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He pulled back, pressing his forehead to mine. “You can do better.”
The air around me suddenly felt cold when he left, slamming the door behind him. My legs shook, and I was sure that if I stepped away from the wall now, I would lose my balance. I slid with my back against it until I was sitting on the floor. I dropped my head back, bringing my fingers to my lips and tracing them.
You can do better.
Chapter eighteen
Amanda
“You’re sure I can’t walk down the aisle with Ed?” I whined at Mackenzie while she flitted around the rehearsal making last minute to-do lists for everyone.
She whipped around to face me, pinching her fingers together and holding them in my face to shush me. “You will walk down the aisle with Drake. You will get along with him for the next thirty-six hours. And you will get over it.” Mackenzie’s eyes were intense, almost scary, while her stare held me in place.
Finally I sighed. “Ugh, fine,” I said, taking the stack of napkins from her that needed to go to the coordinator. She’d been carrying them around for ten minutes.
“Hey, baby cakes,” Dallas said, sneaking up behind me.
I jumped, almost dropping the napkins but catching them before they all came unfolded from their nice little triangles. “Damn it,” I cursed, and he laughed, causing an anxious swirl in my stomach.
Ever since the bachelorette party, all I could think about was the way Drake had kissed me and insisted I could do better. Was he right? I blinked slowly, keeping my eyes closed longer than necessary, and when I opened them, Dallas had turned and was looking down at his phone. He was likely responding to an email or something. Shocker.
I debated saying something before I continued on my journey to drop the napkins off, but before I had decided saying anything to Dallas would be unnecessary, I was already walking away. It would be at least five minutes before he realized I was gone—I’d probably be back by then anyway.
“Hey there, Amarillo!”
I stopped in my tracks, hearing Drake pat Dallas on the back. Dallas chuckled. “Okay, are you doing that on purpose?” he asked, followed by another laugh. Was it really that funny?
I spun around to find Drake’s eyes glued to me. As soon as our eyes met, he turned and responded to Dallas. “You’re a bright one, aren’t you?”
“I guess so!” He tossed his head back, laughing, and patted Drake on the arm as if they’d been friends for years and it was all an inside joke.
Drake looked up at me and raised both of his eyebrows, nodding to the side as if to point out Dallas’s misunderstanding like I hadn’t watched the whole exchange. You can do better. I glared at him, stomping my foot and turning back around.
***
“Maid of honor, over here!” the coordinator shouted so she could be heard over the small crowd. She waved me over to where she was standing next to Drake, and I was instantly filled with dread. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck with him, especially when he was grinning at me like that.
“Shall we?” Drake asked, sticking his arm out so I could grab onto it. His muscle flexed under my hand, creating a stir of butterflies in my stomach, and I struggled to swallow.
“Ugh, I guess.” My throat was dry, and I tried to sound uninterested. Instead, I sounded like I was going to be sick—like my words had to claw their way out.
Drake rolled his eyes, but the smile never left his face. “You don’t have to be so upset,” he said. Then he took the first step, looking down the not-yet-decorated aisle to where Bryson stood at the end. “Aren’t weddings supposed to be a happy occasion?”
“You kissed me,” I snapped through clenched teeth and forced a smile.
He chuckled. “You liked it.”
Did I? “I did not,” I hissed. “I have a boyfriend.” No, I didn’t.
“I thought he wasn’t your boyfriend,” Drake said, throwing my own words back in my face with a giddy smile.
I turned my head to glare at him, getting more frustrated when he only looked back at me from the corner of his eye. He was having fun with this, and the more he enjoyed it, the more it made my heart pound angrily against my rib cage.
“Ugh, you’re infuriating.” I debated how mad my brother and best friend would be if I made a scene, and knowing the answer, I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself.
“And you’re turned on.”
I gasped, stopping in my tracks. “Excuse me?” I started to let go of his arm, but he put his hand over mine and forced me to continue to move.
