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I haven’t packed.
What seemed like only seconds later, Stone appeared in my bedroom where I sat next to the empty suitcase.
“‘I can’t’ seems to be my favorite phrase of late,” I said, disappointed in myself.
“You need a dress, right?” He vanished into my closet and emerged a minute later with a pair of silver heels dangling from his fingers. “Do these go with this?” He held up a turquoise dress.
I stared at him in disbelief. “I bought those shoes to go with that dress.”
“Lucky guess.” He dumped the shoes in the suitcase, then did an abysmal job of folding the dress before adding it to the mix.
Hangers clanged, drawers opened and closed, all while Stone whistled. I remained on the bed, refusing to touch anything in the suitcase even though I itched to refold the dress.
He was in my bedroom. Had been for a full three minutes. In my state of distress over the wedding, it hadn’t even occurred to me that we were alone.
Fear stabbed at my chest. Stone would never hurt me. I knew that. With him I was safe, yet I struggled to shove the anxiety away.
I tried to think of him as the friend he was to me. That didn’t help. As much as I wanted him to just be my friend, he was more than that. The piece of me that enjoyed having him in my space was slowly edging out the part that didn’t.
My fear of him in my bedroom wasn’t because I believed he’d harm me. It stemmed from the realization that he belonged there. I didn’t know what to do with that.
He emerged with an armful of who knew what. It landed in a heap, overflowing from my bag. A wary expression clouded his features.
“I think I nailed it with the clothes, but what the hell should I get from in there?” He pointed toward the bathroom.
Just like that, I relaxed a fraction, biting my lip to keep from laughing. “Are you afraid of women’s beauty products?”
“A little.”
I slid off the bed, and he trailed me to the bathroom. I passed him a couple of brushes and put what I needed in a large makeup bag.
He took it from my hands, dropped it in the suitcase, and folded the top down.
“That’s not going to fit,” I said as he stuffed the overflowing clothes into the case.
“Sure it will.” He patted the top. “Hop up.”
I crawled onto it. Stone wrestled with the zipper until it was closed.
“See?” He glanced at the clock on my nightstand. “We made it with time to spare.”
He offered a hand, which I accepted without thought until I’d landed on my feet. I quickly pulled away.
A strain charged the air between us. Touching…I…just no. He was in my bedroom. That was a huge step. One he wasn’t even aware of.
“Ready?”
I appreciated he didn’t make a big deal of my reaction.
“Not really.”
He easily lifted the suitcase off the bed and set it on its rollers. Once he’d released the telescoping handle, he rested his hands on top of it.
“Where am I taking this thing? Downstairs? Or in the closet?”
Infinite patience reflected back at me as I stared at him. I dropped my chin to my chest, heart heavy.
“Downstairs.” I didn’t have it in me to ruin their wedding.
