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Hearing the door behind me, I fiddled with the soap dispenser to make myself appear like I had a purpose in there. I forgot the mountain of suds forming in my palms when I made the mistake of looking in the mirror.
“Hi,” Rhys greeted me, his smile hesitant.
The water sensor turned on, distracting me from his reflection and rinsing the soap. I took my time drying my hands with the cloth napkins embroidered with the restaurant’s logo, trying not to move too quickly and risk Rhys seeing how weak I felt.
“This is not the place or—”
It was useless. He rushed toward me, engulfing me with warmth as he held me against the vanity. Cupping his hands around my hips, Rhys guided me to sit on the marble and I complied, losing it with him there. I let my hands take over, greedily traveling across his stomach and back, climbing to his shoulders and pulling his face closer to mine so that when we kissed, I could taste the memory of our night together.
“Forgive me, Mia,” he breathed against my throat, his words separated by soft kisses that made me forget what he was even apologizing for. I wove my fingers through his thick brown hair, trailing my touch over his shoulders before spreading my palms against his chest. The frantic beating of his heart pulsed beneath my touch.
“Let’s,” I caught my breath, resting my forehead on his chin, “talk about this later.” Blinking myself to, I stared at his neck, the knot in his tie, and inhaled the irresistible scent of his cologne. “What are you doing here?”
“In the loo?” He laughed, the sound crumbling the tension between us. “I’d hope that was obvious.”
Lowering my cheek to his chest, I softly shook my head and smiled as he continued to break the strain. When I felt my knees could balance my weight, I looked up at him, catching his brown eyes staring into mine.
“This is about them, not anything else. I’m going back out there and you’re going to go away because I really can’t handle being this close to you right now,” I declared.
His hands glided along my sides, fingers intertwined with his palms pressing against the small of my back.
“Matthew asked me to come tonight to meet your family. He thinks you and I might be good friends, considering we’re the bridal party and their baby’s godparents. I’ll just give my gift to your mother and be on my way. But first, may I ask you something, Mia?”
When he took his hands from around me and stepped back, I tumbled off balance. Watching Rhys cross his arms, his perfect lips pursed in thought, I slowly nodded.
“Did you really think we could just be friends?”
The bathroom door floor open, sending Rhys into the corner behind it. My mom was scouring her purse when she entered, completely oblivious to the beautiful man hiding in the corner and my instability. Jumping when she noticed me standing in her path, she muttered something to the ceiling and wiped her eyes with the tissue she finally found.
“Mia, you missed the rest of what Matthew had to say about your sister,” she admonished. “It’s so beautiful. You need to find a man who loves you like this one loves your sister.”
“I’m okay on my own,” I scoffed, seeing Rhys cover his mouth in my periphery. “Is there more wine out there?” She rolled her eyes at me and carried on into a stall, thankfully not turning around to see Rhys swiftly leave.
“It smells incredible in here,” she said as the stall locked. “Is that the soap?”
“I think so,” I lied, knowing it was actually Rhys’s cologne. “See you out there, mom.”
The hall was empty when I left the bathroom, and I needed that space to transition from Rhys back to our table. Whatever Matthew was telling Amelia and Benji had them enthralled, and Sadie was eagerly eating it up as well, which gave me a moment to gaze around the room as I sat down, only to see Rhys wasn’t there.
I thanked the server who refilled my glass, nervously gulping it down as my thoughts went back to moments prior and how it felt to be held by Rhys again. It didn’t take long for mom to return to the table, her cheeks pink and smile bright. I knew why once I saw Rhys was talking to her as they entered the dining room.
“I had to get this from the back,” he told Matthew and Sadie when he reached the table, motioning to a tote he carried. Matthew’s grin encouraged Rhys to continue with whatever he had in store, while I studied the engraving on my salad fork and chewed on an ice cube.
Rhys introduced himself to my family, handing them each something from his tote before passing me a rectangular box. A watch for Benji, earrings for mom and Amelia, and a bracelet for me… On top of a hotel room key.
“You have incredible daughters, Mrs. Valentino,” Rhys told my mom as she flew up to kiss him, leaving trails of her red lipstick all over his chiseled face. “It’s an honor for Matthew to join your family, and for me to be an extended part of it.”
“Mia,” mom turned to me as I quickly snapped my box shut, looking up at everyone with wide eyes, “why can’t you find yourself a man like this?”
Thinking of the meaning behind the hotel key, I answered her in my thoughts. I think I found that very man.
“Oh, Mrs. Valentino,” Rhys playfully admonished her, “you shouldn’t say that about your daughter. From what I know of Mia, I think men line up for her, but none of them can really handle how incredible she is.”
Benji nudged my leg under the table. “What did you do, Mia?” He hung his head, whispering to me with a snicker.
“Nothing, and this is not about me,” I muttered.
Sadie took over the conversation and blabbered on, in tears, about how perfect Matthew and Rhys were, and Rhys would make an ideal godfather to their baby. I reached for another ice cube when the server brought out more food and wine, thankful we were making our way through dinner so I could get out of there.
