They stood there where they’d been instructed to stand as they waited for the bride and groom’s first dance to end. All Nine could think of now was would the DJ pick it up with an upbeat song or would he play something as slow their first?
As the song ended, another one—even slower it seemed—was mixed in, and the wedding-party couples made their way onto the dance floor, including Nine and Dee. He brought his arm around her waist, their bodies came together, and their eyes locked. That foreign sensation he’d never felt until Dee, was back as his breath caught in his throat.
Nine pulled her even closer, as she brought her arms around his neck and they moved as one. The music almost lulled him into a trance as he continued to gaze into her eyes, and for the first time since he’d been around her, he felt speechless. He’d never been one to listen to lyrics the way she obviously did, but the moment he heard these, every single word called out to him.
The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and the stars were the gifts you gave . . .
Dee finally broke their profound gazing but only to lean against his chest. Nine continued to listen to the song, feeling every single word. They continued dancing as ballad after ballad played out with Nine completely losing himself in lyrics he never bothered to pay attention to before, and he could suddenly relate each and every one of them.
Some songs talked about finding someone who makes them want to change their ways, something he could never relate to before Dee. Others talked about not being able to get that special someone off their mind and never wanting to be apart. It only made him hold her even closer as the thought of not seeing her again after tonight assaulted him.
The ones that spoke of the earth moving when they kissed, had him breathing in deeply. For a moment, he knew exactly what Beast must’ve been feeling during their first dance. He had to remind himself they were at a wedding and that they were surrounded by tons of people watching them before he did what he was so tempted to do—take her face in his hands and kiss her deeply.
If it weren’t because he didn’t want to make a scene at his friend’s wedding, he just might have given into the torturous temptation. But how could he when one of those many watching was her fucking fiancé?
The very thought singed his heart, and before he could give it another thought, the words were out. “You in love, Dee?”
Chapter 14
Drew
“Yes.”
The moment Drew sputtered out her breathless response, she regretted it. But it was too late. She was already caught in those intense eyes again. Only this time there was more to what she saw in them than the yearning she thought she’d imagined earlier.
“You are?”
His near-whispered answer made it all too clear. Drew’s delusional ass had gotten so completely caught up in the incredibly romantic songs she’d assumed the ridiculous: that he was asking if she was in love with him. But how in the world could she backpedal now and admit to that because . . . what the hell?
“I-I mean . . . of course.” She shrugged, feeling like a complete idiot now. “He’s my fiancé. We’ve been saying we love each other for months now. It feels . . . I mean it is natural.”
Liar!
Yes, she’d said it back after he’d said the words to her several times because it felt so damn awkward not to. She’d convinced herself she may as well get used to it since he was going to be her husband eventually. But it absolutely didn’t feel natural. In fact, every time she’d been forced to say it since the first time weighed so much heavier on her conscience, she’d actually begun to consider breaking things off. It just didn’t feel right. And after today, the whole damn relationship would feel like even more of a sham.
For an instant, Drew’s thoughts were distracted by Nine’s moving Adam’s apple, but they were back on his eyes when he began to speak again. “I was just—”
“I’ll take it from here.”
Drew’s heart spiked at the sound of Brad’s voice so near, even more so as he and Nine faced off before Nine backed away. She was only slightly relieved to see Beast was now dancing with his mom, and Ali and Lila were dancing together, looking a little teary eyed. Brad wasn’t the only one cutting into someone’s dance.
Though they hadn’t actually practiced it last night, Celeste had explained that, after the first few dances, the parents and closest family members could cut in to dance with the bride and groom, and the rest of the wedding party could either continue to dance or cut in with the bride and groom themselves if they wished. So this wasn’t the scene she thought it might turn into. But the relief was short-lived.
Brad pulled her close to him, leaning into the side of her face, and spoke in a lowered voice. “What the fuck is up with you and this guy?”
Drew pulled away, doing her best to feign appalled bewilderment but spoke just as low as him. “What do you mean? He’s my partner in this wedding. I have assigned seating and this dancing stuff is part of the wedding. You know this.”
“Yeah, well, for a minute there, I thought you two might start making out.”
Feeling the heat of mortification creep up her spine and neck, she continued the charade of pretending to be aghast by his accusation. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a slow song. How else were we supposed to dance to it?”
“It?” He hissed in an even lower voice. “You mean the close to ten songs you two practically made love to? Everyone else walked off a long time ago. Were you planning on dancing all night with this guy? Why the fuck am I even here?”
Drew didn’t glance around to see if it was true they were the only ones in the wedding party aside from the bride and groom left on the dance floor now. She was too embarrassed.
“It wasn’t that many songs,” she said softly but couldn’t even look him in the eyes anymore.
“I need a drink.” Slipping his hand in hers, he led her off the dance floor toward the bar.
Drew felt terrible now. As much as she wanted to play the part of the offended girlfriend who’d just been accused of something so outrageous, she couldn’t. She was absolutely guilty, and Brad had every right to be upset.
