Stumbling into Love
Page 28

His eyes are so dark with desire that my breath catches.
“Holy shit,” he repeats again.
I laugh.
“Gorgeous. You look . . .”
“She looks like a sex goddess,” Libby says from my side.
Wesley looks at her, nodding and adjusting the tie around his neck.
“She does,” he agrees. His eyes come back to me. “I don’t know whether to show you off or hide you away.” He wraps his hand around my hip and brings himself closer to me. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I tip my chin back to accept his kiss, then take hold of the lapels of his tux. “You look handsome. So very, very handsome.”
“Okay, you both look great. As much as I want to stand here and watch the love fest you have going on, I need to leave, so you are going to have to stop blocking the door.” Libby breaks into our moment.
I laugh, turning to watch her put on her jacket.
That’s when I notice her feet. “What the hell are those?” I point to the Converse sneakers she has on.
“They’re called shoes.” She rolls her eyes.
I feel my own eyes widen. “I know that, but you don’t wear sneakers. What the hell is going on?”
“Okay, drama llama, it’s not a big deal. I need to wear sneakers since I’m going to be on my feet running around, answering phones, and waiting tables all night.” She kisses my cheek, then Wesley’s. “Have fun tonight!” she calls over her shoulder as she heads down the steps.
I watch her until she is out of sight.
“She never wears sneakers,” I say out loud to myself.
“She’s gonna be busy. She wants to be comfortable,” Wesley says, walking me backward into my apartment. When he shuts the door, I snap out of my thoughts and blink at him.
“What are you doing?” I step away from him, but he steps closer again. “We have to go or we are going to be late.”
“We won’t be late.”
“If you touch me, we will be late.” I sidestep him, then grab my coat and slip it on. I tie the belt as tight as I possibly can and hold the ends so he can’t rip it open.
“Just one little touch.”
“You can touch me later.” I grin at the pout he gives me. He looks like a little kid who’s just been told he’s not allowed to have more candy. “Come on.” I take his hand to lead him out of the apartment but squeak as he picks me up, bride-style. “What are you doing?”
“Carrying you so that you don’t break your neck on the way down the stairs. I want to be able to touch you tonight, and that will be impossible if you’re in a full-body cast.”
“Very funny.” I tap his cheek after he sets me on my feet on the sidewalk outside. A cab is waiting for us. After helping me into the back and getting in with me, he gives the driver directions to our venue. Since it’s New Year’s Eve and there are so many roads blocked off, it takes a lot longer than normal to make it across the city.
Once we arrive at the event space, I take in its beauty. Cipriani’s limestone architecture blends in with the rest of the buildings across from Grand Central. But what’s inside makes it one of the most sought-after places for parties in the city. Jack and Vivian, the owners of Jack’s, grew up with the owner of Cipriani’s children, so every year they allow Jake to use the space for next to nothing when I’m sure it would normally cost tens of thousands of dollars for New Year’s. Once we get inside, we stop at the coatroom and then make our way to the main room. Every year when I come here, the ballroom makes me want to take a trip to Rome to see the architecture there firsthand. I’m so in love with the marble columns that stretch up and up to the cathedral ceilings. The room screams elegance.
“Do you know where we’re sitting?” Wesley asks as we move through the crowded room with my hand tucked in the crook of his arm.
“Elizabeth told me last night that I’m sitting with her and Tex,” I tell him, looking around for my friends. I met Tex and Elizabeth at Jack’s. We bonded over our mutual love for the Mets and have been friends ever since.
“Do you see them?”
“No.” I shake my head, scanning the room.
When I finally see them in the back, at a round table, my stomach turns. Tex and Elizabeth are sitting at a six-top table with Edward and Bonnie and two empty chairs. If the two chairs are really ours, I’ll have to sit across from Bonnie the entire night without blurting out anything about Edward being a cheater. I need a drink—not that I can have one, but I need one. Then again, it’s probably best that I can’t drink because when I do drink, I tend to talk a lot. “I found our table,” I tell Wesley, and I feel him tense when he sees where my eyes are pointing and who we will be sitting with.
“Are you going to be okay sitting at a table with him?” he asks, moving his hand to my lower back, then sliding it around to my hip so he can hold me closer.
“I think so, but I think we should make up a safe word,” I whisper, looking up at him.
“A safe word?” He raises a brow. “What do you know about safe words?”
“Not much more than is explained in Fifty Shades of Grey,” I admit.
His eyes change ever so slightly.
“You read those books?” he asks quietly, turning me to face him.
I look around, realizing that we are standing in the middle of the dance floor and that there are people all around us dancing.
“Yes.” I shrug as his fingers dig into my hips.
“Well, things in the bedroom are about to become a little more interesting,” he mutters.
My stomach does a flip, but I ignore it. I need to concentrate on what’s happening right now. I can’t let him sidetrack me.
“Focus.” I smack my hands flat against his chest. “We need a safe word so if I start to feel like I can’t keep it together any longer, if I can’t keep myself from blurting out to Bonnie about Edward, I say the safe word and you get me out of there—pronto.” I snap my fingers.
“Okay, what’s the safe word?”
“I don’t know . . .” I look around. “How about octopus?”
“So you’re randomly going to blurt out octopus?” He raises one brow.
“When you say it like that, it sounds like a stupid idea.” I sigh, and he laughs.
“How about you just say, ‘I love this song, dance with me’?”
Tipping my head to the side, I study him, then ask, “Do you know how to dance?”
“Maybe.” He kisses my nose. “You’ll find out if we need to make an escape.”
“Fine.” I pull in a breath, then let it out. “I really hate the idea of sitting across from her and breaking bread knowing that her man is a dick.”
“You’re not Mafia, so you’re not ‘breaking bread’ with her; you’re sitting at a table with her at a charity event.”
“Tomato, tomahto.” I wave him off, and he smiles, then dips his head, kissing me.
“It will be fine. Now come on, I’m hungry.” He puts my hand back in the crook of his arm before leading me across the room toward our table. We stop a few times to say hi to people I know so I can introduce Wesley to them.
When we make it to the table, Edward gets up and comes around the table to hug me. I feel Wesley tense up.
“You look amazing,” Edward says against my ear before Wesley pulls me away from him. Giving his hand a reassuring squeeze, I turn toward Tex and Elizabeth.
“Hey, guys.”
I greet them both with a hug, then introduce them to Wesley, whom they haven’t met until today. While Wesley is busy talking with Tex, I turn to Bonnie.
“How are you?” I greet her with a smile and a hug.
She hugs me back and replies, “I’ve been good.”
“Great.” I take a step away from her. “I love your dress.”
“Thank you.” She runs her hands down the silky black material at her sides and hips. She really does look beautiful. It accents her long, dark-blonde hair perfectly, and her California tan makes her big blue eyes stand out.