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It’ssilent for a few moments too long beforeBishopsmiles happily at me, then turns his attention towardWinnie. “Hi,Winnie, good to see you.”
Winnienods at him, eyeing the two of us curiously. “Yeah,Sagewanted to take me out to dinner before the big day.”
Iglance atSage, whose cheeks are tinted pink in embarrassment, andWinnienudges him. “Don’tgo all shy on me now, sweetie.”
Ichuckle at their interaction, knowing damn wellWinnieis only saying this to get a deeper reaction out ofSage.Asmuch asSagewas the life of the party throughout high school, it didn’t stick around for his adult days.He’san introvert, compared toWinnie’soutgoing personality —Ican’t imagine how he feels having all these people invited to his wedding.
“Wouldyou like to join us?”Bishopasks, and my eyes bulge at the thought of going through the rest of this dinner acting like he’s my boyfriend toWinnie.Don’tget me wrong,Bishopis a good guy, andIhope that he finds someone worthy of him, but the only reasonIblurted out the relationship status was because ofWinnie.
WithCamdenandWinniebeing so close,I’mabsolutely positiveWinniewill tell him all about my new boyfriend the moment she sees him.I’msure she’s aware of whatI’mdoing, which is why she keeps side-eyeing me from across the table.
Winnieshakes her head slightly atBishopand gives him a smile. “Oh, no,Iwouldn’t want to ruin your evening.Enjoyyour dinner, guys.”
Beforeshe gets too far, she leans down until her lips are right next to my ear and says, “Lookslike we have a lot to talk about,Peach.”Thenshe slings her arm throughSage’sand walks through the dining room, letting the hostess lead them four tables down from us.
“Thatwent well.”Bishop’svoice snaps me back to the present, reminding me that we are out on a date right now, andInod at his observation.Hewaves a waiter over to our table and orders the meatballs he was boasting about, andIdecide to get the same thing.
“Changeyour mind?” he asks once the waiter walks away.
Igrab my glass of wine, take a small sip, and smile at him. “Couldn’thelp it, you talked a good game,BishopAdler.”
Hiseyes darken slightly, butIlook away from them.There’ssomething about the emotion hiding there that leaves me uneasy.Ireally hope this wasn’t a mistake.
Ican’t think like that though, because ifIgo against everything, he’ll wonder why andI’llhave to tell him everythingI’mtrying to do.That’snot about to happen.
WhenIglance over atWinnie, her eyes are laser-focused on me at our table with an arched brow.Herblonde hair is pulled into an updo, her makeup painted on her face to perfection, whileIstruggle to get winged eyeliner just right.
Iquickly look away from her and findBishopstaring at me. “Georgia, we can leave if you’d like.”
Shit.Ofcourse he thinksIdon’t want to be here,I’vedone nothing to convince himIdo.It’snot thatIdon’t want to be here, it’s thatIdon’t want to be sitting across from him — as harsh as that sounds.Ifthere’s ever been a man in mindIwant taking me somewhere like this, it’s always beenCamdenDavis.
Ishake my head, brushing a curl away from my face. “No,Bishop, that’s not necessary.”
Hesighs while leaning back into his seat, glancing around the area briefly. “Ithought you’d like this place, but you seem like you’re on an entirely different planet right now.Areyou sure you don’t want to go?”
“I’mfine,Bishop,Ijust said that,”Isnap, immediately slapping a hand to my mouth in shock.He’sstaring at me with a soft gaze, not even angry at the factIjust snapped at him for no reason. “I’msorry,Ididn’t mean to get so angry.Everythingwith the wedding has been stressful, andIhave more work to do tomorrow morning.”
Thelast thingIshould be doing right now is going out to dinner whenIhave to wake up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, butIcouldn’t pass up food with one of my favorite people.
Bishopsighs, his shoulders slumping. “Whydidn’t you tell me that?”Helifts his hand in the air, calling for the waiter once again, and clears his throat. “Sir,Iapologize, could we have our order to go please?”
“Bishop, you don’t have to do that.”It’ssweet, but completely unnecessary.
Hesmiles at me. “Ido, andIam.Youneed rest, and that’s fine.Wecan try again after the wedding.”
Afterthe wedding?I’mhoping thatCamdenwill take notice of me before the wedding ends, which meansBishopwon’t be of use to me any longer.
Doyou hear yourself?Imentally smack myself, hating how selfishIsound.Bishopdoesn’t deserve to be treated like this.Hedeserves better than this, better than a friend like me.Myeyes are burning with tears, and the warmth ofBishop’shand coming down on my shoulder has me jumping and blinking them away.
“Sorry,”Bishopsays immediately. “Youokay?”He’sstanding beside me, eyes burning a hole into my brain as he tries to figure out whatI’mthinking right now.
“Y-yeah, sorry, lost in thought.”
“Ourfood got here, you ready to head out?”Heholds a hand out to me andIplace my own gently in his, not used to the warmth of his touch.That’sa new feeling for me, sinceCamdenis the only oneIever get that feeling with.
Ishake my head, hating how out of itIam right now, and stand from my chair.
“Bishop, you really didn’t have to do this.”Iwon’t tell him how gratefulIam that he did though,I’mready for bed already and it’s barely nine o’clock.
