Page 16 of Never Sleep with the Enemy

I force myself to focus on what’s happening in front of me instead.

Jonah and Marla’s first dance.

They sway together, the soft music wrapping around them like a blanket, and I can’t help but smile. It’s really quite sweet. The way their hands graze each other, the way he whispers to her, making her cheeks burn bright.

They’re great together. Truly.

I focus on the good things, watching as his parents cut in. The newlyweds reach for each other playfully, but Fiona and Kingston swoop in to steal them away for their traditional dances. Cameras flash, capturing the moment for eternity.

From the head table, I sip my drink, trying to quell the fluttering in my stomach.

But why was I naked?

“And now, the bride and groom would like to invite everyone to join them for a dance!” the DJ announces, prompting couples to rise from their seats and join hands.

All around me, my friends stand.

Knox and Harmony.

Harvey and Addison.

Bronson and Jordan.

All the Botsford brothers and their beautiful women.

And that leaves me. Only me.

My cheeks burn.

Well, darn.

Before I can sink deeper into my chair, a throat clears behind me. I turn, and a smile immediately blooms on my face as I see Oliver standing there, hand extended.

I laugh, happy to take his hand. He leads me to an empty spot on the dance floor, and we settle into a light sway..

“No plus one today, huh?” Oliver asks, towering over me by almost a foot.

“Uh, no,” I answer. “You?”

“Nah,” he says, scanning the room. “I usually avoid one.”

“So you can swoop in and rescue the lonely single girls when it’s dance time?”

“Exactly!” He grins, and I laugh. “You having fun, though?”

“I am,” I reply, hoping the words sound as true as I want them to. “It was a beautiful ceremony.”

“It was,” he says, chuckling softly as he inspects the edge of his hand. “I thought for sure Marla was gonna draw blood for a second there.”

I smile. “It was very sweet of you to walk her down the aisle, Oli.”

“I was happy to do it. She didn’t have anyone else, you know, with her mom as maid of honor and her dad being AWOL.”

“Right.”

“And when she gives you those big, pleading eyes? What man can say no to that?”

I nod, understanding completely.

---