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I froze as I stared at the plates of food, not sure what I wanted. But Hawk’s movement sent me into motion, and I grabbed a box and began to fill it, not paying much attention to what it was. I grabbed some napkins and shoved them into my pocket when my box was full. Passing some bread, I grabbed a few rolls and shoved them down the front of my dress before picking up a fork.
“Let’s go,” Hawk hissed, and I quickly snagged a few more things, not focusing on what they were, just wanting things. I made it to the door as someone else entered, and we both froze to the spot.
“Hey! You’re not supposed to be back here,” he said, recovering first. My face flamed at being caught as embarrassment overwhelmed me.
Nope. Not today! Anger and frustration at never standing up for myself poured out of me onto the unsuspecting hotel worker.
“It’s my wedding!” I shouted. “I deserve to eat some of this food, at least!” I hit my chest, brandishing the fork still in my hand like a cutlery weapon.
The server stopped, his eyes widening at my outburst. His eyes ran over me, taking in my wedding dress beneath the hoodie. He raised his hands and nodded, some softness entering his features.
“Yeah. Sure. Whatever you want.” He paused and picked up something, but I kept my focus on him. “Here, take this too.”
He handed me a pink box, and I placed it on top of the one I held possessively to my chest and backed away like he might try to steal it. I spotted a bottle of champagne by the door and wrapped my fork-laden hand around it.
“I’m taking this too,” I dared, waiting for him to chase after me or something.
“Of course.” He nodded, keeping his hands lifted in surrender
“You never saw me.”
“I never saw you,” he agreed. He was no longer afraid but smiled and gave me a reassuring nod.
“Thank you!” I yelled before ducking out the door with a huge smile on my face.
Damn. That felt good.
Hawk was already out there, his eyes wide as he attempted to keep his laugh contained, his face turning red with the effort.
“That. Was. Badass. Blazy,” he wheezed, clutching his ribs.
I lifted my head, accepted his praise, and walked away from the kitchen with my wedding feast bounty, like the ninja bride I was.
Hawk recovered and walked next to me, his arms as full as mine, and I couldn’t help but grin at the image. The edges of his mouth lifted in an uncharacteristic smile as we walked side by side. I peeked at him out of the corner of my eyes, pleased with his praise.
I didn’t want him to see me as a child or the crazy girl who ran away crying because her boyfriend hadn’t wanted to have sex with her before marriage. I knew I shouldn’t care what he thought, but I couldn’t help it.
First crushes were hard to shake.
Voices grew louder down the hall, and I stopped, wondering if the next person would be as accommodating as the last server. Before I could contemplate what to do, Hawk’s strong arm pulled me into a closet, our food containers pressed between us as we stared at one another in the dark space. I could feel his eyes on me, and I wished I knew what he was thinking.
But Hawk was a vault. Always had been. Rarely did he share with anyone what he felt. Most of the time, he was stoic and grumpy with his hardass catcher face on the field, which was just a more intense version of his regular face. The man did not smile. Ever.
It made me appreciate the one I’d elicited earlier even more.
He cleared his throat, the air around us growing hot as the tension built and our faces grew closer. Though, I was confident it was all in my head and only one-sided.
Because there was no way it looked like Hawk Anderson wanted to kiss me.
“I think it’s clear,” he grunted.
“Clear?” I asked, my brain not understanding. He nodded to the door, and I caught up, glad for the dark as my cheeks flamed.
Right. Not a kiss.
The rest of the journey was uneventful as we returned to the door leading to the lobby. From there, we made it to the elevator, and only a few people looked at me oddly as they spotted my dress. Thankfully, I didn’t look completely out of place since Hawk was still in his suit. When an older woman smiled, I knew she thought we were a newly married couple.
“Congratulations,” she said as we stepped onto our floor.
