Her lips are soft, tasting of strawberries, cream, a hint of champagne, and I’m lost in the kiss for the rest of the song. We make out straight through the break between songs, and when the next song starts—a fast-paced rap number, probably by Kanye—we continue slow dancing.
She lets out the smallest moan, and it’s nearly enough to make me take her into a closet and have my way with her. I haven’t had so many uncontrollable boners since I turned fourteen. That was a rough year because I had a smoking hot biology teacher, but this is worse. A
million times worse. That biology teacher couldn’t hold a candle to the woman in my arms now.
“Andi,” I whisper, pushing her up-do away from her ear, dotting tiny kisses across her neck. I’ve never understood the phrase wanting to eat someone up—it sounds weirdly cannibalistic—but right now, I want to eat her up, she smells so good. “I want to take you home, or to the car, or…you name it. I want you.”
She flicks her tongue in the most erotic kiss, and I forget that my parents are in the room. I’m ready to lay her on the buffet table and have her for dessert.
“You’re going to have to wait,” she says, a hint of a tease, a giggle bubbling in her throat. “I like this game.”
I grip her hips firmly and pull her close to me. We’re disguised somewhat by the bobbing, throbbing group of dancers grinding around us. I let her feel me against her, and I hold nothing back. “This isn’t a game, honey.”
Her eyes are beacons of light on the dance floor, and her face flushes with desire. “Wow,” she murmurs. “That is…”
“You don’t even understand,” I say. “We need to get out of here. It’s not safe.”
“But—”
“You don’t understand. I need you.”
“Where can we go?”
I press my mouth against hers, sliding my tongue between her lips. That simple answer is the sexiest thing she could’ve said. As much as we need to get out of here, I can’t resist making her mine for the world to see. It’s hot, a lightning strike of passion.
“Come on,” I say. “I know a place—”
“May I have this dance?” An ice-cold voice cuts through the pulsating music. “Good to finally meet you. Andi, isn’t it?”
Jocelyn. In this moment, she’s The Bitch. No offense to ladies everywhere, but I’ve been cockblocked so hard I’m aching in the most sensitive places. Jocelyn knows what she is doing, too; I see it in her eyes.
She’s pleased with herself, the monster. Doesn’t she understand the meaning of blue balls? Anyway, it’s more than that. It’s not about my dick, for once; it’s about Andi. It’s about me needing to be with her, to satisfy her every desire. I want to get the hell away from the public, this wedding, and most of all, Jocelyn.
“Oh, sure,” Andi says, her eyes cloudy with lust. She shakes her head, presumably to clear her thoughts, and takes a step back. “You’re… You must be Jocelyn.”
“I am.” She says this as if everyone should know who she is. “Thanks, Andi. I’ll return him to you shortly.”
“We were about to leave,” I tell Jocelyn, giving her my best death stare, holding on to Andi’s hand so she can’t leave. “I’m sorry, this will have to wait until another time.”
“It’s okay, really,” Andi says, wiggling away from me with a quick smile, one that doesn’t reach her eyes. “I, um, I’m hungry. I’ll grab another appetizer.”
I take a step around Jocelyn to follow Andi and reach for her hand. “Wait.”
“I really think this is the best time,” Jocelyn calls after me. “Surely whatever you were planning to do can wait one minute?”
The song changes to a slow song right at that moment. “No,” I growl. “Unfortunately, it can’t wait.”
Jocelyn gives a pointed look at my crotch. “Really?”
I’m on the verge of exploding from the frustration, anger, and sexual tension. It’s all I can do to clamp my mouth shut and not tell Jocelyn what she can do with her manipulative little tricks.
“Really, Ryan, it’s okay,” Andi assures me. “I’m going to congratulate the new Pierce couple. Find me by the bar afterward.”
I begin to argue, but she raises her eyebrows and shoos me away with her hand. She’s a champion for putting up with Jocelyn, and she’s handling it better than I would if some guy asked her to dance. I’d punch him in the face and ask questions later. That’s why Andi’s a better person than I’ll ever be.
“What the hell?” I turn to Jocelyn. “You need to talk to me right fucking now?”
She very lightly puts her hands on me. Her fingers are long, slim, and feel like tentacles of ice on my shoulders. I grudgingly put the tips of my fingers on her waist—too high to insinuate anything sexual, too low to be considered a hug. I feel like I’m in friggin seventh grade, trying to slow dance without getting screamed at by the teachers.
“Language,” she says. “When I sign you, you’d better learn to control it. I’m not signing you so I can run around cleaning up your—pardon my French—fucking messes.”
“I was busy.”
“I see that. It’s quite obvious.”
I grit my teeth. “Why are you here?”
I know why she’s here. She and Lawrence are friends, and it’s because of their relationship that I got a meeting with her in the first place.
