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She didn’t want to look at him. If she let him see her face she feared he would know exactly what she was thinking. That she never wanted him to let her go, that she wished like hell she had been the woman in his arms and bed in Vegas. That she hated lying to him, pretending to be someone other than who she really was. “I’m thinking you are a very good dancer.”
“With you I am. Surprised, after Vegas?”
She stiffened in his arms, barely daring to look into the warm blue eyes gazing down at her. What was she supposed to say? “It wasn’t me in Vegas, remember?”
“Ah, right. Well, that’s the last time I go anywhere without you.”
Lara’s rested her face against his chest, she felt the steady beat of his heart against her cheek. How could he say something like that? How could she want so desperately to believe him?
They swayed in time to the beat, lingering with every touch, savoring every step that brought their bodies together. Cal smoothed his hand up her back, into her hair. He wound and unwound it loosely though his fingers. “Being this close to you is driving me crazy.” As if to emphasize his point, he shifted his hold and the bulge of his cock pressed between them.
God, she wanted him. Wanted to run her hands over the hardness and stroke him, take him into her mouth and taste him. Her pulse raced, desire coursed through her, twisting a needy knot in her belly.
His lips hovered at the outer edge of her ear, his breath feathering the whorl as he spoke. “Can we get out of here?”
She melted further into him, her hands exploring the terrain of his chest. Her lips parted to speak, to beg him to take her to bed, to touch her everywhere—
“Lara, I need to speak with you about the deliveries tomorrow,” Dette’s sharp voice snapped.
Trying to blink the bedroom out of her eyes, Lara stepped away from Cal and turned to Dette. She was standing a few feet off to the side with a look that said “Now!” on her face.
Cal pulled her back a step. “Dette, you’ve had such a long day, why don’t you give yourself a break. Enjoy the evening. There’s plenty of time tomorrow morning to figure out the details.”
Lara fought the urge to wrap her legs around Cal that instant. He was smooth, but Dette was a pro.
Cocking her head to the side, Dette looked down at her watch without appearing to even see it. “Bride’s prerogative. Besides, I’m really the only one who knows how much there is to get done and whether there’s time enough to do it or not. Okay?”
Lara glanced at Cal. His eyes narrowed, his head pulled back. Damn it, Dette was sabotaging her plan by acting like this in front of him. If she gave away her own secret by forcing the “Dette” he might recognize down his throat—if Cal figured it out—Lara wouldn’t be able to fix it. Dette would be on her own.
Lara almost prayed that was how it would go. After all, Adam had broken up with her. What she’d done during that time shouldn’t be held against her. Even if she’d had the misfortune of falling into bed with Adam’s best man. If Adam really loved her, he wouldn’t hold it against her. The deception had been an effort to save his marriage.
Dette arched her brows. “Lara, are you coming?”
Lara pulled back, Cal’s hand strayed a second longer before letting her go. She smiled at him. “Thanks for the dance, but I’ve got to help Dette. I am the maid of honor after all, and it probably won’t take long.” Pressing a kiss against the line of his jaw, she drew his scent in through her nose. It hurt to pull away. “I’ll be back if I can.”
Clipboard in hand, Lara walked down the deserted main hall of the house, the quick click of her heels the only sound as she checked another task off her list. Only one more thing to take care of tonight and her maid-of-honor responsibilities would be met. After this week of enforced labor, she’d have enough experience in making a wedding happen to open up shop as a coordinator. She slowed in her steps to make a note in the margin about the catering. On second thought, the only other wedding she’d be willing to dedicate herself to as much as this one would be her own. And actually, a quiet ceremony with just the two of them on a deserted beach somewhere sounded more her speed. Just she and—her thoughts cut off as she realized she was fantasizing about a future with Cal. What was she doing? She shook off dreaming of plans she wasn’t entitled to and resumed her pace, cursing her own stupidity for getting involved in something so convoluted as this mess with her sis
ter. Yes, she felt a sense of obligation, but at what point did she need to just say no and let Dette fend for herself? And it wasn’t as if the precariously positioned bride-to-be was making it easy to help her either. But that was one hundred percent Dette too.
If anything other than a marriage was at stake she’d have told Cal the truth, but a lifetime of happiness weighed against one honest mistake—ack! It was infuriating. This week couldn’t end fast enough. She was sick of the constant jeering from Adam and his groomsmen, sick of sucking up Dette’s garbage, sick of white tulle, sick of—
“Well, hello, Little Miss Las Lara.”
She stopped with a jolt to see Keith leaning against the wall, his ankles crossed as though he were some kind of Cary Grant wannabe. She was sick of Keith too.
“Hi,” She forced a smile at him and took a bracing breath through her nose. “Having fun tonight?”
Keith’s gaze roamed down her form, sending heat in a hostile rush to her cheeks. “Not as much as I’d like to. How about you, Lara?”
He had to be kidding. Keith wasn’t interested in her. He never had been and that was just the way she liked it. “I’m trying to wrap up a few things Dette’s worried about, but it won’t be too long now.”
“Yeah, Dette said I might find you alone in here.”
“Did she?” Wasn’t that nice. “Honestly, I don’t really need any help with this stuff tonight. Go on back to the party and enjoy yourself.”
Keith pushed off the wall and walked toward her, his eyes lingering in all the places they had no right to. “Maybe you and I could enjoy each other.”
Lara backed up a step as Keith closed the distance between them. “Look, I’m not interested. Really, go on back to the party.”