How would she have reacted if the tables had been turned and she felt for Brad what she should be feeling? The answer to her unspoken question came in the form of what felt like a slap the moment she saw Nine with Becca. He was smiling and chatting it up the way Drew had been doing with him all night—the way Brad had probably watched them do—and the only time she’d bothered to glance in his direction was when she was checking to see if Chelsea was okay.
The moment her and Nine’s eyes met, his smile waned but not entirely. Drew looked away just as quickly. She had to. The inappropriate but utter jealousy she was suddenly feeling was a living thing. It only made her feel even more terrible about the way she’d behaved. She could only imagine what Brad must’ve been feeling all night.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered after Brad put their order in at the bar.
“I had to sit there along with everyone else at my table and watch that asshole throw the moves on you and you eat it up.”
“I said I was sorry, okay, and he wasn’t throwing any moves on me.”
“Are you kidding me? He was all over you just like he’s all over that girl now. It’s what slimy douches like him do, Drew. I just can’t believe you’d fall for that shit.”
Drew refused to look and confirm whether Nine was all over Becca or not, but already she could feel the knot in her throat growing fast. So she spoke quickly before she wasn’t able to. “First of all, you’re just making ugly assumptions because you’re angry.”
The bartender handed Brad their drinks, and she took her glass of wine and sipped it because she needed to badly. They moved away from the bar and walked out of the tent altogether because she didn’t want to be tempted to look at Nine and Becca. She was just glad that the moment of weakness where she almost let her emotions get the best of he
r was over.
Once outside, she turned to face Brad. “There was nothing to fall for because he didn’t throw any moves on me.”
She knew that, while that statement was technically true, it wasn’t the entire truth. But she’d already lied to Brad about something so much bigger: when she agreed to and said she’d be happy to be his wife. Every time she said she loved him was a lie, and she knew now more than ever that it was. So what difference did it make if she lied about this now too?
Brad rolled his eyes, taking a big swig of his drink. When he was done, he stared at her for a moment, not saying anything. “I know there’s no way you can—you’re not that naïve—but I have to ask. You have feelings for him?”
Swallowing hard, Drew looked him square in the eyes. “No, I don’t.”
He took another swig of his drink and glanced around then finally back at her. “Look. I personally don’t get it. But when their husbands weren’t paying attention, I saw the way some of married women at my table exchanged silly glances and whispered when looking in his direction. It’s why it pissed me off when we were all sitting there watching the douchey guy trying to make a play for my fiancée and you didn’t give him a knee to the groin.”
Again the mortification that she’d been so obvious about getting completely whisked off her feet by Nine, had her face heating. “I had no reason to knee him, but—”she lifted a hand before he could retort—“even if there had been, which there wasn’t, I wouldn’t have made a scene at Ali’s wedding. Least of all during her first dance. But I’m sorry if it appeared that way.”
Brad peered at her, not looking the least bit convinced. “You don’t still keep in touch with him outside of these wedding engagements, do you?”
Drew shook her head. Lie number . . . she didn’t even know she’d lost count. But what the hell did it matter now anyway?
“Good ’cause if you think I’m mad now, I’ll be even more pissed if I find out you are. I know he has your number from back when. If he calls or texts you, tell his ass I don’t want him contacting you for shit. There’s no reason for it. Unless you want him to.”
He lifted a brow as if waiting for her to respond, so she did. “Of course I don’t.”
She took a sip of wine as the lies continued to mount. They went back inside, and Drew braced herself to sit at Brad’s table where she knew they’d all been witness to her and Nine on the dance floor. Chelsea smiled big as she devoured her cake next to Charlee.
Drew eyed her suspiciously. “Did you eat any dinner, little girl?”
“Yes, she did,” Charlee answered for her. “Phoenix sat with her for a little, and she even ate all her carrots like a good little princess.”
“But not the bwoccoli,” Chelsea said, scrunching her nose. “Daddy ate it for me.”
“Okay then,” Drew said, kissing the top of her head. “I guess it’s okay for you to have some cake. Just don’t get any on your pretty dress.”
Some of the other couples were up dancing, so there was plenty of room at the table. “Where’s Hector?” Drew asked, looking around. “I’ll be able to sit with Chelsea for the rest of the night. So you two are free to dance.”
Charlee explained Hector was in the men’s room then stopping at the bar on the way back. Brad said he’d be getting another round and excused himself from the table.
Glancing back at Brad as he got farther away, Charlee turned back to Drew with a knowing look. Drew felt her face warm again but motioned to Chelsea and mouthed the word stop. She should’ve known better than to think that would deter Charlee from inquiring further. She and Drew had been speaking in code in front of the kids for years.
“I missed the last episode of East LA housewives.” Charlee cut into her slice of cake with a big evil smile. “The one before it Tad caught Sue and her business partner Zion carrying on and flirting outrageously. You said you saw the new episode. So what happened when he confronted her?”
Drew gave Charlee the hairy eyeball, but seeing her friend smile so wickedly actually made her feel a little better. That conversation with Tad, er Brad, had been intense. She needed the girl talk now.