“I know your brother, obviously. Don’t ask stupid questions. Do you see what I mean? When you start thinking with your dick, you lose track of your brain.”
“Shouldn’t you be over talking to Lawrence and Lilia?”
“I paid my respects. I have a flight to catch in several hours, and I wanted to say my goodbyes first.”
“Goodbye,” I say, turning away.
Her nails clench into my skin, digging through the fabric. “You’re letting her go tonight, aren’t you?”
I turn back, frozen. I meant to talk to her tonight but here, in the middle of the dance floor, I can’t do it. I can’t make a scene in the middle of my brother’s wedding. I’m his best man—I’d have to be a complete asshole to turn this evening upside down with a fight between his best man and his colleague.
So I remain silent.
“I take your silence as a good sign.” She reaches up, pats my cheek. “Good boy.”
I catch her wrist in my hand, hard. “Don’t touch me, Jocelyn.”
Her eyes glint. She knows she’s getting to me. It’s no wonder she’s the best agent in the business. She’s shrewd, beautiful, smart—and cutthroat. She can smell a person’s weakness a mile away, and she has no problem exploiting it.
“I can only imagine your display tonight is because you want one last lay,” she says. “And I can understand that, believe it or not—”
“Don’t you dare talk about Andi like that.” I cinch my hand tighter around her wrist. The more frustrated I get, the more fun she seems to have with it. “She is my girlfriend.”
Jocelyn’s eyes flash. “I see how it is.”
“We’re not discussing this here.”
Finally, a glint of anger streaks across her face. “When you fly to my offices next weekend, you’d better be single, Mr. Pierce. Understand?”
“Why?” I challenge. “Why does it matter?”
“We’ve discussed this.” She pulls her hands off of me and straightens her elegant black dress. “Those are my terms. If you want your chance at the big leagues, you’ll agree to them. I’m offering you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you lie to me, I will ruin you.”
I watch as she storms away, my spine rigid, as if her very touch has turned it to ice.
She could ruin me, too.
Jocelyn doesn’t play nice, and she doesn’t play fair, and I don’t doubt that she gets whatever she wants.
She might control the game, but this time I’m not playing by her rules.
CHAPTER 44
Andi
I try to ignore the tendrils of jealousy creeping over my skin.
Jocelyn looks beautiful in that black gown of hers, so polished, successful, professional. She’s all sleek muscles, reeking of finesse and money and all things elegant—things Ryan could have in a second if he wanted them.
Not for the first time, I wonder what he sees in me when he has a woman like Jocelyn feeling up his chest. I eat another hot dog thing without even realizing it while I watch in the reflection of a vase as they talk on the dance floor.
They’re hardly moving, and Ryan looks pissed—furious even. I wonder what she’s said. What could make him so upset? Did they have a relati
onship before, or an almost-relationship?
Ryan said no, and I trust him, but she is obviously saying something to piss him off, and Ryan doesn’t seem like the type to lose his cool over something trivial.
So what is she going on about that has his feathers all ruffled?
I swallow the hot dog and reach for a glass of champagne, suddenly pretending to be busy as I see them breaking apart. Whatever they were doing, one could hardly call it dancing. They basically stood and shot daggers at each other with their eyes.
Ryan looks up, searching for something—me, probably—and I’m careful to be surveying the high-quality selection of desserts. I don’t want him to think I was creep-watching his interactions with that woman. I want him to think I’m over here, all confident and unbothered by the situation as I enjoy a big, sprinkled cupcake.
I’ve just chosen one with pink frosting and a tiny picture of Lawrence and Lilia’s faces on it when I feel a tap on my shoulder and drop the thing back onto my plate.
“You’re a doll, you know that?” Jocelyn is standing there, an odd sort of expression on her face. She’s smiling, but it looks painful, stilted. When I don’t give any sign of understanding, she continues. “For putting up with Ryan’s strict social requirements.”
“What?” I take another sip of champagne, mostly to calm my nerves. “Social requirements?”
“Playing along as his girlfriend.”
Something about the way she says this, as if it’s her doing, brings out the cat-like claws I’ve been trying to hide. I smile sweetly. “Oh, we’re not playing. It’s real. New, of course, but very, very real.”
“Ah, I see.” She looks behind me, wrinkles her nose at the cupcakes. “You’re quite talented at playing the smitten girlfriend.”
“I love him,” I say. I’m not sure where it comes from, but it pops right out of my mouth. It’s true, I feel it in my gut, but I didn’t plan to admit it to a stranger this early in our relationship, especially not her. “We are very real, Miss—”
“Jocelyn.” Her voice is a piercing icicle, and it sends shivers down my back. “Is that why you’re doing this? Because you love him?”