Seduction, page 22
“Okay.” I doubted anyone would miss me tonight anyway. They were all shit-faced. Today had been crazy. And I just wanted to go home with my husband.
I’d tortured him tonight. He’d tortured me back. And I needed to make sure we were okay. “I love you most,” I said.
His lips brushed against mine. “Impossible.” One of his hands moved from my waist to my stomach.
He didn’t say another word. But I knew what he was saying in the silence. That he loved our unborn baby too.
“Okay, let’s go home. Besides, he needs his Harry Potter bedtime story.” I put my hand on top of James’.
“Yes, she does.”
I smiled to myself. I wasn’t sure how I ever thought we’d be spending the night apart. But first we needed to find our way out of this warehouse maze.
Chapter 28
Saturday
“Baby.”
I slowly opened my eyes to see James staring at me. I smiled at him. “Good morning, handsome.”
He smiled. “I want to lie here with you all day…but we have to go.”
I nodded but didn’t move. And he didn’t move either. We just stared at each other as the morning sun rays slowly filtered into the room.
I felt…off.
And I knew he could tell. It’s why neither of us moved an inch.
My chest ached. It was almost like I was reliving the morning of our wedding. And that filled me with so much happiness, but also with fear. Our wedding day had been the best and the worst day of my life. I hadn’t been to any weddings since ours. And I knew that Isabella wasn’t out there anymore…but there was still this sense of doom in my chest. I wondered if weddings would always feel this way to me. Hope and fear, love and death, all colliding in my head.
I pressed my lips together.
“Today is gonna be okay,” he said.
Was he thinking the same thing I was? Our wedding night was horrifying to me. But he didn’t even remember it. He’d spent the night in a coma. I felt tears slide down the side of my face and onto my pillow. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to go to another wedding without thinking about what happened at ours.”
“Oh, baby.” He pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. “You have nothing to worry about today. Ian, Briggs, and Porter will all be there. And I hired extra security just in case. You don’t have anything to fear.”
I sniffled.
He kissed the top of my head. “We’re safe now.”
I knew that. I truly did. But I hugged him tighter anyway. I didn’t want to spend the morning away from him. Hell, I hated spending even a second away from him. “Can’t we just stay here a little while longer?”
“Of course.” He held me tighter.
We just lay there in silence, wrapped up in each other. I pressed my cheek against his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat. And I let him run his fingers slowly up and down my back, calming me. His heart was still beating. He was safe. And healthy again. I closed my eyes tight and listened to his heartbeat for a few more minutes. There was nothing I loved more than hearing his heart beating, slow and steady.
“Okay,” I said and tipped my head back so I could look up at him. “Let’s do this thing.”
He smiled down at me.
“Do you need to practice your best man speech or anything?”
He cupped my face in his hands. “No more procrastinating. If we’re lucky none of them will catch us sneaking into the hotel.”
“Easy. They were all so wasted last night.”
He laughed. “They really were.” He groaned as he sat up, stretching his neck.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
He seemed to get a stiff neck whenever I insisted that we stay intertwined all night long.
He leaned down and kissed me again. “It was worth it. Now let’s go before we get in trouble.”
***
We stopped outside the hotel room door.
He pulled me in close and breathed me in. “We’re safe,” he said.
And I believed him. But I saw something else in his eyes this time when he said it. And as he held me a little tighter, like he didn’t want to let me go.
I blinked fast so I wouldn’t cry. For some reason all I could see was red. The blood sputtering out of his mouth and the fear in his eyes on our wedding night. I reached up and traced his lips with my index finger, just to make sure the vision was all in my head.
He kissed my fingertips. “I’ll be waiting for you at the end of the aisle.”
I smiled up at him. “Promise?”
He kissed my fingertips again and then pulled me in close. “I promise.”
“Are you sure we can’t just drive down together?”
“Rob insisted that he wanted a bros’ morning.” James shrugged. “But Ian’s driving you guys down. It’s going to be fine.”
It was. It had to be. Because my heart couldn’t take another night like our wedding night. It had almost broken me. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Until then.” He leaned down. And kissed me. And kissed me. Until my head was dizzy. His fingers dug into my back as he pulled me even closer. And then he stepped back. The corner of his mouth ticked up. “See you later, wife.”
“See you later, husband.”
I watched him walk down the hall toward the hotel room where all the groomsmen were. I tried to shake away the feeling of doom in my tummy and turned toward my hotel room. It was game time. I did not want to get caught sneaking in.
I tiptoed into the hotel room. There were a few people asleep on the bed. And a few more on the fold out couch.
The floor creaked and a mess of blonde hair popped up from the bed.
“Did you just get in?” Bee asked with a yawn. She winced and pressed her hand to her head, which I’m sure ached.
“No, I was here all night,” I said and pretended to yawn.
“Oh.” She shrugged. “Last night is a little blurry. I need Advil.” She pushed the covers away and climbed out of bed.
Daphne sat up with a yawn. “Where’d you sleep last night?” she asked.
“Here,” I lied.
She frowned. “No you didn’t. You ran off after the stripteases and never came back.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“Lies,” Daphne said with a laugh.