“First of all, they weren’t flirting, just doing the job they were assigned to do.” Charlee’s giggling made her smile. “Tad was upset, but I think they’re good—for now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think Sue has a lot to think about.”
This time Charlee didn’t smile so big. “Are you serious?”
Feeling emotional suddenly, Drew nodded, taking a sip of her wine as she did her best to hold it together. As the warm tears flooded her eyes, she pinched her brows together in an effort to not break down. Charlee squeezed her knee under the table. “Sue needs to follow her heart. I’ve been watching this show since the very first episode, way back, and I’ve never seen her come alive the way she does with Zion. It’s almost magical.”
“Yeah, of course she’d be falling for him. She’s notorious for falling for guys like him. And he’s a self-proclaimed player. Doesn’t do commitment or relationships. Told her himself.”
“Well, let me tell you Zion seems pretty darn smitten too. Trust me. I watched that episode with Nellie, Bianca, Roni, and Ella. We’re all in agreement. There’s something intense happening there. It’s why I was so nervous when the episode ended so abruptly.”
Their conversation ended when Brad and Hector got back to the table. Some of the other couples got back to the table, and Drew got caught up with the usual conversations about other things. Thankfully, with Brad at the table, none of the other women brought up Nine. She barely touched her first glass of wine, let alone the second one Brad brought her. After Chelsea fell asleep in her arms, Brad continued to drink faster and heavier than Drew had ever seen him.
Having to see Nine dance with Becca as the girl overdid some dirty moves nauseated Drew, so she was thankful that Chelsea falling asleep gave her a good reason to leave early. Brad was just sober enough to carry Chelsea to the car but not to drive. Another thing to be thankful for. Drew drove his drunk ass home. The night ended with a chilly departure, but at least he didn’t get obnoxious with her. She drove herself home, got her baby girl in bed, and then proceeded to cry herself to sleep.
The text popped up on her phone screen as Drew sat in her kitchen, sipping her coffee. She and Chelsea had been enjoying the waffles Drew made for breakfast. At least Chelsea was enjoying them anyway. Drew had barely touched hers.
Her stomach was in knots just seeing Nine’s name. She glanced up at her daughter, who was too busy strategically placing the raspberries on her plate in the holes of her waffle to notice what Drew was doing. She tapped on the screen to open the text and read it.
Can you talk?
Remembering Brad’s warning last night about how pissed he’d be if she kept in touch with Nine, Drew’s heart raced, deciding how to respond to this. She nearly dropped the phone when it rang in her hand, but she let out a sharp relieved breath when she saw it wasn’t Nine. It was Phoenix.
“Hello?”
“Hey, what are you up to?”
“Just having breakfast with the princess.”
She got up, taking her plate with the half-eaten waffle to the counter by the sink. “Okay, so be discreet. I don’t want Chels to hear you talking about this, but I gotta ask you something, only I need you to be honest with me, okay?”
Drew squeezed her eyes shut. She should’ve anticipated this. If she was that obvious last night, of course Phoenix would have noticed. “About what?” she asked, sounding clueless about what he might be referring to.
“So, yesterday I thought I noticed it, but I was busy with the filming, so I couldn’t pay too much attention. Now I’m sitting here going over some of the footage, and it’s making me real nervous.”
“Hmm?”
“Can I have more chocolate milk?” Drew turned to Chelsea, who was holding up her empty glass of chocolate milk, and nodded.
“Give her carrot juice,” Phoenix
said. “She likes it and it’s less sugar.”
“It’s Ovaltine.” Drew took Chelsea’s glass, feeling irritated suddenly, but she knew it had nothing to do with this. “Not Nesquik. She’s good.”
“Alright, so is there anything you wanna share about you and this Nine guy you were in the wedding with?”
Holding her phone between her shoulder and ear, Drew stirred up the chocolate in Chelsea’s milk as the knot in her stomach grew. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I’m sitting here watching the footage of the wedding and the reception, and every instance of the two of you, you look completely into the guy. At the photo shoot, you two are nonstop giggling. Then during the dinner you’re showing him something on your phone and the way you two carried on—”
“Look.”
Drew set the glass down on the table in front of Chelsea and walked out into her small front room This was Phoenix, so she decided just to be honest and stop the completely oblivious act. “Brad questioned it last night too. He was pissed actually. But like I told him, Nine just talks a lot.”
“Dani—”
“He’s a funny guy, and I was showing him photos of Tank on my phone.”
As if on cue, Tank walked out of the hallway, stopping to stretch his long lanky legs, and yawned as if he’d just woken up. Drew smiled. “You know anything about this big moose has me smiling silly.”
“Dani—”
“And what? I can’t laugh at another guy’s jokes without everybody getting all up in my Kool-Aid?”
“Dani, I’m watching footage of you and him dancing as we speak.” Squeezing her eyes shut again, Drew knew he had her. As much as she’d like to, there was no justifying or even trying to deny what being in his arms had done to her. “Geez, I’m surprised I didn’t notice this last night, but then it is the bride and groom I’m focused on in this particular part of the footage. You two are just in the background. No wonder Brad was pissed.”