Page 67 of Blue Jean Summer

“But you never came up to the rock, huh?”

Catherine shook her head.

“You swear?”

She nodded. “I swear. I was so worried about disappointing my mom that I didn’t have my first kiss until I was in college. There was no hiking up to the kissing rock to make out for me.”

All I could think about were the months we’d have together where we could come up here. How badly I wanted to change her “never had” into “I did with you.”

Catherine’s gasp startled me.

“What’s the matter?”

“Look!” she whispered as she pointed at the sky with one hand and grabbed my thigh with the other. “Wait for it.”

I barely caught it—the shooting star streaking across the sky so fast that, if I had blinked, I would have missed it. “Would you look at that…”

“I love living out here,” she whispered as two more shooting stars danced across the night sky. “You gonna make a wish?”

“Only if you do.”

Her fingers tangled with mine, squeezing my hand tight as she looked up, smiled at the stars, and mouthed a silent wish.

I made my wish, but I didn’t bother offering it to the stars when there was something far more brilliant beside me.

Chapter 17

Catherine

Hayes and I had snuck back into the house the night before the wedding. Tiptoeing through the dark house made it feel like we were doing something wrong. Honestly, that made it all the more fun. But as soon as we crept down the hallway toward our bedrooms, the awkwardness set in. I wasn’t sure what I was waiting for. A kiss goodnight? Being invited down to his room? It felt weird to simply walk away from each other at the end of the night, but that’s exactly what had to happen.

I couldn’t let myself pretend this was anything other than a business deal.

Lewis had been absent from the house over the last few days. Thank goodness. Hayes and I could have let our guards down, but I liked playing my part.

Pretending was beginning to feel more and more real.

After tossing and turning for hours, waiting for the sun to rise while wondering if Hayes was doing the same, today was the day.

It was time to become his bride.

The knock on my bedroom door startled me as I sat in front of the vanity and calmly applied my makeup.

At least, I hoped I looked calm.

In all honesty, I was a mess inside. I hadn’t expected an arranged marriage to pull at my heart as much as it had.

This wasn’t supposed to be easy.

This wasn’t supposed to feel real.

This wasn’t supposed to mean anything, but a part of me wanted it to.

I looked over my shoulder as Hallie let herself in. She carried a silver tray loaded down with breakfast fixings and a mug.

“How ya feeling?” she asked as she set the tray beside my caddy of cosmetics.

I eyed the bacon and eggs. “Like I’ll throw up if I eat that.” I offered an apologetic smile. “I really appreciate it, though.”