I laughed too. “Okay, you caught me. I really needed to see James. And I figured you were all too plastered to notice if I was gone.”
“Oh, well…yeah. Every one of us was drunk. Except for you. Because you’re the only pregnant one.” Daphne quickly looked away from me. “I gotta hop in the shower! We gotta get on the road in less than an hour. Can you order brunch for us? There’s a menu on the nightstand.” She practically leapt out of bed and ran into the bathroom.
There was a whole lot about what she had said that was weird. But the thing that stuck out the most was that she was letting me order brunch. Without going over the menu a hundred times and being super anal about it. Which meant…she was definitely trying to get away from me. She’d started acting really weird when I said everyone else was drunk…
Oh my God… I sighed. She was pregnant, wasn’t she? Bee had totally believed my lie about being here last night and she was nursing a hangover. But Daphne called me out right away and seemed perfectly chipper this morning. I thought back to last night. I hadn’t ever actually seen her drinking anything. All I could picture was a glass of untouched champagne that Justin had forced into her hand. How had everyone seen it but me?
Damn it, I really didn’t want to lose this bet. Hopefully I was just imagining it. Who knew…maybe Daphne was just a champ at holding her liquor. And I really didn’t think this wedding was a shotgun thing. She and Rob were just head over heels in love. And pregnant. Gah, no!
But also…it was kind of perfect if they were. Their baby would be practically the same age as mine. They could grow up together and be best friends. I knew I was getting ahead of myself. I wasn’t even sure Daphne was pregnant. But…it kind of seemed like she was. I couldn’t believe I was going to lose another bet with James.
“What is with that Cheshire cat grin?” Bee asked and collapsed in the bed beside me.
“I’m pretty sure you’re right about Daphne being pregnant. Did you see her drink at all last night?”
Bee scrunched her mouth to the side. “I honestly don’t remember. I drank enough for all three of us.”
I laughed.
She groaned. “Stop laughing so loud.”
“She also said I could order brunch for everyone this morning. And didn’t give me a detailed list of menu changes.”
Bee propped herself up with a pillow. “That is weird. But she’s probably just nervous about the wedding today, don’t you think? She’s probably freaking out. I mean…she’s marrying Rob.”
I laughed. “Rob is amazing.”
“An amazing flirt.”
“True. But he loves her. And now that he’s settling down, I bet he’ll be less flirtatious.”
“I doubt it,” Bee said. “He’ll probably keep calling you sugar tits half the time.”
I laughed. But she was so right. Rob would always be…Rob. And I loved that about him. “Okay, I need to order this food. Anything you know for sure that Daphne hates?”
Bee grabbed the menu from me. “Literally all of this.”
I stuck my tongue out at her and called down to the front desk. I decided to hedge my bets by asking for everything on a separate plate. That way there was bound to be something Daphne could eat.
Kristen yawned and sat up on the couch bed. “You guys,” she said and turned toward us. “I just had the best dream.” She nudged Alina awake.
“What was your dream?” Alina mumbled and swatted her hand away.
“I dreamt that I slept with Professor Hunter.”
“Okay,” I said. “That’s enough. Kristen, you cannot talk about my husband that way right in front of me. It’s completely inappropriate and you’re driving me crazy.”
She laughed. “I’m so sorry. It’s just so hard. You know how sexy he is.”
“Like that! Stop saying that.”
Bee laughed and I tossed a pillow at her face.
“Hey!” Bee rolled out of the way. “I wasn’t hitting on James! You’re the one who had your hands all over Mason.”
“I didn’t…”
“Yeah, you kind of did. But I don’t blame you. Mason has abs of steel. It’s hard not to touch them when they’re right in front of you.”
“He grabbed my hand.”
“Mhm,” she said with a laugh.
“He did! But none of that matters. We’re even. You flirted with James too.”
Bee shrugged. “I can’t help it if I like being tied up.”
Oh my God. I focused back on Kristen. “But you and I are not even. I mean, how would you feel if I kept saying stuff about your boyfriend…sorry…what’s his name?”
“Tim,” she said with a smile.
“How would you like it if I said Tim was my hall pass and I couldn’t wait to screw him at the wedding tonight?”
“I’d say I’m so glad you said that, because I was hoping we could switch men tonight.”
I groaned and fell backward on the bed. It was going to be a long day. But I had to say…I was very curious to meet the man that could apparently put up with Kristen. Because that girl was a lot.
“Just so you know,” Kristen said, as if this conversation wasn’t over. “Tim is an Olympic athlete. And that stamina in the bedroom? You’d definitely get your money’s worth.”
I stared at the ceiling. “So in this weird scenario I’m paying for your boyfriend to sleep with me?”
She laughed and jumped on the bed beside me. “It’s just a saying. Tim would do it for free. He has a thing for redheads. And brunettes. And blondes.”
I laughed. “It sounds like you need to keep him on a leash.”
“I bet he’d love that.”
Alina plopped down on the bed next to us. “Kristen, you are so weird sometimes. For the sake of everyone’s relationships, can we just agree not to hit on each other’s men for the remainder of the weekend?”
Kristen pouted. “But…”
“No buts.” Alina put her hand into the middle of the bed.
