I felt the shift again.
Alex laughed. ‘Mate,’ was all he said.
‘You have to help me,’ Charlie said again, his tone definite. ‘You’re the one with experience in crowd control.’
Alex smiled and slapped him on the back. ‘Fine. I’ll help you. But I’m just saying now, if one of the bridesmaids is hot…’
I cleared my throat.
Charlie and Alex both looked at me.
‘Joking, I promise.’ Alex wrapped an arm around me and squeezed. ‘Just trying to wind up the knight in shining armour here. I promise,’ he said again, whispering it this time, close to my ear, his breath warm on my skin. He let go and dug in his pocket for his phone, bringing up the calendar. ‘What day is it again?’
I told Alex the date. He scrolled through and his face lost its smile.
‘I’m on duty. Sorry, mate, I can’t do it.’
I frowned. ‘But I thought you’d booked it off when I told you about it a few weeks ago? When I asked if you wanted to come with me?’
He threw me a sheepish look. ‘I kind of forgot.’
I nodded. ‘Right.’
‘Oh, God!’ Charlie sat down heavily on the sofa and dropped his head into his hands. ‘Why did I say I’d do it? What was I thinking?’ He pulled his hands down over his face.
I sat next to him.
‘You said you’d do it because you’re a good person and because you can do it. And you’re also much better than that loser she hired in the first place!’
‘Libby.’ He shook his head. ‘You know hordes of people aren’t really my thing.’
‘I do know that. So, I can help, if you want.’
‘Really?’
‘Of course. Besides—' I threw a glance at Alex, eyebrow raised ‘—my date for it cancelled on me anyway.’
‘There we are, then. Problem solved,’ Alex said, holding up his hands. ‘I’d really better be going if I’m going to get to work on time.’
‘I’ll see you out.’
‘I’m really sorry about the wedding thing,’ Alex said when we’d stepped outside my front door to say goodbye in private. ‘I guess I just got distracted with everything going on at the moment.’
‘It’s all right.’
‘Let me make it up to you.’ Sliding his arms around my waist, he pulled me into his warm, hard body. ‘Dinner. Friday night. And I have the whole weekend off. Whatever you want to do.’ He gave me a look that told me exactly what he wanted to do.
‘Sure you don’t want to find a hot bridesmaid?’
He grinned. ‘Sorry, that just slipped out.’
‘Old habits die hard, eh?’
‘Something like that,’ he said softly, as he bent his head. His lips brushed my throat and both of us stopped thinking about bridesmaids.
* * *
I dropped my earring for the fourth time in a row, and realised just how nervous I was about this evening as I glanced over at my friend.
