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Ariel
Vanessa's Wedding
“Ariel,whatthehellis wrong with you?” My best friend, Lou, shouted as I stared straight forward, frozen and my stomach clenched in knots. “Hello?” Lou waved her hand in front of my face. “Earth to ARIEL GRAINGER!”
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t respond. All I could do was stare. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t speak. Hell, was I even breathing? It was all I could do to bite my lip. My body buzzed as if I’d been struck by lightning. My eyes fixed on the face that I had ached to see for over two years.
I’d spotted him just as Lou began speaking. His attention was fixed on the man standing next to him. One that Lou pointed out earlier as the best man and a major creep. Lou kept talking. I didn’t hear her though. My attention was solely focused on the one that had gotten away. My throat caught as it all hit me. That man I’d been yearning for was here, and that this was quite possibly the worst moment of my life.
And then it happened.
Lou shouted my name and his head snapped up.
Our eyes locked a half-second later and all the color drained out of my face.
How had I not seen him up until now? How had I missed catching a glimpse of that handsome face? Or that tall, well-built frame, or that silky blonde hair? Hair that once reached his shoulders. He’d cut it since I’d last seen him. It was now cut close on the sides, but still longish on top. And his eyes. Those knee-melting, ice blue eyes.
Pressure and commitments prevented me from knowing the man of my dreams was here. Work commitments, piles of responsibilities, and things literally falling apart were why I barely made it in time for the ceremony. And even though it felt like running an obstacle course, I was grateful to be here. Especially now.
“Ariel?” His lips barely moved as he whispered my name. The shadows that hung heavy upon his features were suddenly swept away as the sun parted the clouds. His incredibly blue eyes went round, wide, and saucer-like with shocked disbelief.
“It’s him…” I whispered, interrupting Lou’s admonishment. I nodded towards him as our eyes remained fixed. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him and him me.
Oh no.
The dress.
Inwardly, I cringed as I remembered the hideousness I was outfitted in. Lou and I were dressed in the incredibly tacky bridesmaid gowns that our friend, Vanessa, the bride, had chosen. Why had she chosen this color? Who knows? Burnt dreamsicle wasn’t going to win us any beauty contests and it was the last color I wanted him to see me in.
“What?” Lou’s brows met with confusion. With a shake of her head, she glared at me as if I had gone crazy.
“Him. That man is Lucas Reynolds. My Lucas.” I tried to speak from out of the corner of my mouth.
It took a few seconds for it all to connect in my best friend’s brain. “Wait?” Her eyes expanded as it hit her. “NO! Lucas? The fountain guy? The one from Rome?” I nodded, feeling my tongue swell to three times its size as my mouth went drier than the Sahara Desert. “Do you mean to tell me that Vanessa’s fiancé isthe guy?” Again, I nodded as Lucas’s eyes remained honed on mine, radiating disbelief and oh god! …desire. His shock, however, was no match for mine. The man I had spent one incredible week—and several splendid, world-rocking nights—with was marrying my friend from college. Dread filled my belly as I tried to come to grips with what was happening. So much had gone wrong since we said goodbye and subsequently lost touch. My life had been turned upside down several times since we were together. Disaster, disappointment, and tragedy had turned my life into a living hell and this, finding him here, was the cherry on that shit-filled sundae.
“Oh shit!” Lou whisper-shouted as Lucas said something to his best man and made his way towards us.
Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god!This can’t be happening! The words kept looping through my thoughts as my body broke out into a cold sweat.
Closer and closer.
He kept coming closer until finally, he stood mere inches from me. So close I could easily reach out and touch him.
A shuddered breath tore from my lungs as I caught a whiff of his cologne. I breathed the musky, woodsy scent and felt my knees weaken as I thought back to how his scent had clung to my skin.
“Ariel?” His breath rushed across his lips with a heavy exhalation. He went to touch me but stopped. “Ariel, is it really you?” Lucas’s bright blue eyes flashed with indescribable joy. His laugh hadn’t changed. It was still heavy and deep. It still sounded much like it did when we laughed ourselves silly, cracking up over corny jokes while our naked bodies remained wrapped together in post-sexual bliss.
I snapped out of my reverie to see his brows knitted together with concern.
“Ariel, what are you doing here? How…? How is it that you’re here?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I said nervously with a shrug. “I’m one of the bridesmaids. Vanessa is a friend from college.” Lucas took an involuntary step back and stumbled slightly as if he’d been shocked. His brow knitted together further while his mouth thinned into a harsh line. I watched his hardened features twist and tense before they suddenly changed. His mouth relaxed, his brow unfurled, and he smiled. The most devastating smile ever worn by a man. One that rendered my panties soaked through and sent a delicious ache burning at the apex of my thighs. I watched closely as Lucas processed what was happening. And then, like a light bulb turning on, it hit him.
“You’re the one that was running late? The bridesmaid that couldn’t get here until right before the ceremony.” He cast his gaze on me, his eyes running up and down the length of my hideously dressed body. I shivered under the intensity of his stare and cursed my heart as it thundered against my ribs.
No, don’t do that! He’s about to marry your friend!
