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“Absolutely,” I lied, tucking my arm through his. “Just tired.”
“The gardens have a little café in the lobby if you need a pick-me-up. I’ve heard their hot chocolate is pretty good.” Luca led me down the hallway, past a dozen ornate doors, and out into the main facility where glass domes housed the greenery. The crisp, beachy scent of him kept the humidity and smell of soil from being too cloying, and I tucked a little closer.
“I might need to Irish up that hot chocolate.”
Luca hummed and pulled us to a stop, turning to face me. “That doesn’t sound like a cure for being tired. You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but I’m a pretty good listener. If you want to talk.”
Of course Luca would be a good listener. I’d already witnessed it for myself when he was endlessly attentive during the wedding planning discussions. He hadn’t yawned once when we’d gone over the gigantic book of color swatches.
He didn’t speak while he waited for me to decide, only looked at me like whatever I might say was important…like he was ready to hang on every word. Clients looked at me like that sometimes, but only when I was praising them and pulling compliments out of my ass. Luca certainly wasn’t expecting either of those things from me.
The second forehead poke startled me out of my thoughts again. “Sorry. I have a lot on my mind today. Bridesmaid duties and whatnot.”
I knew by his frown he’d been hoping for more, but I didn’t want to get into my family’s disaster marriages or my disbelief in romantic love. Today wasn’t for any of that.
“Come on, cutie.” I tugged him toward the café. “Let’s get me some sugar.”
Luca paid for the hot chocolate, insisting, “Sad days require free treats.”
Who was I to argue?
We did a quick loop of the building so I could sort out some of the chaos in my brain, letting the drink work its magic before he returned me to the door to the bridal suite. “Come find me if you want to talk later. Offer stands all night.”
I stood on tiptoe, tugged him down to my level, and kissed his cheek. “Go support your brother. I promise I’ll be just peachy.”
The moment I stepped inside the suite, I was yanked into bride-fanning duty as it became apparent one of Allie’s relatives had caused an incident with the florist. They’d sent Nicky to deal with it while Meg kept our bride calm, and with my return I was in charge of keeping Allie from stress-sweating. Luckily, Allie responded well to affection and Meg was more than happy to keep her cocooned in a hug until Nicky’s return.
I lost track of how long I used one of the programs as a makeshift fan, offering reassurance whenever Allie started to get nervous. The uncle had specifically not been invited because of the bullshit he tended to pull at events, but Allie’s mom had overridden the ban and invited him anyway. My own mother would probably have done the same.
Nicky swept back into the suite some time later with a brilliant smile, a bottle of sparkling lemonade, and a handful of glasses. “High fives for the best groomswoman in history!”
I gratefully accepted my share of lemonade and swallowed half of it before slapping my free hand against Nicky’s. “Done! Why are we high-fiving?”
Nicky looked so damn proud of herself and it was the cutest thing ever. She and Luca both got that look when they accomplished something. “Well, for one, I got the florist to agree to stay as long as we kept ‘Druncle’ Ted away from her. Luca escorted him to his hotel room, and I bribed the florist with a box of chocolates I stole from here and a generous tip. And, for two, I have our moms guarding each other so neither of them get into trouble bothering the bride or groom.”
“Damn.” I laughed. Using the moms against each other was both ruthless and brilliant. “Someone’s efficient. You even thought of sugar instead of alcohol for our girl so she doesn’t stumble down the aisle with a tummy full of champagne.”
“I need her stone-cold sober when she becomes my sister-in-law.” Nicky beamed. “You gotta enter the Marino family with both eyes open.”
The Marinos seemed like a good bunch. Nicky was an absolute sweetheart, if a bit neurotic in the day to day (a trait we unfortunately shared); Sidney made my bestie the happiest I’d ever seen her; and Luca…well, it was best not to think too hard about him.
Instead of letting myself dwell on the beta cutie who bought me hot chocolate, I focused on the bride, snuggling up against her back with a wistful sigh. “I still can’t believe you’re getting married. I know you’re already bonded but still. All this ceremony and fanciness is really highlighting my singledom.”
Nicky barked a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand as she choked on her lemonade. “Do not complain about being single anywhere near my mom or she might load Luca into a trebuchet and launch him at you.”
The downside of someone like Luca catching my attention was the closeness of his family. It wasn’t bad, exactly. It was good…for him. But for me? Holy hell was that pressure. I wasn’t even planning on dating Luca and the mere idea of the possibility, of the Marinos being aware of that hypothetical situation, made my palms sweaty.
Shoving those thoughts into the pit of my stomach, I layered over them with some concrete optimism and humor so no one could tell the turn my thoughts had taken.
“Oh nooo. However would I cope with having an adorable beta land in my lap?” I fake-swooned and Allie cackled.
“Listen, you don’t want to catch Mom’s eye,” Nicky warned. “As we speak she’s probably scanning every remotely attractive guest for bond bites and wedding rings and keeping a tally so she can casually trip me into her top choices at the reception.”
Ugh. No thank you. Mama Marino was not someone I wanted staring me down.
“So, what’s up with the cuddling?” Nicky asked as she settled into one of the suite chairs. “Did Meg finally tell you the videographer has food poisoning?”
Aw, fuck.
