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“Were you not going to say hi to me?” he asks.
“I only just walked into the room, Dean.”
“It’s been a few minutes. I watched you come down the stairs.”
The fingers wrapped around mine tighten slightly. “Okay, fine. Hi,” I say, my voice void of emotion. I give him a tiny finger wave with my free hand. “There, happy?”
Dean blinks, long and slow. His gaze drifts restlessly from mine, over to Reed, and then he looks him up and down, his eyes lingering on our joined hands. “So what? That’s all I’m getting. No hug. Nothing?”
“Looks that way.”
“We can’t even talk anymore?”
“Dean, this isn’t really the time or the –”
I don’t get to finish my sentence before Reed slides me in front of him, wrapping his long arms all the way around me. His enormous hands are splayed out across my stomach, and he holds me firmly in place against his body.
It’s so territorial. So possessive.
“So, you’re Dean?” says Reed, his voice low, slightly menacing. “I’ve heard so much about you.” I try and move away, but his hand pushes against my stomach, keeping me close to him and if I wasn’t so caught up in the moment I might moan a little with how good it feels to have his arms wrapped around me. “I’m Reed. It’s nice to finally meet you, man.”
Shit. Wait.What the hell is he doing?
“Hey, yeah, I’m a massive fan,” says Dean. “I’ve been into your music for years.”
Oh god, how lame.I can’t believe I was ever attracted to this loser.
Reed leans down and kisses that sweet spot right behind my ear. Then he looks up at Dean again while his lips are still lingering over my skin and he whispers, “I’ve been looking forward to meeting the guy who was stupid enough to walk away from this perfect angel. You’re fucked in the head, dude, if you think you’ll ever find better than her. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and you’re going to regret giving her up for a cheap blow job by some dirty little slut who doesn’t know any different.”
As if right on cue, thedirty little slutin question walks up and stands beside Dean, linking her arm around his elbow. She glares at me, and then she glares at Reed–having just caught the tail end of our conversation no doubt–and then she glares even harder at Dean when he doesn’t say a single thing in her defense.
“Let’s go,” she tells him, and for a split second, I think he’s actually going to ignore her.
He pauses and looks like he wants to say something to me. Something more. He almost looks like he wants to apologize, but it’s hard to tell with the way he’s guarding his expressions so closely now that Laci’s tugging on his shirt sleeve.
I’ve cried myself to sleep so many nights over our breakup. But now I just kind of feel really sorry for him. He doesn’t look happy. He doesn’t look happy at all. I wouldn’t wish unhappiness on anyone, not like he did on me.
Reed kisses my neck again, his lips tasting me as he trails light kisses all the way up and down the side of my throat.
That feels so good.
I turn around in his arms, turn my back on Dean and Laci, and I stretch up and capture his lips in mine, kissing him with everything I have inside me.
I want this man to break down my walls. I want this man to unearth me. I want this man to make me fall head over heels in love again. I want to thank him for freeing me and helping me realize there is more to life than high-school sweethearts and small-town ways.
I don’t even care that we’re most likely being gawked at by a room full of guests at a wedding rehearsal dinner.
I’ve finally moved on, and it feels amazing to make that realization.
The rehearsal dinner went really well. Dean and Laci left not long after it began, and as evil as I am, I wasn’t at all disappointed when I heard through the grapevine that they’d gotten into a terrible argument on the walk back to the car.
Poor darlings. I do hope everything works out for them. (Insert sarcasm here.)
Mia and Michael had a wonderful time, and after the delicious dinner was served and the obligatory speeches were out of the way, we all danced to sappy country music out on the porch and drank more champagne than was probably advisable given our plans for the following day.
I don’t know why I was so surprised, but Reed is an exceptional dancer. He held me in his arms all night long, rolling his hips against mine in time with the music, dipping me low so that my fingers brushed the freshly stained porch behind me, making me laugh, and making me happier than I’ve been in a really long time.
My eyes blurred with tears when he kissed me goodnight outside my bedroom door. He didn’t linger, he didn’t even try anything. When he got to his bedroom door, I was still standing outside mine, watching him. He stood there staring back at me for a moment, his fingers toying with the door handle. His eyes darkened and he wore a pained expression on his face.
