My breath catches. He’s dangerous. This whole thing is dangerous. I don’t do this. I don’t fall. But even as the familiar panic whispers in the back of my mind, I’m leaning in again, wrapping my arms around his neck and drawing him closer.
The kiss is slower, deeper. His hands glide up my thighs to my waist, gripping gently as he rises from his knees to join me on the couch without breaking the kiss. I shift to make room for him, the heels clicking softly against the floor as I move.
“Milo,” I whisper against his lips between kisses, my fingers tangling in his hair. “You’re making this really hard for me.”
“Making what hard?” he asks innocently, but the way his mouth trails along my jaw, pressing soft, open-mouthed kisses, tells me he knows exactly what he’s doing.
I shiver, tilting my head to give him better access. “You know what.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he murmurs against my skin. “Enlighten me, baby.”
“Milo…”
“One day at a time, remember?” he whispers, pulling back just enough to look at me.
I stare at him, my chest tight with too many feelings I can’t name. Then I nod and kiss him again, harder this time, like I never want to stop.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Sienna
I can’t stop staringat Milo.
Just three hours ago, we were close to ripping each other’s clothes off—I’d been grinding against him like I was starving, his hands gripping my waist, both of us breathless and desperate… then reality pulled us back, and we rushed to rejoin the rehearsal dinner.
Now he’s sitting across the pavilion, looking unfairly handsome in the flickering light. Every time our eyes meet, something electric passes between us. He gives me that small, almost-smile that makes my stomach flip, and I have to look away before I do something stupid, like visibly swoon.
Aria nudges my shoulder, pulling me back to reality. “Earth to Sienna. You still with us?”
I blink and smile. “Sorry. Just… distracted. What did you say?”
She raises an eyebrow, clearly not buying it, but lets it go for now. “We’re talking centerpieces—tall glass vases or low succulents? I’m spiraling.”
“Low succulents,” I answer automatically. “Easier for people to see each other across the table.”
“Good point,” she sighs, still looking stressed. “I just… everything feels like it’s hanging by a thread. It’s two days before the wedding, and I’m convinced it’s all going to fall apart. Like the cake?—”
“Don’t even get me started on the cake,” Claire groans from beside her, wine glass at her lips. “We spent the whole day tasting them, remember? We even went for thirds on the red velvet—your favorite, might I add.”
“I know, I know?—”
“Don’t tell me you’re changing your mind about your cake flavor two days before the wedding.” I nudge her shoulder teasingly.
Aria leans forward and bangs her forehead against the table, letting out a dramatic groan. “I’m panicking, okay? What if everything goes wrong?—”
“It won’t?—”
“You don’t know that, Sienna. What if Ethan?—”
“Don’t even finish that sentence?—”
“But—”
I cup my hands over her face, gently squeezing her cheeks together until her lips pout like a fish. “Do I need to slap some sense into you?”
She begrudgingly shakes her head, eyes wide and comical. “No…”
“Are you going to stop worrying about the wedding and just live in the moment?”