“Fine by me,” I said and put my hand on top of hers. I’d gotten jealous enough last night during James’ striptease. I wasn’t sure I could handle any more.
“I want to keep Mason’s abs to myself,” Bee said and put her hand on top of mine.
“He made me do it!” I protested.
She laughed. “I know. I’m just giving you a hard time.”
“Kristen,” Alina said. “Put your hand in.”
She groaned.
“Kristen.” Alina gave her a hard stare.
Kristen sighed. “Sober me agrees,” she said and put her hand on top of Bee’s. “But drunk me? I can’t control that girl. She’s wild.”
Yeah…that was not agreement. But it was probably the closest we’d get from her.
“No hitting on each other’s men on three,” Alina said.
We all said the words. But not perfectly at the same time, so the words all jumbled together incoherently.
I laughed as we threw our hands into the air. I was pretty sure we’d just promised each other absolutely nothing. And tonight was about to get weird.
Chapter 29
Saturday
My hands were shaking as I put my earrings on. For some reason all I could see was myself staring back at me in that dingy hospital bathroom. As I’d tried to wash James’ blood off my hands. As I’d tried to tear my bloodstained wedding dress off.
Bee’s eyes met mine in the mirror. “Are you okay?”
I blinked again and saw myself in my bridesmaid dress. Safe. In the bridal suite of Hunter Creek Country Club. “Mhm.” My voice sounded squeaky and strange. I finally slipped the last earring on. I needed to get myself under control. It would be easy to blame my crazy hormones. But…it was more than that. Each hour that passed brought us closer and closer to the wedding. Which brought us closer to tonight. And just the thought made my throat feel tight.
Bee leaned against the bathroom vanity and stared at me. “Does Rob have any crazy exes that you’re aware of?”
“What?”
“Of all the girls that Rob dated, are any of them legit insane?”
“I’m honestly not even sure if Rob’s had a real girlfriend before.”
“Well…there you go. No psychos with guns at this wedding.”
I sighed and leaned against the vanity too. “Every time I close my eyes I hear that gunshot. You know…I thought they were fireworks. Instead of looking at James I was looking up at the sky.”
“Me too.” She grabbed my hand. “But this is Rob’s wedding. And Rob doesn’t have an insane ex-wife.”
I nodded.
“I know it’s only been a few months since your wedding, but time heals everything. Maybe by the time my wedding rolls around you won’t be thinking about that night anymore.”
“Yeah. Maybe.” I nodded, as if that would help make it happen.
“It’s okay,” she said. “You have time. I’m pretty sure Mason thinks that marriage is synonymous with babies because of you and James. And he is definitely not ready to be a father. Yet.”
I laughed.
“There’s my girl,” Bee said. “Today is going to be so fun. And what could possibly go wrong here? Ian, Porter, and Briggs have got this place locked down.”
I thought they did at our wedding too. “Isn’t there another wedding here today?”
Bee waved her hand through the air. “Apparently it’s this cute little old couple. They aren’t a threat. And their guests are sectioned off. Now come on,” she said and dragged me out of the bathroom. “The photographer should be here any minute and we need to get ready to strike a sexy pose.”
I laughed. “I’m not sure I can pull that off right now.”
Bee looked down at my stomach. “Nonsense. If you face the camera head-on you won’t even be able to tell that you’re pregnant.”
Maybe. I did have to admit that the black color was pretty slimming. And I felt sexy with the way it crisscrossed in the back. I couldn’t wait to see James drooling.
Justin strutted into the room looking like he wasn’t hungover at all. Seriously…how did he do it?
“Ladies,” Justin said and clapped his hands. “The photographer will be here in five minutes. We’ll be doing pictures of the bridal parties separately so Rob and Daphne don’t see each other before the big moment. The boys will be taking pictures outside first, so we’ll be in here.” He sat down on the couch and crossed his legs.
I loved that he was one of the girls with us. I sat down next to him, already happy to be off my feet.
“Last night was fun, huh?” he said.
“I think you probably had the best time.”
He laughed. “What can I say? I like what I like.” He started drumming his fingers on his thighs.
“Everything alright?” I asked.
“Yes, of course. I’m always just a little hyper on wedding days when there hasn’t been a rehearsal. I tried to talk them into coming down last night and doing the rehearsal with a dinner and everything. But they insisted they wanted to spend the night in the city.” He shook his head. “Now who knows what’ll happen.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“I know. But the last huge wedding I planned was yours and it was perfect until that crazy witch ruined it. And now it’s all anyone can remember.” He pressed his lips together.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one who was thinking about that. “Well, James and I did have a rehearsal and a rehearsal dinner. And it was a fiasco.”
Justin shook his head. “No, everything was perfect. But I didn’t expect the unexpected, that was that problem. Isabella ruined everything. I hate that woman. I hate her, I hate her, I hate her! I don’t know how James could have married her after everything she did. I’ll never forgive her for any of it.” He huffed.
“Everything she did? Did you know her before they got married?” I knew for a fact that Justin hadn’t planned James and Isabella’s wedding. It was one of the reasons why I’d chosen him. Well, that and the fact that he was amazing.
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