“That’s fair.”
Everyone laughed, and then Seth smiled at me. I noticed it was not the polite smile he used for customers, or the nervous smile from our first fake date conversation.
This one was softer and warmer.
Something in my chest tightened unexpectedly. Beside me, Seth shifted slightly in his chair. Without thinking, I reached for his hand beneath the table.
It happened instinctively. The second our fingers intertwined, Seth went still. It was only a brief moment, then his hand squeezed mine back.
My pulse jumped hard enough that I was suddenly grateful nobody at the table could hear it. Well, everyone probably noticed.
I kept talking like nothing happened while internally combusting. Meanwhile, Seth’s thumb brushed lightly against mine under the table.
My mom caught sight of our joined hands at one point and looked so pleased I thought she might actually start talking about wedding plans.
Still, I didn’t let go, and neither did Seth.
Somewhere between Carter teasing me, Devon telling a story about pack patrol disasters, and Seth laughing softly beside me, something shifted again.
This was definitely not fake anymore.
When Seth leaned into my shoulder slightly while laughing, I could sense my wolf feeling completely at ease. Seth felt it too, I could tell.
The air between us had changed, and neither of us seemed to know what to do about it.
9
SETH
Iloosened my tie for what must have been the fourth time since leaving the hotel.
The top button of my linen shirt was already undone, but after a moment of hesitation, I tugged the knot down another inch and studied my reflection in the glass pane beside the front door.
It still felt too casual, too careless.
With a quiet sigh, I pushed it back up again, not all the way, just enough that it looked respectable. Normal.
Not for the first time that morning, I found myself wondering what the hell I was doing standing outside the Seabrook Estate.
The sprawling beachfront property sat unchanged. White-painted columns framed the entrance, ivy trailed along the stone walls as if it had always been there and always would be.
Beyond the house, I could hear the steady crash of waves rolling in from the beach below.
A few guests were already arriving behind us, their laughter carrying across the circular driveway as they made their way inside.
Staying at the hotel had been the right choice.
Gabby had offered rooms at the estate, even one of the beach villas they had rented for the wedding party, but those places were meant for family and VIP guests. I wasn’t either of those things.
More importantly, the boutique hotel Dane and I booked gave me somewhere to retreat at the end of the day.
Somewhere quiet, where I didn’t have to keep bracing myself, wondering who I might run into every time I stepped outside my room.
Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I didn’t quite know what had possessed me to say yes to a wedding filled with people I had spent years carefully avoiding.
A warm hand closed around mine. I didn’t realise I had been twisting the hem of my jacket between my fingers again.
Dane’s thumb brushed lightly over my knuckles.
