I can’t help grinning. “Iknewit. You’re — I dunno, all loose.”
“Part of that is Bree. She just brings it out of me,” Cole shrugs. “But do you want to know the other part?”
“I don’t know, do I?”
He’s wearing one of his tight flowered shirts, and his sunglasses are pushed up into his hair, and I’m pretty sure I can see his nipples.
“Don’t tell Jeremy, but —” He drops his voice, his breath tickling my ear. “The whole James Bond look is really doing it for me. I want to unzip these pants with my teeth.”
“Fuck—”
And there it is — the perpetual cloud of horny longing that follows me around whenever I’m in Cole’s presence. I remember it from that year in high school, when I could barely concentrate whenever he was within twenty feet of me. And now, after a couple of weeks of answering his every booty call, I’m well on the way to being just as bad.
There’s a cough behind us, and we both step back quickly. Cole’s a little flushed, and I’m sure I look just as guilty. Jeremy is standing with an armful of suits, a knowing look on his face.
“We have a few more possibilities here, gentlemen,” he says crisply. “And Mr. —”
“Cole—” Cole supplies smoothly. “Mr. Alden is my dad.”
“Ah yes,Cole.Well, you’re also free to look about the store, and if you see anything you’d like to add, you are most welcome to suggest it.”
What follows is pretty much my worst nightmare. Suit after suit, jackets and pants rustling over my body, my skin flushing with heat despite the shop’s air conditioning. Sabrina and Cole have their heads together on the couch, discussing the finer points of fabric and colors with Jeremy, holding up swatches of the bridesmaids’ dress material against each suit. And I’m starting to feel like an overstuffed doll, not even Cole’s presence lightening my mood.
Finally, Cole emerges from deep in the shop. The three-piece suit draped over his arm is a classic tweed in a subtle forest green. He holds it up against my chest and turns to look at Sabrina. “Thinking outside the box here, but what about this?”
Sabrina puts her chin in her hand, narrowing her eyes. “You know, I think you’re on to something —”
I clear my throat, and they both look at me. “Green, I mean — isn’t it a little, I dunno, used car salesman-y?”
Cole clutches a hand to his chest as if I’ve shot him. “You didnot—”
“Let’s just give it a try,” Seth breaks in. As we step back into the dressing room, he turns to me sympathetically. “It’s been a long day. If this isn’t the one, we’ll take a break and try again. We don’thaveto figure this out today.”
“Okay.” I take my time slipping on the suit, buttoning the waistcoat, making sure the coat is straight on my shoulders. When I pull the curtain back, Seth is just emerging from his cubicle, and we head back into the store together.
When she sees us, Sabrina covers her mouth with both hands. “Oh mygod, how are you so good at this?”
Cole looks impossibly smug. “With the eyes and the dark hair, right? Iknewit.”
I turn to face the three-way mirror, and I can see what Cole means. Seth and I look — well, we lookgood. Seth is standing up straight for once, his shoulders back, and I can tell he sees it too. And the cut of the suit has a slimming effect on me, the rich color making my hair look glossier somehow. Seth meets my eyes in the mirror, and he grins, clearly pleased.
“The important thing is thatyoulike it, though,” Cole is saying, chewing on his lip as he looks at us. “I know that Bree and I have been sort of bossy today, but you’re the groom and we just want you to be happy.”
“I didn’t know I could look this good.” Seth is turning in place to check himself out from every angle, and even I have to admit that it’s sort of adorable. He raises his eyes to look at Sabrina. “What do you think, baby?”
“Iloveit,” she gushes, and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss.
Forty-five minutes later, we’re at a rooftop bar inTribeca, overlooking the Hudson River. Cole has steered us to a pair of couches far away from the speakers, and there’s a light breeze coming off the water, the usual road noise of the city muted this far up in the air. He’s fetched me a golden pilsner in a tall glass from the bar, and I’m content to sip my drink, listening to the three of them chattering with each other while I relax for the first time since we walked into that suit shop.
But Sabrina is eyeing me shrewdly over the rim of her mouth-wateringly pink cocktail.
“Why haven’t I heard of you?” she asks bluntly, breaking into a discussion between Cole and Seth about the merits of the New York City subway versus the T.
“Oh hi, sorry, I’m Ezra,” I can’t help replying, and Cole snorts. “You’re marrying my brother? We met at Christmas.”
“No, I mean —” She puts her drink down on the low table between us and leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “I thought I knew all of Coley’s stories. But he never mentioned you.”
“Yeah, and for that matter, I thought you hated literally everybody we grew up with,” Seth chimes in. “What’s the deal with you two?”
