Page 43 of About That Rule

Charlotte gave Samantha her full attention. “What is this all about?”

“It’s nothing,” she said, emphasizing the word nothing. “Why can’t we be friends without everyone making it more?”

“Well, I’m glad you guys are just friends. My friend Whitney lives in New York and she was telling me how she grabbed lunch with him the other day. I think it was for some remodel she wants in her house, but she’s interested in him. She’s always had a thing for him.”

“Despite Char warning her off,” Rafe joked.

“Tell her I said good luck. Now, let me get a drink so I can properly celebrate my two favorite lovebirds.” Samantha plastered a smile on her face, needing to get away from this situation. It was only another reminder of Nate and his ways with women. It sunk in how he was not really hers. In a few weeks, they would have no title holding each other tied as husband and wife. And little old Whitney would probably be his first escape back to his normal life of sleeping around.

“You have wine in your hand.” Charlotte was suspicious of her excuse of needing another drink.

“And it’s red. I don’t want to risk spilling it on my dress.” She put the glass on the table. “You two can get back to kissing.”

She hurried off to the bar so they didn’t keep asking poignant questions about her, Nate, or her drink of choice. Speaking of the devil, he lightly hip-checked her when he met her to get a drink. “Every time I look at them, they’re somehow attached to each other.”

Samantha looked in the direction he’d nodded, finding Rafe and Charlotte slow dancing.

“Welp, I guess that’s what marriage does to you,” she said, taking a gulp of the drink that matched the color of her dress.

“Not us.”

She looked at him, loving the color of his bluish-gray eyes. “Ours has an expiration date.”

“Which is all the more reason we should go have hotel sex.” He must have pulled a card from Rafe’s book. He wasn’t being quiet about wanting to sleep together. Luckily, no one was around as they drifted to stand near a cocktail table.

She poised her shoulders back. “Your logic is flawed. We have rules in place, you know that.”

Those eyes she loved so much rolled at her response. “Calm down. The rules are ridiculous. I don’t think they matter anymore considering I know what you sound like when you come. We both want each other. Us not acting on it doesn’t protect us from shit.”

“You only want me because you want to fuck.” She was angry, and the tone of her voice showed it. “And I’d like to point out, you were the one who broke the rule in the first place.”

“No, I didn’t. If I remember correctly, kissing and touching were always on the table.”

“Orgasms weren’t!” she retorted, gulping the last of her champagne.

He slapped the table. “It wasn’t like you said no or didn’t enjoy yourself. My neighbors heard you when you came.”

“Shut up.”

“No. You’re like a damn seesaw. By the end of the night, you’re going to be wanting me again. Maybe tonight you’ll let me go down on you. Do the rules allow that?”

“You’re an asshole.” She glared at him. “And guess what? The rules have changed. We can have sex—just not with each other!”

NATE WATCHED HERstorm off, and despite wearing shoes that added four inches to her height, she was able to move surprisingly fast. Women were a rare breed—from their purses to running in heels.

He should have been grateful she’d walked away because their conversation had been bound to get worse. But when she went to the bar, it wasn’t to be alone.

Nope.

She was standing next to one of Jason’s friends, smiling at him like he’d invented the wheel. It was her fake smile, but the prick didn’t know that. As badly as he wanted to go after her, he didn’t want to cause a scene. Not at a wedding reception. Definitely not in front of their family and friends. So, he just stood there and watched her flirt, anger seething through him.

“Hey, man,” Noah greeted, unaware of the hurricane building inside Nate. “How has life been?”

Still, with his eyes on Samantha, he responded, “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

“Doubt that. You know my twin and her stories. It’s hard to shock me.”

Nate didn’t respond. He wasn’t letting the cat out of the bag. But he was pretty certain Samantha and him being married would shock the shit out of everyone, including Noah.