Page 141 of Crash & Burn

“No, nope. We are not doing this. Boning my friends—banging my friends,” he pauses to exaggerate a shiver, “it is still an off-limits topic. I’m pretending that you never said that.”

I laugh, and it feels good after a day like today, having to pretend and hold everything in.

Mateo smiles at me, and I know that I didn’t lose him.

I know I never will.

“So, I get to meet your girlfriend tomorrow?”

“I was hoping. She wants to meet you too.” Mateo slips his hands in his pockets and his features have a boyish glint to them, almost like he’s embarrassed.

“Can myboyfriendcome?”

Mateo sighs. I’m worried I pushed him too far, but he surprises me when he says, “Let me talk to him first.”

“I’ll go get him,” I say all too quickly, but I run past him and open the door leading back inside before he can change his mind. “Wait here,” I yell over my shoulder. I cannot take another minute of being between these two.

“And tell him tonight doesn’t count. He can play with us tonight, but I’m not letting him back in the band. Yet.” He tries to sound serious, but it isn’t convincing.

I fast-walk back into the private room, but it’s empty. I glance at the clock on the wall to see it says 6:34, so I know Drew and Emmett and the rest of the wedding party, Eddie included, probably joined the rest of the guests by the bar while they waited for dinner which is being served at 7:00.

We aren’t doing anything special, no DJ announcing the couple or wedding party. Drew just has her phone hooked up to the speakers with a playlist we made over the summer, and she wanted to have time to mingle with guests before dinner. Cross My Heart is still supposed to perform, playing their rendition of “A Thousand Years” for Drew and Emmett’s first dance and then a few of their originals to get the dancing started. Luke is supposed to then take over the music with the playlist he made for the dancing after the show.

With all the craziness of today, I don’t even think about what the hell was going to happen with Cross My Heart playing, just now realizing that Eddie and Mateo were going to have to play together in the midst of this mess that is slowly getting cleaned up.

I leave the empty room ready to head to the bar, but I run into the chest of exactly the man I was looking for.

“There you are,” he says, grabbing me by the arms. Worry lines his handsome features. “Are you okay? Holy shit, you’re freezing. Where have you been?”

“Talking to Mateo, who wants to talk to you. Let’s go.” I grab him by the arm, needing to get the two most important men in my life talking before Mateo changes his mind.

“What happened? Wait, Mia. Stop. You’ve been crying.” We pause just a few feet from the patio door. “Tell me what happened.”

I sigh. “He was upset that we lied to him. I think he was more hurt about us not trusting him enough to tell him than us actually being together.” I look down the hallway we’re in towards the direction where everyone is out there celebrating the newlyweds. We have already been gone for a while, I don’t want Drew and Emmett worried about where we are.

“Don’t worry. Annie told everyone that you’re helping Mateo and I with our performance tonight,” he says, literally reading my mind.

“Are Theo and Silas here?”

“Yeah, setting up now. But wait, are you sure Mateo wants to talk to me? I think I’ll be much harder to forgive than you. I don’t get to play thelittle sistercard with him.”

“He wants to talk to you. Regardless of what it is, we owe it to him. You guys need to talk before you play together anyway.”

Eddie sighs, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me into his chest. I instantly relaxed in his embrace, tension I didn’t know I was still holding releasing every moment he holds me.

Mateo may be on the road to forgiving me, but I know we won’t gain his trust back overnight.

I run my hands up Eddie’s chest, finding his face between my palms and pulling him down to my lips. I’m wearing the same red heels as I was last night, but he still towers over me. I lightly press my lips to his before pulling back, not having to worry about the lipstick that I’ll have to reapply before joining the party.

“You ready?” I ask.

“Are you coming too?”

“It’ll probably be better if you two just talk.” I drop my hands to my sides. “Go.”

Chapter 49

Eddie

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