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Serena nodded. "You're a better woman than I am." She looked at me with thinly veiled disgust.
"Damn right," I said.
"Lucas, stop." Blake looked at Serena apologetically. "See you tomorrow."
My sister shocked me by giving Blake a sympathetic smile. "Good luck with him. You're going to need it. I'm gonna go get hammered. My family's driving me to drink, as usual."
"Were you two being friendly?" I watched as Serena made a beeline for the bartender. "What the hell were you talking about?"
"I'll tell you when you can think straight." Blake herded me toward the elevator.
"Twentieth floor," I croaked.
"We're on the top floor, babe," she reminded me gently.
"Not me. I'm sleeping with Jake tonight." I slumped against the cool wall of the elevator, relishing the smooth feeling against my hot skin.
"Why? We have more than one bedroom. Plus, I don't think you should be too worried about breaking your celibacy vow tonight," she said, eyeing me.
"But it's tradition," I insisted. "The bride and groom have to sleep apart."
"You're exaggerating the rule—they're just not supposed to see each other before the ceremony." Blake sighed. "Plus, I need your thumbprint to get into the room."
I shoved my phone at her. "Text Jake. Make him come get me."
Blake groaned. "He looked like he was more interested in getting Nikki."
"Just do it," I begged.
"Fine." She grabbed my phone, texted quickly, then hauled me out of the elevator. She took my thumb and pressed it against the scanner. The door swung open, and Blake eyed the winding staircase. "Ugh…"
"I can do it." At this point, I was pretty sure that it was my words that were fuzzy rather than my ears.
"Put your arm around me," Blake snapped. We hobbled down the stairs, and she deposited me, somewhat abruptly, on one of the couches. She hustled off and came back with a glass of water and two pills. "Ibuprofen," she explained. "Take them before you die, or wish you had."
I swallowed the pills and looked up at her. She was a little blurry. "Does my sister like you?" I asked.
"No. I mean, she likes me more than she likes you, but that's not really saying anything." Blake flopped down across from me. "She wanted to talk about Robert. She was just drunk. And lonely. Weddings can be hard for people."
I perked up. "Thass good. I'm gonna take care of that."
"What do you mean? Oh, never mind. Just lie back and close your eyes. You look like you're going to fall over." She came over and adjusted me, putting a pillow behind my head. "Amateur," she said under her breath.
"I heard that."
"Good," Blake said. "I can't believe you let Nikki drink you under the table. She's never going to let you live this down."
"I'll show her."
Blake laughed. "Oh yeah, big guy. You really look like it right now."
I opened one eye and peered at her. "This is the most fun I've had in a long time."
She nodded. "Me too." She was still blurry, but I thought she looked suddenly solemn.
I tried to reach for her, but my arm didn't want to move. "So why do you look so sad?"
"I'm not. I'm thoughtful. I'm thinking about what my life is going to be like at this time next year."
