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Joshua peers over his shoulder to check Austen’s location before pulling his shirt from his pants to reveal a black and gold silk corset cinching in his already trim waist. “Lady B sent it to me. It’s going to lock in the deal for Austen to finally launch the Men at Night line. I put it on after Austen ravished me earlier.”
Ben whimpers and pretends to faint against his fiancé’s side.
“Hey, is that from Lady B?” Elijah asks, coming in at the end of the conversation. “That matches the one you gave us for Dominick.”
I vaguely remember that Dominick Steel is a male lingerie model and Elijah’s boyfriend. Austen must be in the same field.
“Hey, can we get one, too?” Flinn flinches when Ben rises from his faint and hits him. “What? You wore the lace?—”
He cuts off when Ben hits him again before stepping across the circle to join Samantha and me, and the lingerie fanatics huddle up together.
I turn toward Samantha just in time for her to abandon for the other group, leaving me and Ben alone.
I glance at him. “So…”
Ben glares at the newly formed clique. “Never try on a pair of lace underwear around your partner unless you want to wear it for the rest of your life, man. Flinn never had an interest in this stuff until I let Joshua talk me into trying on a pair of sexy briefs.”
I chuckle awkwardly. “I don’t think that will be a problem. Lingerie isn’t built for my body type.”
“You’ve obviously never seen Dominick Steel’s social page.” Ben pulls out his phone and opens an app.
He turns the screen toward me, displaying a strong-figured man in lingerie. The lace teddy he wears serves to highlight his muscular frame, while his long, blond hair drapes artfully over his broad shoulders.
This is Elijah’s boyfriend? No wonder he didn’t even blink at Joshua displaying a modest corset.
Blood rushes to my cheeks, and I look away. “I don’t think I’d have the confidence for something like that, but good for him.”
Ben tucks his phone away. “What was Samantha playing at with the whole Rian thing? Didn’t you guys date briefly in high school? Is she just poking fun at you?”
“We were trying to figure out how he was related to Sean.” My eyes drift back to the dance floor. “It was a bit of a shock seeing him here.”
“Yeah, I was surprised when I found out they were related, too.” Ben glances over at Rian. “He’s been helping at the foster home recently. He’s considering signing up to work as personal security, so he’s been shadowing Sean and Flinn to see what the job entails.”
It surprises me to hear Rian would be interested in that kind of job. What happened to his dream of going pro?
“You should go talk to him,” Ben says.
Startled, I tear my eyes away from Rian. “What?”
“It’s obviously going to bother you until you do.” Ben nudges me. “Now’s the time, before they get into the cake cutting and first dance. He’ll be busy then.”
I swallow hard. Is now really a good time? Do I really want to rip open this old wound? Rian is alone right now, so this may be my only chance.
With a deep breath, I straighten my shoulders and stride toward the dance floor.
Rian spots me coming right away and stiffens. His eyes dart to the side, but he doesn’t turn and leave, which I take as a good sign.
My heart pounds as I stop in front of him. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he says, his hand tightening on the wine glass he holds.
Silence fills the space between us as we stare at each other.
“Well, this is awkward.” I chuckle and rub the back of my neck. “Do you have a second to go somewhere and talk?”
His eyes dart to the side again. “Why? I didn’t think you wanted anything to do with me.”
My gut clenches at hearing my words from all those years ago thrown back at me, but I deserve it. I hurt Rian, and I have no right to ask for his time now.
