“Shut up. You know it was fun,” I said.
“I’ll neither confirm nor deny the truth of that statement.”
I rolled my eyes. “So, who was that song about?” I teased. “It was about me, wasn’t it?”
“Nope, it was about a completely fictional set of circumstances.”
“Fine then,” I huffed. “I’m just saying it would be cool to have a song written about me.”
“Oh, several have been written about you,” Grey said.
It came out like a reflex, and I could see in his eyes that he immediately regretted saying it.
“I mean, probably. Written by someone else.”
“Sure, sure,” I said, unable to keep a grin off my face. The urge to kiss him had returned. “Whatever you say.”
“You’re so annoying.” Grey gave me a playful push. “Looks like things are wrapping up here.”
He was right. After his song, people had started clearing out. The crowd wasn’t half as big as it had been even a few minutes ago. It seemed everyone had gotten their fill of drinks anddancing and had taken Grey’s performance ending as an excuse to go home.
“You ready to go? We’ve got to be up early tomorrow,” Grey said.
I nodded, fighting a yawn that had decided to come out of nowhere. Grey grabbed my hand and steered me toward the exit. I followed his lead, staring at our hands where our fingers intertwined. I wasn’t sure Grey was even thinking about what he was doing, but all I could focus on was that he was holding me in a way that felt… protective. And possessive.
It was beginning to feel like the whole wedding had been something of a test to see if I would be his, if I wanted to be held and led by him, if I wanted him to sings songs about me. He’d pretended to forget about every line we’d so carefully drawn ever since we decided to be just friends. But as he’d sang in his song, it was clear that we weren’tjust friends. That didn’t exactly clear up what we would be moving forward. He still had Carina, and I had no idea if he planned to change that situation.
Something else filtered to the top of my mind. He’d made a comment that all his past serious relationships seemed much less serious now.What had he meant by that?He’d never answered, too busy with his cousin pulling him onstage. I wanted to ask him again, but there were too many people around, all of them interrupting. We said goodbye to Meredith and her new husband, Lance, Grey’s mother, some aunts and uncles, then we were out of the venue.
Between the new wave of exhaustion and my level of intoxication, it seemed to pass in a blur. I thought I would get a chance to ask after the goodbyes, but then the valet was asking for a name and grabbing Grey’s car. When we finally hit the road, I opened my mouth to ask my question, but he cut me off before I could get it out.
“Thank you for coming this weekend,” Grey said. “It really means a lot that you did.”
“Anytime.” I meant it. Not just for weddings, but for anything he needed in the future. No matter what came next, if Grey needed me, I would be there. “I’m glad Carina bailed on you.”
“Yeah,” Grey said with a guilty grin.
I narrowed my eyes. “Shedidcancel on you, right?”
“There is the distinct possibility that she was never coming to this wedding.”
“And you waited to ask me until the last moment because?”
His smile turned into a bit of a grimace in the harsh light and shadows of the passing streetlights. “I was worried you would say no, so I put it off so I wouldn’t be let down.” Then, so quietly that I could barely hear him over the sounds of the car, “Ireallywanted you to come.”
“Oh.” My heart swelled in my chest, and I couldn’t decide if it was the alcohol or the intensity of my emotions, but tears once again pricked the corners of my eyes. Only this time, they were happy tears. I quickly looked out the window, not wanting Grey to see how his words affected me. Thankfully, he didn’t appear to notice my reaction.
We drove in silence until we arrived at the hotel. Though check-in only took a few minutes, by the time we made it up to our room with our suitcases, I was dead tired and already fantasizing about drifting off to sleep when Grey opened the door. He stopped in his tracks, going rigid in the doorway.
“What’s wrong?” I peered over his shoulder in exasperation at whatever stood between me and sleep.
The way Grey was reacting, I half expected to find a gunman in the room. If there had been, I probably would’ve given him whatever he wanted just to speed things along. But there wasn’t. One look, however, and I knew instantly what had frozen Grey in place.
“There must’ve been a mistake,” he said breathlessly. “I can go talk to them at the front desk.”
“I don’t know if it’ll help. They’re probably fully booked this late at night. We can make it work.” Not to mention, coordinating with the front desk sounded an awful lot like work, and I was too tired to attempt that.
“I’m so sorry.” Grey finally stepped into the room. “It was supposed to have two beds.”
