Page 62 of Love You, Mean It

“Sorry, I’ll just…”

I startled at the voice from the far corner. It wasn’t until my eyes adjusted that I realized it was…

“Sam?”

“Guilty.” She grimaced, gaze darting to the door. “Sorry, I just needed a second to catch my breath, and the pub is always closed this time of year…” She shrugged, the combination of her natural beauty and the high-necked satin slip dress that clung in all the right places somehow turning the gesture elegant. “I’ll give you some space.”

“Actually, no. Wait a second.” I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to regain control of my thoughts. “I’ve been…thinking about your proposal.”

“Okay…” She perched on the edge of a seat, body taut, intent on my face. “And?”

“And we would have to work out the details, obviously. I can’t go at it full force while Theo and I are still working onourplan.” I swallowed hard. Why was it so hard to just say yes?

“I wouldn’t want you to.”

“But…it makes sense,” I finally choked out. “So, you know…I’m in or whatever.”

Her eyes lit up with glee.

“Oh my god,incredible. This is…Okay, I havesomany ideas about this. Obviously tonight is about you guys, we need to keep that clean.” Her hands wove designs in the air as she picked up speed. “But once you’ve survived the gauntlet, we should get together and make real plans. What days do you work? I can meet you at closing, maybe, and—”

“Slow down,” I said, raising both hands and chuckling in spiteof myself. Sam’s obvious enthusiasm didn’t completely eradicate the heaviness in the pit of my stomach, but itwasendearing. It reminded me of Bella, actually—scratch the polished veneer and you’d find a gushing, slightly neurotic weirdo just waiting to get out. Plus, the fact that she’d been holding out this much hope was reassuring. Clearly Sam cared more about Theo than I ever could. Our entirethingso far was built on attraction and mutual self-interest. He was objectively hot, and I was probably…exotic to him, somehow. The thrill of trading out caviar for the sinful pleasure of a Big Mac. But that didn’t make afuture.

“Testing…Are we good?”

Sam’s head jerked at the echoey voice from next door, amplified by the speaker system.

“We should get back in there. But more soon, yeah?”

“Definitely.” I managed what I was almost sure was a passable smile. Sam stood, grinning widely, then strode out of the room, leaving me in the dark. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to regulate my breathing. It was the right choice. Even without Mimi’s input, I knew deep down that Theo and I weren’t meant to be. This would be better for everyone. The lingering leadenness was just the sudden deadweight of extinguished lust mixing with that mac and cheese.

I made it back to the ballroom just in time to see Sam moving up next to Theo near the dais at the back. Ted was chatting with the DJ, hand over the mic. He nodded once and turned to the crowd. Catching sight of me, Ted tapped Theo’s arm, who gestured me over before turning back to Sam. Mirth danced over both their faces at whatever he whispered, forming a bubble of intimacy around them. I swallowed hard as Sam casually rested a hand on Theo’s arm, shaking her head.

They really do look good together.

And judging by the easy, carefree smile on Theo’s face, one I’d only seen a few times, and then fleetingly, Sam wasn’t crazy to think there could be something there. We might have chemistry—intensechemistry, even—but they clearly had the real thing. And even if I’d wanted it, we never could. How could I be serious about anyone my family was against? Which meant I owed them a shot…right?

Sam pulled away as I approached, turning her wide smile onme.

“Ellie, hi!” She wrapped me in a lightly perfumed hug. “You lookgorgeous,” she said, raising her eyebrows for emphasis, so convincing I almost believed we hadn’t spoken less than two minutes ago. “You’d better not let her out of your sight, Theo. Someone else might snake you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He slid an arm around my waist casually. I knew it was for show—Ted was clearly gearing up for some sort of speech—but the warmth of his hand on the curve of my hip, the solidity of him along the entire length of my body, shot off tiny fireworks inside me.

Even more reason to push them together. Your vagina is threatening to overtake your reason.

“If I could say a few words?”

Ted’s voice boomed through the room, quieting all lingering chatter.

“First off, thank you for being here. I know I speak for the whole family when I say how much it means that you turned out for Theo’s unexpected announcement.” He raised his glass. “I always knew my son would marry someday. As a father, I’m biased, but he’s quite the catch, don’t you think? No way the women of the world would let him off the hook forever.” Cheers broke out. “And it looks like Miss Ellie Greco is the one to finally catch him. Well done, Ellie.” He doffed an imaginary cap at me.

“As many of you know, Theo and Ellie are very different people. And theirs was the definition of a whirlwind romance. Theo’s always been private, but he really took us by surprise when he told us that, after all these years, he’s finally ready to take the plunge after mere months.” Ted’s eyes narrowed, and though he was still smiling, the heat behind his stare practically singed my skin. The pause drew out. I tilted my chin a bit higher, fixing my smile morefirmly in place, ignoring the crawly feeling of all the eyes in the room on us. “But you know what they say, opposites attract. Strongly, in my son’s case.”

Chuckles rippled through the crowd. I made a show of turning an adoring gaze on Theo. His fingers dug more sharply into my side.

“I’ll be honest, seeing him take such ahugeleap of faith…it surprised me. And it made me realize my little boy’s all grown up. He’s forging his own path now, venturing into the unknown. I’m sure we all applaud that.” He smiled at the crowd, but judging from the awkward throat-clearing, they could hear the tepidness of the…honestly, it wasn’t really even a compliment. “So let’s all raise a glass. To Theo and Ellie, jumping in with both feet. I hope you both get everything you deserve.”

I lifted my glass along with Theo. Once his was at his lips, he murmured, “Asshole.”

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