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“Trust me,” I said, finishing the twist and securing the hair around my ear with a tie. “A guy like that is used to getting whatever—and whoever—he wants. He’ll keep flirting with me and everyother woman he comes in contact with while we’re here, and then the minute we’re back home, he’ll forget I ever existed.”
Adelie hmmed and joined my side, watching as I dusted some fresh powder on my cheeks and added some lip gloss. She saw to her makeup as well, though she didn’t wear more than a swish of mascara. Adelie went for a more natural appearance, and with her pretty features, she could get away with it.
I wasn’t sure what the rest of the evening would bring, but I knew one thing. I’d keep Hawk at arm’s length for as long as I could.
Light glimmered on the lake’s glassy surface. Tables were set up in the center of a clearing about a hundred feet from the shore. From here, the mountain ascended. A stairway made of railroad ties led up to Adrian’s family’s cabin and the location of tomorrow’s wedding.
Cream fabric hugged the back of every chair and coordinated with the glass table settings and the napkins doing origami yoga on every plate.
I examined the name cards on each elegant place setting and found my spot. Sure enough, I’d been seated right next to Hawk.
“Oh, no, they don’t.”
Darting a quick peek to either side to make sure no one was looking, I snatched my plate’s name card and swapped it with Adelie’s.
Once the deed was done, I searched the crowds and waited for my clandestinely racing pulse to slow back down again.
Very few people were sitting yet. Most were gathered together in clusters, catching up and chatting.
Hawk stood in a collection of guys, and the sight of so many handsome men dressed sharper than blades on a saw was disarming, to say the least.
Addie joined my side, her jaw hanging slightly agape as though she were having the same thought.
Her state of distraction helped pull me from mine.
“I’ll give you ten bucks if you go in the middle of that group and ask one of them to dance,” I said.
She snorted. “The fact that I’m here at the wedding at all should earn me more than that.”
“I thought you liked any excuse to get dressed up,” I said.
“Yeah, I do.” Her smile was so bashful and cute, I couldn’t help but return it.
Gabby approached. She wore a slim gown of cream that hugged her curves in all the right ways, which was evidenced by how often Adrian glanced in her direction.
“We’re just about to eat,” she said.
Sure enough, Mrs. Bear announced that dinner was served. Addie and I converged toward our seats—only, I stopped.
Hawk frowned at the plates. Had he noticed we’d been sitting side by side before?
Something told me he did because he made a joke aboutmix-ups and the idiot swapped his card with the place beside the one I’d switched to.
He’d put things right back to the way they were before.
The jerk.
I was affronted, but I couldn’t say as much. He was ridiculous.
“You’re changing my seat?” a man who’d been part of Adrian’s posse said as he approached the table.
“Just thought you might like to sit here instead,” Hawk said, winking at me. “Ella, have you met Maddox? He’s another one of the groomsmen.”
Maddox reached out a hand and shook mine and Adelie’s.
“Duncan couldn’t make it?” Hawk asked Maddox as he sat down next to me.
Beneath the table, his leg brushed against mine, and my nerves tightened. These chairs were situated much too close to one another. Addie gave me a curious glance, but I shook my head at her.
