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JAKE
It’s been three days since that night. Three torturous days of me missing her presence. I thought it best to give her space and I have never regretted a decision as much as I do right now. My mind flashes back to that night and I am riddled by guilt. I would probably feel better if she just gave me a damn reaction. Rave and hit me, call me names, anything but this deafening silence she is giving me.
I know why I rejected her and I know it was the right thing to do, but that doesn’t stop the horrible feeling in my stomach or how much I wish she was here so I can bury my face in her neck. She has the most amazing smell.
I shake my head in a lame attempt to clear my thoughts. I am in my office, staring blankly at my computer screen. Today is Harry and Cecilia’s rehearsal dinner and Bella is supposed to have submitted a report on the budget for the event. I had sent her a message asking for it.
There is a knock on my door and I sit up. “Come in.”
Samantha walks in and my shoulders slump. “Miss Ortiz’s report on the rehearsal dinner, sir.” She drops the file on my table.
“Why didn’t she submit it herself?” I ask, irritated. Samantha shrugs.
I wave her away, impatiently. She seems to give me a sympathetic look before walking out of my office. The thought of her being just outside my office and not coming in aggravates me.
I leave the office early so I can get changed for the dinner. Truthfully, I do not feel like going for it and having to watch Bella ignore me all night, but as Harry’s best man, I don’t have much of a choice in the matter.
By the time I return to the resort, the sun is already setting. The dinner is being held at the main hall so I head there. The minute I step inside a smile plays on my face. Bella outdid herself. The place looks amazing. I don’t even recognize my own hall anymore. The guestshavealready arrived and I can feel the excitement in the hall.
“Jake!” Harry exclaims and hugs me. What’s got him so excited?
He gestures around the hall. “Look at this place! Bella outdid herself. And to top it all, my bride is stunning.”
Bella walks in and I suddenly have a different opinion than him. She is in a simple black dress, which stops just above her knees; her hair is packed up in a rough bun with little ringlets framing her face. She turns around and I grunt. The back drops low, stopping on her waist. That’s too low in my opinion and the thought of anyone having access to her back like that does not sit well with me at all.
Cecilia walks up to her and hugs her. She starts chatting with Bella excitedly and I smile at how she gives Cecilia her full attention. Not many people can please Cecilia and I’m proud of Bella for getting this far.
“If you were not so bullheaded this would have been a different scene,” Harry says beside me and I turn to him to see him watching Bella and Cecilia too. “We’d probably both be watching our women with adoration and contentment.”
Cecilia catches sight of us and waves. Harry returns it, and I notice how Bella’s face falls when she looks in our direction. She says something to Cecilia and leaves.
For the rest of the night I follow Harry around, greeting people. But I notice every single thing Bella does. The way her hips sway as she walks, the slight frown on her face as she tries to make sure the evening runs smoothly.
We soon take our seats for dinner and Harry gets up to make a toast. “I’m really excited to see so many friendly faces and appreciate you making time to celebrate with my soon-to-be wife and I. I’ll be marrying the absolute love of my life soon and I couldn’t ask for better people to experience this moment with.” He raises his glass and everyone else does too.
Throughout the dinner I don’t see Bella and though I know she is working behind the scenes, I don’t feel comfortable that she’s doing it in that dress. Having her bare back open for the entire male staff to see or accidentally touch. She was already drawing the attention of the guys here, without the dress; I can only imagine their minds racing when they see her strutting around all night in that damn dress.
I stab my food a little too hard and hear someone wince beside me. It’s Cecilia’s cousin. I’ve forgotten her name, and she has been trying to make conversation with me all night.
“What did the food ever do to you other than look delicious,” she tries at a joke and I don’t laugh. I know her interest in me goes beyond just best man and bridesmaid duties.
“You keep frowning like that and you might have wrinkles on the wedding day.” She takes a sip of wine from her glass, all the while maintaining eye contact through her lashes. If only she knew she was the last person on my mind.
By the end of the dinner I am so pissed, I could drive my fist through the wall. And the source of my frustration is nowhere to be found. She was in and out of the hall all through the dinner, giving all the men in the room a proper view of her shape and bare back. My temper boils as I remember the lecherous stares from the men.
Not finding her in the kitchen, I head to her office. Her office door is slightly opened and I’m about to push it further when I hear voices and stop.
“With a face like yours, I could stare all night long and not get tired,” a man says and she actually laughs.
“That’s one of the lamest pick up lines I have ever heard,” she says.
“You blushed though,” he says, and I lean further.
A bit of silence then. “Maybe,” she whispers. I see red. She is blushing for some random man she just met? Without thinking, I open the door and walk in. Thankfully, she is on the other side of her table far away from the pervert.
They both turn in my direction and I watch with glee as the man’s face falls from being distracted. “Am I interrupting something?” I ask, trying to play innocent.
“No, not at all. I was just leaving,” the man says before dropping a card on Bella’s table. “Call me, I would love for you to plan my mother’s birthday.”
